OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008

Bulgaria in the News

BY THE NUMBERS  (Just to give you a little idea about the country where we have been working)

120 = Number of contract killings in Bulgaria by organized crime since 2001. These have been carried out on journalists, politicians and mob rivals, some of them in broad daylight (Financial Times 17/7/08)

0  = Number of those murders "solved", and brought to trial by the police and Department of Justice

80,000 = Number of traffic accidents in Bulgaria since January 2008, 30,000 in Sofia alone

1,000 = Number of road fatalities this year, 38% of them pedestrian deaths (Sofia Echo above/below)

€90 million ($135 million) = European Union money granted to build highways in Bulgaria June 2007

€3.2 billion ($4.8 billion) = Total EU money committed to superhighway projects in Bulgaria

0 = Number of motorway/superhighway grade roads connecting any 2 major cities in Bulgaria

200 million leva ($150 million) = Amount owed to the Sofia heat/hot water company by customers who haven’t paid their bills. It is a crisis because there is really no way to collect and therefore no money to purchase energy for heating this winter. Many people have simply installed woodstoves and although the weather has been mild, the air is already full of smoke from poorly vented fires.

   In the major papers of the world (including the front page article in the NY Times, 16 Oct 2008), Bulgaria is reported to be the most corrupt nation in the Balkans-even more so than Albania or Serbia. The police seem powerless. The European Union has had to stop road building and other projects due to widespread misappropriation of funds. Aid does not get to the people who need it the most.

   Recently, the educational system has been under fire. Teacher’s salaries are low and student behavior poor. More and more university students are reportedly leaving Bulgaria in order to get a better education, yet some students who remain (and sometimes ours are no exception J) tend to want a degree without having to work for it.

   In the area of social services, there are at least 154 orphanages in Bulgaria with over 9,000 children. Most are hidden away, poorly equipped and poorly staffed. Most of the time, these children receive no schooling or special medical care. Nearly 2,000 of them are disabled. Due to recent unfavorable media coverage from the British Broadcasting Co that drew attention to the situation, some group homes have closed and reforms are underway, but they are slow to come.

   Any religious activity outside the Orthodox Church is widely held to be suspicious and considered a sect or cult. Yet even people who do not attend church tend to be very superstitious and fearful. They desperately need the truth of the Gospel but most are not looking for it. Widespread and deep spiritual revival is the only hope for this country. Pray that God will move mightily in Bulgaria!

AUGUST 2008

It is important that we bring you up to date on the situation with the Bible college. We decided to use a letter recently received from our area director because he was able to word it well.

Having returned to Bulgaria we received an update on the financial situation at the United Theological Faculty - the Bible school where I have taught for the past 16 years. You may recall that construction on the new building was stalled several years ago, initially over an issue of needing to acquire air rights in order to build higher than two stories. Since the initial delay we have not had sufficient funds to restart construction. In fact, there is an outstanding loan currently owed to the construction company. Although the school has been engaged in fund-raising activities, sufficient funds have not been raised to cover repayment of the loan or to restart construction. The construction company has extended grace to us in not demanding that the loan be repaid - until recently. They have now begun the process of calling in the loan. They have told us that during the next 60 days the current value of the property will be assessed and compared against the amount which we owe them (about $1.2 million). There are several possible scenarios:

1. If major donors were to give sufficient funds during the next 60 days to cover the amount owed to the construction company, then the school would be in the clear financially. Anything given beyond the current loan amount would go toward completion of the new building.

2. If the funds needed to pay off the loan are not realized during the next 60 days then the construction company will take possession of the property. Hopefully the assessed value of the property will not be less than the amount of the loan.

3. If the assessed value of the property is significantly less than the amount owed to the construction company, then since the school does not have any financial reserves, we might have to forfeit the current school building and property (which we own) toward the balance of the repayment of the loan. This would essentially amount to closing the school or at least significantly restricting the way in which we operate.

              In Addition, accreditation for the school is in jeopardy and student enrollment keeps dropping. This has had huge impact on our team since at least five members came to Bulgaria mainly to teach at UTF. We have been seeking the Lord as a team for His will in the situation and in our ministries.

JUNE 2008

SERVING WITH GLADNESS…..

Finances: All of us working in Bulgaria are beginning to feel a real crunch as prices continue to rise and the value of the dollar in very low. For those of you concerned about the rising cost of fuel in the USA, the price for petrol here is now over $7.00 a gallon.

Teaching: The first part of the New Testament course was completed in Varna in May. Cheryl and Greg had an interesting time there (the first time we were at the Black Sea in nice weather) with the students and in the area. It was a large class of around 30 people so Greg will need help to get all the homework and tests graded. He will return to Varna June 16th to teach part 2. After that he will begin preparing a new course for the autumn.

Wedding: I have posted a few photos from the wedding on the website for those who are interested.

Other Ministry: The Agape lunch program is finished for this year. The last week in May we helped prepare and serve a picnic lunch for the staff students and prospective students. It was a fun event. The ladies missionary fellowship meetings break for the summer until September but the secretarial aspect which Cheryl does continues. Cheryl also took on the small job of being the coordinator for prayer requests from the area for SEND’s monthly prayer publication, “Intercede and SEND.” We continue to host team meetings and monthly prayer meetings as long as we have enough furniture to do so J We also had  a few overnight guests and probably will have more this summer.

 Moving: Much to our amazement our landlady and the Edwards have made it possible for us to remain in this apartment until we leave for home ministries sometime in December! Meanwhile, we have been trying to help the Edwards with selling off some of their furniture and we have started packing some of our belongings just so we can be ahead.

