NateandOla.com

Well, I don’t know if I can be any more clear than that! We are pregnant. Ok…well, that was pretty clear! We are expecting another addition to our family in August, which currently makes Ola 7 weeks pregnant. We are all beginning to adjust to this news, Ola has found herself a little more tired and has the feelings of nausea which comes with the territory. I am learning how to use our washer so that I can help do our laundry, and Filip is trying to learn how to share. I think that will be a lifelong process.

Please be in prayer as we go through these next few weeks, obviously they are critical with the health of the baby. Having had Filip in Chicago, we are now preparing ourselves for a new adventure with giving birth in Poland. Please pray that things go smoothly as we find a doctor, begin our appointments, and all the other hoopla.

So, that is our good news that we are excited to share it with you. We will keep you posted as we know more, but thanks for your prayers and joining us in our blessing.

As you may be aware we had the opportunity to go back to the States for a three week visit in October. The above photo is the entire Berry clan. Dad and Mom and all of the brothers and sisters. It was the first time we have been together in quite a while and we have know idea when that will happen again. Obviously we are in Poland, my brother Weston and his wife Amber will be heading back to North Africa, Austin is with his wife Kayla and he is waiting to hear back regarding deployment with the AirForce. Heidi and Tyler are currently in South Carolina, and my youngest brother Cameron went into Navy bootcamp on October 31st.

So, that is the whole family. And know we are all over the world, loving the Lord and serving him in one way or another. It is incredible to see how God takes us all down different paths, and I can say that my parents have been successful parents. 6 kids…and all of them where God want them to be and sensitive to His will. That doesn’t happen often in the lives of families today…and probably even less in the lives of Pastor’s families.

And after this photo, having everyone together, Mom and Dad entered a new world of empty nesters. For the first time in 30 years, they get to do whatever they want, whenever they want. They get to choose their own movies, go to whatever restaurant they want to eat at, enjoy peace and quite, and live without daily hearing the words, “Mom, I was wondering if you could…”. And like any parent…they are hating every minute of it. So, please keep my folks in prayer as they adjust to this new season of their lives.

We had a family Christmas, met up with a few of our supporters, spoke at a couple of our close churches, and had some time to prepare for our next season here in Poland. It is good to be back home…and I will tell you all about that later.

We just finished our Life on Life Discipleship conference on Saturday. It was a week long clinic that focused on the basics and the tools necessary for Life on Life Discipleship. It was great to see nearly 50 church leaders from around Poland leave the conference with a fresh perspective and a new vision for taking a small group of men and women and pouring their lives into them, similarly to the way that Jesus did. Our partners from Atlanta, brought a group of 10 trainers, coaches and speakers to sharpen and encourage Polish leaders through their experiences and passion for discipleship. As you can see they were joined by our own keynote speaker, our son Filip.

While Ola and I had the opportunity to attend the discipleship training in Atlanta, it was a great chance to hear the heart of Polish church leaders, connect on a deeper level with our friends and ministry partners from Perimeter, and take on the challenge of making discipleship a part of the local churches throughout Poland. It is a big task in our ministry, but our hearts desire is to see a movement started with the Polish churches that will strengthen the congregations and deepen their commitments to God through developing disciples.

Though the weekend was filled with lectures, breakout sessions, and small group discussions, we also had time to relax and reflect. It was a much needed retreat as our summer winds down and a new season begins. Ola and I have been looking forward into this next year, and determining some of the next steps that we need to take for our ministry to continue to be effective and develop. We are excited for this next season, and to see many more disciples growing in Christ.

This past week has been “getting back to normal” after our Real Action events. I resumed my Polish classes, which is always a great way to feel overwhelmed as soon as the week starts. I sit there bombarded with new Polish endings and structures to things I thought I already understood. The hardest thing about this level is that the other student in the class is a little genius. The teacher says the word once and she remembers it for life. For my brain it is like trying to nail the proverbial jello to a wall. I will say that I am progressing and it is encouraging…but coming from my McAmerican culture, it is not nearly as fast as I want it to be…and like anything in Poland, it rarely comes with a smile.

