Thankful Thoughts

Dearest Friends and Prayer Partners,

So much has taken place since my last update. God has continued to remain faithful through it all. In many ways, these letters to you not only allow me to communicate with you, but they give me a chance to look back and reflect on what God has been doing. Sometimes I lose sight of His abundant blessings in the midst of everything that is happening. Please pray that I keep my eyes on Him even when things are busy.

In September, I taught the Kid’s Club on Fridays. Some weeks Oli was there, and other weeks Emma and Nina came. We spent time reading Bible stories, coloring, and singing songs. It was wonderful to be able to spend some more time with all three and get to know them a little better. At the same time, when I look back just that short time ago, I felt very limited in what I could do in Slovak. My skills have dramatically improved since then. There is still so much I don’t know, but I can have conversations on a variety of topics as long as the other person is patient with me. It is a very humbling and precious gift from God that He has allowed me to progress so much. Please pray that God will continue to allow me to improve. Having a solid grasp of the language is critical to my continued ministry here.

David Waite and Anna Smith were married at the end of October and they have started deputation to come to Slovakia. LeAnne was in the US for most of October, and Don was there for about a week and a half. While they were gone, things continued here which is a testimony to the fact that the church belongs to God and doesn’t revolve around any individual within the church. 

LeAnne had asked me to lead the ladies' study while she was gone. I was honestly a little nervous as I had not previously led a group like this before. However, God gave me what He wanted taught, and it was a blessing both to me and the ladies here. The first study we looked at God’s plans, if they are good, and if they are the same as our plans. The second study, we looked at following God’s will and focused mainly on 1 Corinthians 12-13. While writing these studies, I was also grieving the passing of my second Grandma. Last year around the same time, my Mom’s Mom passed away. This year, it was my Dad’s Mom. It wasn’t my plan that that would happen, but it was not a surprise to God. He knew it would happen and that He brought me comfort through His Word. 

Also in October, I went to spend some time with the Dragošeks. They are a family in our church that live in a village about a two hour drive from Kežmarok. It was wonderful to get to spend some time getting to know them better. Because they live so far away, they only come up every other week. They have three children who are a little bit older. Their oldest started high school this year, and it has been a difficult transition. Many high school students do not go home every day. Instead they stay in dorms. Andrejka is going to a school that is about two hours by train/bus from home and had planned to come home everyday. However, there have been some issues with delays causing her to miss connections that have prevented her from being able to travel home everyday. So, she has been staying at the dorms during the week and only coming home on the weekends. The other two children are homeschooled. They also have lots of animals (goats, rabbits, ducks, chickens, bees, a dog, and a tortoise) and a large garden. They try to grow most of the food they eat or trade with their neighbors. It is a very different mindset than those in town. It was nice to be invited into their lives for a few days and to be able to experience a different aspect of life in Slovakia. Please pray for Andrejka. Pray that God would give her peace in this season and that she would be a testimony to the students around her.

We also had a visitor while LeAnne was gone. Her name is May and she is from the Philippines. She grew up in a Baptist church there where her father is the pastor. She is in Slovakia working as a housekeeper in one of the hotels in the mountains. Her work schedule has not allowed her to come back since that first Sunday, but she very much misses fellowshipping with other Christians. Please pray that her manager would allow her to have Sundays as her day off so that she can be a part of the church here.

The other visitors who I wrote about last time stopped coming a couple weeks after I wrote. We aren’t sure exactly why and haven’t been able to get ahold of them. Please pray that God will continue to work in their hearts and if it is His will that they start coming again.

We are wrapping up the fall semester in the Bible Institute. Please be praying for a clear and unified direction from God on what He wants accomplished through the institute. Satan has been trying to cause conflict and confusion, but we know that our God is more powerful.

In November, I started meeting with a new English student. Her name is Patricia. She is my age, single, and definitely searching. I’ve had a couple opportunities already to share the gospel with her and invited her to join us at church. Please pray that God would be working in her heart, will continue to provide opportunities, and that her seeking will lead her to the truth, to Him.

A couple of weeks ago, the Waites and I had the opportunity to visit the Kisarets in Rivne, Ukraine. There was some snow in the mountains and a tire that had to be changed, but otherwise we didn’t have any difficulties in traveling. We thought there might have been some detours or traffic lights that were not working when we traveled through Lviv because they had been hit the day before, but we didn’t encounter any of that. There were a few instances when the power went out on us while we were there, both planned and unplanned outages, but they only inconvenienced us by delaying us cooking dinner on Monday. On Tuesday, we did a lot of shopping for supplies. Vova took these supplies with him when he went to visit soldiers near the front lines. He is a volunteer chaplain and knows of at least a few men who have been saved because of the ministry he has been given. Only God knows all the souls that will be in heaven as a result of it. Tuesday was also the 1,000th day since the war started and several Baptist churches in Rivne met together for a prayer service. There were 500-600 people there. We prayed for Ukraine, for the soldiers and their families, for the churches in Ukraine, for those like Vova who are risking their earthly lives to bring the only real hope to those who may enter eternity at any moment, amongst a few other things. Please pray for the Kisarets and other Christians in Ukraine. Pray that God would protect them and give them everything they need to serve Him. Pray that God would continue to save people and give them peace in their eternal destination. 

On the Thursday after we got back from Ukraine, I woke up to find a text message from Soňa, my Slovak teacher, that told me that her husband had passed away. The funeral was the next day and both myself and the Waites attended. He was 54 years old and unsaved. Please pray that God would use this to open more opportunities to share the gospel with her and that it would lead to her becoming saved.

Then that Saturday, we hosted a Thanksgiving dinner at the church. We invited people from the church and both current and former English students of both myself and LeAnne. The hope is to allow witnessing opportunities, and the novelty of an American holiday brings people to the church that would not normally come. Please pray that God would use this plant or grow seeds in people's hearts. 

Now we are officially entering the Christmas season. Please pray that God would be preparing hearts to understand the real reason for Christmas and that there will be opportunities here in Slovakia, in the US, and around the world to share Christ.

Please also continue to pray as I take the next steps to join BMM full time. Please pray that God’s will be done throughout the process, and that He will continue to lead each step of the way.

Your sister in Christ,

Shae Zabel