I Need an Irish Translator

A teammate and I spent the last week at camp with children from orphanages and low income (very low income) homes. The camp was hosted by a team from Northern Ireland who did an absolutely amazing job. The children at this camp were as young as 6 and as old as 15. They were unlike any children I've ever met. Perhaps the best description of this experience can be summed up in what a Polish man working at the camp said. "I'm somewhere between becoming annoyed and wanting to kick the next child that walks by." Chaos reigned during the week.

The team from Northern Ireland was a privilege to work with. They faithfully gave testimonies, sang, and told Bible stories. They challenged the children to think about their need for Christ and begged them to consider His gift of salvation. All this was done amidst, screaming, kicking, hitting, biting, and general unruliness. In spite of all this there were a number of salvations.

One boy was particularly horrible. The last morning at camp he seemed calmer than he'd been during the week, and I put this down to sheer exhaustion. During the closing service the children were asked to give a testimony if they had accepted Christ during the week. Konrad went to the front, which he did whenever anyone was speaking. Instead of causing disruption I was surprised to see him wait patiently while another child finished speaking. To my complete shock Konrad shared that after watching The Chronicles of Narnia the night before, he went back to his cabin and thought about this week and asked Jesus to be his Savior. I'm still shocked by the change in this child - he's about 11 years old. After the service I found Konrad walking toward the bus with his things. I wanted to take his picture, but he had been crying. He said he didn't want to go home, but did let me take his picture. (He's the boy on the left.) Konrad didn't want to go home not because he'd had so much fun at camp. He didn't want to go home because he lives in conditions that we can't even imagine, and I'd rather not describe. Konrad is a different child, but he will face things at home that no child ever should. Please remember to pray for Konrad, that he will grow in his faith and be strengthened in the knowledge of a God who loves him.

Just a note, I know that Irish is not actually a language, but I couldn't understand what most of this team from Northern Ireland said. As they shared their testimonies I found myself waiting for the Polish translator so that I could understand what they'd said! I laughed at myself when I commented to my teammate that I need someone to translate the Irish for me...Pray for this group as they have another week in Poland. They are being used in an amazing way!