This last week of 2011 has gone well. Monday afternoon we went to Pastor Nikolay's house. We talked for several hours about our vision for RazNaz for next year, and enjoyed a tasty meal. Pastor Nikolay has a book about Evangelism written by Louie Bustle and Bruno Radi, and we took turns reading chapters and discussing it. Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons we did the same thing. I am excited to see all God will do in Razgrad in 2012!!!!
Thursday afternoon we interviewed an Orthodox Priest. (Actually, he is not a priest yet, he is a Deacon, but he will be a priest soon, I think.) Interviewing an Orthodox Priest is part of our school requirement, and we learned a lot from it! He enjoys talking, so we got to hear about a lot of different things. It was a great way to get more insight into the Bulgarian culture. He also sprinkled us with holy water from the Jordan River, scented with rose. (He recently came back from a trip to the Holy Land.) It was a great experience to talk with him. He invited us to visit the Orthodox church in Varna and see an alive, growing Orthodox church. It will be neat to do that.
Tonight we are meeting at church at 11:30pm and praying to bring in the New Year. I can hardly believe it is almost 2012! Time has gone by so fast. I am thankful for the time I have had here in Bulgaria so far, and look forward to seeing how God will use me in the upcoming months. After we pray at church to bring in the New Year, we will go to the city center, where there will be a big celebration, and we will participate in some traditional Bulgarian dances. (I don't know any of the traditional Bulgarian dances, but they are line/group dances, so I'll just have to follow what the person next to me is doing.) It is snowing right now, so it will be a chilly night. I don't think we'll be staying up quite as late as we did on Christmas Eve / Christmas morning. :)
Last day of 2011! Make it a great one!
(Also, pray for me, I have a bit of a cold and am not feeling too well.)
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Christmas in Bulgaria
Celebrating Christmas here in Bulgaria has been the richest time here so far. God has blessed us so much. God has given us good friends and a wonderful mentor who treats us as part of his family. I am so thankful for being involved in ministry here.
Friday
We gathered at church the day before the big Christmas Eve service to help set up for the service. We got there early enough to share a lunch with others from the church before we started our various tasks. Joshua and Andrei shoveled off all the snow from the sidewalks and walkways around the church. (Andrei, a 14 year old, and I had a snowball fight later in the afternoon, and had fun. Everyone else was too busy working to join in on the fun!) I helped clean, straighten up, and decorate. We put balloons and ribbons all over to make things look pretty and festive. The church was beautiful when we finished!
Friday evening was the Razgrad Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir Christmas Concert. We went with Pastor Nikolay and family, as well as a couple others from church. The music was beautiful; I really enjoyed it. It was neat to hear familiar songs sung in Bulgarian (and some in German, like the Hallelujah Chorus). Along with the orchestra, two choirs sang: the Razgrad city choir, and the Razgrad youth choir. Zhivka, the girl I went to coffee with two weeks ago, was singing in the youth choir. When the youth choir sang, I also noticed two other girls I knew from English Club. It was great to see each of those three girls after the concert. They were all excited and happy to see me, and I got several big hugs. :) It was neat that I had friends who were excited to see me.
Saturday: Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve Service
The Christmas Eve service started at 4pm on Saturday, and was supposed to last about two hours. We arrived at church around 1pm to make sure everything was ready. I wanted to print off music for my clarinet duet, but could not get it to work, so I had no music. Oh well. Once people started arriving at church, I had a good time greeting people and talking with them. Many people I recognized were there! People from the village church of Ossenets, boys from the juvenile delinquent school, and people from church.
There were about 200 people there, and 100 of them were children! At the end of the service, the children got shoeboxes from Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child; the children were excited all through the service, and got rather noisy (and slightly out of control) all through the service. My clarinet duet with Dani went well. (I had the song memorized, so the lack of sheet music was no problem.) We played, “What Child is This,” and it sounded great. It was neat to hear an American and a Bulgarian play clarinet together, because we each have different styles of playing. Many people told me after the service that it sounded great, and we needed to play more duets together. (Dani is currently teaching me a Bulgarian traditional dance song. He is good at being patient with me, because I have to learn by ear.) I also sang in the church choir. Two songs, all in Bulgarian! The whole service went well, and we were all pleased. Many new people had come, people who had not been to church before. It is great to see how God is working!
Budni Vecher
After the Christmas Eve service ended, we went to the home of Baba Tana to celebrate Budni Vecher, the Christmas Eve celebration. Pastor Nikolay and Yanita had generously invited us to join their family for Christmas Eve. We celebrated with Pastor Nikolay, Yanita, Baba Tana (Yanita’s mother), Baba Stiyanka (Nikolay’s mother), another Baba, Simon, and Joanna. It was a WONDERFUL evening! Bulgaria is traditionally an agricultural society, so many of the traditions from Budni Vecher come from agricultural traditions to wish luck for the next year. There are also Orthodox traditions, such as having 7, 9, or 13 (or some odd number) of meatless dishes for the main course. (Orthodox fast from meat and animal products during Advent.) Of course, because we are not Orthodox, we had main dishes with meat. There was so much delicious food! We enjoyed eating and talking and laughing together. It was wonderful to be with the family for Christmas. Traditionally, Bulgarians open their Christmas presents on Christmas Eve. I got some presents, which was unexpected! I received some beautiful handmade items, such as a glass plate with a cute snowman on it, and an embroidered cloth (to decorate a small desk or table), and some other thoughtful gifts. I very much enjoyed Christmas Eve.
Sunday: Christmas Day
Caroling!
At 11pm on Christmas Eve, we met at the church to get ready to go caroling. There were close to fifteen of us young people. It is a tradition in Bulgaria to carol all night on Christmas Eve / Christmas morning, going around to people’s homes and eating there. We joined in the tradition, and had a great time! We ended up caroling for about eight hours. (I stopped at 7:45 am because I was about to fall over, so I went home for two hours of sleep before the Christmas morning service at church.) At church when we all met on Christmas Eve, we practiced singing a few songs. Some of the Christmas carols I had heard (we have them in English), but others I had not heard. There was only one sheet of paper for each song, so we all had to crowd around and crane our necks to see the words. I have now learned to read Bulgarian right ways up, sideways, and upside down. :) Didn’t think I’d be learning that!
