It’s the end of an era! That’s how it feels to me at WOL Hungary right now. Our Bible Institute students have graduated and are heading all over the world to serve in their summer ministry.

Graduation!!!

Each year our students graduate from either the First Year or Second Year program at our Bible Institute and it is a blessing to watch. All the fun, all the classes, all the troubles, all the discipleship is all culminated on this day.

One student came up to me the day before graduation and told me how much her service assignment, her on-campus job, had helped her to grow and learn about her heart. I’ll be honest that I was a little taken back. This is the area of our program that doesn’t really have a “spiritual teaching.” But she continued that it was the work that allowed her to apply the principles she was learning in the classroom to her practical life. How amazing! That is why I love the program of the Word of Life Bible Institute. It is geared to be a center for life-change in all areas.

It was also the last day that our Intern Coordinator, Andy Mater, was in Hungary. The next day he flew back to America to be with his family as God leads them in the next step of their ministry. He was my discipler for the past two years, and had a great impact in my life.

Summer Time in Poland

Now that school is over it’s time for summer camp! I’m really excited to be able to go to Word of Life Poland from June 20-July 30! I never thought that God would allow me to go to places like this. I don’t know a lot of specific details but I do know that I will be helping heavily with the English and sports of their camps, as well as Missions Camp, which is basically a camp of street witnessing for two weeks.

Thank you all so much for your continued support! It’s great to hear about people asking about the ministry along with your faithful giving that allows me to serve here. I can’t wait to tell you about the lives you will impact this summer through your prayers and gifts. God Bless you!

"Where do you fit in?"

Missions Conference 2012!

Road to Revival!

Staff and students dedicating their lives to the Lord!

Every year at this time we have our Word of Life Missions Conference, and it’s definitely a highlight of my year. I heard good preaching, enjoyed great worship, and best of all, watched many of our staff and students walking to the front, committing their lives to God. The challenge was this: “Where do you fit in?” God wants to use you...so where do you fit in? A good question for all of us, isn’t it? So let me ask you: where do you fit in? In your home, you church, your community? Where can you fit in to be used of God?

Word of Life Serbia

Faith Promise Goal

Our Faith Promise is money that is collected to help a specific ministry need related to missions, and this year our target was 1.8 million forint($8,000) for a ministry vehicle for the Vika family. They are Serbian and currently the only Word of Life missionaries in Serbia. In the end however our total was over 2,800,000 forint ($14,000)! All that was committed from such a small body, yet they have stepped out in faith. It’s incredible! I love it!

We’re Growing!

Things have been busy here with lots of planning and restructuring different things here in the Bible Institute and it’s exciting to see plans being made for growth. One of those things is prayer. Every week in our Bible Institute Staff meeting we have decided to pray for 60 students next year. We are stepping out in faith again asking God to allow us to train and disciple even more students with God’s Word.

I saved the best for last by saying Thank you to you my supporters. I couldn’t be here without you and your faithful giving that allows me to serve and to grow here. I know you are faithful pray-ers and I ask you to please continue to pray for my support, for the decisions made at our Missions Conference to blossom, for wisdom in my ministry, and for our goal of 60 students next year. God bless you!

Darko Vika, Word of Life missionary to Serbia, and I at Missions Conference!

"Can you pray with me?"

Let's be honest, I'm not a blogger. It's been a long time since my last blog. I'm sure it's just like any other discipline and needs to be done for several days/weeks/years to form into a habit. But I still enjoy blogging because I get to share with you incredible things that God does. And the best part is that most of them are little things that I foolishly don't think are that important.


Recently Word of Life Hungary held a Counseling conference and we had guests from Hungary and the Czech Republic attending. During a break a man came up to me and asked me for some help (He spoke in Hungarian). I tried to tell him he could get help from reception. He asked "Magyar vagy?" (Are you Hungarian?) "Nem." "Oh, ok, I speak English." Then he asked me something I wasn't expecting...he asked if we could pray together. I'm not against prayer at all, but when was the last time you had a complete stranger ask you to pray with them, especially one from a different country??


So we went to a quiet place, and he explained that he was worried for his family back home with some things. We spoke for probably 2-3 minutes before we shared our names. But then we prayed, I for him and him for me. I couldn't help but walk away from that praising God. I just prayed with someone I've never met before, might never see again, and whose name I almost didn't learn. But that's the beauty of being a Christan. You cannot know the language, not fully understand the culture, not even know who they are, and yet still fellowship with them because you both have the Holy Spirit. That's the unity of the church.

Galatians3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

"I can speak English!"

"I can speak English!"

This is the sentence I heard in the first couple of weeks that I was here and that moment of excitement is still with me. One of the Hungarian students was using his newly learned English sentences to speak with the other students and he was so excited that he could use what he had just learned in English class. And that's when it hit me....something so simple as learning a language is just one of the many areas I get to watch these students grow in.

Working in our Bible Institute has been challenging at times, but then what new job isn't, right? At the same time, however, I've been learning so many skills on the computer and with organizing, but more applicable has been learning to teach others in a way that crosses cultural barriers. Learning to be a true leader with a servant's attitude. And God has blessed me to witness moments like this. Something as simple as learning a sentence. Wow. It reminds me that Word of Life is all about two words: LIFE CHANGE. I get to watch students change their sinful habits, grow in their faith, learn to love others, and so many other things. That's what it's all about: seeing life change take place in young people's lives. God has given me the opportunity to do this in Hungary, and you, in your own town. We are too blessed to do this. Hallelujah!

Fellowships

Something that is a unique blessing about being a missionary is getting to visit many different churches. I get to meet new people, go new places, and visit churches any other person wouldn't normally be able to visit. One of the things about sharing the ministry of Word of Life Hungary is getting to experience church styles. Having to learn the Hungarian culture has made me appreciate the same learning process that a pastor has to do when he is called to a new area. This past Sunday I got to visit the former youth pastor of my home church in his new, lead pastor position of the great church of Gage Chapel. Their community is different than Marilla, and therefore must be treated as such. 

But the true blessing of traveling to different churches is the people. That was the church is anyways. It's the pastors, the deacons, the musicians, the people in the pews, the servants of that local community. It's so incredible to see the system that God set up being implemented in each local area. Each their own, each uniquely reaching their community with the Gospel. And we as Christians can share the joy of fellowship with each other no matter where we come from. Marilla to Forestville, or America to Hungary, we all can share in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

The Beginning of New Things

Welcome to the beginning of my blog life! I'm completely new at this blogging thing, but I'm also excited that I can share with you all the amazing things God is (and definitely will be doing) in my life with this tool. Write now it's 12:30 AM on (technically) Tuesday morning. If I had to summarize the new things God is doing in my life I would have to call it this: Separation and Growing Up.

Separation because while I am at home, my brother and sister are working up at Word of Life for the summer camps. Mark is on the Island doing STC and Suzi is working with Teens Involved for a couple weeks, then moving to BBC for their teen camps. I'm so happy for what they get to do this summer. It's exciting! Actually, I'm a little jealous of them being up there for camps. It's a little sad to be away from them for the whole summer, but I know it's for the best.

Growing Up is simply me learning the true life of a missionary. Calling churches, scheduling meetings, sharing about my ministry, figuring out what classes I'm going to take when for my online studies, etc. All of it is completely new to me, and I love learning it. It means that I'm doing what God called me to do. And I've been learning more and more the truth of my favorite verse: 1 Thessalonians 5:24 "Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass."