For the next few weeks, I am dedicating my blog to Poland. I will share stories about things that God has done in the past 3 years. Click here to read all my posts about Poland.

When I tell people that I go to Poland, they almost always ask me, “Why did you choose Poland?

The answer to that question is LOOONG, so I usually condense it down to something like, “Because God told me to!” or “God chose it for me!” but to lots of people that sounds creepy, and to lots of Christians that just sounds pious or cheesy. I prefer telling the LOOONG story, but rarely get the opportunity. Well…this is my blog and I am seizing the opportunity!

As a freshman in high school I sat in a sermon where the pastor said that everyone was called to move to a foreign country and be a missionary. I don’t know if that is what the pastor actually said, but that is what I heard. And I did NOT like that because I knew that it was not true. So I resolved then and there that I was NOT going to be a foreign missionary!

As a freshman in college I learned about God’s heart for the nations and that His desire is for people from every nation to know Him. This is how God plans to reveal His glory, and he invites us to be a part of it! I got excited about foreign missions for the first time, and I was willing to pray and willing to give, but I was NOT going to go. I had always planned on teaching special ed, and knew that the Lord had given me a passion for working with people with disabilities. So He definitely was NOT calling me to go be a missionary. Then a question came to mind. I did not hear an audible voice or anything like that. These words just…came to mind.

If I called you to go, would you be willing?

“But You haven’t called me to go, so it really is a moot point.”

But if I did, would you be willing?

“You won’t do that because You have called me to teach special ed.”

But if I changed those plans, would you be willing?

I knew the answer. It was no. I was not willing. And I also knew that this was sinful. I valued my plans to become a special ed teacher more than I valued God and His plan for me. I didn’t trust that His plan was good. So I swallowed hard and asked God to make me willing.

“Okay, Lord, I am willing to follow whatever plan you have for me. By the way, that plan is for me to be a special ed teacher, right?”

I want you to go.

“Wait…what????”

I want you to go.

“I mean I said that I was willing, but…”

My plans are better. Go.

So I submitted (quite begrudgingly), and resigned myself to go. The only problem was, I didn’t know HOW to go. What did that mean? What was I supposed to DO? I hadn’t planned for this…I didn’t know the next step! I was undone.

Then I met Shelly, a pastor’s wife who had served as a missionary in Hungary for 5 years. I told her my story, and asked her what happened next. She gave me great advice. First, she said, “God does not call the equipped. He equips the called.” That was good news because, like I said, I was equipped to work with people with disabilities, not live in a grass hut and teach Bible stories to pygmies. Then she asked me if there was any particular place or organization or religious people that I was drawn towards. The answer was definitively NO. I had no idea, no plan, no preference, nothing! So she told me to pray.

That night I was taking a shower, reflecting on Shelly’s words. I decided to give it a go.

“Okay, God. I am going to go…so that means there has to be a place TO go. If you want me to go somewhere specific let me know. Otherwise I’m just gonna pick something.”

Instantly, Poland.

After telling my brain to be quiet and quit trying to put words in God’s mouth, I chalked up the experience to my chronic over-thinking and went to bed.

The next day I was flipping channels and stopped on Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals. She started describing the hearty meal that she planned to make, one that she first ate in Poland. Oh, that’s weird, I thought.

The next day I was flipping through the channels again. I landed on a reality tv show. I watched for a few minutes, and then this girl started going on a tirade about being Polish. Um…weird.

The next day was a Sunday, and I was sitting in church. I haven’t the faintest idea about the sermon topic, but about half-way through our pastor started sharing a story about a Polish man and the way God worked in his life during the Holocaust. It was getting weirder and weirder.

This continued every day for nearly two weeks. Poland was everywhere! I still was wary about putting words in God’s mouth or seeking signs as confirmation of His will. So what did I do? I asked God for a sign as confirmation of His will. Looking back, I realize how immature my understanding of the Bible was and how tiny my faith was, but that is what I did. I don’t want to present this as something more (or less) glorious than it really was. This is just the true story, the good and the bad.

