The Heskews: Cultivating Calling Across Decades Pt. 2

When Albert and Kirsten arrived in Krakow, Poland with nothing but faith and a calling, they began a 15-year journey that would transform lives—including their own. In a culture suspicious of grace and unfamiliar with a personal relationship with Jesus, they discovered creative ways to connect through sports, therapy, and teaching English. From church planting to refugee ministry, their story reveals how cultural understanding and persistent faith can break through even the toughest barriers to the gospel.

Want to hear more stories of missionaries taking the gospel to difficult places? Subscribe to From Every Nation, the official podcast of the Tom Elliff Center for Missions at Oklahoma Baptist University.

Transcript

Welcome to From Every Nation Podcast

Kyle 0:05

Welcome and thanks for listening to the From Every Nation podcast, the official podcast of the Tom Eliff Center for Missions at Oklahoma Baptist University. I'm Kyle and I'll be your host as we learn to live as those sent out to spread the gospel. Thanks for tuning in. Today, everybody, we're going to finish up our episode where we're interviewing Albert and Kirsten. We're really excited to jump in and talk about their time specifically in Krakow, poland, and transitioning their family overseas, what ministries looked like for them, things the Lord has taught them. I think it's going to be a really good episode for you all today. So, as we dive in and begin to start talking about Poland, tell us a little bit about the demographics of Poland and how you all ended up saying okay, lord, you want us to go here okay, lord, you want us to go here.

Albert 1:22

Well, demographically, poland is roughly about the size of New Mexico, 96% Catholic, and so it's a country that knows about God and knows about religion, but unfortunately, their knowledge in their religion doesn't always translate into their relationship with Jesus Christ, and so for us, it was an opportunity and I work with athletes, I do sports ministry, and it's an opportunity to get into their lives, because there's an immediate sense of trust working with the athletes, and many of them know the stories because they've learned it from first grade to about eighth grade. They have religion classes in school. There is no separation of church and state, and so they know who God is and they understand that for them, they have to do certain things. But when we start talking about a relationship, they don't always have that clear aspect of it. What does that mean? On, I was told by our team leader, one to make sure that people, no matter who you're talking with, understand that you're a spiritual person. You are not there to tell them about one thing and then come around and switch it to something else, but they know right off the bat.

Albert 3:27

Okay, I'm here to help start churches and I'm here to tell people about Jesus Christ, and so that was extremely important advice for me, I think, for both of us to be able to share, and sharing with the athletes, to let them know I'm not looking to change your religion. That's not why I'm here. I'm here to have you know what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ Because, first and foremost, because, first and foremost, if we don't have that relationship, we don't have that gift of salvation. I don't know how else to put that. Jesus calls us to be in a relationship with him and when, after our time is done and we're face to face with him, he's not going to ask us what church we went to, he's not going to ask us what religion we were a part of.

Albert 4:32

He's going to ask us did you know me? Did I know you? Did we have a relationship, and that's the bottom line. And that's the bottom line and so being able to work with the athletes and to share with them not only the stories about Jesus, but the relationship that he had with those, with him at that time, but also his word, is living, and it's that same relationship we can have with Him now, and so that's always been a thing for me is. I just want to tell you about who Jesus is in a relational way, and I want you to know Him in a relational way, and I want you to know him in a relational way. Yeah, that's good.

Kyle 5:29

So how, through the imb process, did you all land on poland? Well, when we went, to that conference.

Kirsten 5:36

We, the whole need of the world was laid before us and it was almost overwhelming. And so we you know different people that were at the conference they felt called to a specific people group or a specific religion, maybe people group that were part of a specific religion we came very open-handed. Like I said, we came to that conference not even knowing if we were getting on the plane. We were still having to secure that calling for our family at the right time. But once we felt called, we actually felt like the easiest way to direct that calling was based on Albert's giftings, which was doing sports ministry. We felt really strongly about the fact that him leading our family in that was a gifting that God had given him and a passion. And so we looked across the books of IMB jobs and at the time there were nine different countries that we could have gone to and so we had to begin, you know, sifting through those and by God's divine we had designed we had a chance to be in contact with a guy that was serving in Poland at the time and had actually written the job description that was on the books and that was to do sports ministry, specifically doing American baseball and American football and, as we heard his passion and his leadership style he was the team leader at the time All of those things really resonated with us.