Today I had the opportunity to once again preach at the Pulawska location. The text we looked at was Acts 17 when Paul was speaking on Mars Hill. Truthfully it is an incredible example of culturally sensitive evangelism. I will say, that wasn’t the focus of my message…but for evangelistic technique…it is worth a good study.

My message focused more on Paul’s description of God, and what it means to have movement living in Him. I believe that God desires for each of us to be moving and engaging our world, and Acts 17 gives brief, but clear principles on how that can be done. You can actually listen to the message online by clicking here —-> Momentum: I live. I MOVE. I am.

Also this week, we are privileged to have one of our ministry supporters and friends, Bob Koles here in Poland. His wife Magda is Polish and they had a chance to see our work in Pila and now he is in Warsaw for the week. It was great to sit down with him, talk and grill some delicious burgers. A great American way to spend a summer Sunday afternoon.

And that was a little bit of this week. This is me…trying to write one blog a week to keep you all in the loop as to what is going on here in our lives and in Poland.

This morning the major of the city of Pila gave a great welcome to our volunteers who traveled from around Poland and around the world to begin another week of Real Action. The conference room was filled with reporters, video camera’s, city officials, and nearly 100 volunteers all anxious to share Hope through their actions of love.

After the major finished his speech, he walked with our team to one of the apartments that is going to be renovated this week. The older man who greeted them at the door smiled politely as he showed us around his poor living conditions. The plaster on the walls and ceilings were falling apart, and covered with dirt from years of neglect. Water stains were destroying the walls in the kitchen, and above the sink the wall has all but completely fallen away. As we moved his furniture away from the walls, it revealed so many spider webs that, in compete embarrassment, he attempted to sweep them away as quickly as he could. The curtains, which once were white, had now turned to a yellow and even in some places a dark, dirty brown.

The reason for the neglect is simple. When he was 5 years old he developed a disease which ate away the bones in his hips. He spends most of the day in a wheel chair, and when he does stand he needs constant support from the crutches on his arms. He needs help with nearly everything, and yet there is nobody who cares enough to give him that help. He is so thankful to have us there, and has a strong desire to help in any way he can. He offers of drinks, gets us the cleanest towels he can find, and tells us his story as we work.

He is a man in need of Hope…and we are a team excited to give it to him.

Today we arrived in a city to the north western part of Poland. Pila (pronounced Pe-wa) is a city of approxomately 75,000 people and was started as a logging and forresting community. The name Pila is actually the Polish word for, “Saw”. This week’s event is unique in a variety of ways, first the Polish volunteers outnumber the foriegn volunteers immensly. We have the countries of Belgium, Germany, the United States, and England represented, but only by individuals and couples. Our past events held to a ration of about 50 precent foriegn, 50 percent Polish. This week, however, our foriegn volunteers have the opportunity to work alongside a large group of passionate, missional Polish volunteers.

Another area in which the Pila event is unique, is that for the first time the event is driven by a local church. Every time we do an event, the churches are always highly involved. But for the first time, the church in Pila are the forerunners of the project. They have driven the idea to their people, and are spearheading the week of Action in their city. Though many workers are here, we are all coming alongside of the church’s leadership and vision for their city.

The passion that the church has for this event is electrifying! They have pushed through many obstacles and set backs to finally get Real Action in their city, and tonight during the worship service, you could see the excitement in everything that was done. While many of the volunteers are from the church, many have come from all over Poland and surrounding countries. Those that have travelled to be here are exhausted and have been incredibly blessed to have the passion from the church here greet them with a contageous energy.

Keep us in prayer as we look forward to a new week of Real Action…sharing Real Hope in a new and fresh way to the city of Pila.

We are at a 3 day countdown to our first Real Action project this year. In three days the city of Ostóda will be descended upon by 150 Christians from all over the world, for one week of city love projects. Our events will include apartment renovations, children’s playground renovations, day camps for the kids, concerts, and sharing the message of Real Hope.

