scottandjackie's Xanga

NEW BLOG ADDRESS!

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 14:22:13 GMT

This blog is no longer being updated....OUR NEW BLOG IS AT:

http://scottandjackienewman.blogspot.com

Check it out!! We look forward to using this new blogsite and we hope you like it as well.

From now on, please see posts at this address. :) Thanks!

Saying Goodbye to XANGA

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 20:56:14 GMT

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to let you know that I have a new blogsite now. As of right now, there are 3 new blog posts on there. Nothing against Xanga...just felt like 'Blogger' was the place for me! :) We'll see how it goes!

Please go HERE: http://scottandjackienewman.blogspot.com/ for updates from now on! :)

Go ahead!! Go read 'em! :) Tell me what you think of the new site!

Halloween

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 07:13:11 GMT

Happy Halloween! (A little late) So, our party went SO well! As you can see we had 14 students at our place. :) We had such a great time with them. We had 3 new students from the 2nd year so we were very excited about that. One even came to my "Ladies' Night" the next Monday. It was a pretty simple party. We talked about traditions in the US and carved Jack-O-Lanterns....which they got very creative with! It was a great way to connect with our three new girls. :) They had a great time and promised they'd be back for other meetings!

The "Ladies' Night" went really well! I had three girls come. We talked about what we wanted out of the meetings, I prepared a devotional and introduced them to "Shane & Shane" (of course), and we answered some silly questions that I had made up. I also had them write down their prayer requests and have been dedicated to praying for them each morning. :) I'm really hoping that this will turn into more of a discipleship group. Please be in prayer for that. :) Oh....I also learned a little Kung Fu....AWESOME!

Photos & Update Coming Soon!!!!

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 08:43:53 GMT

Hey all!! Things have been very busy, but I will have an update & pictures from our student Halloween Party coming soon! :) We had a GREAT time with our students last night and I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Jackie

Jambalaya & An Update!

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:01:27 GMT

Nothin' better to warm you up like a hot pot o' jambalaya on a cold day! They did, however, turn our heat on today! Praise the Lord!!!!! I liked to have froze my toes off last night! It's been in the low 30s here...gonna be a cold winter I think. Hopin' not so much as Jeremy & Laura had though...they were troopers. I guess it's about time you folks...our loyal readers...got an update! And I probably don't say it near enough...but to those of you who really do keep up with this blog...thank you. It really does mean a lot to look and see some continual "footprints" on our guestbook. You're a blessing!

We arrived back in Poland on July 23rd with my parents. What a blessing! They had the opportunity to stay here with us for 4 weeks. Right in the middle of those 4 weeks, Scott and I took them on quite a vacation (or rather, they took us...quite a nice Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary present from them!). They saw several different countries, walked a TON (probably an average of 3 miles a day), ate some wonderful food, saw many beautiful cities, and experienced many different cultures! I wish I could describe how great it was for all of us! Anyway, we returned back in Poland from our trip and they spent another 2 weeks in Wroclaw with us. They had the chance to attend church with us at 2nd Baptist 3 times. They made many friends there; one family even invited them over for an authentic Polish dinner and they had a wonderful time! They also got to meet our professors, Elaine & Jason, from the University and spent some time with them. We even had a small get together at our flat where we invited our college students over to meet Mom & Dad. They just fell in love with one another! It was such a blessing for us, to introduce my parents to people here who mean so much to us. Now, I believe my parents truly understand why we love it here so much...I think they came to love it as well. :) Well, we sent them home on Oct. 11th (they made it safely back...only after a few airline issues, but nothing they couldn't handle...being experienced travellers now). I will never forget the precious time and all the adventures we got to experience together!

So, Scott and I also started University classes while my parents were still here. We are in our third week now and have had 2 meetings already. As of now, we're still trying to get a "feel" for good times for these meetings...working around students' schedules at the beginning of a semester is always a challenge...but we're getting there! We are in classes with about 70 new students (2nd Year) on Mondays & Tuesdays and seeing about 1/2 of our students from last year. So we're excited about making new relationships with our new students and continuing relationships with our students from last year. There is a new British Conversation teacher at IFA (the University) this year. We're not quite sure if we'll be attending his classes or not.

Youth group will continue each week as always. It was so great to get back to this group! We also have one of the church Elders, Pete, helping out this year! It's great for another Pole to be involved with this ministry!

As far as new ministries...well, we've got some ideas and are about to get them underway!

"Monday Night Ladies' Discipleship Group" - This is a group that (obviously) I will be leading. Scott will play basketball on Monday nights with some guys from the church and I will have several young women (students from the University) over for an hour or so. These meetings will be based on discipling these young women and giving them a chance to get away from classes, vent their frustrations, ask advice, and just hang out with other girlfriends for a little while each week! Please pray for this ministry! I hand selected about 9-10 students who I knew were believers. I just sent out the initial invitation to it and I'm hoping for a good response.