Kirsten 7:08

And there were some other sports ministry jobs that also. It was kind of like a dual job that was connected also with teaching English and Albert was like I can teach English but that's not a passion or desire for me, and the job that was on the books in Krakow, poland, had Albert's name written all over it. I mean it was. It fit him like a glove, and we saw that even more after getting the chance to talk to this fellow worker that was actually on the field and had begun was at the beginning stages of this sports ministry that was in Krakow.

Kirsten 7:42

So even though when we signed on the dotted line they asked us to put choice one, two and three, and I think our choices were Poland was our first choice, serbia was another opportunity where we could go into sports ministry, and then Indonesia. So very different cultures and very different layouts, but those were the ones that drew us. And when we found out that we had gotten matched with our first choice, which was this job in Krakow, poland, the Lord confirmed that Poland came out of the woodworks. We came back to Oklahoma and we would meet Polish people. Or there would be a Polish story on the news, or we'd hear a Polish joke, or there'd be a Polish restaurant that started.

Kirsten 8:26

It was really really seemingly random but, the Lord was placing those divine appointments across our path to confirm that that's where we had been called. But we had never stepped foot on Polish soil before April of 2009, when we moved there.

Kyle 8:45

Wow, I feel like you don't hear that too often anymore. Maybe I just haven't talked to enough people, but you heard it all the time. In the 1800s, early 1900s, people just read a book and it's like all right, I'm called the Burma. They pack up everything they have. First time they get to Burma is when they I'm called to Burma and you know they pack up everything they have. First time they get to Burma is when they hit the shores of Burma. You know, it's not like our students. We were just talking to one of our students and he was. He's been to where he feels like the Lord has called him and just you know this vision trip. So it's kind of cool. First time you landed there.

Kirsten 9:24

It was kind of a crazy step of faith. You had a one-way ticket.

Kirsten 9:27

And we had a lot of people that were questioning that. But, like I said, the Lord, just individually and together as a couple, he just kept confirming that and so, even with all the doubts that I had had those two years before, I didn't question it. It made perfect sense to me. Albert definitely was on board but, like I said, he has a really unique gift of faith, I think. But it was easy to follow him in that and take that step of faith and it made for some great open doors for sharing our testimony when we arrived in Poland because everyone was questioning why Poland? Do you have Polish roots? Do you know someone? Have you been to Poland? And we're like no, but we know without a shadow of a doubt that God has opened the door for us to be here for this season.

Understanding Polish Culture

Kyle 10:19

That's cool. So talk to us about Polish culture a little more broadly than religiously. And so I had the privilege of meeting you all in Poland this time last year and I learned a lot about Polish culture and, honestly, the history of Poland and how two world wars and being post-communism and all these different things just play into who a Polish person is. So can you talk to us about that a little bit Sure. So can you talk to us?

Albert 11:02

about that a little bit. Sure, they're a very loyal people, they're very proud, they're very loving. Once you get to know them. But that's kind of the difficulty once you get to know them, but that's kind of the difficulty. Here in America, especially in the South, we have a very low initial. First of all, we can tell anybody hello, smile, make eye contact, maybe wave, and all of that is very normal, it's very acceptable. And all of that is very normal, it's very acceptable.

Albert 11:50

Uh, there, the, the population that is late 50s and older, they know and experience communism, and so they keep to themselves. They don't do eye contact, they don't do small talk, they keep to themselves and if, if somebody is trying to speak to them, they don't know. That's, that's very uncomfortable for them, and so it's. It's initially hard because their first wall is very high, but once you get past that first wall, there basically is not a second wall and so you can go deep in that relationship. There's transparency, there is vulnerability and and that's that's the beauty of their culture, that's the beauty of their culture, that's the beauty of their people that once you get to know them, they are friends and they are deep, connected friends. And so it's for us, it's having to get past that first wall, and so the people as a whole, they're going to keep to themselves, they're going to not necessarily make eye contact, they're not going to give small talk at all, and so you have to be willing to put yourself out.

