Poland – Page 5 – No Small Talk

3 Min Poland Update!

I actually timed that it takes just under 3 min to read this, please do 🙂

Hello Everyone,

A quick update on our Poland & France mission trip this summer; we are experiencing God’s financial provision in his amazing ways, last month we raised another $1000 towards the trip, we now need just $2,860 (donation information below). We praise God for his work in all of this, and for the past two trips we have made with East Hill to the U-Turn summer camp to serve and disciple youth. Our excitement grows stronger with each trip, and our love for Poland, her people, and God’s heart for them, grows stronger and more compassionate with each step we take.

This is, to date, the most expensive trip we have made, and in light of this we have done some praying and thinking about future trips. We are currently in the process of applying to be mission team leaders sent out of East Hill. This means that we will be leading teams to Poland on our own, giving us much more flexibility and allowing us to dig in deeper with the relationships we are building. Please pray for us through this process, for discernment in choosing team members, and in casting our vision and passion for our future in Poland. The most exciting part is that we are tentatively building up for a much less expensive trip (currently looks like $1,200 per person, verses the $3,000 per person for this trip) in February/March of 2008. As we plan out the details of this trip we hope to communicate a more focused vision for all of you to tangibly partner in.

Blessings and thanks for your prayerful support,

If you would like to financially support us:
Just $30 from each recipient of this email would pave the way for both of us.

Look to the right for “Poland Mission Information” and click on the PayPal donation button. Sorry not tax-deductible.

For tax deductible donations:
Send a check made out to

Going to Poland again… oh yeah, and a place called France.

Yes it’s that time of year again, Alexis and I are well on our way to going back to Poland again, this being our fourth time, for a total of almost 15 months now. Below you’ll find our support letter, with where are hearts are, and prayer/finanical support information. Oh yeah, we’re going with this year’s interns to France as well to serve at the European youth camp for our denomination. Our Polish friends will be there too!

You may read our support letter here.

Mission Fundraising

Okay, I’ve been such a slacker (but I don’t feel like it, it’s just there isn’t any proof otherwise, I think that’s what we call getting close to burnout)…

We need to raise $9,000 for three of us to go to France and Poland this summer (the cost seems way high to me as well, but when it’s broken down, there isn’t anything to cut out). At this point the rough estimate that we have is around $1,500.

We leave on July 26th, and return on August 17th. One week in France, the rest in Poland.

Donation info on the right!

I promise more info coming soon, and a real piece of tangible mail for those I have on file! 🙂 If you are interested let me know your address thanks!

Wish I had a secretary.

I know I can do the things that need to be done, but I just don’t want to do them, but I want them done. Things like writing support letters, printing them, stamping them, sending them, buying everything that needs to be done for them. Scheduling time with people to talk about missions. The list could go on and on, I had plenty of time to do it yesterday after work, but since it was after work I was fried and simply wanted to rest, and that I did, sort of, if you call investigating ATSC and QAM HDTV signals resting… Tonight is booked, date time with Alexis, but I feel under preasure to get this done!

We will go to Poland.

Just in case anyone forgets, we are moving to Poland, depending on God’s timing anywhere from 4-5 years (or whatever He makes it). For some reason I have this thing inside, something that makes me think people don’t care about our vision for Poland. I guess it’s all of the “oh that’s cool” reactions, with hardly (I’m counting 4 so far) anyone showing any more interest than they would a little child who wants to be an astronaut, and actually I feel like that child would get more attention. I’m stopping here, one because we’re at a friends house, and two because I want to sound upset, well, because I am, and I do not want to cover it up with what I know is the truth. I know what the truth is, and I also know how I feel. All we want is to have some people show some strong interest in the vision. Remember I know the truth, I know that this lack of interest does not change our calling.

Father, hear our cry for this nation, raise up people to come along side with support and to support. Thank you for those that are showing more than a casual interest. We know it is your will, praise you Lord for who you are and all that you are doing now. In Jesus’ name I pray for a passion of your name in Poland and for Poland. Amen.

Commitment

One of my biggest pet peeves is non commitment! It drives me nuts when people change from church to church, place to place, group to group, or just don’t go for some “feeling”. We talk about giving our lives to Christ, 100%, but then we let the whims of our flesh decide our path. Now, of course I’m not talking about being sick, going on vacation, etc. I’m talking about the person who doesn’t know from week to week (or whatever the case may be) what they will commit to for that week. “Oh, yeah, that sounds great, my friends will be there so I’ll go.” You know that’s great for checking something out, or even maybe supporting a friend in making some changes… but our faith is not in people, people will always disappoint, always, at some point. Our faith is in Jesus, the creator of everything, I do believe he will guide us, he created everything we see, he can and does certainly create our paths, when we let Him, to be magnificent.

