The First Few Days

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

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

Getting Settled

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

I made it safely

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

Prayer Card

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

One week until I'm in Bulgaria

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

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

God's Presence goes with me

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.

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!!