The snow from Thursday had stuck around, except on the roads and sidewalks it had melted somewhat, then refroze, so everything was very slippery. We had fun sliding on the sidewalks. Joanna was my sliding buddy, and we would walk a few steps fast, then slide for several more steps. Linking arms helped us not fall down, and we had great fun! We also all kinda had a snowball fight when we were walking. There was lots of winter fun. We were constantly on the lookout for icicles, and would break them off and suck on them when we were thirsty. We did a LOT of walking! We went to seven or eight houses, and at each one we stayed anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour.
The first house we went to, no one was home. At the second house, the lady from church was not there, but her mom was. The third house, the people we wanted to see were there! At every house, we sang a song outside the door, then were invited inside. Once inside, we sang another couple songs, then ate some snacks and talked. Most of the homes had snacks like pretzels, cookies, crackers, or candies. At one home, we had about a full meal! (We stayed at that home longer than we stayed at the others, for good reason.) I got to eat some more traditional Bulgarian food that I had not had yet. I like Bulgarian food.
At every home we went to, we were greeted with delight. I think it really blessed the people we sang to. I could feel the joy radiating from us as we sang, and it was reflected on the faces of the people whose homes we were in. It was a blessing to me, as well! I thought it was a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas, singing praises to God all through the night.
Christmas Day at Church
The church service Christmas morning was more laid back than usual church services, because everyone was tired. All of us “youth” who had caroled through the night/morning got up on stage and sang one of the Christmas carols for everyone. After the regular church service, there was a talent show – some of the kids wanted to show their talents to the church, so there was some singing, piano playing, dancing, and poem reciting. Once that finished, we all joined together to eat. Because so much food is made for the Budni Vecher celebration, everyone had many leftovers, so they brought some to church for a potluck. We all enjoyed sharing a meal together and talking, then we went to our homes and rested. A few people went to the village of Kubrat for a church service, but I stayed home so I could skype with my family back in Washington for Christmas.
God blessed us with such a great way to celebrate Christmas this year. This will be a Christmas I will long remember.
Friday
We gathered at church the day before the big Christmas Eve service to help set up for the service. We got there early enough to share a lunch with others from the church before we started our various tasks. Joshua and Andrei shoveled off all the snow from the sidewalks and walkways around the church. (Andrei, a 14 year old, and I had a snowball fight later in the afternoon, and had fun. Everyone else was too busy working to join in on the fun!) I helped clean, straighten up, and decorate. We put balloons and ribbons all over to make things look pretty and festive. The church was beautiful when we finished!
Friday evening was the Razgrad Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir Christmas Concert. We went with Pastor Nikolay and family, as well as a couple others from church. The music was beautiful; I really enjoyed it. It was neat to hear familiar songs sung in Bulgarian (and some in German, like the Hallelujah Chorus). Along with the orchestra, two choirs sang: the Razgrad city choir, and the Razgrad youth choir. Zhivka, the girl I went to coffee with two weeks ago, was singing in the youth choir. When the youth choir sang, I also noticed two other girls I knew from English Club. It was great to see each of those three girls after the concert. They were all excited and happy to see me, and I got several big hugs. :) It was neat that I had friends who were excited to see me.
Saturday: Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve Service
The Christmas Eve service started at 4pm on Saturday, and was supposed to last about two hours. We arrived at church around 1pm to make sure everything was ready. I wanted to print off music for my clarinet duet, but could not get it to work, so I had no music. Oh well. Once people started arriving at church, I had a good time greeting people and talking with them. Many people I recognized were there! People from the village church of Ossenets, boys from the juvenile delinquent school, and people from church.
There were about 200 people there, and 100 of them were children! At the end of the service, the children got shoeboxes from Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child; the children were excited all through the service, and got rather noisy (and slightly out of control) all through the service. My clarinet duet with Dani went well. (I had the song memorized, so the lack of sheet music was no problem.) We played, “What Child is This,” and it sounded great. It was neat to hear an American and a Bulgarian play clarinet together, because we each have different styles of playing. Many people told me after the service that it sounded great, and we needed to play more duets together. (Dani is currently teaching me a Bulgarian traditional dance song. He is good at being patient with me, because I have to learn by ear.) I also sang in the church choir. Two songs, all in Bulgarian! The whole service went well, and we were all pleased. Many new people had come, people who had not been to church before. It is great to see how God is working!
Budni Vecher
After the Christmas Eve service ended, we went to the home of Baba Tana to celebrate Budni Vecher, the Christmas Eve celebration. Pastor Nikolay and Yanita had generously invited us to join their family for Christmas Eve. We celebrated with Pastor Nikolay, Yanita, Baba Tana (Yanita’s mother), Baba Stiyanka (Nikolay’s mother), another Baba, Simon, and Joanna. It was a WONDERFUL evening! Bulgaria is traditionally an agricultural society, so many of the traditions from Budni Vecher come from agricultural traditions to wish luck for the next year. There are also Orthodox traditions, such as having 7, 9, or 13 (or some odd number) of meatless dishes for the main course. (Orthodox fast from meat and animal products during Advent.) Of course, because we are not Orthodox, we had main dishes with meat. There was so much delicious food! We enjoyed eating and talking and laughing together. It was wonderful to be with the family for Christmas. Traditionally, Bulgarians open their Christmas presents on Christmas Eve. I got some presents, which was unexpected! I received some beautiful handmade items, such as a glass plate with a cute snowman on it, and an embroidered cloth (to decorate a small desk or table), and some other thoughtful gifts. I very much enjoyed Christmas Eve.
Sunday: Christmas Day
Caroling!