During this time I had gone shopping with a friend and came across two Audrey Hepburn movies that are pretty rare, so I had not seen them. As a good Audrey fan, I had no choice but to purchse the movies, The Children’s Hour and War and Peace. Earlier in the week I watched The Children’s Hour (which is super weird, and I don’t recommend it, even though Audrey is GREAT in it!), so I was about to put in War and Peace.

I did not know anything about the plot besides the fact that there was some war and some peace and some Audrey. I realize that this story is famous, and that my ignorance probably makes me uncultured, but I am okay with that.

Just before I put in the movie I was thinking about all my recent Poland encounters, and how coincidental it all seemed to be. So I said, “Okay, God, if you want me to go to Poland, then they better mention Poland in this movie.”

Do YOU know the plot of War and Peace? It is set in Russia during Napoleon’s European conquest, which happens to border Poland. You better believe they talked about Poland. In fact, Audrey’s character’s fiance spent a whole year away in Poland!

So I figured I was going to Poland. But I didn’t know anything about Poland or missionary opportunities there. The organizations that I knew did not send people to Poland. I didn’t know where to start. So I started at square one: Google.

I did a Google search for “Poland mission trip summer 2006”. Nothing. About a month later I tried again. Nothing. A month later, still nothing. Finally in November I got results: Joni & Friends Disability Ministry. I clicked on the link and read all about a mission trip to Poland to minister to people with disabilities.

Um….remember when God told me that His plan is better?

It is.

I teach special ed AND go on mission trips! He had been equipping me for this kind of mission trip all along! But since I never stopped to ask Him about His plan, I nearly missed out on something far better than I could have planned. It’s like I got half of the message, and then plugged my ears. It took a lot of prying for Him to get them unplugged, but I am so glad that He did.

I was stubborn, but I am learning that submission is better.

I was rebellious, but I am learning that obedience is better.

I was clinging to my plans, but I am learning that His plans are better.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways your ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

For the next few weeks, I am dedicating my blog to Poland. I will share stories about things that God has done in the past 3 years. Click here to read all my posts about Poland.

People in America donate wheelchairs to the donation sites around the country. Then the wheelchairs are taken to prisons where they are refurbished and spiffed up. Then they are sent all around the world…including Poland!

When they arrive in Poland they are taken to the Warsaw prison where the inmates continue to clean, fix, and construct wheelchairs from parts. There are all kinds of manual wheelchairs – sport chairs, kid chairs, chairs for people who need lots of support, “just a chair” suitable for most elderly people, “hemis” which can be controlled with only one arm, all sorts of chairs!

For months Mariola is sending information to churches all over Poland that have agreed to host a wheelchair distribution. These local churches are in charge of advertising for the distribution, making appointments with wheelchair recipients, and organizing an evangelism team.

Once the Wheels for the World team (that includes me!) arrives, the local churches have sent in the dimensions and disability description of each recipient. We take this info to the prison, and roughly match each applicant with a chair. The local churches send trucks to pick up the chairs and bring them to their cities until we come for the distribution.

Usually our team arrives in the distribution city the night before or the morning of the distribution. As soon as we get to the site, we get to work. We set up a waiting room, a reception desk (Mariola’s domain), a workroom, and a wheelchair room (my domain!).

People come to the distribution in all sorts of creative ways. Some have borrowed a wheelchair from a friend, some come in an old wheelchair that has grown too small, some are carried, some have a cane, etc. Once a man came on a make-shift skateboard!

When a person arrives, they give their name to Mariola who locates their application and gives them a number. They then wait in the waiting room until their number is called. Once it is their turn, they are brought into the work room.

