Robert (Bob) Horvath
Bob Horvath died suddenly last night; I can’t really take it in. Bob was my best friend, closer than a brother. He was my confidant, the one who could both encourage and confront me like no other man I have ever known. Bob was an uncle to my children (more of a second father to my oldest kids, Tim & Bethany). We travelled to remote villages around the world together; Bob & Sylvia and Christina & I vacationed together, laughed and cried together--in short, we shared life together.
And this is who Bob was--an open (and soft) hearted, caring, compassionate man who walked with an amazing peace and contentment.
A lot of Bob’s “kids” were part of the Impact family. To all of them he is Uncle Bob. Last night, some of them instinctively came to our home; we shared favorite Uncle Bob stories, and just like he was still with us, we laughed, cried and shared about the life that we had with Bob.
For those of you who never knew Bob, he and Sylvia have been part of the foundation of Impact Nations since its inception. Their lives have impacted not only our Vancouver team, but have touched the lives of men, women and children in a lot of developing nations.
Bob & Sylvia came with us on the first Journey of Compassion. Bob travelled by jeep for hours through the desert to reach thousands of refugees near the Somali border; for days I watched as Bob prayed for and comforted person after person after person. He and Sylvia joined us in many countries over the years.
As you know, providing clean drinking water is one of our primary ministries. Bob is the father of this. As an engineer and retired engineering professor, he took great interest in bio-sand water filters. He and Sylvia went to India for two months to establish water filtration programs. I remember sitting in a hut in a remote village in Karnataka as Bob used his laptop to explain the benefits of the water filters to the village elders. He trained over 20 men in two different Indian states, returning a year later to monitor the project and teach more trainees from India, Canada and the US. Bob and Sylvia went to the Philippines to establish a water program there. One of the trainees was our son, Tim. From Bob's training, Tim has established what is likely the largest bio-sand filtration program in the nation, reaching about 50,000 people this year. Without Bob, none of this would have happened. To read more, click http://theadventuresoftimandbethany.blogspot.com/
Bob has taken more photos for Impact Nations than anyone else. No one could quietly move among the people he encountered to capture a child’s expression like Bob. He passed this love of photography (along with expert instruction and encouragement) to several of our team, especially Tim.
Bob and Sylvia left their family and home, and moved 3,000 miles to help establish Impact Nations This reflected their passion to see lives rescued and their deep love and commitment to Christina and I.
Bob’s words, actions and even his facial expressions revealed his love for Jesus. He was a man of prayer and a man of faith. Compassionate. Confident. Loving.
A life well lived. And oh, how much I will miss him.
And this is who Bob was--an open (and soft) hearted, caring, compassionate man who walked with an amazing peace and contentment.
A lot of Bob’s “kids” were part of the Impact family. To all of them he is Uncle Bob. Last night, some of them instinctively came to our home; we shared favorite Uncle Bob stories, and just like he was still with us, we laughed, cried and shared about the life that we had with Bob.
For those of you who never knew Bob, he and Sylvia have been part of the foundation of Impact Nations since its inception. Their lives have impacted not only our Vancouver team, but have touched the lives of men, women and children in a lot of developing nations.
Bob & Sylvia came with us on the first Journey of Compassion. Bob travelled by jeep for hours through the desert to reach thousands of refugees near the Somali border; for days I watched as Bob prayed for and comforted person after person after person. He and Sylvia joined us in many countries over the years.
As you know, providing clean drinking water is one of our primary ministries. Bob is the father of this. As an engineer and retired engineering professor, he took great interest in bio-sand water filters. He and Sylvia went to India for two months to establish water filtration programs. I remember sitting in a hut in a remote village in Karnataka as Bob used his laptop to explain the benefits of the water filters to the village elders. He trained over 20 men in two different Indian states, returning a year later to monitor the project and teach more trainees from India, Canada and the US. Bob and Sylvia went to the Philippines to establish a water program there. One of the trainees was our son, Tim. From Bob's training, Tim has established what is likely the largest bio-sand filtration program in the nation, reaching about 50,000 people this year. Without Bob, none of this would have happened. To read more, click http://theadventuresoftimandbethany.blogspot.com/
Bob has taken more photos for Impact Nations than anyone else. No one could quietly move among the people he encountered to capture a child’s expression like Bob. He passed this love of photography (along with expert instruction and encouragement) to several of our team, especially Tim.
Bob and Sylvia left their family and home, and moved 3,000 miles to help establish Impact Nations This reflected their passion to see lives rescued and their deep love and commitment to Christina and I.
Bob’s words, actions and even his facial expressions revealed his love for Jesus. He was a man of prayer and a man of faith. Compassionate. Confident. Loving.
A life well lived. And oh, how much I will miss him.
Comment
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Comment by Judi Middleton on December 10, 2009 at 12:13pm - Darling Bob, and my goodness you were such a big darling and emanated soooooooo much our beloved Jesus. You have left such an enormous heritage Bob and I thank the Lord for the privilege and pleasure of the times I’ve spent with you and Sylvia and the impact you’ve had on my life. My sincere condolences to Sylvia and your many loved ones and indeed to Steve and I ask the Lord to keep pouring and pouring and pouring out His amazing love into the depths of their inner beings.
