From Grass Huts to Castles: Lynette Circle’s Unique Path to Full-Time Missions

July 18, 2018

Missions Spotlight:
Lynette Circle
Missionary Appointee to Hungary

As a student at Faith Baptist Bible College, Lynette Circle (’11) was convinced the Lord was leading her to the mission field of Africa.  She was fully prepared (and willing) to live in a grass hut for the rest of her life. Four years after her graduation, she was on the mission field of Hungary, living in a castle.

Lynette is a bright young lady with a wonderful, sarcastic sense of humor, which makes her story of grass huts to castles all the more delightful.

Originally from Berne, Indiana, she is the daughter of a pastoral family and was saved when she was three.  At the very young age of eight, she already felt the Lord was calling her into full-time missions.  Lynette was homeschooled through fourth grade and attended public school from fifth grade through her senior year of high school.  As she contemplated her future, she desired to attend a Bible college that had an accredited teaching program to pursue a degree in Elementary Education.  After visiting Faith for Scholarship Weekend, she knew the Lord was leading her to Ankeny, Iowa.

Even though Lynette chose to major in Elementary Education, her passion for missions was so evident that she was offered a Missions Scholarship at Faith–a rarity for a non-missions major.  After her graduation in 2011, Circle accepted a teaching position with Waterloo Christian School in Waterloo, Iowa.

Lynette used her time as a teacher at Waterloo Christian to pay off student debt and wait on the Lord’s timing and direction to fulfill her lifelong desire to be a missionary.  One summer, she got her answer.

“Some missionaries that my church in Indiana supported were back on deputation,” said Lynette.  “They asked my parents how I was doing and if I was headed to the mission field.  After my parents told them I was still working and paying off loans, the couple said I’d be a great fit for ministry in Hungary.  It all happened at the same time when I was really praying about where the Lord wanted me.”

Lynette partnered with Word of Life and went to Tóalmás, Hungary from August 2015 to June of 2016.  She became the Assistant Dean of Women for the Bible Institute there, which has been owned by Word of Life since 1989.  Her main responsibilities as the Assistant Dean of Women was to get to know the girls on campus and develop discipleship-driven relationships with them.  The Bible Institute is a two-year program with around 80 students on average.  Currently, there are students from 15 different countries.  There is also a summer camp each year with over 1,000 young people who hear the Gospel.

The Word of Life property in Hungary features a castle as its living quarters where Lynette stayed for a brief time before finding an apartment in the village. The castle sits on the site of a former communist youth camp and the marks of communism still remain on the outside of the castle walls.  (You can read more about the amazing history of this property here)

Since her return to the United States from Hungary, Lynette has been focused on raising support to return as a full-time missionary.  She is currently at about 65% support and has been working at a preschool in Indianapolis which has allowed her to become debt-free.  Walnut Ridge Baptist Church in Waterloo is her sending church.  She still needs around $1,400 per month and her goal is to return to Hungary by January.

Even though English is the main language spoken at the Bible Institute in Hungary, Lynette plans to learn Hungarian to be able to communicate with more of the citizens outside of the Institute walls.

“The joke is that Hungarian is going to be the heavenly language because it takes so long to learn,” said Lynette.  “I hope that in about a year, I can learn enough that I can go to a tutor with the WOL staff, rather than a language school.  When I was there for a year, I was fine with English because most of our Bible Institute is English speakers, and most of our Hungarian students speak English.  But when I go to work in the schools, it’s all Hungarian.  Even some of our staff only speaks Hungarian.  We have maintenance people and people who work in the kitchen, and some of them aren’t believers.  We’re trying to be a witness to them, so I think it’s really important to be able to communicate to them in their language.  I’d be happy if God keeps me there for 15 or 20 or even 30 years.”

Lynette is the perfect example of how the Lord’s path for our lives is often very different than what we ever imagined.  Some are called to grass huts.  Some are called to castles.  The gospel message is needed everywhere. 

You can learn more about Lynette’s ministry in Hungary, as well as how to support her, by visiting her web page