Albert 13:16

There. One of the apartment complexes that we lived, we had a gate with a guard that was at the entrance to the apartment complex, and it was my goal to get those guards to smile at me, and so every time I went in or went out, I would tell them hello and smile, and it took quite a long time, and they would look at me like this crazy American. All he does is smile and say hello to us, and we would take them cookies and cakes at different holidays, and then, right before we left it was something as we'd be coming in or going out they would wave and say hello, and so that barrier was broken. But again, it's just trying to get them to understand not only we want to say hello, we want to be hospitable, but that God does as well, and so it's just a different mindset in how they view openness.

Kirsten 14:39

That was a hard transition for us to move, coming from the South United States where it's a very warm culture and you can have a nice conversation about the weather with strangers, to not being able to do that in Poland, and it was a hard adjustment for us. But one thing that really is transformative, I think, for us is to get to know the history and be a student of the culture. And when you hear and you get to know about the Polish people and their history I mean when we arrived there they'd only been 15, 18 years removed from communism and when you know that it was an issue of survival for them to keep to themselves. If you had strangers inquiring about you or talking about you in those communistic days, that meant trouble for you and so that has still permeated the culture.

Kirsten 15:32

Poland also has had a very tumultuous past and they have been taken over by everybody and their dog. There was a period of 123 years where the country of Poland did not even exist on the European map because other countries had come in and invaded and taken over that land. But the Polish culture and the Polish language, the Polish tradition, somehow survived that 123 years. I don't know how, because that's more than a lifetime of a person, which means they had to dig deep to maintain their traditions and their language and their culture. And they did that. And I think that you know, throughout the year we celebrate a few independence days because Poland has had to regain its independence and its existence in the world, but that has created them to be a very but that has created them to be a very, almost an insecure nation as a sense of seeking for their own identity.

Kirsten 16:31

When we moved there, I remember them asking us all the time you know, what do Americans think about Poland? What do they think about Polish people? And you know, we never really wanted to disclose to them. Most Americans probably don't even know where you live.

Kirsten 16:42

They don't know where you are on the map, but they're always questioning, seeking. They're seeking for that identity and that sense of purpose and value and ultimately, when you get to know their history and you know that about them, it changes your ability to minister to them and to love them. So just by Americans coming in and wanting to learn their culture, wanting to learn their language, wanting to know about their traditions and learn their history speaks volumes as far as valuing them. But to tie that to the fact that we love you, because there's a creator, a heavenly father, that loves you and our prayer for them is that they would find their ultimate identity in Jesus Christ. But you can really minister to them in a very simple ways that leads to gospel conversations when you know about their history and you know where they're coming from.

Kyle 17:37

One of the things we talk about a lot is how do you contextualize the gospel and reach people where they're at, and that even in the States that's changing. We used to be a very guilt and innocence culture and in a lot of ways we're not anymore, and so that changes how we present the gospel.

Kyle 18:05

You've been in Poland for 15 years. How have you seen shifts in ways that people are willing to hear, or maybe ways that you all have changed how you present the gospel that have worked well or not worked well, just in terms of contextualizing the gospel?

Grace in a Works-Based Society

Kirsten 18:29

I think one of the biggest barriers that we have found in the gospel among the Polish people is the concept of grace. There are very religious people and, like Albert said, they consider themselves a Christian country. We have a different definition of what that means, but they're very religious people. But what they know of their religion is that God is a very distant God and he's not a personal God. And the concept of grace is really hard because in their religion they are taught that you've got to earn anything that you get from God, that he is almost sitting up there pointing his finger waiting for you to mess up, and this is how they approach their religion. And so I've often said I think the enemy has a really crafty scheme among Poles because he's got them very religious. So they think they're good, they think they're safe and as long as they do more good than bad, then they're okay, but they're still an eternity away from him. They could be super religious, but until you have that heart, knowledge of a saving relationship in the Son of Jesus Christ, you're so far, you're an eternity away, and so that living out and teaching and talking about this concept of grace is one of our main ways that we want to try to contextualize the gospel, not change the gospel. We want to preach the full gospel, but it's important to know where your people are coming from and knowing their history and recognizing where they're coming from.

