May Partners Update

May Happenings

Church Conference

Phil Beiler and his wife Linda returned for the second consecutive year to be our guest speaker. It was very nice because he is well received by the Polish people and it was also good because he built on some of the foundations he laid last year. His teaching was centered around “Knowing God” and he addressed how we need to know God personally, in our families, and in public and corporate ways. We had a few new families attending this year, but many have returned faithfully year after year. Gustaw and Maria Muszkiet served us well with lodging and amazing meals. Those who attended once again affirmed that they come for the fellowship with other conservative Christians and to hear some practical teaching on the Christian Life.

School Picnic

We had a great turnout at our annual end of school picnic. This year it was at Lavern and Lolita’s house. Many students came with their families and this year was special because it was also Mother’s Day in Poland. We had around 60 guests come and go throughout the evening. The boys loved helping Lavern make the ice cream with the White Mountain churn and the crowd burned through 3 batches in no time. We will be keeping some minimal private lessons going through the summer as we prepare for school next fall.

Church Campout

The men and boys from AGAPE organized their first campout at the cabin on Jan Apansewicz’s property. We have grown now to a size that allows us to do these kinds of things and we need more traditions and events like this because it really helps us build connections and shared experiences. Brother Jan A. shared some stories around the campfire from his days of working in the coal mines while we roasted all sorts of meat over the fire. Vegetables weren’t readily available at the campsite.

Visit from Amos and Shaunda

Amos and Shaunda Stoltfus and family visited for two weeks at the end of May. Amos is on the AIM board and his wife, Shaunda, is Shannon Lehman’s twin sister. Shannon and Shaunda were both on the original team of volunteers who came with Lavern Hershbergers and John Smuckers to establish this outreach in 2001. It was really neat to see one student show up at our end of year picnic and tell us that she used to have private lessons with Shaunda 16 years ago! We had no idea and it just shows again the power and blessing of those daily connections. Praise the Lord for all the willing staff who have served here in the past years. We still meet people whom you’ve impacted.

Announcements

• Please contact Shannon Lehman at sklmail124@gmail.com if you have any suggestions or would be willing to volunteer to help with church work and teaching at GTE next year. We are looking for someone to come in August or in December.
• Praise the Lord: The Lehman family gained their legal status as “Temporary Residents” of Poland. The whole team is now authorized to stay until 2019 before they need to go through the process of application and renewal again.
• We have enjoyed the summer visitors already and are going to have a busy month in June with more. Matt King and Wendy Yoder are both travelling home tomorrow for a short visit with family and home congregations.
• Lavern Hershberger’s family will be going to the States for a six-month home assignment, leaving Warsaw on June 13. They plan to spend the majority of the time in Montezuma, GA, with some shorter trips to Virginia Beach and Stuarts Draft, VA. Pray for them and for us in this time. Pray especially that the church family in Poland would be able to stay connected to Lavern and Lolita and yet be willing to step into areas of leadership that are unfamiliar to them.

Financial and Personnel Needs

• We are looking for a pastor to fill in at Agape Mennonite Fellowship for at least part of the time that the Lavern Hershberger family will be on home assignment in the United States. For details, contact Matthew Mast at homeoffice@aimpoland.org.
• We are looking for a field director to replace Shannon Lehman after his two-year term. For more information, contact Matthew Mast at homeoffice@aimpoland.org.
• The end of English lessons for the summer means that we depend entirely on donations for the months of June-September. We have some funds on hand in preparation for those “dry” months, but we will need nearly $10,000 per month in donations.

Give to AIM

Donors may indicate preferences for where their gifts are used (such as staff support, Gateway to English, or Seed of Truth) and AIM will honor preferences where possible. AIM reserves the right to assign all contributions where needed. If you would like additional information about how funds are used or if you wish to pledge ongoing support, please contact Matthew Mast at homeoffice@aimpoland.org or 814-789-4394.

To make a donation using credit or debit card, please visit our contact page.

Our prayer and praise requests are updated at www.aimpoland.org/pray/.