When the church I was saved in (I don’t like the term saved, but it’s the easiest to use, rather than, the church where I gave my life to Jesus, lol, I said it anyway) went through a pastoral change I was devastated, I wasn’t sure where or what I would do. So, amazingly (wish I did it more these days) prayed to God for a direction, he specifically said wait six months. After that six months, I began going to another church’s young adults group (where I met Alexis a year later), however God asked me to stay in the old church for yet another six months; although I was being fed at the new church. If I hadn’t listed to God, and hadn’t set my last Sunday for September 1st, 2002, I would have never heard Carol and Denise speak about Poland. In addition, if I hadn’t listened to God about staying in Poland after I so desperately wanted to return home I would have never met Dan Russell, which in turn means Alexis and I would have never come to Gresham and experienced the life changing place of East Hill Church, where Alexis and I call home now… I’m not even sure Alexis and I would be married… but that’s for God and not me to know 🙂

You see, I know that because I let God draw those paths, and let Him tell me where to be committed, even though it was hard, the best has come of it. It is so frustrating for me, especially with people around my age, it seems day to day “commitments” are always changing, not to mention things like relationships! That’s a whole different post.

The Vision

Listening to: Weak for the Man – Carla Cook

(Minor updating 6/11/07)
See this post, and this post for a quick overview.
The Lord has done much in our lives since Travis returned from Poland in August of 2004. Both of us are now in our final year of the INTERNational Training Program (ITP) and the Oregon College of Ministry (OCM) in Gresham, Oregon. Through the ITP we are being equipped for hands-on, practical ministry to young people and others in our own generation. As part of this intern program we took the opportunity this past July/August to go to U-turn Europe in Poland, an annual youth camp for Foursquare Europe (each year a different country is host), that, by no accident, was in Zakopane, the same town Travis lived and served in for a year and Alexis lived and served in for six weeks. In addition, through OCM we are being equipped with practical biblical training to enable us to serve God and be servant-leaders to a broken world. As the Lord guides us into marriage through this engagement time, we are looking forward to his promises in our life together, please read further.

Over this past year God’s calling on our lives has become confirmed, we are to be pastors, to sheppard His people and serve them. We have a vision to see people become equipped to lead and serve in God’s kingdom. Because of the mentorship, training, and equipping we have received through OCM and the ITP we now have the tools and heart for mentoring, training, and equipping our generation. Specifically the Lord has given us a vision and heart for our generation in the nation of Poland.

So, what will we do in Poland, when will we go? These are the questions. We want to build a training program in Poland, it will look different than the ITP, but God’s heart is the same; to mentor, train, equip, and release the Polish people to do the ministry themselves, plant churches themselves, and bring God’s full glory in freedom. This training program will be a place for Americans, Poles, and eventually anyone to experience ministry, hands on, and receive the same kind of mentorship as Paul did for Timothy. We believe there will be restoration for both the local Polish people and the interns themselves just as we have seen in our lives since being in the ITP. In the future we want to have the same kind of quality practical Bible teaching as OCM is providing, in Poland. And ultimately we want to see the Polish people take on the vision themselves.

In order to see this come to fruit we have a multi-year plan that we know will require patience and prayerful consideration. Of course we will continue building our relationships with our Polish friends in Poland, including at least an annual visit until we move there. We also want to begin building relationships with the Polish community here in the Portland, Oregon area. In the meantime we hope to recruit Polish Christians from the Portland and Seattle areas in the ITP program in Gresham. We also want to recruit Poles living in Poland to come and be interns in the ITP so that we can start building a team of people (including some non-Poles) to go to Poland when God opens the doors and says “go”. We consider this time to be the conception stage; we know God will lead us into each stage as is necessary at the proper times.

So, again, we thank you for your prayers, financial support, and spiritual support through this entire process. If you have any questions you may contact Travis or Alexis with the information below. We pray that you too will know God’s calling in your life, weather it be local or global, we know the Lord has amazing plans for each person and that it takes for each of us to trust Him and Listen to Him.

In Christ,

Travis & Alexis Mielonen

Prophetic words

I finally have typed up the prophetic words I have received over the past year. I have retro posted them to go where they should in my archives so that over time I can look and see what else God was doing, where he took me, and where he is taking me.

