Poland Mission Report – July 2008

‘I will go in the strength of the Lord God,’ Psalm 71 v 16

A team of five people from Northern Ireland traveled to Poland with one common goal, to share the gospel with the children of Poland.

The team was made up of Colin and Joanna Tinsley, Rachel Managh, Lucinda Glass and Emma McAdoo. Each one felt the Lord’s call to come and help run a camp for young children in Poland. We landed in Krakow on Wednesday and spent a few days there preparing for the camp, getting to know each other and to explore. On the Saturday we undertook the long journey up to Warsaw and with the grace of God and the excellent driving skills of Jim, we arrived safely at our destination, ready and willing to get the camp underway. The team was also given the opportunity to join in Sunday worship at the Arka Evangelical Church, which was a blessing to worship our Creator together in both English and Polish.

The camp started on Monday 28th July and lasted until Friday 1st August and was held at Arka Place. There were approximately fifty campers including those children who joined us during the day. Also, there were about twenty leaders all from different nationalities – Northern Irish, American and Polish, who worked together to ensure each of the campers had a great time.

There was a morning meeting each day that centered on the theme ‘Orphans of the Bible.’ The campers learned how God spoke to and used different characters to do his will. Characters like Esther, Moses, Joseph, Naaman’s little maid and Samuel. Also, each evening the campers heard about the life of one of God’s prophets – Elijah. After each story there was a quiz that really tested the campers on their knowledge of the Bible stories. The children also learned verses from the Bible which they were able to recite to their leaders.

The children were taught the importance of Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour in their lives through the Bible stories, the worship and also, through the personal testimonies of the leaders. On the final day Henryk shared with the camp a word of testimony and asked any camper that had accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour to come up to the front. It was an amazing sight to see the majority of the campers rise from their seats and join Henryk at the front.

More great news came when one boy, as he sat and ate his tea asked the Lord into his heart. Praise the Lord for answered prayers. As this news went around the dining hall some of the leaders just couldn’t help but come up to him and give him a huge hug. Also, the Lord was speaking to the hearts of many of the other campers. Many conversions were had between these campers and their leaders. I ask you to pray for these children that the Lord will continue to speak to them. Word also was filtering through of another little girl, who had put her trust in the Lord and was already praying that she would be better behaved and asking the Lord to help her.

Each day there were six different workshops like English, Music and Dance, Sport, Games, Craft and also, bible worksheets. These workshops drew out the creative side of each camper and taught them new skills. Each camper had at least one workshop that really excited and interested them.

Monday and Wednesday, the campers were taken to the swimming pool and on the Tuesday a trip to Warsaw was planned. The final two days water games were on the agenda. This was perfect for the kids and I will have to admit for the leaders as well. The weather was very warm and sunny that water games were the perfect way to cool down. First there was a water balloon fight followed by a sponge fight which started out as girls against boys and then campers against leaders. For the finale, a water slide was constructed and this was made up of a plastic sheet covered in soap and water. I’m not sure who enjoyed it more – the campers or the leaders.

This camp has been so much fun this week, it has been great getting to know each one of the campers and when the final day came it was sad to have to say goodbye to each one of them. I pray we will meet again someday, if not on this earth but in heaven.

I would like to thank all the Polish leaders; the camp would not have been possible without them. May God bless them for all the work they have done this week at camp. They worked so hard getting the children out of bed each morning, making sure they were ready for the day ahead, catering for the camp, playing with the children and so much more.  I know I speak on behalf of the Irish team when I say it was a real privilege and a blessing to work along side them. We thank them for their translation without which it would have been impossible to communicate the Bible stories and workshops to the children. Thank you so much. Also, huge thanks should go to the staff at Arka who made us feel so welcome and even joined in on the fun and games throughout the week.

Emma McAdoo