An Undivided Heart

God is Working Here!

2012-02-07T14:37:00.000+02:00

Shoveling Snow at Church

It has been a cold, busy last two weeks! The last weekend in January was a big Gospel concert we’d been planning for a while, and it was a great success. We have had very cold temperatures recently, with lots of snow, more snow, ice, even more snow, and oh, did I mention we’ve had snow? ;)

English Club

Two weeks ago for English Club we learned about teamwork. It has been hard starting up English Club again after Christmas break; hardly any teens have come. One reason for this is that a large number of the teens in this English Club are part of a dance group that will be participating in “Bulgaria’s Got Talent” in April. They were good enough to move up to the next level, and thus they have practice every week… on Monday nights. However, there are some teens that still come, teens that are not in the dance group. This particular night there were five girls, Semah (the leader), and I. We talked about the definition of some words related to teamwork, and then we did some activities. The first activity related to trust. We had to partner up, sit on the ground, then stand up without using our hands or arms. The next activity was building a tall, freestanding tower out of straws. My team won, because the other team used tape to hold theirs to the ground, which was not allowed. It was fun to get to interact with the teens and use teamwork.

Bible Quizzing

Bible Study that week consisted of Galyia, Joanna, and I meeting together at church. We met at church because we were expecting guests to arrive at our home that evening, but they never showed up. Joshua had quite an adventure going to Bucharest with Pastor Nikolay to pick up our two guests, Brian and Jacek. It was dangerous, scary, and freezing cold, but God was with them. (Check out Joshua’s blog at: http://haunbulgarianexperience.blogspot.com/2012/01/two-americans-man-from-poland-and.html). Anyway, the girls and I had a good Bible study, going over John chapter 6. We talked about the Lord’s Supper, and then we discussed what it meant for Jesus to remain in Jesus, and Jesus to remain in us (see John 6:53-56 for the particular verses we were discussing). We had a good conversation, and learned more about what it means to live for God and allow God to live in us.

Gospel Music Workshop

On the last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of January we were supposed to have Gospel Music Workshops, but due to the terrible snowy conditions between Bucharest and Razgrad, Brian and Jacek (and Pastor Nikolay and Joshua) did not make it to Razgrad until Thursday night, instead of Wednesday evening. Brian is originally from the States, but has lived in Poland for the past few years, leading Gospel Music workshops. Jacek, a talented musician, is from Poland and is Brian’s partner. Together they led Gospel Music Workshops and taught a group of people eight different Gospel songs. We ended up having workshops from 4:30-8:30pm Friday and 1-6m Saturday. We also had a rehearsal Sunday afternoon before the concert.

Jacek, Debbie, and Brian

Many people came to the workshops! There were about seventy people or so, many of them were not from RazNaz (Razgrad Church of the Nazarene). It was great that so many people came. The church led and organized this event, but worked in conjunction with the Razgrad Municipality, so we met in the Razgrad Philharmonic Hall. During the workshops, Brian would teach everyone a song, and then talk to us about the meaning of the song, and what the song is saying. For each song, he described how it worshiped God. He talked about how the Spirit of God must be in us in order for us to live for God, worship God, and sing Gospel music (otherwise the Gospel music is just fake). Brian did a good job presenting the Gospel in an exciting, real way. One could tell he lived what he was sharing. He was passionate about living for God, and that passion spilled over onto the people who came to the workshops.

Friends, New and Old

Debbie and Zhivka

Several girls that I knew from English Club came to the Gospel Music workshops, and I was excited to see them. My friend Zhivka (the one I went to coffee with in December) and I sat beside each other during the workshops, so we got to talk with each other. She is Orthodox, but is not a practicing Orthodox. (Although her dad is, or was, an Orthodox priest, she lives with her grandma now and it is too far or too difficult to go to an Orthodox church on Sundays.) I am glad she came to the Gospel Music Workshops, because God was speaking to her and touching her life. She shared with me one day that she was tearing up as Brian was talking about heaven, and describing everyone worshipping God together. I was able to talk with her and encourage her to live for God.

The other girls from English Club sang in a different section than me, but I got to see them during breaks each day. They introduced me to some of their friends, so I made new friends. One girl I met had studied in South Carolina a few different summers, and had recently graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Economics. She has a passion for photography, and had brought her camera to take pictures of the concert Sunday. It was great to meet new friends and make connections, sharing with other people about what I’m passionate about. Whenever we sang, I sang to God and worshipped God. I want others to see that I am living for God, that my life belongs to God, and that I love God.

