Sending Church: Kežmarok Baptist Church Kežmarok, Slovakia

Field: Slovakia

Even at a very young age, David felt God wanted him to serve in Slovakia, giving him gifts, talents, and a personality that fit well in that culture and ministry. God also gave him a unique missions heritage. His grandparents, Lynn and Margo Muhr, served many years with Baptist Mid-Missions in the Central African Republic. When he was a year old, he and his parents, Don and LeAnne Waite, followed God’s call to missions, leaving their home to serve in Ethiopia with Baptist Mid-Missions. When he was four, they changed to the field of Slovakia where David grew up.

David helped his father wherever he could at the church in Kežmarok. At first it was arranging Bibles before the service. As he grew older, he helped with teaching or crafts during VBS. He played his violin as part of the music program. By the time he was 17, he was assisting the leaders of the children’s program and even preaching occasionally.

His parents had always impressed on him that they wanted him to follow the Lord’s leading in his life and they would support him in whatever he felt God wanted him to do, whether or not that included working with them in Slovakia. But David continued to feel that God did want him to serve in Slovakia. He came back to the United States for college with the plan of returning to help in his parents’ church full-time. He spent his summers teaching Bible classes and leading children’s programs in the church, and he also started and led a men’s Bible study. He enjoys people—listening and encouraging them.

Recently, God brought a young lady into David’s life: Anna Smith. Anna had participated in an internship with Baptist Mid Missions in Slovakia with David’s parents in the fall of 2022. She had felt an instant connection with the Waites and the church congregation. God used her greatly in the ministries of the church: music, children’s programs, ESL, and World Relief. David says, “She is very well loved by the congregation and my parents are looking forward to her return.” Anna was appointed to that field in last summer’s candidate class. As David and Anna have gotten to know each other, they realize that God had prepared them for each other and for Slovakia. They got engaged at the Family Conference this past summer and are planning to be married this coming October. When they return to the field full-time, David will direct and teach in a Bible Institute started by his father. The goal is to train the men in their church for leadership, giving them a high-quality theological education along with the tools to be pastors, deacons, Sunday school teachers, or, for some, just a deeper knowledge of the Bible.

David and Anna look forward to doing deputation together and soon fulfilling David’s childhood call—and now Anna’s, too—of serving in Slovakia.