Conversation Classes at Tęczowa High School - This is a very new opportunity which we are very excited about! The English professors (along with the Religion professor) at this public high school have asked us to lead informal Conversation "classes" for students after school. Scott and myself, along with Jennifer (another missionary of the church) will be leading these every other week. This will give us chances to make connections with many high schoolers (many of whom will already recognize Scott and myself from our few visits & concerts there the past year) and will hopefully give us chances to meet with them outside of school.

H20 Meetings - During our stay in the States this summer, good friends of ours lent us a DVD set called "H20." This is a series geared towards non-believers. We are hoping to offer "Faith & Religion Discussions" to all University Students using these DVDs. We have been looking through them and believe they will be perfect in assisting us with this new ministry! Please pray students will be open to these meetings!

Coffeehouses/Concerts - Once a month or so we are hoping to host a "Coffeehouse" of sorts...much like we did in March when the KWC Spring Break team came over. The "Scott Newman Band" (haha) is really wanting to work on some new songs for this year.

Student Prayer Ministry - This is a project for YOU! We would LOVE to give you a specific student to pray for during this year! For those who are interested, you can email us at scottandjackienewman@gmail.com with the subject title "Student Prayer." I will reply to you with the name and (hopefully) photo of a current student of ours. I will send you as much info on that student as possible...prayer needs, personality traits, etc and it will be your responsibility to pray for that student during the year. I'll also update you on test schedules or any other news from that student. We are very excited about this ministry and connecting our supporters with students whom we come in contact with each week! :)

We're not sure what else might be in store. Right now, this is our general idea. We may tweak the schedule and the plans later...it just depends on how we feel the Lord is leading us! We are so excited about another year here in Wroclaw! We look forward to updating you about the month of October and what the Lord has done this month! Have a wonderful week and thank you so much for all of your prayers & support!

Blessings!!

Jackie & Scott

Heading home...

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:55:26 GMT

Hey all!

I know...I've just been HORRIBLE about keeping you all updated on the past month. It's been CRAZY. However, this weekend I will have time and internet access so I do promise that you WILL get your update! It'll be a good one too! ;)

Mom & Dad are headed home on Thursday. I'm very very sad to see them leave. :( I am very excited though about them having the chance to be here and about them getting to tell everyone at home about their trip! :) All of you who see them on a regular basis....MAKE SURE THEY KEEP EXERCISING! We know for a fact that they can walk up to 5 miles in a day now!! Don't let them fool you! :)

Praise the Lord, it's been a great month. Once Thursday gets here though it's time to seriously get the ball rollin'. We have a concert lined up for Friday, Nooma meetings starting this week, English Club next week, and we will be singing at a big youth conference at the end of the month! Sheeeesh!

I know I keep promising...but you WILL get a newsletter! An October one is a definate...but I would REALLY REALLY love to get out an initial beginning of the year newsletter. Sorry for the delay!

Please pray for Mom & Dad's flights! Here is their schedule! Please pray for safe travels and their nerves! They're a bit nervous about missing flights, getting to the right places, getting on & off the planes, and of course...the Germans.

1st Flight: Wroclaw to Munich ~ Lot/Lufthansa flight 2277 ~ Leaving at 12:15am / Arriving in Munich at 1:50am

2nd Flight: Munich to Charlotte ~ Lufthansa flight 428 ~ Leaving at 4:30am / Arriving in Charlotte at 3:15pm

3rd Flight: Charlotte to Louisville ~ US Airways flight 2227 - Leaving at 5:50pm / Arriving in Louisville at 7:17pm (Louisville time)

A quick "Hello!"

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 21:24:52 GMT

Hi everyone! Just a quick "hello" to say that an update IS on the way, I promise! We just returned back to Wroclaw from our trip and our university classes start tomorrow!

The trip was GREAT, we're all exhausted, Mom & Dad are doing well - walking a ton and losing weight. :)

I plan on getting out a newsletter within the week. Scott and I are VERY excited about ministry plans for this year and we can't wait to update you!

I'd do it now...but it's 12:30 at night and I've gotta get up way too soon! :)

WE MADE IT!!!!!