Brian: Our boy arrived home June 7 having completed his junior year at Black Forest Academy. He enjoyed playing team sports, volleyball and soccer which both did well in their leagues. He loved having so many friends close at hand. Once in awhile he actually did school work! The year was not without a few bumps and lessons learned but pretty good over all. This summer he hopes to do some reading, training and to go to MK camp in Croatia and conference here in Bulgaria.  

April 2008

So much to report…so little space!

Finances: We are pleased to report that we have 100% support until January 2009! We will still have to raise about $800 per month in order to return for a second term.  This could be as few as two more churches! We are feeling hopeful but trusting in the LORD for direction as the dollar continues to fall.

Teaching: Greg completed the NT course in Bourgas in February and is still working on grading homework. Getting to know these students has been a blessing. He is getting ready to teach the same course in Varna. He was also invited to speak in the church at Bourgas sometime this spring.

Wedding: It was lovely and we were blessed by all the help, all the guests, and all the kindness we received. We all arrived in the USA at different times. Cheryl with her sister’s help was able to give a shower for Charis. We had two Easter celebrations. One was with the Landis family who are a joy. The other was with Cheryl’s family who are so good to us. Many people prepared food for the wedding which was at Crossing Community Church. There were about 200 in attendance. Charis and Joel’s pastor from Liberti Church in Philadelphia performed the ceremony and he and his wife did a great job. The newlyweds are living in Philadelphia. Photos will be posted when we get them.

Ministry: The Agape lunch was featured in the latest UTF newsletter. While Cheryl was away, Simone made sure the food kept coming! We have been over to see our friend, Valka and her new baby several times and it is such fun to hold and feed him. We are trying to show God’s love to her by practical help with shopping and learning to care for the baby. We continue to enjoy hosting team meetings and a fellowship time for all the missionary ladies from various organizations. Cheryl also serves as secretary for this group. Our team has been holding a monthly prayer time together and also having each person pray so that every day of every month is bathed in prayer. This is strategic.

Moving: We just found out that the Edwards family (in whose apartment we live) will not be returning to Bulgaria at this time. This means that we will have to move at the end of May when our lease runs out. We will try to move into the apartment of someone on home service if available. The Edwards have a big job to sell some of their belongings here and move the rest. We have begun to pack.

Brian: It was great to see Brian for the two weeks he was off for spring break. He was in the wedding and did a good job reading a passage from Colossians during the ceremony. He is back at BFA now and playing soccer. He had an excellent report card for the third marking period, averaging 91. He will finish 11th grade June 7th and spend the summer with us in Bulgaria.

December 2007 - January 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  

   As we head into our third year here in Sofia we are thankful for your support and God’s faithfulness for bringing us this far! Since our last update some interesting things have happened.

• Charis is engaged!!!!! We met her intended, Joel Landis, in early November and we think he is pretty special! The wedding will be in March so you can imagine that planning is a little crazy at the moment! Joel’s family lives near Philly so Charis got to spend Christmas with them.
• The Janzens received permission to remain in the USA. Warren is back to work at SEND and they expect not only their visas but also their “green cards” very soon!
• Greg had a good time teaching in Borgas. Cheryl and Bindi tagged along. A few students remember us from when we visited in 2002!!! Yes, they are still laboring to complete the program! We felt we made a good start at building relationships there and Greg will return for part two of the class sometime in Spring.
• The accreditation process for the Bible College is going well and they have passed so far.
• Thanks to a generous gift from one of our team’s supporters we were able to supply the heaters for the college. This is great because it is so cold in that building! Everyone was huddled around the fireplace during our Christmas party!
• Our team leader and his wife, Steve and Tanja Pankratz, were expecting their third child in December. Little Jaden was delivered six weeks early by C-section and not expected to live. He weighed about two pounds. We are happy to report that he is now up to five pounds and is home with his family! He has been diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome.
• Our friend and former neighbor, Valka, also delivered a baby boy, Spartac, 7 December. We visited her in hospital but have not been to see him since he came home.
• Brian was home for three weeks and we really enjoyed just being with him. He seems to be doing well at BFA and likes it there. He is collecting friends around the world!
• We met with our area director concerning the future of our ministry. You can see his letter explaining our financial situation on the reverse. It was decided that we would not move out of Sofia until we return for a second term. Another decision was to remain in this apartment until August when the Edwards family is expected to return. This gives us a few more months before having to move. At that time we plan to move into another family’s apartment while they are on home service for the remaining four months of our term here.

   October-November 2007

School got off to a good start in Bulgaria or at least the Bible College and the schools our missionary kids attend started. The rest of the teachers have been on strike! There have been huge protests in town. Incredibly low pay is apparently only part of the problem.

   We had a nice time at the UTF Alumni event and the first day picnic but we both had headaches from concentrating to understand and converse in Bulgarian the entire weekend! We have resumed the weekly “Agape Lunch” which both staff and students seem to enjoy. It gives Cheryl so much pleasure to serve in this way. It is fun to be able to converse much more with the students. Greg had a good time with the Sofia extension program students and now is busy grading their work. Preparation and follow up for each class takes longer than the actual teaching!  We also took a brief trip out to Varna while Dick Walton was there teaching to deliver some books and to “spy out the land” for possible future ministry.  It takes six hours by car to get to Varna, a busy sea port on the Black Sea.      As a team we have decided to start a project fund to purchase two heating units for the UTF building. The classrooms are always cold even though there is electric heat. It just doesn’t work very well. We may also purchase some space heaters for the library and computer rooms. So far all the painting and decoration that has been done was funded from our ministry accounts. We also pay for all translation when we teach, all travel and all copies for handouts and tests. Your missionary dollars at work! The school for some time now has experienced a severe financial crisis due to the building project. Some money was raised and the project begun but there was a major setback involving government regulations which brought the project to a halt a few years ago. Meanwhile, costs have skyrocketed so they have been unable to resume construction. This is a serious situation that only God can fix so we are asking for prayer that God would provide the money needed to complete the project. UTF director Tony Lalev will be in the USA during November to present the project to several possible donors. Please pray for a resolution to this dilemma. Incidentally, we didn’t know about any of this until after we arrived, as we expected the building to be completed by that time.

