Gdansk Day 1

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Breakfast at the hotel was okay. However the European breakfast are rather different than us style breakfast. You’ll see more cold cuts and less traditional breakfast food. I made myself the usual ham and cheese sandwich and toasted two slices of bread. The jam for the toast was a little bit strong. I thought it was strawberry by looking at it but it tasted much more tart. Also on the breakfast spread was unscaled fish.

For the first time in my visits to Europe I walked out of my hotel room without first checking Google Maps. My hotel is so close to the city center I figured if I just started walking South eventually I would run into the city center. And sure enough after several blocks I made it to the city center.

I made it to St Mary’s Basilica which is the largest church in Gdansk. I didn’t see a ticket taker so I walked on in. I was stopped by a young man who said the church wasn’t open for 8 more minutes and I’d have to buy a ticket. I figured I wasn’t going to hang around for 8 more minutes and decided to see more of the town. I walked around taking photos and spied the Neptune statue which is famous in Gdańsk. I walked on the other side of the Waterway getting some great photos of the buildings across the Waterway. I saw a museum ship which some YouTube vloggers had recommended but I couldn’t figure out a way to get to it without walking way far out of my way.

I decided to walk back to the city centre and get some information about the F5 water tram that was to go to Westerplatte. The gentleman at the tourist area told me that the water tram would be leaving in about 20 minutes. Therefore I made it the water tram stop nearby. I got some good video and photos of the ride over there through the waterways of downtown Gdańsk with the old looking buildings.

Westerplatte is where World War II started. On September 1st 1939, Germans fired upon a Polish military area. There’s not much left to it but I figured it would be a good opportunity to visit a historic area.

The water tram deposited us a bit far from the Westerplatte Memorial. Nearby was the beach. I decided to walk up to it and put my hand in the water so that I could say I had been to the beach and had Waters from the Baltic Sea on me.

At Westerplatte Memorial there are souvenir stands and snack bars. There is also the ruins of a military Bastion composed of concrete. I had seen it on Google Maps and it is in a much better condition than what was featured on Google so long ago.

The actual Memorial consists of a large Stone pillar at the top of the hill. There were quite a few people at it and I really wanted to try and get a picture myself alone at the memorial but that was not to be.

Next was to ride the bus back as the bus stop was closer than the water tram stop. I had prepared ahead knowing which bus number I should take. I knew that all of them eventually made it back to the main train station but I figured I could get off at a stop near the Old Town.

I rode the bus and realize that I had missed the stop for the old town so I just got off at the next stop and walked a few blocks to the Old Town. I decided to have lunch at Subway. In front of me was a family which must have been placing the largest Subway order ever. This usually happens to me at home when I’m in the Drive-Thru. Luckily the Subway had Fountain drinks and an ice machine.

I decided to go to the Amber Museum which was nearby. I had to check my bag before entering the museum. The museum depicted scientific origins of the Amber. It also showed how insects became encased in Amber. The museum consisted of several floors of Amber sculptures. The sculptures were not solid as you could tell that each was made up of little pieces of Amber. Also within the museum was a Torture Museum. As it turns out the tower which used to house prisoners.

After the Amber Museum I went to the Gdańsk in The Old City Hall. There were some ornate sculptures in Old paintings in it. Also there was an opportunity to climb the stairs to the Clocktower which I decided to do.  At the top was a great view of the city. I took some videos and photos. Had the top I noticed a young man putting a sticker on me outside of the Tower. This kind of aggravated me because I feel as though old historical monuments do not need to be ruined by someone carving their initials or putting stickers on things. When he wasn’t looking I decided to try to peel off the sticker but it was only making a bigger mess so I decided to leave it on there.

At the top I saw St Mary’s Basilica which I decided to do next. This was the church I tried to go to early in the morning but with stock because it wasn’t open. The church had some very tall white ceilings and a very ornate altar. I also decided to climb to the top of the tower. This is my third Tower today and my feet were really getting worn out but I decided to go for it anyway. After all I’m probably not going to visit Gdańsk ever again why not see it all?

After viewing the tower I walked down the steps and found myself back into the church. Theoretically you could probably sneak back into the church by just buying a tower ticket and not mine the church ticket. I noticed there was a church worker somewhat watching people who came out of the tower exit. But you could probably try to avoid him if you’re careful enough.

I figured now was the time to walk toward the World War II museum which I saw from a distance at the top of the St Mary’s Basilica Tower. It was an odd shaped building which would be easily recognizable from the ground. he was a little further up from the old town but I found my way to it.