At 11pm on Christmas Eve, we met at the church to get ready to go caroling. There were close to fifteen of us young people. It is a tradition in Bulgaria to carol all night on Christmas Eve / Christmas morning, going around to people’s homes and eating there. We joined in the tradition, and had a great time! We ended up caroling for about eight hours. (I stopped at 7:45 am because I was about to fall over, so I went home for two hours of sleep before the Christmas morning service at church.) At church when we all met on Christmas Eve, we practiced singing a few songs. Some of the Christmas carols I had heard (we have them in English), but others I had not heard. There was only one sheet of paper for each song, so we all had to crowd around and crane our necks to see the words. I have now learned to read Bulgarian right ways up, sideways, and upside down. :) Didn’t think I’d be learning that!
The snow from Thursday had stuck around, except on the roads and sidewalks it had melted somewhat, then refroze, so everything was very slippery. We had fun sliding on the sidewalks. Joanna was my sliding buddy, and we would walk a few steps fast, then slide for several more steps. Linking arms helped us not fall down, and we had great fun! We also all kinda had a snowball fight when we were walking. There was lots of winter fun. We were constantly on the lookout for icicles, and would break them off and suck on them when we were thirsty. We did a LOT of walking! We went to seven or eight houses, and at each one we stayed anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour.
The first house we went to, no one was home. At the second house, the lady from church was not there, but her mom was. The third house, the people we wanted to see were there! At every house, we sang a song outside the door, then were invited inside. Once inside, we sang another couple songs, then ate some snacks and talked. Most of the homes had snacks like pretzels, cookies, crackers, or candies. At one home, we had about a full meal! (We stayed at that home longer than we stayed at the others, for good reason.) I got to eat some more traditional Bulgarian food that I had not had yet. I like Bulgarian food.
At every home we went to, we were greeted with delight. I think it really blessed the people we sang to. I could feel the joy radiating from us as we sang, and it was reflected on the faces of the people whose homes we were in. It was a blessing to me, as well! I thought it was a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas, singing praises to God all through the night.
Christmas Day at Church
The church service Christmas morning was more laid back than usual church services, because everyone was tired. All of us “youth” who had caroled through the night/morning got up on stage and sang one of the Christmas carols for everyone. After the regular church service, there was a talent show – some of the kids wanted to show their talents to the church, so there was some singing, piano playing, dancing, and poem reciting. Once that finished, we all joined together to eat. Because so much food is made for the Budni Vecher celebration, everyone had many leftovers, so they brought some to church for a potluck. We all enjoyed sharing a meal together and talking, then we went to our homes and rested. A few people went to the village of Kubrat for a church service, but I stayed home so I could skype with my family back in Washington for Christmas.
God blessed us with such a great way to celebrate Christmas this year. This will be a Christmas I will long remember.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Merry Christmas!
Everyone,
Merry Christmas!!!! May God, who became flesh to come live with us, live in your hearts and lives today and always. Thank you for supporting me here in Bulgaria. We have had a joyous time celebrating Jesus' birth! Many blessings on you!
~Debbie
Merry Christmas!!!! May God, who became flesh to come live with us, live in your hearts and lives today and always. Thank you for supporting me here in Bulgaria. We have had a joyous time celebrating Jesus' birth! Many blessings on you!
~Debbie
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
New experiences, and fun with friends - update from the past week
Winter is about here! After several weeks of warmer than usual weather, the cold weather has finally come. This morning we woke up to snow on the hills surrounding Razgrad, and a light dusting on the roofs of the houses around us. We just might have a white Christmas! I hope you enjoy reading about the events of my life from the past week or so.
Language Lessons
Last week we began our language lessons. Elena, a lady from church, is our Bulgarian teacher. She has been studying English since she was twelve – rare for someone of her generation! This is her first time teaching Bulgarian, but she is a highly respected English teacher, so she knows how to teach well. She is making sure we pronounce everything correctly. (Something I have been learning is humility – when I don’t know how to say something in Bulgaria, I look like a little child who is barely beginning to speak. I am thankful God is giving me patience and persistence!)
We meet in Elena’s home for language lessons. The first time we went to her home, her son, who is four years old, was there in the living room with us. As Elena was talking to us in English, her son kept repeating the same thing over and over. He was saying, “nonsense! You are all talking nonsense!” He could not understand English at all, and he wondered what in the world we were trying to say. It was cute.
Bulgarian is a beautiful language, I think. I am enjoying learning it so far, but must remember to be patient with myself because I am not learning as fast as I would like. Learning Bulgarian is helping me build relationships with other people, though, because asking others to tell me the correct way to say something opens a conversation. I am glad we have language lessons. Right now we are having language lessons twice a week. Later on, in a month or so, we may switch to once a week, or be finished with formal lessons. We will see how far we have come.
English Club
Two weeks ago Monday was the first time I attended the English Club for teens started by the Peace Corps volunteer, Semah. Last week Monday, I went to go again, but Semah was not there. She had sent a message online saying it was canceled, but a few of us missed the memo. I sat around and chatted with a few girls for a bit until they had to catch the bus home, but another girl, a new visitor that week, stuck around. This girl was Zhivka, a 17 year-old junior in highschool. She wanted to practice her English, and I was interested in talking with her more, so we went to a café to talk as we sipped on hot chocolate.
Zhivka and I had many similar interests – and we talked for two hours! It was wonderful to share with someone my passions, and for her to have similar passions. I told her why I had come to Bulgaria, and how I was following God’s call on my life. She told me about different cultural customs here in Bulgaria. We enjoyed talking about music, and sharing about our similar interests in languages. We had a great time talking, and I look forward to when I see her again! Zhivka invited me to her choir concert this Friday, and I invited her to our Christmas concert at church. It will be neat to connect with her again. God is wonderful the way he arranges things, and I am learning to be obedient to him and listen to his voice. I am glad God gave me a new friend.
