wfn.org | [LCMSNews] Needed: mission teams for Poland

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>9.3.2009		
>	LCMS News	 	
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>THE LUTHERAN CHURCH Missouri Synod  	 	
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	September 3, 2009 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 73

Needed: 14 short-term mission teams for Poland

>By Paula Schlueter Ross

As a placement counselor for LCMS World Mission, Jennifer Mustard knows
the value of sending teams of U.S. Lutherans to teach weeklong English
"camps" in other countries.

So she wasn't too surprised that sending five short-term teams to Poland
for the first time this past July would be just as successful.

The only problem was that there weren't enough teams to serve the 21
Polish congregations that had requested them.

"I'm going to need a lot of teams for next year," Mustard said -- a
minimum of 14, to be exact, with six to 10 members each.

News about the weeklong English camps has spread "across the whole
region," Mustard says, thanks to advertising by congregations of the
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland -- which co-host
the camps as outreach events; the church body's Center for Mission and
Evangelism; media coverage by Polish TV stations and newspapers; and
word of mouth.

Even the mayor of Zabrze, in southern Poland, who visited a camp hosted
by the local Lutheran church there, "was so impressed," Mustard said.

In a thank-you letter dated July 18, Mayor Malgorzata Manka-Szulik told
Mustard, in part:

"I am glad that representatives of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod
have organized the project from 13 to 18 of July 2009 in our city.  It
was a very precious and fruitful time for children living in Zabrze,
very appreciated by all participants and their guardians.  I hope that
the project will be continued in the next years."

Continuing the project is just what LCMS World Mission plans to do.
Teams for July 2010 will lead camps at the seven congregations served
this year, plus seven others in various parts of the country.

Poland has Christians, according to Mustard, but many are "uncommitted"
to their faith.  The weeklong camps give local pastors opportunities to
reach both congregation members and non-members, she said, and all of
the hosting churches and communities are "very welcoming" to their U.S.
guests.

Through the camps, LCMS volunteers are expected to share their faith
while helping Polish youth practice their English-language skills.  The
camps include Bible study, skits, crafts, games, music, dance, and
sports competitions.

Kathy Witto, a teacher at Martin Luther High School in Queens, N.Y.,
helped lead a camp in Lidzbark, in northern Poland.  Her team consisted
of two adults, three college students, and a high-school student.  Their
camp was similar to a vacation Bible school and involved 33 young people
ages 9 to 18, "so our young team members fit right in," Witto said.

Since the neighborhood around Martin Luther High School is largely
populated by recent Polish immigrants, her short-term mission experience
provided "a wonderful opportunity to build bridges between our school
and community by learning more about the Polish culture and language,"
she said.

Witto said she also enjoyed meeting the Polish pastors and congregation
members, as well as the students, because "it was obvious their passion
for -- and faithfulness to -- the Word was the reason they were there.
It was another reminder of how far and wide the Body of Christ extends."

Mustard said teams can come from a single congregation, or several, and
no special training is necessary to serve as a short-term missionary.
Team members can be any age, and families are welcome.

All you need, she said, "is just a desire to speak to youth in English
and share the Gospel."

This year's cost totaled about $2,000 per person for 10 days, which
included airfare, food, lodging, ground transportation, and
international health insurance.  Volunteers flew into Krakow, Poland,
from their home cities, so airfare costs varied.

For more information or to volunteer, send an e-mail to
mission.teams@lcms.org <mailto:mission.teams@lcms.org>  or call
800-433-3954 and ask to speak with a placement counselor.

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If you have questions or comments about this LCMSNews release, contact
Joe Isenhower Jr. at joe.isenhower@lcms.org
<mailto:joe.isenhower@lcms.org>  or (314) 996-1231, or Paula Schlueter
Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org <mailto:paula.ross@lcms.org>  or (314)
996-1230.

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