As some of you may have already heard, our time in Bulgaria is coming to an end. We have been incredibly blessed to be of service to the Kingdom of God through our work with the Renaissance Church of Christ and at American English Academy. We have made friends here whom we will cherish forever. We have been part of God's movement in a place that needs people of faith to be His hands, feet, and mouths.

We will be departing Bulgaria in late June. We will spend a few weeks with family in Nashville, arranging our affairs and reconnecting with our brothers and sisters there. Then we will head to our next home - Tucson, Arizona. It's the home of Lisa's parents, whom we've never lived close to. We've already made connection with the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ, who have eagerly welcomed us to come and begin ministering to the people of southern Arizona with them (not as a paid minister, but as fellow workers with the church members). It's an exciting time for us, but one filled with challenges as well. We ask for your prayers as we go forward in this transition.

Travel Plans

At the end of this month, we'll be back in the United States for a little while! We are flying in late on the evening of May 30th. Lisa and the kids are staying in Nashville until the end of July, but I will return to Bulgaria on June 17th to work with four wonderful interns from Oklahoma Christian University. We plan to worship with our brothers and sisters at the Western Hills Church of Christ on June 1st, but if you are part of a congregation within 500 miles or so of Nashville, and are interested in what we're doing in Sofia, we'd be glad to come visit and talk with you on the 8th or 15th, or any other date we can arrange. God is moving in Bulgaria, and we want you to be a part of it!

By the way (since I haven't updated in a while), we neglected to report that effective Tuesday of this week, we have been granted a one-year residence permit.  Because we have Elise, we only have to get one-year permits for two more years before we are eligible for a ten-year residency.

Update 17Mar14

So, another update on our visa travails. Do you know how ineffective, overofficious, and incomprehensibly bureaucratic our American government is? Let me tell you, we're amateurs compared to the Bulgarians. The positive news: we don't have to travel to Greece. The negative (and it's a lot): we will not be eligible to apply for permanent residency for three more years, even with Elise being a Bulgarian citizen. Furthermore, the entire process - and I mean the ENTIRE process - that we went through to get our initial Visa D has to be done again, including redoing the FBI background checks (which makes no sense, as we've been in Bulgaria pretty much since the last one went through) and providing Avery's birth certificate again (as if, in the last few months we unbirthed him!). And to top it all off, all of that has to be re-notarized, re-certified, and re-apostilled by the State of Tennessee. And did I mention that it'll cost around $450 each for myself, Lisa, and Avery? At least, the next time we have to do this, we'll have all our ducks in a row from experience. Please pray that we have patience to get through the horrors of meaningless paperwork, and if you have the time we'd love to talk with you about why we're so driven to overcome these hurdles for the sake of the Bulgarian people.

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!

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.

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!

Good and not-so-good

We had an incredibly busy weekend, meeting (if you count Thursday) with four different families who are/were here adopting, and one just visiting from Qatar. We were on an "exhausted high" - and then received a difficult email message (actually, the second difficult email of the week). We ask for your prayers, that God will show us His wisdom as we work for the Kingdom. Please also pray for Bro. Hristo and Sis. Vania Arnaudov as they work diligently for the congregation; we love them very much (as do many of you!) and want very much to be able to help them in whatever way we can to help the congregation to grow and prosper in the faith. Father, please grant us all the wisdom, faith, patience, strength, and whatever else we need to be instruments of Yours in this lost world!

Looking for discernment in the new year

So happy to be back with our Renaissance Church of Christ family this morning!

Please be in prayer for the African immigrants we work with. I handed out several Bibles this morning to some newcomers who requested them. They have some other needs which we're in a process of assessing how best to help. One young man named Musa Ali, from Mali, asked me for a little money today for the first time, though he's been to church faithfully for over two months. He has been studying Bulgarian in the class at church each week, in the hope that it will help him find some work.

I gave him a little money, but we're running pretty low on funds ourselves for this month. Christmas is always more expensive than a typical month, and the months of paying both a mortgage and a rent have taken their toll. Praise God my sister Jeni and her husband James have decided to rent, and eventually purchase, our Nashville house. This will really help things out starting in February, though not bring us out of the woods entirely.

