Warsaw #1 - Showing Up
Showing Up
Lord, I believe. Help me in my unbelief (Mark 9:23) that in a time like this …
You can be present.
You can give hope; and
In Your name dividing walls of hostility can come crashing down.
That in a time like this…
the worst of human depravity will be quieted by the best of humanity.
Your church will be an instrument of shalom rather than proclaim faith without action; and
You will heal families forced to break up by war, and the countries and hearts of all refugees.
Today, as the day ends, I sit in a hotel room humbled by dinner with a group of women and two children, now refugees from Kyiv trying to get to Spain. It had been a long day already defined by Spirit-infused moments as wandered like Philip in Acts 8 not knowing where exactly he would end up.
We began in worship at Sienna Church, which is Pentecostal but has a teaching leader who is influenced by Reformed teaching. The sermon from Naaman in 2 Kings was spot-on! She said that whether it is war, materialism, an easy life, or our career, we can only find true peace in Jesus Christ. And in finding him, it is not a one-time decision, but we must be washed by the Holy Spirit throughout life fully to be clean. Worshiping with Ukrainians surrounding us and receiving God’s Word during their suffering was powerful.
Then we took a trip to see the oldest Reformed Church in Warsaw, which became a two-hour visit with its Rector, Reverend Michal Jablonski. We captured the moment when Bob Fuller, a trustee of The Outreach Foundation and pastor of First Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, Texas, realized this is the same man he had talked with in 2019 for a possible relationship before COVID became a barrier. Today they met, completely unplanned, and you can see their reaction.
Reverend Michal and his colleague spoke frankly about the need for the church to repent. For too long the church, including the Reformed Church, has known about refugee problems, but it was always Middle Eastern and African people, Muslims for the most part. Polish people were scared and did not like the politics of Russian-caused migration to Eastern Europe. This is not only true of Polish people but of the Baltic States such as Lithuania as well. However, now with Ukrainians Michal said, “God has brought repentance to our hearts so we must respond.” They are taking in refugees into homes, hotels, and helping them get to other countries where they want to go. This is the Holy Spirit working in a context where non-Catholic churches are often myopic and struggle for survival. This Reformed pastor is bold to proclaim the truth of Ephesians 2:14: “Christ himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.”
We concluded our day with an engaging, conversation-filled lunch with the pastor of Sienna Church and his wife, whom we had worshiped with earlier. Joining us was Dr. Piotr Nowak, president of WSTS, the College of Theology and Social Sciences in Warsaw. We heard stories about the refugees from Ukraine, the church’s slow response that has now developed much more, and disturbing stories of what is happening as women and children are arriving. We ate at “The Red Pig” which, while it has good food, is a restaurant that creatively makes fun of Russian leaders. It has become very popular in Warsaw.
The already full day, we thought, was finished but the Holy Spirit said, “Not so fast.”
As we entered the hotel we received a note from another friend, Lena Vasilevsky, who is in Warsaw with 17 women and children from Kyiv. So, Bob Fuller and Tom Boone left for a three-hour dinner with 8 of Lena’s team. Each of these women and children has had to say goodbye to husbands and friends back in Ukraine. For them, everything is very raw. One thing we learned from our Iranian friends in Liverpool last week is that the UK is the endpoint of a very long journey. Poland is the start of that journey. People don’t know what to say, they are exhausted, yet cannot sleep well. Their hearts are filled with guilt and shame of having left. They anxiously await phone calls in the morning from friends and family in Ukraine and are heartbroken when those calls never come because of what that likely means.
Lena (2nd from left in green and who Nashville’s Channel 5 interviewed yesterday with Mark Mueller, Executive Director of The Outreach Foundation) is the “mother” of this team. She shared several God-moments with us, times they’ve known God is with them and there is divine purpose in all this. For example, this team led a Christian after-school ministry in Kyiv of about 300 teenagers. Starting last week, they now lead an online school for Ukrainian children who are refugees. In one week, the school received 4,000 students! Through them, children and teenagers are getting an education but also hearing about the Lord. This is the hope of Christ shining in the darkness through Christians even as they suffer.
Natasha’s son (she is pictured far left) today became a Christian because of the war. Ina’s daughter is an IT expert and takes down Russian media websites to portray evidence of what is really happening. This is part of what is causing Russians to wake up. The two girls present (Amina and Milana) said little, but just wanted to see the Americans who “showed up.” They liked pictures of my dogs and grandchildren. I insisted they all have desert, and the kids loved their tiramisu. A moment of sweetness during a bitter time.
Though tired, it was painfully difficult to leave these women and girls tonight. As we thanked them for their time, they protested, “Nyet nyet, no, no, thank you for coming to us.” People in my former church, Bethel Presbyterian in Cornelius, NC, will know what I am thinking – this was a God sighting.
Gratefully submitted,
Tom Boone, Associate Director for Mission
