By Kristen Thomason

When Jon and Tanya Parks and their two daughters moved from Kenbridge, Virginia, to Košice, Slovakia, they were taking a 5,000-mile step of faith. “We thought we were being the faithful ones, leaving behind our home and families to serve across the ocean. But our one-time act was just the beginning of faithfulness, not the end of it,” said Tanya. Sometimes coming home is just as big a leap of faith.

The Parks family served for nine years as Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel in eastern Slovakia, providing education and community support to the Roma people living there.

“Maybe you’ve heard them called ‘gypsies’ before,” said Jon, who also noted that this is now considered a derogatory term. “The Roma people live all over the world. Now they’re concentrated mainly in Europe and central eastern Europe especially. They live in very difficult conditions.” Many of the Roma live in slums outside of Slovakia’s major cities with limited access to running water or healthcare. They also face intense discrimination, which limits educational and employment opportunities.

To help the Roma overcome these barriers, Tanya and Jon partnered with local schools to teach children Slovak and English along with leading them with crafts, games and study of the Bible. Every week, they also journeyed to a nearby village to help adults improve their English and chances for international employment. On Sundays they volunteered at their small church in Košice.

“One of the things we loved about our time in Slovakia is the way the church congregation there welcomed us and loved us,” Tanya said.  Their Roma-led worship services were lively and celebratory. “Music is a big part of who the Roma are, and we have heard so many amazing Roma musicians,” Jon said. To share the stories and music of the Roma with others, the Parkses created RomaVoices.eu.

When the global pandemic struck Slovakia, the local schools closed their doors and the church moved online. Because of these forced changes, along with a need to care for aging parents in the U.S., the Parks family prayed about a return to the United States. “We had developed lives, friendships, partnerships and spiritual communities that we still greatly miss, even two years later,” said Jon. “[But] we’ve learned that when we experience God’s calling, we’re going to find yet another ‘home,’ another community where we can share our gifts and our stories; there’s always another place to be enriched by the faith and work of others.” 

When the Parks family took another leap of faith in 2021, they landed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Tanya joined the staff of University Baptist Church as the minister to children and retirees, while Jon stepped in as the church’s interim administrative pastor. This past summer, the church called them to serve as co-pastors. Jon says, “University Baptist Church is an active and dynamic congregation that welcomed our family warmly when we arrived a little more than two years ago.  And we’ve grown even more excited as we have evolved into the roles of co-pastors.”

“Moving to a new place, whether across the ocean or across town, is about learning, listening and watching,” says Tanya. “God has placed us in this culture to love the people and grow in our own faith journeys.” This learning process has shown Jon and Tanya that Louisiana and Slovakia aren’t that different. “There are problems in Baton Rouge similar to those we saw in Slovakia among the Roma:  discrimination, selfishness, unequal access to good education and healthcare.”  They hope that they can help the members of UBC notice “those in their midst who are being underserved in our community.” 

University Baptist is already hard at work meeting the needs of many Baton Rouge residents. Just blocks away from the church is Highland Elementary School where members can volunteer as reading friends and work one-on-one with students learning to read. For area children who aren’t yet school age, UBC hosts the Family Tree Café in the church’s fellowship hall. It’s a gated play place with coffee and wi-fi for parents who need a break, a chance to build relationships with other parents or a space to work. “There’s so much activity here on any given day of the week, and that’s really amazing for a church our size,” said Jon. “[The] church has such a good reputation in the community for doing good things.”

Jon and Tanya are also excited about UBC’s “Church of the Nations,” a home to international students and faculty at LSU. In the same way the Parkses were welcomed by their church in Košice, Tanya hopes UBC “can also be the kind of place that welcomes and loves those who are settling into our city.”

Tanya and Jon are thankful for their time in Slovakia and looking forward to everything God has in store for their family in Louisiana. “Calling is a journey,” said Jon. “God calls us onward, whether that means to a new place or to change and grow right where we are.”