Last November Update

Today is the last day of November. It has been a good month. Last week was a busy week, and we all had a great time! On Wednesday, my favorite part of the day was when we went to the home of a lady from church. She taught us how to make banitsa, a traditional Bulgarian dish. We sat there in her living room as she brought out all of the ingredients and made in on the table in front of us. I took  pictures of each step, and Katie wrote down each of the steps, so we would be able to remember and replicate it. Banitsa is made with philo dough, eggs, yoghurt, water, cheese, and a few other things. It is baked till it is golden brown on top, and then cut into slices and eaten. It is delicious! We made it with just egg, but you can add any number of things to it, like ham, onions, spinach, or other stuff. It is delicious and flaky. The lady whose home we went to does not speak English, but she does speak Italian (and another language or two besides Bulgarian). Her grandson was going to translate for us, but he wasnot there for the first 40 minutes or so, so she spoke to us in a mixture of Bulgarian and Italian to help us understand. Spanish (a language I understand) is somewhat similar to Italian, right? =) We were able to understand most of what was happening. It was a great evening, full of fun and food! Bulgarians are very hospitable. 

Thursday was Thanksgiving! We left on a bus at 4am to go to Sofia. We arrived at about 9:40 am, got a bit to eat, then went to Ikea to go shopping. We bought some things for our home that we needed. It is nice to have light in our living room – before we bought a lamp from Ikea, we could only use that room when the sun was up! Now that we have a lamp, it will be nice for when we host people at our house, because we will have more room to be in!

We went to the home of Jen and Doug Mann for Thanksgiving. We celebrated with their family, Jessica Morris, Gillian from Ireland who is a missionary in Kosovo, Doug’s parents, and a Bulgarian couple. We all had a great time! It was a multicultural Thanksgiving, and we all enjoyed it. =) I was able to call my family and talk with them on Thanksgiving, too, and that made me happy. I have much to be thankful for!

Friday morning we did a bit of sightseeing in Sofia, learning more about the history of Bulgarian as we walked around and looked at various buildings. We went into a beautiful Orthodox church. We left Sofia in the afternoon, driving back to Razgrad with the Bulgarian couple that had been at the Thanksgiving celebration the day before. We got back to Razgrad just in time for a prayer meeting with people from churches all over Razgrad and the surrounding villages. It was a good time of prayer for Razgrad and asking God to work more here. 

Saturday was another train ride and another youth conference, this time in Russe! There were eleven of us total, Pastor Nikolay and his wife Yanita, and Joshua, Katie, and me, and six teens. The youth conference started at 10am and lasted till 4:30pm; lunch was provided as part of the conference. One neat thing about the conference was that everyone who came participated in some way, whether through a skit, leading some worship songs, performing a dance, or something else. There was also a speaker. It was a great time of worship and growing closer to God and to the teens. Our group from Razgrad led everyone in two worship songs (in English!). I got to sing. =) The whole day was a great time of getting to know the teens more; I enjoy spending time with them.

Sunday we started practicing Christmas songs at church. Katie and I are helping lead the children in a couple Christmas songs to sing at the big church celebration on Christmas Eve, and after the church service, all the adults got together for the choir to practice singing. I got to sing in Bulgarian! =) I was able to look up the lyrics and understand what I was singing. I am excited to learn a song in Bulgarian. 

Sunday afternoon we went to the village of Ossenets to have a church service. We met in a house, because their church building does not have electricity. There were about a dozen people there, and we enjoyed a time of singing worship songs and listening to Joshua preach, then we ate some delicious snacks. We later had a nice theological discussion after there were only a few people left. I look forward to going to that village again and having more conversations there. 

Tonight is exciting – we are hosting a birthday party for Misho, who is turning 17 today! His parents, younger brother, and Pastor Nikolay and Yanita came over an hour ago to start setting up for the party, and all the guests will arrive in about two hours.  Misho is one from the youth group who is very active, and we have enjoyed getting to know him.

Also – this week has been warm! We do not need to bundle up in our gloves, scarves, hats, and thick coats this week. It is nice to have warm (compared to what the past two weeks have been) weather. =) We are enjoying the sunny days. 

May God bless you!

Eventful Weekend

We have had an eventful weekend! 

Friday

Friday morning was not too busy; we went on a walk around the city and walked to a store to look at cell phones. (We will be getting cell phones once we get our monthly money – cell phones will help us keep in touch with others as we are traveling all over for ministry.) We do a lot of walking here. The city is not too big that we can’t get around easily on foot. Walking is good exercise, and it gives us time to enjoy the city and talk as we are walking.