Gospel Music Concert

RazNaz Choir

Many people came to the Gospel Music concert that Sunday. The concert was from 5-7pm, held in the Philharmonic Hall. Other choirs performed, too, because this concert was in conjunction with the Razgrad Municipality. In addition to the Gospel Music Choir, there was a woman’s choir, a classical choir, a youth choir, a church choir (our’s - RazNaz). For the church choir, we sang three songs. One was in English and two were in Bulgarian. Joshua, Katie, and I had a special part in the English one. One of the songs in Bulgarian was very fast, but I was able to sing most of it. My Bulgarian language skills are coming along well. The Gospel Music Choir contained people from all of the other choirs, with around seventy (or more) people in all. The Philharmonic Hall was filled with people who came for the concert. Less than one third of the people there were from church, so many people were there to here the Gospel message.

One of the other Choirs

In between songs for the Gospel Music, Brian shared the Gospel. Many people, both in the audience and in the choir, were crying. God was moving! A few people were grumpy that the Gospel was being shared, but those were former Communist leaders. God can still be working in their heart, even if they are not accepting of the Gospel at this moment. It was a great evening. The audience did not just sit there and watch during the Gospel Music, but they stood to their feet, clapped their hands, and sang along on the chorus for some of the songs. The whole concert went well, and the Razgrad Municipality invited Brian and Jacek back again.

Me all bundled up

Snow, Snow, Snow!

It has snowed just about every day since January 25th. It has been very cold here. This Saturday, the temperature was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit! (That is warmer than the previous two week’s temperatures combined.) However, everything that melted during the day froze overnight, and all the streets and sidewalks were covered in ice. It wasn’t safe to drive, for everything is ice! I had quite an adventurous walk getting to church, but I did not fall even once. :-) I slid several times, and came close to falling a few times, but made it all the way to church and back without falling. Since then, it has snowed even more. I like the look of the snow, it is very pretty. However, it makes things cold. Also, when it snows, my internet hardly works. This presents a problem, for I have an online class that just started this week. Please pray that I will be able to access the internet when I need to. Please pray that we continue to stay warm! My teammate Joshua may be getting pneumonia, so please pray for him.

Icicles on the Door into the Churchyard

Fun with Teens

Last night we went to church to hang out with some teens. For highschool here, half of the teens have morning classes (8am – 1:30 pm), and half have afternoon classes (3pm – 7:20 pm). Halfway through the school year they switch. Today is the first day of the new schedule, and yesterday was no school. So, some teens got together and invited us for a fun night of games. We played several fun games, and enjoyed ourselves. The girls team totally dominated the boys team. ;) We all had fun! I look forward to Wednesday, when we will all gather again for youth Bible study.

May God bless each of you! Thank you for your prayers and your support.

It's great to have friends!

2012-01-21T09:24:00.002+02:00

This week I have really enjoyed the time I've gotten to spend with friends. God has blessed me through friends here. It's wonderful to see people I know, and have them happy to see me. I enjoy brightening up peoples' days. I enjoy spending time with people and getting to know them more. This week I have been able to spend time with friends, and I have been blessed.

Debbie and Elli

On Wednesday, I spent time with my friend Elli. We grabbed a bit to eat as we walked around the city. We ended up walking to a nice park, and saw the little "zoo" Razgrad has. I hadn't known of it before, and I was surprised to see those animals there! There was a lion, a bunny, a monkey, some llamas, and some gazelle, among other things. It was nice to spend time with Ellie, walking and talking together.

Simon, Lili, and Debbie
at choir practice

Thursday afternoon I was at church, and Thursday evening was Bible study. Bible study is always a good time of prayer and Scripture reading, and I get to see people from church and spend time with them. This week, there was choir practice after Bible study. So, many people who do not come to Bible study came for choir practice, so I got to see many people from church! It is fun to sit next to my Bulgarian friends and sing in Bulgarian with them. I know enough Bulgarian that I can chat with them in between songs, and enjoy our time together. Sometimes I share choir folders with the person next to me. I usually sit next to Yanca, the lady who taught us to make banitsa, and chat with her. Our conversation is a mixture of Italian (Yanca), Spanish (me), and Bulgarian (both of us), depending on what we are trying to say. It is fun to laugh together. I enjoy the fellowship of being together with other believers, lifting our voices in praises to God together.

