Following the morning service, Jim Knies read his resignation to the church, effective next week when Bela Horvath is installed as pastor.  He choked back tears as he read, expressing joy that the church is ready for the next stage: having their own national pastor. Following a time in the States for renewal and refreshment, Jim and Valerie plan to return to Hungary to continue their ministry of church planting and strengthening the national churches.

March 15 is an important Hungarian national holiday, commemorating a Hungarian revolt against Austrian domination. Most of the folks in church this morning wore red, white and green ribbons to show their patriotism. The special music was a song about Hungarian history and the need for Hungarians to trust God. Bela Horvath preached an excellent message on good citizenship for citizens of Hungary and citizens of heaven. The service ended with the singing of the Hungarian national anthem. Afterwards, I saw people wiping tears from their eyes.

What is significant about the events of this morning? An American could never have organized such a program or preached such a message. We are so thankful to God for the national leadership that He has raised up for the Pecs church.

Dear Praying Friends,

Mark has a classic athletic build: wide at the shoulders and narrow at the waist.  After seeing him, you would not be surprised to find out that he is a kayaker.  His high school specializes in training athletes, and, in addition, he is studying electronics.

Mark attended our church during a Christmas concert in which his sister, who is a church member, sang in the choir.  His interest has continued to grow.  He came to a youth bowling activity at which his score was the highest.  A short time later he prayed to receive Christ as his personal Savior.  He is now doing a discipleship Bible study with Zoli Kiss and me.  We see encouraging steps of growth in his life.  He could well be the male leader that we will need in the teen group over the next three years.  Pray for him.  He is one of about ten million reasons God sent us to Hungary.

Last Sunday evening, the Bible Baptist Church of Pecs voted unanimously to call Bela Horvath as their first national pastor.  We are thrilled about this milestone in the history of the church.  We have called an ordination council for Saturday, April 4.  Provided the council vote is favorable, the next day we will ordain Bela to the Gospel ministry and install him as pastor.  Bela and the church would greatly appreciate your prayers for him in this important step.

Pastor Rhon Roberts of Mukwonago Baptist Church, Mukwonago, Wisconsin, and his wife will be here for the special occasion.  Brother Roberts will also preach a series of special meetings from April 5-8.  Pray that God will use the meetings to bring people to Christ.

Please also pray for our Bible Institute students as they take their final exam in the Pauline Epistles class on Saturday, March 7.  My Romanian students would also appreciate your prayers as they finish classes on April 1 and then take their final exam.  Greek is not easy, as they have found out.  Pray that the hard work they have put in will pay off as they understand the New Testament better.

I thank God for the privilege of preaching for five midweek services at Lighthouse Baptist Church of Nagykanizsa on the subject of the work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life.  Please pray for the growth and strengthening of this new work led by our national missionary, Gedeon Olah.

Just this morning I purchased plane tickets to visit the US for several weeks in April and May.  We plan to report to some of our supporting churches and attend the graduation of our son Micah from Calvary Baptist Seminary in Lansdale, PA.  We would appreciate your prayers for our trip and for the church here in our absence.

Ami’s plans for further education are still not finalized.  Pray that God will lead her very definitely in this matter.

Jean’s overall health continues to improve.  Pray that God will sustain her while I travel.

Thanks again for your prayers.  We will only know in eternity how important they have been.

Yours for Hungary hearts,

David Potter

PS—Don’t forget to visit our web site regularly for updates and new pictures.  Just go to www.missioncentral.net/miss/potter and click on Our Journal.