Friday evening we were invited to dinner at the home of Desi, a lady from the village church in Ossenets. (This was a celebration dinner of sorts, for something that had happened a month or so ago.) There were sixteen people there, two of which were kids. We all sat on stools or couches, eating at a few coffee tables placed end – to – end. (Most Bulgarians do not have a separate dining room, but the living room is the bedroom is the dining room. Some houses or apartments are bigger than others, so things are a bit different. I have only been to four Bulgarian homes so far.) We had a wonderful time at Desi’s home. She was a great hostess, and the food was delicious! It was great to have a home cooked Bulgarian meal. We all had a great time talking with each other, sharing stories, and laughing. One of the men there was 80 years old! He knows how to do many sorts of things, and one thing he enjoys doing is cooking. I asked him if he could teach me how to cook some Bulgarian food, and he said yes. At the dinner, I was able to practice some Bulgarian words, as well as learn a few new words. Much of the time Pastor Nikolay translated for us. All in all, it was a great evening, and we were there for several hours. After we left, we were invited to come visit the village again.

Saturday

When Pastor Nikolay picked us up Friday evening, he told us the youth were going to an event in Varna the next day, and asked if we wanted to go. We had expected to help at the church for a cleaning day on Saturday, but we were able to be flexible and change our plans with a moment’s notice. So, Saturday morning we left home at 7 am. We took the train to Varna. The group was me, Joshua, Katie, Galiya, Joanna, Misho, and Andrei. The train ride was 2.5 hours long, and we had lots of time to talk. We spent the whole day with the teens. I enjoyed hanging out with Bulgarians all day and learning from them. I learned more about the culture and the language by asking them questions and by observing them. 

In Varna, we walked to find the place where the youth event was happening. It took us a while to find the right place, but we made it. On the way we stopped by the Black Sea for a few minutes (Joshua and Katie had never been there, and I had only been once for a few minutes), and we looked at the water and found some pretty shells. We also stopped to grab some lunch on the way to the event. The youth event was called New Wave, and it was a gathering of Christian youth from all over Bulgaria. There was a speaker, but we missed most of that. The majority of the time we were at the event, we were singing or praying. It was wonderful to sing in Bulgarian. Some of the songs I knew in English, but I still tried to sing them in Bulgarian. I am getting better at listening and reading Bulgarian as I sing. Galiya was helpful and told me the meaning of what I was singing. How wonderful it is to praise God in a different language!

In between times of singing were prayer times. About twenty different leaders took turns praying for each of the different “states” in Bulgaria. I did not understand all the words of the prayers, but I was able to use that time to pray. I prayed for the youth from Razgrad Church of the Nazarene (RazNaz), I prayed for everyone at the event, I prayed for God to fill everyone with His Spirit. Saturday was a wonderful time of worship. We ended the day with another 2.5-hour train ride back to Razgrad, and got home at about 9pm or so. The train ride was an adventure, to say the least! It was exciting for all of us, Americans and Bulgarians. 

Sunday

Sunday mornings, Sunday School starts at 10am. Last Sunday, Joanna, Pastor Nikolay’s daughter, translated for us, but this Sunday she was on the Worship team and they were practicing during Sunday School. We sat in Sunday School listening to Bulgarian for an hour without a translation at all. I am glad we do not always get translation, because it forces me to listen. I can listen to the Bulgarian and pick out what words I know and try to understand new words. When we read from the Bible, I had my own Bible, so I can follow along in English. I can listen to God speaking to me. It is also teaching me patience. 

I enjoy praising God. It fills me with joy to worship God with other people, no matter what language we are using. God understands every language, and he knows the hearts of the worshippers. Joshua preached (with Pastor Nikolay translating into Bulgarian), and God spoke through him. We heard a sermon about love and being open all the time to loving. God wants us to love all the time, not just when it is convenient for us. After the church service was over, we hung around for an hour or two, talking with people, setting up events for the week, and greeting fellow believers. After church services, it seems that everyone shakes everyone else’s hands as they say, “Slava na Boga,” which means “Praise the Lord.” I like doing this. 

