Update on Thursday, August 18

Good afternoon (EST),

I've been home for two and a half days.  I arrived Monday evening, and I slept until Tuesday afternoon.  Reacquainting myself with life here has been fairly easy, though I can honestly say that two moments of anxiety caught me off-guard. I attribute them to a lack of rest (which is different from sleep) and lack of schedule.  Once you remove structure from a person's life, you remove the likelihood of any meaningful forward progress (because you're no longer on track to some desired destination).  Thankfully, I did have some minor plans to implement upon returning, and so I've been at work on those (unpacking, looking into some work opportunities, writing some reflections on my time in the Balkans, considering how my capacity for ministry has changed and where I now fit as a servant in the local church, etc.).  Catching up with friends and family is also wonderfully comforting.  Most of my stories are probably not the typically expected missionary story, because I didn't travel as a typical missionary.  Some of my most exciting stories are how God opened up people to accept me into their lives so that I might offer them advice.  One time in particular, a man's destiny was revealed in a meeting - though I'm unsure if he'll move forward in that direction immediately (I hope he will).  The other day I unwound by reading my uncle's novel.  It's a great story about a Lutheran minister who volunteers as a local police chaplain - and the thrilling investigation which overtakes his community and life.  The story is riveting.

I'll probably be presenting about my travels at a church service in the weeks ahead.  We have several missionaries back on furlough this summer, and my pastor's series on "Encounters with the Holy Spirit" will soon start.  Thus, I will probably have something short and sweet to offer near the end of the month during a break in the service.  If you're interested in watching it, the streaming video will be available here.

So...I'm trying to identify the most promising path for moving forward, and I recognize that my commitment to that "groove" will only deepen during the next phase of my days here.  If you have some thoughts of your own that could help me move forward and use what I've learned to help others and also fit some model for financial compensation (a.k.a. job, work, start-up business, etc.), then please share them with me.  I'm sure you have a lot of wisdom and know a lot of people.  ;)

Some of my other readings alongside the Bible (Dr. Professor Horner's Bible Reading Plan - check it out!) at this moment are:

• "The Ultimate Proof of Creation:  Resolving the Origin's Debate"
• "Global Negotiations:  The New Rules"
• Essays on Christology
• Essays on Global Politics
• An essay on Islam
• A couple books about professional sales

Please pray for me in putting together a solid, representative PowerPoint presentation for my church family and having a clear vision for what I will share in the time I'm given.  Please also pray for the continued fruitfulness of the mission fulfilled in the Balkans.  And, pray for this transition in my life as I look for work that aligns with my passionate mission to follow Jesus, to call others to do the same, and to use our influence and abilities in the marketplace and gifts in the church to increase the presence and power of godliness in our cultures.

The end draws near...I am coming soon.

I am returning soon - in less than a week.  As the end of my days here approaches, I have much to think on and consider.  Reflection is and will be my exercise of understanding so that wisdom might abound through obedience. A few more opportunities to consult may arise, and so please keep praying for discernment about speaking truth in love when I am to speak and that I would hold my tongue when I ought so that presumption doesn't strike my soul.  I praise God that He continues to birth new faith in my heart and that I grow in hope.  Pray the brothers and sisters here live by faith and not by sight - because the days are dark even though the truth is shining in our hearts.  Do not be deceived and fall into cynicism yourselves.  The Lord has overcome the world, its ruler, and their darkness.  He is the Lord of all.  If you aren't living like He is, begin today. 

Friday, July 29, 2011

I'm heading to Romania earlier than planned.  Instead of going by train Sunday night, I'll leave today with Christian (a BL brother) into northern Bulgaria in about an hour for some BL work, probably visiting a gathering or two and maybe speaking.  We'll meet up with one of the Romanian brothers tomorrow evening, and I'll head with that brother to Bucharest.  I'll be there until the 13th of August, at which point Nicky from the BL BG will pick me up and bring me back to Sofia.  I'll have the 14th in Sofia, and I'll start my return journey on the morning of the 15th, arriving in FW in the late evening.

Thanks for the continued prayer support and please don't let up.  The Romanian situation is that it may be the most ripe among the countries for work, as the evangelical presence is stronger there than even in BG (according to the brothers  in the other parts of the Balkans).  This may mean my potential for helping will increase as the "light is already shining" and a dominant attitude of hopefulness is present. 

Update on Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Greetings all,

I'm currently on a train from Bourgas, Bulgaria back to Sofia, Bulgaria, and it's about 10:10pm. 

I've been keeping on track with my daily Bible reading, and prayer has been more difficult, though God has given me more grace by giving me times to pray when I attended the youth conference and was unable to join in singing because of not knowing the songs or when praying and not knowing the language (and being without an interpreter).  I continue to be exceptionally blessed in traveling.  I have some small summaries of my daily activities during the past 2 weeks, but they are not very helpful without extended summaries.  Listening and learning has been the primary emphasis of these weeks.  I'm reevaluating the Bulgarian situation with churches, church-planting efforts, and business opportunities.  The brothers continue to show me great kindnesses in spending time with me and answering my questions and telling me their testimonies.  Because you have been praying for such I know I can tell you that God has granted me the wisdom asked for, both in sustaining my behavior and giving me the understanding and insight useful for my service.  I have been able to encourage many brothers and sisters during my recent stays.  And, I too have been encouraged with many words of affirmation from the brothers and sisters.

I am thinking about the opportunities all around me.

Unity and partnership are tricky things - because humility is foreign and a difficult subject for all of us.  It takes real vulnerability to willingly allow someone the chance to slam the door in your face, crush your heart, and diminish your status in front of others.  But, that's necessary for true partnership.  Partners aren't equals in the sense that each has the same responsibilities and authority.  Partners are equal in the sense that they are concerned for the good of the other and the accomplishment of the mission for which they've partnered.  When one partner is more concerned about something other than that mission and to the detriment of the other partner, you realize that you don't have a partnership.  You have something more akin to a parasitic relationship.  When I'm talking with church planters and pastors and I heard them speak about many problems, particularly problems that are the result of other pastors and church planters, my first thought is:  how are you humbling yourself to be a part of the reconciliation needed.  I spoke with one brother at length about this today.  He could be incredibly useful for a specific NEEDED change that would positively affect his entire country for generations into the future, but I noticed some bitterness in him because he had been hurt by another leader in the country - to the point that partnership is not even an option in his heart.  Here's the deal:  no one wants to admit the power of someone else to hurt his or her feelings.  But, the most ironic thing is that being hurt by those you love is at (at, not is) the heart of Christianity.  Jesus was bruised for our sake.  It sets the tone for our relationship.  When dealing with leaders, if you humble yourself, others will either humble themselves or not be ready for partnership anyway.  Thus, if you are humble toward other leaders, you will always be able to partner if partnership can be helpful.  That means that partnership is not helpful if the other party is not yet mature enough to enter the relationship humbly.  They will likely do more harm than good.  Be aware that you could be that party.  I could be that party.  So after speaking with that brother about this issue, I encouraged him to open the lines of communication and perhaps be the voice that needs to be heard on this issue.  We say, "all of these works and ministries are about Jesus and not us," but sometimes we don't act that way when the trials/tests are revealed.  But, we should be joyful to put our faith into action - that's what the Bible says - because every test is movement along the path to becoming more like Jesus.  When we have to put our reputations on the line for the good of others, we shouldn't balk.  The time is too short and the mission too important to get caught up in a vanity fair.

