“A Wonderful Experience…” - Radosc Camp June 2009

  We just returned from the summer mission trip to Poland, and it was an amazing experience.
I have seen the Lord work through us all in ways that I never imagined. Thursday, immediately after we reunited at the airport Henryk sprung on us that we were going straight to a soup kitchen and Doc was speaking. So we did.

There were probably 45 people there, and when we sat down, I felt the Lord speak to me. Apparently, I needed to tell Doc to let me know if there was something I could do. And there was, so the next thing I know, I'm giving my testimony (with a translator) to this group of people I had never met. Not exactly something I'd normally line up to do, but it was what I was needed for.

I spoke a little about my struggle with alcohol, which led into what Doc was talking about perfectly. Afterward, we were handing out bags of food as they were leaving and one man came up to me and said in heavily accented English that he had been free of alcohol for a month. Praise God! It was worth it, even if no one else heard me!

Friday, Gail and Ronnie spoke at a women's prison. We all know how gifted Gail is with prison ministry, and she met a woman who was in prison for fortune telling. She will get out in six months, and Gail talked to her for a while.

The Irish team joined us then, and they were so tired from their trip that it's a wonder they were even still standing. Then we all met back up and went to a children's after-school club. There were about 9 or 10 kids, and we put on part of the puppet show for them. The kids absolutely loved the dragon! One little boy kept coming over and taking pictures and wanting to see it.

Saturday, all of us went to the prison. This was the day the mothers got to visit with their children, which seems to be a rare event. Nothing I've ever seen has broken my heart like this did. All these women were clinging to their children, and most of the kids were too young to really understand. They loved the puppet show, and what really got to me is that these kids wanted to play musical chairs and Animals in the Jungle, but the mothers just couldn't put them down long enough. So they held their children and ran and played these games with them.

The Lord put it on my heart to talk to one woman, but I had no idea what to say. That would be bad enough in English, but I didn't speak this woman's language. But I really needed to talk to her, so I decided to try. It turns out she could understand English, but spoke very little. I told her that God loved her, and that her little girl was beautiful. She started crying and hugged me, then said "Thank You" very clearly in English. I had to find a corner to get my emotions under control before I could continue. Doc shared a message with them, and it was a wonderful experience, even if it was heartbreaking.

Last night we went into the old city. It is absolutely spectacular. I've never seen anything like it. We had a lot of Polish language tracts to hand out, and we split into groups. It was also a lot of fun. A lot of people turned us down, but a lot of people took the pamphlets, and some even read it right there. There were a group of people drinking alcohol and blowing fire in the street for tips, and Ronnie gave them one. They actually spoke English and he talked to them for quite some time. We reached out to a lot of people, and saw a side of the city that was so rich in its real heritage. It's an experience that I wouldn't trade for anything.

The first day of the camp was nowhere near what I had expected. I have a four-year-old, and was prepared for the complete and utter chaos that could be involved in a hundred children being in one place, times a thousand when you add the language barrier. But I have the utmost respect for the Polish workers here at the camp. They really know what they are doing and took something that could have been a mess and made it relatively sane. 

 I ran a games station, playing things like dodge ball and volleyball with the older kids. The younger ones I just turned loose on the playground. All the little ones want is for us to push them on the swings. Two Polish words I will recognize for the rest of my life are the words for “push” and “higher”. It is so much fun just playing with these kids, letting them burn off a little energy.

 I heard people talking about this at church, and everyone who had been here told me about their experience, but you can’t truly understand until you are here. These children come from places that most of us can’t even imagine. When it got warm, the little boys took their shirts off and you could see every bone in their bodies. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to cry or just take them all home with me.
 

At evening chapel the kids sang a variation of “Oh, How I Love Jesus” at chapel, and it was enough to bring anyone to tears, because they went to each child up on stage and let them sing it. You could really tell that some of them meant what they were singing. That’s what we’re here to do! I mean, that’s what this whole thing is about, and here we had children on stage singing about how they loved Jesus! Praise God!

 Sitting back on American soil and recounting the details for everyone willing to listen, I still can’t get over what a wonderful experience this was. A month ago, thinking about mission trips, I thought a lot about what I would give. I thought about what I would leave with these children, how I would show Christ’s love to children who may never have experienced it. And I think we all accomplished that. What I never expected was what I would take home with me.



I learned so much about patience, hope, and love. I saw children embrace the Gospel for the first time. I have memories that will last a lifetime. I learned so many things that I can’t wait to share with my own child. And I realized that this was not an once-in-a-lifetime event. If God is willing to send me, I will definitely come back.
- Kenzie Stephens (USA)