Fire and Water

Thursday, May 21















We began this day with a visit to the new and modern Kamień Pomorski fire station. Before leaving San Diego, I had been contacted by Daniel Kowaliński, who serves as pastor to the local evangelical church, but whose main profession is that of assistant chief of firefighters.

In that message, Daniel told me of a tragic fire that occurred last month, just after Easter, in which 23 people died, including 13 children. The firefighters were able to save 11 people. He was the one in command that night, and he and all his crew were deeply affected by this experience.

He asked if we could bring any sort of gift from our community and/or fire department that would be an encouragement to the fire crew, as well as be a positive testimony for the church in the community. In response, I took several medallion-style San Diego souvenir key rings, and prepared a framed certificate expressing appreciation to their Fire Department for their heroism in saving the 11 lives. I included a graphic of the El Cajon Fire Department's shoulder patch on the certificate, as well as the logo of San Diego Christian College.


At the station, we were ushered into the main fire chief's office, along with Daniel and several of the crew that had been on duty that night. We offered a few words of thanks, and mentioned the fact that three of our team members, Lindsey Davies, Colin McDonald, and myself had lost our homes in the Cedar Fire of 2003, and we therefore had a sense of the devastation that fire can cause. We then presented the chief and crew with the certificate and key rings. The chief in turn presented us with a memento with the fire station etched in three dimensions within a glass-like cube. (I was told by Daniel that his chief put the certificate on the wall immediately after we left.)










Daniel then gave us a tour of the very sophisticated and modern station, and we posed for photos with some of his crew. He was especially taken by the story of the families who lost homes in 2003, and had a special photo taken of the three of us.















Daniel then took us to the scene of the devastating fire. It was a three- story apartment building that was being used by the city as a shelter for homeless and disadvantaged people. Apparently, during the cold night, someone brought a charcoal grill indoors to provide heat and used a flammable liquid to get the fire going. It got out of hand and the tragic results ensued, leading to nationwide news coverage.

The problem now is that some are questioning the response of the fire department and even the state of things in the building prior to the fire, as maintained by the city. There are investigations going on that have put a great deal of pressure on both Daniel's department and the mayor's office (the mayor with whom we prayed the day before). We join with Daniel in prayer for the outcome of all of this, and especially that there be no hindrance to the gospel in this city.

Leaving Kamień Pomorski, we headed the rest of the way to the north coast of Poland, on the Baltic Sea, to the "beach town" of Międzyzdroje. Several of the team got their feet into the frigid waters, and spent some time walking down the beach, searching for the elusive amber that often washes up on this shore.

When we came to a pier stretching out over the water, we decided this was a good place to do our famous tradition, spelling V-I-S-I-O-N with our own bodies in some interesting location! Why not the Baltic Sea coast?






























After a late lunch in a seafood restaurant near the beach, we drove on to Świnouijście, the absolute last outpost in the northwest corner of Poland. Although it is not on an island, the only approach is by ferry. It is isolated by the Swina River and by the German border, yet it is a rather large and bustling city with two good evangelical churches that met together to hear our concert that evening.

Daniel presents his testimony in the Świnouijście church.