Teaching English as a Second Language in Istebna, Poland

A ministry of First Evangelical Church
Memphis, TN

Team Leader: Joey Pensak

Tel: 662-320-4776/ Email: jep9@ra.msstate.edu
 or  901-386-3806/ emery9@aol.com

NEWS: 10/30 This summer's camp was a great experience..Anyone interested in next year's camp, please email me at emery9@aol.com

6/20 Praise the Lord for a productive planning weekend. Teammembers: Please let me know if you have any questions about supplies or teaching materials. Remember we are leaving First Evan at 7:30 am. That means everyone needs to be here at 7:00 ready to go. That way we'll have time to get any last minute stuff before we leave. Pray for: Traveling mercies, Ewa and Marek, the campers' hearts. See you on the 5th!! -Joey

6/5 We have a new team-member: Robby Jenkins-Hayes! Robby will be replacing Glenn Vaughan on our team, and is also from Niceville, Florida. Glenn gave up his spot to Robby because of Robby's earnest desire to go...But Glenn will still support the team in prayer!! Hopefully prayer letters are out, passports are coming in, and everyone is getting ready for Istebna 2000! We had a recent answer to prayer a few days ago: I got an email from Ewa (Pastor Londzin's wife) saying that they just purchased an overhead projector and a movie projector! This is an answer to prayer because we were going to have to bring those along with us and I wasn't looking forward to packing that in a suitcase. So Thank you Lord. If anyone has any questions please don't hesitate to call or write me an email at emery9@aol.com.

Info for support letters: When writing your letters, be sure to include a stamped envelope with your home address. Tell your contributors to make checks out to First Evangelical Church. This way you will know exactly how much you have raised and how much you need. If you have any questions about support raising, please email or call me.

Praise the Lord for bringing together our team! (And for the recent addition of Joy Murphy!)
Joey Pensak, Memphis
Joanna Sanders, Memphis
Robby Jenkins-Hayes, Niceville, FL
Vanessa Trim, Memphis
Trent Dabbs, Madison, MS
Joy Murphy, Birmingham, AL!!!

***I received an email from Marek and Ewa saying that the Polish staff is also confirmed. Working as translators and generally helping us with the camp will be:
Marta Swidowska--a camper for the past two years, now she'll be on staff
Michal Karski--a camper the first year of the camp. He's a fine musician and will be a great asset to this year's camp!

Here's Michal Karska, Marta Swidowska (both are on our staff), Marta Londzin (Pastor Marek's daughter), and Marta Nowak (a camper in '98). Ok, so it's a popular name!!
(Click on the picture to see it bigger)

***Be sure to check the itinerary (at the bottom of this page) if you haven't done so already. We'll be spending two days in London (16th-18th) on our way home, and I'll give you more info on that when we meet.

Our prayer for this week: Pray for the Evanglical church in Poland--for continued growth.

Click here to view teacher guidelines. These are suggestions for teaching based on Joey's experience in the past two years.

LIFE IN ISTEBNA
Welcome to English Camp 2000 in Istebna, Poland! Located in  the lush southern mountains of Poland, Istebna is a tiny town with a lot of character.  It’s not uncommon to see horse-drawn wagons rolling through the town carrying hay cut by the large population of farmers in the town.  At night, the myriad of haystacks that cover the mountainside become an eerie sight—many people here compare them to lonely travelers, motionless and waiting for morning to arrive.  Sitting atop one of these picturesque mountains is the Parafia Ewangelicka, home of English camp 2000.  This small Evangelical church (a member of the Lutheran denomination in Poland) draws its members from the farmers and craftsmen  of the town, and like its congregation, the services that transpire within the church’s walls are simple and reverent.

SHARING THE GOSPEL THROUGH TEACHING
For the past two years, Pastor Marek and his wife Ewa Londzin have welcomed over 40 teenagers and an American staff to their church in Istebna for a summer English camp. The camp was started by teachers from the Black Forest Academy who had a heart for sharing the gospel with Polish teenagers.  Last year the team was led by Joey Pensak, a member of the original ‘98 team, and the staff included college students  from Mississippi to Ohio!  Using their unique God-given talents, team members teach English, lead practicum activities, organize crafts and games, and most importantly, get to know the campers, all with the earnest desire of communicating the gospel.

BUT I DON’T SPEAK POLISH!!
Well, you don’t have to.  The campers come to the camp knowing that they will be practicing their English—most have a dictionary in hand when they arrive—so the language barrier is not something to worry about.  Also, the structure of the camp is very informal and relaxed, so if you do experience communication problems (you will at some point) there will be time to ask someone to help.  Each year we’ve had wonderful Polish translators (most have been university students with the same desire to share the gospel), and they will help to make the transition even smoother.  The campers range in age from about 13-17 years old, and most are very open to speak with you about anything—you’ll be surprised how much they really want to learn English!  Polish people in general are very open to talk about religion (the country is predominantly Catholic) so there is a ripe harvest ready to be taken!!

CAMP SCHEDULE
7:30 Wake Up!                          
8:00 Breakfast
8:45-9:00 Devotion (in Polish)
9:00-12:30 English Class!!
12:30 Lunch
1:00-2:00 Free time/Homework
2:00 Activities (Crafts, Games, Practicum)
3:30-6:00 Free time
6:00 Dinner
7:00 Worship Meeting
7:45-10:30 Free time
10:30 Go to bed!!
Click here for our itinerary

Estimated Cost: $1375
Includes: Travel, Food, Lodging
For entire trip

Contact in Poland:
Marek and Ewa Londzin
mlondzin@luteranie.pl
Parafia Ewangelicka w Istebna
Poland