Please pray for my brothers and sisters in Bulgaria - especially the leadership.  There is so much opportunity for the growth within the church (maturity and service) and the advancement of the Gospel (growth of the church in size and scope of mission).  They have ripe harvest fields and need more laborers.  The leadership is constantly under attack with the rest of the country.  It's a land of mixed darkness with great sensuality and depression led by a masquerading demon.  Pray that unity in the church would prevail by the power of the Spirit and that hope would abound in the believers.  Pray for humility among the leadership in accepting counsel from one another and outsiders.  Pray that pride deriving itself from past experiences and circumstances would be eliminated in hearts.  Pray that a desire to serve in reproducing godly leadership for the next generations would fuel changes in the churches' practices.  Pray that those who see the problems and know the Biblical solutions would be bold to stand up and speak forth.  Pray that we would all have circumcised hearts and ears to hear what the Spirit says to us.  Pray that dependency on foreign aid in any form (missionaries, funds, creative ideas, theological materials, hope/joy, foresight) would be transformed into partnership with foreign brothers - with each serving the other in a vital way in good measure.

I have been re-reading two great books recently when I've had some down time before bed or on buses and trains:  John Owen's Sin and Temptation (abridged version) and J. Oswald Sanders's Spiritual Leadership.  I encourage anyone who has not read these to pick them up and feast a day at a time.

I am thinking about Romania.  I need energy and wisdom for my brothers and sister there.  I should be of the greatest aid to them.  I must serve them at least as well as I have my other brothers and sisters, and should give more now that I have so many more experiences to glean from. Pray that these last few weeks are exponentially effective by God's grace for His name.  Pray for my relationships with the brothers and sisters there, that we would quickly align our hearts in mutual faith.  Pray that I would quickly find comfort in the surroundings and that my purpose in being there would be understood by the brothers.  Pray that they might be prepared for my arrival with ideas and service for me to partake in.  I have certainly been blessed with abundant opportunities to share the Gospel throughout my journey, and I know this has been vital for my reception in many ways.  By checking my spiritual competence in preaching and advising they have some gauge on my ability to give practical advice and business counsel - knowing the faith from which it sprouts and to which I give credit.  This might take place in Romania as well, and so if I am asked to share and preach or teach, pray again that I might speak the truth in love with power according to the grace given me in Jesus, and that the word takes fruitful root and is not stolen away.  I cannot repeat it enough:  God has heard your prayers for me and I have advanced much more quickly with must greater blessing in this mission because of your faithful obedience to pray.  If you have read these and haven't prayed, just know that others have, and God heard them.  If you pray for me too, know that my mission will speed forth more quickly and successfully and you will gain in my joy also.


I have a new dream in my heart for the future.  I will share about it in the weeks after I return.

Update

The intensity of my travel and experiences is resulting in a lack of time to continue with elongated updates.  I haven't always had a computer with me or the internet recently.  Thus, I'm relaying that to you so you understand why I might skips some days here:  7/17-7/22.

I've had two prophecies given about me, and one more at the BCPN conference.  Please keep praying for me as I continue in the ministry and consider these words in my heart and pray about many things myself.

I am in Burgas, Bulgaria at the moment, and will attend this national youth conference (ages 12-48) to meet with some of the leaders as well as meet with a local church planter who is exceptionally entrepreneurial-minded.  I'm here to help counsel him in his business and humanitarian ventures as well as encourage his spiritual leadership of these works.  Pray for me to have and offer clear vision and abundant hope.

If I'm able to return to Macedonia, it will be on the 27th and 28th.  Please pray.

I leave for Romania next Sunday (30th) night by train.

Saturday, July 16

I woke and helped everyone leave the camp and cleaned up the grounds to prepare for the next group coming through (kids 6-11).  The kitchen staff bought me a camp t-shirt as they appreciated my care for them during the week.  I gave a few people my family picture (including Goran, my roommate).  I packed my own gear and Kiki and I drove a few girls to Mitrovica where Goran and they all live.  I was going to stay in Mitrovica until Danko came later that evening with his family, and then we would all stay at Pr. Mika's home (Goran's uncle) and Danko would preach the next morning at the church.  We had a great afternoon.  Goran and I went out at one point and I grabbed a few things from the store, including some Serbian chocolate (Yo-Yo).  It's a chocolate mixed with Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal.  Fantastic.  We then went back to the house where a group of Americans were also staying for the week as they are attending and serving at the English camp.  They come from Good Shepherd church in Portland, OR.  The group consisted of 6 teenagers turning seniors in high school (16-17) and three young adults (one married couple).  Goran and I left the house again to go to the church to see a friend of his who was having a birthday.  That friend was one of the fathers of one of the girls at the teen camp we had been at, and so those girls we brought home came to the church too.  After some time, we returned home where we saw Danko, and where the rest of the group was thinking about going for a walk.  Danko's family and I stayed behind.  His wife and kids went to bed, and he and I talked for a bit.  Then I headed to bed and slept until the rest of the group returned, and then it took a little while to get back to sleep.  It was a great day.

Thursday, June 7 - Friday, June, 15

7.7
Woke, had worship, coffee with vladica and Pr. Stanka, then had bfast at vladica's and met his family, went to bus station, bus was 40 min late, read on bus (bible and owen's sin and temptation), danko and dusan picked me up, we went to BL office, hungout with Dusan, played bball for 2 hours, picked up pleshcawitz and ate, to danko's for hangout and first "taste" of potato gun, back home, uploaded updates and videos
7-8
Woke, read, sang, with dusan to mail/bfast/Chinese shop, to BL office to leave and see Dragoljub and talk before leaving for Orosac for the day and Saturday, picked up Danko and left, went to a large grocery to pick up food an drinks for our retreat, settled in at Dragoljub's place and ate some plums from his trees while trying to fill his pool, shot the potato gun a lot, had some relaxing time and conversation until the evening where we grilled and had a great dinner, then we went into the city for walking and drinks, we returned for talking and some cold tea dragoljub had prepared and put in the refrigerator to keep cold, using herbs from his garden (he's super-healthy as a lifestyle and 2nd job/business), I headed to bed earlier than the rest,
7-9
Woke, read a little, talked with dusan and dragoljub, went with dusan to a local gas station for some snacks, came back and hungout and packed until we left, one thing we did was film a short video for Dragoljub's facebook account as a kind of spoof with me as a world traveler for discovery channel finding some ancient beanstalk seeds in Serbia, friend Dragoljub and join his group (over 4,000 members) to see it soon, we left and visited a local mountain lookout (one of the best in the country), and then we went into town for some bfast, we dropped Dragoljub off and headed back to Belgrade, when we returned dusan and I did some laundry in the sink and relaxed a bit, we went to the store and grabbed some food and ate in the process, in the evening he took me into the city to see it on a weekend night and some of he sites including the citadel/castle used to defend against the Turks, It was a crazy nightlife, apparently it's the #2 party city in Europe and I realize why, we had some pizza before coming back, and we walked so much that we crashed when we returned having to rise early in the morning for church
7-10
I packed and shaved for the first time in over a month and it felt great, then dusan and I hustled to meet danko to ride with him to church, but we arrived a little early and so we grabbed some drinks while we waited, and then we left, because we were so early for church because danko was leading the youth in a youth service, dusan and I went to a local bakery and I grabbed some small pastries, and we ended up going back about 10 min later to grab danko's daughter a snack, the service involved a few greetings as one work team was leaving and another had just arrived, it was incredibly hot, and after service danko took all of us to a great mall for lunch and we also grabbed a few things at the grocery store inside - just to give the facts I have now found out there is no law against public displays of nudity as it pertains to magazines and pictures as long as no sexual act is displayed...this means you might be in line at the supermarket and you turn around and one such magazine is on display, and not hidden by any other magazines...it's just there in front of you, when I hear about the frustration of Serbians with Clinton's administration bombing them I think, you cannot destroy the evil in men with bombs, I look all around and though the land is exceedingly beautiful it's poisoned by perverted and sexually provocative marketing, the world is drowning in this filth, I don't wonder why the churches aren't filled with more men, it's because jezebel's church has them.
After the store we headed to a local pool, one of the best in Belgrade, it was ridiculously full, and if I thought the ads were bad, the pool and surrounding hills were sin, after that we went back to the office for me to finish packing/cleanup/and eat something before heading to camp, then danko picked us up and we headed to camp after dropping by the BL warehouse for some materials for the camp, danko and I continued on after dropping Dusan off somewhere else, we had some celebratory meal for a brother who became a grandfather that day, then danko left and the camp leaders had a meeting and afterward we got some sleep
7-11
Woke early to construct some large tents with a dew other guys before the heat became too oppressive, afterward Kiki (a co-leader with me studying at Novi Sad Theological Seminary) and I grabbed water from a local spring, filling 15 five-liter bottles.  We brought them back and had some breakfast before doing some other work, then I sent out that email and got to know one student and played some music for some of the other leaders, I decided to go for a walk as no one was doing anything and found a local park and sang and prayed, later I played some bball with some younger guys, and then I cleaned up and read before helping one of the brothers hang some camp signs, from there we were called for dinner, and then we had our evening session, I'm going to teach a workshop on breakdancing this week as they needed a workshop leader for dance and we'll have a part in the week's final message, we also have a talent show and sports activities, the setting and organization of the camp is unlike camps I've experienced in the US...somewhat because the culture and size of the camp (about 50 students) and experince of leadership, I'll head to bed soon, god bless, please pray for the youth to have ears to hear the messages from God and to deny the whispers of the enemy who desires them to hear nothing of te truth and to be bored and uninterested in God's word - pray that God would wake many from their slumber to a vibant life of faith
7-12
Woke
Read the Bible
Morning exercise
Bfast/devotion/planning
Small groups
Teaching 1
Pause
Teaching 2
Worship
Break
Dance workshop
Lunch
Cleaning hill
Swimming pool
Break
Volleyball
Dinner
Creative worship/message/skit/announcem