Please also be in prayer for us as we think and plan about the future of our mission here. Our work at the American English Academy is going well, and we feel that we are making a difference in a number of small ways with our students and others associated with the school. It's not, however, what we came to Bulgaria to do, and we feel that there's much more with which we can get engaged. The African immigrants are one thing; working with orphans and post-orphans is the desire that brought us here in the first place. It wasn't a mistake that brought us to AEA; we sincerely feel that God opened that door, so that we could get on the ground and start acclimating and learning the language. We also anticipate having a long-term relationship with the school in some form or another, if nothing more than having our kids there as students. But having said all that, we just feel like we're supposed to do more than just teach school - something we could do just as well back in the US.

So, we crave your prayers. We even welcome your thoughts on how we might proceed forward. We plan on teaching full-time at AEA for another full year, but are open to changes after that point. If you have some particular bit of wisdom for us, please feel free to message or email. We want to hear the ideas of our brothers and sisters, as we press forward in our work for the Kingdom of God.

8 November 2013

Several times now, we've experienced something that rarely happens in the US. At home, it's considered quite a breach of etiquette, but here it's apparently normal. What's the issue? Random strangers critiquing our parenting.

Today it was the lady at the bus stop coming home. We had decided to split up; Lisa would take Avery to the store for ingredients for dinner, and I'd take Elise on home. I took Lisa's backpack and bag from school, and asked Avery how heavy his bag was (bags are not permitted into stores at all. Instead, there are lockers at the front of the store to put them in, but this is generally a hassle). When he said it was pretty light, I told him to give it to Elise to carry.

Immediately, an older lady began to harangue us. I didn't get all the Bulgarian she was saying, but the gist was that this was far too heavy for a delicate flower like Elise (and those of you who know her are guffawing at this point; she's anything but delicate!). I think she even disparaged Americans in general, though I can't be sure. In any case, I took the bag, we walked away 20 steps, and then I handed the bag back to her.

It wasn't the first time, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Shortly after we moved in, our landlord was visiting to work out a solution on a problem we had. While he was there, I noticed that a light bulb was out, and I asked Avery to replace it. Our landlord just about had a conniption. How could I be so horrible a parent that I would risk the very life of my son in CHANGING A LIGHTBULB??? Suffice it to say, in order to keep the peace, I didn't have Avery change the lightbulb that day.

Bulgarians are intensely protective of children - and that means well up into the teen years. The sad thing is that, while a Bulgarian considers it near child abuse to have an almost 12-year-old change a light bulb, they probably wouldn't bat an eyelash if that same 12-year-old was out in a public park drinking a beer. OK, that may be overstating it - but then again, I have personally seen 14-year-olds doing exactly that.

I don't know that there's a moral lesson here, other than it's an illustration of how messed-up priorities can become. How does a society get to the point where they worry about a bag being too heavy, but turn a blind eye to the epidemic of underage drinking? This is a big part of the reason why I'm so excited about working with Scouting - I will have the opportunity to work with young men in developing skills which they will use for their entire lives, but also in developing a moral character that will enrich their lives and the lives of those dear to them.

Your continued prayers are always appreciated. May God bless you as you serve Him!

Update 29Oct13

Hello, all!  I guess I didn't realize how long it's been since I posted on this blog (or our facebook group, for that matter)!  We're doing fine, and we're adjusting well to life in Sofia.  Lisa has had a fairly minor but painful health issue, but is doing better now.  I am pleased to say that due to the healthier lifestyle here - more wholesome food, lots of walking and stair climbing, and weekly Ultimate (frisbee) practice - I have lost some fairly noticeable weight.  I don't know exactly how much since we don't have a scale, but my Scout uniform fits better than it has in years.  Speaking of Scout uniforms, we are on track to officially restart BSA Troop 359 in January, and I'll serve as Scoutmaster.  Keep that effort in your prayers, please, as it will be a very interesting situation (and opportunity); we will likely have Scouts from at least 5 different nations, including Christians, Jews, and Muslims.  I am really excited about the opportunity to make a stronger impact on these boys' lives, and perhaps even the lives of their families.

We do still need, deeply need, your prayers.  There has been no movement on selling our house.  We're about to enter into the period of time where having both a rent and a mortgage is going to really put us in the red.  So long as the house remains unsold, we are unable to afford a car in Sofia, which is frustrating because we have to spend 200 leva each month (about $130) for metro transit passes, which is a good-sized chunk of a monthly car payment.  We especially would like to have a car for when couples and families who are adopting from Bulgaria fly in, so that we can be a friendly American face to pick them up from the airport and take them to where they need to go.  Thus far we've connected with only one couple (there is another we're meeting this weekend and two more in November), but I had to introduce them to Sofia public transit - which is not so much fun when you're jetlagged.