     We are entering an interesting phase of ministry here. Very soon we will complete our second year. Because we were unable to raise the full amount of required support, we were given permission to be here for three years only. In June our lease runs out so we are wondering if we should make a move out of Sofia at that time. We have begun exploring that possibility. We would certainly like to return for another term and we have walked by faith in that direction but it is difficult to plan without knowing. We ask for PRAYER that we could raise the additional funds we need to return to service here, and for your help in finding that support from churches and individuals this year.  THANK YOU for your help!

August-September

     We thought we would report on our summer.  Language Tests: Many of you already know that both of us have passed our Level Two tests in Bulgarian.  On the one hand we shout a big “YAY!” that one hurdle has been jumped, but on the other hand we realize 1) just how little we know, as well as how much 2) there are more levels to come and 3) whether it be Level 2 or Level 100, what matters is our ability to communicate.  Our goal is not simply to order lunch and ask directions in town; we want to be effective teachers of God’s word who are able to share in Bulgarian what God has done for us in sending His son Jesus to save us from our sins. Cheryl’s Studies:   Kandern, Germany was Cheryl’s home for 3 weeks while she took 3 courses towards her M.S. in Int’l Ed.  It was a great experience, very tiring, frustrating at times, and wet and cold.  Cheryl thinks it rained 18 out of the 21 days and the other 3 were partly cloudy and overcast. As we write she is completing her last assignment. It was encouraging that all her hard work was rewarded because at our SEND conference she was able to give educational advice to at least four missionary families. Brian’s Travels: For his 16th birthday, Brian got to travel alone to the USA. He truly enjoyed the hospitality, pool parties, the Jersey Shore, and most of all a great week at Sr. Hi Camp with our sending church. But he wasn’t home with us for 24 hours before he was off again. He arrived back Sunday and Monday we drove him 3 hours to Nis, Serbia to take 2 buses and a train through Belgrade to get to MK Camp in Croatia. Immediately after that we took a family break in Croatia and returned to prepare for the SEND SCE Conference which we hosted in Bulgaria. Brian did not get much sleep this summer! One week after conference we sent him off to Kandern where he will begin 11th grade at Black Forest Academy. Conference: It was Bulgaria’s turn to host the annual Area Conference. Two couples were in charge of it but the whole team was assigned duties. All of us drove people to and from airports, made snacks and helped some with planning. Our particular duties were to help facilitate workshops and supervise t-shirt decoration. Cheryl and Tanya led a workshop on ladies creative outreach and decorated candles. A team of 16 people from Bent Tree Bible Church near Dallas, TX raised their own support to come over and do the child care, teen program, speaking and leading worship (music). Apparently it was a success because we were chosen to host again next year. At lease the biggest job, that of locating a hotel, is already done.  UTF: As some of you know, we tragically lost two of our students this summer. One, Ludmilla, was only 20 and she died from cancer left untreated too long. Danny, 35, was a graduate and died suddenly of a heart attack on his way home from work. He leaves a wife and two young sons. Gary, our Dean has been elected the area director for SEND so a Bulgarian, Charlie, will take his place at the start of school this month.

March is the month for celebration!

Spring has already begun to arrive in Sofia due to the warmer than average winter. The first of March is called “Baba Marta’s Day” to celebrate the arrival of spring. Everyone wears red and white bracelets and decorations and gives them as gifts. After they spot a stork they tie the red bracelet to a tree. Some also associate the red and white with March 3rd which is a day chosen to commemorate Bulgaria’s liberation from the Turks. March 8th is International Women’s Day. March 11th is Greg’s birthday. March 17th is Cheryl’s “spiritual birthday.”(She accepted Christ as her savior 33 years ago.) We actually began the month in Budapest, Hungary where we attended the SHARE Education Conference. There were families from all over the Balkans and a few other places. There was a special program for teens and Brian and friends had a wonderful week. Missionary kids, especially some in places like Kosovo and Bulgaria, can feel isolated and it really helps them to get together periodically for fellowship. The week was filled with worship (in English…super!) and workshops on everything from creative writing, to how to take the SAT, to teaching kids forgiveness. In February, Greg had a good visit to Varna and managed to teach a little in Bulgarian. It is very hard work because everything has to be written out in Bulgarian. He is preparing to teach a course (changed) in May on New Testament Interpretation. This one will be in Sofia and it will be a challenge!We also had a team retreat in Borovetz where we worked on team building and planning and some (like Brian) did a little skiing. (We old people drank hot tea and watched!) It was the most snow we saw all winter. SCA students joined us Monday for the annual “ski school” most Bulgarian schools offer. Another woman on our team started a “craft outreach” with the Bulgarian young women from her church. There have been three meetings so far and Cheryl was at two of them to help and to practice Bulgarian. The idea is to invite friends and someone shares a testimony. This time our neighbor came. Cheryl continues to provide the UTF Lunch on Wednesdays and she recently received the ultimate compliment from a Bulgarian professor, who told her she has “mastered the art of bulgarski bob.” That means she knows how to prepare beans (“bob”) in the Bulgarian fashion. Ah, the little things in life. . .

??????? ???!—Have a nice day!