ents
Campfire
Bed

7-13
Woke
Read the Bible
Morning exercise
Bfast/devotion/planning
Small groups
Teaching 1
Pause
Case study - Samson
Teaching 2
Worship
Break
Dance workshop
Lunch
Cleaning (girls' dorms)
Skit taping and forest Bible games
Break
Volleyball
Dinner
Creative worship/message/skit/announcements
Cafe/summer garden
Bed

7-14
Woke
Got new water with Kiki
Shaved
Read the Bible
Morning exercise
Bfast/devotion/planning
Small groups
Prayed
Teaching 1
Break
Case study on Ezekiel 47
Teaching 2
Dancing
Lunch
Break
Dishes cleaning
Rest
Swimming pool
Snack
Sports
Dinner
Break
Skit/game/talent/worship/testimony/fire/throat hurting to bed

7-15
Woke around 5:40, throat hurting
Went with Kiki to get water around 6:20 and then took trash to the dump
Came back and read te bile and prayed a little
Had breakfast with leaders
Small groups / Samaritan woman at well
Teaching 1
Small groups / peter's sermon in Acts 2
Teaching 2

Dancing
Lunch
Break
Dishes cleaning
Rest
Water Olympic Games
Snack
Final Sports Game (took a nap in office)
Dinner
Break
Skit/game/talent/worship/Goran spoke (prayed in room)

Outdoor hangout (all night long) 

 

 

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

This morning I woke later than I had hoped to, but I was able to quickly ready myself and had some time for good coffee with Vladica and Iveca (for maybe an hour) before heading to Irena’s house. I had some reading I wanted to do in the Scriptures, and so the brothers brought the coffee to me and then we joined to drink it in another room. We headed over to Irena’s house around 10:00am and met another sister along the way who proceeded to kiss and hug us. At Irena’s house she and her mother-in-law and her children greeted us. Theirs is a home of peace and love. We spent time talking and hearing about their life and I shared a little about who I was. They had so many good things to say about Pr. Bob, Pr. Bill, Ray, Roger, and the brothers who came with them last time they visited, and they gave abundant thanks to God for our church and the elders and leaders who have blessed them so much. I shared that as our sister we are glad to be obedient to provide for our own household, and that we love her and that her husband encouraged our faith. She had planned for us to have breakfast/lunch with her and had cooked a feast of a meal for us. It was great, though I find my stomach shrinking every day. It’s somewhat of a conundrum for me. Either way, I love eating the food, especially in homes filled with love. They wanted me to pass along the greetings and thanks and kept making sure I would remember, and so I took video to reassure them that word would get back. They want to encourage you all, as I shared with them the difficulties faced in the past few years, and they are very glad to pray for you. We had some coffee and desserts, and then we watched a video of the service that Janosh led the week before he got sick and quickly died. The week prior to his death, his mother had a dream. He had been sick, and his mother had a dream in which there was a lamb lying on the ground. I didn’t understand from the translation whether the lamb was sick or not, but it wasn’t until she saw Jesus pick up the lamb and hold the lamb gently and tenderly care for the lamb that she understood that the lamb was Janosh and that the Lord was in control and going to forever care for her son. After a couple hours of talking and relaxing and enjoying fellowship together, Vladica, Iveca, and I left to go to the church where some of the youth would be coming to hang out with me and take me around. We arrived about 30 min. early, and I took the time to finish reading some of the Scriptures and then a good while to pray – as the boys arrived late and then needed to do some work and talk with Vladica about an upcoming camp for the younger youth. When I had finished praying, Chaslav and Stef took me on a walk around the city. We went to the park where I had eaten with Vladica and Iveca the other day and we sat and talked and ate some fruit that Irena sent with us. The boys wanted to show me a river area, and so we headed there. When we got to the place where they wanted to rest and eat some fruit, there was a large horse in the pathway. Chaslav is a little afraid of animals, and so this was a bit frightening to him, and he thought we should probably just head back. He was a little disappointed, because he wanted us to go down to this rock in the middle of the creek for relaxing. We tried to go forward a bit, but the horse just snorted and would snap at us. Stef tried moving forward but got an even more foreboding jerk from the horse. Chaslav really thought we should head back at that point, but I decided to pray out loud about the horse moving – to enlarge their faith that God answers prayers, and to have the joy of the day that they had planned. The horse didn’t move. Chaslav started to lead us back, but in our way from the other direction came a shepherd. He was leading his goats. Chaslav started to say, “Oh man…” because he didn’t want goats snapping at him. But this shepherd was a good shepherd and very kind. He led his goats along the path and their bleating and numbers scared the horse and moved it down across the creek to the other side by a tree. Thus, we were able to go relax on the rock as planned. This also provided a good illustration for my message that night – though I forgot to use it when the time came…haha. When we had relaxed and talked enough, we headed back to the home of Iveca and chatted for a little and I showed the guys some of my music. Then Vladica, Iveca, and I had some late-lunch/dinner that Iveca’s wife had prepared. After lunch, I took a rest, briefly looking over my notes and praying, and then I listened to some music while lying down. When the time came to go to the church for the service, I was ready. Vladica and I headed down the street – Iveca was already there leading the worship group (the youth) in pre-service worship. We sang for a good long while, and I took some video of a few of the songs. Eventually, Vladica and I went up and shared from the Scriptures about praying and God’s character being good and the assurance we can have in God’s answering our prayers so that His justice and greatness are made known and that we are filled with joy in the process. I prayed for the church afterward and sang a song with Chaslav before them all. Then Iveca shared with the church about some announcement issues. I took pictures with some of the brothers after that and prayed for a young boy who had been through a fire years ago and was still in need of healing for his arms. Then, Vladica took a picture of some of the group of us in front of a statue in the Roma district outside of the church. After that we all went to Iveca’s house for coffee and to grab my bags before heading to Leskovac (I’ve heard it pronounced both Lesk-o-wits and vits). After coffee we took the bags to Vladica’s van (received from a brother after 9 or 11 years of prayer while faithfully traveling by any other means he could to visit the brothers and preach and teach). He and I left and traveled to the bus station in Leskovac to see about ticket prices to Belgrade, and we then headed to the Evangelical church in Leskovac (which he says is the spiritual center of southern Serbia) where I would stay the night. I cleaned up, organized my things, and went to bed.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

