VISION on the road in Poland

Saturday, May 16 (continued)

Saturday afternoon VISION left Camp Eden for a two-hour drive to Włocławek (pronounced vwohts-WAH-vek.), where we presented our second program in a very friendly and encouraging church that had recently celebrated its 40^th anniversary. This means that it was founded during the Communist domination of Poland. A man who spoke English quite well told me that in those days, an evangelical church could be started and registered with the government if they could muster 15 people who wanted to join together. They had to put up with nosy officials checking into their activities, but otherwise were not particularly persecuted. In general, I’m learning that Poland was one of the less oppressed nations in the Soviet bloc, and I’m thankful God’s work was less hindered, for there was and still is enough challenge in the ministry here without that extreme burden.

The pastor preferred to have music only, no drama, so we got a chance to make sure all nine of our songs were prepared. This includes five that are half in Polish and half in English, and therein lay the challenge. I’m pleased to report that this team has been extremely diligent in working, both alone and together, to master the Polish pronunciation, and they get great reviews from Poles who seem quite amazed to hear songs in their language.

After a too-leisurely, but delicious, dinner in the church basement and the two-hour road trip back to Camp Eden, we had a very short night before it was time for another road trip to our Sunday morning concert.

Sunday, May 17

The city of Bydgoszcz (BID-goh-sh-ch) was the scene for our Sunday morning program in Pastor Jan’s home church. Not only is this church a tremendous lighthouse in this part of Poland, it also houses a seminary, with some thirty pastors and leaders in training to fan out all over Poland. (Among these is Sebastian, the young man who was influenced toward salvation by Katie’s conversation with him during VISION’s 2002 trip, as reported in an early blog posting.)

Incidentally Caleb, Katie, and I got a chance to renew acquaintance with Wojciech Muranty, who was one of our main hosts in the 2002 and 2003 trips. Our VISION X and XI members will remember him well! It was great to see him, his wife, and his much more grown up son again.

After lunch, back at the camp, we prepared to head to Gniezno for a Sunday late afternoon concert, only to find that it had fallen through. So, we decided to go anyway and enjoy the picturesque town and get a little much-needed exercise walking its streets and a lakefront park. Then we undid all our exercise at a sidewalk pizza/Mediterranean restaurant called “Sphinx.”

Monday, May 18

Our last morning at Camp Eden found some of us (a) furiously squeezing all our stuff into our bags that suddenly seemed smaller, and others of us (b) furiously squeezing in a bit of last-minute kayaking on the camp lake, and then doing (a) even more furiously (trying not to make their leaders too furious!).

We had the most amazing kielbasa (yes, REAL Polish sausage) as our last meal at camp, then hit the road for three hours, heading north to the town of Chojnice (Hoy-NEET-seh).

We were to have a program at a “correctional facility” but didn’t really know what that involved. It turned out to be an amazing experience at an enclosed school-like building complex that houses boys between about 14 and 20 or so that have been in trouble with the law and are confined to this setting for some period of time. They receive education and training from what appears to be a very competent and caring staff. It is not a Christian institution, but the local pastor has built a relationship with the administrators and made arrangements for our visit.

The boys were very well-behaved (more so than usual, according to the director as he thanked us afterwards).

After the program several quite intense discussions ensued, with VISION members, Colin in particular, explaining our gospel-related dramas, with the help of an interpreter.

I hope to learn and report more about those conversations, but at that point we were whisked away to our evening concert, which was announced in the local newspapers and radio stations and held at a secular Szkoła Muzyczna (Music School) here in Chojnice.

Some of the audience were members of the local church, who also brought unsaved friends. Quite a few attenders were students at the music school, which appears to be a university-level institution with a wonderful recital hall and a beautiful concert grand piano. This mix of people seemed to receive us well. We are now separated out to various church members’ homes, with some of us staying at the church, which has suitable facilities for that.

That’s the latest, up to the minute (1:30 am Tuesday morning here)! The next update will come the next time we have internet access! Keep praying for the team and their effective ministry here in Poland!

