I am excited to share with you a glimpse of how God has been leading me into a new season of faith and ministry, and to invite you to be part of it!

I began studying at Calvary Chapel Bible College Europe (CCBCE) in the Fall of 2013 with a burden for cross-cultural ministry and a broad sense that the Lord was calling me to missions. From the beginning, I sought the Lord for His direction and leading in my life, asking Him where He would call me. Semester after semester, year after year, I asked Him the same question. His persistent response was that His calling on my life is simply to know Him and make Him known. While this wasn’t the answer I had expected, God was beginning to show me the big picture of His heart for the world. He brought me to deeper places of personally knowing Him, His faithfulness and goodness. He showed me that wherever we are, we are called to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to live on His mission, loving those around us and sharing the hope of Jesus. Over the next few years, the Lord would lead me back home, ask me to lay my dreams of cross-cultural ministry down at His feet, and teach me to trust Him for today. Then, in February of this year, He took me on an unexpected journey back to Hungary to write my thesis. It was then that he opened the door for me to return to Hungary in a new season.

During the years I spent at CCBCE, I connected with Golgota Pécs, a small church in southern Hungary. I was welcomed into the home of Balázs Stanzel, the pastor of the church, and he and his wife Leah, along with their six children, became very dear to my heart. I was blessed with multiple opportunities to serve with the Stanzel’s as I received a first-hand look into what God was doing in this Hungarian community. Their vision and passion are for the many people who don’t know Christ in this area to come to a saving faith in Him. Their ministry involves reaching out to Hungarians, many of whom have come out of communism and have a very negative perception of religion. Another main avenue of ministry is with international students who have come from all over the world (Africa, the Middle East, and other parts of Europe) to study at the University of Pécs. Some are coming from closed countries that are hostile to the Gospel; others have a form of Christian tradition, but have yet to encounter Jesus intimately. Whatever their story, there is a unique opportunity to invest in these students while they are in Pécs for their education. Through evangelism and personal discipleship, the hope is that they would come to know Jesus and then be equipped in faith in order to return to their home countries transformed by the grace of God, vessels for His Kingdom-work in those places.

I am excited to know and love God in Hungary, and to walk in such a way that others might know and love Him as well. I plan to move to Pécs, find an apartment, continue to study the Hungarian language, and press into ministry there. One of the main things on my heart is discipleship. I want to invest in other young women, helping them to grow and to be rooted in Him and His word. I will also spend time throughout the week assisting the Stanzel family with the home education and therapy needs of their six children.

The Lord recently provided the opportunity for me to partner with Saving Grace World Missions, a missionary sending organization. They have a passion for reaching the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I am extremely thankful for God’s hand of leading in this. I want to invite you to partner with me as well, as I look to be a conduit of the good news of Jesus going forth into Hungary. I am confident that it is God who saves and changes hearts. In light of this, the most important position for us as Believers is on our knees in prayer. I invite you to join me in this new venture through prayer. Pray that the Lord would give continued wisdom, vision, and strength as I step forward. Pray that blind eyes will be opened and captives set free; for transformed hearts and lasting fruit. Pray also that God would provide for my financial needs and that I would trust Him wholeheartedly to do so. For those who feel led, I also invite you to give.

Thank you for your love, prayers, and support. I look forward to seeing God move and sharing His stories with you along the way! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all!

-Brenna