Love Walk

In January 1998, John’s sister Mary and family decided to move back to the states from Hungary. On February 14, Valentine’s Day, we joined them, together with John’s sister Debbie, and her husband, Chuck, for a skiing holiday at Dodge Ridge Ski Resort off Highway 108 up north. That Sunday, we asked Tom and Karen, the friends who had sung at our wedding, if we could meet with them at the church they attended called Chapel in the Pines in Twain Harte, California. A visiting missionary from Papua, New Guinea, working with Mission Aviation Fellowship, delivered the message that day. He said, “If you’re called to the mission field and haven’t yet responded, you’d better have a good reason.” We looked at each other and knew we longer had any excuse or reason not to answer the call. So we went forward and committed our lives to serving on the mission field. From that moment on, God began moving swiftly in our lives, and seven months later, we were living in Bogata, Columbia. After we arrived home from Twain Harte, John knew I was serious about the commitment because I began packing my china. He saw I was as ready to go as he was.<.p>

One of the pastors at Bethel heard that we had the call of missions on our lives and wanted to help us. When we decided to join the church in late February, he began working with us to become missionaries with the Assemblies of God. When we asked how we should proceed, he said, “Start writing a letter to all your friends and family, asking for support.” Receiving financial support from others was a brand-new thought, and we almost dreaded doing it, having always prided ourselves on being generous givers to a fault. One of Bethel’s elder pastors counseled us in our struggle. He helped us understand that we were being called to join the tribe of Levi that ministered to the Lord and were supported by all the other tribes. So we sent out over two hundred letters and began setting up an account to gather funds.