“OPENING NIGHT,” with some amazing behind the scenes details!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

















Despite a flat tire on one of our vans, we made it to our very first program last night (Friday) in Janikowo, a small town about a half hour’s drive southeast of the camp where we are staying.















It was a personal blessing for me to see the church building there. I’ve seen photos of it in prayer letters from my dad’s ministry, Poland Evangelical Mission (PEM). He and his group have been raising funds to support works in Poland for many years, and one of his pet projects in recent years has been the re-modeling of this building so it could be used for a gospel-preaching church.

The building was a picturesque Lutheran church, dating from the post World War II days when many Germans had settled into this region of western Poland. However, that congregation closed down, and the building ended up in the hands of the Communist government and was used for several years as a fertilizer warehouse. In recent years it became available, and, with the help of PEM funds, was purchased and remodeled over a long period of time to where it is today. And VISION XVII had the privilege of presenting their first ministry there!

But Janikowo now represents even more than that!

As you know, we are working with Katie Yates, who was on VISION teams X and XI that visited Poland in 2002 and 2003, and has now been serving in Poland full time for the past two years plus. After the program, a young man came up to Katie and wondered if she remembered him. When he gave his name, Sebastian, it all came back to her.

Seven years ago, after one of VISION X’s concerts near Janikowo, Katie had a brief conversation with Sebastian and shared the concept of Jesus being the bridge between man and God. She had kept his name on her prayer list for a couple of years, praying for his salvation.















Caleb helps Sebastian tell his story, as Katie listens in.

Last night he brought that conversation back to her mind and told how God had used the “bridge” image to work in his heart. About a year and a half after that visit, Sebastian got back involved with the local church and accepted Christ as his Savior. He is now nearing completion of his seminary training in the city of Bydgoszcz (where VISION will be on Sunday), and will become a pastor!

Katie is so thrilled, because this is the first time she’s learned of a person to whom she witnessed becoming a believer, and beyond that, a pastor! God planted a ten-minute conversation as a seed in Sebastian’s heart, which is springing into a tree, and potentially into a forest here in the heart of Poland.

The story is not over! It turns out that Katie has been working in her church in Szczecinek with a young couple, and she learned last night that the husband, Rafał, is Sebastian’s brother, whom Sebastian led to the Lord a few years back. She had never known the connection until last night! Her witness to Sebastian came full circle, resulting in a strong family growing through the ministry of her own church in a city two hours away from Janikowo!

Katie told all this to us, with tears in her eyes, describing the complex tapestry God weaves in our lives, that seems crazy to us because we see only the underside, with threads running in apparently random directions. Once in a while, however, God gives us a glimpse of the top side and we see the beautiful pattern He was making all the while.

What an encouragement to give a word of witness whenever we have the chance, not knowing what God will do with it to bring many to Himself!

Now it’s Saturday, not nearly as pretty a day as yesterday, cloudy and cool with a few sprinkles, but our hearts are full as we continue to rehearse some of our newer Polish lyrics in preparation for our second program tonight. We’ll need every song on our list, because tonight’s church doesn’t wish to have drama presentations.

At this moment, my typing is being accompanied by a very energetic and dedicated team singing with full voices and hearts in a language that is very challenging. I’m even having to blink back the tears, so blessed I am by this team. They know how much their efforts to sing in Polish connect with the people of this beautiful but spiritually dark land, and they have made themselves available for God’s use!

All are in good health, and we’re getting over our jet lag gradually. Unexpected moments of sleepiness and wakefulness at inappropriate times are occurring less often – or at least no more often than normal in a student’s or professor’s life!

As always, I remind you pray for our trip, in all aspects. May there be more stories like Katie’s, even years from now, about what the Lord did through this VISION team!



Oh, rehearsal must be over!

