From Ukraine to Poland – more than an appointment

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1 day ago
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Captain Oleg, (left) with his wife Captain Dominika Domanska, their daughter, and some members of the Warsaw Corps..

When Captain Oleg Samoilenko arrived in Poland, away from his Ukrainian homeland and all things familiar, everything felt like an uphill battle, but what began as a lonely appointment in Warsaw has become a vibrant international family.

BY CAPTAIN OLEG SAMOILENKO

My name is Oleg and I am a Salvation Army officer. I am Ukrainian, but I currently serve as a corps officer in Warsaw, Poland.

I remember my first day at Warsaw Corps back in 2018. One older woman told me there was no place for foreigners in Poland, then the accountant at regional headquarters said she had no time for my questions, and the children at the after-school program did not understand me.

It’s not easy being a foreigner! As an officer, I was keen to communicate with and to get to know my people, so it was difficult for me.

All the attempts I made to be accepted did not work. I was seen as an outsider, and for several years I felt like a stranger in my own corps. I frequently questioned God’s plan for me.

Then war broke out in Ukraine in 2022, which brought more than 10 million fellow Ukrainians to Poland.

My native language suddenly became so helpful in supporting these vulnerable and lost people, who had left everything to save their lives. God’s timing was starting to make sense.

READ MORE: The Salvation Army Ukraine

One day, a woman from Zimbabwe came to our Sunday meeting. She started searching for other Zimbabwean Salvationists in Poland and, a few weeks later, she had found more than 30 people to encourage to attend the corps.

Soon after, I was invited to a school that supports migrant children to talk about human trafficking. The young people were so interested in The Salvation Army, and they asked questions about what the Army had to offer them.

Oleg with some of the Zimbabwean youth who attend the corps.

We invited them to the corps on the Friday evenings, and bought some games and pizzas for the occasion. Two boys turned up on the first night, but the following Friday they brought 20 friends. Some have since become senior soldiers or are currently going through membership classes.

One thing united them – they were all foreigners, living far from their homeland and trying to find a new home. I knew exactly how they felt and how hard life is as an immigrant.

Language presented one of the greatest challenges. While foreigners often strive to learn the language of their new home, full self-expression remains difficult and humour rarely translates. This becomes especially evident when attempting to pray in a foreign language.

Activities for all ages and cultures are a regular part of ministry.

By creating opportunities for people to speak in their native tongue, we have facilitated profound and meaningful conversations. Cultural engagement through traditional cuisine and dance has further deepened these connections, often moving participants to tears. Such small gestures can have a significant impact.

Over the years, in moments of doubt, I had questioned why God had placed me in a setting where I felt unwelcome; yet now, encountering these individuals in such circumstances provided clarity and affirmed the purpose behind this calling.

Today, more than 11 nationalities come to our services. We are an international family in which everyone is accepted. We welcome teenagers from Belarus and Ukraine, seniors from Ukraine, refugees from Zimbabwe, Uganda and the Philippines, and people from India and Russia. Our corps is now full of different languages and diverse cultures.

All these people have experienced loneliness and discrimination, but in The Salvation Army they are all loved.

Youth from around the world make up some of the 15 languages spoken at the corps.

Being a corps officer is now more than just an appointment: my corps is my family. We don’t look on our differences and instead focus on the things that unite us. What began as a struggle to belong became an opportunity to build a spiritual home for people scattered across nations – a family united not by nationality, but by faith and grace.

This article first appeared in The Salvation Army’s international online magazine, All the World. It’s part of the ‘Scattered’ column, inspired by Acts 8:4: “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.”