Poland: Biblical Worldview Seminar

continued from Itineraries Linked

On Saturday Peter and Tim had a morning Biblical Worldview Seminar in Poznan. Bill took the opportunity to meet with Tucker and Meredith Boone, some of the newer ITMI missionaries on the field. More later about this delightful young couple and their darling little “Boonies” – Paisley and Bethany.

In the afternoon the team (Peter, Tim, Bill and Piotr) traveled 30 miles to Gniezno, the former capital of Poland and an important center for the Roman Catholic Church. They had lunch with the Banicki family. Darek, the father, is an historian, teacher at the Bible school and preaches in Baptist churches in central Poland. Daria, his wife, is a chemical engineer by profession, but a fulltime mom to three children. Michael, their 11-year old boy suffers from Niemann-Pick Syndrome, Type C and requires 24-hour care. Please pray that medication, now in the test-stage, will soon be available.

Late afternoon the team held a modified BWS at the Baptist Church. This Church is strategically located in Gniezno and is the only evangelical witness in the city. Afterwards they had dinner with the pastor, Janusz Fredyk and his family.

Sunday morning Bob and Sue Taber picked up Tim just after 8 a.m. to take him to Gniezno for the morning service. Peter and Bill went with Piotr to the 5N Baptist Church in Poznan for their morning service. It was Bill’s first time to preach in the 5N Church. [New Birth (required), New Testament orientation, New discipleship leading to New direction in your life.]

Services are held in an old cinema building complete with theater seats and a stage. Peter brought greetings then left to lead the children’s service and challenge them. Bill preached the Gospel from John 20 and several precious souls came to Christ.

This was the Sunday that Pope John Paul II died. Imagine being in Poland on the day that the Polish Pope died. All across the country flags were at half-mast with a black sash across them. There was a genuine heartfelt sense of loss among the people he had been instrumental in liberating from communism.

Piotr had arranged a 4 p.m. meeting at the Mission office, a large facility located next to the First Baptist Church. It houses the Bread of Life office, KOMPAS and other mission outreaches. He invited all the foreign missionaries (mostly American) that have gone out under ITMI to serve in Poland plus all the nationals serving with us in some related way. ITMI has seven Americans working in Poland: Richard and Brooke Nungesser, Bob and Sue Taber, Tucker and Meredith Boone and Jim LaRose. They were greatly encouraged to see how many Polish and other nationals are working there, including Dawid and Aura Karol (she is from Venezuela), in ministry related to ITMI. Some are from the Ukraine and other countries. There were about 40 people present. Bill gave a brief history of ITMI and underlined the basic vision of the Mission.