Before I get to pictures, I want to take a little time and explain the English workshop. An English workshop doesn't seem like a "normal" mission trip thing to do. But it's a surprisingly effective way to reach the students in Poland. Think about it. Poland is not recovering from a hurricane, tsunami, or other natural disaster. They are making great strides in recovering from decades of communism. The high school demographic in general is not suffering from hunger or poverty. So how do you reach them? That's something that the missionaries we work with think about all the time. And that's where the English workshop comes in. High school students in Poland have much more need to learn English than American students have need to learn a foreign language. Most of their English teachers are British or Polish themselves, so the chance to speak with, listen to, and learn from Americans is a rare opportunity. The workshop provides an open door to connect with students that may otherwise never come in contact with the missionaries. They can then follow up with the students to keep showing them the light of Christ long after the short term team leaves. So even though there aren't many physical needs that we can meet to show these high school students the love of Christ, God uses something as simple as our ability to speak English to meet their spiritual needs. It is truly a special ministry. During the workshop, the team would arrive at the school around 8:00 to pray, have devotions together, and plan for the day. The students came at 9:45, and Pastor Tytus started the day by giving a short message. He spoke in Polish and was translated into English, providing the students with an opportunity to hear their language translated by someone who is fluent in both. After Pastor was done, we had English reading time. I co-led a reading and conversation group with Kurt Kula. During our reading time, we read a short (usually 10-20 verses) passage, then discussed it. This time served a dual purpose, as we used the passage to teach English vocabulary and had the students work on translation. The other purpose, of course, was to expose the students to the truth of God's Word, which some of them had never heard taught before, at least not in personal, relational terms. After reading time, we had English class. I co-taught with Ryan, and we had level 5 out of 6, which means that our students were very advanced, some at a translator level. Challenging our students kept us constantly on our toes! Conversation time came next, and this is just what it sounds like it is. We talked about whatever they wanted to talk about, sometimes going back to what we had discussed in reading time that morning. To end the workshop day, we played large group games, sang worship songs, and listened to a testimony given by an American team member until 3:30. After the workshop was done, the team walked to the ministry center for lunch/supper, then to the church for the evening. All the students from the workshop were invited to come hang out with the American team. Sometime between 8:00 and 9:30, the students would leave, and we would all go home to get some rest and start again the next day.
On Tuesday, we planned an up close and personal game. Everyone was given a coffee stir-stick and divided into three teams. The person at the front of the line was given a lifesaver and the team had to get the lifesaver all the way to the end with the stir-sticks in their mouths, without using their hands or dropping the lifesaver. The above picture is John Mark Kula and Kasia.
Jola and Kasia
I had told Rebecca Kula that she could take pictures with my camera. I think this one of Tim is a classic. After the lifesaver game, we gave kept everyone in their teams and gave them each a straw and three Q-tips. They had to put the Q-tip in the end of their straw and blow it at the target:
Yes, that is Andrew under there. And he did volunteer, I just want you to know.
The game actually didn't work that great because the tape wasn't sticky enough and the cotton on the Q-tips was wound too tightly, but everyone was too busy laughing to notice. After everyone had blown their Q-tips, Kurt dared Andrew 10 zloty to walk around the block with the tape on his head. You know he had to do it. So he went around the block, greeting everyone he passed, with half of the students trailing behind him. They are probably still talking about it on the streets of Radom.
It looked pretty painful to see him taking the tape off. The worst was that when Bob and Vera wrapped his head, they accidentally put the first couple pieces on upside down.
Monika and Zaneta
Kasia and Joanna
Patrycja. It is amazing to see the individuals that God brings to the camp. Sometimes students come because one of their friends has told them how fun it is. Sometimes they come because they won't pass up any opportunity to learn English with Americans. Sometimes they come because they hear our presentations in the schools, and even though we can't share the Gospel in there, they see something in our lives that they want. Whatever the reason, it is obvious that God draws each of them individually, with a special purpose for having them there.
On Tuesday, we planned an up close and personal game. Everyone was given a coffee stir-stick and divided into three teams. The person at the front of the line was given a lifesaver and the team had to get the lifesaver all the way to the end with the stir-sticks in their mouths, without using their hands or dropping the lifesaver. The above picture is John Mark Kula and Kasia.
Jola and Kasia
I had told Rebecca Kula that she could take pictures with my camera. I think this one of Tim is a classic. After the lifesaver game, we gave kept everyone in their teams and gave them each a straw and three Q-tips. They had to put the Q-tip in the end of their straw and blow it at the target:
Yes, that is Andrew under there. And he did volunteer, I just want you to know.
The game actually didn't work that great because the tape wasn't sticky enough and the cotton on the Q-tips was wound too tightly, but everyone was too busy laughing to notice. After everyone had blown their Q-tips, Kurt dared Andrew 10 zloty to walk around the block with the tape on his head. You know he had to do it. So he went around the block, greeting everyone he passed, with half of the students trailing behind him. They are probably still talking about it on the streets of Radom.
It looked pretty painful to see him taking the tape off. The worst was that when Bob and Vera wrapped his head, they accidentally put the first couple pieces on upside down.
Monika and Zaneta
Kasia and Joanna
Patrycja. It is amazing to see the individuals that God brings to the camp. Sometimes students come because one of their friends has told them how fun it is. Sometimes they come because they won't pass up any opportunity to learn English with Americans. Sometimes they come because they hear our presentations in the schools, and even though we can't share the Gospel in there, they see something in our lives that they want. Whatever the reason, it is obvious that God draws each of them individually, with a special purpose for having them there.
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