After church we had about 45 minutes to walk and get lunch before we left to go to the village of Kubrant for a church service. There were about six or eight people there for the service. We sang several hymns, and I had a Bulgarian hymnal, so I was able to sing along. One of the songs we sang was “How Great Thou Art,” a favorite hymn of mine. My mother taught me that song in Spanish, so now I always sing the chorus in Spanish (I forget the words to the verses). It was neat to sing in Spanish while others were singing in Bulgarian. Pastor Nikolay asked Joshua, Katie, and I to sing a verse in English, which we did. When we got to the chorus, I mentioned I usually sing it in Spanish. So, Pastor Nikolay had me stand up in front of the room (it is a small room, not a big sanctuary) and sing the chorus in Spanish. It is neat to praise God in multiple languages, knowing that God understands. After we sang, Joshua preached his sermon again, and I listened to God speak to me through him. It is amazing how much God speaks to me when I am listening!

On the way back to Razgrad after the village church service, we stopped in another village where a family from Razgrad Naz lives. We spent an hour or so there, just visiting and talking as we ate some snacks. It was great to visit with people. I enjoyed it. I am starting to understand more Bulgarian, so that is good! I can say a few simple sentences in Bulgarian, and am working to learn more.

This coming week

We have several things scheduled this week! Today we are going to buy groceries and run other errands. Tomorrow and Wednesday we will be at the church from Noon-4pm, just having the church open to spend time with whoever stops by. At some point we will be practicing some songs with a few of the youth. Tuesday evening we have invited some young people to come over to our apartment. There will be at least ten people here. We are excited to have guests come over!

Wednesday morning we are going to help the Red Cross with something.  Wednesday evening we are going to the home of a lady from church and she will teach us a few things. We will learn how to make banitsa, a Bulgarian food, and we will learn how to knit squares that the Red Cross uses for something. (Maybe for sewing together to make blankets?) So including the four or more hours we’ll be at church in the afternoon, Wednesday will be a busy day!

Thursday is Thanksgiving. I think the church is going to celebrate Thanksgiving somehow, because they like the idea of a whole celebration focused on giving thanks to God, but I do not know the plans. Thursday evening is Bible study.

Saturday is a youth conference in Ruse, a city at the border of Bulgaria and Romania. It is a conference for the youth in this region of Bulgaria. We will be going by train. This conference will be smaller than the one we just went to in Varna. We are putting together a few songs to sing, because everyone who comes helps participate in some way. 

Every day is exciting! It is exciting to see how God will use us as we open ourselves to Him. 

Prayer Requests

Please pray for us to continue to be open to God’s leading. Pray for the relationships that we are starting to build. Pray that we rely on God. Pray that our budget gets approved quickly so we can get money (Right now we are running low on funds). Pray that we are able to  balance all our activities with time for rest.

May God bless you!

The Activities of Today

Today was a good day. It was our first day going out and doing something other than getting groceries or setting up a bank account. We have wandered around the city, getting to know Razgrad, but have not had much scheduled yet. This morning we went to the Police Station to register with them, and we found out the reason for the delay in our visas. My visa paperwork had been sent to the USA and back to Bulgaria THREE TIMES before they figured everything out!  The chief of migration here in Razgrad Municipality did not know that we were coming to Bulgaria from invitation of the Church of the Nazarene, because our paperwork did not say that or something, and he could not find whom to contact on our behalf. Now that we learned that at the police station this morning, it makes sense why it took so long for us to get our visas.  The chief of migration here in Razgrad apologized to us that it took so long to get our visas; it was not his fault, but he still felt sorry. It was good that Pastor Nikolay went with us, because he was able to translate and help us understand what people were saying to us.

After we went to the police, we went to another building where people were working. I did not catch what job they had, but there were four ladies and one man in an office, and we sat and talked with them in English for a bit, and some in Bulgarian, helping each other practice conversation. I showed the man where I live, courtesy of Google Earth, and we looked at Mount Rainier. Then, he showed me some pictures of Razgrad from Google Earth. It was neat to talk with them and share with each other what it is like where we live.  Pastor Nikolay thinks it is a good idea for us (me, Joshua, and Katie) to go talk with those people in the office about once a week or so to have conversation practice with them. They will speak to us in English, and we will speak to them in Bulgarian. All of us will get good practice that way. 

The next place we went was the Municipality building, where the mayor, governor, and other important people work. We visited the director of culture and tourism, who is the right-hand woman to the mayor. She was very friendly and welcoming, and we all got some tourist information on Razgrad. We spoke with this lady about a concert we wish to hold the end of January, bringing in a man from the USA to put on a gospel music workshop. The lady seemed excited to see us, and she wants us to feel welcomed. She also said we may be able to help with volunteering at museums, the library, and other cultural places. I think that would be neat to help out in other places. Pastor Nikolay is excited for the church to have a presence in various places in the city. 