In the workroom there are three stations, each with a physical therapist, mechanic, and translator. At the station, the person is given star treatment from the physical therapists and mechanics while they are being measured and interviewed so we can make sure they get just the right chair. Once they know the persons specs, they come to the wheelchair room and say something like, “We need a chair with an 18-inch seat and elevated footrests.” I have been in the wheelchair room cleaning, measuring, and organizing the chairs by size, so I help them find a chair that matches their specs.

They bring out the chair, test it out, and hopefully it works! If not, they try again with another chair, and another chair, until we get it right.

After they get their chair, their picture is taken with the team members who helped them, then immediately printed and given to them as a gift! People always LOVE this and are amazed at our super-speedy photo printer.

Then they go to the evangelism station where they receive a Bible and Joni Earekson Tada’s story (the woman who started Wheels for the World – she has quadriplegia and an amazing testimony of how God has been glorified through her disability). They share the good news of freedom found in Jesus, and then keep in touch with the wheelchair recipients after the American team has returned to the States.

After the distribution is done, we clean and pack up. Then we are often treated to a dinner or cultural experience by the host church. It is such a blessing to get to see the sights and learn about the culture in the country where we go to serve!

Krzysztof (Mariola’s husband) is very passionate about evangelism. He says that Wheels for the World is the most effective evangelical outreach in which his church participates. People in Poland (and most of Eastern Europe) take a long time to form trusting relationships with one another. People do not understand their need for a Savior. But when a need that they KNOW they have is being met, people more easily understand their spiritual need as well.

The distributions facilitate an opportunity for the local church to connect with people who are otherwise hidden from society, meet a need, and maintain these relationships long after the mission trip is over. I love the nature of this ministry and am so blessed to be a small part of God’s work in Poland.

For the next few weeks, I am dedicating my blog to Poland. I will share stories about things that God has done in the past 3 years. Click here to read all my posts about Poland.

Traveling internationally is always an adventure. It seems that my international traveling adventures can best be viewed from the vantage point of the baggage claim. I have stood at numerous baggage claims for numerous hours watching that baggage carousel go around and around and around and around…

But God had a lesson ready for me to learn. Unfortunately, it took me four chances until I finally learned it.

The first time…

I was traveling to Poland for the first time. Not a veteran flier, I was not too worried about airport stuff, but I was definitely full of anticipation about the trip. I had no expectations – no idea what was going to happen. When I arrived in Poland with the rest of the team, we stood together at the carousel and I watched that baggage carousel go around and around and around as everyone else got their bags. After thirty minutes of waiting, I was naiive enough to think that mine was still coming. An hour later I was ready to admit that it wasn’t coming.

Now, if you have lost luggage, then you know that there is this little room where you go and stand in line until you get to talk to a person who usually speaks decent, but not fluent, English (you are, after all, in their country, and are blessed that they know any English at all). They show you this piece of paper with pictures of different styles of luggage. It took me a while to remember the brand and exact style of my luggage, but eventually settled on “22-Red” hoping that it was right.

Then I left the airport with nothing but my backpack and the clothes on my back. This really bothered me. I had not adequately prepared for this. I needed my stuff. I wanted my stuff. This was inconvenient, to say the least. Approximately 50% of my conversations with people on the team (and my conversations with God) were about where the heck my luggage was, how annoyed I was, and how uncomfortable my jeans were for the 3rd day AND night in a row, and how I wanted my contacts and hair products.

God drew me to Matthew 6 where Jesus tells us not to worry about what we eat, drink, or wear because God clothes the fields and feeds the sparrows, and doesn’t he care about us more than those? So certainly, He will provide for our needs. So I prayed through this every night, hoping that it was true and REALLY hoping that he would get my luggage to me. 4 days later it came, and I was never so glad to see clean socks in all my life.

The second time…

I was on my way home from a whole summer in Poland. I had done Wheels for the World for two weeks, then I joined with The Navigators to teach English at a Christian camp near Wroclaw. I got dropped off at a tiny airport in Wroclaw where I said good-bye to my luggage, then flew to Warsaw.