This morning I woke, got ready, and finished packing. When I was confident I was finished, I woke Tim for some breakfast. Because I had had a filling late lunch with Stole the day before, I hadn’t eaten my food I had purchased for dinner. Tim and I ate that and the breakfast fruit and food I had as well. We spoke about some of our theological leanings while we ate and drank some Schweppes “Bitter Lemon” soda. Stole arrived soon afterward, and we grabbed my things and headed to the bus station. He made sure I was loaded before leaving. My bus ride lasted from 9:25 to about 12:20 (when I got off the bus in Vranje (pronounced Vron-yay), Serbia. I spent the time reading and praying. Vladica met me at the station and together we headed to the Roma (gypsy, but the people are called Roma (Rome-ah) by the language they still speak). At the church I met Iveca (EE-vet-sa). He’s an elder and leads worship. This is the church where our brother Janosh was an elder. About half or more of the church is currently gone for season work – two of the elders included. But, about 50 people are still showing up a few times a week for worship, services, and prayer. Normally, they hold youth meetings on Saturday nights and then have a time for hanging out and coffee, sometimes at Iveca’s house. He and Vladica are both married. Iveca is 36 and Vladica is 34. They both have three children; Vladica has the only boy between them. At the church, Vladica, Iveca, and I had some drinks and some of the snacks I had for traveling but hadn’t eaten. It was then that Vladica told me that we had been called to have breakfast with Irena (EE-rain-ah) (Janosh’s widow) the next day. Some of the church’s youth who are still in Vranje arrived for worship practice (4 young men: Christian, Stefan, Chaslav, and Mario). Vladica had told them that I was coming, and they wanted to spend as much time as possible with me. After practicing for a little while (these brothers can jam), we took my bags to Iveca’s home up the street, and then the boys took me up a nearby mountain to see the Hotel Prarz (Pra-zhars). We took some drinks and snacks with us. While there, Chaslav translated for me as best he could and we talked about all sorts of things and took pictures and video. We eventually came back down the mountain and they dropped me off at the home and I went with Vladica and Iveca for some hamburgers at a local park. We then came back and took a rest before the youth meeting. I wrote a few notes, prayed, and napped for about an hour. Vladica and I then headed to the church and prayed with the youth and some other adults leaders for awhile before the service began. After singing several songs (though I mostly prayed a lot), God moved my heart and I prayed a very strong prayer. Just after praying that prayer, Irena, came and gave a word from Psalm 37 which was God’s direct answer to my prayer. You see, Irena has taken up the ministry that fueled her husband. She is very much involved in mentoring and leading the young people. After that word, Vladica and I went up before them and shared. Up on the mountain the brothers had taught me how to say “God bless you/you all, My name is David, and it’s nice to meet you,” and so I began with those. I then shared with Vladica translating. I also shared the testimony about the beginning of service (from my prayer and God’s answer through Irena’s word) and the war that is waged for our hearts’ affections. After the service I went walking through Vranje with the young guys and girls (who hadn’t been able to come with us earlier – all between 16 and 17). Walking through Vranje we were able to see both the Serbian corzo (that walking street of Turkish origin) and the Roma corzo (which is right next to the church). Coming back from our walk, we stopped at the church and had some drinks (we’re not buying drinks all the time, we have 1.5 liter bottles and keep drinking from them) and watched a few worship videos and a video of their summer evangelistic meeting from the year before. Chaslav then prayed for all of us before we left. They took me back to the home (it’s through alleys and such) and we met Vladica and Iveca on the way, walking the street with some other church members. I returned to the room they blessed me with (their own bedroom) tired and ready to sleep. I wrote this update in bed and updated it today (Thursday). I found out that I preach in the evening tomorrow. Because Iveca had spoken to the youth of how important prayer is, I decided that I wouldn’t give the same message to the rest of the church, but that I would speak on prayer. God bless.

Monday, July 4, 2011

I woke this morning and went with Tim to breakfast at the local bakery around the corner from the BL office and we spoke about some of our ministry and more background information about our lives. He and DeeJay were going to spend time with the missionary family he (Tim) had interned with for a year a few years ago. They were going to have a 4th of July celebration. Hah. I went back to the room and read and met Stole in his office a little later. We talked a little and then Jonatan from Teen Challenge arrived and took orders for buric (that flaky meat/pizza/cheese filled pastry) and returned a little later with another late breakfast. We all went to the kitchen and ate there, talking about the educational/employment situation in MK. We spoke a bit about the desire to have government ministry positions by the youth in the country. After that and much telling of jokes I went back to reading. Stole’s brother came by the office while we were eating, and so he joined Stole and I in the office when Jonatan left. He made Stole and I some coffee. In the meantime, I worked on my message for Vranje with brother Vladica – so that translation would go more smoothly. After a little while, Stole wanted to go get my bus ticket, and so we headed to the Skopje bus station and purchased a ticket for the Tuesday morning. Maya, who also works at the BL office took my form that showed I was legally allowed to be in MK to the police station and had it approved that I could leave the country (the bus traveled across the border between MK and Serbia). After grabbing the ticket, Stole and I headed over to a local mall and took some time to explore, as I had not yet seen any of the shopping centers. While there, he helped me get some snacks for the trip and dinner for the evening and breakfast for the morning. Because of our purchases at the grocery we were given a coupon for a restaurant in the mall, and so we decided to use it and for lunch. After having some lunch, Stole took me to his home and we had some coffee while he showed me pictures of his family and his son’s recent graduation from high school. His wife and son Marco were there. As I mentioned a week ago, his son Philip was near Strumica (pronounced Strew-meat-sa – and Skopje is pronounced Scope-ía – and Kavadarci is pronounced Kav-AH-darts-ee). He and his wife were called on by another brother and sister, and so they needed to go for a visit and dropped me off at the BL office on the way. I asked if there was a local basketball court, and Stole said yes, and he checked with a brother (Goran, but called Mafa) to see if he could take me to it. Mafa and Maya were working on some things and said they would come by my room when finished. I said it wasn’t a big deal, and to not worry. Back in my room I transferred my message from notepad to computer and sent it to brother Vladica (Vlahd-eat-sa). Then I spent a good time in prayer. It was one of the most prayer-filled prayer times of the week, and so it was very encouraging and powerful for my heart and soul. I thought it was getting late and so hadn’t planned on Mafa coming to get me and go to see the b-ball courts, but he showed up at my door and so we left. We picked up another friend of his (Trayche – Try-chey) and went to the City Park and walked around and found a place to sit at the café on the man-made beach on the bank of the Varda River, directly across from the U.S. Embassy (the largest U.S. embassy in the world). We spoke a lot about business, and he called for his sister to come and speak with me also. Her name is Svetlana, and she has translated for Pr. Bob in the past. She is my contact with the government minister and might be able to get me a meeting. It was getting late, and I had my bus to catch in the morning, and so we headed back from coffee. The other brothers had just recently returned also. I cleaned up, packed, and headed to bed.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Update:

I traveled to Kavadarci around 6:00pm and met a young man by the name of Marian there who has recently graduated from the university in MK with a degree in theater and dance. He became a Christian during his college years, and his mother attends Pr. Goran’s church in Negotino. He translated for me at the Roma church in Kavadarci. We arrived at the church, waited for a little while, and then the pastor prayed. During that prayer Marian had a vision for two of the youth to become missionaries. He didn’t share that vision until later. After that prayer, we sang one song and then I was given the opportunity to share. I preached on the Greatest Curse and testified about sin and Jesus on the cross. Afterward I sang a song and had us all join hands and prayed, and I asked the pastor to pray too. Then Marian shared his vision. One of the boys’ grandmothers said that these two specific boys had been given the same prophecy/word before by another speaker who had visited them, and so they took this as a confirmation of that word. Pastor Goran called soon afterward, because Pastor Mirco and his wife were at the church in Negotino, and were to take me home, and were waiting for me. I had to leave, therefore, and grabbed a taxi and left Kavadarci for Negotino. When I arrived in Negotino, they were waiting, but the decision was to stay for dinner rather than leave. Thus, we stayed for a couple hours and then left for Skopje. On the way home they asked me to share about my experiences in MK and then we spoke a little about pastor Mirco’s vision for a theological school in MK based in Kumanovo. Please be in prayer for this dream/hope/desire as it would be strategically purposeful for teaching and guiding new Kingdom leaders. As it is, the brothers need to leave the country to gain theological educations. I arrived at the BL office a little late and met Tim and DeeJay in the room already. I chatted with them about the evening, and then I organized my things a little before heading to bed.


