Bonnette Acres

The longer I am here, the more I am introduced to different topics I had never thought about before. One of those is a different look at Ministries that have a Business connected to them. As I was preparing to come to Poland, the thought really didn't cross my mind that Sweet Surrender was not only a ministry but also a business. In my head it was just a Ministry that sold stuff, if that makes since. But after being here, seeing the behind scenes of what it takes to actually run this Ministry/Business I have realized there is a whole lot more to it. Some coffee ministries have really awesome ministries, but not very good coffee. Then some have really REALLY awesome coffee, but barely keep it together on the ministry side. So as we look and see these facts, of coarse our goal is to be the best of both worlds (not only Hannah Montana has that problem) but from what I have seen it is a whole lot harder then it looks. Just like most things in life. Here at Sweet Surrender w...

The month of March has gone by so quickly, I am still unsure how to word all that has happened. The weeks leading up to this past weekend, was anything but relaxing. The days were filled with cleaning, many tram stops, grocery shopping in bulk, immigration papers, cleaning, being approved health wise to work in the shop, and of coarse more cleaning. Though the days were long and half of the time I was unsure what was happening, we still found time to have fun and soak up the comforting friends beside us. Friday morning started with a team meeting, that was such a sweet meaningful time and for me that really strengthened me for the weekend. I am SO thankful to have a strong team here in Krakow. We are all different in ages and in personality, but we all have the common call to serve in Krakow. As we sat around the bright comfy couches in the shop and prayed for each other and the crazy weekend ahead, I could not have been more thankful for the people God has placed in my life here. ...

This past Sunday was a huge day at Krakow Church of the Nazarene. We took in 13 members! It was so exciting to be apart of. These 3 families are so on fire and ready to see what God will do. To me though the best part of the day was after the membership time. Me & another one of the moms took the kids out to the room next door and had Kid's worship. This was the first Sunday that I lead. So I was a little nervous of how the kids would respond. The lesson was "How God is the ultimate Superhero". I asked them to think about there favorite superhero's and what there superpowers were. Then I taught them the always fun Hillsong Kid's song "Jesus is my Superhero." I went on Google translate (Love that site!) and translated the lyrics to polish, and the lady who was translating for me read each sentence after I read the same in English. This way they could understand what the song was about. They LOVED it! They thought the video was hilarious, and really ...

This coming sunday will be a month since I have been in Krakow. I love how at the end of my last post I wrote how updates would come soon. I guess in my time, that means a month. Ha, sorry for waiting so long on telling you what has been happening here. I guess I tend to get so wrapped up in things, I forgot theres another world out there (outside of Yonkers...) Anyways, me and my roommate Katie (who is pretty much amazin' by the way) have gotten our apartment all set up, learned exactly how to get to ikea by tram and a couple buses, and we have learned where to find really really good cupcakes. But on the serious side of things the coffee shop is coming along, and everyday something is happening. Almost all of the plumbing & construction is done, there is just still lots of small things that tend to add up. Today we FINALLY got our really nice espresso machine all hooked up so now we can make the world's best cup of coffee. At least we shall try. Through connections fr...

Last night I left poznan (where I have been staying for the last week and a half) and got on a night train to my new home in Krakow. Me and my new roommate Katie arrived here in Krakow about and hour before church started. Everyone was super kind, and very excited of me being here. After church me & Katie headed out in the very cold snow to a mall close by. Where we ate some very tasty pizza hut, and stocked up on groceries for our lovely apartment. I really love the look of everything here. It has a very modern/ sophisticated feel. Though I was not able to get a good look at the city today, because of the blanket of snow. But I guess that was nice too :) Me & katie will spend the next few days, getting things set up here. Doing some different touch ups on the shop. We are hoping the shop will be opening sometime in February. That is if we get the needed funds in by time.  Please be praying for the funds to come in quickly and that we are able to open this ministry to t...

Here in Texas, the 4 seasons are pretty unpredictable. It has been pretty nice to see my favorite season before I head to the frozen tundra! Ok, maybe it's not that cold. But from what I hear Poland has had a constant covering of snow since Thanksgiving. That kind of weather is pretty beyond me, and it will be interesting to go from 70's to the 20's. So I am soaking up all the warmth I can. Tonight as I washed dishes with my mom and we listened to our favorite classic christmas songs, I was thankful to have another christmas with them. It made me think of the missionaries in Poland and around the world that are not able to come home during this time. I know when I was in Albania, it was so so hard to be away from my family during the Holidays. But like God always does, he provided family & friends for me while I was there. When I was down, and alone he always reminded my why I was there. So if you think about it pray for these missionaries all over, they need a little...

Well as quickly as September has left us, October is of coarse flying by. This month has already been jam packed, and I know things are only going to increase as we get closer to December. Thanks to the church I have been getting my weeks filled up with offers to work. Lots of scrubbing showers, changing diapers, and answering phones. Thankfully because of my odd job history I am not put off by handeling any of those random situations. But I am so thankful for the work, and especially for the compensation :)  There is a couple from my parents church who are in Poland now working with Sweet Surrender for a month while the main missionaries Ev & Rhonda Tustin are on leave. It has been so great hearing about Bob & Barbera's adventures so far. They have been keeping me updated, and giving me very specific descriptions on everything. They said they are scoping the place out for me. Ha. Fom there e-mails it is a lot like I had imagined it myself. They did sa...