We're EXTREMELY thankful for a donor who provided enough funds for us to purchase a dryer!  With a family of four, we were being swallowed up in laundry.  Everything had to be air-dried, and we ended up with clothes hanging all over the apartment (which makes hosting a bit awkward).  God bless our friend and brother for his generosity!

I am very excited about something that's coming up in May-June.  We will likely be having a group of 4-6 missions interns from Oklahoma Christian University coming to stay with us for about 6 weeks.  They'll be exploring what living in a foreign missions context is all about, and it's my sincere hope that in that time they'll fall in love with Bulgaria and her people as much as we have!

Pray, please.  We cannot do what we're here to do on our own efforts, nor those alone of our supporters in the US.  We must have the blessings of God daily if we're to thrive and be a blessing in turn to the people of Bulgaria.  Thank you for your support, thoughts, and prayers!

A Pile of Rocks

I wrote on my main Facebook page about our hiking trip to Vitosha mountain on Saturday. It was a great time spent getting to know Viktor and his family a little better, get some exercise, and enjoy a beautiful day in God's creation.

On our way up the path, we passed this stand of rocks. Now, I don't know if there is some significance to this; perhaps it's an ancient Bulgarian tradition, or some sort of protest (Bulgarians are good at that!). Perhaps somebody found some rocks and just thought it would look cool. I couldn't help but think, however, about the story in Joshua 3 and 4 about the nation of Israel crossing the Jordan River on dry ground. God instructed that each tribe take a stone from the middle of the riverbed on his shoulder, and make a memorial for future generations - so that they would remember that God had made a way for Israel to cross where there was no way.

I don't think it was a coincidence, then, that on the next day as we worshiped we sang "Бог направя път там, където няма път" - "God makes a way there, where there is no way." To me it seems that our entire move to Bulgaria has been an instance of "God parting the waters" and making a way where there was no way. We could not have come without God's provision of jobs, nor without the help of several of His people in the US. There is no doubt in my mind - God continues to make ways for His people in the world!

 

A bad hair night

It's Saturday, so I finally have time to sit down and write a little. Our first week (though it hasn't been a full week yet!) has gone quite well, though not without some hiccups. We're getting a handle on doing public transport with two kids, and Hristo and Vania Arnaudova were very kind to take us in their car today to several different stores so we could avoid lugging back several bags of things we needed on the bus.

On our second night here, neither Lisa or I could get any sleep, so at 2 in the morning I decided to be productive and give myself a haircut. I love my buzzcut; it's so simple and easy to maintain! Things were going swimmingly when, having shaved the right side of my head, I realized the clippers were literally smoking. Apparently, while our travel electricity adapters work just fine for most of the stuff we plug in, the clippers use just a bit too much power. So, what do you do when it's 3AM and half of your head is shaved? You spend an hour sitting still, while your wife spends an hour with a pair of scissors doing her absolute best to make you not look like an idiot.

As I was sitting there at 3AM with not much to do but hold still, a scripture idea crossed my mind. The apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 4 discusses how the apostles have come to be seen. He says in vs. 9-10, "For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ". Now, I don't mean in any way to claim apostleship, or to equate having a bad haircut to what Paul and the other apostles endured for Christ. But I couldn't help but think, as I sat at 3AM, "if I were back in the States this would never have happened." I probably wouldn't have been awake at 3AM, certainly wouldn't have cut my hair at that hour, and my clippers would have worked just fine as they always have anyway.

But what I was reminded was that I'm in Bulgaria to be a spectacle. I have no dignity of my own; all of that is an illusion anyway. All I have is a God who justifies me, and a message for those with whom I come into contact. If I have to be a "fish out of water" that looks for a short time like an absolute fool in order that God can be glorified, then that is a small price to pay compared to the suffering of our Savior, or the example of the fathers of the faith like Paul. If my humiliation can be used to bring another soul to reconciliation with our heavenly Father, I will rejoice and give myself a crazy new hairdo every morning.