On Tuesday, I traveled to the city with my brother-in-law Luke, where we met with the Mayor and city officials. They are so thankful to have Real Hope come to their city, and they had a list of great projects that our teams can do. One of the great side benefits is that the Pastor with whom we are working, is now connected with many of the city officials. This helps pave the way for future connections and the possibility of other evangelistic efforts for the church to reach the city.

Click here to follow along on our Real Action blog as we fill it with lots of stories, testimonies, pictures and updates about our work each day. Check it regularly to find out what is going on in Ostróda and then in the city of Pi?a the next week.

Please be in prayer for our event, and specifically for the many travelers who will be joining us from all over Europe and America. Pray that they will have safety both as they travel, and a we put them to work. It is going to be an incredible week of work and we look forward to seeing what God will do in a city that desperately needs Real Hope.

A couple weeks ago, I posted a little bit of detail regarding the pastors conference. It was an incredible conference and a great opportunity to not only meet many of the national pastors around Poland, but to hear their hearts. That Sunday, June 26th, we held our 90th Anniversary of the Christian Churches here in Poland. It was perhaps one of the most incredible events I have been a part of in my life. Nearly 2,000 people made their way from around Poland and around the world, to be a part of this great celebration.

I sent out an update giving all the details of the weekend and the event, so I am not going to repeat myself again, but if you didn’t get it and are interested, just e-mail me and I will send our update over.

It has been raining for 9 days straight. I can’t remember the last time I have seen this much rain. I have always been one to enjoy a rainy day, because I love to read and rainy days are perfect for pulling out a good John Wayne movie. This evening, after the rain stopped for a little while, we took Filip out for a nice walk. It quickly went from a nice walk to a puddle run, and by the time we were heading back home we dumped about 3 gallons of water out of his rain boots.

There is nothing more thrilling though to see a boy just being a boy. To jump from puddle to puddle, or to find the biggest rock to throw into the creek, or grab a slimy slug, or eat a handful of mud. These are the things that make parenting a son so much fun. There is a pure excitement for life, a wild adventure in his eyes, and no inhibitions to keep him from enjoying the fullness of what life has to offer.

Recently I read a great quote by novelist Carlos Fuentes, he was writing about how some of the men who impacted him the most did their most incredible and creative works in their older age. He said: “I really believe that youth is something you win from age. Picasso, Arthur Rubinstien, Luis Banuel…these were men who earned their youth. It took them 80 years to become young.”

“It took them 80 years to become young.” For some reason I like that. I like watching my son who is creative, enjoys life, and jumps in mud puddles…and I hope that I don’t have to wait until I’m 80 to join him.

Today was day two of our pastors conference here in Warsaw. It has been an encouraging weekend as pastors and church leaders have come from all over Poland to be a part of this event. Today was especially challenging and an incredible opportunity to hear the hearts of pastors from around Poland. They talked about their challenges, their strengths, their weaknesses, and their dreams. I would like to share with you just a few of the things that seemed to be a reoccurring theme in the lives of these church leaders.

When talking about the strengths of their churches, the common denominators were things like: Variety of Education in the churches, Solid Biblical teaching, Good Organization, Spiritual Health, Unity in Leadership, Counseling and Coaching, Positive Atmosphere, Inspiring Services, The Potential of People…

Regarding some of the Weaknesses: not many generations represented, the overworked fast passed lifestyle of individuals, lack of buildings, lack of finances, lack of co-workers and team members, weak discipleship, young people leaving churches, no leaders, small size equals small impact.

Some of the opportunities that have been seen among the churches: New Technology, freedoms and cooperation with local governments, Missions, more programs and materials, More opportunities for family values, Opportunities for Pre-School ministries.

Some of the major threats to the growth of churches included things such as: Materialism, Individualism, Immorality, Speed of Cultural change, Role of pastors have become more demanding to keep up with culture, Little interest among people to get involved with ministry work, Influence of Europe, Less and Less reading of good books, Discouragement from the hard work and little results seen in cities.

There were more in each category, but it was interesting to hear the perspective of these seasoned pastors and leaders in some of Poland’s largest and smallest cities. Many of the things addressed were the same the things the churches in America are going through and probably churches throughout the history of Christianity.

