ROLLA – Poland isn’t the first place that comes to mind when Westerners think about international mission trip destinations. Mission trip efforts often focus on third world countries or nations untouched by the Christian religion, and Poland is neither of these. More than 90 percent of Poland is at least culturally Catholic, and it’s a first-world country. A common saying in Poland is, “To be Polish is to be Catholic.”
And yet, having exposure to the Bible or teachings about Jesus is not the same as having a relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior. As we learn from Jesus’ teachings, the wealth of being a first world country can actually stand in the way of surrender to Him. With that perspective, perhaps Poland is a perfect mission trip destination.
By a series of random but God-ordained circumstances, a pastor from a local association near Rolla stopped by the BSU to talk to Missouri Baptist campus missionary Bruce Wade last year. The pastor introduced Wade to Josiah Venture. BSU apprentice and nuclear engineering student Ethan Pham happened to stop by the BSU after class and joined in their conversation.
Wade and Pham learned that Venture works in Eastern Europe to host English camps for kids. The goal is to help teach English with native speakers so that those who are struggling in school can talk to native speakers. That context provides the gateway for gospel conversations. Venture aims to encourage Eastern Europeans to have a relationship with Jesus.
With a bit of discussion and prayer in the weeks following that conversation, they decided that a trip to Poland was in order for Pham, his wife, and four students. Pham, who became a Christ-follower in high school, had never been on a mission trip, much less led one. But that wasn’t the biggest hurdle. The trip cost over $2000 per person, which is a significant sum for broke college students.
One Sunday, Pham shared about the pending trip with his church, FBC Rolla. The next day, Wade pulled him aside to say that someone had just written a check for $5000. The rest of the money came in through love offerings, the BSU, a trivia fundraiser, private donors, and a spaghetti dinner at one student’s place of employment. All in all, they raised $15,000, which allowed all six to go without any out-of-pocket costs.
The ten-day trip included two days of orientation, five days of camp, a debrief day, and a tour day, plus travel time. The BSU team experienced typical culture shock, but they were especially stretched because, as Pham says, “We’re all science and engineering students; none of us want to talk to anyone.” But, he says, the group came out of their shells as they played with the children. The engineering students even got to use their scientific bent to do a paper airplane contest and a toothpaste chemistry demonstration with the kids.
Some days, the students felt like “all we did was play games today.” The Polish people didn’t want to speak English, even if they were good at it, so the translators typically handled the gospel conversations on their own. “They didn’t see a need for connecting them with us instead of people from the local church,” Pham says. But the BSU students played a critical role: By playing with the children and being friends to them, the kids came to trust both the students and the local church leaders. Because of this, the children opened up in small groups, and the Polish church leaders were able to share the gospel with them and give them Bibles. “We facilitated the openness that allowed the Polish leaders to have the conversations,” Pham says.
Many mission trips focus on providing for a physical need and using that as an inroad for the gospel. “It’s different,” Pham says, “when you don’t have a need to provide, but you’re just a person there. You see that the need for the gospel there is the same need here [in the States].”
That relatability has impacted the students who went on the trip since returning. Pham sees that the trip took them out of their comfort zone and made them more willing to have conversations. One student has been seeking to build relationships with his peers the way he did in Poland with the kids.
The biggest impact on the students, Pham says, has been their perspective on the American church. The Polish church had a very low opinion of American Christians. “That was a rude awakening for our students,” Pham says. “We think of ourselves as a super Christian people.” The Polish, however, see the American church as complacent, influenced by the prosperity gospel and feel-good Christianity, taking for granted how easy it is to be a Christian. With their proximity to Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, the Polish have a different perspective on the cost of following Christ, and that perspective challenged the BSU students to think more deeply about their faith.
While the trip formed with the intent of a one-time thing, the students want to continue the partnership. Whatever the future holds, pray that the Lord will bring a day when the saying goes, “To be Polish is to follow Jesus Christ.”