Friends, keep us in your prayers. I'll try to write as often as I can. Blessings on you all!

16June13 update

Wow, has it really been that long since I posted in this group last? It's been a crazy several weeks for us. We were able to go to Washington, DC and applied for our visas on June 6th. We got back late Saturday night, and Elise and I turned around Sunday afternoon and did a week of church camp. Tonight starts VBS. I hardly know where I am with all the running around!

We are still on the runaround on getting insurance coverage for me, though Lisa and the kids now have it. I have a strong positive lead that I'll be following up on in the morning. On Tuesday, I will fly to Sofia for a two-week trip coinciding with groups from the WestArk Church of Christ in Ft. Smith, AR and the Northside Church of Christ in Spokane, WA. I'm very excited to be working with these teams, and hopefully I will be able to do some rudimentary translation when the need arises. Next weekend the groups will be hosting a seminar of the same kind we did last year, so your prayers for its success would be appreciated. The theme of the seminar will be on the authority and integrity of the scriptures. At the moment, I haven't been asked to participate, but I will be glad to support whatever the WestArk team has put together.

We have our one-way tickets to Sofia! We will fly out of the US on August 12. Lisa has given notice to her boss, and we're full steam ahead. The house has been on the market for a couple of weeks now; prayers that it will sell quickly would also be appreciated.

I promise to post messages and pics from Sofia later this week! Thank you for your prayers and support. May God bless you richly!

Update - May 7, 2013

Hello friends! I don't actually have much progress to report. Last night we met with our real estate agent and set a listing date for our house - May 30. If you know of someone who would like to move to beautiful Kingston Springs, TN, we've got a really nice house for them! While we are excited about being in Bulgaria this fall, we received news that our salary with the school will be significantly lower that we had anticipated. We are committed, but we will need more support than we had originally planned on. If your congregation would be willing to join in partnership with us, we are looking for 10 congregations to supply $100 per month. This will go toward covering two specific costs: the student loans from my Master of Theological Studies degree, and our yearly plane fare back to the US for family visits and check-ins with our supporting congregations. We also really need your prayers for peace, wisdom, and sanity as we go through the chaos of planning an international move. Thank you all for the support and encouragement you give us!

Regaining our purpose in the new year

I promised earlier this week on Facebook that I would be posting something this week.  Seeing as how it's Friday, and I have a busy day lined up for tomorrow, this is my last chance to write!

2012 was a pretty good year in a lot of ways.  Elise continues to grow and develop, and she grows more capable every day (she's become quite proficient at the word "y'all").  Avery continues to impress us with his academic prowess, and is about to earn his Arrow of Light, Cub Scouting's highest award.  Lisa took part in a prestigious training program for her company that required her to fly to Connecticut and Chicago for several days.  I flew to Ukraine to see how a missionary family is working with young people there, and Dallas to participate in a seminar on Disciple Making Movements and Discovery Bible Studies.  Lisa and I loved getting to fly to Sofia this summer to reconnect with church there, and meet new people in the park alongside our brothers and sisters from the West Ark Church of Christ in Fort Smith, AR.  We then got to spend a couple of days in England, visiting with our friends Brent and Miranda Poff.

But 2012 was also an incredibly challenging and disheartening year in a lot of ways, too.  Lisa has experienced a lot of work stress and exhaustion.  I was not able to find any work, despite many job applications filled out (indeed, I can even count the number of interviews I was granted on one hand).  Another symptom of the same economic situation is that we have not been able to find any churches who are able to support our mission to Sofia.

Recognizing the apparent realities of a down economy, I tailored our message, somewhat intentionally redirecting our focus toward the existing church in Sofia.  It has never been my intention to detract from the work brother Christo is doing, but rather to supplement him, to encourage the brethren, to teach, and to reach out to young people.  These are still things I think are very worthy and useful, but pragmatically my thinking was that we would be able to sell the idea of our mission to sponsoring congregations better if we focused on some work in which we could become immediately engaged.  Lisa became very discouraged through this - and now I understand that it's largely my fault.

In trying so hard to "rebrand" the mission to appeal to churches, I ended up doing the same to her.  I talked so much about working with the church that I totally lost sight of what excited her about the mission in the first place - the opportunity to work with some terribly neglected children and young people in the Bulgarian orphanage system.  Lisa has a huge heart for children, and her excitement for the mission had been for the opportunity to show love to these innocent young people with so much need.