VISION update Friday, May 15

First, a disclaimer: I apologize for many of the photos that I’m posting. Since I shoot mostly video, I depend on the ability to freeze frames from the tape in order to have still photos for the web and e-mail. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring the proper type of memory card for my video camera, so I can’t freeze frames directly. The only way I’ve been able to come up with is to pause the tape and shoot a photo of the camcorder screen with my cell phone camera. The results? Really bad! But, if a picture is worth a thousand words, these photos might be worth at least a hundred...

So, if a picture looks decent, you can be sure it came from a real camera, mine or someone on the team’s.

VISION XVII on departure day!

Wednesday morning, May 13, we met at the campus to load up the vehicles, have a few little traditional ceremonies and a time of prayer, and head for the airport.

As she has nearly every year since she was on VISION from 1997-2001, Bethany Myers came and presented each team member with a little bag of goodies for their trip. Bethany is the all-time champ when it comes to VISION trips. She took a total of five. As a small gesture of appreciation, we presented her with a nice signed thank you card.

It’s also become a tradition to recognize any VISION members who have just graduated from SDCC. This year there are two, Amy Lambert and Luke Valenti, both of whom are also completing their fourth year on the team. Each of them received a photo mug with many pictures featuring them in various VISION outings and missions trips over their years with the team.

When we arrived at the San Diego airport, we were early enough to be offered the option of taking an earlier flight to San Francisco, which gave us a little more time to relax and get organized before the l–o–n–g, 11-hour overnight flight to Frankfurt, Germany.

Air travel, European style – ride a bus from the plane to the terminal, this time Frankfurt.

We were joined in Frankfurt by Caleb Weeks, the SDCC alum and VISION member from both earlier Poland trips (2002 and 2003). He had flown from his current home in Nashville, TN, via JFK in New York and Heathrow in London. All went very smoothly, thank the Lord!

While we waited between flights, Teagan and Sasha spread out their strings and colored beads on the airport carpet to continue preparing “Wordless Bracelets” which convey the gospel message through their colors. We will use these in children’s ministry.

Our final one-hour flight brought us safely to Poznan, the third largest city in Poland, in the mid-afternoon Thursday, where we were reunited with ALL our luggage and equipment (that doesn’t always happen!). After a short delay, during which we sat around and sang worship songs in the airport, we were met by Katie Yates, our other VISION alum who has been serving full-time in Poland for the last few years, and Jan Tomczyk (pronounced “YAHN TOM-chik”), a Polish pastor who has helped plan all three of our trips to his homeland.

Worship-while-you-wait at Poznan airport

They brought us to Camp Eden, a Christian camp in a beautiful lake-front setting, where we will spend the first few nights of the trip.

The team arrives at Camp Eden’s main building.

We had a wonderful Polish dinner of breaded chicken, boiled potatoes, and cole slaw, and soon settled in for a long overdue night of “make-up” sleep.

VISION is in good hands, thanks to the Polish ladies in the kitchen

As I write, it is Friday morning and I’m sitting with the team in a sunny meeting room at the camp, overlooking the lake. They are trying to finish memorizing their Polish lyrics for their first program tonight in the nearby town of Janikowa.

Caleb is rehearsing with us for the first time, though he had some of the music in advance. Katie, who has learned Polish very well, is helping us with the last few details of pronunciation. In case you think this is easy, here’s just a sample of what we’re singing:

Ześlij szansę wolności, pokoju, radości,

Ześlij, to co przyniesie Ci chwałę,

I wiem, że przyjdą dni, gdy życie przyniesie łzy,

Lecz jeśli to ma wywyższyć Cię,

Jezus, ześlij deszcz.

I hope the various accented characters of Polish came through OK. We often have trouble with that in various software applications that don’t “speak Polish.”

The weather is beautiful, sunny but cool, 40s at night and 60's in the daytime. We’re actually at the same latitude as Canada, say somewhere near the bottom of Hudson Bay, so it doesn’t get too hot here, especially in May. Rain is a definite possibility here, but not today!

