All three of us come from Sweden and are classmates at our high school. The reason we came here is because of our education. We study Behavioral Science, which requires some practical experience involving people. I wasn't sure where I wanted to get this experience, so I asked my dad for advice. My dad suggested that I could maybe go down to Poland and help Henryk and his Christian Radosc Foundation. whom he had just met last year in connection with a school trip. It all ended up with my two friends and I going for some mind-blowing experience.

The first week and a half we stayed at an orphanage in Jozefow, right outside Warsaw. During the mornings we helped Henryk with the food drops. Which the first Monday started with the physically demanding collection of food at the Distribution Centre, which gave us sore muscles for a few days. What we the following days got to witness was shocking. The contrasts between the houses next to each other were astonishing. One house for example was more like a shack than a house. The two men and their dog that lived there had no electricity and no running water. The house next to it, on the other hand, was a huge stone mansion with high fences and security systems. This was to us unbelievable, and sadly enough not the only time we witnessed it, it was like that everywhere.

After the food drops we walked over to the orphanage and played with the children. The kids there were not orphans in the way we thought they would be but instead social orphans whose parents are alcoholics or unable to take care of them. They were very sociable and tried to communicate with us despite the language barriers. Luckily, one of us is originally from Poland and speaks the language fluently, so she saved us many times in our communication.

When we had finished the first one and a half week a team from Kentucky, USA, joined us as we drove down to Wisla. We made 2 stops though, at Krakow and Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and got to realize the horrible conditions the Jews had to live through during the Holocaust.

On Friday the 22nd of January we arrived in Wisla, giving us a few days of preparations before the kids would come on Sunday. We were expecting around 70 kids, mostly boys. Saturday evening we had an amazing time before God- talking, praying and preparing ourselves for what He wanted to do this week. I could really feel God's presence and how He already started to move our hearts. You could tell He had something special planned for this week.

Monday the 25th the camp began with Morning Chapel, games and after lunch there were workshops. The focus was on the different aspects of God, Him as the creator, our Provider and Father. My friends and I were assigned to the workshop with drama classes for which we had prepared different bible-stories such as the Creation, Gideon's army, The Prodigal son and David and Goliath. The workshops were quite a struggle the first day and we felt desolated. The second day it got better and the workshops were easier to fulfill, maybe because the bible-story for that day was Gideon's army and the boys got to make a lot of noise. On Thursday Pastor Pawel made an altar call for those who wanted to accept Jesus into their lives, and a lot of kids came forward. Then all of a sudden it was Friday and time to say good-bye. As much as I hope and know that we got to touch these kids with God's love, the kids have also touched me and my friends hearts. Leaving the camp we decided that we would come back as soon as possible, hopefully this summer. This week has made a huge mark in our hearts and we will carry it with us forever.

So, what are my own personal experiences? As I said, the purpose of this trip was in the beginning educational. I was expecting learning experiences that I could use in my schoolwork. It ended up with God giving me so much more. He taught me how to trust and rest in His love, and to show not ability, but availability. I've also come to realize that God does nothing by accident; He always has a plan behind everything, and obviously by sending me and my friends to Poland.

The journey that began as a school assignment turned out to be so much more than all three of us first expected, and something we definitely want to come back to.

Victoria Woods,
And also Linnea and Karolina