Missionary Bios

John grew up in Des Moines Iowa. In 1998, while teaching English at an evangelistic language camp in Hungary, John met Zsofi. Both John and Zsofi feel called to invest their time and talents into caring for the Hungarian people who are wounded and broken-whether that is physically, emotionally or spiritually. The 10 million people who live in Hungary are truly hungry. Following a century of two devastating wars, the holocaust which annihilated 750,000 Hungarian Jews, and capped off by 40 years of oppressive Soviet Communist rule, Hungarians are hungry for peace and stability.

John is investing his time facilitating church planting - working with the existing Hungarian churches to help start churches in villages and communities where there currently are none. He will also assist the Hungarian pastors and church- planters mentor and train the next generation of Christian leaders.

Zsofi will be serving alongside John, but is also excited to use the education and training in Christian Psychology she received in Germany to minister to those who are emotionally and spiritually broken.

For more information, you can go to the Wilson's blog at www.hungarywilsons.com.

Hope Ministries, in Iganga, Uganda, is "home" in one way or another to over 100 children. Some of these are from the surrounding community, some from neighboring villages, and some are refugees from a long and tragic conflict in the North. Our friend, Phil Jones (who we met on our first trip there) has responded to the call on his life to love and care for orphaned children in Uganda. Choosing to move to Uganda, Phil is engaged daily with the care and shepherding of some of these children. WE have also been given the opportunity to respond to a call Christ so clearly put on our hearts...by partnering with God, and Phil, Riverside Community has been given the awesome gift of being a part of feeding, clothing, educating and caring for a group of orphans under Phil's care.

From Suburbia to the Rainforest!

Over a year ago, Lauren and I had our strategic "plan." I would continue being a pastor, and Lauren would hopefully become a doctor in the years ahead in San Antonio. The Lord had other plans for us! After clearly hearing from the Lord one quiet evening in our comfortable house in the suburbs of San Antonio, I spoke to Lauren saying, "I will not follow you. You will not follow me. Together, we will follow Jesus!" With great liberation and grace, Lauren and I were drenched in the Father's peace and were blessed with a new identity. Through much prayer, conversation and wrestling with the Lord, we were not only able to rethink true sacrifice as it pertains to discipleship, but also were led to joyfully be consumed in the posture of literally losing our life/comfort for the sake of Christ in order to fully find it! We sacrificed abundant finances and stability, our awesome home, new-found community and the close proximity of family along with potential ministry endeavors within the Stone Oak community. We left all that we thought we knew on this earth, so to speak.

On August 20, 2008 we landed on the small island of Dominica, the second poorest country in the Caribbean. Lauren began attending Ross Medical School to become a physician, and I ventured into the community as a missions pastor to youth and families. With the words, "Be strong and courageous..." and the power of our heavenly Father, these words added depth to our new mission...

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16

So, I prayer-walked the streets of the local villages, spoke to parents, teachers, pastors and workers hearing a common thread of unfortunate truth which lingered through the streets. "The youth are in crisis in Dominica..." Many fathers have multiple children with various women, and the economy is so atrocious that many of these older males have left their children due to a lack of finances, etc. Single moms raise 4-8 children in small shacks. The current trend for young men is to drop out of school at a young age and look for "easy money" on the streets selling drugs. In this fatherless society, my heart began breaking for the next generation of "could-be" leaders who have lost hope and are winding down a trail of despair, resentment, betrayal and anger. "Where is God here?" I thought!

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families..." Psalm 68:5-6

And with the help of other followers of Christ, I started an after school outreach ministry called In.Light.In where we share the love of Jesus by leading a new generation to inherit their land as sons and daughters of the heavenly Father who brings light into darkness. The Lord has given us a group of people who are called to teach, mentor and play cultivating an environment of belonging simply through being PRESENT!

For the past 9 months, Lauren has followed her dream of becoming a mission driven physician. We have partnered with local families in need, and currently minister to the medical students at Ross University through the planting of an interdenominational missional house church called Lighthouse!