This week Monday, the English Club was having a Christmas party. Semah led a white-elephant gift exchange, and we had fun participating in that. The gift exchange was quieter with Bulgarian youth than I have ever seen it before with American youth – there was a lot less “stealing” of presents! We did all enjoy it, and had fun talking with each other as we munched on Christmas goodies. Later on, we sang a few Christmas songs. I am learning “Silent Night” in Bulgarian for the church choir, but at the Christmas party, we sang it in English! A few girls remembered that I was from Seattle, and asked me what it was like there. Their faces fell when they hear it is often rainy in Seattle, but their faces brightened again when I told them about the Space Needle and ferryboat rides. The girls then told me about a place in the mountains near here where they like to hike. At the end of the night, these girls each gave me a big hug goodbye. In Bulgarian culture, hugs are for friends and not for mere acquaintances, so I was honored they each gave me a hug. I look forward to continuing to participate in the English Club and getting to know the teens more.
Afternoons at Church on Tuesdays and Thursdays
We are having good conversations the afternoons we are at church. There are two babas (grandmas) that live in a room off the main room where we sit, and they always come say hi to us. Neither of them speak English, but they are patient with our attempts to speak with them in Bulgarian. I have been able to tell them about my family, and show them pictures. Sometimes we just sit next to each other, just enjoying the company without needing to say anything.
Depending on the day, many people may pass through the church, or stop and stay for a while. There is a computer in the main room of this building, so people come to use that. Other people come to the church during their lunch break. Some people stop by to talk with the babas, or to come in out of the cold. No matter why people are there, we enjoy spending time with them. We have been able to have several conversations with people, even if they are short conversations. I am enjoying being able to share life with these people, and just be with them, even if I cannot speak to them proficiently in Bulgarian.
Church Outreach
I appreciate how Razgrad Church of the Nazarene shows the love of Christ to people not in the church. On Saturday, we went to the village of Zavet, to a home / school for juvenile delinquent boys aged 8-18. Some of these boys were thieves and murders. There at the boys’ home, the children and youth performed the Christmas drama they had been practicing, and the children’s choir sang. Next, those from RazNaz distributed shoeboxes full of gifts to the children. These shoeboxes are from Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child. In previous years, I had helped to make shoeboxes, but this was the first time I actually got to hand out shoeboxes. It was neat to see the boys get excited about gifts, even practical things like a new long-sleeve t-shirt or a sweater.
After the drama and the gifts, we all went outside to play. We kicked around a soccer ball for a bit before the boys decided to start a soccer game. At that point, I played Frisbee with some of the younger boys, who were not wanting to play soccer. We had fun playing Frisbee, throwing it, chasing after it, watching the wind carry it to the trees, and laughing as it tumbled from the air to the ground and rolled. One of the boys played Frisbee with me for over an hour and a half straight! I was glad I was able to play with them. At one point, Nikolay asked me, “but how are you able to communicate with them? You don’t speak Bulgarian!” I had been playing with them for a while before he asked me, and I was slightly surprised at his question, because I hadn’t even thought about communication difficulties. God was able to help me understand what the kids were saying, even if I couldn’t translate their exact words.
On our way back to Razgrad from Zavet, I rode on the floor in the back of the car, sitting in the cargo area. Joanna and I both were back there, and we had fun talking with each other. We stopped in a village to visit a man. This man was old, and his wife had died two years prior. We spent a bit of time there, talking with him, and hearing about his farm. He went and showed Joshua his pigs and other animals, and brought back inside a little bunny, less than twenty days old. The bunny was small, soft, and white, and it fell asleep in my hand. I am glad we were able to visit that man; it is always interesting to meet new people!
Village Church
Sunday afternoons we go to village churches. This week was Osenets. Usually, we get there in time for a service to start at four. This week, the Children’s Choir and Drama had another performance, for a kid’s school or something, on Sunday afternoon, and gave out shoebox gifts again, so we were later than usual in getting to the village church. By the time we arrived in Osenets, it was after five, and most people had left already. Instead of having a regular church service, we just sang hymns and talked as we sat in the living room and ate some Bulgarian food. (The church of Osenets meets in a home during the winter, because their church building has no electricity, and is very cold in wintertime.) It seems there is always some sort of food to eat whenever we get together. A good way to connect with someone is to share a meal with them. That evening, I had brought my clarinet, and I enjoyed playing songs. I played along with a few hymns, then played some Christmas songs. Joshua recently (the past week or so) has been learning to play the accordion, and he and I played a duet. Accordions with clarinets are very Bulgarian.
Fun with Friends
Even with how busy we are, we still have time to spend with friends! Last week Wednesday, Joanna (Pastor Nikolay’s daughter) invited us to a concert at her school. Joanna helped plan it and organize it. The concert was to stop aggression in schools. It promoted people getting along with each other through skits, songs, games, and other activities. I met several teens from church and we walked to the concert together. A few of the youth from church were in the orchestra that played a few songs. Others took part in different activities.
Friday night we went to the Razgrad school’s concert. A few girls from church performed. There were many different songs and dances, and it was fun to watch. Many kids performed, and even several groups of teens. I got to see some teens from the English Club. It was neat to see a Bulgarian Christmas concert. Some of the songs were even in English!
This Friday night we will be going to another concert. This concert is the philharmonic and the choir Christmas concert. Zhivka, the girl I met through the English Club, invited me to this concert. Nikolay and Yanita invited me to the concert. The piano lady at church also invited us to this concert. It must be quite the concert, if so many people have invited us to it! I look forward to going. I hope to see my new friend Zhivka there, for she will be part of the choir.
Christmas Plans!
Christmas is a special time of the year. There are so many happenings, and many reasons to be joyous. One reason is family – many people spend Christmas with their family. This year will be the first year I am not celebrating Christmas with my parents and siblings. However, I will be celebrating Christmas with a Bulgarian family! Pastor Nikolay Kolev and his wife Yanita have invited Joshua, Katie, and me to their home to celebrate Christmas with their family. In Bulgaria, the big Christmas celebration is usually on December 24, Christmas Eve, instead of on Christmas Day. It is a great honor that the Kolevs invited us to their home for Christmas Eve.
