World Mission Sunday!

Today was World Mission Sunday. Today was filled with planning tomorrows meeting about the new School of Communion. I also had the joy of composing spreadsheet after spreadsheet of financial data to review and analyze -- anyone who knows me will know that this is not my favorite thing in the world to do :)

Since I will not be home for my birthday tomorrow, Sister made me pumpkin pie tonight! She did not have eggs so it turned out like warm pumpkin pudding in a crust, but it was great... it did the trick!

Yesterday when the work was being done on the garden, there were about 40 mice discovered... today we saw one running around outside the kitchen door. It hid behind the bookshelf. Sister Mary Paul kept watch until it came out and then I killed it. Right as I was going to bed, Sister called me from the hallway and when I came out there was another one in the hallway. It jumped off the balcony and I went flying down the steps after it. I got that one too!

Off to Gaming tomorrow for a big meeting about the School of Communion. Any prayers are appreciated.

Catch-Up Day

Pumpkin!

Now Pumpkin Puree

Unsuccessful attempt at clearing the clogged tub.

Today was filled with getting caught up with all the small things that had been put-off. Sister made fresh Pumpkin puree from a pumpkin we just picked out of the garden here. We cooked, cleaned, I got a watch, did some homework, did some work, we tried to fix a clogged bath tub, we watched "The Sound of Music" (and Fr. Peter made us nearly pee or pants laughing), and we ended the day with prayer and praise.

Another Shabbat

An eventful day in Hainburg. Food shopping, cleaning the whole giant house from top to bottom, more food shopping, Shabbat meal, Gabby's birthday, and picking Fr. Peter up from the airport.

Ahoy! -- Walking from Poland to Czech Repubic

Today we woke up early and sadly we had to say goodbye to Gosia and her family. After several wonderful days in Poland it was time to move on. We took a small bus through the mountains where I saw the first snow of the year. We got off at a random train station and then Sister Mary Paul knew of a secret path through the woods next to some train tracks. It was a dirt path and when we came out on the other side, we were behind some buildings in the Czech Republic! I felt like a refugee, but since the Czech Republic is part of the European Union it really was not that big of a deal :) In the Czech Republic we found a two liter of Dr. Pepper which we are savoring. We also had a major fail on some pizza that tasted like bread with ketchup, salsa, and jelly with unidentifiable white substance that may have been some form of cheese, but we were hungry so we forced ourselves to swallow anyway! Then we took a bus to Slovakia and after walking across Bratislava, we had a latte and cappuccino before taking another bus to Hainburg. When we arrived the motion detector light behind the gate was on. Sister was scared because the only thing that can set if off is something rather large that is moving around. She gave me the key and when I opened the gate it was a large rat of some sort. It ran behind a board and I'm pretty sure I killed it. We got really freaked out. Then we dropped our stuff off and took a walk. We found a nice restaurant and had Wienerschnitzel and wheat beer! I wonderful end to a wonderful day.

I miss Fr. Peter. We will be picking him up from the airport tomorrow and he will tell us all about his meeting in Spain. Can't wait!

Czech Republic!

Glorious Dr. Pepper!!!

The Czech countryside

The worst "pizza" ever!

Baptismal Potential in Poland

Acting Silly

The Church where Pope John Paul II was Baptized. We prayed that we could reach our baptismal potential!


John Paul II had Converse shoes like me! How cool is that!

Statue of JPII

Divine Mercy Shrine

Today we went to Wadowice, Pope John Paul II's hometown. We ate the famous kremówki, the Pope used to eat this with friends after taking exams and while he was in Wadowice in 1999 he interrupted his speach to talk about how he loved it. Mass and prayers to Our Lady of Perpetual Help were said at 6PM for the new community.

Dinner was excellent, we had barszcz z uszkami and kurczak z pieczarkami.

We went to the Divine Mercy Shrine for Mass and prayed with the sisters in their convent chapel.

When we came home we were feeling goofy so we spent a half an hour taking funny pictures and laughing.

To Czech Republic tomorrow morning...

Auschwitz-Birkenau

A very hard day... a time of prayer at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps. There are no words for the experiences of the day.

"Work Makes You Free"

In the memorial to the Jewish victims.

St. Maximilian Kolbe's name on the list of prisoners who were admitted

Where the Nazis were conducting human experiments. Birth control was being researched here.

Crematorium Wall

We could not see the end of the camp. We walked for 30 minutes and still could not see the end. Birkenau was the largest of the concentration camps with 1,500,000 people killed from 1940 to 1945. A tour guide said "this is not a museum, this is the largest cemetary in the world."

"Keep the Peace"

On the bus from Auschwitz back to Krakow

Gorące pozdrowienia z Krakowa!!

Finally some sleep!!! I woke up a little later today and after breakfast and seeing the City Center we had noon Mass at the Dominican Church. Because we did not want to pay for a restroom, we went into a cafe to have Hot Chocolate with almonds, and apple pie with advocat and vanilla ice cream! Yummy! Then we ran all the way back across the city to pay the parking fee for the second half of the day. We went to several Catholic bookstores to look for Icons, but we did not get one today. We stopped by to see some Franciscans but we ended up staying for a long time to talk about our shared vision and possible projects. It went very well. We got home and the BEST part of the day was... home made PIEROGI! Alleluia! Thank you Jesus! Then we had some time to pray and talk with MORE people who share the vision for the future! Again, ALLELUIA!