Pressing Towards the Mark

Dearest Friends and Prayer Partners,

     Once again, God has been working and remained faithful since my last letter to you. With the Christmas season, much of the normal routine was changed, and I’m just starting to get back into the normal swing of things. Most of my English and Slovak lessons did not meet for a few weeks, and the schedule at the church was changed.

     I spent Christmas Eve with the Waites, and on Christmas Day, we had a service and lunch together as a Church. Then on New Year’s Eve we met together as a church for dinner, games, and fellowship time. I was also able to have people over to my apartment for dinner, games, and fellowship the Friday after New Year’s. 

     I’ve written to you a couple of times about the couple that has been visiting and then had stopped coming. They came again a couple of weeks ago. Their names are Tomaš and Ivona. She is saved, but we aren’t sure if he is or not. She doesn’t drive (pretty common for women here), and he struggles with depression. That combined with some car troubles is what kept them away for a couple of months. Please be praying that God will continue to work in their hearts and draw them to Himself. Please pray that if Tomaš is not saved, God will bring him to the point of salvation. Please also pray that they would be given the strength to overcome the obstacles that keep them from coming to church.

     I’ve had several opportunities in my English and Slovak lessons to witness. Please pray that God would be growing those seeds and that He will provide more opportunities.

     With Oliver (he comes from an atheistic home), we started going through the main events in the Bible starting with creation. We just recently got through the birth of Jacob and Esau. He hasn’t objected to going through it, but I also don’t think there is much interest in it yet either. It has provided some opportunities to discuss why I do things that I do, and he has asked questions along the lines of “Did that really happen?”. Please be praying that his heart would be opened to Jesus and that there would be additional opportunities to share Christ with HIm.

     With Soňa (her unsaved husband passed away in November and is my Slovak teacher), I’ve had the opportunity to have some really good conversations. She used to say that her husband was Catholic, and she didn’t go to church. She has started saying that she is Catholic since he passed. However, at the same time, she has been asking lots of questions and doesn’t like the hypocrisy that she sees in the Catholic church. Then a couple weeks ago, she started asking me what makes us and Catholics different. I don’t know much of what the Catholic church teaches, but at least here, it is mostly based on the teachings of men and not on the Bible, so I was able to explain that we base our beliefs on what the Bible says. Then she made the connection that the Catholics have the Bible, too (and therefore she doesn’t have to renounce being a Catholic before looking at it) and said that she was going to buy a Bible and read it. She has never read any part of it before. I was able to direct her to start with the gospel of John. When we met next, she had not yet bought a Bible, so I’m going to purchase one that I can give her at our next lesson. Please pray that she would read it, and that God would use it to open her eyes to HIm. Please pray that there will be additional opportunities for me to witness to her, and that God would use them for His glory.

     With Patricia, we met once more after my last letter and haven’t been able to meet again since. We were going to meet last week, but then she got sick the morning of our lesson. Please pray that she will be healthy and able to meet again, and that God would use me to reach her.

     Since my last letter, I have felt able to communicate much more in Slovak than I had previously. I’ve been able to have longer conversations on a variety of topics and participate in games in Slovak. However, this has mostly been with adults who are actively trying to understand what I’m trying to say. I’ve also encountered instances where I’m trying to speak with the children and they don’t understand what I’m trying to tell them. One particular instance was when we were playing a game, Emma didn’t know who the person was (Johnathan), and I was trying to describe to her who it was. However, because of one letter’s difference in the ending of a word, instead of saying that he was Saul’s son, I said that Saul was his son. Please pray that I continue to improve so that I can communicate clearly, and that I don’t become discouraged along the way. I’ve also been looking for another Slovak teacher that can work with me more specifically on my areas of weakness. I mainly have conversations with Soňa, but would like someone that can work with me specifically on improving my accent and can work with me on some of the grammar. Please pray that if it is God’s will, I will find someone.

     On Sunday, one of the couples in the church here shared with the church that they have been struggling with infertility. Please pray for them. For peace and if it is God’s will that He will bless them with a child.

     This week, the Bible Institute classes are starting again. Please pray that God’s will is done in and through them. 

     In February, David and Anna Waite will be visiting for just over two weeks. David has permanent residency here and needs to renew it since he has a new passport. While they are here, he will also be starting a more in depth Bible Institute class for the men here who are interested in ministry either full time or as a layman in the church. He will then continue these classes via video while they are on deputation. When they come back full time, their primary focus will be on developing the Bible Institute to train the believers here in Slovakia. Please pray for their travels and that God’s will is done in and through their time here.

     The church here in Kežmarok is starting to enter a period of transition. It has reached the point where the leadership here needs to start being transferred to Slovak believers. There is one couple here that has expressed interest in full time pastoral ministry, and they are starting to train to be able to take over the current church. There is another couple that has been taking over the leadership of the children’s ministry and doing wonderfully. At the same time, it is probably several more years before the church can become independent of Don and LeAnne’s presence. Please be praying for this time; that it would be done according to God’s will and in His timing.

     This time of transition has caused us to start looking out at the wider harvest fields of Slovakia. There is such an abundant need. So many people in need of the light and hope of the gospel. There are a couple of families in the church driving significant distances that create logical places for a new church to be started. However, we don’t have men that could pastor a new church. Please pray that God would call a man or men either from Slovakia or as missionaries so that a new church (or churches) could be started in Slovakia.

     I’m continuing to take the steps to join BMM full time. They have finished the process of talking with references and now it is time for me to fill out a doctrinal questionnaire. Please pray that God would give me clarity on the answers and that the process would continue to move forward according to His will.

     It has been almost ten months that I have been in Slovakia and just over two years since I first visited. It is hard to believe that I have been here longer than the time left in my first term here. Please pray that I would continue to press forward towards that mark set before me, and that God would give me wisdom and clarity as I’m here for the next eight months and as I transition into full time deputation later this year.

Your Sister in Christ,

Shae Zabel