More pics from Poland

Poland Pictures

We've had a great time of training and teaching here in Poland. 

Top Picture: Our team and hosts in Poznan at a fort from World WW2 that has been turned into a museum.

2nd Picture: Our farewell at the train station on our way to Warsaw.

3rd Picture: David having some roundtable training in Krakow with some local pastors.

Bottom Picture: Bryson, David, and Jeff touring the town of Krakow.

Poland - Day 2

Today we finished up our 8 hours of teaching at Genesis Church. Everyone the team had an opportunity to teach. Most of the people at Genesis were first generation Christians and loved hearing about Jesus strategy of disciple-making!

First night of teaching

We taught at the Genesis Church in Poznan on Friday night and all day Saturday.  The entire team had an opportunity teach.  The people were super kind and very welcoming of the teaching!

We are arrived in Poland

Here is our team in enjoying a Polish lunch with Robert.  We arrived in Poznan, Poland about 2 hours before.  Below is a picture of Roberts fourth child, Benjamin, who is enjoying playing with the team.  Tonight we will begin training.

Poland Team Leaves Today

L-R - Jeff Howard, Bryson McCabe, David Nall, & Steve Winstead (not pictured Phillip Geyer)

Please pray for the Downline team going to Poland. We will be leading a 3 day conference in Poznan and then leading 2 one day conferences with Cru.

Serbia 2013

On April 11^th, Downline led a team of 9 people to teach at an evangelical Bible school outside of Belgrade, Serbia.  The school – the only Evangelical training center of its kind in the Balkan region - consists of students who represent most of the Balkan nations.  During our week, we taught over 30 hours of discipleship training and walked through the Biblical books of Esther, Zechariah and Titus.  While the formal times of training were impactful, it is always the intentional conversations that happen outside of the classroom that seem to be the most meaningful.  This is one of the few trips where we actually stay with the people we are ministering to.  We saw our students all day, every-day, and the relationships we formed are deep and lasting.  We knew the whole trip was worth it when we heard Ivan, a Serbian student, say “I now know that God accepts me solely because of the work of Jesus.” 

 

The team with the students at the HUB school in Serbia

Many do not know that the leader of this Serbian school, Sladjan Milenkovic, is currently in Memphis as his 9-year-old daughter is battling brain cancer.  This was the first time in 4 years that Downline has been to Serbia without Sladjan being there.  I was curious to see how things were running in his absence, but I was encouraged by the faithfulness of God to remind me that His work is not dependent upon one man.  The school is still doing great, and the students’ spiritual lives seem as vibrant as ever.  In fact, the current interim director, Riste, said this past week was the greatest week he has experienced at the school thus far. 

 

Morning devotions

Every year we go to Serbia, I cannot help but anticipate a refreshing time with the Lord.  The students’ commitment to Christ is a great encouragement, and their heart for the nation of Serbia and the world is contagious.  This is one of the most strategic training trips Downline embarks upon, but at the same time I believe it is a trip where the Downline team is impacted more by the lives of the students than the students are by our teaching.  We are certainly glad to be home with our families and friends, but there is some sadness that comes with leaving new family and friends thousands of miles away.