Dear Praying Friends,
Csilla is growing up in many ways. You can see this from the way she helps take care of her two kid brothers, for whom she often has responsibility at home while her mother works. Her family is not well educated by Hungarian standards, and, because of their social class, the system does not expect much from her. She has only begun to realize her own potential. She is now setting her sights higher educationally.
The church youth group had a New Years all-night activity at our place yesterday. What a joy to hear Csilla talk about how she was saved and how God is now working in her life. She has just taken up the piano for the purpose of learning to accompany congregational singing at church. Because her family cannot afford their own piano, she must find other places to practice. We welcome and share her excitement. Pray for her. She is one of about ten million reasons God sent us to Hungary.
The all-night youth activity also marks an important step in the growth of the church here. We now have a new youth leader: Lajos Makura. Lajos fears that he does not have the ability to do the job, but his humble, prayerful approach is just what the young people need. Yes, he was the Lajos who survived the car accident two years ago. Pray for him.
In our last letter we requested prayer for the problems with the church roof. Competitive bidding and newer technology have brought the price down to something that the church can afford to do without borrowing any money. The work has already begin, but will probably take several months to complete due to the winter weather. We praise God for this definite answer to prayer.
Thank you for praying about our new residence permits. We started assembling the paperwork in July. The last of the papers went in on December 19. The lady at the interior ministry with whom we dealt was optimistic that we would get a favorable answer by the end of January or early February.
Thanks for praying for our Christmas programs. We had several unsaved visitors who heard a clear presentation of the Gospel. Please pray that the seed sown will bear fruit. If you would like a taste of the Christmas program, go to our web site: www.hungaryhearts.com, where I have posted a video of one of the musical pieces. You can also see many more pictures about the work here and in Nagykanizsa, where God is blessing the efforts of the Olah and Hughes families.
For the next several months I will be traveling to Romania and to Nagykanizsa on a regular basis. I would appreciate your prayers for safety as I travel and that God will use me as I train national workers. Jean would appreciate your prayers for strength for her while I am away.
The church had a New Year’s Eve service followed by a game time. We were happy to see Miklos, the unsaved husband of one of our members, and Attila, who has made a profession of faith but has not been faithful in church attendance. Both seemed to enjoy the time. In addition, Tamas and Erika, a couple with a Seventh Day Adventist background, attended and had a good time. Pray that we will be able to reach and disciple this young family. This family came because of the outreach of the Ladies’ Craft Circle. Please pray that God will give us a more effective outreach to men.
At the New Year’s Eve service the pastor asked for testimonies about God’s goodness over the past year. This question prompted me to thank God for His goodness to the Potter family. We saw Bela Horvath installed as the first national pastor of our church. We witnessed the kindergarten graduation of our grandson, Trent Potter, the high school graduation of our daughter Ami and the seminary graduation of our son Micah. The alumni of Daniel Burt Academy feted my wife, Jean, to mark her retirement from twenty-five years of home school teaching.
We wish a blessed and spiritually prosperous New Year to all our prayer partners. Thank you for praying.
Yours for Hungary hearts,
David Potter
