There is something very compelling about grown men crying, and Andi and I have seen several men cry this week. With teary eyes they told me that I am like a father to them, that I am their example, and that they love me very much. It is a great blessing to know how much people in Pecs appreciate the ministry here.
To shed some more light on why these things transpired I need to step back and tell you what has happened since last summer. Both Andi and I are just trying to make sense of what God is doing, so if you find discrepancies and ambiguities in my description it is not God's fault, it is the inability of my miniscule mind to interpret events to their fullest meaning.
In May 2006 God brought a Hungarian-American couple (their names are Balazs and Leah Stanzel) to minister with us here in Pecs. I have prayed for a helper for years, little did I know that he is going to become more than a helper. They both jumped in to ministry right away, the church welcomed them, and it seemed as if they had been with us for years instead of weeks. We were all very happy to see these events transpire in such a Christian way. Soon God started opening doors for ministry for both of them. These are doors that I had been trying to pry open with prayer for years. To give you a general idea of what was happening, let me tell you that Balazs was given free access to the juvenile prison in Pecs and the status of a counselor. All this happened in less than three months, although it takes about six months for the Hungarian secret service to do a full background check on anyone asking for regular visits to prisons, let alone becoming a counselor.
There was, what I would consider healthy jealousy in me when I saw that God is using Balazs to fulfill all the visions and desires He had given me for Calvary Chapel of Pecs. I even said that if need be I could leave the church to his care as a pastor without any doubts. Little did I know that this was a valid option on the Almighty's agenda.
This January Andi and I attended a conference (Calvary Chapel Missions Conference) during which God stirred up a desire that had been dormant in our hearts for many years. Both Andi and I have always had a desire to serve God in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the least evangelized, and predominantly Muslim country in Europe. Bosnia-Herzegovina was once part of Yugoslavia, where we were both born, so we both speak the language and we are both familiar with the culture there. At the time, years ago, a long time before we had gotten married God confirmed it to both of us individually that we had several years before He was going to take us there. This stirring up of the desire at the conference, however, started a process in us, the process of thinking about leaving Pecs at one point. We knew that a time had come where the next step was right around the corner.
On January 30th 2007, exactly, to the day, seven years after I moved to Pecs, I received a phone call from Phil Metzger, the director of Calvary Chapel Bible College in Vajta, asking me to consider coming on staff there. Many of you know that I have been traveling weekly and teaching there for the last five years. The idea of moving there has come up once already, several years ago, but all parties involved knew that it wasn't the right time yet. Needless to say, all parties involved in this decision now agree that God is directing Andi and me to move to Vajta and serve under Phil Metzger. I am going to perform administrative tasks, continue to teach regularly, and I will be the only Hungarian pastor on staff, allowing me a regular, direct approach to the Hungarian students. Also, we are going to actively seek contacts in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and hopefully organize missionary trips to share the gospel there.
In Pecs, Balazs is going to become the pastor of Calvary Chapel of Pecs in the near future. Andi and I will soon start the inventory of our earthly belongings and once again realize that we have accumulated too much and formed attachments to way too many things. We plan on moving to Vajta in May, so we don't have much time left, but we know that God is going to be faithful in helping us to manage this transition.
Why did I tell you about Bosnia-Herzegovina if we are moving to Vajta? Well, we know we will get to Bosnia-Herzegovina once, although not yet. Sometime in the future though, there is going to be a time when all parties involved will once more agree on God's guidance and we will have to saddle our horses once again and move to Bosnia-Herzegovina. This is the life of a pilgrim, not having a home or a citizenship in this world, longing for the city with eternal foundations. Maranatha!
