07. Aug 2025

Ostroda - Iława

Photo 1: I have been walking through a region with a lot of lakes, but not always are the lakes visible because of the dense forest growth between the path and the lake. This was a nice path along a lake this morning.

Last night I stayed at a guest house operated by a Franciscan Monastery. After I had my shower and put on other clothes, I was walking through the hallway when a young woman arrived. She asked me something in Polish and I responded that I speak English. She thought I worked there and wanted to know in which direction her room might be. I told that I was from American, live in Germany, am walking from Estonia to my home in Germany... and that her room was two doors down from mine on the right. That broke the ice.

The next morning I was the first person to go down to the dinning area for breakfast. I wanted to get an early start. Anja was the second person to come down. She needed to get to a training session to learn how to operate a drone camera for her work in environment preservation. There were three long tables in the room, but because of the short encounter yesterday evening, she felt comfortable enough to sit at the same table where I was. We began to talk about the recent rains and how the forest really needed it after the last years that were so dry. At some point the conversation turned towards the God connection. I think it was when I told her the one Polish sentence that I know: "Jesus is my Lord!" She said that she believes in Jesus, sometimes goes into a church alone to pray, but she cannot relate to the institution "church". I told her that Jesus did not go to the cross to start a religious institution, but connect our hearts with God. I also said that there are other churches out there where she might better find the God connection that she was looking for. I told her that I was a pastor and would hope that the church where I was a pastor for so many years would be such a church. I then showed her the one minute video clip from the church service in Kaunas that I posted in the blog from July 17 where the worship team is singing the song "I speak Jesus!" It was as if scales were removed from her eyes. She exclaimed: "This is church? Where can I find a church like this?"

What a question. It still moves my heart. I wish I could have given her an answer. She lives in a small town, and there is no church like this there. I walked through the nearest larger city to where she lives and was not aware of a "church like this" there. Our intercultral workers from the Assemblies of God have partnered with the Polish Assemblies of God and targeted 700 communities in Poland that have 7000 or more people that do not have a "church like this". Maybe one of those communities is the one where Anja lives. I could not give her an answer. I prayed for her. I sensed Jesus speaking through me when I told her his promise that if we seek, we will find. There are many people in Poland like Anja who are looking for that God connection and a "church like this."

Photo 2: An old railtrack that is now a walking and bike path.

Photo 3: Lunch break in a clearing in the forest. I eat a lot of fresh fruit, vegetables and can or smoked fish on the trail. Sometimes I can buy a meal at a grocery store and take it with me.

Photo 4: The harbor city Iława on Lake Jaziorak where I spent the night.

Photo 5: At the campground in Iława I thought I had found a secluded spot on a level area on a hill not so far from the facilities. Behind me were two buildings like motels, but I saw absolutely no one around. After I pitched my tent and had my food stuff spread out on a nearby picknick table under a shelter, all of a sudden a horde of young people were walking my way. Those buildings that looked like motels were their dormitories for their summer camp. The walkway went right by me. I started greeting them in Polish then in English. One group of teens stopped to try out their English with me. Adam, to the right in the photo, spoke the best. He asked me if I spoke any Polish. I said my one sentence: "Jesus is my Lord!" Adam is 14, and I said that I was 16 when I said "Yes" to Jesus, then added: "I know he is real." The girl in the photo asked how I know he is real. What a great question! I told her that I talk with him every day, his Spirit is living in me and gives me the strength to walk from Estonia to Germany with this big backpack. We had a good time talking. They needed to go and I needed to eat, but I prayed for them before they left. So many young people in Europe ask this question: "How do you know he is real?"