Upon arrival to the Warsaw airport, I noticed that something weird was going on. I had to leave the domestic terminal and go to the international terminal, but everyone was being sent outside regardless of their destination. After standing in crowds of mass confusion for an hour or so, certain that I had missed my connecting flight, we learned that there had been a bomb threat and all flights were delayed until the situation was resolved.

An hour later, we all rushed inside and ran to our flights, mine was to Canada where I would then connect to Houston. Because of the bomb stuff (which turned out to be an idle threat, thank the Lord), my 3 hour layover had become a 30 minute layover, which was cutting it VERY close. I arrived in Canada, was sent to the WRONG baggage claim by LOT (Polish airline) personnel, and watched the carousel go around and around and around and around…

Finally, I decided that it was not coming and that I had missed my connection. Airport personnel directed me to speak with the ticket desk. The only problem was that it was late at night, and no one was at the LOT ticket desk. And the next flight wasn’t until the next evening, so no one would be there any time soon. I was stressed. Very stressed. Praying and trying not to cry. And STRESSED.

After trying the 1-800 number for the LOT airline, finding it to be disconnected, I was about to go to sleep on a bench in the airport to wait until the next day. But a custodian suggested that I try to find someone in the LOT airline office, even though they had probably already closed for the night. So I followed his ridiculous directions: down the hall, down the escalator, to the right, down another escalator, through the glass doors, to the right, then a left, then down another hall, then to an unmarked door.

I finally found this unmarked door, and one very nice LOT worker was there waiting on me! She said that they had found my unclaimed baggage, and sent it to the connecting airline, and gave me a hotel voucher and a one-way ticket to Houston for the next morning. But I still had to claim my baggage in the morning at a specified baggage carousel.

So I spent the night in Canada. What a blessing it was! I had learned so many things that summer, and I needed time alone to process. God had clearly planned this for me. But STILL part of me was annoyed and stressed. I STILL doubted that He would (or could?) take care of me. I STILL prayed hoping that my bags would turn up because I needed that stuff. I am such a slow learner!

The next day at the carousel, you know what happened, around and around and around…nothing. So they sent me on my way through customs, a single traveler, with NO bags, a one-way ticket into another country. I got searched at every possible check-point. At one point they swabbed inside my backpack and put the swab into a plastic baggie and then into a file. I am not kidding. Because of all these security delays, I ended up running to my connecting flight, barely making it, and getting to Houston where they promised my bags would be.

You guessed it, they weren’t. So I went up to the luggage desk, and quickly found “22-Red” and 5 days later my bags were delivered to my house.

The third time…

It was just getting comical at this point. This time was not to Poland, but vacation with Nana. She took me on a Mediterranean cruise as a rockin graduation present!

We arrived to the airport in Barcelona with our ship leaving port in 4 hours, and watched the baggage carousel go around and around…my luggage was not there. I went up to the luggage counter and said, “I’m missing my luggage, style 22-Red.” I gave them the rest of the info like the seasoned luggage-loser that I was. The transformation in my heart was taking place. I was starting to trust Him. I didn’t worry about being cared for, He had proven to be trustworthy in far more desperate luggage situations. I knew that would happen. But I still wanted my stuff. I needed that stuff.

I called the airline and talked to the cruise people regarding my luggage multiple times a day. I ended up getting a free pair of Italian leather shoes out of the deal. I was way less annoyed and stressed, but still that tinge of anxiety remained… And 3 days later my luggage arrived.

The fourth time (and hopefully the LAST time), I had finally learned…

I was on my way to Poland. I got to the LOT terminal in Chicago with just enough time to make my connection to Warsaw, but I immediately noticed that something wasn’t right. There were two Polish women in front of me, a mother and daughter, who were chewing out the airline workers in rapid-fire angry Polish. I knew enough Polish to understand the situation – the flight had been overbooked, and there were no seats left for them, which meant there would be none for me either.

