Bonus Entry!

I just saw this article about some not so well known facts about Bulgaria! I wanted to pass it along to give you more of an idea about this small, but impressive country. :)

http://truenomads.com/2013/11/facts-about-bulgaria/

Ever Changing Roles

I have been meaning to write an update for quite a while now, but upon reflection, it has only been about a month and a half since I’ve been back, so I guess this isn’t as late as it feels! Here are some of the highlights! 

SCA

When I got back to Bulgaria, I only had about 3 days to get readjusted and over jet lag before immediately starting back at school. SCA (Sofia Christian Academy) is very different from my first year there! I am the only teacher of six students from four families of various Mission groups. Fortunately, all of the students are really good kids who want to please. The parents have also been very supportive and understanding, and for this I’m truly grateful.

One room school housing it!

It has been a big adjustment now being the person in charge of everything for the whole school day. Thankfully, I’ve had some help at lunch to give me a short break. Two days a week parents come in and the other two days, one of our interns has been coming and playing games with the kids.

Overall, school has been great, but at the time exhausting.

The students dressed up for halloween

Bulgarian Language Learning

This year I have tried to put more focus on language learning. I had a very rough time my first couple of weeks as I was putting unrealistic pressure on myself to be farther along with the language since it has been two years now. But, I am beginning to gain a more realistic view and expectations, thought I continue to bounce back and forth between feeling like I’ve learned so much and feeling like I know nothing.

Two weeks ago, I finally started back up with my formal language lessons with the same teacher I’ve had the past two years. She is a Bulgarian language professor at one of the local universities. At our first lesson, she expressed she was concerned that I would have forgotten everything after 3 months without lessons, but instead, she said I have continued to improve! This of course is largely due to Angel having enormous amounts of patience with me and trying to teach me so much!

In addition, a huge answer to prayer is that I finally found a language helper! One of our former Bulgarian interns, Teah, and I have been meeting once a week for two hours. She helps me by practicing speaking, teaching me new vocabulary, practicing writing from dictations, and reading from the Bible for pronunciation and comprehension.

Me with my Language helper, Teah

English Clubs

This year, my main focus is obviously with the school. However, since Lydia my teammate in charge of our ESL ministries, is in the States, I have been helping a small amount as a resource to the interns currently running the clubs. I also was able to attend the halloween party where we had a record number of attendees with over 50 people from the English Clubs as well as some of our friends from our church! 

English club friends at the Halloween party

The ESL ministry is continuing strongly with our two clubs, now on two different nights. Our interns have really stepped up with all the planning involved and also they have been able to branch out. Some are working with an outreach to gypsy children where they help teach the children some simple English. In addition, due to an influx of refugees in Bulgaria, they have begun research to see how our church might be able to become involved in helping these people, including holding Bulgarian lessons.

Overall, life has been very different this year, as it has been each year. I am living in a new apartment in a different part of town, but I will only be here until sometime in January when my roommate goes back to the states to transition from a short termer to a career missionary. There are a few different options for what I might do at this time, but I’m unsure exactly what will happen. 

Fall colors with my apartment building

I'm really excited to see what this school year will hold and to see what God has in store! :)

Blessings!

English Camp and The Well

So, I'm beginning this update as I sit in a plane getting ready to depart from Sofia. I had intended on sending out this update before I departed, but with packing to move my things to a different apartment for when I return,  cleaning the old apartment, and packing for the States, it was a rather busy week after English Camp. So without further ado:

English Camp

It was a huge blessing being able to actually attend the camp this year. I must say that even with all the detailed preparations we made, I don't think anything could have prepared me for the spiritual warfare we all faced. The second night in particular was very difficult for many of us leading the camp. We all felt very tired and worn out at the beginning of the week! We all felt very under attack. I was really struggling with feelings of not wanting to be there, but fortunately, that night, I was able to attend a prayer time which Katherine and Lydia had set up for anyone who wanted to pray together. It was an amazing time where many of us were able to pray for the week, for the people attending the camp, and for each other. I know this helped me to feel refreshed and reenergized for the week.

