Karmen is tall and slender, almost to the point of seeming to be delicate.  She has a ready smile that communicates how glad she is to be in church.  I first met her on the first Sunday we were back from furlough and her story is one of many good things that God has done for Bible Baptist Church of Pecs during our one and a half month absence.

Karmen’s spiritual background is in a group that stresses obedience to the Law so strongly as to leave people thoroughly confused about God’s requirement for salvation.  Karmen has wrestled with this problem for some time.  She visited our church about a month ago.  After receiving counsel from the Word, she concluded that she really had put her saving trust in Christ about a year ago.  The joy and relief shows on her face.  The contacts between her husband, Imre, and her former church were not happy ones.  He reacted strongly against their high-pressure tactics.  In a friendly visit with Bela, Imre brought up the subject of spiritual things.  He did not seem to be off-put by Bela’s response.  Meanwhile, Karmen continues to attend church faithfully, along with her young son.  Pray for her and her family.  They are three of about ten million reasons God sent us to Hungary.

Lots of good things happened to us while we were in the States, including the wedding of our daughter, Hannah.  Please go to our web site for news and pictures: www.hungaryhearts.com.

Last Sunday I had the privilege of preaching for Jim Knies at Capital City Baptist Church in Budapest.  Pray for the success of this new church plant in the population center of Hungary.

Monty Budahl, retired head of the music department at Maranatha Baptist Bible College, spent three weeks in August here in Hungary.  The weekend before we returned, he spoke for a special men’s weekend seminar at the Horvath home.  Fifteen men attended, including two who are unsaved: Miklos and Tamas.  Please pray for the salvation of these two men.

The baptism of Peter, a teenager about whom I wrote recently, is another of the blessings that happened while we were away.  Peter was the first to sign up to go to family camp.  He thoroughly enjoyed being with other Christians and hearing from the Bible during that week.  Pray for Peter’s mother to be saved.

Speaking of family camp, we had 42 in attendance this year, the largest group we have had for several years.  We greatly appreciated the ministry of Dr. Budahl during the week as he spoke about the Christian life, the family and music.  Seeing the interaction between various church members was a real blessing.  Among those who seemed to profit a great deal from the week were Zoli, Judit, Niki and Vivi.  Miklos, a teenage boy, made a profession of faith during the week.  Pray that the campers who made decisions would stick to them.  We are very grateful to Dr. Budahl for devoting the time and energy to minister here with us.  His sincerity reached the hearts of all who heard him.

Please pray for the church youth.  Three of them will be entering college this fall: Ami, Belus and Judit.  Belus and Judit will be studying in Budapest and Kaposvar, respectively.  Pray that they will be able to maintain a testimony and a walk with God in the ungodly environment of the university.  Also pray for Zoli and Jozsi as they complete their university work this spring.

Pray for the English Sunday School class for international students which starts this Sunday.  Pray that we would have an impact on these students which would extend to their native countries.

Bible Institute classes begin on September 8.  We will be repeating New Testament Survey I and II this fall.  Pray that my teaching would not only be accurate and factual, but energetic and useful.  Pray that the students would absorb and act on what they learn.

While this fall promises to be a busy one, new opportunities seem to be opening up for next year.   Stay tuned.

Thank you again for your prayers.

Yours for Hungary hearts,

David Potter

I first met Gabor more than five years ago.  Ami, an eighth grader at the
time, was about to audition for the arts high school.  Ami’s teacher asked
Gabor to listen to Ami’s audition pieces and give her some advice.  I was
very impressed with the way Gabor made suggestions and at the same time
built up Ami’s confidence.  Last Thursday, there sat Gabor as one of four
judges when Ami auditioned for the University of Pecs.  Besides Gabor’s
position as a violin teacher at the university, he is also a member of a
string quartet based in Salzburg, Austria.  I wonder if he gets tired of
shuttling back and forth between the two cities.

My friend Monty Budahl, retired head of the fine arts department at
Maranatha Baptist Bible College, has well said that there is more gospel
witness in jail than in the symphony orchestra.  I have not yet had a chance
to find out about Gabor’s spiritual condition, but I may get my chance if he
turns out to be Ami’s teacher at the University of Pecs.  Pray for him.  He
is one of about ten million reasons God sent us to Hungary.

This past month the Pecs church celebrated its fifteenth anniversary and the
Nagykanizsa church celebrated its second.  Along with the celebration in
Nagykanizsa, twenty-two people signed the church charter.  It was my
privilege to participate in that chartering service.  I have posted pictures
of these events plus some video of special music on our web site.  Please
check it out at www.hungaryhearts.com.

Sixteen students finished the Bible Institute class on Psalms today.  Please
pray for the Lord’s guidance concerning a busy schedule of classes for this
fall, both here in Pecs and, hopefully, in Nagykanizsa.  Pray for wisdom for
the national pastors, Bela Horvath and Gedeon Olah, as they guide these two
churches.

Lajos Makura, one of our church members, would appreciate your prayers
concerning a job.  The company he worked for went bankrupt last month.  We
are thankful that most of the men in our church have secure jobs, but with
economic conditions as they are, we realize that we have to rely on God for
our living, not our employers.

Next week Ami will audition, June 29th, at the Liszt Academy in Budapest.
We may not know the final results for several weeks.   She would appreciate
your prayers.  The auditions are highly competitive, since an Academy degree
carries a lot of prestige.  Pray that God will use the auditions to direct
Ami to the place He wants her to study in September.

Our plane leaves for the United States on Friday, July 2nd.  The purpose of
our trip is to attend the wedding of our daughter Hannah on July 6 and to
report to several of our supporting churches.  I plan to write the next
“Hungary Hearts” at the end of August.  In the mean time, pray for the
church Family Camp, August 23-27, with Monty Budahl (mentioned above) as the
main speaker.  This year we want to have a sort of mini-music camp parallel
with our normal camp.

Pray also for the Knies family as they transition to a new ministry in
Budapest.  God has wonderfully provided them with an apartment and a meeting
place at very low cost in an expensive area of the city.

Again, we thank you for your prayers.

Yours for Hungary Hearts,

David Potter

Click picture to enlarge.

Psalms Class

What a Friend We Have in Jesus from David Potter on Vimeo.