The Lord had taught me. I had been a stubborn student, but He had taught me. I was not anxious. I knew He would take care of me. The airport personnel explained the situation to me, and said that they would put us in a hotel that night and on a flight the next night. I told her that whatever happened was fine. God had been gracious to me, and as a result I was able to be gracious to the workers. I did not fault them, I was not angry, I was not anxious. God had disciplined my anxious heart in the past. He had proven himself to be trustworthy.

After one worker explained the situation to the three of us (me + the 2 angry ladies), another worker called her to the back. She returned, looked me in the eye, and said, “Ms. Moore, do you need to phone your relatives in Poland to let them know of the situation?” I told her that it was really fine, I wasn’t worried, and that I didn’t need to. She looked at me again, with a look in her eye and an insistence in her voice, and said, “Ms. Moore, come with me to call your relatives in Poland.” I was confused, but I just said, “Okay,” and followed her.

As we walked away from the two angry ladies, she whispered, “There is one seat available. I couldn’t tell you in front of those ladies because they would start yelling at me again. You have been so patient, so I want you to have it. But as soon as we turn this corner you have to RUN or the plane will leave without you. RUN!”

So I ran. I yanked off my shoes, cut in front of everyone in the security line, and RAN to the plane. I crossed the threshold of the plane barefoot, still carrying my shoes in my hand, and panting for breath as they closed the doors behind me.

I sat on that plane as it took off moments later, knowing that my luggage would not make it to Poland with the plane, but I did not care. Not at all. I did not hope that God would take care of me, I KNEW that He would. I didn’t need my stuff. The stuff showed up after 2? or 3? or 4? days, this time I wasn’t counting. I had learned – seek after His kingdom and His righteousness, and then all the other stuff would be added. It isn’t the stuff that matters, it is righteousness.

When I returned to Houston at the end of that summer, my luggage made it. It was broken, and I had to throw it away. It may sound silly, but it was almost as if the Lord was saying, “It is finished. The lesson is learned.”

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

For the next few weeks, I am dedicating my blog to Poland. I will share stories about things that God has done in the past 3 years. Click here to read all my posts about Poland.

First, a funny story:

Our bus driver was trying to park in a very tight spot along the road so that we could get out and join the masses at some monument in Warsaw. He couldn’t see behind the bus, so he asked if there was anything behind him. Someone said, “Well, there’s a pole, but you still have a few feet to go.” Then I said, “A pole? There are Poles EVERYWHERE!!”

Har har har… I’m so punny!

Anyways…

Let’s get the PEOPLE of Poland straightened out. I know…there are a lot, and it is confusing.

Mariola & Krzystof (k-SHIS-tof)

Mariola is the President of Joni and Friends Poland. The title President is a little deceptive because she is the ONLY worker for Joni and Friends Poland. She runs the ministry all year long by herself until the team comes for Wheels for the World for 12 days each summer. I was her intern last summer. Her husband, Krzysztof is the pastor of the largest Evangelical church in Poland (500+ people). They speak mediocre English, and both of them are HILARIOUS. For a taste of Mariola, read this post I wrote last summer. They live in a very modest flat where she taught me how to cook lots of different Polish foods! They have two teenagers – Marta and Benjamin (ben-YA-meen).

Wojtek (VOY-tek), but not the cat

Read this. He is a mechanic on the Wheels for the World team every year. He taught me the first Polish I ever learned. He is my cat’s namesake. He is also my newest Facebook friend! He’s crazy. I love Wojtek, the cat AND the person!

Bozena (bo-SHEN-uh)

Last summer I needed a place to live, so Mariola asked people in their church if I could stay with them. The only specification was that it was near Mariola’s flat. Bozena is a single 30-something accountant who lives in a one-bedroom flat just two streets away from Mariola, so she offered me her home. She moved all of her personal belongings into the living room where she slept on the futon all summer, and gave me her bedroom! Living with her was so much fun. On the weekends she showed me all the sights around Warsaw – we went to free concerts in the park, the zoo, the palace, her friends’ homes, for jogs in the woods. She taught me traditional Polish dances, taught me to cook using the metric system, and doctored my ridiculous burn. Because her English is very poor, she sang “Stand by Me” my entire last week there to communicate that she wanted me to “Stay with Her”. She was such a blessing to me!

