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Called to serve at home

Daniel Biško
Posted January 27, 2015

I grew up in the Communist country of Czechoslovakia. I was six years old when my country became democratic.

At the age of 10, I came in contact with a US evangelistic ministry. It looked a bit like a circus in a large tent. I started to hang out with these Christians. They gave me my first Bible, but it was an old Czech version, something like the King James Version, so I didn’t really understand it.

I started to share my Christian faith at school, but my mother was called in after my teacher, who was still communist, objected. I was told not to talk about Jesus anymore. There was no anchor for me, so I walked away from Christianity and drifted toward new age ideas such as horoscopes, which was more accepted.

That was my life for 17 years, but I was not happy. During this time, I also got into alcohol and mind-altering drugs.

A friend convinced me to go to New Zealand with him, but then pulled out. I’d already resigned my job, so I came here for a six-month holiday but ended up staying for nine years. I was still not happy, but I would just party harder. I was working as an electrician in Blenheim and had lots of money, so it wasn’t hard to party.

One day, though, I got talking about God with a German girl who was working in a Blenheim vineyard. She encouraged me to read the Bible. I went home that night and read the Bible for about three hours. I was amazed—what a hero Jesus was!

The next day, it was like waking up from a nightmare. I realised what a waste I had been making of my life. From that time on, I haven’t smoked or drunk or taken drugs. I still party, but I don’t need any other substances to have fun.

God pointed me to The Salvation Army. I felt like I was at home there. They had some hard times with me, but they didn’t give up on me.

God called me to become a Salvation Army officer (minister) a month after I became a Christian, so I had to find out what officership was all about. I went through a process with my friends in Blenheim; they mentored me and opened their homes to me.

While I was doing my officer training, we were asked to think about what God’s call was for us in our officer ministry. I took this seriously, praying and fasting. God broke my heart for my people in the Czech Republic, and serving there became the desire of my heart. God has opened that door for me and I have just taken up my first appointment at Karlovy Vary Corps.

‘Bliss’ is an important word to me—it is about the heavenly joy that bubbles within you, and it only comes from salvation through Jesus Christ. I want to encourage everyone to enjoy the bliss that comes from God. I am so thankful to God for changing my life!


by Daniel Biško(c) 'War Cry' magazine, 24 January 2015, pp9.
You can read 'War Cry' at your nearest Salvation Army church or centre, or subscribe through Salvationist Resources.