On Christmas Eve, RazNaz has a big Christmas concert. Many people from outside the church are invited to this event, and the city choir even performs during the concert. The concert will start at 4 pm and will last about two hours. I am singing in the church choir (in Bulgarian), and helping the children sing their Christmas song in English. Also, Dani, a 14 year old from RazNaz, and I are playing a clarinet duet. We will play “What Child is This.”
After the Christmas Eve concert and dinner at the Kolev’s home, it will be time to carol. In Bulgaria, the youth go caroling through the night. They knock on people’s doors and sing to them when the open the door. This lasts until about 4 or 5am, at which point the youth crash on the floor at the home of one of the youth’s parents.
Sunday morning, we will have church service at 10am as usual, but after the service there will be a talent show. The kids have been wanting a talent show, so it will be informal, fun, whoever wants to participate can. Dani has started teaching me a Bulgarian song on the clarinet, so I can play about 10 seconds of a traditional Bulgarian song. (Well, it might be about 5 seconds if I play it up to tempo! It goes quickly.) After the talent show, we will have a potluck, sharing leftover food from the big Christmas Eve feast. Christmas will be a wonderful time, and I look forward to celebrating with my Bulgarian friends.
Prayer Requests
Pray that language lessons continue to go well, and that we have perseverance and encouragement in our learning.
Pray that God continues to be at the center of our relationships. Pray that everyone we come into contact with see God’s love through us.
Pray that the relationships we are forming can be redemptive as we share about how we are following God’s way and living Christlike lives.
Pray that the Christmas concert on December 24th goes well.
Pray for the youth in the English Club. Pray that my relationships with them will continue to build, and that they can see God in me.
Pray that we do not get homesick during Christmas, but can celebrate Christ’s birth with our hearts overflowing from joy.
Pray that we can continue to be a blessing to those around us.
Have a wonderful season celebrating Christ’s birth! Merry Christmas, everyone!
Language Lessons
Last week we began our language lessons. Elena, a lady from church, is our Bulgarian teacher. She has been studying English since she was twelve – rare for someone of her generation! This is her first time teaching Bulgarian, but she is a highly respected English teacher, so she knows how to teach well. She is making sure we pronounce everything correctly. (Something I have been learning is humility – when I don’t know how to say something in Bulgaria, I look like a little child who is barely beginning to speak. I am thankful God is giving me patience and persistence!)
We meet in Elena’s home for language lessons. The first time we went to her home, her son, who is four years old, was there in the living room with us. As Elena was talking to us in English, her son kept repeating the same thing over and over. He was saying, “nonsense! You are all talking nonsense!” He could not understand English at all, and he wondered what in the world we were trying to say. It was cute.
Bulgarian is a beautiful language, I think. I am enjoying learning it so far, but must remember to be patient with myself because I am not learning as fast as I would like. Learning Bulgarian is helping me build relationships with other people, though, because asking others to tell me the correct way to say something opens a conversation. I am glad we have language lessons. Right now we are having language lessons twice a week. Later on, in a month or so, we may switch to once a week, or be finished with formal lessons. We will see how far we have come.
English Club
Two weeks ago Monday was the first time I attended the English Club for teens started by the Peace Corps volunteer, Semah. Last week Monday, I went to go again, but Semah was not there. She had sent a message online saying it was canceled, but a few of us missed the memo. I sat around and chatted with a few girls for a bit until they had to catch the bus home, but another girl, a new visitor that week, stuck around. This girl was Zhivka, a 17 year-old junior in highschool. She wanted to practice her English, and I was interested in talking with her more, so we went to a café to talk as we sipped on hot chocolate.
Zhivka and I had many similar interests – and we talked for two hours! It was wonderful to share with someone my passions, and for her to have similar passions. I told her why I had come to Bulgaria, and how I was following God’s call on my life. She told me about different cultural customs here in Bulgaria. We enjoyed talking about music, and sharing about our similar interests in languages. We had a great time talking, and I look forward to when I see her again! Zhivka invited me to her choir concert this Friday, and I invited her to our Christmas concert at church. It will be neat to connect with her again. God is wonderful the way he arranges things, and I am learning to be obedient to him and listen to his voice. I am glad God gave me a new friend.
This week Monday, the English Club was having a Christmas party. Semah led a white-elephant gift exchange, and we had fun participating in that. The gift exchange was quieter with Bulgarian youth than I have ever seen it before with American youth – there was a lot less “stealing” of presents! We did all enjoy it, and had fun talking with each other as we munched on Christmas goodies. Later on, we sang a few Christmas songs. I am learning “Silent Night” in Bulgarian for the church choir, but at the Christmas party, we sang it in English! A few girls remembered that I was from Seattle, and asked me what it was like there. Their faces fell when they hear it is often rainy in Seattle, but their faces brightened again when I told them about the Space Needle and ferryboat rides. The girls then told me about a place in the mountains near here where they like to hike. At the end of the night, these girls each gave me a big hug goodbye. In Bulgarian culture, hugs are for friends and not for mere acquaintances, so I was honored they each gave me a hug. I look forward to continuing to participate in the English Club and getting to know the teens more.
Afternoons at Church on Tuesdays and Thursdays
We are having good conversations the afternoons we are at church. There are two babas (grandmas) that live in a room off the main room where we sit, and they always come say hi to us. Neither of them speak English, but they are patient with our attempts to speak with them in Bulgarian. I have been able to tell them about my family, and show them pictures. Sometimes we just sit next to each other, just enjoying the company without needing to say anything.
Depending on the day, many people may pass through the church, or stop and stay for a while. There is a computer in the main room of this building, so people come to use that. Other people come to the church during their lunch break. Some people stop by to talk with the babas, or to come in out of the cold. No matter why people are there, we enjoy spending time with them. We have been able to have several conversations with people, even if they are short conversations. I am enjoying being able to share life with these people, and just be with them, even if I cannot speak to them proficiently in Bulgarian.