I would highly recommend the museum and I wish I had been more awake to view it. It covered things such as the Holocaust, forced labor, exile, and underground movements during the war. There were interviews with survivors on their perspective of their personal experience. I stayed about two and a half hours

Next I decided to go to Billy’s American restaurant. The entire place is covered in American posters and license plates. I got a cheeseburger which was okay the probably not worth the $14 I paid for it. It is however in a touristy part of town so I guess that goes with the territory. On my way back to the hotel I stopped by a supermarket and got a candy bar.

Tomorrow I will catch any things that I missed today including the solidarity Museum and a few churches. I’ll leave tomorrow evening for Warsaw.

Arrival in Gdansk

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After a long layover in Copenhagen I finally saw my gate listed on the Gdańsk flight. It seemed to take a while to actually check onto the plane. Our flight was supposed to leave at 5:10pm, but I don’t think I was actually seated on the plane until 5:15 p.m.

There were plenty of seats on the plane. I found myself in an ailse seat next to another male traveler. I guess I could have gotten up and moved to the empty row behind me but somehow a 40-minute flight probably didn’t make too much of a big deal.

We were served Refreshments on the plane but I believe Coke’s were extra. I asked for a Sprite but they were out and I probably would have refused to pay for it and instead got water instead.

At the airport there were lines leading to taxis which was a blue line, buses which was the yellow line and trains which was a red line. These lines were drawn on the floor and it was easy to navigate. At the ticket machine I was having trouble trying to figure out which ticket to use. I also did not want to purchase my ticket too early as there was a train in between the train that I wanted. I asked the native student there for help. After trying a 50 Polish currency bill and my credit card the Polish student volunteered to pay for my ticket. I feel this was a great gesture and really showed some Hospitality to someone who was visiting Poland for the first time.

While on the train as I was getting out my GoPro to film some scenery a man decided to set near the seat by me. He said something in Polish which I responded with “I do not speak Polish.” As it turned out he was just moving because the sun was in his eyes.

I ate supper at the KFC at the main train station in Gdansk. Be KFC restaurant worker spoke good English. I chose the chicken and pita bread which I believe was some type of Mexican dish that they would have served at Taco Bell had there been a Taco Bell in Poland. Chicken and barbecue sauce on it. As a bonus this KFC had self serve soda fountain machine which meant free refills.

I was able to find my hotel without the grid pattern of Google Maps. For some reason the street out lines were not available but my pin on the hotel was available. So I just had to navigate by walking toward my hotel not realizing which streets I was on.

I had trouble opening up my door and ask the front desk lady to help me. She too was unable to open up the door so she gave me the next available room which I believe is a sweet. It’s much bigger than other rooms I’ve been in.

Now I will try to get some sleep because I’ve got a big day tomorrow

Nashville to Copenhagen

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Greetings from Copenhagen airport. My journey started last night at the Nashville airport. My original flight was quite late therefore I switched flights to Chicago when I realised the connection time with very short to make my flight to Copenhagen. I had supper at the Nashville Airport during my delay. And I was served by a grumpy woman who probably had worked all day and was ready to leave.

I managed to get on board the earlier flight to Chicago by being a bit assertive. I’ve found that you have to be assertive if you need to make it on board a flight. In a way it was like a rerun of the Amazing Race when teams are pressing ticket counter agents to get on board a particular flight.

I arrived in Chicago with about an hour Layover to switch terminals. It was quite a walk plus a train ride but I managed to make it in time and surprisingly the TSA security check was very short. There was a TSA agent yelling at all of us to stay behind the red line.

On my flight to Copenhagen had three seats all to myself that unfortunately I never really completely fell asleep. So here I am in the Copenhagen Airport waiting for my Gdansk flight to be assigned a gate.

I will blog more later as the time seems right period

The Great American Eclipse of 2017

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I remember seeing a partial eclipse in the 2nd or 3rd grade though a borrowed welder’s mask.  It was interesting and I was expecting a similar occurrence this time around with the “Great American Eclipse of 2017.”  It stretched from Oregon to South Carolina and right through Nashville.  We experienced totality at around 1:30PM today.  It was amazing.  It was spectacular. It was dark, but not complete darkness.  I felt like dusk with a sunset all around you.  Streetlights came on.  We saw the glow of lights in our office in front of us.  I took this photo above which I’m quite fond of.