We traveled a couple of weeks ago to Savannah, GA to celebrate our 15th anniversary.  It's an 8-hour drive, and we had a lot of time to talk about our lives and plans, and pray.  I admit it - I lost sight of what brought us to Bulgaria in the first place.  I lost the call.  But I want to rekindle that - and in so doing, still accomplish the other goals I was talking about through 2012.

The Bulgarian government runs the orphanage system, and our ability to get into them depends on the whims of the individual orphanage directors.  We intend to cultivate relationships with at least one director, so as to be able to work with and help with children or teens in the orphanage.  But the core of our mission will be a home for young people, particularly girls, who age out of the orphanage at 18.  These young people are simply put out on the street, with no support framework.  All of them are immediately in danger of being trafficked, and in danger of falling prey to drugs or crime.  I can't imagine how terrifying that must be!  They have no one to help them, no one to turn to, no one who cares - no one but us.

We want to open a home for up to 10 young people in order to give them a place to belong, a place where they are loved and accepted.  It will be a home where we can teach some basic life skills - how to cook, wash clothes, keep track of bills, etc. - skills that they are not taught in the orphanages.  It will be a home where these young people can be taught about God and His love, Christ and His sacrifice, and the Spirit and its guidance and comfort.

When I visited Ukraine, I visited a home of this type, and even had dinner with the houseparents and some of the young people.  I was very encouraged by seeing in practice what could be made of a home like this.  Rather than being potential victims, these young people have hope - not only for a productive life, but for an eternity with God.  Every night, the "family" in the Kiev home gathers for bible study and discussion.  Several of them have been baptized.  Certainly not all of the stories shared with me by the houseparents were successes - but many were, including more than one young man and lady who married and started a family of their own.  What a blessing to be in a position to help young people learn to be parents themselves!

We won't be able to open a home right away, nor is it advisable to do so.  Sadly, some young people coming out of orphanages are not good fits.  We will need to spend some time getting to know the young people while they are still in the orphanage, cultivating relationships, teaching, caring. 

So, where do we go from here?  We have to get on the ground in Sofia.  It appears that we simply aren't going to be able to rely on American churches for full support, which makes us sad - if Lisa and I are working at jobs, it detracts from the amount of time we can work in the orphanage, or help older members of the congregation, or talking with people to spread the gospel.  There are, of course, other possibilities that would be open to us in jobs, such as contacts with young people if I am able to get a job as a teacher, but this doesn't overcome the downside - or else why do we pay ministers in the US to be full-time in the church?  We all recognize that being a minister in the Lord's church is an immense responsibility and calling, and that these ministers are worthy of being supported by the church.  Still, if the capability or will to support us in our work isn't present right now, we will not use that as an excuse to prevent us from taking to the field - but it will delay us.

Lisa's job is a huge financial blessing, but the past few years of my unemployment have made it difficult for us to make progress on our debt, particularly the student loans from my Masters Degrees which came off deferral in 2012.  We simply don't think we'll have the capacity to make a transition to Sofia while so much debt is still outstanding.  Thus, we've revised our target moving date to Summer 2014.  That gives us more time to get our house ready to put on the market and sold, which we hope to do by June at the latest; gives me another opportunity to get hired either in ministry, at a school for the 2013-14 school year, or both; gives us more time to work on the Bulgarian language, which we have been doing for several months already; and gives us time to raise support.  We will still need some support, but we've reassessed what level of support we'll need in light of the new approach.  I'll outline that in a future email.

If you've stayed with me through this long message, I appreciate your care and involvement.  We crave your prayers, which we wholeheartedly believe are effective.  We ask that you keep us in mind in your congregations, so that when you discuss the work of the Kingdom, you might consider how you can support our work.  We want your words of encouragement, and your questions about how things are going.  We ask that you also pray for Christo and Vania Arnaudov in Sofia, who are working alone in difficult circumstances, but are bearing fruit for God.

We simply want to make ourselves available to God in Bulgaria, because there is much work to do there, and the fields are ripe.  May He bless us and equip us to His service!

November Update from Brother Hristo

This is a letter from Hristo Arnaudov detailing what's happening in the Vazrazhdane Church.