Church Outreach
I appreciate how Razgrad Church of the Nazarene shows the love of Christ to people not in the church. On Saturday, we went to the village of Zavet, to a home / school for juvenile delinquent boys aged 8-18. Some of these boys were thieves and murders. There at the boys’ home, the children and youth performed the Christmas drama they had been practicing, and the children’s choir sang. Next, those from RazNaz distributed shoeboxes full of gifts to the children. These shoeboxes are from Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child. In previous years, I had helped to make shoeboxes, but this was the first time I actually got to hand out shoeboxes. It was neat to see the boys get excited about gifts, even practical things like a new long-sleeve t-shirt or a sweater.
After the drama and the gifts, we all went outside to play. We kicked around a soccer ball for a bit before the boys decided to start a soccer game. At that point, I played Frisbee with some of the younger boys, who were not wanting to play soccer. We had fun playing Frisbee, throwing it, chasing after it, watching the wind carry it to the trees, and laughing as it tumbled from the air to the ground and rolled. One of the boys played Frisbee with me for over an hour and a half straight! I was glad I was able to play with them. At one point, Nikolay asked me, “but how are you able to communicate with them? You don’t speak Bulgarian!” I had been playing with them for a while before he asked me, and I was slightly surprised at his question, because I hadn’t even thought about communication difficulties. God was able to help me understand what the kids were saying, even if I couldn’t translate their exact words.
On our way back to Razgrad from Zavet, I rode on the floor in the back of the car, sitting in the cargo area. Joanna and I both were back there, and we had fun talking with each other. We stopped in a village to visit a man. This man was old, and his wife had died two years prior. We spent a bit of time there, talking with him, and hearing about his farm. He went and showed Joshua his pigs and other animals, and brought back inside a little bunny, less than twenty days old. The bunny was small, soft, and white, and it fell asleep in my hand. I am glad we were able to visit that man; it is always interesting to meet new people!
Village Church
Sunday afternoons we go to village churches. This week was Osenets. Usually, we get there in time for a service to start at four. This week, the Children’s Choir and Drama had another performance, for a kid’s school or something, on Sunday afternoon, and gave out shoebox gifts again, so we were later than usual in getting to the village church. By the time we arrived in Osenets, it was after five, and most people had left already. Instead of having a regular church service, we just sang hymns and talked as we sat in the living room and ate some Bulgarian food. (The church of Osenets meets in a home during the winter, because their church building has no electricity, and is very cold in wintertime.) It seems there is always some sort of food to eat whenever we get together. A good way to connect with someone is to share a meal with them. That evening, I had brought my clarinet, and I enjoyed playing songs. I played along with a few hymns, then played some Christmas songs. Joshua recently (the past week or so) has been learning to play the accordion, and he and I played a duet. Accordions with clarinets are very Bulgarian.
Fun with Friends
Even with how busy we are, we still have time to spend with friends! Last week Wednesday, Joanna (Pastor Nikolay’s daughter) invited us to a concert at her school. Joanna helped plan it and organize it. The concert was to stop aggression in schools. It promoted people getting along with each other through skits, songs, games, and other activities. I met several teens from church and we walked to the concert together. A few of the youth from church were in the orchestra that played a few songs. Others took part in different activities.
Friday night we went to the Razgrad school’s concert. A few girls from church performed. There were many different songs and dances, and it was fun to watch. Many kids performed, and even several groups of teens. I got to see some teens from the English Club. It was neat to see a Bulgarian Christmas concert. Some of the songs were even in English!
This Friday night we will be going to another concert. This concert is the philharmonic and the choir Christmas concert. Zhivka, the girl I met through the English Club, invited me to this concert. Nikolay and Yanita invited me to the concert. The piano lady at church also invited us to this concert. It must be quite the concert, if so many people have invited us to it! I look forward to going. I hope to see my new friend Zhivka there, for she will be part of the choir.
Christmas Plans!
Christmas is a special time of the year. There are so many happenings, and many reasons to be joyous. One reason is family – many people spend Christmas with their family. This year will be the first year I am not celebrating Christmas with my parents and siblings. However, I will be celebrating Christmas with a Bulgarian family! Pastor Nikolay Kolev and his wife Yanita have invited Joshua, Katie, and me to their home to celebrate Christmas with their family. In Bulgaria, the big Christmas celebration is usually on December 24, Christmas Eve, instead of on Christmas Day. It is a great honor that the Kolevs invited us to their home for Christmas Eve.
On Christmas Eve, RazNaz has a big Christmas concert. Many people from outside the church are invited to this event, and the city choir even performs during the concert. The concert will start at 4 pm and will last about two hours. I am singing in the church choir (in Bulgarian), and helping the children sing their Christmas song in English. Also, Dani, a 14 year old from RazNaz, and I are playing a clarinet duet. We will play “What Child is This.”
After the Christmas Eve concert and dinner at the Kolev’s home, it will be time to carol. In Bulgaria, the youth go caroling through the night. They knock on people’s doors and sing to them when the open the door. This lasts until about 4 or 5am, at which point the youth crash on the floor at the home of one of the youth’s parents.
Sunday morning, we will have church service at 10am as usual, but after the service there will be a talent show. The kids have been wanting a talent show, so it will be informal, fun, whoever wants to participate can. Dani has started teaching me a Bulgarian song on the clarinet, so I can play about 10 seconds of a traditional Bulgarian song. (Well, it might be about 5 seconds if I play it up to tempo! It goes quickly.) After the talent show, we will have a potluck, sharing leftover food from the big Christmas Eve feast. Christmas will be a wonderful time, and I look forward to celebrating with my Bulgarian friends.
Prayer Requests
Pray that language lessons continue to go well, and that we have perseverance and encouragement in our learning.
Pray that God continues to be at the center of our relationships. Pray that everyone we come into contact with see God’s love through us.
Pray that the relationships we are forming can be redemptive as we share about how we are following God’s way and living Christlike lives.
Pray that the Christmas concert on December 24th goes well.
Pray for the youth in the English Club. Pray that my relationships with them will continue to build, and that they can see God in me.
Pray that we do not get homesick during Christmas, but can celebrate Christ’s birth with our hearts overflowing from joy.
