“Everyone has a need to serve others…”

“Everyone has this need to serve others.  And, to me, Bread of Life gives me opportunity to accomplish this desire.”

Monika Bacik, project coordinator, Betlejem z Bread of Life 

When I write for And 2 Makes Crazy, I write, for the large majority of the time, about my personal family life or issues that deal with my family personally.

I usually leave the church my husband has been pastoring for the last 17 years out of the blog posts (Poznan International Church).

I hardly speak of our work to help Rescue the Forgotten around the world…

But I want to share with you this.

Why now?

Well, part of what makes the 2 of us actually crazy is the fact that as newlyweds, at 25 years of age, we started a foundation in a foreign country that began to rescue the forgotten individuals left and alone on the streets and in the train stations of Poland after decades of communism and extreme unemployment, suffering from horrible drinking problems that also left them in states of complete hopelessness.

This foundation was started with the mere fact that we could feed them bread for a day, but we wanted to give them love for a lifetime.  And we believe with our entire core that love comes from Jesus.

But we were not fools.  In a post-communist country where weather falls below freezing for months upon end, we knew that love was good for the heart and soul—and food for the body.  So we incorporated both.  On top of loving them with all of our hearts because Jesus loves us, we also fed and clothed and opened a home for individuals on the street—hoping to meet their very physical needs so that they would be safe and warm and fed and realize that their precious lives were worth fighting for.

Years later, our foundation serves consistently in 3 countries (Poland, Moldova, and Ivory Coast) and has been built up to more than just serving the homeless and forgotten.

Today we also focus on education and medical.  We focus on counseling and families—for the children and mothers or fathers lives.

We focus on people.

How can we best help people?

By doing all we can in their times of greatest needs!

This video shows a program in the city of Poznan that does just that.  We fight alongside of 3 precious warrior heroes: Ania, Artur, and Klaudyna.  We fight alongside of their families, and we let them know that their battles are Everest, but we are there to walk beside them to provide the oxygen they need to conquer their mountains!

And that is what we do.  365 days a year.  For the past 17 years.

We walk.  We climb.  We keep going.

Humanity without Barriers…to help the smallest to the oldest.  The most frail to the most lost.  To know that they are not forgotten.

Their lives are worth fighting for … And we will walk next to them in their battles!

Enjoy the Poznan Betlejem z Bread of Life video of one amazing day where we fought for 3 children by collectively coming together as a city to raise funding for 3 precious warrior heroes!

And find us on Facebook to like and follow to keep up with what is going on in the world around us and how you can get involved and help out:  https://www.facebook.com/boflministries

Thank you!

Brooke HJ Nungesser, Co-Founder Bread of Life International

 

 

This is my life…

well, i just always want to write, but my mind is one huge blank sheet of paper.  so tired.  and pretty much filled with only toddlers.

yes, i would love to say that they are inspirational writing prompts—but, really, they are simply just inspirational life suckers 😉

take last night—we finally arrive home after an entire afternoon celebrating children’s day in kalisz (a couple hours from our home) when i throw them in the bathtub thinking that they’ll love to play.  before long, the bathtub stinks and the water is colored.

sure enough.  josephine soiled our tub.

so i pull out two wet babies and take them to the shower now—draining the tub.  then they play for an hour in the shower.

as i pull them out, wrap towels around them and bring them to the living room to diaper them and put them in pjs for bed, josephine promptly went number one on the carpet.

then max—unpottytrained max—decided that peeing on the carpet looked like fun, so he said, now i go pee pee here (and proceeded to pretend pee on the carpet).

yes.  my mind is blank.

but happy.

and my children are poopy messes.

but happy.

and this is all i can write—because my brain functions not.

oh—and our dogs are locked up all day during our home renovations and the minute they got out they broke the neighbor dogs leg by jumping all over it (yes, the dog is fine and the vet fixed the leg and we paid for the leg and the dog is still happy—so PHEW there :)).

yes…i wonder why i can’t write?

no, i pretty much know why 🙂

hope you enjoy our photos anyway.  haha!

xoxo from here to there,

b

(messy josephine after a good day of playing in the dirt and eating oreos…and the new life center—see bread of life ministries on Facebook—and max butt naked but phased out.  yes.  this is my life and i THANK GOD for it.  truly.)