I wonder what indigenous people must have thought when, without a forecast, the sun was eclipsed.  I could see how they thought it might have been a sign of something foreboding.

This is what it must have felt with 3 hours of darkness from noon to 3PM when Jesus died on the cross.  I don’t know if it was an eclipse or more unexplained divine phenomenon.  It must have made witnesses frightened; hence the Roman soldier’s proclamation that “Surely this was the Son of God.”

 

Irrelevant Church Signs

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Church signs in some aspect can be a ministry…showing little bits of saying or uplifting thought which commuters see on their way to their destination.  Sometimes however it can be judgmental to those on the outside.

Other times it can be completely irrelevant such as the case with the one above.  Do a Google search for “Too Hot to Keep Changing Sign” and you will find a plethora of past offenders of what was a unique joke, but has since turned into a worn out cliche. What a grand opportunity to espouse an uplifting saying, and we get this.  The funny thing is that in this locality we have not had terribly hot weather.

 During the Nashville Predators’ Stanley Cup games (which they eventually lost), I came across this one.  So what’s wrong with a church supporting church teams?  It distracts from our real focus, that is the message that God sent His Son to die for us and if we believe on Him and do what He says we can have eternal life.  Anything else shown on a church sign is so irrelevant it would be embarrassing to place on there.  Again this is a sign of a church trying to stay relevant.  Are Pittsburgh Penguin fans welcomed there?  What message are you trying to say?  The Gospel is for all.  Endorsing a particular sports team, no matter how popular will only divide us and distract us from our real focus of Jesus.

As an addendum to this sign, I recently saw this particular church flash a caricature of Buddy Christ  with the message “Stay Weird Hermitage.”  Reading deeper into it, Buddy Christ was used in the R rated and blasphemous Kevin Smith movie “Dogma.”  This only goes to show that whoever is running the church sign is completely disconnected from spreading the Gospel and really only wants to stay cool with young people and hipsters.  It is likely that the church leadership has no idea what is going on with the sign nor understands what the Buddy Christ meme represents.

Bring Christ Your Broken Life

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For the invitation song tonight at church we sang “Bring Christ Your Broken Life.”  This hymn seems to be a favorite among the brotherhood as I found when I tried searching for it on the internet.

While paying attention to the lyrics I this particular lyric struck a cord with me

Bring him the haunting fears
the nameless dread
thy heart he will relieve
and lift up thy head

Nameless dread seems to be a favorite fear of mine.  The unknown; the future; what might happen.  Romans 8:26 addresses this when we are praying to God:

 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us[a] with groanings which cannot be uttered.

I think many of us would be so much better in life if we could put our trust in God.  But it can be difficult to put our faith in things unseen.  As humans we need to be able to touch and feel something before we can fully believe it.

I am convinced that fear is a weapon of the devil to keep us from being our 100% for the Lord.

And so we go back and forth between fear and putting our faith in God.  It is a constant battle.  Ultimately those who put their full faith in God will receive their reward.

Declaring their Independence

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Yesterday my niece and nephew were baptized into Christ.  It was a blessing for me to attend on a long lunch break.

Yesterday they declared their independence from this world and declared their dependence on our Savior.

Looking back on it I am thankful for their tender hearts, knowledgeable and patient Bible class teachers and spiritually minded parents who helped guide their decision.

There is always a waiting time for Christian parents with unsaved children who wonder if they will make the decision to obey God’s commands.  Sometimes a very religious family has that son or daughter who, although a good moral person, yet never making that commitment to God.  It is heartbreaking.  And sometimes if you never reach them in early adolescence you may never reach them.  It becomes harder and harder for them to make that last step for salvation by being baptized if you try to teach them in their late teen years into adulthood.

This is also a tale of two families with children making religious decisions.  Just a few weeks ago a Facebook friend from high school posted to Facebook about how it was his son’s confirmation and how he became a full member of the church.

Yet I read in Acts 2:47

And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. – Acts 2:47

This is right after Acts 2:38 which declares

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. – Acts 2:38.

Confirmation is not in the Bible!  I’ve had many discussions with another denominational friend of mine about confirmation vs. baptism. Deep down I got the feeling that he knew that his church was practicing something unbiblical and probably passed down through tradition.  Years later he did admit that baptism in a biblical sense is immersion.  I pray that he one day finds the Biblical steps to salvation.