English class

The basic schedule of the camp was an English lesson in the morning, followed by a reading comprehension using the Bible. We would break for lunch and then the afternoon was comprised of several electives to choose from (Volleyball, CPR, RICE, personality types, interviews, and time management). Then there was always some sort of team activity - volleyball tournament, dodgeball, etc.  After dinner, we then had the Theme which was a time where a speaker would expand upon the Bible passage we read earlier in the day, and usually included someone giving their testimony as it related to the passage. The amazing part was that nearly every camper attended all of the these talks even though they weren't required. Each night we broke into smaller groups to discuss some questions posed by the speaker. There was then an evening activity - movie night, game night, and, my personal favorite, a dance night where we taught them swing dancing and they taught us some traditional Bulgarian dances.

The Yellow Team!

One of the most amazing parts of the week for me was actually the bus ride back to Sofia. That morning, one of my teammates shared about the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) and how that story has resonated with his life. On the ride home, I sat with my roommate for the week, a friend of mine from English club with whom I've been meeting for about a year and a half. After hearing so many testimonies during the week, she asked me if I could share with her my story. God completely opened the door for me to be able to share how the story of the Prodigal son reflects my own family, but that even through the difficult times, God brought my family through it. Earlier in the week, I had stayed up talking with her and a couple of other Americans until 1:30 am discussing all kinds of things from creation to Abraham willing to sacrifice his son to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross to heaven and hell. Please pray for her as she has expressed interest in reading the Bible, but feels she doesn't have the time.

My friend and me

God really worked through this week as many of the campers were asking amazing questions about Christ and our relationship with God.

The whole camp

The Well

As I've mentioned, each summer our team hosts an internship for Americans and Bulgarians to gain insight into missions and to learn about Bulgarian culture. This year, the interns ranged from ages 18-25, two Bulgarians, six Americans, three guys and five girls. Four of them just returned to the States a few days before me to continue their studies in University. Please pray for them as they readjust to their lives back at college and as they experience any reverse culture shock. Two of the young ladies are extending their time in Bulgaria through next May. Please pray for them as they adjust from a very planned schedule to one with more freedom which they are responsible for maintaining.

We really had a great group of interns this year, and I'm thankful that I was able to spend more time with them and get to know them. They were truly a blessing to me in so many ways!

The Interns on the ferry in Istanbul

Easter and MTW Area Retreat

These past couple of months have been very busy! This year, the Orthodox Easter was over a month later than when you all celebrated in the States.  Since most people here spend Easter (Великден – literally translated Great Day) with their families back in their villages, we decided to hold our English Club Easter Party halfway between the two Easters so we could share what some American traditions are and they could share with us the Bulgarian traditions. We had some Easter candy from the States which we hid around the Cultural Center for them to find, and one of our interns even made kozunak, a traditional Easter bread which takes hours to make. 

We also copied excerpts from Matthew and Luke that told the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. These were in English and Bulgarian to make sure that everyone, no matter how little English they spoke, would understand the story. After reading, we had some questions that led to really good discussions about what forgiveness costs.

 

For Easter, since most people spend the day with family, we had just a few friends over for lunch to celebrate.

In April, MTW had a retreat in Spain for all the missionaries based in Europe. During the retreat, there was teaching by Paul Kooistra, the head of MTW, seminars for times of learning and networking to hear from other teams, community groups for times of fellowship, and worship where we could sing in our heart language. This last part was something I hadn’t even realized just how much I missed. 

While at the retreat, we did get to go and visit Tavira, Portugal, which was a small touristy town that was very beautiful.

And we also were able to stop in Sevilla, Spain to see some of the sights.

