Mission to Germany and Poland
God provided an opportunity for me to travel to Germany and Poland this past week. The trip was short but very impactful. In Germany, I met with six families for whom Ben Roundtree was able to organize their evacuation and housing. Then I traveled to Warsaw to meet with our new SALT partner and address other logistical needs for future SALT Serve trips. This trip was different than my past trips, where I mainly documented and/or gave my testimony. My role in this trip was to interact more with families and ministry partners, collecting information and data.
I visited the six families from Wings of Faith in Rötenberg, Germany. On my first night, these families hosted a potluck dinner. Ben’s church invited me to share a brief testimony during a special prayer night for Ukraine. This prayer night was like our SALT prayer nights. Zoriana, director of Wings of Faith, shared at the prayer night, too. It was a great blessing that she was in Germany at the same time. I visited with each family during my two-day trip. My translator during this visit was Google. It worked well. These families love how the local church is showing them love. Their children are included. Most parents report their children enjoy German macaroni. They all want the Wings of Faith preschool to restart. I loved my visit with Kirill; he is singer with disabilities but when he sings his disabilities disappear. He is doing very well but misses his mom, she passed away in 2019. I encouraged him to sing at the church. Our partner Ben Roundtree of Artists In Christian Testimony International and Liya Christian Ministry, organized the evacuation of the families from Rivne, Ukraine. Ben worked with his mayor to provide housing. During my visit, I was invited to meeting with the mayor, Zoriana, Ben, Erin (ben’s wife), and Ana, who works with Wings of Faith. The mayor really wants to provide the right services for the families.
On day three, I traveled by train and plane to Warsaw. I arrived in Warsaw on Good Friday. Poland’s Easter holiday lasts from Saturday evening until Tuesday; all shops are closed, and many restaurants are closed, too. On Saturday, Julia, who lives in northern Poland and was a team member on the July 2019 mission trip, was my guide. Frist, we visited the new SALT church partner, God’s Grace Church. God’s Grace Church is two churches, a Polish church and Ukrainian church in one space. I met with Joseph, associate pastor of Ukrainian church, and Mark, associate pastor of the Polish church. During the week the church is a small refugee center. They provide medical and other services for refugees. Mostly important the refugees need spiritual encouragement. Joseph emigrated from Ukraine to California, but God called him to Poland to serve. He has a heart for planting more churches to serve both Ukrainians and the Polish people. Joseph showed us the warehouse. This building is government-owned and in disrepair. They have done a lot of work on this building. They replaced the leaky roof and are in the process of removing the moldy plaster that covers the brick. The space will be used for storing goods, sorting, and organizing goods to be transported to our SALT partners in Ukraine.
That afternoon, Julia showed me around the district of Praga, which is where the church and warehouse is located. There are many restaurants with of all kinds of food. We found the new office space that SALT will use for operations. Julia showed me how to use the metro/tram system and Google maps. She took me to Old Warsaw, which has been completely rebuilt due to the destruction of World War II. Chopin’s heart is a church in the old part of the city. He was Polish but resided in Paris. His wish was that after his death his heart would be returned to Warsaw. Sunday, I went to the Polish and Ukrainian Easter Services. Ukrainians flocked to the service and the worship center was packed. People were in the lobby and outside the building worshiping. The Ukrainian people have left everything behind, but God has much more ahead in eternity for all. Easter is His saving grace through His Son who died on the cross and rose three days later. Jesus said “Repent, for the Kingdom is a hand.” (Matthew 3:2) This was a short trip, but an amazing trip. I returned to the US on Tuesday and can’t wait to get back to love more and to serve more.
“There are far, far better things ahead than we leave behind”