Last night we had Bible Study for Bible Quizzing. We had changed the day of meeting for Bible study this week because some of the youth couldn't make it on Wednesday. On Friday, we had four teens show up. One was missing from last week, but someone who had not come last week came this time. We had a good discussion about healing, salvation, and working alongside of God as we studied John chapters 2-5. Some of the teens were asking questions, digging deeper into it, trying to learn more about what it means to believe in Christ Jesus and live as a Christian. It was a good Bible study.

Near the end, after we'd been reading a lot, some of the teens didn't feel like reading anymore. So, they started to take turns, going around the room and each person reading one word. They soon realized that didn't work well at all, no one could understand anything! They switched to each person reading one verse, and going around the room that way. I have a New Testament in Bulgarian, so I took turns reading a verse in Bulgarian, as well. Sometimes I fumbled a bit, or read slowly trying to pronounce long words, but I think the teens were impressed that I was able to read in Bulgarian. When I first read a verse, a couple of the teens were laughing, they were surprised I could read in Bulgarian! We all had a good time together. I look forward to seeing what God will teach us in Bible study next week!

Learning more about this area

2012-01-18T15:33:00.000+02:00

Here are some pictures of where I live.

Our apartment is on
the top floor of this building.

From the front balcony,
looking to the right

A street in Orel.

On Saturday, I went for a walk around Razgrad. I walked up and around Orel, the part of Razgrad behind where I live. The only time I had walked around this part of Razgrad was while caroling through the night on Christmas Eve. It was good to walk around in the daytime and get more perspective on this area. Orel is a gypsy area.


Apartment blocks in Orel.

Farther back, there are also lots of Communist-era apartment blocks. The apartment blocks are grey, drab, and unappealing. However, in the midst of some apartment blocks, there are brightly colored playgrounds, cheering up the look of the neighborhood.

In front of the Post Office

I walked around Orel for about an hour before going to the city center for a quick lunch, then joined with Joshua and Katie and walked around for another hour. It was a nice walk around the city. I enjoyed the sunny weather and the opportunity to explore Razgrad more.

Sunday was a good day at church. After the service finished, I enjoyed talking with people. We also had choir practice, and sang a song in English (transliterate into Bulgarian), and a song in Bulgarian. I am getting better and better at reading Bulgarian, although it can still be a challenge to read and sing unfamiliar songs when they are fast.

Next week, an American man is coming from Poland, where he currently lives, to come do a gospel music workshop and concert here. There will be rehearsals and workshops Wednesday through Saturday, and a big concert in the afternoon of Sunday, January 29th. Other choirs and music groups (like the philharmonic orchestra) will take part in the concert as well, but the focus will be on the gospel music and presenting the gospel message through that. Pray that it all goes well.

The Anniversary couple and Debbie.
Ossenets, Bulgaria

Sunday afternoon / evening we went to the village of Ossenets for the church service there. Every time we have been to Ossenets there has been food; sometimes it has been snacks like banitsa or muffins, twice it has been a full meal, and this time it was some sweets (like cakes), and some salty food (like banitsa, popcorn, rolls filled with cheese, and peanuts). There is always an abundance of food, it seems They are very hospitable there! It is a good way to fellowship; sharing food together and talking.

Me and the boy at Ossenets

Last week the couple who’s home we meet in celebrated their 50th anniversary! So, we sang a few extra songs especially for them, and I was asked to pray for them and bless them. We had a wonderful evening. We spent several hours there, talking, singing hymns, eating, singing some more, eating more, and then singing again. I very much enjoy spending time in Ossenets. There are a couple kids there, and they are cute and fun to talk with.

Petya, the little girl at Ossenets

Monday evening was English Club, but again (the second week in a row), the building where we meet was locked. Last week we went to a coffee shop to talk, but this week Semah (a Peace Corps volunteer from Oklahoma, and the leader of the English Club), invited us to her apartment. Three Bulgarian girls, Semah, and I went to her apartment, and we talked, played games, and had refreshments. I am enjoying spending time with these girls and getting to know them more. I look forward to seeing them each week. Galiya, a girl from church, is the one who invited me to English Club back in November. I have been enjoying getting to know her more and see her several times a week.