30 Tons of Food Given by the Homeless to the Not Homeless. Confused much?

If you read my title you would see that it says, “30 tons of food given by the homeless to the not homeless.  Confused much?”

Let me explain. We have a beautiful center that is a transitional home for men from the streets of homelessness, men out of prison but would be on the streets of homelessness if not for our center, or men out of rehabilitation but still without a home.

It is a beautiful home. It is blue. It lies on property in a very small village and has a trickle of a creek that runs at the base of the property.

We love this center. We love this home. We love the men that come and go. And the new men that come. Then go. And then the new men that come. Then go.

Let me emphasize this again.  It is beautiful.

You see, the New Life Center is not meant to be a shelter. It is meant to be a rescue. But a rescue that teaches. It teaches the men that enter the door to become men of great pride, education, skill, talent, and worth.

And it teaches these men that although they were raised in homes of abuse. Although they spent too much of their lives in and out trouble. Although they once thought their only love was a substance that tried to take their very life…The New Life center teaches these men that they are worth far more than their pasts.

They are beautiful.  And they are worth much.

And because of these things, by the grace of God, they learn that this beauty that they behold should also be used for the sake of others.

You see, the men at the New Life Center help distribute over 30 tons of food to the surrounding village and communities every year.  That over 66,000 pounds of food a year (long ton).  These men that were formerly homeless, formerly prisoners, and formerly addicts are learning while at the center how to give and serve and help others around them in need.

They go every week and pick up food donations.  They bring these donations back to the Center.  And then they distribute the food accordingly all over the village and surrounding communities.  To the poor.  To the elderly.  To the children.

Do you want to know what is especially ironic in this situation?

When we first bought the New Life Center, the community was very upfront about how they DID NOT want us there.  They DID NOT want the center to open.  They DID NOT want any of it.

And today?

Today the very men that they battled to keep away are humbly serving them.  Their families.  Their children.  Their parents in need.

Now we have become a community of blended love.  Men from streets of homelessness and families of villagers.  Everyone working hard to survive.

Together.

There’s nothing confusing about that.

***

Check out our Facebook page and become a friend.  We would really love it if you did!

Facebook:  Bread of Life Ministries

And here’s an amazing YouTube video that will touch your hearts of these men serving tea and cakes at the local train station to break down barriers and begin conversations so neither will be afraid!

When I was electrocuted…and Adelyne made banana muffins.

I was 10 weeks pregnant with Adelyne when Richard and I were working one really late night out at the New Life Center. We had just purchased the property, and it needed a completely new deck.  The old deck was basically non existent.  Which means, the framework was there, but the walkway was dangerous planks placed strategically one next to each other.  And believe me when I say, if you fell off the plank, you were fed to the sharks…or the spiders and other spooky stuff that lived under the porch.  It was a true walk the gangplank challenge.  And, in order to open a transitional home for men, there definitely needed to be something other than gangplanks to walk.

If you want to see the NLC and the porch, click on the link above (the highlighted New Life Center) and look at the blue house and you’ll immediately see the porch.

Okay, back to my story.  So, at 10 weeks pregnant, Richard and I were out there working really late one Polish summer, building the deck.  It was quite a dangerous job, and we were basically working off of the day’s light or the waning sun’s light.  Just as we finished one part of the deck, we prepared to move to another section to work on when I saw a dangling wire.

Now, mind you, I am not a daft person, but this was definitely not one of my most defining Einstein moments of my life.  I decided to loop this dangling wire and hang it from a nail that was protruding from the nearby pillar.  I thought, “Oh, great idea, Brooke, I’ll get that dangling wire out of the way.”

Oh, bad idea, Brooke.  As soon as I touched the exposed wire to move it, not realizing it was live, 220 volts went shock, right through my body!

