Dear Wanchi, Jožko, Deborka a Betinka, dear saints,
My wife, Eva, and I first moved to Bratislava in 2005 after we graduated from the FTTL and had some initial experience serving with other saints in London and in Warsaw. It was the fellowship in the Body which brought us back to Slovakia with another Slovak couple, Endy and Jana, who graduated from the FTT in Moscow. We joined several other couples to serve the Lord together in Slovakia. For eternity I will remain thankful for this arrangement and the care of the Body for us, who were very new in the church life and the Body life. I feel like a debtor to all these dear saints from the US and Europe who corporately took care of us while being one with the Head and with the rest of the Body.
Two couples who moved with their children to Bratislava, Slovakia, from the Czech Republic were Adam and Soňa and brother Nat and sister Wanchi.
While we are considering our Brother Nat, one word comes up in our being repeatedly. This word is absoluteness. Serving with him for eight years, we found him to be absolute in his pursuing of the Lord and loving the church to the uttermost. For this reason, he considered the time that we gathered together for coordination to be something very precious. Frequently, even after exhausting gospel trips (which we did regularly in Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and in Poland) brother Nat wanted to be with all of us, and he wanted to hear from us.
During our times together he was constantly asking us how the particular saints were doing, and why certain ones did not come to the meetings. The saints and the condition of the saints were always on his heart. When we were visiting the brothers and sisters across the country in Prievidza, Žilina, Košice, Prešov or Poprad and other places, he was always traveling with us, and was one with us in taking care of them. Today, I would say he genuinely loved to be with us and take care of the saints with us.
We also admire his faithfulness when he traveled to a small town in the Czech Republic, Letovice, every Friday afternoon to meet a few saints there. He went there no matter what the season and what the weather was like. I believe the saints in Letovice are eternally thankful for his care.
In the church meetings he was not seen as a brother with many talents. But he was always very zealous in his spirit, faithful, loving and absolute. He was shining Christ and diligently speaking God’s word to the saints. Moreover, his singing to the Lord is unforgettable. It was always sweet. Last but not least he loved the ministry of this age. Brother Nat was constituted with this ministry, one with the Word, and faithfully distributing it to all people. To me brother Nat was a brother who was able to express the Lord’s love without partiality.
If you please allow one more sweet memory, which lives among all the saints in Slovakia, even among those who never met our dear brother. Brother Nat learned the Czech language. Even though his Czech was far from being what most would consider perfect, in his shepherding he never hesitated to use it. Many of the meetings, if not all of them, he started with a question: “Máš něco píseň,” which translated back to English would literally mean, “Do you have something song?” Imperfect as it was, until now in some of our home meetings, especially in those which start in a sweet, and homey atmosphere you can hear someone asking: “Máš něco píseň, Do you have something song?”
Lord, we thank you that we were able to know brother Nat in the person of Christ and be a small part of his life on earth. May our mutual experiences remain for an eternity.