This morning I woke to read, pray, and ate some leftover pizza for breakfast. Then I went downstairs for the service. I spoke first this morning after we sang a little and Pr. Goran introduced me again. I spoke about a faith that isn’t stagnant, but is added to continually (2 Peter 1). I also spoke about the requirement of a disciple to forsake all in following Jesus – to realize that you give up nothing of worth in following Jesus and gain all that is worthy. Tim and then D.J. spoke after me. Then we had communion. I have a video clip of the worship going on during communion. After service, we had coffee time with the brothers and sisters and I learned some new Macedonian phrases. After that I had a lot of free time, as I’m even now (5:40pm) waiting before heading to Kavadarci for the service. I went with the American brothers to get some lunch and we had some good long talks about testimonies and all sorts of other things. Coming back I worked on my message for this evening – I plan to talk about the worst of all curses. Then I spent time singing and talking with some of the guys individually about their lives – time on the mission field, experience in the States, eschatology (a lot of people here are asking me about the end times…), and some other theological topics. Thanks for your faithful praying. When I return to Negotino tonight, I’ll leave with Pr. Mirco for Skopje, and I’ll be there tonight, Monday, and I’ll leave for Vranje, Serbia on Tuesday.

Saturday, July 02, 2011

This morning I woke about 15 minutes prior to when we needed to be ready to leave. I quickly readied myself, drank some of my juice and ate a croissant, and then Goran and I did some work in the meeting hall of the church. It took less than 10 minutes. Then he and I went and visited some people with the aid before returning to the church. When we returned, he said that the weather was nice and that we would visit the pool in Negotino (somewhat famous, been in commercials and music videos – and it’s nice) with the boys. I grabbed my things and we headed to the pool for some “drinks” - meaning coffee, water, juice, pop, not alcohol in this culture and a couple hours of swimming. We had a blast, and then we returned to the church. The guys laughed because I put on sun screen. But, it was good that I did, because I was still burned a little. After returning, I quickly showered and got ready to take the family for pizza, as I heard it was the boys’ favorite food (what boy’s favorite food isn’t?). It was a great time, and on returning. Goran and I had the boys’ help loading humanitarian goods (food and clothes) into the car and a taxi to take to Kavadarci (where I preach tomorrow night). Because of the filled cars, only Timothy could come with us (but Ivan had come the day before). We first met some brothers from Kavadarci (one being the primary pastor of the group I’ll be preaching to – that have a small room in the village they can meet in), and then with them we went to a Gypsy village and unloaded our car’s load. I was asked to share my testimony and did so, but I shared the essentials of the Gospel also, having your and my prayers asking God for the wisdom and receiving it. Many people have told me in all the villages throughout this trip that what I share has touched them and that they see the honesty of what I tell when I tell it. They know I speak from my heart – I’ve heard that numerous times. I tell you, God has heard your prayers. Please keep praying for me and that His Word would go forth powerfully to transform these peoples to become His peoples, our brothers and sisters, for their good and our good. Keep praying for the brothers and business situations, that I would gain understanding about the environments and how to shrewdly steward resources for the Kingdom here and elsewhere in the Balkans, and that I would gain good contacts with men and women who have the same mindset, more connections, and the resources to do the work. After we finished, we went and visited a sister’s house and met her kids (11 and 14). The older girl was coming to our youth even this evening, and so we made contact, had a drink, and then left so Pr. Goran and Timothy could show me the sights in Kavadarci, and where I would need to meet people when I came back alone the next day. Please pray for the logistics – that I don’t get lost and that the people show up on time in the same location as me. When we finished, we returned to the house and picked up the daughter – after having some fresh watermelon slices. Then we came with the daughter and her friend back to the church. Only a handful of kids came, but three Americans showed up too. One is a pastor, one is his student (18) who is going to start school to become a pastor, and the third is a missionary kid from Skopje (15). I went upstairs before the meeting to put some things away, and then I came down and met them all. The meeting began, and we sang, and then the pastor said a short word to introduce us, and then asked me to come speak first, and I shared with the kids about my coming to know Jesus, and then about the vanity of life lived apart from Jesus and the love of the world. Then the Pastor (Tim Bentley – AoG) spoke, and after him his student spoke. Then we prayed and the kids had fun. I stayed for a little and then went upstairs to do a couple of things and the brother who is translating for them sat and talked with me for a little while. His name is Igor. Please pray for his stomach as he has H. Pylori. Pray that God would heal him. He has gone to Bible school in Serbia, and he also studied in Pennsylvania at Mount Zion (David Wilkerson co-founded). We went back downstairs and then I went with Alexander and Iliev and a few of the girls to walk in the city center. I went mainly because I was concerned for their well-being. After settling their safety as well as I could, I returned to the church, talking with the two brothers the whole way (they returned with me). Iliev doesn’t speak English, but Alexander does some (and understands well). I pressed them pretty hard to be watching out for their Christian sisters, and Alexander especially, because his sister was there. I saw the pairing off going on, and it’s so messed up. Pray these brothers catch that word and understand this charge from God. I then spent a little time talking with the other Americans, and showered, and went to speak to Igor, who was sleeping already. I prayed for him and then went and spoke with the Americans again and prayed with them. Then I came to finish this update. God will answer when we call. Please keep calling out for us. I love you.

Friday, July 01, 2011

Update:

Goran and I packed some humanitarian goods into the car and delivered them, stopping to see if we could pick up one of the boys from the day before, but he wasn’t home. After returning to the church, we found him and the other boy there waiting for us to go to a distant village for a church-plant’s service. The boys (16 and 18) help lead worship and the children’s time. Once in the village, we visited a brother who is currently injured and unable to move because of falling from a roof while doing work. From his house we went to the meeting place for the brothers. Usually only men show up at the meeting along with kids (no relation). Tonight, only four kids showed up (usually 15, they think it might have to do with summer vacation), and 4 or 5 adult men. Pr. Goran asked if I would share, and so I had a verse I planned to speak about. When I started to share and asked Goran if these men had heard the Gospel before and he said yes, but they don’t understand it, I proceeded to share the essential Gospel and used that message as a launching point for my passage (Prov. 25:13-14). We came back and ate some food and watched a movie about the coast guard.

