sorry i forgot to introduce my unit!

We've been on the road together since mid-August and I guess I never introduced you to them!

Leo Gnatzy (from Germany) is back with me again and he's been such a huge help in booking shows and performing in Polish. It was great to have someone w/me again that I had some Polish Rep with. Plus, he's just really brilliant all around and one of my favorite persons to perform on stage with.

Astrid Jacob (from France) is a gem. She's been in CP a year and a half and is so capacitous. This is her first time in Poland and she's learning so incredibly quickly.

I'm really really blessed to have them both with me. We've experienced some consistent difficulty in communication (not so much language as it is thought-flow and perspectives) and it's definitely challenging living in such close community for four months together. But just because something is hard doesn't mean it's not good. It just means sometimes we have to really fight for our unity. But I love them both so much and I'm so thankful they're here with me. I hope they know that.

The Joy of the Lord

Today we performed in a Bible College in Gdynia -- Christ for the Nations (Chrystus Dla Narodow -- Polska) and it was such a wonderful time -- both for the students as well as for us. It's a small Bible College, but boy is it powerful. We've been staying here for the last two nights and tonight is our last night here before we start making our way towards Lithuania. It's been such an incredible experience to take part in the worship times. (We were also invited to attend as many classes as we wanted to, but unfortunately because we still have our CP life and schedule to run, we could only take advantage of attending theworship times.) The Lord's presence is so thick there and the worship team is so annointed. Very quickly, you're ushered into the presence of the King.

Today I found myself on my knees during a good portion of the worship time. Then I felt compelled to bow lower and lower. Finally I was just so overwhelmed by the Spirit and God's presence that I couldn't even sing or move anymore. It was really surreal. The world around me just disappeared and it was just God and I. I felt a deeper surrender of my life to Him and a deeper surrender to His love. "All for Jesus" (in Polish) was being sung/played. And I told Him, "Take everything. Take me. I love you so much, Lord." And somewhere in that time I remember asking Him to give me a word that day.

Later that afternoon, one of the students and worship leaders said "Amy, do you know that your joy is so strong that just by walking into a room, you change the entire atmosphere? ... I don't mean to freak you out, but you have authority to change the entire environment with your joy. You may not see it but the other two [Leo and Astrid] draw from your joy as well. The joy of the Lord is your strength." Unbeknownst to him, last night I shared with my unit "There was a time when I had so much joy that I knew I could change the entire atmosphere of a room just by walking into it... But I feel like I've lost a lot of that levity and lightness. I feel like I've lost a lot of that joy."

How could he have said something so specific to what I had said last night? Only God could have done that. I knew that was from the Lord. And it hits me on so many different levels. For one thing, it's like the Lord said "Amy, I haven't stripped you of that joy. It's still in you." Secondly, the use of the word "authority" really struck me. It was quite revelatory in that it made me see the responsibility and call I have in walking in that joy, operating in that joy -- by the Spirit. The flipside of this is that when I'm not walking in that joy, I have the power to take people down with me. Last week when I was having a particularly rough day and feeling really dragged down by the spiritual oppression I felt in a particular city, I turned to Leo and asked him if I had affected his mood by my mood. "Kind of" was his answer which in Leo-speech meant "Yes." And it really hit me how much effect I can have on people. It's no wonder my teammates have also struggled with finding joy lately, when I myself have not given them much joy of the Lord to draw from. So I'm really praying and hoping that in holding on to this word, and seeing the importance of how my joy affects the joy of others, I'll be faithful to my call of living abundantly and walking in joy. I would also like to fulfill the meaning of my Chinese name ("Wing yi") which means "forever joyful."

The pictures are from some of the lighter moments we've had... having fun taking unit photos on our own... as well as taking time to enjoy the Baltic Sea.

Tomorrow is a special day... we're commemorating Leo's baptism day... and I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve. :)