Dear friends,

Greetings from Hristo and Vania Arnaudov, servants of the Lord at the Church of Christ in Sofia, Bulgaria!

We thank the Lord for Jesus and the salvation He has gifted to all of us!  It is with great joy and privilege that we serve Him and His world-wide church, part of which is our small family of faith with brothers and sisters who have opened their hearts for the Savior.  We are grateful for every soul that steps through the door of the church to worship with us on Sunday and hear the word of God!  We pray to God for all that come for the first time to our worship services with various needs, for often it is that very need that helped them to take the step and search for the Lord.  We pray that God will work in their hearts and help them decide to become His children, willing and ready to follow Him and give their life to Him!

We are also very grateful that God answered our prayers for a prayer house which we can use at any time for worship, Bible classes, meeting with members from the church, as well as others who seek the Lord.  God touched many hearts and now we have the finances needed to rent such a space.  For the past three weeks Vania and I have been contacting real estate agents and meeting with them to see various locations and spaces available for rent so we can find the one that fits our needs and budget.

We have found a space on the first floor of a commercial office building which had been used for a dance studio.  The location is very central - close to the railway station, subway, buses, tram, and trolley stations - it will be very convenient for all church members who travel from various directions within the greater Sofia area (NOTE FROM JEFF: From what I can determine the location is a dozen blocks due north of the Renaissance Hotel where they meet now, on Hristo Botev Blvd. just north of Slivnitsa Blvd.).

Currently, the space is being renovated and once completed we will purchase chairs and other furniture that may be needed.  All brothers and sisters are very excited and eagerly await the time when we will be able to move to the new place.

During this period, along with the search and other hardships, we continued to meet for worship and Bible classes.

On November 12 I had my second eye surgery (on the other eye).  I thank God for the successful surgery and my ability to see well now with both eyes and no need for glasses.  Vania also had some health problems and needed to be on bed rest but is now feeling better - Praise to God!

Immediately after my eye surgery, brothers Bisser and Gencho were very helpful in helping lead worship and preaching in my stead.  Brother Bill Binum, a missionary from Texas for Eastern Europe also visited us and shared the word of God with us.

We celebrated Thanksgiving Day with the church members with a special program - the praise and worship group sang new songs of thanksgiving to the Lord.  Many of the sisters brought fruit and vegetables to decorate.  Others had prepared cheese pies, cakes, and sweets and we ordered some pizza for everyone to share during our fellowship time after the worship.

The singing group is already preparing for Christmas - we often use this worship service to invite non-Christian people too so we can share the Good News of the birth of our Lord and Savoir with family, friends, coworkers, and others.  We will praise the Lord with Christmas songs, a sermon, prayers, and will then have a fellowship time and lunch together.

After a short time of illness, we said our goodbyes to brother Peter Velkov who was only 33 years old.  Peter was a member of our Bulgarian church of Christ in Athens.  He returned to Bulgaria in 2008 and lived and worked in his hometown, Vidin.  Not long after his return, the doctors found cancer in his intestines.  He underwent a serious surgery which was followed by many chemotherapy treatments.  Peter wanted to be a part of the seminar which we held in June this year but was unable to do so because his condition had worsened.  We visited him in the hospital many times and together with his wife, who is a very new Christian, prayed for him.  Several days before his passing, we visited him again and served him the Lord's Supper.  We believe that he is now with the Lord.  We pray that the Lord may be with his wife, Vesi, to give her comfort and strengthen her in the faith so she can trust in Him for everything.  We ask all of you to keep Vesi and Peter's family in your prayers as well.

We also need your prayers for the renovation and repairs of the new place for the church, as well as our move there - we should be able to do so by December 15.  May the Lord give us strength, physically and spiritually, and we hope to praise His name at the new place for the Christmas holidays.

Praise be to our God and thanks to all of you who support us in our ministry in Bulgaria!

May the Lord bless you and your loved ones!

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

In God's Grace,

Hristo & Vania Arnaudov

Dec. 3, Part 2

I just read a letter from Hristo via Shawn Moore at the Northside Church of Christ in Spokane, WA. The Vazrazhdane Church of Christ has a facility! From the pictures Hristo included, it looks pretty nice, though he said it needs some fairly extensive renovation. I am terribly excited for the beginning of this new chapter in the life of the Vazrazhdane Church! I hope to make a visit in February to help out with things, but it's an expensive proposition. If you can help pay for a plane ticket, both I and the Arnaudovs would be very grateful!

