Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Sweet Memories

Since we're homeless, our colleagues, Glen and Clista Adkins, have been kind enough to take us in. They live in Pecs, one of the larger cities in Hungary. It is also home to the Vago family. If you have followed us since our early days in the village, the name may ring a bell. Istvan Vago was the pastor at the Baptist church in Derecske, the village where we spent our first term. The Vago family fed us for the first week we were in Hungary. They were our first friends. Their first born, Kinga, was friends and classmates with our first born, Amy. We have wonderful memories with the Vago family.

Istvan was called to pastor the Baptist church in Pecs about a year after we arrived. We have kept in touch over the years, watching our children grow up and our hair grow gray. During this visit to Pecs we heard Istvan has planted a new church in Pecs. Sunday we visited and what a warm reunion it was! It was wonderful to see him and the family. The church meets in the former headquarters of the local socialist party (isn't that ironic?). It is a contemporary service with lots of music and casual dress. We remarked it was the first Sunday we had ever seen Istvan without a tie. Istvan is a great pastor and it comes through in his love for people. He also preaches from the heart as God leads and that heart includes the Roma. Istvan was the first Hungarian we met who championed the Roma and desired to bring them the love of Christ. It was good to see him and observe that his heart is still as big and open as we remember. Please pray for the new church start, "Love's Castle" Baptist Church and Istvan Vago with his leadership team as they lead.

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