January 2007

?????????: OUR FIRST ANNIVERSARY

January 13 will mark our first anniversary here in Bulgaria.  One year, 365 days of living in a new country, with different food, strange customs and habits, a “foreign” language.  When I (Greg) get a compliment from a Bulgarian on my language, I often reply with a pat phrase—“Sometimes I think that I know nothing.”  (But in Bulgarian it’s fun because you get to use double negatives, so it comes out like  “ …I don’t know nuthin’”.)  And Brian and Ana will agree that really does express how we feel at times. We do things by routine, we get by, we “function”, and it seems we’re doing well, but from time to time it feels like we’re just starting out.  Have we really gotten anywhere in the last 12 months?

              Am I the only one, or don’t we sometimes feel like that about our relationship with God?  I’ve been reading the Gospel of John in Bulgarian (with lots of help!) and I came to chapter 17, where Jesus prays that we—His disciples—would truly know Him and be one just as He is One with the Father.  Does that express our hearts, our minds?  Or does it seem that at times—“We don’t know nothing.”  Our desire is that at the end of 2007 each of us will know God more deeply in some way.

* * * * * * *

              Much to report, little room: Over Thanksgiving week we hosted Phil and Nikki, guests from our sending church in PA.  In December we had the privilege of seeing some of the orphanage ministry in Berkovitza, and space doesn’t permit the needs and the blessings that this opportunity afforded us. December was also the month of “parties”, as Cheryl organized and cooked for the SCA party (11th), we helped with UTF’s open house (15th) and we hosted the entire SEND team (16th).  On Christmas Day we invited 2 families and some Bulgarian “singles” to our home for dinner. We enjoyed our first Christmas here in Bulgaria, and trust that our hospitality helped to build bridges.

For the future: Greg’s “job” here is teaching at UTF, and he plans to start this spring. He will accompany Dick Walton to Varna to observe/help with a Missions course in early February, and then at some point in April/May be on his own in Sofia teaching O.T. Interpretation. (So it should be clear how important our progress in learning Bulgarian is to us!) Both of us are continuing our language lessons and hope that January will be a BIG study month!  Cheryl (Ana) is carrying on the Agape Lunch program at UTF and she/we will be up there every Wednesday.  Cheryl also continues to teach a class at Brian’s school (SCA), and in connection with MK education all of us will be attending a SHARE Conference in February—Brian as a student (he will receive some evaluation testing there), Cheryl as a teacher, and Greg as a “parent” teacher. February also brings a SEND Bulgaria retreat.

NOVEMBER 2006

Zaet / Zaek

   It is amusing to me that the word for busy and the word for bunny are so close in Bulgarian. Busy is what we have been since our last letter. September saw the successful start of Brian’s school, Sofia Christian Academy, the start of United Theological Faculty (the Bible College), the dedication of Holy Trinity Church and the first alumni event for the Bible College. We also began monthly team Bulgaria prayer meetings and the ladies missionary fellowship resumed its monthly meetings.  Cheryl hosted all the SEND ladies for a tea to honor Gerry Walton who, with her husband Dick, was visiting with us.  In October we had a visit from Keith Baum from the SEND media department, an all team pizza party, a teachers’ conference for the faculty of the Bible College and the UTF graduation.  Both Greg and I are still logging a minimum of 30 hours language study per week. In the midst of all this “normal” life goes on with shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry etc.  I wonder why I am so tired and I wonder if all this activity is actually accomplishing anything. This is one of the verses that has encouraged me lately.

   “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.”      Col.3:23

   We are trying to contribute to the running of our MK school. Cheryl teaches twice a week and Greg arranged a tour of the Sofia Synagogue to enhance the unit on Israel. He and Brian also took their turn at getting the wood stove going at 6AM every day for a week.

   Recently we became aware that the students at the Bible College don’t have enough money to eat well so an idea was born to provide a hot lunch for them. The trial run went very well and was much appreciated. Cheryl is organizing people to cook and serve the meals once a week to start.

   Language study often becomes a witnessing or discipleship opportunity which is delightful to us and (we hope) a blessing to our helpers.

September 2006

This summer has been a wild ride! While it is still fresh in our minds we want to write about where we have been and what we have learned. You may remember that we were going to drive Brian to camp in Croatia. This was the first time out of the country on our own and there were two border crossings each way plus four added for “fun.” While he was at camp we had a little vacation and got to go to Venice for a day. Then Charis arrived and after dragging her all over Sofia we took her to Greece to see Philippi and the coast. The day after she left we set out with the team to Macedonia for SEND area conference. It was great but more than half of us returned with a nasty virus from which Cheryl is still struggling to recover.  Did you know you don’t need a prescription for drugs in Bulgaria? Scary! The following items are other things we learned along the way in no particular order.

• Border crossings are the great unknown factor. You never know what they will request or how long it will take. They can be very stressful and/or a test of patience.
• Our funniest border experience was returning from Italy where the customs official said, “Please throw all your knives and bombs in the trays and do not attempt to take them on the boat. “
• Croatian, Macedonian, Serbian, and Bulgarian are very similar languages. Croatian threw us off because it uses Latin letters. Greek is a whole other story! Charis did find something with her name on it in Greek.
• Everyone appreciates it if you try to communicate in their language even if they speak English.
• Out of all these countries, Bulgaria is definitely lower as far as roads, cleanliness and economy but we discovered shopping costs are higher in Bulgaria.
• Missionary Kids really do have a special connection. They immediately recognize it when they get together. It does not take them long to bond.
• The borders of these countries have changed more times than we can count and every country claims it owns part of every other.
• Croatia is very Roman Catholic.
• Macedonia is orthodox and so religious they have Jesus, Mary and angels on their money and tiny churches everywhere yet we counted over 30 mosques on the way from Skopje to Lake Ohrid. 
• We have SEND missionaries in Kosovo and Slovenia and they need team mates.
• The team bus approach is not one we would like to repeat. It took over 11 hours each way and contributed to passing around the virus. In contrast those who traveled by car took 6 hours and no virus.
• People from different parts of the world with different gifts and personalities really can love each other and work together.  They can worship together so well the unbelievers are drawn close to listen.
• We are a small part of something big God is doing in the Balkans!

