A thousand years is as a day

Arek and Donna, who serve with OM in Poland, seek to build up the church by encouraging and supporting believers and yet-to-be believers of Jesus. Recently, they reconnected with a girl who had been impacted by their ministry a decade earlier and wanted to know more.

“Not long after the Sunday service began, I spotted a girl quietly settling into the back of our church. She looked familiar, yet I couldn’t recall where we had met,” Donna shared. “Soon after the service ended, I went to find out who she was. She greeted me with a big smile and said, ‘Donna, don’t you remember me? I am Ania*. I attended your English camp 10 years ago. It has taken me quite some time to find your church’s new address, but I am so glad that I have found you guys again.’”

Donna did then remember Ania: “She was always smiling and eager to ask questions about God and our faith; she even attended our Sunday service once during the English camp. I was delighted to see her again, and we made an appointment to meet the following week to catch up on a long chat.”

After graduating as a marine mechanical engineer, Ania had worked on a commercial cruise ship. Life on board presented her with a lot of challenges. Although she had always believed in God, when the situation on the ship compelled her to seek help from God, Ania realised she didn’t know much about her God to give her the strength and support she needed.

“Somehow, she remembered us and wanted to know more about this God whom we trust. So she had come to seek us out,” Donna shared. “As she was leaving soon for a three-month work trip, we gave her a few books to read and encouraged her to read the Bible regularly.”

The next time she was home on a break, Ania returned to see Donna and Arek again—and this time she brought her entire family to the church. Not all her family members shared her excitement about her new-found faith, but her youngest brother, Bartek*, did.

Although Ania has since returned to the ship, Arek has been studying the bible with Bartek regularly. “We are amazed to see how much he has grown in his faith and his desire to know Him more. We are very excited that this summer they both will be baptised,” Donna said.

“Although the flame of faith was ignited so many years ago, God is not limited by time. He remains faithful to seek and save the lost, and reach out to those who put their trust in Him.”

Bartek came to faith 10 years after his sister Ania did at an OM Poland English camp in 2007.