Be in prayer for the team, their health (which is excellent at this time), their Polish (which is not exactly excellent but getting better), and above all, their ministry as they bring God’s message of salvation to unbelievers and encouragement to believers. We don’t know all the opportunities God has in store for us, but with His strength we’ll be able to meet each challenge and serve Him effectively.

VISION has arrived safely in Poland...

...with all baggage! Praise the Lord.

We're waiting at the Poznan airport for our main contacts, Katie Yates and Pastor Jan, who told us they might be delayed. The students have circled the wagons (baggage carts) and are singing and playing games while they wait.

While in Frankfurt, Germany, we met up as planned with Caleb Weeks, SDCC alum who came to Poland with VISION back in '02 and '03. Now a resident of Nashville, TN, he's joining in with our ministry these three weeks, and we're delighted to have him!

Those who see this, please send this link to any interested addresses you have. When we get settled, I'll try to update the contact list. We'll be lodging at a camp facility out in the country, and may not have internet access at first. We'll do our best to keep our friends and supporters informed!

Larry Wilson
VISION Faculty Adviser

P. S. Pray without ceasing!

VISION XVII in final preparations for Poland 2009

Welcome to the official blog of VISION XVII!





Our first entry is an abbreviated version of the "press release" in which we announced our trip. We'll try to update this blog as often as possible during the trip, so come back often, and "pray without ceasing!"

The VISION XVII Music and Drama Team of San Diego Christian College will embark Wednesday, May 13 on a three-week ministry in the beautiful land of Poland. With a history marked by tragedies of war and oppression, Poland is now blossoming as one of the important countries of Europe. However, it is also considered the second least evangelized country in Europe with a very small percentage of evangelical believers and many cities with no strong biblical witness.

VISION’s ministry will include evangelistic programs in public schools, orphanages, civic cultural centers, outdoor venues, and churches. They will interact with Polish high school and university students, sharing Christ with nonbelievers and encouraging believers.

This isn’t the first time a VISION team has visited Poland. Previous teams ministered there two years in a row – 2002 and 2003. God used those two trips to move the heart of one young lady on the team at that time, named Katie Yates, and He has since called her back to Poland for full-time service. It will be the privilege of this year’s team to work closely with Katie and her organization, Pioneers, in the area around Szczecinek in the northwestern area of the country.

In addition, VISION will work again in central and southern Poland with a group of Polish pastors and workers related to the Poland Evangelical Mission, a U. S. based organization founded and directed by Dr. Kyle Wilson, father of the VISION team’s faculty adviser, Mr. Larry Wilson. PEM raises funds for investment in church building, pastoral support, camping ministry, and seminary training for a new generation of Polish pastors.

Under the co-direction of SDCC Senior Luke Valenti and Junior Amanda Graham, this is the 17th VISION team to be formed. The group was founded in 1992 by Larry Wilson as part of the vision of Dr. Gary Coombs, who was then and is still Missions Pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church. Past teams have ministered on five continents, including such countries as Brazil, South Korea, Spain, China, Malawi, Romania, Turkey, and Portugal. Over 125 CHC/SDCC students have served on the team throughout its history. Several of them, including Katie Yates, now serve in full-time missions around the world, including some whom the Lord called back to the same land they visited while with VISION.

As has been the case with past teams, VISION will be singing much of their music in the language of the people – in this case, Polish. They’ll be learning such complex phrases as “zawsze byłeś i już będziesz Panem wszystkiego” (“You have always been and always will be Lord of all.”) The effort put into such learning reaps returns in goodwill and acceptance on the part of the people of that land, breaking down barriers to the gospel and broadening our own students’ horizons of ministry.

The universal language of drama, mostly mime with musical background, is also a significant part of VISION’s ministry. Their powerful sketches, supplementing their Christ-honoring music and testimony, have been used of God many times to lead people to Himself where the spoken word has not penetrated.

The team covets the prayer support of the SDCC community as they make final preparations for this trip. Anyone desiring more information may contact Larry Wilson at lwilson@sdcc.edu or 619-441-2200, ext. 1143.