August 2006

We are discovering that summers here are very busy with everyone going off in different directions. Our team has been involved in planning the alumni event, various language practice activities, camps, VBS, mission trip to Greece, helping short term ministries from the USA, moving a church into a new building, getting ready to go to the USA for home assignment… some even had a few days of vacation! We resort to email to keep track of each other.

   We had an interesting time in a small village in the mountains. Hardly anyone spoke English which was good because it forced us to use Bulgarian.  On July 4th we were invited to eat with the family who owned the house where we stayed so for five hours we tried our best to communicate in Bulgarian what we are doing here and what life is like in the USA compared to Bulgaria. The next day we both had terrific headaches! It is a beautiful setting and it was nice to be away from the city noise, crowds, concrete apartment blocks and pornography everywhere you look. We were also happy to get back to our comfortable apartment.    Meanwhile, Brian was with a group of adults and young people from the USA, Bulgaria and Moscow at the Black Sea. He was helping at an evangelistic camp. Apparently they had some good discussions about morality and ethics while practicing their English. Towards the end the gospel in testimonies was presented and 25 young people prayed to receive Jesus as their Savior. We are proud of the good reports we received about Brian’s contribution.   SEND missionaries on our greater area team are involved in Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia. We plan to visit the camp near Zagreb when we take Brian there in a few days and while he is there explore some more of the Balkans. Then in August we have area conference (this year in Macedonia) where we meet to fellowship, catch up on each other’s ministries and make important decisions for the whole area. This will be the first time we have had such a large team to transport to conference so we decided to hire a bus with driver. It takes 6 to 8 hours depending on the border crossing so it should be interesting especially since at least half our Sofia group is under 18.

   Sometimes language practice comes in surprising ways. One Saturday Greg took Bindi out and discovered two adorable abandoned puppies under our car. We just did not have the heart to leave them out there so we had a lot of practice all week taking them to the vet and walking around asking if anyone had lost them and then asking if anyone wanted them. We learned the words for “parasites”, “found”, “breed”, “they need a new home” and many more! They were really very good for only 8 weeks old but it took a lot of energy to clean up after them and prevent them chewing up everything in site! Thankfully, the little girl puppy (we called her Sophie) found a new home within days and is now living with another missionary family. After about 10 days, the little boy (Chance) was adopted by a young couple through Greg’s language teacher.

JUNE 2006

I’m reading David Roper’s books on Elijah and Elisha. I gave them to Greg for his birthday and he is finished reading them. Their separate ministries were very different but equally interesting and full of good word pictures. Unlike Elijah who felt very alone, Elisha spent time in the company of other prophets. We enjoy spending time with our new team members. In our meetings we are working together to sharpen our focus on our reason for being here and for being a team together. We are nearly all of us connected to BETI (the Bulgarian Bible College) but many of us are also still in language study and don’t have much to do with the school as yet. We realize the Institute needs teachers, but it needs other things as well.

     One exciting idea is to establish an alumni association. The school has never had one. Unlike the States, where the purpose of this type of group usually focuses on fund raising, this one would focus on encouraging, enabling and equipping graduates. We hope one benefit will be more new students referred by former students.

     A huge need that has been identified for Bulgaria as a whole is for Biblical training at the lay person level. Not many churches have Bible studies or Sunday school or youth groups. Often there are people, who are willing to teach or lead, but first they need to be identified by their pastors and then they need a little training and support. This was the original reason for establishing extension programs of the college throughout Bulgaria and neighboring lands. In the months (and years) to come we hope to be part of developing this program.

     The Bible school has experienced many obstacles and delays in the building program and the proposed building is still not completed. Until it is finished there is no dorm space and in the present location it is somewhat difficult to access by public transportation.  Many of the students who come to the school for Theological training do not have the means to pay for it and must rely on their churches or scholarships which are limited. The school is always concerned about funds. There are staff members and Bulgarian teachers who rely on the school for their living.

     There has been a shift in leadership at the college and there is a need for help at the administrative level. The Sheppards who arrived in Sofia about four days before us are here for one year to work in this area but more help is needed.

     SO—why are we telling you all of this?  We hope this will help in your prayers for the ministry here in Bulgaria. We trust that you will know that you are a part of the work here through your prayers and support!

Greg’s List: this time DAD gets to put down his stuff

New Things: our Skoda, driving in Sofia (yikes!), a teacher who speaks only Bulgarian, good ice cream by the gram

Things I Miss: Barnes & Noble, root beer, cheese steaks, men’s group, walks in Newtown Boro, Yardley Ice House

Nice Surprises: found taco shells & salsa, hedgehog family nearby, 50 cent pizza slices, had our laptop fixed CHEAP!

April 2006            

Pink and Yellow Primroses have sprung up everywhere and the mountain is getting greener from the bottom up. We are thankful for those two plus months we spent slogging around in the snow because now we are really appreciating every sign of Spring. Sofia is nestled between mountains and you can see them from most places in the city. I (Cheryl) have been studying the life of David and I am reminded of his words from Psalm 121 “I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” David also lived in a mountainous place and he was a warrior. Sometimes when the battle was fierce he looked to the hills to see if the reinforcements were coming.  What he acknowledged is that no matter what form the help took, it always came from the Lord.  Where do you look when you need help?