Our next stop was the library. Joshua and I need books for our classes, and we were told it was easier to find the books on the history of Bulgaria here in Bulgaria rather than in the USA, so we thought we would look at the library. It was neat to go to the library, and we got a mini-tour. Joshua and I registered for library cards. I am the first ever American to get a library card in Razgrad! It was exciting. I also made a new friend in the library – I got to pet a cat. 

 

This evening was Bible study at church. It was from about 6-8pm or so. It started with about nine of us, and more people came in. We studied Psalms 100-110. A few times we stopped and sang songs when we came to some verses that had songs written based on them. It was great to read through some Psalms and discuss them (I just listened, but Pastor Nikolay did translate into English for us so we could understand). God reminded me how great and awesome God is. One other thing of note from the Bible study is a cultural thing. It is cold here in Bulgaria, colder than Fall back home in Washington, but not nearly as cold as it will get here. I have been wearing my heavy coat around outside (along with a scarf, gloves, and ear muffs), but inside I only wear one layer – my t-shirt. It is warm enough inside that I am comfortable. So at church, I took off my coat. A few people commented on my short sleeves and asked me if I was cold, and I said no, because I was not. (I was actually sitting with the heater blowing on my back, so I was plenty warm!) But after a while, people in the room got too warm, so they turned the heater off, instead of taking off their coats. When they remembered I was wearing short-sleeves, the man who was leading the Bible study took his jacket and put it around my shoulders so I could be warm. It was a thoughtful gesture, and also made me think of how the culture here may be different. Pastor Nikolay translated for me that people did not want me to get sick because I was cold, and they thought wearing just a short sleeve shirt inside and not a long sleeve shirt would make me too cold. So, that is my little cultural mishap for the day. Tomorrow I will make sure to wear a sweater inside. We will be going to a church in the village of Ossenets to share a meal with them. 

Thank you for your prayers and support! God bless you!

The First Few Days

(note: I wrote this post a couple days ago, but was not able to post it until now)

I am in Bulgaria! Praise the Lord! Слава на Бога! I have anticipated this for several years. I am thrilled to be back overseas to serve the Lord in a cross-cultural setting. God is so good to lead us in ways that are pleasing to Him. The journey to get to where I am right now has had its share of ups and downs, and God has been with me through it all. I am excited to see where God is leading me.

Getting Settled

Today we have been working on our budget and figuring out how much money we have for each month. I have enough money to cover a bit over half of my time here in Bulgaria! We got bank accounts set up today, so we will get money that we have fundraised sent to us each month to pay for our monthly expenses. It is exciting to have a bank account in another country! It was good there was someone at the bank who spoke English enough to talk with us. :) Tomorrow we will be going to the Police Station to register our presence here in Bulgaria and show them our long-term visas. There is Bible Study tomorrow evening, and I am excited for that! It will be great to talk with people from church again. The past few days we have been settling in, getting over jet-lag, getting to know the city a bit by walking around, and learning to work together as a team. It has been great so far! God is good.

I made it safely

This is just a quick post to let you all know I made it! I am in Razgrad, Bulgaria. My flights to Sofia went well, and early Sunday morning Pastor Nikolay drove us to Razgrad, where we will be staying. Pastor Nikolay and his family have been very hospitable! We are enjoying our time here and are getting settled in. I will update more later. :-)

Prayer Card

Michael helped me create a prayer card. If you would like a copy of the prayer card, please let me know. Thank you for praying for me while I am in Bulgaria!

One week until I'm in Bulgaria

The last couple of weeks have been exciting. My visa finally arrived!!! It was about a four month process from when I started gathering documents for the visa application to when my visa arrived in the mail. It took much longer - and cost much more - than I expected, but I have been learning that God's timing is best. God will provide for all my needs, I just need to trust God. Michael (my boyfriend) likes to remind me of what Jesus says about needs, as recorded in Matthew 6. God provides food for birds and clothing for flowers, and I am more valuable than birds or flowers, so of course God will take care of me! I need to keep my focus on trusting God and seeking God's Kingdom above all else. God will take care of me. Even while I am off living in a different country, God will still take care of me.

One week from yesterday I will be boarding a plane to fly to Bulgaria. My bags have been packed since August, and I am ready! It is exciting to know I will be leaving soon to go to Bulgaria and live in a different culture as I minister to people there. I am excited to see what God will teach me. There is much to learn! I am sad to leave my family, but I know God will take care of them, just as God will take care of me. God has placed in me a passion to serve others with God's love. God will be with me as I go to Bulgaria, and God will take care of me.