Ákos, Judit, Kriszta, Ildikó, and Beá
We had a special testimony service this morning at the Budapest Ministry Center. Instead of having the regular time of worship singing followed by a sermon, five people shared personal testimonies with worship songs interspersed between each testimony.
Beá started out by telling of her lifelong struggle to find meaning and purpose in her life. She tried many different philosophies, practices, and substances but found them all to be empty. It was only when she was at the lowest point in her life that she came to Christ in faith that her life began to be filled with joy. Beá is now enrolled in the Pentecostal Bible College here in Budapest and is studying pastoral psychology, with the hope of being able to help others in the future.
Judit shared about her own journey of faith, which viewed any church outside of the historical Hungarian churches to be sects. But has Judit met Péter (now her husband) and began to attend our fellowship, she realized that there was something different about the so-called "small churches." Not only did she find a friendly welcome and a family feeling, she also discovered the importance of having Jesus Christ at the center of your life.
Ildikó recounted how at 50 years of age she suddenly became homeless, jobless, and alone. She also began a search for God, and only encountered Him in a personal way when she was visiting her daughter in California through the testimony and life witness of her daughter's host mother. Someone in California told her about our church in Budapest, and when she returned to Hungary Ildikó sought out the church and has been attending faithfully ever since. She was baptized this past January. She brought her story up to date by sharing about the challenges that she has been recently facing, and how God has provided for her in unexpected ways.
Kriszta told how, following her baptism in September, the Lord has been speaking to her about her priorities. In October she faced a decision about whether or not to become part of a performing dance group, but she realized that if she did it would probably take over her life. Just when she was struggling with the decision she received a call from Péter, asking her to take part in the worship team that was preparing for the Wesley Theology Day (which just so happened to be on the same day as the first dance training camp). She felt that this was a clear indication of what she should be doing with her time, and so she accepted Péter's invitation and declined participation in the dance group. She hasn't regretted her decision.
Ákos told about a recent incident that occurred at the local McDonald's. He and his family were there when the restaurant was nearly empty, and yet a man come over and sat quite close to them. He thought nothing of it at the time, but suddenly and unusually, he felt prompted to check his wallet, which was in his interior coat pocket. It wasn't there! He immediately turned around and the man was behind him. Ákos didn't know what to do, as the man was very large, whereas Ákos is of a slight build. He asked for his wallet, and the man just pointed to the floor. As Ákos bent down to pick up his wallet, the man fled. Upon examining the contents, Ákos saw that nothing was missing! He gives credit to God for prompting him to look for his wallet at the same time as the man was trying to steal it.
These testimonies, as well as the songs that each person chose, were a great blessing and encouragement to everyone in the fellowship!
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