City or village? Flat or house? Paved yard or large garden? University students or “ordinary” working people? Walk or drive to school?

We all have our preferences, but we do not always have a choice. A pastor and his family certainly do not always have a choice. As Sándor Kelemen, one of EMF’s longest serving missionaries, put it, “I am not my own master.” This was in answer to young Járed’s desire to move to a village where they could have a garden and keep animals. At the same time, Sándor encouraged his son to present his requests to God: “You can always pray that the Lord would send us to a village church next.”

Who says a child’s prayer is not powerful? Years later, this past August the Kelemen family moved almost two hundred miles from a city to a village, from a paved yard to a garden, and instead of walking to school they have to drive to the neighbouring town. They are now ministering to “ordinary” people who had been fervently praying for a godly pastor for years.

Why is a man’s new job worthy of an article? Because it is a testimony of the goodness of the Master who walked before the family of six to call them into a new ministry.

After 18 years in the Hungarian Baptist Church in Târgu Mureș, Romania, Sándor felt that the time had come for a change. He says: “I knew that there were still many opportunities for ministry in Târgu Mureș, but I felt that I did all I could. We were ready for a change. Many prayers, brotherly advice and most importantly Scripture verses confirmed that the invitation from Érszőllős (Viișoara) was from the Lord. Acts 10 spoke to me loud and clear at the time, especially the verse: ‘Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.’ ”

The Lord worked in the hearts of his wife, Napsugár, and their four children to make the change easier. 16-year-old Sára speaks with admirable maturity: “The move at first seemed to be an exciting prospect, but I soon realized that it meant leaving behind my school friends, the youth group, and most importantly the home I have always known. I prayed and asked the Lord to give me guidance. In my quiet time Isaiah chapter 52 spoke to me clearly, especially verse 12: ‘the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard’.”

The younger children thought the move was a great big adventure and instantly liked their new home. Járed, 12, enjoys the big garden he had always longed for. Ráhel, 11, misses the shopping centres of the big city, but makes new friends easily. Dávid, 6, has started “big school” and says that his favourite hymn is “Oh, Jesus, you are more precious to me than anything in this world.”

This resonates with Napsugár, in her own testimony: “I am well used to moving homes. My father was a pastor and church planter, so we often relocated during my childhood. I learnt at a young age that while all changes around me, Jesus Christ is the same forever. He is the rock of my life, the One who is with me in this life and also when I pass on to eternity. The Scripture I was given for 2023 is Psalm 23. Now I am enjoying the “green pastures and quiet waters”. However, moving with four children was not easy for Napsugár. She not only had to sort through stuff that had accumulated over 18 years;  she is also in the process of starting a new career as a computer programmer.

Sándor, as head of the family and leader of the thriving village church, is looking forward to new challenges. Leaving behind a smaller city church troubled with divisions, he is now enjoying the peace and vitality of a larger, well-functioning, loving church. He follows in the footsteps of great predecessors and is aware of the expectations, but says “I have to focus on what the Lord expects of me. Serving two churches—a Hungarian-speaking church and a lively Roma fellowship—requires wisdom. I pray that the Master would be bigger and I would be smaller each and every day.”

May the Lord bless the Kelemen family as they keep serving the same Master in a new place.

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