On July 21st, 2010, St. John’s Lutheran Church waved the F.I.S.H. mission team farewell as they boarded a plane for Poland – excited, nervous, and eager. On August 3rd, we touched back down on American soil as 5 very exhausted, touched, and changed women.
Teaching a week long English-Bible Camp to 30 children was both everything we expected it to be and full of surprises. Here are 7 of the most important things we learned during our trip:
- When the mission training manual tells you to start getting in shape early, they mean it.
People in Poland like to walk. A lot. On your feet 6 hrs a day during camp? That doesn’t stop them. They’re ready for a stroll through town afterwards, a walk through the sand dunes later that afternoon, and a relaxing hike through the woods before dinner to round out the evening.
We learned this lesson right off the bat during our first evening in Slupsk. We headed out with the Pastor and his wife (9 months pregnant, mind you!) for what he promised to be a quick 900 meter jaunt through the woods to see the Baltic Sea. Two hours later, sweaty and exhausted, we reached our goal. We refused to believe we were looking at the Sea, insisting we had walked at least 40,000 meters and were now looking at the Atlantic Ocean instead.
By the end of our trip, we were all jokingly accusing our Pastor of trying to kill us. This apparently tickled him pink, since he shared his new nickname with the congregation during the following Sunday’s sermon. He still lovingly signs his emails to us as “the Killer Pastor from the ‘Ocean’”.
- Familiarize yourself with the teaching environment (and always look where you’re going!)
Ahh, the first day of camp! Nerves are heightened, impressions are being made. After instructing one of our leaders to take the children to their classroom, we stepped into the hallway to see her holding open a door and ushering them inside. The obedient children quietly shuffled in and turned, waiting patiently for further instruction. It wasn’t until this moment that our bold leader finally turned around and walked in after them, only to suddenly realize…she had just led all of the confused children into the bathroom. Needless to say, she was teased mercilessly for the duration of the trip.
- God reveals Himself through the hearts of small children.
When the first day of camp was through, and we released the kids to go, Gregorz was lagging behind the others. He gathered his things, and started to leave, but then stopped at the front of the room, where the words we learned that day were still written on the blackboard. He dropped his things, walked over to the footstool, and dragged it back over to the board. Watching him, one could only imagine what he was doing. Climbing the stool, he reached up to where the word “Christmas” was written, and then, glancing over to see if he was still being watched, slowly circled the portion of the word spelling “Christ”. Climbing back down the stool and replacing the chalk, he gathered his things and, to our astonishment, walked out the door without a word.
Maciek was 8, but he was so tiny he looked about 5. When he smiled, his entire face would light up. We conspired often about how we could possibly smuggle him home with us in our suitcases. The day we learned about Zacchaeus and his promise to change his life, you could see the little cogs turning in Maciek’s head as we tried to explain what it meant for someone to “change”. After some silent thought from the class, he finally piped up and asked a question in Polish. Pastor, who happened to be in the room, looked up and said, “Maciek wants to know what we can do to change our lives”.
Are any further words needed?
- Missions are about relationships.
If you ask us a few months from now, what bible verses we had the kids memorize, or what vocabulary words we taught them, we probably won’t be able to tell you. What we will remember however, is the way little Maciek’s eyes grew into saucers when he watched us perform the “miracle” of turning water into wine. Or when beautiful Kasia refused to let go during a tearful goodbye embrace. Or how sweet Karina finally allowed herself to open up and professed her love for us on the last day of camp. Or when our translator Dagmara said that us being there was good for her faith too, because she could see how on fire we all were. Or…well, you get the picture.
The ministry of a one-week mission is temporary. The ministries we’ll maintain through the relationships we built are eternal.
- Heaven must be a very, very large place.
Worshipping with other believers in another country has got to be one of the coolest things that exist. There is nothing quite like hearing the Lord’s Prayer or the Apostle’s Creed recited in another language. Or singing “Amazing Grace” together but in two different languages.
On our last Sunday, we realized we had no less than 5 nations represented within the parish that day: Polish, American, German, Dutch, and Russian. The Pastor asked one from each to come forward, and as we listened to a prayer in 5 different languages, tears fell as God blessed us with a precious glimpse of what heaven will be like someday. It’s easy to forget it won’t just be little ol’ St. John’s from Bakersfield, CA up there. Someday we will all be together – every nation, every tribe – worshipping together. It was enough to give us goosebumps.
- Your prayers matter.
It would be an understatement to say that this trip was blessed. From the time the team was put together, from the time we did our return debriefing, God had a hand on this mission. Everything ran smoothly, there were no catastrophes or crises. We were comfortable, safe, and forced to stuff ourselves silly with bread, sausage, potatoes, and dumplings for sustenance (horrors!). Satan was unsuccessful at causing conflict or dissention amongst us 5 team members.
I cannot promise any other mission would be the same, but for some reason, God decided to take good care of us on this trip. We attribute this mainly to one thing – the prayers of our friends, family, and Church body. We cannot thank God enough for the love and support we received. Please know your prayers were necessary, invaluable, and appreciated.
- It’s worth it.
All joking and fun stories aside, this mission was tremendously impactful. Yes, we did what we came for and the kids learned some English and read some Bible Stories. But what happened in the hearts and souls of everyone we met along the journey is what matters the most. Relationships were made. Discipleship was present. Revival occurred. And changed lives and attitudes resulted. Some people might think that the results of a short-term mission trip are tough to quantify, but you do not need to reap an entire harvest to call your trip successful. Sometimes most of the work is in simply preparing the field and planting a seed. The five of us saw and felt enough to know that God was unequivocally present and working in us all the entire time, and that is a satisfying thought indeed.
so much fun. so very blessed!
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