It began 21 years ago in his church office in Abbotsford, WI. I needed to fax a document to a lab company so we could receive medical supplies to be shipped to Bulgaria. As far as I knew, were no fax machines in Abbotsford except at my church. I explained to my pastor, Pastor Hunsicker, that it was mission work and I could pay for the fax. He invited me to describe the medical mission work I’d been involved in for the prior 13 years.
“I think that (mission support) is exactly what this church needs,” Pastor Hunsicker told me.
Wow, I didn’t see that coming! But ever since I’d worked as a medical missionary in Africa and then Eastern Europe, medical missions had a place in my heart, a big place. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to start Helping Hands. The mission I’d worked with had lost much of its funding and soon after that, the Americans left. But the need remained. When I told the Bulgarian woman about our new plan to help, she responded by saying that it was so clear God had heard and answered the cries of her heart. She remains our Bulgarian Helping Hands administrator to this day.
The following year, I returned to Bulgaria and we set up Helping Hands Bulgaria. The necessary paperwork was completed, and we met with the director of an orphanage in northwestern Bulgaria. The Babas for Babies program soon started there and continues to this day.
The summer of 2005, Pastor Hunsicker traveled to Bulgaria. He wasn’t fond of flying, so the trip was truly as act of love on his part. As part of the trip, he preached to the residents and staff at a nursing home. When he finished, some of the residents said “Don’t stop! We haven’t heard a sermon in fifty years. Preach some more!” That certainly struck Pastor Hunsicker as one of the most beautiful things he’d ever heard. He did continue to preach.
Over the years, Pastor Hunsicker wrote and revised his famous “Words of Faith” for Bulgarian readers. He edited the health articles I wrote, refining the devotion connections at the end of each article. He wrote prayers and other materials too. After I left Abbotsford for Milwaukee, the emails and phone calls continued.
After I traveled to Bulgaria and Greece ten years ago, we decided to begin working in Greece as well. Five years later, doors open to expand to Ukraine. Our name was changed to Helping Hands Eastern European Ministries.
I loved sending Pastor Hunsicker updates and pictures from Eastern Europe. We talked often. Sadly, our call the end of this past December was the last time we spoke. The Lord called him home a week later. I know he is finally without pain and his voice is again strong. I can just picture him talking with Rene, the nurse who ran our home care program in Radomir, Bulgaria. Here’s a video about Pastor Hunsicker’s faith and some of his joys serving our Lord as one of His called servants.
Linda Phillips, President of Helping Hands Eastern European Ministries