In 1984 I was approached by the management of a Christian relief organization who had a problem. Many cities and villages in Poland got support from Western churches and relief organizations, except - among other places - a city in the most north-eastern part of the country near the Russian border, called Elblag. There was a small evangelical church with around forty families who were sitting in the cold because there was no possibility for them to finish building their church, being a renovated pub. DVB helped by finishing the church, and in the following years supplied Christmas gifts to the kids and the youngsters in the church.

In 1988 I decided to visit that church for the first time. Because there was a huge shortage of everything, I explained to the Polish embassy in The Netherlands that I wanted to visit forty families in Elblag, and wanted to bring gifts for them. "No problem", they said, "you can take anything you want with you!" I was astonished. "Do you really mean I can take with me just anything I want with no limitation at all?" It was exactly what they meant, and I packed forty packets of coffee (each had a local value of one week's income!), 150 tins of spices, ten kilogram of chocolate etc. in a huge Delsey. I flew from Amsterdam via Hamburg to Gdansk. The last part of the trip was a rather short flight and what I can remember is, that the LOT-plane was totally booked out, and it was very cramp. I was a little bit excited; after all it was my first trip into Eastern Europe, which was still a secluded society.

As soon as we landed and entered the arrival hall I knew something was wrong. Everyone had to put his luggage on display on big metal tables. There were quite some Polish people in the plane who worked in Germany, and I noticed NO ONE had anything in their luggage that looked like coffee, tea or chocolate. I was at the final part of the row, and when it was my turn the customs official asked a form. "A form? Which form do you mean?" I asked. He showed me the other passengers who all handed over forms. "I do not have a form. Where can you get that?" I asked rather silly. The man almost lost his temper and said I had to fill it in at the plane. "It was handed over to you in the plane", he shouted, which actually was not the case. Finally, he sent me back to the entrance and there I got a new form. It was really a BIG form and it cost me almost twenty minutes to answer all the questions. I rushed back to the arrival hall and found out it was completely empty now, except two custom officials who were standing besides my trunk, smoke coming out of their ears. As I approached them they gripped the form out of my hand, and almost kicked me out of the arrival hall. They had no time to open my trunk for they were making overtime now because of me!

Here really a miracle happened. I am absolutely sure I have not slept in the plane. I have not seen the stewardess handing out the papers, nor have I seen anyone filling in papers. By itself this is a miracle because the forms were really big, and the folding tables on the back of the chairs were so tiny! Even the stewardess seemed not to have seen me! The Lord orchestrated this happening to lead me out of the entrance hall, with all the presents for the people in Elblag!
In the nineties my sons Gerard, Chris and I visited the church again and stayed there for almost one week. Chris at that time - impressed by the Polish language - made his decision to study Russia Science at the Leiden University.
To day the connection with the church in Elblag is a loose one. DVB helped the church when it was in need, and help is not necessary anymore. What is left is exchanging postcards during Christmas and Easter.

We have contact with another church in Elblag, and plan to visit this church in May, 2008 for a series of preaching engagements. Paul Olson will be the main speaker.