This morning I rose early to go with the boys to see Dimi (an associate pastor) take his dogs for a walk. He has two huskies, one large one that’s black and white, and a small one that gold and white. The large one has two differently colored eyes, one green and the other silver-white. We walked along the Varda River and played with the dogs and then returned home after I picked up some croissants. Back at the church I did some reading and prayer before Pr. Goran got me to go visit Igor. From meeting Igor we went to visit another young business man whose name I forgot, but he operates his own printing press in Negotino (age 26). Pr. Goran wanted to go visit him as he’s interested in Christianity, and so my visit provided the reason. I was able to share with him about the book of Proverbs and Pr. Goran invited him and his mother to a meeting Pr. Mircho is going to lead on Sunday night. I also learned of that man who invested the 120,000 euros, that he is near Negotino, and we will try and meet tonight. He has a winery in Macedonia and one in Cincinnati also. He is investing some good time and energy in Macedonia, as he was born here, to help the church leaders become tentmakers. After we met that second young businessman, we headed to Dimi’s house for lunch. Then we came back to the church, where I am now resting and writing this update. We plan to go visit some believers later and deliver some humanitarian packages.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

I woke and ate a small breakfast from some items I had purchased the day before. Then, Ivan, Goran’s youngest son, came and got me so that we could do some work in the basement. After some work, a couple of the youths came and got me and the boys, as they wanted to show me around the city. Negotino is a small city of about 12,000 people. Their greatest export is wine/grapes. We walked through the city center and then to a hospital for one of the brothers to grab some asthma medicine prescriptions, and then we went back to the center for some snacks. We chatted for awhile, and then they took me to meet Toni, a friend of theirs from the church who was at the prayer meeting the previous night who is the president of a local blind persons association. We talked for a while and then left for one of the boy’s homes. We went in and sat and listened to music, his sisters were there and they sat around with us too. The ages were 10, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and me (24). After that, we all headed home. The boys and I had lunch back at the home, and then I helped Pr. Goran with some issues he was having with organizing events and such on Facebook. The boys then showed me a few magic tricks, and then I showed them a few of my own. By then it was time for us to go visit Zivko (the man who I had cut wood with and prayed for). After some good conversation, Pr. Goran had to leave, and the boys and I stayed. Then, after a little while, the boys left to go home to dinner, but Zivko’s son, Igor, asked me to stay. I ended up speaking to their whole family for four more hours about Jesus Christ, the Gospel, the life of faith, godliness, the end times, and more. Igor also had a lot of questions about business as he’s a traffic management director for a shipping company but wants to start his own shipping company. When I left around 12:45am, he asked me to come visit him at work the next day.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

New Update:

We visited that sister, and she had prepared us a great meal for our coming. Then we visited her mother-in-law (both are widows) and uncovered a bit of bitterness in her heart. The daughter-in-law is a believer only 4 weeks old, and the mother-in-law a believer of more years than the church in the city. I heard bits of the story as Daniella (Pr. Goran’s wife), explained it to me. I prayed before we ended, and then we headed back to the church for the prayer meeting. We began with a few announcements, and then we sang a couple of songs before I gave the message on the widow’s persistence. I forgot to mention that while doing the woodwork the first day, an older man was chopping wood and hurt his wrist. I went over and offered to pray for him and then later, he asked me to pray again, specifically for his addition to tobacco. He was ashamed of it and trying to hide it from Pr. Goran while we worked, and didn’t want to smoke anymore. I told him I would and we did right there, and Timothy translated my prayer for him. He then told us that was his last cigarette. Then at the prayer meeting he said he had read the parable of the widow’s persistence earlier that day, and he also said a lot more I didn’t have translated. The brothers prayed over him specifically at the end of the meeting and he invited Goran and I to his house tomorrow to meet his son and relax. After the meeting, I went upstairs and was going to rest until the boys got me for some time to talk with the family later. I guess it could wait, because my door was open and I was asleep on my bed until the next morning.


Partial update:
It’s Wednesday. Today I wokeup, read, prayed, and then went with Pr. Goran’s eldest son, Timothy (12) to a local shop to buy a few items and then to a local bakery for burek (like layers of dough and filling like meat and spices – I had it at Marjan’s place). We went back, ate our breakfast, and then we met downstairs to resume the work of hauling and chopping wood. That lasted until about 1:00pm, and then we headed in. I showered and then came down for some lunch. After lunch we took a couple hour break during which I wrote the past few days’ updates and did a couple of other things. I finished my message for tonight – I’ll speak on the parable of the persistent widow for the prayer meeting. After the break we went downstairs to the sanctuary where there are a lot of humanitarian aid packages. We had to put some more of them together and then move them across the room, out of the way for the week’s services. Then I returned to my room to work on this update before we head to a new sister’s house, and then come back for the prayer meeting. I’ll update you again if there is much more to say. Please keep praying for my effectiveness in preaching by the power of the Spirit and for the openness of the men and women with whom I stay. Different people feel me out differently, and so it takes a little while before I know they’re comfortable having me around. Also, I’ve received some news today from some of the brothers I’ll be staying with in the next few weeks. Please pray for our communication as it’s somewhat hard for me to decipher. I think some people have been a little put out that I’m coming, and given that I don’t want to be a burden, this can be understandable but hard to deal with emotionally/spiritually. Also, pray that as I have time to spend with the youth in these churches and with the children of the church-planters that I can be a godly influence on them, encouraging them in respecting, honoring, and looking up to their parents. I have seen this as a great ministry opportunity, to speak into their lives and give them as much friendship as I can. Until later, God bless.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Another short post

I woke, read, had a great breakfast as usual, and listened to a little music with Pr. Toni before heading to the bus stop around 10:45. My bus left around 11:00am, and took me from Strumica to Negotino. It lasted about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Pr. Goran picked me up and took me to the church where his home and my lodging is. I unpacked and then we had lunch and his two sons and I started to watch the movie: To save a life. I hadn’t seen it and was interested in how well done the movie was. We stopped watching when Pr. Goran came in to let us know it was time for some work. An agency had arrived that morning unannounced with wood for the church’s heating, but had dumped it all and blocked the driveway. This was unannounced and meant a lot of extra work. We worked until the later evening and came in for a late dinner and finished the movie. Then Pr. Goran briefly outlined the week for me and I headed to bed. I called my parents for a quick SKYPE chat and then headed to bed. Tomorrow we finish the job and do some other work before heading out for a home visit and then have the prayer meeting in the evening.

Monday, June 27, 2011

This post will be shorter in order for me to catch up.

This morning I cleaned and packed for heading to Pr. Toni’s. We headed to the church’s cucumber/tomato/pepper field which was developed thanks to a European brother’s gift of 120,000 Euros. The first and second years were good and so-so in regard to return, but because of the e-coli scares, this year’s crop has been deemed worthless by surrounding countries (though it’s fine to eat as we have been all along). From that field we traveled to Pr. Toni’s sister’s field where she had a heating system (which helps the crops grow more quickly so that you can get your food to market first and get the best prices). Then we headed to his home for breakfast (huge!) with Desi and to take her to a women’s prayer meeting. After dropping her off we headed to see the businessman brother (I had asked if I could get an appointment to meet him). We had an awesome meeting of a few hours in length. I learned a great deal and my mindset for Macedonia’s business climate changed again. From the meeting, Pr. Toni and I visited Desi’s parents and we went with her dad to their watermelon patch and grabbed some for home. At home we had lunch with Philip and Desi, and then we rested. I had about an hour to rest, but I slept for 2. We left for the mountains, to hike up a trail to a monastery. We hiked most of the way, and then came back down for the evening. On the way home we picked up Philip’s friends and took them to another friend’s house for movies. Then we went to one of the friend’s house for coffee and snacks with the adults. We picked up Desi and then went there, and had a couple hours of good conversation. I shared a few testimonies and plans for the future. We returned home around midnight. The young guys were at the house to watch the movie, and so I saw them for a few moments before cleaning up and heading to bed. I traveled to Negotino the next day.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Last night’s message went well. I spoke about the power of being a Christian versus the powerlessness of doing the Christian things. I explained how only Christians can walk like Jesus and that the a bad tree cannot bear good fruit, and so it’s worthless to try to be like Jesus unless you have the same life that He has and that same seed of God in you. After the group ended, Zivko got together with the young adults who normally lead worship and who are leading the worship time at the youth camp they have in a couple of weeks, and I hung around and met different people from the youth. Many of them were 19-20-21 and in college in Skopje. They are studying IT, Computer graphics design/marketing, agriculture technology, etc. I found out that we were going to go out for dinner as a large group (the young adults) and so I went to my room and read and sang a little while I waited for their meeting to finish. For dinner we went back to the Corzo (that long street where people gather), and we stopped at a restaurant whose owners were friends with Zivko and one of the younger brothers with us. At dinner I learned that this younger brother’s father (his sister and cousin were also with us) is one of the primary businessmen in Macedonia. They attend the local Methodist church, but come to the youth group because they have all grown up together and gone to school together and play music in the worship band together. It was a good time of fun, relaxation, and lots of joking. As I’ve mentioned before, I see the people in the Balkans most happy around the meal table and when telling a joke. But, be careful, if you aren’t one of the minority parties and try telling a joke, you’ll probably be seen as an oppressor. I haven’t had that misfortune yet, but I did notice uneasiness once when I cracked a joke about one of the countries. It’s like the use of the n-word in the States. If you’re using it and you aren’t black, then you’re racist. It’s not a parallel situation, but it’s analogous. After dinner, we dropped off a brother and Zivko’s sister and headed back to the church. There I cleaned up and went straight to bed in order to get a few hours of sleep before preaching in the morning.

