Morning
With only a few hours of sleep in we continued our journey, every two hours bathroom stop, and different car combinations. Our stop routine was: move around, coffee, bathroom, and before going back to the road, we pray. In each car we had a few cards of deep conversation questions as ice breakers. We also created a playlist where everyone contributed by adding their favorite songs. We also had daily devotional where we directed our thoughts to God and encouraged us to the task at hand.
Afternoon
We arrived before anticipated with much excitement, so we dropped our bags and headed to Makro shopping. We met with a few gentlemen who have been partners with us before and some new ones. They had a list of needed items and we moved to action to shop. We were divided into groups of three, one Ukrainian guy and two of us. One of us kept track of the budget while the other helped to load the cart. It was very efficient and soon the trolleys were full! Wheat, flour, sugar, pasta, detergent, toilet paper, lollies, on and on the list goes. We helped them to load the vans along with the generators we brought from the Netherlands. We also made a stop at Decathlon for sports balls and tents for youth camps in Ukraine. At the end of that long day, language was no longer a barrier, I was talked to in Russian or Ukrainian and I replied in English. Interestly enough we understood each other. After the shopping was over, we headed back to our host’s home for dinner.
Evening
We were blessed by being welcomed home with a fine Polish BBQ. The table was beautifully set up, the backyard garden was so peaceful and relaxing. We got to meet and connect with new and old friends. Around the table we gathered with a delicious meal and got to share life together. Some spoke english some didn’t, we had a translator who did a great job passing on our brother’s in Christ testimonies. We were all reminded how fragile life is and how God has called us there to aid a part of the body that is hurting. The highlight of the night for me, was the trust and confidence in God’s power that our brothers had in the midst of the worst moment of their lives. There was pain and sadness in the room. At some point the delicious food didn’t look so interesting anymore. We all turned our ears to their stories. What they asked us to do was to pray for them. What a beautiful faith that despite it all, the hope is still in God. We gathered around them and laid hands on them, we worshipped, and prayed some more. Tongues and words of encouragement, of petition to our Lord were spoken over. We prayed for God’s Will, for peace, for hope, for their families, for safety. The Holy Spirit filled the room and all the tiredness stepped outside. Jesus’s sacrifice was for all in that room and we were honored to pray and ask God on their behalf.
The night ended in hugs and handshakes before a quick debrief and sleepy time. The day was a success. Not by our standards or our own works, but because everyone in the team saw how the Holy Spirit moved and was moved as well in our hearts. Tomorrow we visit the church in Krakow for the first time and we should be well rested for that. The lights were out in a blink. So off we went to bed.
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