It was a very unpredictable team trip, but I have learned that mission work in general can be full of surprises. The first change took place on our way there. Half way through Germany we heard on the news that the Polish president and 95 other people had died in an airplane accident. Among them there were many politicians, generals, priests and other prominent people. From the little knowledge I had about the Polish culture, I knew right away that there would be no ordinary meetings – at least not in the rented culture halls.

On our way to Lublin, we stopped right outside Poznań to meet Torben and his family. After that we drove together towards Lublin where we were supposed to have a meeting the following day. Torben and his family had started to drive one day before us, in order to meet some missionaries from America who live in Poznań.

Torben preached at the first meeting in Lublin, and already at that meeting God did many miracles. A big number of people got healed, some became free from demonic influences and many got touched by the Holy Spirit. When we invited people to prayer, I believe there was over one hundred people who came forward, so we were praying for them for a long time.

The next day Torben and his family drove towards Romania to teach in a bible school, and the rest of the team went to a town called Łuków in order to have another meeting and to visit a school. We were allowed to talk about what we were doing and tell them a little bit about Denmark during some English lessons – a great opportunity to preach the Gospel. Poland is a very Catholic country, so the fact that we were allowed to come into the school was a great miracle. We split into tree groups, took with us some Danish flags and went to the different classes. The teacher in the class that I had was quite open and allowed us to tell testimonies of what we had experienced with God. The others were not so lucky because after mentioning that there was no purgatory, the teacher did not want them to talk more about God.

Because of the airplane crash, we were not allowed to have music or drama at our meetings. We were, however, allowed to gather people, but all the posters in town had been covered. We were not allowed to give out flyers or publicly invite people either, so we were not really sure what to do about the evening meetings. Therefore, we prayed and hoped that some had seen the posters before they had been covered and that some might remember Euromission’s invitation during their meeting there the week before.

Right before the meeting there suddenly came a lot of children – actually there were almost only children. We quickly understood, therefore, that having an ordinary meeting, without music or drama, would not be of any use. Luckily, Ivan had taken a suitcase with some of his magic tricks with him, so we quickly changed the plans and made a spontaneous children’s meeting. I was really positively surprised to see how well the team adapted to the new circumstances. Ivan did a fantastic job with the tricks and those that had testimonies did very well in making them relevant for the children and making them listen to what they said.

The following day we visited a new school, but this time all of the teachers were more open when it comes to religion. Again we split into three groups, and had three different English classes talking about Denmark and what we had been experiencing with God. The school made dinner for us, and we also got to meet the local priest. He was a very nice man, but he talked mostly about horses and football instead of God. However, both the priest and the school director were very nice and we enjoyed the time there.

After visiting the school, we drove to Łuków to have another evening meeting. Since there were so many children the day before, we had prepared ourselves for another children’s meeting. The only problem was that this evening there were almost exclusively elderly people. Again we had to change our plans, but blessed are the flexible. We had a great meeting, even though we did not use any music or drama. Ivan did a great job preaching the Gospel and after the meeting we prayed for people. A lady that had come after the meeting the previous evening also came forward and testified that she had got totally healed the day before.

Michael also got a word of knowledge and when we asked if there was anyone with the problem that Michael had described, an elderly man raised his hand and confirmed that it precisely described his situation. He did not wanted prayer, however, because we did not belong to the Catholic Church.

On Thursday we visited the last school, and we had been told to be more careful there. The school director was a good friend of the local priest, and the local Pentecostal church (where we were sleeping) wanted to make a good impression on the school. Since Poland has such a strong Catholic culture, Pentecostals are often regarded as sects, and that is why it would be good for the school to get another impression.

When we came to the school we got positively surprised. We split in two groups, and the teacher in my group was very open and allowed us to share some brief testimonies of what we had experienced with God.

Later the same day we had a meeting in the local Pentecostal church, and again we saw several people healed. There was a man that had multiple sorosis, and before the meeting he was hardly able to walk without crutches. When Filip and I prayed for him, he started to feel how God was healing his legs, so he got up and started to walk without the crutches. As he was walking, he got better and better and said that he really felt strong in his legs. He still had a little problem with keeping balance, but as we kept praying and he kept walking it was getting better and better.