Yowzer!  It hurt.  Yes, it did.  But I got back to work.  And many hours later with lots of help, that deck was finally finished.  Just one small step in the process of making the home that we purchased into the perfect transitional center.  Don’t get me started on all of those bags of cement I also had to go and purchase and carry—yes, while pregnant.  And the sewage that needed to be cleaned (um…after basically telling Richard that I would clean the sewage filter rocks, even though I was pregnant, he finally jumped in and got the job done)…

Needless to say, every single ounce of effort was so worth it.  To see how God transforms the lives of the men that go through the center and its program is astounding.

And, today, as several of the participants from the New Life Center were at our house (our personal house), Adelyne, that same little baby that was in my belly when I was electrocuted 8 years ago, was using electricity.

This time to make muffins.  Muffins for the men from the New Life Center.

It’s funny how God works.  Eight years ago, I would have never thought my electrocuted baby belly would be using some of that same 220 to bake for the men that live in the home of the porch that she, in my belly, helped build.

Walking the planks was worth it…And I love that my daughter continues to walk them with me.

Tell me, what did you do in your past that continues to be a big part of your life today?  I look forward to hearing from you!

 

Single Moms, Dads, Military Spouses—How do you do it?!

I have been wanting to write a blog about the people I greatly admire.  Here they are:  Single Moms.  Single Dads.  Military Spouses.

You see.  My husband travels quite a bit with his work.  He is gone between 10-20 weeks a year, many of those being multiple weeks in a row.  This year he has perhaps traveled more.  Last year, while I was pregnant with Maxwell (and when Maxwell nearly passed), he traveled a bit less.

But there is one very important thing I always keep in mind when my husband is away-He will return.

I often tell one of my best girlfriends that she is the strongest woman I know.  She is a single mother of 3 gorgeous, well-behaved, brilliant children.  She works hard.  She raises her children.  She is amazing.

I also have girlfriends whose spouses are military.  They are raising strong and brave and resilient children.  Often their spouses miss monumental moments in their lives—and yet the spouses and children march on.  They persevere.  They are the epitome of endurance and strength.

A couple times when Rich has been away, disaster has struck…One time, our basement flooded.  Another, our coal furnace went out (Do you remember that one?  If not, here it is: http://wp.me/p3Bh9m-b8 ).  Yet another, our cars died during a Siberian Winter Storm.  Have you ever lived through one?  Let me describe it—freezing cold.  Bitter wind.  Eyes hurt.  Don’t want to leave the house.  Cold!

He is also the pastor of a church—and everything seems to happen when he’s gone:  one has a heart attack; another needs to find a place to live-overnight.  Another’s marriage is on the brink.  Difficult situations.  Pastor’s wife in Poland-all alone.

Our foundation seemed in peril a few of the times he was gone.  A couple of the worst were when we were in the process of purchasing our New Life Center.   The people that we were buying it from wanted to finalize the sell but not move out.  Another, the realtor insisted on being paid upfront before the sell.  And lastly, we ran out of money—already investing all we had and then finding out we were short.  The finalization of the sell was in a couple days and according to everyone Polish we were working with, we risked losing it all if we couldn’t fulfill the contract.  I went and took out every penny we had in our bank account and prayed it would finish paying for the home (New Life Center).

And, the most tragic event in our lives, I went to the doctor’s appointment alone and found out our beautiful baby’s heart had stopped beating.  Thankfully Rich was able to make it back within the next couple days from America to Poland for me before we delivered the baby.  (I’ve also written about this loss, in case you would like to read:  http://wp.me/p3Bh9m-6B).

Yes…I have been alone.  Working.  Raising the kids.  And going through difficulties.

But—I always keep in mind, “Tomorrow will come.  Rich will return.  And my partner and helper will be there to rescue me or give me that needed day of rest.”

And during those days that seem the longest, I think of my friends-my single mother friends.  My single father friends.  My military spouse friends.  I think of them with the utmost respect and admiration.  Because not only do they work, take care of the home and kids.  But they get up each and every day and do it again.  And again.  And again.

