Well, Jason thinks it’s my turn to fill you in on life in Poland. It is amazing to think that we have been here for 8 months, time sure has flown by. I must admit missionary life in Poland has been completely different than I expected. I guess being a missionary kid; I expected my experience in Poland to be similar to that of Thailand. Little did I know that being a missionary mom is a whole lot different than being a missionary kid? I have a whole new sense of respect for my mom. She started out her missionary journey in a world without e-mail. Wow, how did she ever do it? I remember it use to take a whole month to get mail to and from the States, and that is if the person receiving the letter wrote right back. What are the chances of that? :0) She began her missionary journey when flying back and forth from one country to another wasn’t a normal occurrence. Praise the Lord for the ability to e-mail, and the reassurance that I am only an airplane ride away from my family.
Many people often ask, “What do you miss most about the United States?” To be quite honest, I really miss my friends and family back home. I miss not hearing from them on a regular basis. I miss not being able to run out for coffee with a friend and just talk about what is going on in my life. I miss the encouragement and hugs from the ladies at my home church. I can’t speak for other missionary wives, but I have a good idea that many of them feel the same way. Until we learn the language of the people God has called us to, it is hard to build meaningful friendships.
I am really looking forward to the day I can walk into our church here in Siedlce and have a heart to heart conversation with one of the ladies. We have so many wonderful ladies here in our church. Oh how I wish I could share my heart with them and have them do the same in return. I would have to say that patience is definitely the biggest lesson I am learning in Poland. Every day I must remind myself that I can’t learn the language in a day or even a month. I must continue to do my best everyday even if that is learning one new word each day.
Another question I have often heard is, “What can people back home do for their missionaries?” After being a missionary wife in Poland for 8 months I would say, keep in touch with your missionaries!!!! Go look on your missionary wall at the back of your church and see who your new missionaries are. Write to them, not just once, but keep in touch with them. It is hard for me to explain what an encouragement you can be through one email or even better with one real letter in the post office box.
Before I end my first little blog I thought I would share with you the best Christmas gift I got this year. My dad gave my mom a ticket to Poland. I get to spend two whole weeks with my mom. There is nothing better for a new missionary family then to have friends and family visit from home.
11 comments:
What a neat present for you and your mom! I do pray for you guys often but I will work on being a better corresponder :)
And for info the best way I feel connected to the missioaries is having weekly updates so I know how to pray and what is going on in their lives - you guys do a good job at this!
Well............as I try to write this through my tears I wanted to let you know that we miss you too. Thank you Jason for the email letting us know that Ginger finally had an entry here but I feel as if I've been set up. I am not a cryer or a real big hugger but I could really use my sisters hug right now.
I know you will be busy with your mom for the next few weeks so I know you won't miss us that much but I will do better with the communication.
Your story about being a missionary kid vs. a missionary mom is very interesting and very well stated. It really shines a light on your feelings.
Saw your dad in church on Sunday. I did hug him. It is always nice to see him. He closed our service in prayer...I think he got alittle choked up. He made a joke about your mom going to COLD Poland instead of cold Chicago. Any way it was nice to see him.
HAVE FUN WITH YOUR MOM AND I HOPE YOU GUYS GET ALOT OF MILES OUT OF YOUR NEW BOOTS. THEY REALLY ARE KOOL.
Love Ya,
Linda
Ginger! It's so good to hear from you on the blog. I have you in my google feed so I read it when Jason posts. He does a great job, but it is good to hear from you! I pray for you whenver I read a new post...love the video clips, too! Thanks for the insight into your experience...now we know better how to pray for you specifically!
Well, the news around the "water cooler" after school was "You have to read Ginger's blog". I was anxious to get home to read and they were right when "they" said it would bring tears.
Jason, Ginger, Caleb, Bradey and Aubrie, we love you and miss you tons. No one could ever replace you!!!
Ginger, thanks for sharing your heart. I will email more often.
Love,
Carla
Wow! I'm not even there yet, and you've got me crying. I can't wait to see you--all 5 of you!! Yes, what a wonderful Christmas present Dad gave to BOTH of us. See you TOMORROW!!
Ginger,
Thank you so much for your post. I too cried when I read it. I am sure it will be so WONDERFUL to have your mom there for you! I am sure your kids will love it too! What an extra special blessing!
I enjoy reading this blog so much. It really is the highlight of my day when I see you have a new post. My heart is so mission minded. I would LOVE to be on the mission field. But right now, my "mission" is to take care of mom and other members of my family.
We are praying for you everyday!
Lovingly,
Annette for the Hesson family
Jason, co tu jest napisane??? :-)
Ginger, I'm so happy for you! I know you are just thrilled to spend some good quality time with your mom. Thanks for sharing how we can better encourage our missionaries. You will get that language down well and have those relationships you crave soon, I'm confident. You are in our prayers!
I want to thank all of you for all your notes of encouragement!!. I think I should blog more often so I can hear from everyone!! :0)I just thought I would fill you all in on my mom's arrival. She made it here safe and sound. Praise the Lord the weather isn't too cold this week, so she hasn't had to adjust too much. She has only been here three day, but I have kept her busy. She was able to go to the kids school program and watch them sing in Polish. The whole program was two hours long. It was a lot of fun. Yesterday I took her to arobics with me, now that was a lot of fun. I never realized how hard arobics can be when you don't understand what the arobic instructure is saying!! :0)Lets just say we did a lot of laughing. Today she went with me to the boys karate class and we went shopping. We also stopped off at a local bakery and tried some Polish goodies!! Tonight she is going to ladies bible study with me. Anyway we are having tons of fun. Thanks for all your prayers.
Hey Ginger,
I feel awful now, too, because I haven't written in a while! At least I have "new mom syndrome" to blame!
I think of you lots and love reading your family's blog (when I remember every other month or so!).
Take care, and get a flickr account already!
Heather
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