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 08:07:47 GMT

Hey everyone!! :) We're here, back in Wroclaw safe & sound. All four of us :) Mom & Dad are doing so so well. They were a little tired on Saturday when we got here, but we had three great flights (imagine...ME...saying "Great flights"...not that I would jump at the chance to do them again soon...but, the Lord was VERY merciful on our travels). Dad almost had a little spill off the last airplane...he'd been sitting a LONG time and his legs just weren't ready for a big step off the plane. BUT, we were there, caught him, and everything was okay. They are getting on and off the trams okay (that was a concern of ours). They've been walking a lot...around town and up and down stairs. I'm so proud! :) They had the chance to go to church with us yesterday and meet our church family at Second Baptist and LOVED it! :) Everyone there gave them a big welcome of applause and they've already made lots of friends. We are SUPER excited about our big trip which starts tomorrow! Please pray for their safety during the many train & metro rides...that's the only thing that really worries us. BUT, we're going to take everything very slowly so they don't feel rushed at all. :)

Yesterday we had the chance to spend the afternoon with our best friends here, Wojtek & Aga and we got to see our BEAUTIFUL little "nephew," David. He is PRECIOUS! It was great for Mom & Dad to get to spend time with them too. :)

Today, Mom & Dad get to meet our professors, Elaine & Jason. We are SO excited! These are two of our favorite people. :)

Okay, well...just found out that Elaine's coming over a little earlier...gotta go get some lunch meat & clean...our flat is still a WRECK where we've yet to unpack! :)

PRAISE THE LORD!! I JUST RECEIVED OUR LAST TRAIN RESERVATIONS FROM THE FED-EX MAN! What a relief! Good job Fed-ex! They were shipped out on Thursday and here they are today!

Here we go again!

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 07:10:51 GMT

I can't believe it's here already. We go back FRIDAY...as in, tomorrow seeing as though it's 2:36 in the morning. There are just no words to describe all of the feelings that are in my head right now. I'm tired, I'm excited, anxious, nervous, eager to get back, sad to leave, faithful, doubtful...scared & sure. If that makes sense. I have the...well, I say (and I hope) I have the faith and the trust in the Lord that I know I'm called to have and that I want to have. Unfortunately, my mind is human and the devil knows where he can get me the easiest - flying time. I'm a sucker for scaring myself to death...over everything. The most recent target...riding in cars. I'm sure I offend everyone I've ridden in a car with the past few weeks...I'm jumpy, I freak out...to the point of tears because I just can't understand why I can't get rid of it. So, sorry to those of you who I may have offended...you're great drivers. :) I'm working on it...but obviously I'm not the one who can take care of it and I know this. :) Anyway, some late-night ramblinig about my current problems for you - free of charge.

So, when I get past the "flying tomorrow thing"...I am SUPER excited to get there and show my parents around. I can't wait for them to meet all of our friends, go to our church, see such amazing and beautiful cities. What fun it will be for them! Oh Saturday, get here soon. (Not that I'm ready to leave...I already miss my family here.)

Well, I cannot believe what time it is. It's 3:00am, we leave on Friday and we're still not packed. Oh my.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE...please, pray for my parents as they go with us. Please pray the flights go okay, we have safe travel, they have no *more* health problems, and maybe even that the Lord would take their current ones. AND...that they have a great and memorable experience. We can't wait to update you all with everything they're doing! :)

Here we go!

Welcome Home/Goodbye Again - Luau!

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 02:48:17 GMT

It has been SO great to be at home and enjoy time with family and friends! As you can see, we Newmans & Stanleys know how to have a good time (and definitely keep ourselves entertained)! Things have been very busy here as we've been trying to get around to see everyone, speak at churches to try to raise support for the next year and give them updates on the previous, AND plan our trip back! It has been one wild ride since we've been home...but the Lord has been gracious and merciful as always! He has definitely been protecting our family...especially after all the "hoopla" we've been through recently! :) Praise the Lord!

My Mom & Dad are SUPER excited about coming back to Poland with us. We can't wait for them to meet all of our friends and "adopted family" over there. You all please pray for strength and energy for them. Please pray for my Dad's back, that the Lord will continue to protect him from any more damage and safe traveling (no turbulance on the planes!). Please pray that my Mom gets her energy up. She was recently diagnosed with Anemia and it's taken its toll on her as well. Despite it all...we're continuing to trust in the Lord and His protection over us. I think it'll be a great trip for them! (Not to mention a MUCH NEEDED VACATION!)

It's a little surreal having to go back already. I don't feel like we've been here that long. So, I'm a little sad...not feeling like I got to spend enough time with my sibs and not really being able to appreciate the time. We've kinda felt like chickens with our heads cut off for the past month. Thus the lack of blogging...our lives have been...well...just busy.

We've had the opportunity to speak at several churches now! To all of you who we've recently met and have joined our email list and list of blog readers...WELCOME and THANK YOU SO MUCH! Once we get back to Poland, I'll blog on at least a weekly basis. We also send out an e-newsletter each month...so if you're interested and would like to be on the list to receive that shoot us an email!

Well, time to get back to work! Lots of love and blessings! GOD IS SO...SO GOOD.

Jackie