Missions Mag 1-4

students and adults on International mission trips
would be a major part of my life. Working with the
Kentucky Baptist Convention’s Collegiate Department,
I had the opportunity to recruit students from
every Kentucky College and many churches were interested
in having groups go. I worked with Calvin
Wilkins at the KBC Partnership Department, which
also supported my groups going to Russia, Taiwan,
and Poland.
Starting in 1991, I would travel with several Campus
ministers and go to the colleges as students tried
out to make the International team. In 1998, the International
Mission Board allowed me to go to any
country and develop teams that I chose to work with
rather than the IMB assigning us countries. Since my
groups worked with youth and orphans we used many
creative ministries: Puppets, Mime, Drama, Clowning,
Singing, Movement, Sports, Bible Study, Games
and times of fellowship and sharing. We sponsored
Creations in Gatlinburg, TN for forty years, which
was for church youth but also training those going
overseas.
Kentucky Baptist had a partnership with Russian for
five years where I made 13 trips and then the Partnership
went to Poland. My first visits to Poland I said I
am not leaving and many areas of ministry continue
to this day. At Marwica Orphanage there was a nine
year old Angelika
who hit
on my pockets
wanting
money and
we were told
not to give
it to them
because it
would cause
them to become a beggar. Show with her first daughter
seven years ago we continue our friendship as she
is now thirty. We began by working in Poland with
Leszek Wakula the Youth director for the Polish Baptist
Union and now pastor of First Baptist Church,
Lodz. In 1999 Leszek, his wife Anna, Anika Kufeld a
young lady and Peter Arendt, assistant youth leader
came to American and visited churches and attended
Creations in Gatlinburg. From the beginning Leszek
wanted his youth to have Creative ministries and he
began a Camp at Ustka 2000. Baptist in Poland are
.001% of the population and when we first went they
were considered a cult. Most people in Poland are
Catholic by birth and would not have anything to do
with Baptist but with American youth helping with
the camp all Polish youth felt free to attend. This
made for three areas of direct ministry.
1--To non churched Polish Youth
2--To Baptist Youth now able to share
3--To challenge the Americans that came.
During the twenty-one years in Poland, the American
effect allowed us to get into schools, parks,
camps, orphanages and offer many special activities.
The longest ministry would be in Marwica, outside
of Elblang. In 1999 we had a student spend the summer
at the orphanage and have had camps there most
every year including last as mentioned on page xx.
Sometimes two or three camps there during the year.
Also we were involved with Elblang Baptist Church
from the beginning but much more so since Pawel
Kugler became Pastor.
Keep in mind, Poland is smaller than New Mexico
and has excellent roadways thanks to the European
Union plus travel by train is very efficient and we used
it often. Some groups come and go to one mission
point and head back home. Others spend three or
more weeks and have several places they can minister.
For several years the Kentucky Baptist Collegiate
Department had a sports team, Son Bound. And
they would spend the summer at camps, churches,
and orphanages. From the first time they came, they
would go to Pawel Kugler who was the associate pastor
at Sopot, and work with him in Poland’s tourist
area on the Baltic Sea.
Many from First Baptist have traveled to Poland.
Kenny Samples went with the first Partnership group
and built cabinets for the Warsaw Seminary. The Samples
family ministry is found on pages xx to xxx Later
we not only stayed at the Seminary but offered camps
there for area children and orphans. Henryk, who
had been a seminary official, began Chrzescijanska
Fundacja Radosc, which is a ministry that feeds the
poor and offers ten camps a year for poor youth and
orphans. Dr. Jeff Newswanger from Manchester, KY,
decided on his exploratory trip 16 years ago to help
sponsor a camp or two each year with Henryk. They
cost $10,000.00 with over a hundred attending each
camp because the leaders and the participants have
no way to contribute to the cost. They have special
activities like swimming or skiing for each camp.
Often I would take leaders of youth to Poland and
they would return with their youth group. Rick
Downing began taking groups from First Baptist,
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