Dec. 3, 2012

Yesterday we had lunch at a local Greek restaurant, where I ran into a former student of mine who is waitressing there. She, like Elise, was adopted from Bulgaria. She was five years old at the time back in the early '90s. We introduced them to each other (something I've wanted to do for years), and talked over "things Bulgarian." To our shock, we learned that this girl has never had any Bulgarian cuisine! She's never even heard of tarator (the cold yogurt and cucumber soup that's a staple in Bulgaria)! We've extended an open invitation to her to come share a Bulgarian meal with us, and I hope that someday she will come with us for a visit to the land of her birth. It made me wonder - how many other Bulgarian-born young people in the US have no experience whatsoever of their culture?

Post-election...

 The following is taken from a post I wrote on our Bulgarian Blessings Facebook page.

I have a heavy heart today, as I'm sure some of you do. I posted on my main wall a more concise message about the election. Forgive me for unburdening further here.

I'm afraid. I want to believe, as many have said, that it's all going to be OK. In an absolute sense, that's true; God reigns supreme, and He controls all things. The problem is, I wonder if this will be OK in the same way that it was OK for the early Christian martyrs? I wonder if this will be OK like it was for Christians in Constantinople as the Ottoman Turks breached the wall and sacked the city? We are guaranteed an eternity with God, but we are not promised an easy go of it here.

I'm writing this on this page because I am concerned for our mission to Bulgaria. I want so desperately to go! When I talked to Vania last week, she said again how much we're needed there, how much she wishes we were there already. The church in Sofia has been blessed by an amazing gift from Northside in Spokane, WA; they'll be able to get the facility they've needed for some time. God provides.

So why hasn't he provided for us? I've been unemployed for years, and not for lack of job searching. We've been unable to raise any church support. Father, where have you been? You know that we want to serve you only; equip us, support us, so that we can be Your lights in a dark place.

I had hoped that Romney would win, because it's clear to me the President has no idea what he's doing when it comes to economy. I had hoped that within six months of a Romney presidency, the economy would improve to the degree that churches would see increased contributions, allowing many more of them the capacity to support missions like ours. That was my plan, anyway, which of course on the cosmic scale means absolutely nothing.

Perhaps this is God's way of pouring fire on top of the altar. When Elijah faced the prophets of Baal, he told the servants to thoroughly douse the altar with water, which should have made it impossible to light - so it was all the more dramatic and awe-inspiring when the whole thing went up in flames. Perhaps that's what God has in mind here, to pour water on an already soggy economy so that in it he can show His incredible providence and the amazing generosity of his people. I hope so.

Perhaps I'm overpersonalizing all of this. I'm pretty sure that the President wasn't reelected so that we would have a harder time getting to Bulgaria. But this morning a phrase has been bouncing around in my head, "you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." I took a look at the passage's source, Hebrews chapter 12:

'Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.'

Father, I don't know what this election means, but I am afraid. Help us to have a measure of your peace, and give us Your provision which equips us for Kingdom work. You are the great God of all the universe, and nothing is too difficult for Your hand or too small for Your notice.

Nov. 1, 2012

I was blessed to be able to talk with Vania for about 20 minutes this morning. She and Hristo are well, and more importantly their daughter Natalia in New York was relatively unaffected by Hurricane Sandy, though she did experience some high winds.

Hristo continues to heal from his eye surgery, and prepare for surgery this month on the other eye. In addition, Vania told me that she will need the same type of surgery herself soon. As a result, she has decided it is not for the best for her to come to Nashville in January as we had all planned.

Instead, we are going to see about me traveling to Sofia again in January for a couple of weeks. The church in Sofia has been very blessed by the Northside Church of Christ in Spokane, WA, and will be able soon to rent a facility full-time in which to meet, hold classes, teach Sunday School to kids, etc. I'll be helping out in any way I can to set up that facility (paint, organize, etc.). This will necessitate me raising a bit more money, and I hope that some of you will be able to help with that. We had raised $300 for Vania to come, and I hope to apply that amount to my ticket (with the approval of that money's donor).

As always, we need your prayers. Vania expressed again how much we are needed on the ground in Sofia; there is so much Kingdom work to be done! May God bless us richly to His service.