Yes—some of the people I admire the most raise the strongest children.  And sometimes they do it all alone.

The Day that Santa Died…

This is going to go in a completely different direction than you may imagine…You see, Santa was not really Santa but a homeless man that we served for years at our soup kitchen, Holy Start, in the city of Poznan, Poland.  We all called him Santa.  He loved it.

And this is what he looked like:

His name was Wojtek.

And I loved him.

Not because he was perfect.  In fact, there were times he was outright obnoxious.  And there were a couple times where we packed his food for him and told him he had to leave.  Not hungry.  But leave the same.  Because when you are trying to serve many and there are some that make commotions, this is just the way it works.

And he would leave…But the next week he would always be back.  Sober.  In time for breakfast.  And happy to be back amongst us.

You see, Wojtek was like many, many, many that we serve in Poland.

Homeless.  Alcoholics.  Lost.  And alone.

And as difficult as they may sometimes be—they could also be beautiful.

Yes.  Wojtek made a choice.  And that choice was alcohol.  And then alcohol made a mark.  And Wojtek had a hard time overcoming.

And no matter what offers of help we made.  No matter how much prayer.  No matter how much was shared about how much God loves and believes in him.  Wojtek let alcohol do the talking…do the thinking…do the walking in his life.

And one day—one day far too soon—we lost him.

He went to sleep near the lake in the summer, when the weather was fine, and never woke up.

And from the moment I heard that at the soup kitchen, my heart broke.

It broke because I knew that Wojtek was so special.

I knew that Wojtek had so much he could offer.

I knew that God made Wojtek unlike any other out there…And, yet, Wojtek never beat the beast.

He never kicked the habit.

He was never victorious.  He was the constant slave.  And his owner, Alcohol, beat him down and won.  He took his life.

Wojtek died without giving God the chance to help him change his life.

And it broke my heart.

I still think of Wojtek and I love looking at his picture-doesn’t his face tell a million tales?  Don’t his eyes hide beauty?  Don’t you love the man you see?

And yet I still look with sadness.

Because Wojtek is no more.

Wojtek is not the first person we’ve lost to the harsh realities of addiction or homelessness.  And he won’t be last.

But he will always remain a sad reminder to me that deep in the inner man of who he, Wojtek, is-God had created someone for so much more.

I am not sure if you have a family member or perhaps a friend that battles with addictions.  If so, I know with all that you are you love them.  And you care.

God does too.

I pray for yours.  May they not die like Santa.  May they come to see the demon that wants to enslave, get the help they need, and beat that sucker down.

May victory come in morning.

God bless you, friends!

***

Update:  I know that it is not only the homeless that have problems with addictions.  But what I do know about addictions is that IF the person fighting this demon does not want to get help, there is little anyone can do but hold onto hope and PRAY!

We all saw this past summer as someone rich and famous passed away because he could not overcome his own demons.  Cory Monteith…So, friends, let us never say, “Oh, that will never happen to me!”  Because addiction has no socioeconomic barrier.  An addiction is an addiction.  And all need to be addressed, receive help, and by the grace of God conquered.

In Poland we offer help to all that come to us through two different outside programs that we partner with:  Monar, Teen Challenge.  There is also Alcoholics Anonymous and our very own New Life Center.  All centers and programs are there for the benefit of the individuals—to help them receive hope and freedom.  And in Kalisz, Poland, there is also counseling through our foundation for the entire family.  Addiction does not just impact the addict—it impacts the entire family, too.

So, if you have a loved one—or if you are that person—fight hard, hold onto hope, offer help (or receive it if you are the one in need of help), and continue to pray hard.  May your belief, although very difficult at times, be unwavering.

Again…God bless, friends!  I know addiction is the battle for someone’s life…And that person is greatly loved by God and by you.

Related articles

• Cory Monteith Official Cause Of Death: Heroin And Alcohol (radaronline.com)