October of 2004 My first experience with healthy prophecy during my 1^styear intern retreat. Basically God was calling me into the desert.

January of 2005 My second experience, Alexis and I were broken up, a time of hell in the desert.

September of 2005 The third experience, amazing, God shows His face through the whole thing and previous prophecy is shown to have come to past. Alexis and I received this one together. The promise land is nearing, but there is still work to be done.

Intern retreat round 2

[This is a retro-published post, actually posted on Nov 12, 2005 – I wanted these words to be posted into my archives on the right day to line up with my life at that time]
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Again we went to the amazing Oregon coast for our intern retreat this year. This time instead of each Intern prophesying over each other a lady named Barb Jackson came, taught, and randomly prophesied. It was amazing, and what God said through her to Alexis and I (we received the word together) is nothing short of amazing – we were crying like babies at the end, because God totally rocked our world. The rest is history:

When we go as full-time over there. That will happen. We are in training, and it’s been rough, the finances haven’t been right, but they will come, we will go, but not before we are sent -don’t go before sent… If we go before we are sent we will come back, bruised as in ACTS 19. The enemy will try to make us think we can’t wait (within 6 months), don’t listen to that voice, remember this WORD. Be faithful in all the training, in the right time, humble ourselves under his hand, and he will exalt us… God will Send us out with ordination and with supporters, commissioning, start with house church, evangelize the area, a few contacts will give us the hands and lift up the resources. God says we will be known in that place as the people with the word of the LORD. It’s not going to be a “regular house church” People will know they can get their needs met, physically, spiritually, word of prophecy over the people, healing, words of knowledge and wisdom, food, the vision will be. Churches will grow fast, split so fast, we will need to split into two… won’t get a building big enough…. Just a handful in each. Churches where his voice will be heard. We will know the time for marriage…. There will be a right time for marriage, God will unite us. Don’t jump ahead. TWO will put ten thousand… God has given us the green light the word for our lives, the time, and method are still yellow lights… caution don’t run ahead. wait until the light is green. Those who are over us in the spirit will tell us the green light at the same time we sense it in our hearts. Be cautious The enemy will try to stop us in our tracks. Just like the enemy tried to tell with Peter told Jesus not to go to Calvary… but the timing was right, the timing will come. We will have that green light. God says there will be nothing at that time he will withhold. John 14:12-13 – Us who believe on him… God will be accelerating our training, we will be stretched, and feel like we don’t have enough time… Burn the oil at midnight if we must. For a time and a season we need to push in… be obedient, obey, obey, obey 3x. God will take us both down to the third obedience, where we will sow our lives for those people. Sow our lives for those people, we will love them to the end. They will know the love… that love will require our lives. That love will go through our whole lives. Our message will be the love of the father’s heart. As we go forward in obedience to him… we will fulfill the father’s heart. He will say “well done, good and faithful servant”.

Snowed in, let’s prophecy.

[This post was actually published Nov 12, 2005 – it took me a while, nearly a year, to type up the following, and to make sense I wanted it to be published near the actual event to see what God has and is doing]
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The following are words that I recieved from two people on the U-Turn Europe commitee. Not written here are the words Alexis recieved… “You once loved a man, but you must let him go now”… I thought, very interesting.
Here are my words:

January 16th 2005 prophesy – Johannes & Gert

• A sickness in you, something to do with the kidneys and stomach – could be physical or spiritual, prove in your spirit. Anoint the body with healing – blessings on them – Headaches at times? God is doing much cleansing.

• The Lord is cleaning don’t be shocked. Some of your suffering is connected. Lord wants to heal you. Self image, restoration. You have sinned where you did not want to, you had an identity in the Lord but it has been shattered, restore your identity in Christ. Lord is dealing with you in your self righteousness. The more we come into the light. You see yourself and you are disappointed. You are a good servant, and He is a good master.

• [Pooh bear hat placed on head] – You are a good servant. The inferiority inside of you is one part of pride. You walked with authority & leadership in Poland and you will do that and have it here. YOU ARE A PASTOR. God will challenge you to be looked upon. The Lord will develop more contacts, you will be asked to speak. You are a solider of God. Be looked at. The Hat allows you to be recognized. He is calling on you to finish college. You will be recognized as his servant. Lord is restoring your identity. He lives in you.

• The suffering you feel is your identity – God is going to restore you.

• You are good because He is good

• He doesn’t leave you.

• Someone is watching your back don’t worry.