Thursday, February 20, 2014
Update 21Feb14
Yesterday was another challenging day, but I am very thankful to God
that it was quite productive in regard to our mission and role here in
Bulgaria. A lot of confusion and misunderstanding was cleared up, and a
vision for the Renaissance Church of Christ was more clearly defined.
Please continue to pray for our family, the Arnaudovs, the members of
the church, and all the other people with whom we have contact. May God
bless us all richly as we serve Him!
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Looking for Partners
There has been quite a lot happening with us here in Bulgaria; some of
it is uplifting and affirming, but some of it is also quite challenging.
Lisa and I have been doing a lot of discussion about what we're doing
here; that is to say, what is the focus of our mission, and where do we
see God leading us in the future? There are various aspects of what we
do here that we consider "mission": we work with adoptive families who
come through, since we are an adoptive family ourselves and can provide
guidance and moral support in this foreign environment; we work at a
school where we are free to talk about our faith with young people,
influencing them with Christian morals and scripture; we've started a
Scout troop, because we believe that there is a serious lack of guidance
and development opportunity for young men in today's world; and of
course we work with the Renaissance Church of Christ in as many ways as
we can, including me singing on the praise team and Lisa teaching a
children's class.
We're really thankful for the jobs at the American English Academy that allowed us to move here. We're working every week taking lessons in the Bulgarian language; we're making connections all the time with people. But we feel that it's time to begin working toward even deeper engagement than what we've been able to do thus far.
Because I'm working a 40+ hour per week job, with an added commute of over an hour each day, plus paper grading, I simply don't have the time or energy I need to engage in other aspects of what we want to do here. We want to work in some expanded manner with orphans, and with post-institutional young people. There is a great need right now for people to work with refugees in Bulgaria, both African and Syrian. I feel strongly that the church needs to reach out to young families in Sofia. I can't effectively do any of that while working full-time in teaching.
So we're actively beginning the process to look for supporting congregations. Right now, knowing that churches need time to budget for missions, our thinking is that we will both continue to teach through the 2014-2015 school year. After that, Lisa will continue to teach while I either completely stop teaching, or only teach a class or two. With Lisa still teaching, we will not need the level of support that a family of four typically needs in the field. What we're seeking to raise is the level of a small salary ($15,000 annually); the cost of one kid's tuition ($4,000 annually - right now both kids are going for free because we're both teaching, but that will obviously change if I'm not teaching); and airfare for one return trip to the States each year (about $5,000). That totals $24,000, or $2,000 per month.
If you are a member at a congregation which might be capable of supporting us, even in part, we very much want to talk to you. If you know of other congregations which might be capable of some monthly support, we would love to hear who they are, so that we might make contact with them. For all of you, we deeply need your prayers and words of encouragement. We were told that there would be times, especially in the first year, when the challenges would accumulate to the point where we would doubt our purpose. Those doubts are certainly there, but we are committed to working where God wants us to be.
We're really thankful for the jobs at the American English Academy that allowed us to move here. We're working every week taking lessons in the Bulgarian language; we're making connections all the time with people. But we feel that it's time to begin working toward even deeper engagement than what we've been able to do thus far.
Because I'm working a 40+ hour per week job, with an added commute of over an hour each day, plus paper grading, I simply don't have the time or energy I need to engage in other aspects of what we want to do here. We want to work in some expanded manner with orphans, and with post-institutional young people. There is a great need right now for people to work with refugees in Bulgaria, both African and Syrian. I feel strongly that the church needs to reach out to young families in Sofia. I can't effectively do any of that while working full-time in teaching.
So we're actively beginning the process to look for supporting congregations. Right now, knowing that churches need time to budget for missions, our thinking is that we will both continue to teach through the 2014-2015 school year. After that, Lisa will continue to teach while I either completely stop teaching, or only teach a class or two. With Lisa still teaching, we will not need the level of support that a family of four typically needs in the field. What we're seeking to raise is the level of a small salary ($15,000 annually); the cost of one kid's tuition ($4,000 annually - right now both kids are going for free because we're both teaching, but that will obviously change if I'm not teaching); and airfare for one return trip to the States each year (about $5,000). That totals $24,000, or $2,000 per month.
If you are a member at a congregation which might be capable of supporting us, even in part, we very much want to talk to you. If you know of other congregations which might be capable of some monthly support, we would love to hear who they are, so that we might make contact with them. For all of you, we deeply need your prayers and words of encouragement. We were told that there would be times, especially in the first year, when the challenges would accumulate to the point where we would doubt our purpose. Those doubts are certainly there, but we are committed to working where God wants us to be.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
I can walk!
God is moving in Bulgaria. We see it all the time, in little things
that happen all around us, and sometimes involve us. We see it in the
seemingly random encounters we have with people - three different ones
in the last week alone. We see it in things developing and growing.
Today, I saw it in something else. I was walking back from meeting another adoptive parent who just flew in (tomorrow she's going to pick up her new son, who is blind). She needed to go grocery shopping, so that she would have food in the rental apartment and wouldn't have to go out later without a guide - something I was happy to help with. As I stepped onto the escalator to come out of the metro, it occurred to me - I felt no pain.
You see, for a couple of years, I've been battling plantar fasciitis. It was an inflammation of the muscle tissue in my left heel, making walking painful. The condition was exacerbated by my weight - let's be honest, my obesity. The more my foot pain persisted, the less likely I was to exercise... and the worse my weight got, which made my foot pain worse.
But coming to Bulgaria has been an absolute kick in the hindquarters. We don't have a car, so we spend our days walking, standing at bus stops, and climbing stairs in elevator-less buildings. The food quality in Bulgaria is much better than in the US. The result of all that - I've lost a lot of weight, my pain has subsided, and I'm a much more capable servant of God than I was before I came.
Every day, God puts new things in our path. Some are new opportunities for service. Some are people who need a witness or a minister. Some are lessons that make us smarter. And some are obstacles which seem to hinder us - but serve to make us stronger. Praise Him for His wisdom and love!
Today, I saw it in something else. I was walking back from meeting another adoptive parent who just flew in (tomorrow she's going to pick up her new son, who is blind). She needed to go grocery shopping, so that she would have food in the rental apartment and wouldn't have to go out later without a guide - something I was happy to help with. As I stepped onto the escalator to come out of the metro, it occurred to me - I felt no pain.
You see, for a couple of years, I've been battling plantar fasciitis. It was an inflammation of the muscle tissue in my left heel, making walking painful. The condition was exacerbated by my weight - let's be honest, my obesity. The more my foot pain persisted, the less likely I was to exercise... and the worse my weight got, which made my foot pain worse.
But coming to Bulgaria has been an absolute kick in the hindquarters. We don't have a car, so we spend our days walking, standing at bus stops, and climbing stairs in elevator-less buildings. The food quality in Bulgaria is much better than in the US. The result of all that - I've lost a lot of weight, my pain has subsided, and I'm a much more capable servant of God than I was before I came.
Every day, God puts new things in our path. Some are new opportunities for service. Some are people who need a witness or a minister. Some are lessons that make us smarter. And some are obstacles which seem to hinder us - but serve to make us stronger. Praise Him for His wisdom and love!
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