Baptism in western Ukraine

Berehove Baptist church baptism at the lake

Praise the Lord for how God is working! Last week when Gary was serving in western Ukraine, he had the privilege of bringing a brief message at a baptismal service out by the lake. Our friend Pastor Valentin Nehro of the Berehove Baptist church officiated, with the main sermon at the church beforehand being delivered by Pastor István Borzási, former president of the Hungarian Baptist Union in Romania.

Three ethnic Hungarians and one ethnic Russian were being baptized, and besides the church folks that were there, quite a few lost relatives and community members were also on the scene. Some of the family members were antagonistic to the gospel, and we are thankful they were there to hear the Good News. Pray for the new believers as they continue to take a stand for the Lord; ask that they will keep growing and sharing their faith. Ask that God will soften the hearts of the lost ones who heard the gospel, and that one day soon they also will come to Christ.

Answered prayer in Balmazújváros

Sunday morning we had the great joy of visiting a church plant in the town of Balmazújváros.  This is a town that we have had on our hearts for many years; we have done projects there, had concerts, spent time prayerwalking and talking with the people.  At one point we thought we were about to see a church plant begin, but then a key family that we were working with in the town moved out of the country. 

So praise the Lord, it was awesome to see that God is working in new ways there, and a small group is regularly meeting.   Pastor Csaba Karancsi of the Újfehértó Baptist church is the supervising pastor, and a national believer is leading the Bible study each week. As we saw Sunday, the group is quite serious about studying the Word and in desiring to reach out to their community.

Pray for this group, that they will continue to grow and give God glory as they live as salt and light in their town.  Also pray for us and Pastor Csaba as we meet this week to discuss how we may partner together for further outreach in this town.


Join us in praying, using the Balmazújváros virtual prayerwalk that we made several years ago.  Now I want to make a revised version showing what God has been doing since that time!

Important preparation

We have been meeting as often as possible recently with "A," a young friend who will be leaving this weekend for a semester of study in a country very far from here--a place where sharing your faith is not allowed. A is a new believer, and we want her to be as grounded as possible in the Word before she goes.  We don't know if we or other believers will be able to communicate with her, so it is very important that she be able to stand firmly and know how to study the Bible for herself. 

Pray for provision for A's needs--at the last moment she is discovering fees and charges that she was not told about before--and for safety as she travels.  Ask that she will not become discouraged or led astray, but that she will continue to grow, coming back even more committed in her walk with the Lord.  Also pray for her family, especially for a seriously ill aunt, that God will take care of them while she is gone and that they will soon come to Christ.