By László Petró
László Petró and his son Gergi
My name is László Petró. My testimony is an interesting story.
I was not a believer. Although I had been baptized as an infant, I never practiced the faith because it wasn’t possible. My parents were teachers and at that time because of communism they were not allowed to attend the church.
In 2012, when the local government gave the operation of our school over to the Hungarian Baptist Aid (HBAid), I asked, who in the world are the Baptists? I looked for information and I looked for people who knew something, because the word in my town was that it is a sect and that we should not give our school to them for operation. Naturally, the staff, the parents, and the students were asking will this change be good?
Even without knowing, I then said, it will be good. Since then I have blessed the Lord because we received this opportunity.
And in December 2012, Sándor Szenczy (the president of HBAid) and his wife Kati came to a special event at our school. In their presence, I felt a strange unique feeling. It always comes to mind; the love was just dripping from them. I also experienced this with other Baptists I met later. At that point I did not anticipate that there would be a change in my life. The love and the honest with which Sándor shared his life story just struck me.
In 2012, HBAid asked if we would like to have an American team host an English Bible Camp at our school. I thought, we need to introduce these new things slowly and with discretion. That’s why our first camp was in 2014, for which I can never thank the Lord enough! It was then that I experienced the honest, desiring to do good, love-giving true personality of Baptists from North Carolina.
English Bible Camp
What they did in one week, even their preparations, they always did happily and joyfully. The week’s closing program ignited a fire in my heart! For me, it was when Jarrick hugged my wife and I and we cried together that I knew this was an experience touching eternity. I received my first Bible from Alicia’s father, and since then it the most important book in my life.
After that we attended church services in Verőce, three hours from our home. There the members’ love encouraged me to confess my faith publicly. I talked with Sándor many times about it. August 31, 2014, the day of my baptism because an important date in my life. I asked for a new heart, and as I came out of the water I received a new heart from the Lord.
Baptism in the Danube River
I can proudly say that I multiplied the number of Baptists by three in our community. That kind of success few denominations can brag. Oh, you ask, how many Baptists are we now? Three.
Many attack me because I openly became a Christian, but I am not afraid because I know I am not alone. God watched over me and is watching over me!
Now I know that what I have been able to do in life thus far, I can thank the Lord for it all. In high school, against the wishes of my parents, I didn’t want to be a teacher, instead a radio service man. I wasn’t a very good student, and my teacher said I would never become anybody. That summer a magazine advertisement for math majors landed in my hand. As a joke, I applied. The end of the story is that I became a math teacher. So, I may have had a different plan, but this is what the Lord wanted. I am now trying to make up for the 61 years of lost time in my spiritual life.
I know I have an assignment and my wings have been untied as the Lord is freeing me. I am flying. True I’ll be flying as the principal of our school only through the end of this school year because I plan to retire.
At my school I am trying to make faith, hope and love realities. My staff and my family are big supporters. My wife reads her Bible every morning and is planning to get baptized soon.
We have 422 students. Each one is a gift, both to the parents and to the teachers, to be raised, taught and most of all loved. Since HBAid has taken over our operation big changes have happened in the school. The staff is more relaxed and they know the Lord is paying attention to their work. He is there to help. And, if a teacher smiles at a student, the student is going to smile back. In this way, we work together.
Every week our afternoon students have a B49 school-church evangelistic service led by a local Christian singer and songwriter, Béla Pintér. I thank the Lord for this opportunity.
Alicia’s presence means a lot in our school. Her American mentality is helping us realize that we can see the good in each student even if it is small. It is changing me and the entire community.
We count it of great importance to prepare well for our yearly summer English Bible Camp hosted by Baptists from North Carolina. We want everything to go well. And we are always waiting for them with great expectation and love. I am thankful for all those who in the past have blessed our school with their presence and service. Thanks to Baptists on Mission for this opportunity!
Many say when they come visit us that when they set foot in our school they feel something unique. They ask, what could it be? We look for the reason, but it always comes back to one thing, love.