|
Our First Few Days in Poland |
|
|
 by Clint K.
On September 10, our team arrived in Gdansk, Poland. As we grabbed our suitcases at baggage claim and hailed a taxi, I looked around half-expecting someone to greet us, as this had been the case in previous trips overseas. I then smiled, remembering there would be no welcome mat rolled out.
Suffice it to say, we won't be bumping into other missionaries, which is precisely why we are here. We are not walking into a situation where the infrastructure is already in place. That sounds really cool to say, but it is awfully humbling to start from scratch.
For 8 days we searched for apartments in many neighborhoods, which helped us learn to navigate the bus, tram and train systems. We settled on the Wrzeszcz (pronounced Vazhesht) area because it is in the middle of Gdansk and it had available housing.
While there are many aspects to getting settled, we are still asking God to work while we accomplish the requisite tasks. Avant's principle of Simultaneous Activity states: "Instead of thinking sequentially, the team will focus on all phases of church planting concurrently." This means we do not bury our heads in all of the logistical matters we need to attend to, but we keep our heads up and are available to the new culture.
We have already met some Poles and are beginning to establish relationships with them. I had an hour-long conversation with a man named Arthur, who managed our temporary housing. It was interesting to hear that he did not consider himself a Catholic, but regarded himself a religious pluralist. We talked candidly about the Bible and what our team was doing in Poland. Our team is excited to meet other Poles like Arthur and share with them the hope they have in Christ Jesus.
|