Kirsten 20:11

And for Poles, a lot of that sticking point is this concept of grace. They don't understand that you can get something for free. Even though our salvation costs Jesus everything, it is a free gift to us and that is a hard concept for them. Even when we would move into new apartment buildings, the kids and I would make cookies and we just use that as an American way to go and meet your neighbors. It doesn't work in Poland because they don't know what to do.

Kirsten 20:40

They cannot receive a basket, a bag of cookies without feeling like they've got to reciprocate. They are super uncomfortable until they have a chance to reciprocate and give you something back, sometimes at that moment, like they'll go searching for something that they can give you. They're very hard people to give to because they don't have that. And if we have an event, we have to charge money because if it's free they don't, there's no value in it for them, they won't come. So even if we, you know, charge something that an entry fee of tens will do, which is like three dollars, two dollars. We have to charge something because in the culture, in that culture, if it's free it must not be worth anything, and so contextualizing the gospel into that kind of context is a challenge.

Albert 21:32

And even, like Kirsten was saying, if we do have events and we're not going to charge anything, we're going to have giveaways so that they can have that as well, because it is very difficult for them to think if I'm getting it and I'm not doing something in return, is it really valuable? And not only spiritually but culturally. It's that same mindset that if there's free giveaways, whatever it may be, most of them will not go get it because it's like, well, if it's free, it really probably doesn't have any value. And so that mindset permeates their culture. Trying to explain you know what Jesus did on the cross and his price that he paid, that free gift of salvation that is there, you just have to take it. They're like okay, well, if I take it, what do I have to do? Is it something I have to keep working to continue to have? And it's like no, that price has already been done. Now, how you live your life changes into how we serve the Lord, and sometimes they'll equate that it's like oh, okay, that's what I have to do. Okay, well, that kind of makes a little more sense. But still, to try and help them to understand it doesn't matter what we do, we can't do enough to earn that grace, to earn our salvation. And so that is a sticking point.

Albert 23:46

And even like here in the States, there's a growing sense of indifference, a sense of apathy, and I'll be sharing with some of, with some of the athletes, and they're very respectful and they'll be like you know, coach, that's really good. I'm so thankful that that works for you. And it's like well, what about for you? And they're like well, you know, I'm good right now. I got a decent job, I have a car, I have a place to stay. Why do I need to change? And it's like well, because of the aspect of who Christ is, situations that you're in, that you're going to encounter, are going to make you see, you can't do it on your own and you're going to realize that you need something greater than what's in the world. And many of them are like yeah, I'm just not there.

Albert 25:00

Because there, because you know life is good right now and and so that's that post-modernism aspect of looking at the world. As you know, everything's okay right now, I'm, I don't want to change, um, that really is a challenge to try and help them understand. It's not what we can do, it's what he has already done for us.

Kirsten 25:34

But we found that the younger generation in Poland are more open spiritually because they are a little bit disappointed with all of the debacles that have happened in the Catholic Church and they're seeing the inconsistencies between what's preached and what's practiced, and so many of them have come to the conclusion that they don't want the religion of their parents or their grandparents. And I have to do that tread very carefully, because although there's no physical persecution to coming to Christ, there's a lot of cultural persecution and you lose a lot of favor among your family, but even among the culture, if you leave the Catholic faith. And so that's what Albert was talking about. Our goal is not to and we tell them that's not our goal is to get you out of the Catholic church. We don't want to be anti-Catholic church. We want you to come to Christ and have a saving relationship with him, and the spirit can help you transform everything else. Our job is not to change your religion, but we've seen that the younger people are much more open because they're searching. They're searching for something different.

Kyle 26:49

You know, in a lot of ways that's different, but it's happening here. I have to be careful not to date our conversation here, but there are a lot of university campuses right now. I don't know if you all have seen in the news but some in the north, some in the south, some down in Texas that thousands of college students are coming to know the Lord because they're, and it's through this idea of hope. So many college age students in America right now just don't have a lot of hope and so for them, they're getting introduced to this idea and for once they're finding I need this, which is really, really good. They had to get to a place first where they wanted something to change. They were tired of how things were. Things weren't going well enough for long enough that they said, hey, something else has to be true.

Kirsten 27:50

It doesn't satisfy.

