Global Outreach

Warsaw, Poland (Jul 15, 2011):

Most Recent Blog Entries

posted by:
Jennifer Morrow

Jul 25

Hello from Warsaw!

{Most of our team is currently on the flight back to Atlanta (via London), but I (Cameron) have stayed in Poland an extra day to connect with colleagues in my company's Warsaw office. Edelman is a big part of why I'm here, so I'm grateful for the opportunity to meet with people in the office.}

What a week we've experienced! You've seen Casey's update about the kids' camp we facilitated during the week, and that was only a portion of what the team was able to do alongside the other volunteers (as he mentioned). Collectively, aside from the kids' camp, we painted and repaired local rundown apartments, painted a mural on a city park wall, coordinated a concert/festival/kids' activities in the park one night and more. Our team relished getting to know the other volunteers and staff at Realna Ackja - people from Ireland, England, France, Belarus, Germany, Poland, Australia, Canada, USA and more. The daily schedules were such that we had time to serve the community and share meals, worship together and play together. Volleyball was the most popular group activity - fun to play AND watch.

One of the many cool stories of the week came from the city park where some of our team was painting a big wall mural. A student from Germany named Caroline was visiting her mom in Ostroda for the week, and stopped by to inquire what we were doing. We explained the project to her and told her about the organization who led the service efforts. She asked to come back the next day to help us paint. She did return the next morning, while we were having difficulty with the stencils. Rather than feel our time was wasted while we waited for the issues to be resolved, we were able to talk with Caroline and help her practice her English; it was a blessing to see her interest and that our time was well-spent. She assisted with painting and seemed to really enjoy her time with our small group. We shared an official "Realna Ackja" shirt with her and snacks, which she also appreciated. God knows what He's doing! Even when our time could have been wasted, He used us to connect with Caroline and hopefully make an impact.

After our time at the camp in Ostroda, we took a train to Krakow, where we toured the city and visited the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps. Of course, we were moved by what we saw and heard from our tour guide. He explained everything eloquently and answered all our questions with ease. We rode a train back to Warsaw on Saturday night, and spent Sunday exploring the city. We heard a Chopin concert at noon in a local park with hundreds of other attendees; we shopped for souvenirs and explored the Old Town area of Warsaw. The 5:00 service at International Christian Fellowship was a time of sweet worship and teaching, and Matt H. and Deborah shared stories with the congregation from our time in Ostroda. We had our last team dinner at a local Polish restaurant in Old Town with a few fellow Realna Ackja volunteers before heading back to the hotel to pack.

As you know, we are tremendously grateful for our support team of prayer warriors. Please keep praying for the people of Poland, particularly those we shared our lives with this week, as well as for the other volunteers and our team. We all need safe travels home and restoration to full health and rest. We'll get back to our daily lives, but truly we won't be the same after this trip. We're eager to share more stories (and photos!) with you when we return. If you want a glimpse of a few preliminary photos, search for the "Realna Ackja" group on Facebook - they've posted some on the group page.

Thank you for reading this lengthy post!

-Cameron-

posted by:
Casey Porter

Being Bold

Jul 18

Dearest Friends,

We just wrapped up our first day of service here at Real Action (Realna Ackja). There were projects ranging from painting benches to stripping drywall. My own task was to entertain over 60 local kids, identified by social services as children in need, who came to visit our camp for a day of fun. They'll be back tomorrow and for the rest of the week! We had face painting, arts & crafts, and sports for the bigger kids. My friends Caleb and Karul ran the soccer field, and I was on the basketball court.

The children were mostly between 7 and 12. They're VERY well behaved and full of smiles and laughs. I was fairly surprised at their interactions. The older ones often made sure the little ones stayed involved or got to take a shot at the hoop. One in particular, named Allan, stayed on the basketball court long after the others had gone for rest and water. He couldn't have been older than 4, and he tried several dozen times to make a basket with his mother watching. When I offered to lift him up high so he could get one, he told me through a translator that he wanted to learn how to do it himself! We'd been handing out tickets all day for winning games and good behavior that could be redeemed for prizes at our "store". I had a wad of them to hand out, and most of mine went to Allan.

Something has struck me about the people here, at yesterday's church and in camp here. They're very brave and bold. This nation is over 90% Catholic, and while we agree with Catholic doctrine that Christ Jesus is who He claimed to be, the son of the living God, you can still sense a faint stigma about Protestant Christians here. They're not persecuted and it's hard to describe, but one wonders how the children respond to likely questions about why their parents take them to "that" church. It's so deep in their culture, that it can easily create barriers in sharing the good news with fence-sitting people. These people weren't allowed religious practices during Soviet control, and once liberated, they again became largely subject to Catholic tradition. However, at church yesterday morning in Warsaw (which is beautiful), the floor was opened to anyone who wanted to pray openly, and they did. They REALLY did. I've no idea what those individuals proclaimed or asked for from our Savior, but I felt then the impact of what the Gospel really is to these people. It's freedom to approach the Throne yourself, without approval or oversight. How bold they are! Thanks to Christ and the Spirit, we can have access to the Father not just at the altar, but everywhere, because He lives in us. The curtain has been torn in two, and no tradition, procedures, or need to prove ourselves can prevent us from boldly approaching the Throne of Grace, confident to be met with the love of a caring and forgiving Father.

My prayer from this point forward will be that our team will share in their dauntlessness, and boldly carry the Gospel with us wherever we find ourselves.

Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for more...

Peace,
-Casey-

posted by:
Gregory Rich

Quick update from Poland

Jul 17

We just got to the camp site in ostroda and there are many other teams here as well. We enjoyed a good night of worship and a message Mark 2:4-12. Looking forward to updating with news after first day. Everyone is well, pray for continued good health, kingdom movement.