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.

Kansas City, and NTS!

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??

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

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