Dear Friends,

Budapest, August 29, 2006

Again on Road

I spent only four weeks in Hungary but I will go forward to Sierra Leone enriched with many nice experiences.

The day after I had arrived to Budapest, I was already on the road towards Debrecen, to participate on the Conference of the Hungarian Baptist World Alliance. More than six thousand people came together from every parts of the world to the three days meeting.

I was asked already in the afternoon of the first day to give a few minutes presentation about my work in Africa, and encourage others to carry out mission work.

It was interesting to meet brothers and sisters from Hungary and from other countries of Europe and at the same time to see again those American-Hungarian brethren whom I know well from Cleveland or from the conferences of the Hungarian Baptist Convention of North America. Sometimes talking to the different people it seemed to me as if I still were not in Hungary.

Anyhow, Hungary now is not the same as it was twenty years ago, at the time when I prepared myself to my first mission journey.  It was not possible to organize such kind of conferences in those days.

The local Baptist church and the organizers of the conference took care about the physical and spiritual needs of the participants with extraordinary energy and did they best that everything would be done “in a fitting and orderly way” (1Cor. 14.40). There was time for prayer, testimonies, sermons, worship, talking and listening of different presentations. We had enough time even for eating and sleeping as well.

The highlight of the conference was the Sunday morning worship service when the congregation of  thousands of believers took the Lord’s Supper together. The bread and vine, reminding us to the death of Jesus Christ were distributed in a few minutes by the several pastors who were present at the conference. After taking the elements we held each others hands as we sang.

Sometimes I ask the Lord if there were some people among those who have held my hand who following my footsteps one day would go to Sierra Leone to work together with me. I know that many people are praying for me and follow me in their spirit to the mission field but I think it would be easier if I were not going always alone to the almost unknown.

It was good to experience again that the leaders of the Baptist Union of Hungary and the Hungarian Baptist Aid not only paid attention to my ministry, but as much as possible they even supported my work. Maybe one day they will even visit me in Africa!

After the conference I had opportunity to visit different churches and meet many old friends, brothers and sisters, but I was somewhat sad that I was not able to spend more time in Hungary and get acquainted with those brethren and fellow servants who joined to the service of the Lord recently.

It was a great joy for me that the Hungarian Baptist Union decided to publish my letters that I sent from my missionary journey in 2005/2006. The income of the book will support my mission work, so please, pray that it would be printed and send out to the bookshops soon.

The preparation for the journey was shadowed a little bit by the fact that the money for the one year rent of the house in Makeni, where I was supposed to live, until now had not arrived there. The Hungarian Baptist Convention of North America sent the amount already  in July  to the bank account that was given to us by the Baptist Convention of Sierra Leone. The brethren in Africa wanted to renovate the house from that money. They already started the work but they were not able to finish.  So now I  will stay for a while again in Freetown.

However knowing that for the Lord there are no “coincidences” I am sure that sooner or later that obstacle will not only disappear, but it will serve the progress of the Gospel. Maybe the Lord wants me to continue the work somewhere else, and not in Makeni, as it was planed.

Please, pray that the Lord would continue to lead me step by step, and would hide me under his protecting wings as I fly out to Sierra Leone the day after tomorrow and as well as I find a new home and start the work again.