Okay, so I wakeup after 3 hours of sleep and get to work making sure my message is clear. I’m giving a straight Gospel message – God’s character, man’s character, The dilemma of God’s justice, the God’s self-motivation to save, the required response of men, what true faith is, and bearing fruit (including baptism and sharing the Gospel). After finishing my preparation and getting ready for the service I went downstairs and met a few people who had already arrived. I continued to meet people until it seemed that no more would come and grabbed a seat in the front. Pr. Toni came and sat beside me and I asked him to pray and he did. The service began with singing. I knew a few of the songs by heart and was able to sing along in English. Otherwise, all of the songs were in Macedonian and not transliterated (in Cyrillic). Their soundboard/mixer just broke, and so they are without the ability to have their worship band play. Thus, Zivko played the piano and Pr. Toni led in singing. Zivko and his sister are incredible musicians. They both have been ranked at the top in Macedonia among musicians. Zivko was once the #1 theoretical musician in the whole country, and his sister, Ellie, was one of its best pianists (though she had an undiscoverable nerve problem in her right hand that forced her to stop playing daily – and so she stopped going to music school though she is still phenomenal). After we finished singing, Pr. Toni invited me up to preach and Zivko and I gave the Word (he translated). We sang some more after the message and prayed before leaving. Pr. Toni and I said goodbye to everyone as they left the church. There was quite a bit of hanging around afterward (This was the 9:00am service in Monospitovo). From there, Zivko, Stephanie, and I drove to Strumica for the 11:00am service there. I didn’t have to preach. Instead, another brother from the U.S., from Chattanooga, TN, was there giving the word. He is a worship leader at The Net church. It’s a North Point styled plant a few years old. He and I were glad to connect as the only U.S. citizens we’d seen in awhile, and I found out that he has a good friend who travels around the world helping churches and church-planters get setup with microfinance businesses. He’s going to send me this friend’s contact information. He preached on God’s life-giving love out of John 4 (the Samaritan woman at the well). He also shared his testimony which was pretty amazing. He was a missionary kid in Germany until moving to the States where he was constantly picked on, had his leg broken by a jealous upperclassmen, was told he was worthless and should have been aborted by a music teacher in front of the whole band, and sought satisfaction and fulfillment in all the wrong places. It was a strong message. After church, Stephanie, Zivko, headed to Pr. Toni’s home for lunch (with Desi, Ellie, and Philip). Pr. Toni loves bluegrass music, especially the Gaither album. HAH! He shared that with me and we had a great lunch afterward. Then they asked me to show them a little breakdancing as they don’t see that anywhere in the country.

Hilarious story: So I go to the restroom in the home and lock the door. Interestingly, the lock didn’t work the best – meaning it didn’t consistently unlock when you turned the key back. I proceeded to try and leave the bathroom but was unsuccessful in unlocking the door. I knocked and called for Zivko and told him the situation: The keys are on the inside of the bathroom, the door reaches to the floor and so you cannot slide them under or pass them over the top. We’re on the fifth floor of the apartment complex, and there was no ledge. Thankfully, the bedroom window was close enough and about parallel so we were able to pass the key on a broom pole from the bathroom window to the bedroom window and I was out in 10 minutes or so. But it’s always an awkward situation when you get locked in someone else’s bathroom and need a mission impossible scenario to leave.

While chatting, I found out that Ellie was into computer graphic design and marketing (and so was another brother in the young adult group). Given what I’d spoken with Zivko about (regarding the film festival organizer position) and Nicky and Stef from BL Bulgaria, and Ivaylo, Hari’s son, I realized the importance of connecting these brothers to see if there could be a partnership that could harness the competencies and passion for Jesus these young Christians have with the newfound opportunities to affect the culture through audio/visual media. I wrote an e-mail to each of them later in hopes of helping initiate some dialogue and action. Zivko, Stephanie, and I left for the church and I took some time to read and rest. Pr. Toni was going to pick me up around 6 or 7pm to go to Bansko, a nearby village, so that we could visit some sisters and a brother in a hospital for the severely disabled. We took time to talk with them and just hung out, sharing stories and hearing about what was going on in the ward. Some patients were trying to commit suicide, and some are manipulative to others. It was very interesting to say the least. I shared a word about the purpose of God in suffering and sanctification for His glory and our joy. Then Pr. Toni and I sang a song. For the most part, we relaxed and shared – while I listened and Pr. Toni would translate from time to time. I prayed at the end and we left. When I returned to the church, I had some dinner with Zivko and Stephanie and then showed them some videos. Then I packed to go stay at Pr. Toni’s house for the next night as Zivko and Stephanie were headed to Greece for a few days. We said goodbye as the evening ended (the would leave very early), and I went to sleep.

In case my next update is slow in coming

I will be speaking at a prayer meeting tomorrow night, and giving short testimonies on Saturday night and Sunday morning.  I will preach at a Gypsy church on Sunday night.  I will be visiting brothers and sisters throughout the week.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

UPDATE:  We returned to Monespitovo (where the church I'm staying at is located) after a good long day of soccer fun.  I accomplished a good deal of update writing and prepared a bit for my messages tonight and tomorrow.  Stephanie made Zhivko and I some food when we returned, and now we're just resting before this evening's service.  Please keep up the prayer.


This morning I woke early and prepared for the day. Zhivko and I left the church and picked up several others in the van on the way to Veles for a soccer tournament many of the pastors are playing in. I read the Bible on the way there and since we’ve been here, I’ve been writing the updates from the last few days as the games continue on. They’re playing in-doors today, because of the heat, and the guys are intense – intense in their desire to win. Their acting skills when they fall and get pushed a little upholds the professional soccer reputation. I’m going to be speaking with the youth tonight, and so I doubt I’ll have much more of an update about the day to write beyond what happens later. I plan to speak on the lifestyle of a Christian with saving faith. And, I’ll speak tomorrow morning for one of the churches. Keep me in prayer. God bless,