Sports Ministry and Church Planting

Kyle 27:52

Yeah, and that's what we're seeing. I think we're going to have to see a lot of postmoderns get to is a place of brokenness where they're seeing my worldview doesn't work. There's got to be something else. So you've been in Poland for 15 years. What has ministry looked like through the years? Have there been shifts in how you've seen ministry? I mean, albert, you've mentioned multiple times sports ministry. Has that always been there, kirsten? What have you been doing over time? So let's talk about that for a bit.

Albert 28:38

For me it has been sports. I still do sports. Initially I went working with two other teams in different cities, but the biggest thing that really the Lord has placed on my heart is seeing where he was moving in those two areas with the athletes. Initially, with the football, there was receptivity we were doing Bible studies and that was going very, very well. The baseball team we were just starting, but there was always that willingness to listen and so for multiple years doing both fronts, and then there was a season where the baseball I was just coaching. I mean that that kind of got to be. The reality of it is that I was just coaching and it was. You know, if I'm just coaching, I can do that in the states, yeah, but I didn't come here to coach yeah and so I really focused more of my time on the football because there was receptivity.

Albert 30:26

We were having guys coming and doing Bible studies. Then we had a changeover in our leadership. Our team leader we got a new one and he's young and he wanted to do sports ministry as well plugged into the football and it was like, okay, lord, maybe this is an opportunity to once again shift back over to the baseball. They had a new change of players and so our team leader took over doing the football. I moved back into the baseball arena and now there is receptivity. There are a couple of believers that are on the team and so for me, I've stepped out of the football back into the baseball and really looking to see how the Lord is going to use this time again in being able to reach them spiritually. So it's a new season of time and really looking forward to getting back and having those opportunities again for spiritual conversations and, prayerfully, spiritual growth.

Kirsten 31:48

That's one of the interesting things that, even though Albert has done sports ministry all the way through, using that as the guide from the spirit of where's the most spiritual fruit to come of his investment in time Because it does take a lot of time for him to invest in those athletes but we see it as such a valuable ministry tool that's not tapped into enough.

Kirsten 32:11

Because Albert gets a chance to rub elbows with young men in a culture where oftentimes these guys would never darken the other side of a church door. But you put them together on a football field or on a baseball diamond and you have immediate connections and Albert is able to go deep, and go deep fast, with these guys. And we have a real passion. For if you can influence the young men of a culture, of a country, those are going to be your future leaders of your family, of your companies, even of the country. And what an impact if you can reach them for Christ. What kind of an impact can that be? Because so many of our ministries are focused on women or sometimes on children, which is not invaluable at all. But sports ministry really allows men to bond in a different way and just gives us access, as believers into the lives of young men that might not ever be touched with the gospel elsewhere. So we're pretty passionate about sports ministry.

Kirsten 33:19

But, aside from that, the IMB is a church planting organization and so throughout all 15 years the the plug has definitely been to get to healthy reproducing church plants, whatever means you use to do that, whether that's sports ministry or other means. And about seven years ago we had a chance to be a part of the first IMB church plant in our city. God brought up a Polish pastor out of our city who had been equipped and called to pastor but had run from that call for a lot of years, didn't feel equipped, and he heard the call, the vision, and he said that's what I'm supposed to be doing. And he shared that with us because God had already crossed our paths. It was easy for us, as well as one other IMB colleague, to come alongside and say we want to do that with you.

Kirsten 34:16

And so Albert has had a chance to be on the elder board of this brand new church plant that planted about seven years ago. And so that is another probably our main ministry on a weekly basis and our main focus is to work on the health and growth of that church. So Albert is on the preaching rotation and just the elder board, and so I come alongside and the leader's wives and we do women's ministry as well as children's ministry. Wives, and we do women's ministry as well as children's ministry, so that's a big part of our life. That is our family in Poland, and it's a sweet, sweet fellowship, and we're so thankful to see them grow and to see them change and to see them being called out to be sent out ones on mission with us, and even on their own.

Kirsten 35:02

And it's been just a real joy to champion that church. We miss them a lot when we're here, but besides that, we do a lot of English-based ministry. Krakow is a city full of universities and therefore university students, and we bring an incredible commodity to the to the table, which is the gift of English. We speak English and we know our own native language, and so that is a high commodity in the Polish culture. They value learning English and learning to speak it, and in their academic program they get head knowledge of English from very early, but their educational program does not give them a lot of tools when it comes to using English speaking and yeah, so that is a great avenue, an entry point for us to be able to build relationships with university students, and so we, once a week, have an English club that we host and use that as an opportunity to build relationships with university students with the hope of being able to share faith and life with them.

