When God Says Go: Reflections on My Mission Trip to Poland

by Taylor McDaniel

If you would have told me a year ago that my husband Mark and I would be going to Poland on a mission trip I wouldn’t have believed you for several reasons. A year ago, our second son had just been born, and we were navigating the newborn trenches with a toddler. A year ago, we were coming together as a family to honor my father-in-law, who had just passed away. A year ago, we weren’t even a part of Christ’s Church, let alone knowing the building was a church. I remember we would walk to Dorothy Lane Market every day just to get out of the house while I was on maternity leave. Every day our interest piqued more and more until finally one day Mark said, “Let’s go inside the church.” Who would have known that one decision would have changed our lives immensely!

When it comes to God-centered conversations and decisions, I lean pretty heavily on Mark because I didn’t grow up in a Bible-believing environment. I went to a Catholic school, I did the things I was told to do, but I never read the Bible outside of religion class. I didn’t pray outside of mass, and I spent many years walking on my own path. When Mark said, “Let’s go inside,” I felt it was more for him than it was for me—a way for him to reconnect and lean on God as he went through the transition after his father’s death. While I now know that God works for us all, I didn’t realize all that was happening for me.

When some of our church staff went to Poland last year and they talked with the congregation about what it was like and what they experienced, I remember commenting to Mark how cool it would be to go on a mission trip one day. One day. Key word. When it was announced that they had one scheduled for a basketball camp, Mark was all over it. I remember telling him I was going, very matter-of-factly—but what about the boys? What about work? And our dog? Lots of hurdles to overcome. Anytime we would talk about the trip I had this feeling that I was just meant to go.

When God wants you to do something, you do it—I have been learning that more and more.

Excuses and Delays

The more I resisted and made excuses the louder God’s message got. My work life changed, making it available for me to go. My sister-in-law was able and willing to watch our two boys and the dog. I felt a sense of peace about it all. As the trip drew closer, we
really didn’t know what to expect. We knew there was going to be a lot of basketball being played, that we had designated speakers for the week, and that we were going to be hanging out with kids from several different countries. But there were lots of other unknowns.

On the day we were to leave, my mama heart kicked in as the reality of leaving our boys for a whole week set in. I talked with a few of my mom friends and received mixed feedback: “Video, but don’t do it until later in the week . . . text only if it’s necessary . . .
don’t reach out at all.” My sister-in-law came over, and the boys were excited to see her, gave us hugs, and our toddler Sol gave us the “Yeah, yeah, see you later.” Mark and I made it to the church, then we were off with the group on the way to the airport. I kept telling myself that once I got on the plane I would be fine, but all I could think about was my boys. When they called for us to board the plane, we stowed away our luggage, and got seated . . . then I heard a small child starting to cry. Mark looked over at me, and I was a sobbing mess. I remember Mark saying, “Tay, it’s not even a baby.” After a good cry, I was good to go, but our flight sure wasn’t.

I will spare you the details, just know the enemy was hard at work on our team getting to Poland. Because of some plane complications, we did not leave the country until the next day. With a super tight connection, after being up for about 28 hours, we finally made it to the camp where we would be staying for the week. There was no time to relax, just about fifteen minutes to get our bags in our room, and get to the basketball courts for the kids to be placed in their teams for the week.

Get Up There

About 300 kids had come to this Christian camp in Zakościele, Poland, a beautiful 15-acre wooded center and campground run by one of Christ’s Church’s mission partners, Proem Ministries. I didn’t know what my exact role would be for the week, since I wouldn’t be playing, coaching, or reffing basketball. The schedule ran from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm every day. Even with lots of basketball games going on, we still had time carved out multiple times a day for worship, devotionals, and having good conversations with the campers.

Our lead pastor Brad Wilson and my husband Mark both had opportunities to speak in front of the campers. I kept thinking, I’m glad it wasn’t me! Being so new in my walk with Jesus, I am not the most confident in talking about God or the Bible. I felt like I could hide behind my curtain—but God did not agree. During one of our morning devotionals there was a mix-up regarding who was supposed to speak. I was sitting next to Heidi, a Polish lady I had connected with. I turned to her and said, “I could do this, right?” She looked at me with the biggest smile and said, “Get up there.” Next thing you know I raised my hand and volunteered.

As I was making my way up to the front of the stage, I was thinking, Tay, what are you doing? What are you going to talk about? You aren’t prepared. You don’t really know verses to quote, and you didn’t even bring your Bible—let alone your phone! But the push to walk up drowned out all my self-doubt. I sat down, took a deep breath, and just started to talk. I shared my testimony, how I ended up there, I talked about our two boys and doing God’s work, and being out of my comfort zone. I even brought up Psalm 23. The people I spoke to heard not my words, not my story, but God through me.

I had come to Poland not to coach a team or play basketball. I was there simply to connect with others who needed to hear they had a story even if it felt like they didn’t. My favorite part of the experience was watching the kids go from not really talking, not really playing together as a team, to becoming a team. There were more conversations on and off the courts, more trust built between coaches and players. There were some kids who were from Ukraine, and in the midst of the war their country is going through, they needed to know that God is always with them. Halfway through the week we had an invitation night in which 53 individuals accepted Christ into their lives. It was an amazing night.

Saying Yes to God

When I reflect on my time in Poland this summer, I see how God moved even in the small things . . . the extended ear . . . the helping hand . . . the encouragement to speak when someone else in the room needed to hear it. When I think of the 53 campers who put their faith in Jesus, and others who weren’t quite ready, I realize that I was them not that long ago. I had similar questions, but it wasn’t until I opened my heart that I realized what had been missing from my life was God.

But God knew.

A year ago, I would have never imagined myself going on a mission trip, leaving our boys for a week, standing in front of people I didn’t know and talking about my faith. I didn’t need to know every Bible verse. I didn’t need to be the person coaching the team or standing on a stage with something perfectly prepared. I just needed to be willing to say yes when God asked me to.

When God asks you to move, you don’t always understand where he is taking you when you take the first step. But sometimes you just have to say, “Let’s go inside.”

Taylor McDaniel resides in Mason, Ohio, with her husband Mark and their two young boys, Sol and Sen. She has spent seventeen years in the dental field, where she finds joy in educating others and helping them achieve better oral health. She also enjoys working alongside Mark in their video business, and loves using photography to capture and tell meaningful stories.