Patton Family | Prayer Letters: May 2016

Dear Friends,

The work of the evangelist:

One of my ministry goals is to influence the Baptist churches in Hungary to reach their own people and become strong, evangelistic churches. During the past two months the Lord gave me many opportunities to minister outside our own churches. On March 18-19 I had the privilege of preaching at a fairly new church in the nearby city of Pilisvorosvar. Laszlo Nagy and his wife Katalin planted this church about 10 years ago. It was especially exciting for me, because I taught both Laszlo and his wife Katalin in a Bible Institute before they got their start. It has been a slow work, but they now have 30-40 people in attendance. We are hoping to be able to help them even more in the future.

On April 24^th I preached all day at the Baptist Church in Pesterzsebet. It was a special Sunday geared for the lost. I was pleased to see a number of people lift their hands expressing a desire to give their lives to the Lord. I spent April 26-29 teaching at the Word of Life Bible Institute in Toalmas, Hungary. I taught a class on the Christian Family to 22 second year students. I also preached to the entire student body during their Wednesday chapel. I always enjoy my time at Word of Life, as the students have a great desire both to learn and to serve the Lord.

Trip to Israel:

Perhaps the highlight of these past two months was our trip to Israel from April 6-12. It truly was a dream come true for us. I have taught Bible Geography in our Bible Institute, but there is nothing like seeing and experiencing the geography of Israel first hand. From a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, to stepping in the water of the Jordan River, floating in the Dead Sea, or simply driving through the Judean wilderness we truly got a feel for the land where so much of the Bible took place. It was also an amazing experience to pray putting my hands on the stones of the Wailing Wall, and thinking about 4,000 years of history that took place on that site from the time of Abraham to the present. It was ironic, that despite it being my first trip to Israel, I was asked to be the group leader, so I had the privilege of leading our daily devotionals, and also reading Scripture and sharing thoughts at many of the sites we visited. It was also fun to share the time with five church members from Esztergom who joined us for this trip.

Easter Outreach:

As I mentioned in our previous letter, evangelist Allen Buchanek preached for us over the Easter weekend. We held special services in Esztergom, Tata and Oroszlany. We had great services in all three locations with many visitors, and many decisions. We are now praying that some of the visitors would return and begin attending on a regular basis. In Esztergom we have had one lady who has not missed a Sunday since then. Oroszlany has also seen several return visitors.

Faith Promise Commitments:

One other recent blessing was to see a sizable increase in our faith promise commitments in Esztergom. Our attendance in Esztergom has actually dropped over the past year, so I was expecting a decrease in our missions giving. Instead we saw a 20-30% increase in the commitments for the next year. I am grateful that our people have a heart for missions and a willingness to sacrifice in their giving.

Family News:

Nancy and Ben just finished their second year of college at Trinity Baptist in Jacksonville. They have both done really well in their studies, work and ministry. Nancy will be making a mission trip to Zambia May 15-31^st. She then will fly here to Hungary on June 5^th. Ben will be coming a bit later as he has work commitments. Esther and Hannah are still in school until mid June.

Upcoming Events:

June 12 – Baptismal service in Tata.

June 16-20 – Family Camp (Esztergom)

June 27-July 1 – Day Camp in Tata.

July 18-22 – English Camp in Esztergom and VBS in Nagysap.

Thanks again for your faithful prayers and support of our ministry. God bless!

Serving for His Glory,