Auschwitz

Today (Mon, 5/28) was a day off for us here in Poland, as far as our team putting on concerts/events. We drove about 4 hours from Wroclaw to the city of Pszczyna (try pronouncing that one).

In the US today was Memorial Day. We remembered our troops and the Lord’s sovereignty over the kings of the earth (Dan 2:21) by using our day off to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, which was located along our driving route from city to city. The tour was around 2.5 hours, and was emotionally draining for everyone.

Pictured above are the remains of the primary gas chamber and crematorium in Birkenau, responsible for 2,000 human deaths DAILY at the height of the Nazi extermination of the Jews.

“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.” (Acts 17:26)

Bad Muskau and Wroclaw

The past two days have had some jam-schedules and spotty internet connections, so no new blog posts until now. We’ve done events in Bad Muskau, Germany (just across the border from Poland) and in the Polish city of Wroclaw. The team is very tired but in high spirits.

Elizabeth Hunnicutt, one of the artists travelling in our group, has been posting her thoughts and experiences on her own webpage. Check it out to see what’s been happening these past two days…

http://www.elizabethhunnicutt.com/blog/

Zary Square

Pictured above is hip hop artist Zae Da Blacksmith, and the photo is a good summary shot of our day today. All seven bands that are on the tour played as part of a city-wide festival happening in the middle of the town square. The building along the left of the photo is Zary City Hall, the building pictured in yesterday’s post. Zary-ans came and went throughout the day’s performances, sometimes filling the entire street. Those on the team who weren’t performing had many conversations and built many relationships.

We’re Here!

(The Jason Harms Quintet, pictured above from left: Tyler Anderson, Jesse Harms, Jason and Andrew French, Steve Goold, Jason Harms)

The team, all 43 of us, arrived in Berlin at 11am on Thursday morning. We spent some time in Berlin eating lunch and adjusting to the time zone (read: forcing ourselves to stay awake all day) while all the different flights carrying different team members landed at the Berlin airport. By 5pm we were all together and on our bus heading for Poland. We are here now in Zary getting ready for some much-needed sleep.

Zary is the town where Count Richard Von Promintz (Aka Dick Dietrich, former youth pastor of Crystal Free Church in New Hope, MN) first discovered the ancestry and royal lineage of his wife’s family name. Pictured below is the city hall of Zary, where the Count made this discovery.

Von Promnitz Tour

Hey Friends! A separate website on this year’s missions trip has been set up. We’ll still be posting pics and updates here, but head over to vonpromnitztour.com to check out all the bands that are coming with us to Poland!

A Note From Jason…

The Promnitz Tour
Poland
May 23 – June 9, 2012

Friends,

The story behind this tour is crazy… It reminds me of the promise that the Lord made to Hezekiah: “The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward” Isaiah 37:31.

A few years back, Richard Dietrich walked into city hall in Zary, Poland to surprise his wife (Brenda Promnitz) with an updated family tree. To the surprise of everyone, it turns out that Brenda’s family is the direct descendant of the Brother Von Promnitz who escaped persecution/annihilation from those who wanted to snuff out the royal family line. In short, the family Von Promnitz is still alive. In Southwest Poland, the Von Promnitz family is well known and the Polish people have welcomed back the family.

“Count” Richard was invited to bring music to Poland as the Von Promnitz family had done in the 1700’s by employing Georg Philipp Telemann as Kapellmeister (chapel master) for the court of Count Erdmann II of Promnitz. Hence, The Promnitz Tour.

The tour this year coincides with the EuroCup coming to town, and the local governments have decided to sponsor the tour as part of their pre-Cup festivities. The opportunities to testify of and enjoy the Lord’s grace and mercy keep multiplying.

Would you like to partner in the Gospel with us by sending us to Poland? The trip expense for each person is around $3000. Your tax-deductible donation can be received through the yellow DONATE button on this page.

Please pray that God would go before us, behind us, and all around us to make our footsteps firm, our faith unshakable, our eyes able to see as He sees, our tongues bold and gracious, our hearts tender, our bodies steadfast, our posture ready to learn and receive, and our countenances full of the joy of Christ!

We thank God and you for your involvement in the past. This fruit will be credited to your account (Phil. 4:17). Let’s pray that the surviving remnant of the house of Promnitz will again take root downward and bear fruit upward in the Gospel.

Jason Harms Sextet

Poland

Friends! We are going to Poland!

Stay tuned for updates on this incredible opportunity for the Gospel, and the AMAZING story surrounding our Poland contact.

Live From Iasi

Hey all! We’re excited to share with you this live recording from one of our gigs in Romania. Recorded two summers ago at the Railroad Theater in the city of Iasi (“yash”… rhymes with Josh), this is the full concert including Jason’s sharing between songs.

The best part… it’s free! Click here and follow the directions.

Scotland Photos

Hello all. Andrew posted some of his pictures from the trip on Flickr last week. We’re happy to share them with you! Click here for the slideshow.

Also, we are planning a debrief concert like we did for last year’s Romania trip, so stay tuned for details on that.

June 8th… Back in MN

We landed in Minneapolis just before 4pm this afternoon. A long day of traveling to cap off the trip, but we had a lot of time to reflect and discuss together on the plane… debriefing about the experience and our ministry. We’ll have some highlights and additional photos (and video) to share soon.

We’re so thankful for the Lord’s guidance and protection, and for all of your prayers and support.