The Poland Connection

Joanna Agnieszka Wilkosz

Joanna is a sophomore at Huntington College, and claims as her home church King Street UB in Chambersburg, Pa. When Joanna goes to Poland in January, she will spend time with UB endorsed missionaries Arek and Donna Delik so she can learn about mission service and church planting in her native country. We are helping her in this. We see the potential of Joanna being our first fulltime missionary to Eastern Europe. Operation World tells us that thousands of towns and villages in Poland lack an evangelical witness. Here is JoannaÕs story.

My native country is Poland. I came to the United Sates at age 14 as an exchange student. That first year was one of the hardest years of my life. I was not a Christian, and for the first time everybody around me was a Christian. I lived with a Christian family, attended a Christian school, and went to a Christian church. In the beginning, I was sick of Christian things. But God worked in my heart, and in January 1999, I accepted Jesus as my Savior.

After being a Christian for four months, I went home and tried living like a Christian should, but I could not. One day, during my devotions, I read Luke 14:26 and 33: "If anyone comes to me but loves his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, or even life more then me, he cannot be my follower....In the same way, you must give up everything you have to be my follower"

I knew God was talking to me, and that God wanted me to return to the United States to learn more about him. I love my parents, but I realized that I needed to love God over my parents. I told them I had to go back to the United States. At first they didn't understand. I told them they needed to trust me. After that, they were in favor of me going back. It seems that God was and is working in my parents' lives.

I came back to the United States to finish high school and to seek God's guidance for my life. Through my home church, King Street, I heard about Huntington College. I came to visit and really liked the friendly atmosphere, classes, and people. I knew I wanted to go to a Christian college and to major in cross-cultural ministries. I felt God wanted me at Huntington. Three weeks later, I was accepted.

Now I attend Huntington College, where I will be taught and trained to someday be a missionary. God has been so good to me and I want to follow him and do his work. After college I hope to get more involved in missions. I would love to take the Good News to Poland and start ministry there. My desire is to start an English school or camp in Poland. I would also like to spend some time in Mexico doing missions. I know God will provide the right people to guide me and help me accomplish great things for him.

Posted November 26, 2003