Debbie and Galiya

Last night, Tuesday, was Bible Study for this week, but only two people came. Galiya and Joanna were there, but the boys were unable to come. The girls did not want the boys to miss out, so we decided to change Bible Study to Friday of this week. Last night, we just had a short lesson (about ten minutes long) on John, and talked a bit about the competition part of Bible Quizzing. Mostly, however, we just sat around, talked, and shared stories. It was a good time with friends. I am blessed to be here and be a part of these girls’ lives. God is so good.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-12T21:42:00.000+02:00

New Year celebration in Razgrad.
Traditional Bulgarian instruments on balcony,
people dancing below.

It's 2012, and this is my first post of the year! (Sorry I didn't write one last week.) We had fun bringing in the new year in the city center.

Many fireworks went off at midnight, and then people started dancing! There are many traditional dances here in Bulgaria, many of them involve lines. I participated, holding the hands of strangers, and followed their example as I stepped as they did. Left foot kick out, step back. Right foot out, step to the side. It was a line that moved to the right, so I just had to follow the person to my right, and all was good! It was fun, and cold, and exciting. I enjoyed listening to the traditional Bulgarian instruments play. I only joined for the simple dances, but stood back and watched as the instruments took up a melody for a more complicated step. (My boyfriend also called me a few minutes after midnight to wish me happy new year - what a wonderful surprise!!!) It has snowed on New Year's Eve, so there was snow all over the ground, which made it slippery for all the people dancing. However, it provided plenty of ammunition for a spontaneous snowball fight with people on the other side of the huge Christmas tree. :)

First snowman of the year!

Our Sunday morning church service was good, but less people than usual, because so many people stayed up late. We had fun after the church service, building a snowman with some of the kids. I was busy eating banitsa and chatting with people after church, so I only got to help with the last bit of the snowman building.

Joshua, Katie, and Debbie
at the Stone Forest

Monday after New Year's Day we took a trip to Varna. We went to visit the pastor of the church there and to see how the church was going. It was enjoyable to sit and talk with him and his wife, and learn about the Varna church. Varna is about a two or three hour drive from Razgrad, so we made a day of it and had some fun. We went to a natural wonder called the Stone Forest. There were rock pillars that stood up like tree trunks, it was amazing to see! It became like that during the Great Flood, Pastor Nikolay told us. It was fun to explore that and learn a bit more about Bulgaria.

Eating fish at the Black Sea

Later that day, we went ice skating with some friends (to help celebrate Joshua and Katie's first anniversary), and then ate some fish while sitting at the beach of the Black Sea. The sunset was beautiful! We did other things, too, like go to the site of one of the last battles of the last Crusade. That was interesting to learn some more history. After the long drive back to Razgrad, we went to a friend's home to celebrate his birthday by sharing a bit of cake. It is great to be able to celebrate special moments with friends.

My friend Joanna and me ice skating

On Wednesday last week, we went to the home of a baba (grandma) in the church, and all the youth got together to watch a movie. We had fun talking and laughing together.

On Friday, we had a meeting with the Municipality to talk about the concert we will have the end of January. A man from Poland is coming here to lead a Gospel music workshop and concert. Friday evening, we had a nice dinner with the pastors from Razgrad and surrounding villages. The daughter of one of the pastors came, and I got to talk with her for a bit about different Bulgarian foods. One of the pastors spoke a bit of Spanish, and he enjoyed talking to me in Spanish. One time, I didn't even notice he spoke to me in Spanish, I just automatically replied in Spanish! It was funny. :)

On Sunday we had a good church service, and then in the afternoon we went to the village of Kubrat (about a 45 min. drive from Razgrad), where we had a church service. I got several kisses on the cheeks from old ladies who wished me a blessed, happy new year. A kiss on each cheek is a common greeting among friends here in Bulgaria, and is also a common thing for babas to do. At least, a few babas kiss my cheek when I say hello to them.

This week has been good so far. On Tuesday, Pastor Nikolay and Yanita came over for dinner. Nasko, a man from church, had been over fixing a broken tile in our roof, so he stayed for dinner. After dinner, Joshua interviewed Pastor Nikolay for a paper, and we learned a lot listening to him talk about the history of the Razgrad Church of the Nazarene.

Last night, Wednesday, was the first day of the Bible Study for the youth Bible Quizzing. I am leading it. Three teens showed up, which was good. I did not know how many to expect! I anticipated anywhere between one and fifteen. However, the three who came were excited about studying the Bible, so it went well. One other boy who has expressed interest in joining was unable to come because he had no transportation. Pray that a way will open up for him to be able to come.