Kirsten 36:15

Part of my personal testimony, I think I mentioned, is that the Lord really grew me a lot spiritually in college, specifically my freshman year in college. So that is my people group. I love freshman girls in college and as often as the Lord brings those ladies across my path. I want to spend time in discipleship or pre-discipleship if they're not yet believers and spend time with them and spend time with them. Also, our family is very involved in a ministry among orphans. That was kind of something thrown into our lap, it was not on our radar, but we were voluntold about six years ago or seven years ago to do a camp for orphans and again to bring our English gifts to the table and that is a ministry that our family has really clung to our kids especially. That's been their own personal ministry that they've loved.

Kirsten 37:10

And so we have continued that and that has branched out and taken different forms. But we've even seen our published church come alongside us and share that vision and jump into orphan ministry alongside us us and share that vision and jump into orphan ministry alongside us. And then, of course I think I mentioned that my background is in allied health. I'm a physical therapist by trade and so God is continuing to weave that story of how I can use that health background for his kingdom. As we serve there. There are some barriers because we have a socialized medicine system that's already in place that you've got to work around. I can't just go and practice physical therapy, but God has been very faithful to provide opportunities for me to use the medical background leveraged among individuals and leveraged among individuals, but also just in reaching into different segments of how he can use that where we're planted at the time. I think those are some of the different ministries.

Ukrainian Crisis and Gospel Spread

Kyle 38:23

Every season has looked different for us, but that's probably a good overview of the different types of ministries that the Lord has brought across our plate. And recently things have changed in Poland. You know, when I was there with you all, we got to go and bake some brownies with some Ukrainian refugees, and so what has that ministry looked like for you all in this season of, I mean, ukrainian's history and Poland's history and really kind of that part of Europe?

Kirsten 38:49

Well, it's interesting because Poland has never been very open to helping immigrants or refugees, which has always been a struggle for us, and so refugee ministry has never been on our radar.

Kirsten 39:04

But when our neighbors Ukraine, were invaded two and a half years ago, it catapulted us into a brand new branch of ministry that we were not equipped or prepared to do.

Kirsten 39:16

But we learned fast and we made mistakes along the way. But it has been an amazing journey to see how just meeting physical needs of people catapults you deep into their life to be able to share faith, and we've gotten to walk alongside many of these Ukrainian families at the point of crisis. But we've also seen God mobilizing the church, because we did not know much of the history of the church in Ukraine, but they actually have some really solid believers and when their country was invaded and they had to escape to get to safety, so many of those believing Ukrainians took Jesus Christ with them and they have spread out across Europe and even beyond, and we are seeing Ukrainian churches starting in our own country but also in neighboring countries in our area, and it has been absolutely encouraging to see almost like an axe movement of the gospel. They were forced out of where they were, but they took the gospel. They are taking the gospel with them.

Kirsten 40:28

And so it's been so encouraging for us to be able to connect these new believers that are coming at a point of crisis and finding hope in Jesus and purpose in Jesus Christ and getting them plugged into healthy, solid, multiplying churches among their own people. It's been really amazing.

Albert 40:49

And they don't just stay within their own people group. They are looking to share the gospel with all those that, whatever country they've kind of landed in and they're very evangelistic-minded. And so it really is spreading the gospel in a way that we would never have envisioned. But the Lord has taken a very tragic and horrible situation that's going on in Ukraine right now and he's using it for the spread of the gospel, and it really is so amazing to see that that's so cool.

Kyle 41:42

So we're coming up at the end of our time here and I want to ask one question, kind of for our listeners, because again we're gearing some of our conversation towards high school and college students who are focused on the nations, and so what are some spiritual disciplines that you all have developed in your life that have been some of the most fruitful for you that we can encourage our students to do likewise?