The following day we packed our things and travelled back to Lublin to have the final meeting there and to pick up Kasia and Kamilla. Early in the afternoon we were going to have dinner with the whole team in a restaurant in the Old Town. As we parked the car, there came a young man, offering to “take care of the car” for a small amount of money. At first we were not willing to pay him since we had to pay for parking there anyway. Kasia realised, however, that it would be wise to give him a few coins because that is how many poor Polish people ask for money if they do not want to admit directly that they are beggars. He still kept us company by the parking machine so Kasia started to talk to him and gave him an invitation to the meeting. He said immediately that he was a homeless alcoholic and that he had been to prison. He confessed as well that one of his legs was beginning to rot because of some disease, and we were allowed to pray for him on the spot. Unfortunately, we did not see him in church that evening, but we believe that he will find his way there one day.

Before I started to preach at the meeting, I asked if there was anyone who got healed at the beginning of the week and would like to testify. Immediately there were many hands in the air. We did not have time to listen to all of them, but several people came forward and shared about how they had got healed a few days before.

When it was time to pray for people, again there were a lot of people forward. I did not have a chance to count them, but I think there were at least just as many as the other day. Again God confirmed His word with the signs that followed. People got healed, delivered, saved and renewed in their faith. After the meeting there were a lot of people who came to me and the others in the team testified that they had been set on fire for God.

When we came back to Denmark, one of the translators wrote to Kasia, saying that during one week with the Danish team she had seen more miracles than she had seen in her whole life.

God is good and He still does miracles today. He saves, heals and delivers, and no one that comes to Him needs to leave disappointed.

People like to appear smart, and whenever we get the changes we like to impress others showing off how much we know. However this is not a good idea when it comes to the Kingdom of God. When you think about it, the wish for becoming smarter was one of the elements that lead Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. Genesis 3:6 says: “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.”

So, does God want us to be stupid? No, God does not want us to be stupid, but He want us to trust Him for the knowledge we need. People would like to gain knowledge and become wise, so they can manage on their own and not be dependent upon others - but that's not God's way.

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

God does not want you to be ignorant, so He have made all the wisdom and knowledge you need available for you. But He does not want you to be independent of Him, so He have ordained it so that He himself is the source of all knowledge and wisdom. So as long as you are connected to Him you'll have everything you need, but if you disconnect, you'll soon run dry.

James 1:5-6
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

We often like to arrange everything in advanced and plan things down to the smallest detail. We like to have the full picture, before we even start. But God only gives us what we at the present time need, and then we have to trust that He will give us more when we need it.

It's like when the people of Israel was in the desert. God only gave them a day's portion of manna, and they were not to try and gather more. God told Moses in Exodus 16:4: “... Moses, I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.”

God will always give us what we need if we learn to trust Him. We should not try and store up anything, to become secure, we already have all we need stored up in Him.

1. King 18:21
And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him."

Elijah challenged the people to take a stand—to follow whoever was the true God. I believe this challenge applies for us today. In this story it was Baal worship that was leading the people away from God, but if Elijah would send out the same challenge today, it would probably sound differently.

Baal worship is maybe not the biggest problem for Christians today, but there are many other things that are drawing our attention away from God. When God told his people to worship and believe in him, that wasn't so hard for them—he was just one more god to add to the list. But when he said, "You must not have any other god but me," that was difficult for the people to accept. But if they didn't learn that the God who led them out of Egypt was the only true God, they could not be his people—no matter how faithfully they kept the other nine commandments. Thus, God made this his first commandment. Today we can allow many things to become gods to us. Money, fame, work, or pleasure can become gods when we concentrate too much on them for personal identity, meaning, and security.

Usually people worship gods out of a need for security. Tribes might offer sacrifices to different gods, in a hope that they will protect and help them. In the same way many people today have their security in the money they make, their family, friends or the governments social system. When these things become our security, they become gods or idols to us.

So let the words of Elijah challenge you today. If you say you want to follow God, then also trust that He will fill all your needs. Let Him be your security and give Him 100% of your attention!