Jana and I had the chance to visit England for the very first time this summer. Todd attended the Tyndale House Biblical Theology study group and we visited with Peter and Zuzka Malik. You’ll probably be hearing more and more about the Maliks and Tyndale House as I think they’ll be playing a larger role in our ministry.
Peter and Zuzana Malik
That’s the Malik family–Peter and Zuzana with their son Andy and their twins Timothy and Benjamin. We stayed for the weekend so that we could spend some time with them and we’re very glad. What a great family!
Peter is finishing up his PhD at Cambridge University (working on text criticism in The Revelation of John). After the dissertation and maybe some post doc work, Peter would like to join us at the seminary in Banská Bystrica (spring 2017?). Over the last couple of years he and I have been taking every opportunity to get to know each other and I am now really looking forward to Peter coming to the seminary. One of the big questions that needs to be solved is funding. Peter and Tyndale House are looking in to a grant that would provide funding for his position.
Sorry, these photos are no longer available.
While Peter and I were off in the library or at the conference Jana and Zuzka took care of the boys. One morning they even got to add on little Sophia (a neighbor’s one year old) so that one passerby commented, “So many of them!”
Zuzka has quite the challenge with nearly walking twins, a not yet three year old and a husband in the PhD program but they seem to be doing very well–even with visitors and sick boys to take care of.
Tyndale House
Attending the Biblical Theology study group was a highlight of the trip but even better was the opportunity to just get a feel for Tyndale House. Tyndale House’s motto is “Equipping the World Church” and you can see they are actually engaged in quality scholarship and in providing biblical education to people from all over the world. Peter is an example of that. They are also helping Peter in his search for a grant for teaching in Slovakia.
There are some benefits for me, as well. Here in Slovakia we have virtually no library for serious research and so I may take advantage of Tyndale’s library. They offer a desk in their library and housing for fairly reasonable fees. I’m considering making time at Tyndale a part of my annual ministry cycle.
Also at the study groups I had the chance to meet Dr. T. Desmond Alexander in person for the very first time. Dr. Alexander was kind enough to serve as external reader for my dissertation and he also heads up the Biblical Theology study group at Tyndale. I was surprised at the amount of time he spent with me to help me get acclimated. From his writing I could tell we both have a shared interest in Biblical Theology and now after meeting him in person I can see a shared commitment to the church and ministry through the church.
Oh and There’s One More Person…
An interesting thing happened on the flight home from Cambridge. A young lady I know from Levice, Slovakia sat down next to Jana and I. What a coincidence. We had a nice chat.
But I think there may be more than coincidence here. Her fiancé, who was also on the plane, is someone who has shown interest in theological education and systematic theology. In the end, we gave them a lift part of their way home and so we had a chance to get to know them better, too.
It may be just a crazy hunch or it may be from the Lord, but ever since I met Juraj two years ago I’ve been praying that he may be someone the Lord would prepare for Slovakia. He’s had an interest in systematic theology (I’m OT, Peter is NT, maybe Juraj is ST?) and he wants to serve in Slovakia. I hardly know him but it seems the Lord has put him on my heart to pray for him and to see if he may not be someone that could contribute to our faculty in the future.
That makes two of them that the Lord has put on my heart. Peter and Juraj. The Lord knows, we’ll see.
All in all a surprisingly fruitful trip.
sdg
Allison Hale says
Hi Todd,
Thank you for keeping us all updated in your blog! I was just reading this, and is the young lady from Levice Zuzi Potocka?
Todd Patterson says
Hi Allison, It’s great to hear from you. You’re right, it was Zuzi Potocka. Did you know they’re getting married Sep 19?
Allison Hale says
Yes! She is a dear friend. We keep in touch fairly often. I wish I had the time to break from school and work to go to the wedding. That is great that you were on the same flight and got to talk. That is exciting that Juraj may be a potential for the seminary. I have yet to meet him, but Zuzi is wonderful woman with a beautiful heart for serving the Lord passionately. I know he must share her heat, too.