    We have so much to tell! We have not gotten around to getting a car but this has helped us find things. You notice more when you are on foot. Driving here can be pretty crazy so we are happy to wait.    Bindi is proving to be a great conversation starter. We have had a chance to practice Bulgarian whenever we go out with her. We continue to progress in the language. We are at the point when we need to split up and try different teachers. Little by little we learn to communicate better in Bulgarian.      The post boxes here are yellow and we have not seen any apart from the actual post offices. However, one day Greg noticed a box on the side of the tram with a little envelope on it. We asked our language teacher and discovered it was indeed a post box so Greg decided to try a test and sent a letter to himself.  Two days later it arrived at our apartment and he was excited to see it worked. The little joys of life…. J     Dick Walton is here and he invited us to travel with him to visit some of the churches that SEND is involved with here in Bulgaria. One Sunday we went south to Blagoevgrad and met one of the Theology students from Moldova, Anatoly, who is pastor of the church there. The congregation was very friendly and we had a great time with them. April 1 and 2 we traveled north over the mountains to the Danube River. We met Pavel and Ramona who are trying to start a church in her home town of Vidin. We enjoyed them also and we would like to keep both these contacts for their encouragement and our language practice. On the way to Vidin we saw three storks! (Seeing a stork is a sign of spring and Bulgarians consider it good luck. It is even better if one nests in your village so villagers put up poles to attract them.) Luck aside, we are thankful to be in Bulgaria this spring!

February 2006

Greetings from Snowy Sofia!

      We arrived in Bulgaria on Friday the 13th of January so as I write this we have been here one month. We had a wonderful welcome from the SEND team here in Sofia. Almost everyone was at the airport to meet us. Over the next week or so each family had us to their home for a meal. People made themselves available to drive us when we needed it and to show us the grocery stores and help us to get oriented generally. Since we don’t have a car yet, we have enjoyed learning to use the public transport system. It is reliable and inexpensive. (.30 each ride) Even though it snowed all day yesterday and all night, the busses and trams were running today.     The first week we were here we stayed at the SEND guest house on the north side of town. Now we have moved into the apartment belonging to the Edwards family on the south side. (You may recall they went on home service early due to their daughter’s illness.) It is in a small block of 5 apartments next to a large park with a lot of trees. We are on the third floor which means we have to climb 41 steps but the apartment is large and has a beautiful view of Mount Vitosha and the park from the living room windows. We are in an embassy area so our neighbors are Korean and Israeli.  On the next block there is a fairly large grocery store and around the corner on our block is a small shop with fruit and vegetables and a few other items.     Our team consists of about 15 people and we meet with them once a week. Once a month we meet with the other teams all together. In March we have invited the larger team to our apartment. Including kids this is about 35-40 people. There is also the greater missionary team which consists of people from other mission agencies and which enjoys fellowship and working together at churches and activities such as AWANA. There are also Christians among the expat community with whom we have fellowship.

   Right now our main focus of activity is language learning. We are required to log at least 30 hours per week. That is divided up into time spent with a formal grammar teacher and time spent with informal language helpers. We try talking to shopkeepers and anyone who will listen and we also try reading labels at the grocery, newspapers, sub-titles on TV, signs and cooking directions. We also listen to people talking, to the news on television, and to the sermons and songs at church. It is hard work but gradually we understand more.

January 2006

IS IT REALLY GOODBYE THIS TIME?

          This is our last newsletter from the USA for awhile. In fact, by the time you receive this we may be on our way or already in Sofia. The long awaited departure has finally arrived and we are very excited! We leave Thursday, January 12th in the evening and arrive in Sofia, Bulgaria on Friday afternoon January 13th.

          You may be wondering how this all fell into place. Of course we believe that God worked it out in His own timing which often makes no sense to us. After returning from Michigan we moved into the church property and soon began painting and fixing up an apartment for use by missionaries. We were privileged to be the first ones to use it and to be able to celebrate Christmas there. We received notice just before Christmas that we would have visa approval. We rejoiced in the news but we still struggled with finances. We were still short on monthly promises. Realizing that the field would be short three teachers in the coming year and that Greg would be able to fill some of the gap, we contacted the field with a proposal that we come for three years instead of four. We had enough money to do that.  After much quick emailing back and forth with the team and the SEND office the proposal was accepted; after receiving the blessing of our sending church we bought tickets. Most of our belongings have been packed since June so we just need to pack six suitcases and we will be ready. There is even an apartment ready and waiting for us in Sofia. God is good and His timing is perfect no matter how it looks to us. Rejoice with us!

30 NOVEMBER 2005

Hope That Does Not Disappoint

          As Christmas rapidly approaches, our thoughts are full of the story of the birth of Jesus. He was called the “Hope of Israel” yet when he arrived Israel was disappointed. He was not what they expected. He did not do what they expected. They longed for an earthly, temporary liberation from their oppression. He offers so much more. Early in His ministry he claimed to be the fulfillment of Isaiah 61… “freedom for the captives, release from darkness for the prisoners…” The freedom and release Jesus offers is not earthly and temporary, it is heavenly and eternal. He offers freedom from the oppression of sin, guilt and shame that we bear. Jesus moves us from darkness, ignorance and separation from God to light, understanding and communion with God when we put our hope in Him.  I think we who claim to be followers of Christ are sometimes disappointed in Him. He is not what we expected. He does not do what we think He should do. Perhaps it is because our expectations are too small? Perhaps our hope is in the wrong things? Consider these verses: “…set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed…”  “…in your name I will hope, for your name is good…” “…but the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love…”…no one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame…”

          So our prayer for you this holiday season is this: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

September Prayer/News Letter              Scroll Down to Read past letters.......

“The days of the blameless are known to the Lord and their inheritance endures forever.”  

                                                                                                                          Psalm 37

The summer has come and gone and we are still not able to leave for Bulgaria. Although we were able to work out the financial details with SEND, we were not able to secure the necessary visas. We do not have an explanation for this delay, as the other families were all able to leave with no apparent problem. We knew if we were not able to leave by summer’s end we would face the problem of having no home, no income and no way to get Brian enrolled in school. With such great disappointment, and the stress of waiting and living out of suitcases all summer we have questioned God’s purpose in it all. We honestly did not know if we had the strength to keep on working toward getting back overseas, and if we had known the difficulties we would face when we began this journey five years ago--we certainly would never have left England.

