30th Day - August 7th: Farewell to Poland with two church services

Today I got up early. Alfred invited me to the 8 am morning service in one of his branch churches. Unfortunately, I forgot the name. About 40 visitors came to the village with a modern church building. Alfred asked me to talk about my journey and experiences in the Polish communities during the church service, which I gladly did. He translated into Polish. In his sermon, he talked about the story of the tribute coin (Matt.22) and its significance for us today. After the church service, we said goodbye to the visitors at the entrance door, just as we do. Alfred learned about this tradition during his time in Germany and introduced it in his communities. This was not a practice before.

About 200 visitors estimatedly attended the 10 am church service in Skoczow. The church service was live streamed on the internet. There, too, I talked about my journey and thanked for the wonderful hospitality I experienced in many Polish Protestant communities and especially in Skoczow. During communion, I then shared the gifts. After the church service, I had to pack my things and I was allowed to have lunch. Then it was time to say goodbye in front of the church and I invited Alfred and his family to visit Osterwohle. I cycled to the district town of Bielsko-Biela and from there I took the regional train to Zwardon, high up in the Beskidy mountains.

The approximately 600 meters of altitude to this crossing point on the border with Slovakia would have been very strenuous with my strength. Once I arrived, I found a nice spot outside on a hilltop, set up my tent, enjoyed the beautiful view of the Beskidy mountains, and said goodbye to Poland and the communities in my thoughts. From the next day, I wanted to visit Protestant communities in Slovakia.