Sarah's Snippets: Faithful

Today I was overcome by God's faithfulness which caused our worship service to be rather unexpectedly emotional for me. Today marks one of the most poignant displays of God's answer to prayer - a prayer that we have been praying for eight years. And God has provided more than I could imagine, more than I even dared to ask of him.

Eight years ago we planted a church in our town, praying all along that God would provide a local pastor to continue to lead the congregation when it came time for us to move on. For a few years it seemed as if there would never be such a person. We prayed more. We asked others to pray with us. Time went on and George continued to pastor the church by himself. At a youth festival we hosted in 2007, a youth leader from a neighboring city brought a group of young people. We heard his commitment to God and desire to serve him. We observed his gentle style of leadership and patience in difficult circumstances. We prayed that God would send someone like him to serve in our church.

Robert leads small group discussion at youth festival in 2007

Today that man was ordained as pastor of the Christian Reformed Church in Mukachevo!!! Since that week back in 2007 we have seen so much more in him than we even noticed during the youth festival. Robert Shpontak is a man of God and a man deeply committed to God's Church being all that God ordains her to be. He and his wife, Anett, have been called by God to continue the ministry of this church. They face the responsibility with a healthy trepidation. As we prepare to leave Mukachevo and our direct involvement in the life of this little church is coming to an end, I know that God is the one holding her in his hands. He is the one who has provided a pastor with the skills, vision, passion, and commitment beyond what I could have hoped for. God is astonishingly faithful!