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March 2009 Poland Mission Report

From the beginning this trip was going to be different. We planned it for March 13-21, 2009, when most of our students were available to be part of the team. By faith we reserved 20 tickets, a pretty big commitment in these economic times. And we did have some students participate, high school and college, seven in all. In the end we put together a team of 19 members, very close to our faith goal of 20. It was a good mix of veterans and rookies with a strong leadership quality.

Weather-wise it was probably the worst time of year to be in Poland. Spring was trying to pry its way into the lock grip that winter had on central Europe and there was a battle going on. Rarely did the sun get it’s due, but the rain and snow slugged it out, each winning its share of the rounds. The team took it all in stride. However I think this battle of the seasons had its effect on the health of everyone at least a little bit.

Planning these trips has its own uncertainties and risks. One is trying to project what it will actually cost to get the team there and back and provide for food and in country transport without pricing everyone out of participating or dumping a shortage on the church! Father was watching out for me this time since I knew early on that I had actually understated the projected cost. But in the weird economic climate where we find ourselves, for some inexplicable reason to me, the exchange rate from Polish zloty to US dollars kept getting better and better! The hotel, transportation and food in Poland kept getting cheaper and cheaper so we decided to prepay as much of it as we could before the rate went back the other way. We had locked in 95 % of our costs by the time we arrived in Katowice!

I should have known it would sort itself out when three of us had the following experience in Target the week before we left. We were buying footballs and other gear to take with us. As we’re paying, the checker asked what we were doing with so many footballs. Our explanation - “we’re taking them to Poland to teach American football to Polish kids” - prompted a lady who was paying at the register next to us to say “I’ll pay for all that.” And she did without ever telling us her name! For these and other reasons, it looks like we’ll even be under budget…whew!

Greg Skrobarczyk, our son-in-law by virtue of being married to our daughter Erin, is our primary contact for Poland. He did his usual great job of planning a busy week for us. In fact we go there to support their ministry, King’s Kids, a ministry of Youth with a Mission. He loves to spread us around as much as possible for maximum exposure since it isn’t too often you get 19 southern protestants congregated in one area in Poland!

Katowice and Ruda Slaska are very near Krakow, which means they are also close to Auschwitz, the infamous Nazi concentration camp of World War II. We see it as a valuable opportunity to remind our team members of how drastically the image of God in man can be distorted and abused. It is a moving and disturbing experience for most people to take in this historic venue. Yet we all need to be reminded of the depths to which we can fall apart from a life giving relationship with Father.

This year offered us a new wrinkle - the chance to teach American football and English IN the schools. So from 8 am to Noon we had team members either using the PE classes to expose kids to American football or teaching conversational English in the classrooms. We got into three different schools that week. In one school we exposed every single student to both football and English.

Each afternoon we offered a basic English class at 4.30 for younger students. Then at 5.30 in the evenings we offered three levels of conversational English classes. Our students were teenaged and older. In all we probably worked with some 50-60 different students during these sessions. Part of the time was given to sipping coffee and tea and enjoying social interaction as we got to know each other better. Erin, our daughter, is very much involved in all this since she has been teaching English formally for three years now, and she offers classes on Wednesday evenings through the school year. This is an easy way for us to connect with people there and to connect them to the King’s Kids ministry.

Another important opportunity was the chance for some of our team members to visit and minister to a group of Chechen refugees who are being housed in Katowice. (If you aren’t familiar with the Chechen situation please Google it and learn about their recent tragic history.) For most of the team, being there, not being able to communicate with these refugees, and bonding with them through face paint, football and fun was a very profound experience they would not soon forget.

On the afternoon of Monday, March 16, we took the team on a prayer walk around the area where the Kings Kids’ club meets. We wanted to pray for our time there and for the needs of the thousands of folks who live in the communist-built high rise “blocks” that serve them as apartments. As we approached the modernistic Catholic cathedral in the midst of this blue-collar parish, we stopped and prayed specifically for collaboration between the young new priest and Greg, and for cooperative ministry to grow here. When we returned to the King’s Kids’ building, Greg was deep in conversation with a man. Later Greg told us he was the assistant to the priest who had approached Greg to ask for his help in trying to combat the graffiti showing up on the exterior walls of the church building!! What a powerful statement by Father in answering our prayers before we even finished our prayer walk.

My impression is that our mission was a great success. We exposed our people to needs and experiences they had not faced before. We gave them the chance to trust God for new things and in new ways. We connected with kids and adults who might very well find Christ through the King’s Kids ministry they discovered that week in the schools and in the English classes we offered. We assisted Greg and Erin in spreading the name of King’s Kids and we modeled Christ to Poles and Chechens. Most importantly we saw God work through us to make a difference for that community by being light and life and grace in the flesh. We made ourselves available.

One day we’ll be able to see what lives were touched and claimed by the Eternal One that week. For now we try to reenter our lives in Alabama, knowing by faith for that week we were right where God wanted us to be. And I want you to know that through your prayers and support, you were there as well. Thank you Father that’s the way the spiritual world works…and thank you for friends and family who make these missions possible for us.

Blessings and thank you very much!
Blake and Sandra Rymer

Posted on 04/20 at 07:29 AM
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