“That was a big mistake to place the most important people of the government and army in one plane,” said one girl. “I’m sure it will be changed. It has to – because it’s too irresponsible.” While most remained baffled at the 96 deaths, others needed someone to blame and pointed fingers for the first few days.

That Saturday, people gathered at the president’s palace gates to lay flowers, candles and flags. Lines flowed out of flower shops on the road near the palace. The people were filled with an overwhelming sorrow. When the President’s body was found and brought to Warsaw, thousands gathered to pay respects and to see. Some pushed through the crowds making their way as close as possible to where the body would pass through. It was almost as if they had to see it to believe all this was true.

During the long wait, the silence was occasionally broken with solemn prayers asking for God’s mercy on the people.

Poland entered a week of mourning for their president, his wife and the 94 others who died in the crash on their way to a Katyn memorial. This was one more hard blow to Poland. The week before Easter, the people mourned the death of Pope John Paul II, then they mourned the death of Christ, of those who suffered at Katyn and now, their government and leaders. “Now when people look at this tragedy, they have an opportunity to find out about a tragedy that happened 70 years ago,” said a friend as she processed the recent events.

Flags flew half-mast all over the city – at apartment complex entrances, from balconies, on the streets, everywhere. Even through a solemn cloud lingered over the city for weeks, a heightened sense of patriotism was, and is present.

The processing is not over – it will take months as campaigns have already started for new leaders to be put into place. Candles continue to burn and flags are still half-mast at the president’s palace. People still come to look at a photo memorial put in place. Further down the street is an exhibit on Katyn.

We can only hope to give encouragement to others as we process these events ourselves. We do not have the answers when our friends ask us “why?” No one knows all the answers, but we can only continue to place hope in God during this time. God knows their pain. We continue to support friends and continue to pray for wise decisions as Poland chooses new leadership.

The attitude towards Lent varies among our friends. At a social event, we asked some Poles their impressions regarding the importance of this season. Of seven, three didn’t observe Lent at all. The others observed it with varying degrees of interest, and six were positive that their family and friends observe it as well. Some of them view it as an obligation, or just tradition. But two of them said that they make the personal decision to observe Lent out of desire to honor the holy season.

One or two people view Lent as a time to work on yourself as a person. According to one friend, Christmas is “more significant, but Lent is more inside one’s soul.” In her words, “I think it is important to observe because one can think about one’s behavior and how it can change for better.” Another wrote, “I know that I should give up something for Lent, but I think that all year we should work on ourselves.” It is normal for people to give up meat on Fridays during the Lent. Beyond that, it seems most common for people to give up or cut back on sweets and chocolate, either on Sundays or for the 40 day period. One person even mentioned giving up television in the past.

This period leading up to Easter is very significant to many people in our lives here in Poland. Even the Poles who have no interest in Lent acknowledge its cultural importance. Keep them in your prayers as they navigate this Holy season to a better understanding of Christ’s love and sacrifice.

Evening 1: Pumpkin pies
Evening 2: pecan sandies, ginger cookies, snowballs (Russian tea cakes)
Evening 3: buckeye candies, frozen fruit cups, chocolate covered pretzels
Evening 4 and 5: carrot, zucchini, pumpkin breads

Along with a number of other delicious foods, the Dec 16th Christmas party was a success. 60 people came for the festivities, which was almost double from last year’s 35 attendees. The evening, filled with fun, great food and great conversation was one to remember. Some of the cookies and breads lasted us through Christmas and were enjoyed during our Christmas Eve celebration.

In Poland, tradition holds that the main celebration and family gathering is called Wigelia, held on Christmas Eve. Twelve dishes are served, without meat, and an extra place setting for anyone who may be traveling by or who doesn’t have a place to go. Gifts are opened during the evening. The following day (25th) is reserved for extended family and the second day of Christmas (26th) for friends. Our team decided to enjoy Wigelia together this past year and reserve Christmas day to talk with family. The rest of the holidays were spent with friends — even into the New Year.