Lessons in Trust

God has definitely been teaching me some hard lessons of late. Last month, a lot was going on back home that was really beyond my control, even if I were home. But I have always been a “fixer” and a peacemaker. When things are bad, I feel the need to find a way to solve the problem, to make it all better. Normally, I can feel some control to help the situation, but being nearly 5,000 miles away, I felt rather useless.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

These verses have always been “my” verses which I have had memorized for as long as I can remember, but I need a daily reminder to actually apply them and live them out. 

Trust has always been something difficult for me. I don’t think I’m the type that always needs to be in control, but I do like to be able to help the situation. Since moving to Bulgaria, and leading up to moving here, there have been so many things in my life that God has really been telling me, “Trust me!” What will I do when I leave my teaching job? Where do you want me to go? How will I raise the money to go halfway around the world? How will I cope without my comfort zone and my friends and family? For each of these and so many more questions, God has been saying, “Trust me!” And he has provided for every step. He led me to where I am, but he did not place me here alone. He has given me a support system here of teammates and friends to help encourage and grow me.  He has been showing me his faithfulness when I trust him with my life. When I surrender myself to his call, he directs me, provides for me, and cares for me.

“…I trust in the Lord. I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul, and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place.” Psalm 31: 6-8

Yet, as I have begun to trust God more with my own life, as everything was happening back home, I was reminded that I am not only supposed to trust God with my life but also with the lives of those about whom I care. I will not add anything by worrying about others.  But 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)

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4

 “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.” Psalm 37:3-6

Витоша - Vitosha

So this past weekend, I finally was able to go up on top of Vitosha, the mountain that overlooks the city (the one you always see here in my favorite view). We took a cabin lift up to about where you see the arrow.

Looking back toward the city shortly after getting on the lift.

Looking up toward one of the peaks.

Me posing in the snow.

It was so snowy and beautiful up there!

It felt almost like we were in Lord of the Rings, hiking along the side of a mountain!

In the lift with Lydia, heading back down.

I'm so thankful to have finally been able to go up on Vitosha!  It is every bit as beautiful as I imagined. Next time, I'm hoping to go up in the late spring or early summer so there won't be snow and it will be a little easier to hike around.

What does it mean to be a missionary?

I know that I had many stereotypes before becoming one. I've known many missionaries over the years, but in my mind, a missionary was a very godly person going to a poor country where the only real goal was evangelism. While this isn’t completely wrong, there is so much more to it than that. Sharing the gospel is definitely priority, but in doing this, it is also about building relationships, caring for individuals and their needs.

Missionaries are normal people. There is little that makes us different, the only thing really being that I have been sent to a foreign land. Otherwise, like any Christ follower, we are trying to spread the gospel through our actions and our words. I think before I came on the field, I thought that many missionaries were better than the average person, that they somehow were above normal struggles, that even in the hard times, they would never question God. But what I’ve seen is that it is no easier to trust God and see his faithfulness on the mission field than in every-day situations. What I do see is that as we begin to do God’s work, we come under attack, and unless we pray and support each other, it is very easy to give in to despair.

Friday morning, at the Bible study my team leader is leading for all of us interns, we looked at Mark 6:30-52. This includes the very familiar passage of Jesus feeding the 5,000. One thing we looked at was the context of this story. This miracle happens right after Jesus sent out the disciples 2 by 2, without him, into all the surrounding lands to preach, perform miracles and to heal the sick. The disciples had just gotten back and were giving a report to Jesus of all they had done. Just as he was telling the disciples to rest and take a break after their time traveling, a large crowd gathered because they recognized Christ and his disciples. But Jesus did not turn them away. Instead he did three things. He SAW them: he saw their true condition. He understood where they were. He saw them as sheep without a shepherd. He then had COMPASSION on them. He empathized with them and ultimately provided for their needs by TEACHING them. I think this is a good example of how we are to live our lives. We are to see people for who they are and to see where they are. Then we need to show compassion by seeing their needs. One thing that is important to remember is that we are not the shepherd. We are also sheep, but since we know who the shepherd is, it is our calling to introduce the other sheep to him. It is not our job to make people believe. We are here to bear witness about who Jesus is and what he has done in our lives. Seeing people as Jesus sees people allows us to love the way that Jesus loves. We exist so we can declare the excellencies of Christ to people caught in the darkness by which we were once enslaved (1 Peter 2:9-12).

