Hey all!
November in Poznan means we have two new holidays to celebrate...All Saints' Day (11/1) and St. Martin's Day (11/11). How cool is that?
Check out our Facebook photo albums here and here.
Enjoy!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Our Prayer for this Place
As I (Aaron) was doing some reading during my devotions this morning, I came across a passsage from Paul's second epistle to the Thessalonians that struck me as clear, coherent synthesis of our prayer/desire/vision for continued development and maturation of the Sweet Surrender coffeehouse/house church location here in Poznan:
"Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring...
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." (II Thessalonians 1:2-4, 11-12)
Make it so, Lord, we pray! :)
"Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring...
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." (II Thessalonians 1:2-4, 11-12)
Make it so, Lord, we pray! :)
Ev & Rhonda in the States
Just a quick note to ask for your prayers for our mission directors, Rev. Ev and Rhonda Tustin. They recently returned from a month-long fundraising tour in the United States during which Ev's father passed away.
Please pray that God will continue to guide and comfort Ev & Rhonda, as well as their friends and family members (especially Ev's mom and elderly grandmothers), in this time of ransition.
Thanks for your prayers...we always need and appreciate them! :)
A&B
Please pray that God will continue to guide and comfort Ev & Rhonda, as well as their friends and family members (especially Ev's mom and elderly grandmothers), in this time of ransition.
Thanks for your prayers...we always need and appreciate them! :)
A&B
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Nordic Barista Cup 2010
Wow...it's been a while since we updated our blog, and one big reason why is our staff's recent 5-day trip to Oslo, Norway, for the 2010 Nordic Barista Cup!
The NBC was a time of incredibly rapid relational and professional growth for our young staff. We made SO much progress during our week away from the shop, and we came back VERY pumped about bringing specialty coffee to Poland -together- through the Sweet Surrender coffeehouses! In a series of lectures, seminars, cuppings, and tastings, we learned from the very best minds in the industry about every aspect of the specialty coffee production process, including planting, maintenance, harvesting, processing, storage, sale, transportation, roasting, re-sale, and brewing. For more info on the conference program (and all the amazing things we learned), check out the NBC website here.
We also sandwiched 1.5 whirlwind days of sightseeing around 3.5 days packed with specialty coffee education and inspiration...photographs of beautiful downtown Oslo, as well as the coffee conference and venue, are available here and here.
Thank you all SO for your continued prayers and support...we can really see -every day- how they are making a difference in our lives and those of our co-workers. God is at work in Poland!!!
Love, Aaron & Brit
The NBC was a time of incredibly rapid relational and professional growth for our young staff. We made SO much progress during our week away from the shop, and we came back VERY pumped about bringing specialty coffee to Poland -together- through the Sweet Surrender coffeehouses! In a series of lectures, seminars, cuppings, and tastings, we learned from the very best minds in the industry about every aspect of the specialty coffee production process, including planting, maintenance, harvesting, processing, storage, sale, transportation, roasting, re-sale, and brewing. For more info on the conference program (and all the amazing things we learned), check out the NBC website here.
We also sandwiched 1.5 whirlwind days of sightseeing around 3.5 days packed with specialty coffee education and inspiration...photographs of beautiful downtown Oslo, as well as the coffee conference and venue, are available here and here.
Thank you all SO for your continued prayers and support...we can really see -every day- how they are making a difference in our lives and those of our co-workers. God is at work in Poland!!!
Love, Aaron & Brit
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Jack of All Trades, Master of None...
One thing that constantly amazes and amuses me (Aaron) is the never-ending list of odd jobs that being a volunteer-missionary-in-a-coffeehouse-setting requires of me. That's not a bad thing, it just means that my work weeks are often a series of small crises to be resolved, many times in ways that exceed my previous experience (and certainly my expertise)! :)
By way of examples...consider that we've lived here a little more than two months. In that time I've either volunteered for -or- been asked to accomplish the following tasks: assess and document damage from flooding associated with unseasonably heavy rain; transport large furniture items between our apartment and the shop; design, paint, repair, weather-seal, and install outdoor signage; repair upholstery, tabletops, chair legs, and other furniture pieces; sort and install miscellaneous hardware; repair a broken bathroom fixture; re-caulk a tile backsplash in the dishroom, install towel bars and hooks; chisel wiring lines in brick and concrete (both by hand and with power tools); wire, mount, and install indoor spotlights; install and maintain planter boxes; cut/prune grass, trees, and hedges...the list goes on and on. Also, as our coffeehouse's designated "gopher," I make virtually all of the shop's buying runs to retail and wholesale food & beverage distributors, as well special trips to various hardware and grocery stores...we average at least one or two such extra errands per day.
In addition to my handyman responsibilities, I'm also the shop's de facto Business Manager, which means I'm also in charge of the following: design, create, and maintain all spreadsheets; track daily, weekly, and monthly sales trends; present sales data at monthly staff meetings; create shop letterhead; correspond with various bands/artists about using their music in our shops; create and maintain all front-counter and money-counting paperwork logs; create and maintain all retail and wholesale ordering checklists; okaying and conducting everyday shop transactions with outside vendors and staff members; purchasing and replenishing all office supplies...this list goes on and on, too! :)
I say none of this to complain -we absolutely LOVE Poland- but to help explain the myriad responsibilities and complexities that also accompany our "coffeehouse ministry" service here. There's SO much to do in terms of everyday operations alone...please continue to pray for our continued flexibility, vision, perseverance, and determination!
-Aaron
By way of examples...consider that we've lived here a little more than two months. In that time I've either volunteered for -or- been asked to accomplish the following tasks: assess and document damage from flooding associated with unseasonably heavy rain; transport large furniture items between our apartment and the shop; design, paint, repair, weather-seal, and install outdoor signage; repair upholstery, tabletops, chair legs, and other furniture pieces; sort and install miscellaneous hardware; repair a broken bathroom fixture; re-caulk a tile backsplash in the dishroom, install towel bars and hooks; chisel wiring lines in brick and concrete (both by hand and with power tools); wire, mount, and install indoor spotlights; install and maintain planter boxes; cut/prune grass, trees, and hedges...the list goes on and on. Also, as our coffeehouse's designated "gopher," I make virtually all of the shop's buying runs to retail and wholesale food & beverage distributors, as well special trips to various hardware and grocery stores...we average at least one or two such extra errands per day.
In addition to my handyman responsibilities, I'm also the shop's de facto Business Manager, which means I'm also in charge of the following: design, create, and maintain all spreadsheets; track daily, weekly, and monthly sales trends; present sales data at monthly staff meetings; create shop letterhead; correspond with various bands/artists about using their music in our shops; create and maintain all front-counter and money-counting paperwork logs; create and maintain all retail and wholesale ordering checklists; okaying and conducting everyday shop transactions with outside vendors and staff members; purchasing and replenishing all office supplies...this list goes on and on, too! :)
I say none of this to complain -we absolutely LOVE Poland- but to help explain the myriad responsibilities and complexities that also accompany our "coffeehouse ministry" service here. There's SO much to do in terms of everyday operations alone...please continue to pray for our continued flexibility, vision, perseverance, and determination!
-Aaron
Sunday, September 5, 2010
More Photos!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)