     Transitions are always hard but ours has seemed particularly long and eventful. Thankfully, with the help of Cedar Lane Missionary Homes in New Jersey, we were able to locate a furnished missionary apartment. It is 40 miles from our home church but it is space for us to be on our own as a family, to think, to fast and to pray. When we took a long hard look at the situation and were able to talk it over with trusted friends, we were encouraged to re-apply for the visas and to keep trying to get to Bulgaria. God’s leading has been clear step by step and we reason that there is no need to question it just because trials occur along the way. A fellow missionary advised us that if God had not shown us another path to take, we had better stay on the path we were on. We are convinced of the reality of the needs in Bulgaria and our ability to fill them. We are clay in the potter’s hands. He is using these trials to shape us into the people he needs to use. Our part is to surrender to His hands.  Even though we may not understand His agenda, we want to be careful to be obedient. We know that God is good and that He always gives good gifts to His children and we are His children. We are so grateful to all of you for your support, some of you for many years. Please continue to pray with us and for us.

This is an excerpt from the August letter. Scroll down to read past letters...September letter coming next week...check back

Goodbyes and Hellos

   Three of the families who were waiting with us for visas to go to Bulgaria are now there. One more has all their support and is waiting for their visas from Chicago. Area conference for South Central Europe is August 15-19 in Croatia. This is a time for fellowship, team building and decision making for the larger team working in the region. Meanwhile, we have been praying and working hard, writing and phoning churches trying to find the rest of the money we need in order to be cleared by the SEND office for departure. We were invited to visit one church in Beaver Springs, PA that has recommended that support from a retired SEND missionary be transferred to us.

    In order to be cleared to leave, SEND requires that we have pledges in writing of people’s intentions to give to our ministry. They need to know how much a church or individual plans to donate each year. It does not matter to them if the money is sent in monthly, quarterly, one time each year or one time in the five years of our term. They divide all gifts into monthly donations in order to know if we have enough to cover expenses, salaries, health care, etc. In the past we have not asked people to make any kind of pledge or promise for their giving but now that we are with SEND this is required of us in order that we all have some reasonable assurance that our needs and the needs of the field will be met. We are thankful for the many people who have sent in one time gifts. These have been added together and divided up so that we have over $260. a month for 60 months over and above what has been pledged. If you think you can promise to send in $600. ($120 per year or $10 per month) or more in the next five years  we need you to contact SEND to inform them of your intentions as soon as possible. If enough people do this, we will have no problem being cleared to leave.

    We have run into another obstacle with securing the visas. For some reason the Bulgarian Consulate in New York has asked us for several documents that no one else has had to supply. We are working with a person in Bulgaria who is trying to help us cut through the “red tape.”

This is an excerpt from the July 2005 news/prayer letter. It is a little repetitive since the June one was lost. Scroll down to read excerpts from past letters.

Putting on the Finishing Touches

   Somehow the post office managed to lose our June newsletter so we will try to catch you up on what we are doing. We moved out of our house June 11. The boxes we are sending to Bulgaria were collected July 13 and will be kept in storage until we are ready to leave. We are staying with various gracious friends over the summer. Right now we are working on securing the visas necessary to live in Bulgaria. There was a long delay (February until June) getting necessary documents from the Bulgarian government. Now that we have received them, we are trying to get the other documents we need together so we can take them to the Bulgarian Consulate in New York. We have been told it takes 30-35 working days to receive the visas so we are trying to get the documents in as quickly as possible.

Support

    We have close to 84% of our monthly support. We still need about $1175. per month in pledges before we can leave.

    We have over 100% of our outgoing fund. Whatever is over what we need will be divided into monthly support.

Meanwhile

    In Sofia the work continues on the new school building. Requests for training keep coming in from pastors all over Bulgaria and even from Turkey and as far away as Iraq! This is a great opportunity to train workers and to reach others for the Lord Jesus Christ and we look forward to being a part of it. After 12+ years working overseas, we are convinced that the best way to plant churches is to reach and train church planters. Bulgaria, on the Balkan Peninsula, is in a strategic position for this work. Greg is really looking forward to teaching, to developing the extension program and to working alongside national pastors and Christian workers to aid them in ministry. Cheryl is motivated to start a discipleship ministry for student wives. First we need to get there!

June 2005 Newsletter

note: this letter may never have gone out in snail mail

ON THE MOVE…..

   As I write this, we are finishing the packing to move from our house in Newtown. We are tired but excited to be taking another step on the journey. A few last minute jobs and we will be ready to leave as soon as the final support comes in.

   Meanwhile, in Sofia, the work continues on the new school building. Requests for training keep coming in from pastors all over Bulgaria and even from Turkey and as far away as Iraq! This is a great opportunity to train workers and to reach others for the Lord Jesus Christ and we look forward to being a part of it. After 12+ years of working overseas, we are convinced that the best way to plant churches is to reach and train church planters. Bulgaria is in a strategic position for this work.

  Sadly, the apartment that was rented for us had to be given to someone else. This was a big disappointment for us but the team could not continue to pay rent while it sat empty. 

   We would appreciate your prayers for us in this transition time.

PRAISE: We have 100% of our outgoing fund. We have about 77% of our monthly support.

PRAYER: We still need pledges of $1400 per month before we can leave. We need letters of invitation from the Bulgarian government to get our visas.

Excerpts From April/May 2005 Newsletter

Spring has finally arrived in Bucks County!