In just a few minutes, Bible study at church will start. We are currently going through the book of Proverbs. It is good to listen and learn here. Even though I cannot speak Bulgarian very well, I can understand it enough to tell what is going on. I am still able to pray for people, even if it's in English and not Bulgarian. Soon enough I will be able to participate in prayers in Bulgarian.

Happy 2012 everyone! Thank you for your prayers and support.

New Year's Eve is here! It's been a busy week

2011-12-31T14:40:00.000+02:00

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.)

Christmas in Bulgaria

2011-12-30T16:36:00.000+02:00

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.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T16:36:00.000+02:00

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

New experiences, and fun with friends - update from the past week

2011-12-21T22:22:00.000+02:00

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!

Are You Ready to Love like Jesus Loves?

2011-12-12T14:42:00.000+02:00

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.

This event at church yesterday made me think – am I loving like Jesus loves? I want to be a friend to anyone and everyone. God loves everyone, and God gives me love enough to share with everyone I meet. Just because someone reeks of alcohol does not mean that person does not deserve love. (This whole episode also amazed me – God sure knows how to drive a point home! Nikolay, when he began preaching, had no idea a drunk man was going to walk into the church.) I want to be open to hear what God has to teach me. Sometimes God uses in-your-face examples, like teaching the Kubrat church that they need to be ready for anyone to come into their church. Other times, God speaks in more subtle ways. I want to always be listening to God. I want to love like Jesus loves.

Graciousness

2011-12-12T14:39:00.001+02:00

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.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

2011-12-07T19:49:00.000+02:00

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.

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.

Tonight we had singing practice at church for a song the youth are doing for the Christmas Eve service.

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.

Last November Update

2011-11-30T17:51:00.000+02:00

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

2011-11-21T11:54:00.000+02:00

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

2011-11-17T23:07:00.000+02:00

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

2011-11-17T23:01:00.001+02:00

(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

2011-11-16T22:34:00.000+02:00

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

2011-11-15T09:16:00.000+02:00

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

2011-11-10T07:05:00.000+02:00

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

2011-11-05T20:03:00.000+02:00

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.

God's Presence goes with me

2011-10-31T02:22:00.000+02:00

Two weeks ago our Sunday School lesson was about Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt and to the Promised Land. Moses recognized his dependence on God and his need to be in God's presence. Here is the Scripture passage we looked at, from Exodus 33:12-19

12 Moses said to the LORD, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

14 The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

17 And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

19 And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

God spoke to me while I was reading this, and reminded me I don't have to go anywhere without God's presence, because God has promised to go with me. I don't want to go anywhere without being in God's presence. I desire to follow God always, no matter how hard the journey is. God not only promises God's presence, God also promises rest. I can trust God to guide me always. I may not always feel like a competent leader, but God is the One who works through me. I can call on God any time and trust God to be here with me to help me and guide me. I desire to continually learn God's ways and walk in God's presence. I don't want to go anywhere without God with me.

You do not even know what will happen tomorrow.

2011-10-03T23:06:00.000+03:00

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
James 4:13-15

As I was thinking about my visa this morning, God reminded me of this passage in Scripture. I don't know if I will get my visa in time for my flight Wednesday. I don't know if I'll be able to go the Eurasia Regional Conference next week. I don't know when I will get to Bulgaria. I don't know how long I will stay in Bulgaria! God reminded me that God knows everything, and I don't have to worry. If it is the Lord's will, I will go to Bulgaria in a few days. If it is the Lord's will, I will go to Bulgaria in a couple weeks. God asks me to trust, even when (especially when) I don't know what will happen. No one knows how long their life will last, no one knows what will happen to them. The Lord asks us to put our trust in God and not in ourselves. God will take care of us!!

Engage Magazine: Missionary Profile

2011-09-28T21:20:00.000+03:00

This week the online Engage Magazine is featuring me in the missionary profile! Click this link to read the article about me: http://engagemagazine.com/Magazine-Content/Articles/September-2011/Missionary-Profile--Debbie-Holston.aspx

Have a wonderful day, and God bless you!

Thank you for keeping me in your prayers. :-)

Third time's the charm?

2011-09-28T21:16:00.000+03:00

I am not in Bulgaria right now. When my visa did not come for my flight the beginning of September, I changed my departure date to September 27. Today is September 28, and my visa still has not come. I had to change my departure date yet again, so now I will be flying out a week from today, and arriving in Bulgaria on October 6. Pray I get my visa in time for my flight!! It costs a couple hundred dollars each time I have to change my flight. God knows my needs, and God will take care of me. If you would like to donate financially to my ministry, go here: http://web.nazarene.org/goto/Holston.365M_Bulgaria

Soon I will make it to Bulgaria, all in God's timing!!

