On the 23rd August 2008, a group of seven students from Northern Ireland set off on a journey to Poland. We were unsure of what to expect, as many changes had been made to the original schedule. Although we didn’t know each other particularly well, we all had a common desire, to see the children come to Christ and to show God’s love for them.

When we arrived in Bialystock we were warmly welcomed by the organisers of the camp who we would be working alongside in Narewka. The welcome we received we thought to be a good indication of what was yet to come. 

 On Sunday afternoon we arrived in Narewka where the camp would take place. During the week we would partake in a number of activities including workshops, afternoon outings, specialised workshops and fellowship meetings in the morning and evening. Although some of the workshops were not as successful as others, God’s hand seemed to be upon the Bible workshop as it proved to be one of the more successful workshops. The workshops and afternoon outings enabled us to form friendships with some of the children and through this we were able to witness and show them to the best of our ability what the Christian life can be like.

 The time we spent together for fellowship was very rewarding to us as a team, as we were able to see just how enthusiastically the kids became involved in the meeting. Most took part in the singing and we were quietly surprised at just how well the kids sat and listened to the word being taught especially at the evangelism night. 

 As the time came to leave we could clearly see that we had made some sort of impact on the children’s lives, and all we can do now is hope and pray that God will continue to reach them through other ways. Due to the scheduling we had to leave before the last of the kids and this made leaving even more emotional than we had first anticipated. 

 After the camp had ended on Friday, our work continued into the weekend.  We made our way to Warsaw and we were given the opportunity to participate in a discipleship weekend. This involved taking kids to the zoo, out for dinner and to a concert in the park. This weekend gave us the opportunity to further some of the relationships we had made with the kids at camp and also allowed us to form new relationship with other children. 

 As our trip came to an end we all felt that even though we had seen God working among the children He had also been working in our lives in some way or another during our time in Poland. Our time spent in Poland may now be over, however the lessons and experiences will stay with us always! Amen.  

Laura