Pray that we can continue to be a blessing to those around us.
Have a wonderful season celebrating Christ’s birth! Merry Christmas, everyone!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Are You Ready to Love like Jesus Loves?
Yesterday afternoon we went to the village of Kubrat for a church service. When we were there a few weeks ago, there were about seven people (besides us – Pastor Nikolay, his wife Yanita, me, Joshua, and Katie). This week, the church was full! There were about twenty-five people, besides the five of us from Razgrad. There were only a few empty seats – one of them was in the very front.
Pastor Nikolay has been teaching the churches about discipleship, which has been the emphasis since September. Yesterday, Nikolay was telling the Kubrat church that they were not ready to disciple people! They needed to think like Jesus. They needed to love others and accept others like Jesus does. He told them they needed to be ready for anyone to come to their church. He pointed to the empty chair in the front, and quite animatedly told the church that anyone could come, perhaps a prostitute, maybe the town drunk! (The little old lady in front of me: “What?! A prostitute in our church!!?” Nikolay, “Yes! A prostitute!” He wanted to emphasis that there are no restrictions on who could become a disciple of Jesus Christ.)
Barely a few minutes after Nikolay said there, there was a knock on the door. Now, at church, no one ever knocks on the door, so this was unusual. In came a man, a staggering drunk. (This man is an alcoholic, and does not attend church. His parents used to be members of this church, but they died a few years ago.) Nikolay urged him to come sit in the front, in that empty seat right in the middle, and he did. The drunk man, Mario, was loud and slightly disruptive, but Nikolay was very gracious in how he treated him. (The lady in front of me was right behind the drunk man Mario, and would whap him on the back when he was loud – she was not very gracious.) Nikolay continued preaching after Mario got there.
At one point, Mario said something, and then everyone stopped to pray. It is neat to hear everyone praying at once. I have noticed that in some places when a leader prays, everyone else prays at the same time, so there are many voices raising to God in prayer. (I found out later that Mario had said he does not want to be a drunk anymore, and wants to stop. Everyone was praying for him.)
After he finished preaching, Nikolay sat down next to Mario. As we were singing, Nikolay put his arm around Mario’s shoulders as if he were his friend. One the service finished, we all greeted each other with “Slava na Boga” (Praise the Lord / Glory belongs to God), which is the customary greeting at church. It seemed to me that most of the people did not greet Mario at all, but left before they had to. I was able to greet everyone, and spend a minute or two talking (that is, trying to talk) with Mario. It is hard to understand a drunken man speaking in Bulgarian, but I was able to understand him asking my name. He wanted us Americans to come back to Kubrat again.
Graciousness
The first week we arrived in Razgrad, we opened bank accounts. It turned out we opened the wrong kind of account, so when we were in Sofia for Thanksgiving, Jessica took us to a bank there to change our accounts. The new accounts gave us debit cards and lowered the monthly fee. We received our debit cards last week, and were told they would be activated that evening. Because we needed money at the time, we just withdrew it in person. Saturday was the first time went to an ATM to use our debit cards; we needed to get out money so we could pay for our monthly rent and utilities, and we had no cash in our pockets at all.
Long story short, none of our debit cards worked because we tried to activate them in Razgrad and not in Sofia, where the account was opened. This morning, between the three of us, we spent over an hour and a half at the bank waiting for our debit cards to be activated. The process was not too complicated, but we just had to be patient. One of the bank ladies who spoke English was especially helpful, and even walked Katie through the process of online banking with our accounts. This lady talked with us while we were waiting, and asked us how long we were going to be in Bulgaria and what we were doing here. She was very friendly. When I was the only person left waiting, this lady came up to me and told me to call her if we had ANY problems, not even anything related with the bank - her husband is a doctor. She wants to help us because we are foreigners.
I am thankful for the way God works. It is wonderful to see God bringing people into our lives who are patient with us and are very gracious in the way they help us. Every time we have been to the bank, all the people we’ve encountered there have been gracious to us and help us even though we speak very little Bulgarian. I wanted to share this story to show how God is working here and putting people in our lives to help us. (This morning was also our first language lesson – but I will share about that another time.) God is blessing us in many ways, and we look forward to sharing God’s blessings with others.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!
Happy December, everyone! Things here in Razgrad are going well. The month of December has been good so far.
Last week Wednesday we had a great birthday party for Misho. We (Joshua, Katie, and I) enjoy spending time with the teens. We all had fun playing games and talking. (and eating yummy Bulgarian food and a delicious cake made by Andrei, Misho's dad!)It is great that we are building relationships with the youth. I look forward to seeing them everytime we get together!
Thursday we again had a good time at church and at Bible study. I had a Bulgarian Bible alongside my English(/Spanish) Bible, so I was able to compare the translations and learn some new words in Bulgarian. We also had an interesting discussion about the school system here. In some schools, kids stay in the same room for a few years, and the teacher is responsible for decorating the room. The teacher lavishes attention on the kids who have rich parents (because the parents can provide funds for decorating), and they do not focus on the good students at all if they come from a poor family. The kids from RazNaz are good students, but they do not get much attention from their teachers. One of the Psalms in our Bible study had a few lines crying out to God for mercy because of the injustice they were suffering,and that resonated with those on the Bible study.
Saturday was our first Saturday in Razgrad. (The other Saturdays we were at youth conferences.) Jessica Morris, our academic mentor, was in Razgrad for the weekend. She took me out for coffee so we could discuss how things are going for me. We had an enjoyable time. :) I went to church afterwards, and learned how to make Baklava! Andrei showed us how to make it, and then Joshua and I helped make the second batch.
Sunday was the big first-Sunday-of-the-month service. There were many people here. People from the village churches come here to Razgrad for the worship service every first Sunday of the month. It was a service full of music, including a special by Joshua and Katie! How wonderful it is to sing praises to God! I enjoy singing in Bulgarian, knowing that God hears and understands praises in all languages.
