February 16th, 2010

In the summer of 2008, Chelsea Bennett made her first trip to Poland with a group from Brentwood Baptist to help restore a Jewish cemetary. Since that time, God has taken her back on a second mission journey with the same purpose.

"Working in Poland has really opened my heart and mind to God's chosen people," she said. "I can't say enough how important the work is that we do in the cemeteries. It might not seem like much, but it is part of bringing about cleansing and restoration to a land where great evils were committed."

When the team first went to Poland in 2008, they didn't do much socializing, according to Chelsea. But 2009 was a different story. She said, "There was a lot more interaction with Poles. I met so many wonderful people. Beyond that, I'd just pass people on the street and my heart would go out to them."

In a recent blog post, she wrote, "If you know me, you know that I love to travel, experience new cultures, and meet people from different countries. This fueled my initial interest in the project. When I actually got there, I fell in love with the work we were doing with Poland and the people over there in general. What a fascinating history that country has."

Poland has a tragic history of oppression and the resulting slaughter of thousands of Jews—and, just the same, conquering that oppression. Not long ago, they lived under Communist rule and many people will never forget what their lives were like in that era.

In the summer of 2009, during her second mission journey to Poland, Chelsea got a strong feeling that she didn't want to leave.

She said, "I wasn't sure if it was just because I was having such a good time or not wanting to leave or something else. But I definitely couldn't ignore the feeling. Even before I got back to the States, I knew I wanted to come back. So I kept thinking about it, prayed about it, talked to some people about it. Everything kept leading me to a 'yes' decision. I really felt like God wanted to keep using me in Poland."

In His perfect timing, God provided Chelsea the money and support to go back and volunteer with the International Mission Board (IMB) in Poland during a three-month period.

"I lost my job and finished taking classes," she said. "So at the time I was going to leave, I had no responsibilities to cut myself off from. The timing worked out for the American contacts over here too. The volunteer apartment they keep was going to be empty for three months without someone like me there to fill it up."

On February 5, she left for Warsaw, Poland to minister to the Jews and Poles living there alongside Team Warsaw. Active in Kairos and Brentwood Baptist, Chelsea has recently started a blog chronicling her journey, which includes her thoughts, experiences, and photos.

"I think in Poland—just like everywhere across the globe—there are many people who don't know how to feel God's love," she said. "My prayer is that He will use me whenever, and with whomever, to make that love real for them."

To keep up with Chelsea while she's in Poland and read her blog, click here.

How you can pray for Chelsea:
• Pray that God will connect her with people (individuals or groups) with whom she can honestly share His goodness.
• Pray for physical and mental endurance.
• Pray that God will make her sensitive to the movings of His Spirit in her life.
• Pray that God would speak to her while she's there and give her direction on the next step to take when she returns to the U.S. in May.
• Pray that God would orchestrate a fruitful relationship between the Jews and Gentiles in the Warsaw area.

To find out more about the 2010 mission journey to Poland, click here.

By Kaylan Christopher

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