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Below is a synopsis of the team's trip:
Day 1
We left for Poland out of Alexandria on Monday April 10 and arrived in Gdańsk on Tuesday, April 11. There were seven of us, 5 men and 2 women. We are Disaster Relief trained and sent through Send Relief, International. We stayed at a local hotel, the First Baptist Church of Gdańsk is about a ten minute walk. Stan Statham from the Louisiana Baptist Convention was our team leader. We also met volunteers Tom and Vicki Kilpatrick, a couple from Mississippi who were staying for 6 weeks to assist with running teams weekly. We also connected with our IMB missionaries Ken and Janet Brown. They could speak Polish which was a great help. There was orientation with Maxim, the Ukrainian pastor. I thought I would be doing trauma healing with the Ukrainian ladies, but the vast majority of the ladies left early to “job hunt” and did not return until late afternoon. So I was not able to do this, although I encouraged Janet to be trained.
Day 2
I assisted in storying to school-aged children through a Ukrainian translator. There were no men, only women and children. All the men but one worked on a house that would service 18-21 Ukrainians staying in the church. One man helped us with the kids, thank God!
Day 3
I continued to assist in Bible storying. There were different children attending everyday. We attended the Wednesday night prayer meeting of the Ukrainian church. Stan brought the message. When the Ukrainian women prayed they literally cried out to God begging for family members who were left behind. Through the anguish and tears they voiced long prayers. I could not understand their words but I understood their tears.
Day 4
Today the story of Jesus’s birth and dedication at the temple were told in the morning and, in the afternoon, Jesus’s death and burial were told. Things were settling down with the children by now. They made stained glass crosses. They were quiet as they made the crosses.
Day 5
This day we told the children of the women visiting the tomb and the resurrection of Christ and in the afternoon afternoon we told them of what God said they must do to be saved. What great timing of these lessons. It was Good Friday and we would celebrate Easter on Sunday. We showed the Jesus Film that afternoon for children in the Ukrainian language. We served coke and popcorn during the film. They watched mesmerized. Afterwards we walked over to see how the men had progressed on the house. We were impressed by their progress. The Polish church is anxious to have their fellowship hall and Sunday School areas back. The Polish church has about 150-200 members.
Day 6
The men worked on the house while the ladies cleaned up and swept. If they get a Polish plumber to finish the baths and the floors, the Ukrainians could be in the house by the middle of May. That afternoon Pastor Maxim gave us a quick tour of the city and surrounding area. We ate at a real Ukrainian restaurant, which I could never hope to find again in a million years. The Ukrainian food was also delicious. We visited Sopot, where most of the tourists go. This town is very affluent. The beaches around the Baltic are beautiful. White sandy beaches and the Baltic Sea were picturesque.
Day 7 Easter Sunday
We were at the church at 9:00 for a Polish breakfast. At 11:00, we attended a Polish Easter Sunday Service. The service was an hour long and included an acted out performance of the ladies going to the tomb. The music was awesome. A sick Ukrainian boy about 10 years old played a beautiful classical piece of music on the piano. The preaching was well received by the Poles. We were provided with headsets which were translated from Polish to English for us!
Day 8 Travel Home
We left for the airport at 4:00AM and flew from Gdańsk to Frankfurt and then to Houston. Our flight home was delayed until 10:30PM. Marvin and I drove back to Lafayette arriving home at 2:00AM Tuesday morning.
We furnished the Ukrainian church ladies with gift bags, hand sanitizer, hand lotion, Emory boards, wash clothes, note pads and pens. The children got Disaster Relief teddy bears. The money not only paid for these items, but also paid for our room and board. I also had Easter cards to give to the children that the GA, RA, MF of FBC Lafayette made for the kids. The MF of FBC Pineville made cards for me to bring Easter cards for me to give to the Ukrainian children. The Ukrainians in Europe do not follow our calendar and will celebrate Easter following the Julian calendar which causes Easter to be 2 weeks from our Easter celebration. Like the U.S., Poland celebrates Easter following the Gregorian calendar.
Prayer requests:
- For the women and children of Ukraine living in Poland for security and understanding.
- For the safety of the men fighting in Ukraine.
- That circumstances will change for the Ukrainians.
- That needs will be met.
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