Why is spiritual help essential?

We often forget to examine things from an emotional point of view. Faith gives enormous strength to everyone. However, for those forced to flee, whose lives changed overnight, only their faith remained. 

The mission of Dániel Kriszt, the senior pastor of the Dorcas Refugee Center, is to help the refugees living here through this difficult period with the strength of faith in the Lord. And from the following interview, you can learn how crucial a role religion plays in the lives of refugees.

How do you help the residents here?

My most important goal is to bring those in trouble closer to the Lord. Those who have not yet known the Lord should get to know Him, and those who already know Him should be even stronger in His faith. This is an important task, as it often happens among people that they make a decision out of sudden emotional excitement and then back off. Their life is like a reed, it bends where the wind blows. On the other hand, it is written in the Bible that the Lord's plan is to be a tree planted next to a river, which is stable, with deep roots, close to the water. This symbolizes that believers should also be so stable, with deep roots in the Lord. Growing, producing fruit and staying close to living water, spiritual nourishment.

How do the home group sessions work?

We always talk about the a biblical theme. When a group starts, the first topic is conversion, and the consequences of this in one's life, and what it means to live one's life with faith. The Bible says that faith comes by hearing.

Actually, I don't speak much on these occasions. I raise a topic and I'm happy if everyone speaks. There are those who are braver and willing to speak up, and there are those who are less so. So we used to do it by going around so that everyone gets a chance to express their opinion.

"There are those who have commented that for them these small group occasions are even more edifying than the Sunday Service. Which is also understandable, since here we are built by each other's faith, so we hear each other. Everyone can add to the treasures that are already there."

We usually end these small group discussions with a prayer. Last week it was a great experience for me that quite a lot of prayer requests came up. There were those who asked for prayers for their children and some for themselves because they are struggling with an illness. In such cases, we stand in a circle and I ask for your help to pray for each other. In this case, everyone said a prayer for the other. They accepted with great joy, but there were people in the group who had probably never prayed like this publicly, loudly, and were frightened by it. They said they didn't want to pray. I encouraged them to ask the Lord in just one sentence to help their friends in trouble. He managed to convince even the more shy ones, so in the end everyone said the prayer they wanted.

"They actively participate, which attracts other residents to the group. It was a great pleasure for me when one of the groups asked me if I could hold such events, even twice a week."

Were there any residents who converted here at the Refugee Center?

Conversion is partly difficult to determine when it happens. The Bible says that we should believe in our hearts, but it also says that we should confess with our mouths. There are many who already believe in their hearts, but have not yet confessed it with their mouths. When the two are realized in my eyes, that is conversion. When someone says that I choose Jesus, my life belongs to the Lord. This is important for the individual, since from here on he knows who he belongs to. Before that, he may have believed inside, but he was still uncertain.

"There really are and were conversions. A man was converted at one of the Sunday services. He accepted the Lord and the following week, not only he, but also his wife was present at the home group event. It was then that the man's wife was also converted. Since then, the couple has been enthusiastically following the Lord and would very much like baptism and immersion." 

There was another man who also received the Lord.But it's not quite ready yet.

"Once he told me: - In order to immerse myself, I have to get out of hooliganism and put down cigarettes."

Although religion is there, another lord is present in certain areas of their lives. On the other hand, it is a huge recognition that they recognize and confess their sins. That's half a victory.

Have you organized such events for children and younger people?

Yes, children are also interested, we have a special program for them. We have a youth class that recently started, it works really well. At these classes, the younger age group is present, not specifically the youngest.

What are your plans for the future?

Our mission is to strengthen believers in their faith as much as possible. In addition, we are planning to hold the baptism on the first of October on Thanksgiving Day, as part of the festive service, as several people have indicated, so we would like to line up for this occasion as soon as possible.Also, our future plans include a management training for those who are dedicated. In order to help others with the power of faith during their later journey.