   The daffodils are bobbing their pretty heads, the trees are budding and our spirits are lifted up by the beauty of God’s creation even in its fallen state. God is the ultimate artist. His handiwork is unsurpassed.

   The last chapter of James gives specific instruction to those who have material possessions and to those who wait for God’s provision. God’s word is intended to transform our thinking.

   We have an abundance of “things” that we need to give away and James’s instruction not to hoard but to share is very helpful. We want to be wise stewards but why should we store things away that we won’t be using for years or may never use again when others could be using them now?

   The admonition to be patient and to wait for the Lord is needed in any situation especially when we realize that we have no real control over the circumstances. James says not only should we be patient but we should be willing to be an example of patience to others. We should wait, stand firm and not grumble against each other. Believe me, when we start looking to other people to meet our needs and not the Lord we can easily fall into complaining!

    Finally, James says not to take vows or make deals with God or anyone. When the feeling of desperation starts to take over we are tempted to try bribes. “If you do this then I promise I will do…”  We just need to keep doing what we know is right and persevere. God is full of mercy and compassion. He will act.

St. George’s Day

Saints days are important days of celebration in Bulgaria. Many people celebrate on the day dedicated to the saint they are named for. St. George is highly respected in Bulgaria. He is considered the patron saint of farmers.  May 6 is a special holiday to honor him.  Housewives place flowering branches on their doors and farmers put them in their fields to ask blessing for the harvest. Shepherds bring sheep from their flocks to the church to be blessed and lamb is a traditional dish eaten on St. George’s day. Everyone in Bulgaria whether they live in the city or countryside celebrates this day with friends and family.

Building Our Support Team

  Some new individuals have joined our team. We now need $1582 per month before we can leave. We have gotten a number of one time gifts as well and our outgoing fund is overflowing. This has helped pay for our training and will help us with travel expenses and with setting up house in Bulgaria. For example, when you rent an apartment there, kitchens come with the bare walls so you have to buy all the cabinets and appliances. Also, if our outgoing fund continues to accumulate we can divide the excess up into monthly support.    

OTHER NEWS   

      We have been busy at our home church. Cheryl was involved with the annual Ladies retreat which was blessed with a great speaker in Kim Maddox and nearly 60 attendees including at least 10 pairs of mother/daughter. Greg had the opportunity to preach on two Sundays at our sending church and his messages were well received.

   Greg is now teaching another Advance class at Philadelphia Biblical University on Thursday nights. He has 12 students for five weeks. For those of you who don’t know, the Advance program enables people to complete their undergraduate degrees by taking concentrated courses on evenings and weekends while continuing to work their regular jobs.

   We plan to participate in two missions conferences in area churches. One is at Calvary Memorial in Philadelphia and the other at Willingboro Christian Assembly in NJ.

Excerpts From March 2005 Newsletter

 Greetings from a snowy Pennsylvania!

The past few months have been a mixture of blessing and disappointment as most months are. We had some wonderful times of fellowship and growing closer to our Lord as well as some crushing disappointments. Both of us have been spending time in James and his encouragement is not to try to squirm out of it when you experience various trials but to allow God to work in your heart. His purpose is to build endurance and that is a much needed quality in our lives. He knows what we need and He only gives good gifts without wavering. In this truth we can rejoice even when things don’t go the way we think they should. We received news from the team in Bulgaria that they have located an apartment for us that not only meets our needs and our budget but exceeds our expectations. It is available in April. Another new couple on our team, Paul and Erin Smith, have made it to Sofia and are settling in. There are at least three more families besides us who are preparing to join the team. God is putting His people in place in His time and for His glory. We now have most of our outgoing fund and $4345. of our required monthly support pledged. We still need $1800. in monthly pledges before we can leave for the field. Our desire is to raise more than just money. We are praying for partners in ministry who want to work together with us to fulfill God’s plans for the nations of the world. Some of you have already risen to that challenge and for you we are thankful. We know that God is calling others to take their part and He may be calling you.

BABA MARTA

    In Bulgaria Spring arrives on March 1 when “Granny March” comes and village households “sweep the winter months away”. On that day people give each other a martenitsa, a charm made of red and white woolen threads with tassels that is worn or hung on a tree for “good luck”. (In Moldova this is the martisor.) Then comes “Women’s Day” on March 8 to honor all ladies.  But Easter will not come to Bulgaria until the end of April. Orthodox countries use a fixed date for Resurrection Sunday rather than our movable day in the Western world

Building Our Support Team

**A new supporting church! True Light Christian Fellowship of Philadelphia has taken us on, for which we give thanks.  (You may recall we participated in their Missions Conference in September, 2004)

OTHER NEWS

    January gave us the opportunity to participate in the week-long Missions Conference at PBU that kicks off the new school semester.  It is always a great event, made even better this year in that the key-note speaker was a SEND co-worker, Philip Jackson, who is the regional director for the Balkans (and hence our “boss”).  His messages were an inspiration to all, and the time we were able to spend with Philip and Lynn was an encouragement to us. January also brought us a blizzard that wiped out weekend services and travel, but we were able to use that time to work on website construction and other things.

    In February we were at Calvary Baptist of Oceanport, NJ and Stonybank Community of Glen Mills, PA on Sundays. We thank both churches for the opportunity to present the Bulgaria work and preach the Word and for contributions to SEND for Bulgaria.

   The last Saturday in February was also the date of our big planned event, a “Bulgarian Dessert Night” hosted by our sending church, Crossing Community. We had invited over 100 people who do not attend Crossing who might be interested in the Bulgaria ministry, as well as our entire church.  Unfortunately attendance was poor and we did not get the result we had hoped and prayed for. We did, however, have an enjoyable evening with those who attended and we were blessed. We also added $130. to our monthly support and some one time contributions for which we are thankful.