Things that I noticed right away: Nobody said anything about the strong Catholic culture. It is interesting to me, because many times we can think that the biggest challenge is the Catholic church…and that didn’t even come up among these pastors. Especially when compared to things like “Consumerism”, “Materialism” and “Individualism”.

Perhaps there is a lesson in this for a missionary…and Christians throughout the world: “Know your enemy.” Could it be that over the years we have spent too much time fighting against the wrong things? I find it interesting that Christ looked at his followers and said, “You can not serve God and money.” It is interesting because many times we think that opposite of God is the Devil, or an opposing religion. Christ didn’t say that, it seems that the enemy to our faith and the battle that God has over your heart, is with our desire for materialism and our love for wealth.

I know it is true in the States…and apparently it is true in Poland as well.

So, I have been trying to learn a thing or two in Polish. Honestly, learning the Polish language is one of the most difficult things I have done in recent years. From my perspective it is actually harder to learn Polish that to have a two year old. And it is even harder to learn Polish when your two year old is already speaking Polish better than you. Insult to injury.

People have asked me at church, “So what are you learning?” It is one of those difficult questions because it puts me on the spot and nothing comes to my mind. Well…that is not entire true, but because my classes are pretty intensive I feel like my head is a giant word search game. I know I have the word I am looking for in there somewhere, but trying to find it so that it can be used in a sentence…well…if it is a word search game, I’m losing. But, I am working at it, and I decided to write a little story about my day to help some of you see what I have (and haven’t) learned. For the American’s that read my blog, “Be prepared to stand amazed and how fluent I am.” For the Polish people that read my blog, “Be prepared to laugh and make fun of me when you see me in church.”

Also, Polish friends: Unfortunately I just realized my blog doesn’t allow me to use some of the polish letters. So, you will notice that all my verbs with the “L” with the slash through it are missing. I’m going to blame that on the computer, that is one spelling error that isn’t my fault. So, just read it like your special letters are there.

My Story:

Wyczoriej, chcialem wystaem o szóstiej ale mój budzik byl zepsuty. Wrescia wystalem o sióstiej, i poszedlem na du zrobilem kawe i ugotowalem sniadania z moja rodzina. Jedlismy ciasto z truskowky i rozmowialem z moja zona. Ona zapytala “Czy wiesz pogoda jest ladny dziesiej albo brzydka?” Ja powiedzilem, ze “Czytalem z gazetcze ze ma padac deszcz i choldno.”

Potem, poszedlem na góry i kapalem sie i mylem mója zeby. O ósmiej trzydziesci, pojechalem na mój lekcja polskiego, Chcialem pojechac w taksówka ale nie moglem bo nie mialem pieniadze, wiec pojechalem w autobusem. Uczelem sie polskiego przez 4 godzienne, i potem zaprosilem do restauracja “Blue Cactus” z moja kolegami. Chcialem pójsc, ale nie moglem bo mialem spotkac si? z szefem w pracy. Kupilem kanapka i woda ale jedlem tylko pol kanapka bo mnie smakowala.

Potem, pojechalem do pracy na spotkanie z móim szefem i klientem, ale spotkanie byl bardzo dlugiej i nudni. Myslylem o móim urlopiej do greci, surfowalem w interneciej na mója komorka, i ze mój klientem ma bardzo duzy uszy i on nie jest przystojny. Od czasu do czasu zapytalem intelegentnia pytania, i piszalem notatki. O pietiej, wroczylem do domu i moja zona gotowala bardzo pycha kolacje. Potem, odpoczywalem i bawilem sie z moim synem Filipem. Ogladalem televisia, i bylem bardzo zmeczony. Poszedlem spac o jedenastiej ,ale zapemnialem zreperowac mój budzik.

So, there you have it. Whatever it was I said, I hope it passes the scrutiny of my Polish friends. I’ll be honest guys, knowing where to put all the “z’s” and “do’s” and “w’s” and “na’s”…will be a lifelong process in itself! Not to mention all the endings you have for the same word. So, when you see me in church, be nice and remember that I am an American with an American ego that thrives on positive words of encouragement! We are required to give two compliments for every critique.