We made it to Skoczów!

            Today marked our second full day in Poland or our third day into the trip. Although we’ve only been here for a short period of time, we’ve already experienced so much of God’s goodness. This morning was much like the previous one. After waking up around seven or eight a.m. and eating breakfast, we headed to the meeting room to continue our training. The focus was on the gospel and evangelism. While there members from the English Camp team shared a practical, yet powerful and refreshing way to share the gospel. It was through the use of our Seen –the camp theme – bracelets. On each bracelet there are four symbols. First is the heart, which symbolizes God’s love and His desire to have a personal relationship with us. Next is an X, which shows that our sin separates us from God and that the punishment of sin is death. The third symbol is the cross, which demonstrates Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and what that means for us. We are given life. A new life that can be with Him, free from the shackles of sin. Finally, there is a question mark, which is symbolic for exactly that: questions. Whether that be questions about the gospel or more importantly, the question of “do you want to accept Jesus into your life, allowing Him to transform the way you live?” When at camp if a student asks about our bracelet we can share the gospel more easily and give them our bracelet as a reminder to them. In turn, we receive another bracelet. After practicing this with a partner, we moved into a time of worship through music, which is and was one of my favorite times. Being surrounded by a community of believers, American and Polish, reminded me of how God’s church and kingdom is everywhere. It is not just in the Brainerd Lakes area. It is here and it is such a beautiful thing. Next, we took a short break (with coffee, tea, and cookies!) before moving into the labyrinth or prayer stations. In the beginning we started off with two cups; on one we wrote made in the image of God and on the other we wrote examples of how we are seen by the world. They were placed on top of each other, with the made in the image of God on the inside. It was then filled with water. Our goal was to keep the water clean. Pure. However, as we went through each station different food coloring was added, signifying how sin “pollutes” us. At the end water was added, showing how Jesus purified us and made us right with God. The stations focused on the fact that no matter how hard we try, we will always fall short of the glory of God and make mistakes. When we completed the labyrinth, we moved into our last time of worship as a large group with all the other English Camp teams.  We took communion together and also commissioned and prayed for each of the different teams. Then we had our lunch before taking out and loading our luggage onto the bus. Every team went to the train station, departing ways once there, with the exception of Faith Church. They took a four-hour train ride with our team to Katowice. The ride may have been long, as well as tight on space due to the luggage of 25 people, but we enjoyed one another’s company. We passed the time with telling stories, laughing, and eating many snacks. This happened to be the place where I discovered a newfound love for rice cakes. And then proceeded to eat a few, or possibly five. We arrived in Katowice around seven p.m. and shortly after arriving finished our journey to Skoczow via bus. This was approximately an hour, and the moment we stepped off the bus we were greeted with the smiling faces of Domi, Ania, Gaba, and Domi.  Before leaving Katowice, Abby bought a bouquet of ten flowers. When we stepped off the bus at our hotel, each of us greeted Domi – the Polish youth group leader - with a hug and a flower. It was her birthday! We were blessed with not only the opportunity to see Domi on her birthday, but to celebrate it with her too! The 14 of us ate dinner together at the church right by the hotel; the church was only a two minute walk away, if even that. The girls had prepared a goulash dish somewhat similar to chili served over rice. It was amazing! For dessert we had chocolate cupcakes and cake made with beets, which was also delicious. We sang Domi “Happy Birthday” in English and then (attempted to) in Polish, with attempted being the keyword. It was wonderful to meet some of our team tonight and tell them of our trip so far, as well as talk about what is yet to come. I am very thankful for the conversations that have been had already, which I know God will use for His glory and use to build relationships. All around, even though we had a busy day of training and travel, I think I can speak for my team when I say our trip has been going smoothly so far. God is continuing to surprise us and bless us with His strength, peace, and wisdom. I am very excited to see what He has planned for us in the next few days, as well as the remainder of the trip. Please continue to pray for His Holy Spirit to guide and bless all of our conversations with all we meet. Please pray for physical and spiritual rest, unity with our Polish team who we will finish meeting tomorrow, and the courage to live our faith out boldly.

Much love,

Lilli Jorgens and the Timberwood team