Albert 42:16

Well, I mean, the really simple, basic one is to stay in God's Word. I mean, you can't ever go wrong with reading God's Word and meditating on it, but not just to read it like you would read a book, but to read it to grasp it. Read it to grasp it, not to say, okay, I'm going to read these five chapters today and you just go through it without spending time to really chew on it, to grasp what it is, that the Lord is speaking to you, and I think that's one thing to remember that God's Word's living. And even though we may read a book in the New Testament and we've read it four or five, seven times, the Lord may speak to us differently each time we read it, because we are in a different place in our walk with Him. First and foremost, that's the easy one, but it's also being very disciplined with it To start your day in His Word and whatever it is to be dedicated in doing that. But also there are so many healthy spiritual scripture, foundational podcasts that in today's world that's very normal. You know, you plug it in and you're listening to God's Word. You're listening to somebody who is Somebody who is themselves chewing on it, studying it and expounding on it, and that's just an easy way to go through your day and your spending time in the Lord.

Albert 44:37

And I know for me, the more opportunities I get to hear not only God's Word but about God's Word, and whether that's for five minutes or whether that's for 50 minutes, just that constant reminding and being in that mindset, that spiritual mindset for me is huge. That spiritual mindset for me is huge. And so I'm not only an audible listener or learner, but I'm also a visual learner and so when I have the opportunity to hear it and read it, it just stays with me so much better. And so, for where I'm at right now, the more I get to hear and read and to expound on it, and not to think I have to get through a certain amount at a certain amount of time, no, I want to understand it, I don't want to just get through it.

Albert 45:42

I've seen, as I've grown older, that that's more of my emphasis, and if I can't get through the New Testament in one year, that's okay, but I want to continue doing it. I don't want to say, well, I've missed that goal. Well, forget it, I can't, I'm already two months behind. No, just start where you're at and keep plugging and stay on task. And yeah, I think for me that's the thing that I've learned early on, where I was trying to meet goals. Now, to say, yes, I have a goal, but the process is more important to me than the final product.

Kyle 46:35

That's really good.

Kirsten 46:39

I would say the one thing that just really permeates our entire story and our testimony of our time living cross-culturally is just the untapped power in prayer, and that I am really, really passionate about prayer and not just a one-way prayer. But I think that that is a very real way that the Lord communicates back with us. If we consider that privilege of dialoguing with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, it's an untapped power that I think is really underrated by many of us, me included, and we have often said that that's where the real work of cross-cultural ministry begins. Albert and I don't have any business getting out of bed in the morning in Krakow, poland, unless we have done the work on our knees and that also leads me to remember that there's people doing that work on our behalf too have to and prayer partners are such a vital part of living on mission for God, whether that is in your own hometown or somewhere in a completely different place, that if we don't learn to tap into the privilege that prayer is we or missing out.

Kyle 48:03

That's powerful and something I hope our listeners hear a lot. I heard it a lot that we need to be in the Word, be in the Word, be in the Word, and we need to pray. We need to pray, but it took a long time for that to click with me. But once it finally clicked, gosh did things change. The depth of walk that I had with the Lord just drastically changed and so, prayerfully, our listeners will catch that bug a little earlier than I did and, man the things the Lord will do through them. It'll be a lot of fun.

Kyle 48:49

Well, thank you all so much for coming and taking the time to talk with me and to share with our listeners about your life journey and your time in Poland and what the Lord's doing there right now. So thank you so much and we'll look forward to continuing to live life with you all. It's been a great privilege to meet you all a year ago Well, actually longer than that ago, because, yeah, we met here three years ago now for the first time, something like that. Yeah, it's just been a privilege. So thanks for coming on and for our listeners. You all have no idea how cold this room is.

Kyle 49:26

So, while we're very excited, to uh chat with you all in a in a medium to this podcast. We're very excited to hit stop and go out into the warm sunshine.

Speaker 3 49:37

Thank you all. Yeah, and we'll see y'all soon. Thank you.

Kyle 49:41

Thanks for listening to this episode. The Tom Ellef Center for Missions exists to equip the next generation of missionaries at Oklahoma Baptist University. Regardless of your major, you can come to OBU, get a world-class Christian education and get equipped to take the gospel to the nations. Our prayer is to send students from the local church through OBU to the world with the gospel. For more information about us or the Ellef Center Scholarship, follow the link in our description and come visit us at OBU.