Evangéliumi Hírnök, 1996 (88. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1996-05-01 / 5. szám
Our Missionaries A TRIBUTE My father was a Jewish convert. He accepted Jesus as His Messiah in Bud apest, Hungary. He began to serve the Lord immediately. He taught Sunday School and preached. But, in spite of his conversion, and services, he was deported to the Nazi death-camps. By the grace of God, He survived, and after World War II. was over, came back and continued to preach. Yet, the hatred of the Jews did not disappear from our country with the end of the war. Sometimes, even mislead, bom again Christians ignored us for that reason. I learned never to talk about my heritage in school, at church, or at work; else people would hate me. But in 1956, we escaped from Hungary and settled in New York City, USA. Here we heard about Rev. Karl Faulkner and his lovely wife Terezia who then, had a son already. They worked for the Hebrew Christian Fellowship in Philadelphia, PA. We, immediately invited them over. And they returned the invitation. This was the beginning of a long, beautiful friendship. Karl and Terezia were the perfect couple. Both loved the Lord with all their heart. Both of them were compassionate, loving Christians. And both loved the lost, especially the Jews, with a passion; although they had no Jewish blood in their veins. In addition, Karl was a Bible Scholar and Terezia was a very gracious hostess. We were very glad to meet them. Finally, we met some people, WHO LOVED THE JEWS. Finally, we had some friends with whom we could openly discuss our background, our past experiences, our present worries... What a gift from Heaven! We took turns to visit. Most of the time, we stayed for a weekend in each other’s home. That gave us ample time to leam to know each other, to talk, to fellowship, and to pray together. Consequently, I found out the follow - ing things about them: Rev. and Mrs. Faulkner were holding weekly meetings for interested, local Jews, and were always trying to get in touch with more. Karl was preparing the messages, and Terezia was faithfully accompanying him. They were also interceding for, and visiting, helping, serving, transporting, counseling and feeding those who needed help, among them. Both of them were extremely busy. They got up early and went to bed late. We didn’t give them much rest either, when we met. We had so much to talk 8. oldal_________________________________- Karl and Terezia about. P ersonally, I could hardly wait for each visit because Rev. Faulkner often helped me to understand some Biblical truths. For example, one day I had a question on tithing. You see, when my husband and I got married with hardly enough money to survive in Hungary; we began to tithe. Nobody said we should. Instead, we heard that tithing was only required in the Old Testament. But, we Karl and Terezia Faulkner - 1959 looked at it as a good guideline. The Lord began to bless us, and provide our needs, —often miraculously—, and we continued to tithe. Then, when we moved to the USA, and found that most churches in this country believe in tithing, I wanted to know more about it. I read my Bible from cover to cover several times, but did not find the answer. One day, —while the Faulkners were visiting us— I asked Karl to show me from the New Testament why Christians, these days, ought to tithe? He did. He pointed me to Luke 11:42 where Jesus warned the Pharisees against hypocrisies saying: “... woe unto you, Pharisees! for YE TITHE mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God; these ought ye to have done, and NOT LEAVE THE OTHER UNDONE.” He proved to me from the NEW TESTAMENT that EVEN TODAY, TITHING SHOULD NOT BE LEFT UNDONE! I was over joyed. From then on, we were not only giving at least 10 percent of our income to the Lord, but were also teaching tithing to our Hungarian friends here and abroad. The Lord used the Faulkner’s visit in our lives to shed light on this Biblical truth and to urge us to share it with others. In 1964, my father became the pastor of the First Hungarian Baptist Church of New York City, N.Y. Then, the Faulk - ner’s visits became even more meaning - ful. For, my father frequently asked Rev. Faulkner to preach in our church and he was glad to oblige. His messages 1996. május FAULKNER were always simple and powerful. Full of wisdom. And, he had an aura of peace and joy about him that lent him credibility. Our church members began to look forward to his messages, and many began to pray for their mission. But that was not all. The Faulkners did much more than what I wrote about thus far. For, they also began to serve the Hungarians locally and abroad. This, however was done on their “free time.” They held meetings for, visited, counseled, transported, fed, clothed, and encouraged many Hungarian refugees. And they sent hundreds of relief pack - ages with Hungarian Christian Literature and/or Bibles included, abroad. People from all over Hungary began to write to them and beg them for some clothing. They would tell them their needs and sizes. And the Faulkners would gather some clothing from friends and church members. Then, do the backbreaking job of packing till the wee hours of the night, and mailing the next day. The more they sent, the more requests arrived. People in Hungary passed on their name and address. They did not complain. They were glad they had the privilege to serve the Lord and the needy. THEY HAD A SPIRIT OF SERVANTHOOD, LIKE THEIR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST THE SON OF GOD. Still, they did even more. They also served in the church they were members of. Rev. Faulkner taught Sunday School and Mrs. Faulkner was active too. They raised their only son with special love and care. As a result, he grew up with a missionary’s heart. Early, he gave his life to Christ, became a Christian psychologist, married a Christian girl, and is raising his family for the Lord. He too is a witness. The Faulkners were very special people. They were talented, truly Christ-like, bom again, yielded, fruitful Christians. They could have made a lot of money in this land of opportunity. Instead, they chose to SERVE for a meager income in order to be able to bring many to the Lord. I’m sure they brought forth MUCH FRUIT, PROBABLY THE MAXIMUM HUNDREDFOLD. Today, TEREZIA is retired, but continues to work for the Lord on her own, day and night. Her life is not easy. But, it is her heart’s desire to be useful to the end. KARL, on the other hand, is praising Jesus in Heaven, while his fruit is continuously multiplying here on earth. And RON is serving God in his profession. TO GOD BE THE GLORY FOR TEREZIA, KARL AND RON FAULKNER. Irma Matrai I