At our New Years Eve party, we had 14 people. Although the same number as last year, it was almost a completely different crowd. We played games and at midnight, shot off fireworks like the rest of Warsaw while we watched the sky glow with colors in almost any direction we looked.

All Saints Day is a time to give honor to known and unknown saints and martyrs. Catholics remember the saints as well as those who have lived holy lives.^[1] The holiday is also set aside for Catholics to pray for the souls of deceased loved ones, wherever they may be. Roman Catholics believe that if loved ones are in an indeterminate state between hell and heaven in a place known as purgatory, then they can intercede on their behalf and pray their souls into heaven.

Catholic Poles will take part in this holiday typically by visiting graves of relatives. Families will clean the graves and decorate them with flowers, wreaths and candles.^[2] People will not only light candles at their relatives’ graves, but at graves of famous or important people who have been buried in local cemeteries.

People prepare the gravesites throughout the week prior to the holiday and continue on November 2, All Souls Day. We will do a follow-up with photos and more information from this year’s events afterward. Please check back with us! Until then, more information can be found at the following websites. We have included some general information sites, Catholic sites, as well as ones specific to Poland.

For more information check out these links!

References in order appeared:

1. ^{^}Information taken from Polish Culture

2. ^{^}Information taken from inyourPocket

First, we have a couple who have been coming every summer for 6 years staying anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months. Bruce and Jane Mussey with First Baptist Church in Liberty, Texas and Trinity Baptist Association, arrived late May and stayed to assist with incoming groups through the end of August. Jane has also been assisting from the States in sending out our team prayer updates. Shortly after their arrival, Robin Park from Parkway Baptist Church in St. Louis, Missouri came for a week. Jane and Robin spent the time prayer walking through various areas of Warsaw asking God to meet the needs of local residents and how we might honor Him by serving them.

In July, Randy and Chance Roth, a father-son team from Legacy Family Church in Oklahoma came for two weeks to help with two of our summer events. Initially, they worked in Gora Kalwaria (goo-RAH kal-VA-reeya) teaching American sports during a kids’ camp, working with 10-15 children and youth each day. The last day of the camp was held at a nearby castle, Czersk (chersk), where the children acted out various fairy tales and played some of the newly learned sports with their parents. They also had a chance to dress up in real American football and baseball pads and have their picture taken. We will continue working with the Gora Kalwaria culture center this winter, and hope to involve more volunteers next summer.

Following this work in Gora Kalwaria, we took a group to the Southern mountains in Poland where we hiked in and around Zakopane (zah KOE pah neigh) for a week. There were 20 in the group, including students, parents with children and Americans. After hiking in smaller groups based on ability, each evening we gathered for meals, games and social time. We had a chance to get to know some new faces and continue bonding with others. Two weeks after our return, we had a reunion where we swapped pictures and enjoyed seeing each other.

Our last project for the summer was with a group from Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, Tennessee. The project was 3-fold. The team worked to help finish clearing part of the Jewish Cemetery on Okopowa, interacted culturally with Poles and prayer walked in Praga. Each day the team would clear jungle-like brush from around headstones in order for others to catalog information on each stone. During the evening, the team would meet with various Poles who showed them parts of Warsaw and helped them learn some of the history and culture in the city. Others would take time after dinner to prayer walk through areas of Praga asking God to reveal needs of the people, much as Robin and Jane did at the beginning of the summer.

Although summer ended, and volunteers returned home, we have been fortunate to continue meeting with the many nationals we know. We are thankful for those who have given their summer and vacation time to help us serve the community in which we live. We are also thankful for the churches that supported each group by sending them here.

Team Warsaw would also like to thank First Baptist Church, Pecos, TX for their contribution to our work that has and is enabling some longer-term volunteers to partner on site with us.

For photos of our summer projects, please click here or check Photos under our Media tab.