Rest, and blessings in disguise

2011-09-12T03:32:00.000+03:00

The past week or so has been quite different from how I thought it was going to be.... I thought I would finish two weeks of NTS modules, have a day and a half for last-minute preparations, and then fly to Bulgaria on September 4. However, plans changed.
My visa did not arrive. Actually, it is still now even in processing. I can't go to Bulgaria until I have my visa. I changed my departure date for September 27th, and I should have my visa by then.

In the meantime, I rest. I sleep in, I read, I pray. I enjoy the time God has given me. I am slowly but surely getting better. I was sick during modules, and so, after modules finished, I came home, back to green Washington, to rest here until flying to Bulgaria, instead of waiting in Kansas City. It is wonderful to spend a few more weeks with my family. I've enjoyed this time of rest. I've been able to read up more on Bulgaria and attempt to learn a few words. I look forward to Bulgarians helping me pronounce their language - it'll be easier trying to learn pronounciation from a book! : )

Keep praying for me. Pray for full health, and for speedy processing of my visa so I can go to Bulgaria.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6-7

Kansas City, and NTS!

2011-08-23T22:18:00.000+03:00

Pre-course module homework has been finished, bags have been packed, and tearful goodbyes have been said to family and friends in Washington. After a 30ish hour roadtrip, I have reached Kansas City. Cross-cultural orientation, 365M orientation, and a time of fellowship and sharing with other 365M students have been some of the activities of this weekend. I am getting quite excited to go to Bulgaria soon!!

Classes have started, and I am looking forward to all I get to learn these next two weeks. These days will be packed full of information; I have class for about 8 hours every day! So much to learn. =D

Please keep me in your prayers. Here are a few specific prayer requests:

health
visa processing to go quickly and smoothly so that I receive my visa before my September 4th departure date
generous people who want to join with me in financial support of my ministry
strength during these two weeks of intensive course modules
rest

Feel free to leave me any comments below. I like to hear from people : )

May you all have a wonderful day and feel the love of God today!

Mid-July already??

2011-07-18T07:36:00.000+03:00

It's gonna take a while before I get used to blogging... :) so be patient with me please!

I'll be home with my family for exactly one month more until I leave for Kansas City.
During this next month, I have to get my visa and buy plane tickets for Bulgaria, read 1,500+ pages for grad school homework/studying, write papers, teach 45 hours of swim lessons, lifeguard for about the same amount, spend time with family and friends, pack for Bulgaria, and raise a few more thousand dollars (I need at least half the total amount before I leave). At first glance, it seems like a lot to do in a month. However, God promises to be with me all the time and take care of me. Remember Matthew 6:34? "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." I just need to live each day at a time, trusting God through it all. It's not an easy lesson to learn, and God has to remind me every day to trust in God and not in myself. It's great how has God used different people to encourage me and remind me of this.

On a different note, my boyfriend is in Peru right now! He's on a short-term missions trip helping construct a church as part of his senior engineering project at NNU. I miss him, but I'm glad he's serving God with his gifts. : )

As always, feel free to drop me a note to encourage me or just to say hi! :)

Next step of my journey: 365M Bulgaria

2011-06-26T04:45:00.000+03:00

Starting in September, I will be living in Bulgaria for nine months as a seminary student, a missionary, and a servant of God. I'll be a student with Nazarene Theological Seminary's 365M program, which places students in cross-cultural settings with mentors as they learn from experience how to minister cross-culturally. As such, I'll also be a volunteer missionary with Church of the Nazarene's Mission Corps during my nine months in Bulgaria. I'm excited to see how God will continue to lead me as I keep following God.

I'm looking for people who will partner with me as I serve God. Pray for me, encourage me, and support me financially.

check out my website!

web.nazarene.org/goto/Holston.365M_Bulgaria

A bit about me

2011-06-26T04:41:00.000+03:00

"Teach me your way, O LORD,
   and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
   that I may fear your name.
I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart;
   I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your love toward me."
Psalm 86:11-13a

I'm starting this blog so people can see how God is working in and through my life as I live for God. God's called me to cross-cultural ministry, and I am following God and trusting God to lead me the whole way. It's not easy, but God promises to strengthen us. Psalm 86 is a prayer of mine as I'm following God.