In every auto race from the Indy 500 to the local dirt track races the coveted position to start is in the pole position, or simply put, the front. While the driver often gets most, if not all the accolades, it never happens without a well-prepared team. Preparation does not guarantee success, but it does help put you in the right place. Typically, it does not happen overnight. It is often the result of months if not years of hard work and trusting, the proper circumstances will come together in an extraordinary fashion.
I have had the privilege of leading multiple teams on mission trips to Poland. Each team of believers prayed, prepared and bonded together to assist local churches in Poland with various forms of outreach and community engagement.
Just a few months ago I was able to lead a mission team from First Baptist Canyon Lake to Stezyca, Poland, where we joined the Baptist church from Malbork, Poland. We assisted them in conducting a weeklong English Camp for children. The churches in Poland use these children and youth camps to build relationships with the parents and their kids. The Polish churches ask native speaking English speakers to come alongside them in conducting the camp, as English is a gateway language for Polish boys and girls. They learn grammar and vocabulary in school but struggle with the spoken word, which is where we are able to help by teaching them how to speak. The Polish churches use us as the draw for community engagement with families in their area.
Preparation for this trip and others before it actually began about 10 years ago and truly long before. I was part of a team that was slated to do a mission trip to Russia. However, several months before the trip Putin and his leadership team stopped issuing visas to any church groups. With a team ready to serve and nowhere to go we began seeking directions from our savior, asking him to open a place for us. The leader of the trip reached out to an old college friend that was working in Poland as a full-time missionary. The missionary and his wife had been serving there for several years and laid the groundwork in Poland, and as such were now ready for teams from the USA to come across the pond and help them reach the people there. Relationships built on our first trip paved the way for our trip last summer.
The preparation for this mission trip began last fall as I began the process of putting a team together. Through prayer and faith in divine intervention, individuals responded to this calling willing to sacrifice large chunks of their time and money to a service greater than themselves. Together, the team and our church prayed our journey’s path would be paved to deliver a message of love and hope.
After the team was assembled we had much to do to be ready for our adventure. The first task was to prepare a group of people who did not speak Polish how to teach English to a group of children who spoke little to no English. I was blessed to have a relationship with a young lady from outside our church who had a master’s degree in linguistics. She developed and wrote the curriculum for the English lessons and Bible Studies, teaching us wonderful new techniques that were easy for us to learn and repeat. Under this expert guidance, the team kept the children engaged in the lessons and stories.
In addition, the team was responsible for leading American games and teaching workshops, which would give the students an opportunity to learn a new skill or create something to take home. Each team member planned games for one day, and many prepared workshops. They gathered ideas and supplies, many ordered and sent ahead, trusting Polish Amazon and Google translate were accurate. And the rest we packed in 13 suitcases.
Fortunately, there was a large and willing group at our church to help prepare raw materials for crafts and workshops ahead of time. Folks packaged hundreds of bags of beads the kids used to make key chains and bracelets. Some prepared the supplies for each child to make sheep to enhance the lesson of the lost sheep. Others cut out crosses, made tissue paper squares, and packaged supplies so the teachers were able to spend time with the children instead of using scissors and counting beads.
We also had to trust that our Polish counterparts were doing what they needed to do in order to prepare for a week of camp. The Polish team took care of logistics like a place to stay, food to eat, and registration. They prepared Polish lessons and games. They provided volunteers, and most of all, prayed. After all, it would be very disappointing to travel to Poland, spend lots of time and money, and not have any kids come to camp or if they were not ready for their part of the camp.
Success depends on more than each person doing their part to be prepared. We prepare our lessons, we prepare our games, we prepare our hearts and lives. We trust each other to be prepared. Most importantly we place our trust in our faith which guides us to serve others. Ultimately our success comes not just from relationships with the people we meet or in our preparation, but also in our faithful devotion. When we are prepared to serve through our faith we are placed in the pole position. ❦

About the Author

Peter Hill serves as Senior Adult/Missions Pastor at First Baptist Church of Canyon Lake, Texas. He has been in the ministry for almost 40 years in various churches and positions across Texas. He has led dozens of mission trips for youth and adults both locally and internationally.
He is married to his beautiful wife Cheryl. Together, they have five awesome children and three wonderful grandchildren. He loves the hill country, the Texas Longhorns and enjoys playing golf. Even if a great round means he has the same golf ball in his pocket at the end of the round as he did when he started the round

Please follow and like us: