POLAND 2009 - Belchatow

Bełchatów, Poland

Sunday, February 8, 2009
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Visiting A Friend’s Home Town
We had the opportunity to go with our friend, Damian, to his hometown of Bełchatów. After a half-hour bus ride we arrived and Damian showed us around the town. Bełchatów is a thriving place with an interesting mixture of old and new; a place where traditional churches and modern graffiti art exist side by side.

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I would like to share a couple of things. First of all, I would like to say how awesome of a friend Damian has become to us. His love of God and of people is very evident. He has come to our place this last couple of weeks after Kid’s Club and before he leaves for university in Wrocław, to give us Polish lessons and to fellowship. We have been able to minister to him and he to us. I would like to ask for prayer for him as he leaves for university. I believe that God has placed a call to missions upon his life. Please pray that God would guide him and direct him in all of his ways.

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Also, another interesting thing that I noticed about the city of Bełchatów: The city logo is symbolized by Adam and Eve being tempted in the garden. In fact, one of the ploys, or catchy slogans to get people to come to visit Bełchatów, according to Damian, goes something like this, “Be tempted! Come to Bełchatów.” After talking to Kasia the other day, this seems to have been the city logo for hundreds of years now. I wonder why the prominent people of the city chose the temptation and fall of man to represent their city. It is a bit more affluent city with a population of 60,000 people, I think, yet no evangelical church except, from what I hear, a small charismatic home fellowship. This brings me back to the whole spiritual warfare thing. Where do you start in undoing something that may very well have lasting impact on a city like this? What are the spiritual ramifications of choosing to have your city represented by original sin? I was definitely praying as we were walking through the city. But this isn’t even the city we are living in. I pray that God would bring more and more Spirit-filled believers to come and break any curses that have been placed on this city, perhaps unbeknownst to its’ current inhabitants, and that they would continue to work of spiritual warfare and evangelism in a very non-evangelical place. If you think about it, please also pray for the freedom of the people of Bełchatów.

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Christian Young