The Truett McConnell men’s basketball team went to Swinoujscie and Szczecin, Poland, as part of a 14-day mission trip last month.
The team left Atlanta on May 19 and return stateside June 2. This was the second year that the team has gone to Poland.
After leaving from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the team landed in Berlin, Germany, and drove over to Poland to jump right in to action with Wyspy Sportu, or “Island of Sports”, in Swinoujscie, a city about a kilometer from the Germany-Poland border.
“It’s amazing to see how much God has moved just in one year,” said Bears head coach Jon Yeh. “When we went last June, we were the guinea pigs for bringing a sports team over for our Polish friends. This year, it was awesome to see how our previous experience morphed into an entire six-week sports festival, with basketball, soccer, volleyball, cheerleading and a host of other athletic events taking place.”
Throughout their time at Wyspy Sportu, the Bears helped conduct clinics, coach teams, visit schools and played games. They also assisted with “Sport Wars”, which was a multi-school field day with games for the participants.
“The trip was an amazing way to see how God can continue to work over one year’s time,” said Brandon Cerezola. “We were able to reconnect with the people we had made relationships with last year as well as make new ones. It was great experience having the opportunity to serve others through the game of basketball.”
“Our goal was to live out one of the themes of the book of Titus, which was to ‘do good works,'” said Yeh. “Those good works help prepare the Polish people to hear the Gospel, whether it was from our mouths, other teams later participating in Wyspy Sportu or our friends in Poland. Eventually, the long-term goal is for new protestant churches to be planted in Swinoujscie and Szczecin.”
After a week and a half in Swinoujscie at Wyspy Sportu, the team traveled to Szczecin, where the men visited two pre-K schools and two upper-level schools in three days. They also took on the Szczecin All-Star team, which the Bears won, 98-97, in overtime. The game served as a “rematch” from last year’s one-point loss. In this year’s game, Darius McNear hit two free throws at the end of regulation to send the game to the extra frame, and Andretti Lloyd hit a three-pointer from the right wing with under 10 seconds to play. The All-Star team had one player who played in Poland’s top professional league and four more in Poland’s first division, a step below the professional league.
“This was my second time going over to Poland with the team, and I really enjoyed seeing some of the old friends I made last summer,” said Lloyd. “I really enjoyed seeing how happy we made the kids and families. Even though communicating was a struggle, it forced us to learn the Polish language.”
The Bears ended the trip without losing a game, including winning the “Toilet Paper” game, in which fans threw toilet paper onto the court after the tenth point scored by Truett McConnell.
“I have really fallen in love with Poland from my visit these past two summers, and I am looking forward to seeing how God works in the Wyspy Sportu ministry that we have played a big part in,” said Lloyd. “Maybe someday, I will get to go back to help keep the ministry growing and spread love throughout the community there.”