Back to my friend who’s son was confirmed at church.  They performed a song afterwards (also not worship; but performance driven entertainment). What was the song they sang afterwards? “Down to the River to Pray,” which ironically has the refrain “Good Lord, show me the way!” – Yes please show them the way.  Show them that confirmation and infant baptism is not Biblical!  Show them that tradition can be a salvation issue especially if one practices an act not authorized in the bible.

Church and Snapchat

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This appeared in my social media feed a few days ago.  I’m familiar with Snapchat but actually had to look up what a geofilter was (hint: It’s a logo you can associate with a certain geographic area and give users the option of having an overlay with it).

The whole post confounded me at first.  I thought it was a joke. Why would a church promote Snapchat?  It’s used by people who want to erase messages and photos just seconds after sending them.  It’s well known as a medium for sexting.

I run a few different social media accounts for my own church….including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.  One thing that I’ve always tried to do is to glorify God in any message sent out.  Photos of baptisms go on Instagram.  Bible articles and sermon videos go on Twitter and Facebook.  The focus is not on an individual.  Rather I try to give all glory and honor to God.

Once I suggested to a fellow member how it might be interesting to have a church Tumblr account.  “Don’t do it,” he said.  After thinking about it, he was right.  Tumblr is far too well known for being vulgar and pornographic.  The church has no business being there.

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast. ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them. under their feet, and turn again and rend you.  -Matthew 7:6

As with Tumblr, I’m not so sure a church has any business promoting Snapchat.  I realize that many other sins are committed on other social media already mentioned…Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.  But somehow Snapchat is different.  It’s almost meant to deceive….to erase one’s tracks without being accountable for one’s posts.

For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. – Luke 8:17

The message above it clear.  Whatever you are trying to hide or conceal, it will be revealed.

But who would promote Snapchat among church members? I really think it may be a trendy church social media person trying to look cool among the youth group.  But why?  I would wager that Snapchat does very little to glorify God and instead glorifies narcissists.

I had flashbacks of this when I remember my own church’s youth group doing the obligatory harlem shake video which was abruptly removed from the Youtube account.  Just because something is trending or cool doesn’t mean that it necessarily glorifies God.

Churches and Contests

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I should probably preface this post by saying my family has been extremely blessed throughout the years.  Rarely have we scrapped by living paycheck to paycheck.  My parents stayed together therefore I have no experience with being part of a single parent family.  I have great admiration for those single moms who keep their family faithful to God and go out everyday to be the sole breadwinner for the family.  I’m not trying to be critical of their situation with this post.
This popped up in my Facebook feed last night.  It makes me a bit uncomfortable….especially the part about the requirement that in order to enter the contest, the single mom has to register by attending services.  First and foremost worship is about glorifying God.  Our motive for worship should only be about a humble offering to God, not trying to win a contest.  If we attend worship with the first thought on our mind as to win that SUV we are no better than Simon offering money to Peter in Acts 8:18.

Secondly trying to win a SUV is borderline coveting goods, even if you really need it.  It is a selfish motive.  I realize that a good used car could really change a single mom’s life, but I am not sure the church should be in the business of running contests.  Just like I frown upon Bingo at churches.  The church’s first obligation is to glorify God and spread the gospel.  Some would say that giving away a SUV is a way of glorifying God, which could be loosely applied.  However I’m just really uncomfortable with this idea.  There’s got to be a better way of helping all people in need without running a contest.  For example find out which single mom needs it the most and give it to her.  Maybe someone without a car and barely scraping by.

I realize this church might have pure motives, but I just questions the ways and means of carrying it out…with the requirement that the winner attend a worship service.

How not to spread a rumor

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Two weeks ago we were caught off guard when our minister of 18 years was announced as the president of a nearby Christian school. It happened so quickly and without warning. The decision was finalized on a Friday night and news had already spread back home before our minister had be able to announce it to the congregation.

When I asked the faceless Facebook account of the school, I got back a “Well we had to quell rumors which had already started. No blindside was intended.” And no apology was given either. Nope, this news service of a Christian school was there for one purpose only: spread positive news about the school. Nevermind if someone might have been hurt or blindsided. It was there to confirm the rumors were true.

Who spread the rumor? Someone involved with the hiring process. Either the board of directors; human resources; or some other candidate for the job. Those who spread the rumor without it being announced hurt our congregation. Even what someone perceives as good news for a school, can hurt those of a local congregation. It’s rude and unwarranted. The school should make an apology to our congregation.