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Comment by John Greenfield on December 4, 2009 at 10:55am -
Hay Steve,
When I read my daughter Sarah’s and your tributes to Bob I realized in the midst of the loss of your best friend there is hope. Hope for the many young people and children that Bob was able to encourage and bless. I see that many of these will rise up with excellent spirits to become all God intended them to be. They will become those that will be known as World Changers and History Makers. This will Bob’s legacy!
Cheers,
Papa John
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Comment by Heidi Dunbar on December 3, 2009 at 2:59am - Bob you were my spiritual dad, my dear friend, my other father. You were a man that gave me hope in humans...in men. You showed me that true authentic love is possible. You and Sylvia modelled inspiring and incredible marriage and hunger for God. You were a barbarian - so super real, and so super aware of the redeeming power of Jesus. I feel so grateful to have been loved by you. On your blog you thanked God for everything - I thank Him for YOU! I love you and miss you terribly and can't wait for that day when I can have another kiss on my cheek and and a big strong hug from you. You ran your race so well - and I am so pleased that you are in the arms of your father - I just wish it didn't hurt so much.
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Comment by Jerry Ross on December 2, 2009 at 11:22pm - We want to express our deepest sympathy. We'll be praying for those who knew and loved Bob.
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Comment by Wendy Grace Whale on December 2, 2009 at 2:41am -
I am in shock! I guess I didn't expect that Bob would leave us. He was certainly all you said he was, and more. I remember how he and Sylvia took me under their wings on my first Impact trip to India. What a kind, gentle, loving Spirit he had. He was the love of God and Light of Jesus to everyone with whom he came into contact.
I know he would have been greeted with "well done, good and faithful servant. Come into the Mansion I have prepared for you. You have fought the good fight of faith, you have run the race.... and won."
I pray that God will comfort you all during this time of grieving. His parting from this life will not be too long before we all meet again. Love and prayers are with you, Steve and Christina and family; and Sylvia and family. XXXXX
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Comment by Sarah Renker on December 1, 2009 at 7:10pm -
Steve, I am so terribly sorry for your loss. I am praying for you and your family to find comfort in this time of sorrow.
Thinking of u!
-Sarah
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Comment by Mercy Mbindyo on December 1, 2009 at 4:06pm - I will miss you so much papa. I feel so Blessed to have known you.
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Comment by Flor Silva on December 1, 2009 at 6:11am - Bob, excellent person! He`s in the heaven. Praise the Lord!. we miss you, Bob.
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Comment by Hazel Caceres on December 1, 2009 at 6:04am - Bob we miss you!, but we happy too, because you are with Jesus now. Silvia Jesus give you strong and peace. we are your friends, if you need something tell us. we love you.
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Comment by Sarah Greenfield on November 30, 2009 at 9:00pm - Bob will be missed! I am sad and filled with grief that he has left us and yet I so confidently know where he is and whom he is with now. Praise god for that. I pray for the outrageous grace and peace that come only from the LORD to cover Sylvia and family at this time. I first met bob in when I traveled with him in Thailand. He embraced me like a daughter. He understood the suffering I was going through at the time being separated from my fiancé. Some people thought I needed spiritual deliverance but Bob could see that my heart was aching and missing my beloved. Bob understood, celebrated, and accepted that kind of love. Bob and Sylvia were a beautiful example of that kind of love. Bob was a key person in motivating me to go into nursing. I had wanted to go into nursing for a while and had applied 3 times to a nursing program and each time I had been rejected. The third rejection hit me very hard as it came around the same time my fiancés visa to Canada was also rejected. I felt like doors were closing all around and I started to think that maybe God didn’t want me to become a nurse. I remember that Sunday I walked into church and Bob came up to say hi. He noticed something was wrong (he is very observant like that) and we sat and chatted about my situation. In the midst of our conversation he posed a simple yet profound question. “Sarah how do you know it is God shutting the door and not satan? Bob didn’t tell me what to do, he didn’t give me advice, he asked a question. A question that made me think about the situation in a different way. Through this conversation I ended up applying to every nursing program I knew of in the lower mainland of BC. I ended getting accepted the following year to a program that would start in time for me and my new husband to settle into a new home just a few weeks before the program started. I think now where would I be now if Bob hadn’t have posed that simple question, if he hadn’t taken the time to sit and listen to my concern? Thank you Jesus that I knew Bob that you used him in my life, that you hold all things in your hands! I got married in March of 2008 in India. My husband and I were planning to set our roots down in Canada for sometime while I went to school. After our marriage I spent 2 months in India and came back to Canada in May to file our immigration papers and get things organized for my husband’s arrival. The day after I arrived was a Sunday and I went to church. I saw Bob and Sylvia there that day and we were chatting about the wedding and Robert coming to Canada. They mentioned that they were planning to move back to Ontario to be with there family and were wondering if we could use some kitchen stuff that they were trying to get rid of before they left. I of course said yes because at that time we had nothing for our home but a rocking chair and a desk. The kitchen stuff turned into the Horvath’s pretty much furnishing our entire house. We would have been sleeping on the floor if it weren’t for their generosity and kindness. They helped make a home for us they blessed our marriage in such a wonderful and tangible way! Bob was a man who carried the father’s heart he was of man of love, of impact, of outrageous generosity and compassion. You will be missed Bob!
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