This year God has been teaching me so many things about trust, patience, compassion, and His sovereignty. I have had to rely on Him more and more, and I can see Him working in our team, in our work, in our relationships. While there have been struggles and difficult times for many of teammates and roommates this year, it is clear that He holds us all in hands.

“fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” ~Isaiah 41:10

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. Every time I receive a note from one of you letting me know that you are praying, it brings me great encouragement! I pray that God will bless you and keep you all in this new year! :)

Честита Нова Година! Happy New Year!

I know it has been a long time since my last post, so it is really hard to figure out where to even begin! So much happened in the month of December, so here are a few of the highlights.

We had our first few snows for this year, and I don't think I'll ever get tired of waking up to this view!

We hosted our team Christmas party at our flat, so we had fun decorating. All the snow flakes were made by my roommates and me. 

At the party, we had time of fellowship, singing Christmas carols, and reflecting on this past year and all the things God has done in and through us.

We even got to go and see The Hobbit with a bunch of our Bulgarian friends (there were 20 of us in all!) The movies here are in English with Bulgarian subtitles, so it is always a good way to practice my Bulgarian by trying to match the words to what they are saying. I always feel very accomplished when I can spot the differences. ;)

Chillin' with Gandalf

The next major event was our English Club Christmas party. With two English Clubs up and running now, we decided to combine the two for a large party at our Christian Cultural Center. We were a bit concerned about people coming out to a new location, but our fears were for naught as we had more than 40 people! We sang Christmas carols in English and Bulgarian, as well as read the account of Jesus' birth from Luke in both languages before breaking up into small groups for discussions. Many of the people attending had never read this before. We even had one young man from Turkey who told us this was his first time celebrating Christmas! We closed out the night with some Christmas themed charades and an optional viewing of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".

Practicing the songs before the party 

Conversations and food

40+ people all discussing Jesus' birth!

A few of the interns hosted an "End of the World" party at their flat on Dec. 21st for some of our Bulgarian friends. We celebrated by introducing them to a great American tradition... S'MORES, roasted over the fire place! Complete with marshmallows and gram crackers from the States.

Roasting marshmallows

This year, I was able to attend the same Christmas concert I went to last year. It has a full orchestra and is conducted by an American here, but the choir is made up of various choirs from National churches. All the songs were sung in Bulgarian, but I was amazed to see how much more I was able to understand than last year at this time. 

Christmas Concert

For Christmas itself, I was able to travel to Vienna, Austria, (one of the cities on my bucket list!) as a Christmas present from my parents. I went with two of the other American interns on my team, and we had such an amazing, relaxing time. We even found a Christmas Eve service to attend, in ENGLISH! It was such a blessing!

Christmas Eve in Vienna

To ring in the New Year, we ended up hosting a party at our flat with our Bulgarian church friends. It was such a treat to be able to experience a New Year's celebration with them. There was much dancing, including them teaching us several traditional dances and us showing them a few of ours. Just before midnight, we all gathered together a few people prayed to thank God for this past year and to lift up the coming year. At midnight, the fireworks began all around us! We all rushed out to our balconies and watched the sky light up in every direction.

What was left of the group around 1:30am

Learning some new dances

As I've reflected some about this past year, I have to just pause and think about how I ended up where I am. God so clearly led me to Bulgaria last year, and affirmed the decision to return for a second year. I really have no clue where God will lead me when my term here is finished, but fortunately there is still plenty of time before then, and it is comforting to know that God has a plan, and he is currently preparing me for the next step.