At church I also got to catch up with my friend Zhana, who helps develop churches in central Bulgaria. I worked with her when I was in Bulgaria in 2006. She invited us to come to Vidrare for a weekend to see how the church is growing there. Sunday was the Thanksgiving Sunday, too, so we had a big meal. Everyone brought food, and we had a good time fellowshipping. We also had choir practice after the meal. We stayed around talking til 5pm! We were at church a long time. It was a good day. :)
Sunday evening Pastor Nikolay came to our apartment for a meeting. We discussed our practicums, and also got some insights on Bulgarian culture. Nikolay also invited us to his home to celebrate Christmas with his family! We are excited about that. :)
Monday is our day of rest. It is important for us to have a day of rest; Sundays we are busy with ministry the whole day, so Monday is when we rest. This Monday evening I went to an English club for high schoolers led by Semah, a Peace Corps volunteer. She is a Christian. I enjoyed spending time with the teens practicing English. We worked on tongue twisters. :) Galyia, a girl from RazNaz, had invited me. I got to talk with Semah as she walked with me back to my home. She will be a helpful resource for learning more about the culture here.
Tonight we had singing practice at church for a song the youth are doing for the Christmas Eve service.
Last week Wednesday we had a great birthday party for Misho. We (Joshua, Katie, and I) enjoy spending time with the teens. We all had fun playing games and talking. (and eating yummy Bulgarian food and a delicious cake made by Andrei, Misho's dad!)It is great that we are building relationships with the youth. I look forward to seeing them everytime we get together!
Thursday we again had a good time at church and at Bible study. I had a Bulgarian Bible alongside my English(/Spanish) Bible, so I was able to compare the translations and learn some new words in Bulgarian. We also had an interesting discussion about the school system here. In some schools, kids stay in the same room for a few years, and the teacher is responsible for decorating the room. The teacher lavishes attention on the kids who have rich parents (because the parents can provide funds for decorating), and they do not focus on the good students at all if they come from a poor family. The kids from RazNaz are good students, but they do not get much attention from their teachers. One of the Psalms in our Bible study had a few lines crying out to God for mercy because of the injustice they were suffering,and that resonated with those on the Bible study.
Saturday was our first Saturday in Razgrad. (The other Saturdays we were at youth conferences.) Jessica Morris, our academic mentor, was in Razgrad for the weekend. She took me out for coffee so we could discuss how things are going for me. We had an enjoyable time. :) I went to church afterwards, and learned how to make Baklava! Andrei showed us how to make it, and then Joshua and I helped make the second batch.
Sunday was the big first-Sunday-of-the-month service. There were many people here. People from the village churches come here to Razgrad for the worship service every first Sunday of the month. It was a service full of music, including a special by Joshua and Katie! How wonderful it is to sing praises to God! I enjoy singing in Bulgarian, knowing that God hears and understands praises in all languages.
At church I also got to catch up with my friend Zhana, who helps develop churches in central Bulgaria. I worked with her when I was in Bulgaria in 2006. She invited us to come to Vidrare for a weekend to see how the church is growing there. Sunday was the Thanksgiving Sunday, too, so we had a big meal. Everyone brought food, and we had a good time fellowshipping. We also had choir practice after the meal. We stayed around talking til 5pm! We were at church a long time. It was a good day. :)
Sunday evening Pastor Nikolay came to our apartment for a meeting. We discussed our practicums, and also got some insights on Bulgarian culture. Nikolay also invited us to his home to celebrate Christmas with his family! We are excited about that. :)
Monday is our day of rest. It is important for us to have a day of rest; Sundays we are busy with ministry the whole day, so Monday is when we rest. This Monday evening I went to an English club for high schoolers led by Semah, a Peace Corps volunteer. She is a Christian. I enjoyed spending time with the teens practicing English. We worked on tongue twisters. :) Galyia, a girl from RazNaz, had invited me. I got to talk with Semah as she walked with me back to my home. She will be a helpful resource for learning more about the culture here.
Yesterday was Saint Nicholas Day! It is a “Name Day” here in Bulgaria, as Nicholas is a common name here. When people join the Orthodox Church, they are given the name of a saint. Also, the Orthodox church here in Razgrad is named after St. Nicholas. Joshua, Katie, and I went to the Orthodox church to observe what was happening. The other times we have been past the Orthodox church, there was no activity. Yesterday, however, the place was swarming with people. Many people came by to light a candle and pray for people they know that have the name Nicholas, or to pray for the church or something. There was lots of activity there. One thing I found unusual in the church was an ornamented and lit Christmas tree, complete with blinking lights! I thought it looked out of place in the Orthodox church. It seemed too modern, too flashy, for the quiet solemnest of the Orthodox church.
After stopping by the Orthodox church, we enjoyed a good afternoon at our church. Every Tuesday and Thursday, we are at church for about four hours just so people can stop by if they like. We enjoy the conversations we have with whoever happens to be there. A man named Abril came by, and we talked with him for a while about cultural differences, both American (he watches American movies), and Bulgarian. It is interesting all that I can learn if I take the time to listen!
One thing Jessica helped us work out when she was here was language lessons. Starting next week, we will have language lessons for an hour and a half every Monday and Thursday morning. Elena, a lady from the church, is a English teacher, and she will be our Bulgarian teacher. Last night we went to her home to make sure we know how to get there. Both Elena and her husband, Swilen, speak good English. At their home, Elena showed us a Bible written in Hebrew and Russian, and that started an interesting conversation on how Bulgarians know Russian. I am glad I can learn about the history of Bulgarian by Bulgarians telling it to me, it makes it much more real that way instead of just learning it from a textbook.
This evening when we were walking to church there were many people gathered in the city center, and there were a few different groups who sang or danced, and even an appearance by Santa Claus! (Or Grandfather Winter, as he is called here.) The celebration was for the lighting of the huge Christmas tree. On the way home from church, we got to see the Christmas tree lit up! It sure is beautiful. There are many decorations; lights in trees, stars, bells, candles, snowmen, and angels. Christmas is coming! The world is waiting in eager anticipation of Christ’s birth.
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