Frozen in place, the three of us stared wide-eyed at each other. His haggard appearance told me that the trip had not been easy. Now our friend, Larry, and I huddled together for whispered conversation in our kitchen while the children slept upstairs. This discussion was not for their ears.
Backstory:
In 1977 our organization, Cru® (Campus Crusade for Christ International®) asked Larry and me to go live covertly—live a double life—behind the Iron Curtain in communist Poland.
Those were the bitterly cold days of the frigid Cold War. Missionary activity, illegal under that atheist government, required rigorous tactics. And, Cold War food shortages complicated domestic matters. Strict rationing, empty shelves, and long lines made meal planning daunting. Facing these economic challenges within the communist system became an ongoing challenge for our growing family of five.
This story brings you into our kitchen and into our lives.
Frozen in place, the three of us stared wide-eyed at each other. His haggard appearance told me that the trip had not been easy. Now our friend, Larry, and I huddled together for whispered conversation in our kitchen while the children slept upstairs. This discussion was not for their ears.
On the previous cold, nasty Friday afternoon, Wiesiek boarded a bus, duffle bag in hand, and left the city. Not for a moment did we naively dismiss the seriousness of his journey, and throughout the weekend we thought of him often. His wellbeing weighed heavily upon us. We knew his whereabouts; we knew his undertaking. If caught in this criminal activity, our friend would suffer certain punishment.
Now on this Sunday evening, at long last, he was back! Desperate questions hung in the air: “Was the trip successful?” “Did anyone act suspicious?” “Was he ever followed?”
As stated, the severity of food shortages in Poland in the ’70s and '80s, dictated that extreme measures be taken—meat had to be purchased on the black market. Our friend Wiesiek’s cousin knew a farmer, and the farmer agreed to sell one of his steers, provided someone else would transport the meat. To protect each party involved, every detail had to be kept from nosy prying eyes.
Wiesiek picked a weekend with freezing temperatures (to prevent spoilage) and left his own family to travel by public transportation to the village.
Wiesiek selected a weekend with freezing temperatures (to prevent spoilage) and left his own family in the city to travel by public transportation to the village. Once on-site, our friend made the rendezvous with his cousin, who subsequently introduced him to the farmer. The farmer kept his word, honored the commitment, and—for the agreed-upon hefty price in cash—handed over the fresh meat.
Whew.
But Wiesiek still faced the return trip to Warsaw, where his family—and ours—nervously waited. He must transport himself and the cargo to its final destination without being stopped, questioned, fined, or arrested.
After schlepping his baggage into the outside compartment of the bus, our colleague boarded the crowded public transportation, found his seat inside, and set his sights toward the last leg of this clandestine journey. Several hours later, to everyone’s great relief, he made it back!
Now with Wiesiek inside from the bitter cold and in our midst, my burning question had to be asked; I simply could not wait any longer.
“Where is the meat?” “Where is the beef you traveled so far to purchase?”
“Here. Here in the duffle bag.”
With that, he stepped back, pointed downward, and said, “Here. Here in the duffle bag.” Throughout the conversation, this bulging meat-filled bag had stood unobtrusively between us on the linoleum floor!
As if on cue, with reverential respect, Wiesiek knelt down, opened his battered brown companion, and gently pulled out—piece by piece—the contents, our designated portion of “the project.”
“Shock gave way to wonder as I stared at God’s provision: “And my God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” ”
Shock gave way to wonder as I stared at God’s provision: “And my God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). A Bible Study in a Duffle Bag—not in theory or concept, not in assumption or presupposition. No. Right before my eyes was a Bible Study, a realization of faithfulness from the Hand of God. And, painted in the picture was Wiesiek, one who exemplified the words of Proverbs 18:24b, “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
In the years to follow, over and again, God demonstrated His generous character and His Word became my personal testimony: “I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread” (Psalm 37:25). Despite barren stores and empty shelves, even during the ongoing severe communist economic crises, not once did we go hungry; not once did we miss a meal. Throughout, God used people like Wiesiek to help us. Food Angels, don’t you think, Food Angels who delivered A Bible Study in a Duffle Bag.
Living With Eternal Intentionality®
Put yourself in Wiesiek’s place. How would you have felt, risking punishment, to help these foreigners?
When have you seen God surprise you by providing for your needs? Did He use other people?
When has He used you to be the provision of blessing for someone else?