Delinda

Delinda is not Polish. She lives in Arizona. She works for Joni and Friends, and has cooperated with Mariola to plan these wheelchair distribution trips for the past 13 years. Funny stuff is always happening to her, and her comedic timing is spot-on, so the combination of the two (good content and good delivery) is hysterical! She is married to Phillip, and they have two kids whom they adopted. I love hearing Delinda talk about adoption. I love hearing Delinda talk about anything, really. She is a great leader. She makes things happen when they need to happen, and lets things slide when they can slide. And she keeps inviting me back to Poland, even when my exact role on the trip is so undefined. She trusts that God has a purpose for me there, and sure enough He always does!

Justyna (yoo-STIN-uh)

Last summer when I was interning for Mariola, I did some English teaching on the side. I needed a translator for the youngest kids who spoke no English, and Justyna showed up for the job. She had heard about the ministry, and was very interested. She said, “I hear about people coming as missionaries to Poland. I want to be a missionary, too. Can I be a missionary to the States?” She went on to explain that she wanted to work with people with disabilities, and asked if I could help her find a way. I told her YES! This summer she is returning to the States with me, and will work at Joni and Friends Family Retreat, which is basically a Christian camp for individuals with disabilities and their families. I am so excited because this is my dream – to equip national believers to do the work of the ministry.

These are just a few of the people that I love about Poland.

You might have noticed that I like Poland.

I like the food, the language, the culture, the sights. I love the people I have met and the memories we share. And I LOVE what God has done in my life because of Poland.

This week I am sending out support letters so that I can return to Poland in June. My grandma calls these “begging letters” which, in a sense, they are. I hate that about raising support. But I also know that there are lots of benefits that come along with raising support: It keeps me humble, it keeps the people who love me updated on my life and ministry, people promise to pray for me, and people who can’t GO on mission trips get to be a part of my trip! When people promise to support me, I bring a list of those people with me. I imagine that I am bringing them to Poland like stowaways in my luggage. I think of them often, thank God for them often.

When people promise to *pray for me, I send them one or two specific things for them to be praying about. This way, I know that specific people or places or relationships or issues are being prayed for. When I get back, I always have cool stories to share with people about how God answered THEIR specific prayers. I could go to Poland and give away 1,000 wheelchairs, but if it wasn’t being covered in prayer, it would be a complete waste of time. Prayer is the life behind this ministry.

When people sacrificially *give money so that I can go, I try to communicate with them as often as possible. I like to keep them updated on the events that are happening as a result of their gift! When people give to my trip, it goes directly to my costs – hotels, food, wheelchair parts, bus fees, airplane tickets – the “stuff” that gets me where I’m going! I try to be incredibly frugal with this money that is given, so that at the end of the trip I can give any leftover money to Joni and Friends Poland. Mariola’s family (who lives off of a very small pastor’s salary) have to pick up the tab on a LOT of ministry expenses. Last summer, because of the people who gave (many of whom read this blog!!) there was enough money left over to provide 3 months of rent for the Joni and Friends Poland office, an expense that Mariola would have had to pay otherwise. This money is not just money – it is MINISTRY!

So I will mail my “begging letters” out today, confident that the Lord will provide so that this ministry may continue. For the next few weeks, I am dedicating my blog to Poland. I will share stories about things that God has done in the past 3 years. I want you to know Mariola, Bozena, and Wojtek (the person, not the cat!). I want you to experience a wheelchair distribution. I want you to get a taste of the way that He has used Poland to transform my life.

*If you haven’t been a part of my support team in the past, and would like to join this year, email me at rachelelaine11@gmail.com, and I’ll get you hooked up! Thanks!!