Nazarenes from six different countries in the Eurasia Region came together to teach English and minister at a children’s camp in Poland in an expression of cooperation and partnership. The goal of the week was to foster friendships, create connections that could lead to further ministry, and encourage leadership skills among the youth.

“It was beautiful to see how God brought people to contribute to this wonderful camp,” said Jay Sunberg, Central Europe field strategy coordinator. 

The Central Europe Field has had a partnership with Lighthouse Camps since 2016, and the team takes a week or two out of the summer to attend camp and build relationships with students. Most of the attending students are from Poznań and the surrounding areas, though some came from as far as Warsaw, the capital city. 

The camp is usually staffed by volunteers from the United States, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, the field leadership decided to look for help within the Eurasia Region. The British Isles North District had already established a relationship with Lighthouse through Nazarene Youth International events, and with English as their first language, they were ideal representatives. 

Volunteers from other countries were selected based on their language skills and leadership in field and region youth activities. They taught classes themed around identity to students ages 14-18. The final day included a practice interview for one of three common jobs for young people with bilingual abilities. 

“It was unplanned, in a sense. It was us responding to a need after COVID-19 created challenges that caused us to be creative,” said Teanna Sunberg, a missionary in Poland. “Actually, the creativity made a much richer, much more beautiful team, and I think the diversity of our cultures was part of what the Polish students loved. God put it together in some really miraculous ways.” 

In the end, teachers came from Scotland, Poland, Hungary, Norway, Germany, and the United States to be part of the team and broke up in pairs to teach. Dorothy Tarrant, one of the volunteers from Scotland, developed the curriculum and tailored it to the specific needs of the camp.

Volunteers from different countries also served as house leaders and on the praise team for evening worship. Jay and Teanna took turns sharing their testimonies and messages of faith during the service. 

The Polish team plans to cultivate and build relationships through the year by hosting regular meals, fellowship times, and additional English classes. Missionary Andrew Tarrant led one of the groups and is excited about how the relationships made during the camp will further develop, especially the relationships with the college and young professional-aged Polish leaders. 

“They are so passionate about their students,” Andrew said. “They want the kids to learn English but also to be excited about the Kingdom and their faith.”