Poland: The White Eagles

By: Carlos Castro

Poland reached the World Cup with some luck when they breezed through a round due to Russia’s disqualification, but that shouldn’t overshadow their high quality of play. Robert Lewandowski is an example of the team’s vigor: top scorer of his national team, voted by FIFA as the best player in the world in the last two years, and a current Barcelona striker. Under his captaincy, the White Eagles have a promising journey to the World Cup trophy.

Poland is located in the center of Europe. The inspiration for the football team’s nickname, “The White Eagles”, is its coat of arms, which displays a golden crown atop the head of a white eagle on a red background. It’s a country with amazing geographical diversity, boasting impressive mountains and hundreds of lakes hidden among those mountain ranges. Poland is known for its ancient castles and famous medieval wars, and for hospitality that’s been honed over the years. Its people are often described as resilient, as they’ve overcome very dark times in their history, including the Holocaust, where one of the most horrifying Nazi concentration camps was set up during World War II: Auschwitz.

The legend about the country’s foundation tells of three brothers who first arrived to the land and found a very leafy oak tree in which there sat an eagle’s nest. “Lech”, the first of the brothers, stayed there and formed his country, Poland. The others disagreed with the decision of their oldest and split up. “Czech” preferred to travel south, and “Rus” east, establishing, as you may have guessed, the Czech Republic and Russia.

The Church of the Nazarene is present in this country, carrying the message of salvation and ministering to urgent needs. The Church is especially visible in the border areas, where, this year, they’ve mobilized to help refugees fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.

Pray that God will strengthen all the organizations and people in Poland who are helping others in the face of crisis and war. Pray for peace in their cities and for refugees’ quick adaptation to the country, which has opened its doors to receive them.