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Today was a somewhat uneventful day. I got up and read and prayed and sang and such. I had a strange dream right as I awoke. As I was getting out of bed I saw someone very clearly. I have never seen this person before and do not know the location at which I saw them either. It was very odd. After I was finished, I took my things to the office and talked with Stole a bit about western administration styles versus eastern administration styles. We also spoke a bit about the idea of the Bible vs. by-laws. After our discussion, Marino and Stole had to leave briefly. I was packed and ready to leave, and so I finished my update for Tuesday. Pr. Yosip Pastor arrived at the office and he and Marion helped me load before we headed to the bus station to purchase my ticket and then head to the conference for one of the week’s final sessions. The conference atmosphere and information wasn’t too exciting except for when Mircho spoke and called out the rest of the religious world to stand up for the rights of the Evangelicals if there were really committed to interfaith dialogue. After that session, the guys took me over to the café and we had a big lunch. I met Sasho, another Macedonian pastor, and he shared with me his desire with the rest of the guys to start a Bible school or seminary of their own, as they all have advanced degrees, a few with doctorates and the rest with masters degrees in theology (topics covering OT, NT, Systematic, ethics and philosophy, history, etc.). After lunch, Marino took Yosip and I to the bus station where Yosip helped me find my bus and get loaded. He was going to be taking a train in a couple of hours, and so he had the time to help me out. On the bus (3-5pm) I read a book about cross-cultural business negotiations as that’s an interest of mine, and started up a good conversation about 45 min. before we arrived at Strumica with the guys sitting next to me. He was coming from Skopje to see his wife and daughter and their family. He’d been working for a few weeks in molding and artistic supplies manufacturing. It sounded like he was doing some seasonal work. When I arrived, Pr. Tony was there to pick me up and we loaded his car and were off to his home. I met his wife and we took some time to hear one another’s stories. Neither of them is originally from Strumica, but came to plant churches here. They have three children: two sons and a middle daughter. The eldest son is Zhivko, and it’s with him that I’m currently living. He and his wife are expecting in a couple months. They live at one of the churches that they’ve been developing, and they have a guest room with four beds. It just so happens that the next day (Friday) was to be the hottest day of the year in Strumica. And, as you’ll read Friday’s post, it was. After our time getting acquainted, Tony took me over to that church and I met Zhivko and his wife Stephanie (26 and 22). I also met Philip, Zhivko’s younger brother (going to be a sophomore in high school). After some time of getting acquainted and hearing about their ministry, we had a service down stairs in the church. After some singing and a message from Pr. Tony, we split into two groups and Zhivko and Tony each lead the groups in some discussion questions about the passage. After the service was over and everyone else left, Zhivko, Stephanie, and I went upstairs and had some food and talked more about ministry and business and some testimonies of what has happened in the past two years in this are of Maceonia. We eventually called it a night and I cleaned up, prayed for a bit, and then I went to bed.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

I woke a bit tired Wednesday. Nicky and Stef were leaving, and so I cleaned up quick, and we all met in the office to go grab a quick breakfast before the guys departed. I had an interesting dream about working on a home with a failing roof. I had to leave for something else, and we never actually fixed the roof. Could just be thoughts/anxieties. After breakfast, we said goodbye to the guys and sent them off. Marino and Stole also had to run some errands, and so I had the office to myself for maybe two hours. I spend the time reading and singing and starting to pray when Stole returned. My brother had sent me an interesting e-mail that night/morning, and so I shared it with Stole and we then prayed for awhile. Marino joined us near the end, and then we had a good long discussion about ministry in Macedonia, a short history of the Bible League under Stole’s leadership, the growth of the Evangelical Church in Macedonia, and the legal structure of business development in Macedonia. From all that I’ve gathered, the framework for entrepreneurship is nearly nonexistent – if you want to do things legally and/or you don’t have strong connections with government officials. But, you should take those observations with a grain of salt, because I see small businesses all over the place. What I’ve heard, though, is that those businesses only permit someone to survive. There’s a gathering of Christian business persons in Skopje, but I have yet to be able to meet them. When I return in two weeks, I’ll see if I can get together with them (if they have a meeting) – it will be tricky being that I’ll only be back for half a day. We had a short break after a couple of hours, and then we continued for a bit before breaking again for lunch. For lunch we returned to the café outside of that hotel holding the interfaith conference. During lunch Stole told me about his childhood and testimony. Then, Rev. Jonatan Vlaisavljevic (the executive director of Teen Challenge Europe in Macedonia) joined us and shared with me about their ministry in Macedonia and relationship with the government. Instead of heading back to the office after lunch, we went to another session about Muslims and Christians and what they agree on and what they disagree about. From there we went back to another nearby café and had some coffee and soft drinks. One of the guys’ eastern orthodox friends joined us. From what the guys told me, he’s very much evangelical in his theology but he likes the comforts the EOC has to offer him. From there, they dropped me off at the BL office and I called it a night. I had to do some writing I wanted to get finished and some singing also. I called my brother and Pr. Bob on Skype while uploading some videos to YouTube. Then I packed a bit a went to bed.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Today I got up and cleaned up as we were headed to the central mountain in Skopje from which you can see all of Skopje and on which is located the Millennial Cross (check my videos). The ascent was exceptionally smooth for such a lift and the sights were magnificent. While Stef, Nicky, and Marino tested some interviews with the equipment on the top of the mountain, Stole schooled me on Macedonian geography and history. To express it in a word: Wow. The country is landlocked and not everyone is friendly. Intense ethnic hostilities run deep in the cultural consciousness of the Macedonian society, and the surrounding countries are not much different, but I stress the landlocked nature of Macedonia which emphasizes its position in the midst of its friendly foes. It’s not in the EU, and such status hinders it economically. There are many more aspects of the history and culture which are profoundly influential in the dealings of the people and the mentality which governs the decision-making process. Nevertheless, I’m not surprised, as one sociologist has pointed out, your culture can be your prison. I think this is sometimes true, and just as the rest of the world harps on the ethnocentrism of the United States (which sometimes is a caricature and other times is the reality), other regions and nationalities evidence their own ethnocentrism or societal pride – often to their detriment and mutual misunderstandings and long-lasting feuds. The essence of the question of Macedonia resides with what happened with the Balkan Wars and the land divisions that occurred afterward. France, Germany, and the British gave parts of Macedonia to Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia. This land was forcibly given, and currently, if the EU were to recognize Macedonia, then it would also have to recognize this history and because of international human rights laws, the EU would have to recognize the right to repatriation of these former lands by Macedonians, which would certainly create problems with EU countries that are presently in control of these lands. Could this conflict generate another war? This situation inculcates the Macedonian people with a mindset of uncertainty and attitude which Solomon rebuked in Ecclesiastes that “the former days were better.” Thus, the church planters and organization here not only have to deal with the Eastern Orthodox dilemma (I’m a Christian because I was born in an EOC country and am not a Muslim, and anything other is a dangerous cult-like gathering), but they also face the historical undertones which shape the general attitude of the people. This outlook is one of suspicion. I found out the next day that this suspicion makes its presence known in how the church seems to able to operate. According to some, the suspicious nature of people prohibits the effectiveness of house churches and cell group ministry. People are not afraid or wary of attending a public service at a recognized church building, however, as its visibility and public openness makes it less likely to be a “trick” or a deceitful enterprise. I should probably also mention here about the humor. As I said previously, humor is important in developing relationships that last. Here in the Balkans that is no different. But, the humor that is most prevalent is toxic to greater cross-border relations. The jokes, for the most part, harbor a seed of discontent or are the only way to voice a frustration or relay the way the different ethnicities feel about one another or how the nationalities relate to each other’s independence and cultural distance. So what you find is a people who are fearful that war will erupt tomorrow, that today is unfair and too hard, but if you’ve survived yesterday you can be proud even though yesterdays were better days. Ultimately, people don’t seem to want to hope for the future, because pride is attached to surviving the past, thus to accept a new outlook on life which is positive one would effectively diminish the value and importance and significance which the past offers his life – at least this is the view that seems to be showing itself. If I don’t suffer today and won’t suffer tomorrow, then my surviving the suffering from yesterday is my attachment to strength. If I don’t succeed in the efforts of today and am not a success by the world’s standards tomorrow, then my hold on glory is the past, and to let go is to have no glory. I’m not saying this is the dominant frame of mind among the church, and I’m not saying that it’s relegated to this part of the world alone. It’s everywhere, especially among the warring generations. Those who suffer much are sometimes bitter when the generations for which they suffered don’t suffer themselves. It’s strange thinking, but it’s not uncommon. Anyway, after coming down from the mountain because the coffee shop on the top was closed, we headed back to the café from the previous night for some coffee and discussion. We met up with a local missionary who works with the AoG and not only in Macedonia, but also in Croatia and Albania as well. His name was Gary. After finishing that conversation and time of discussion, Nicky, Stef, Stole, Marino, and I went a block or two away and grabbed some lunch (inside so that we wouldn’t spend much time there). We had some pretty intense discussion about western and Balkan mindsets and approaches to ministry, funding, administration, and more. The differences between the Balkan countries are very distinct even though the nations are similar in some major ways (former communist oppression, people groups, defeatism, geography, reliance on the West, threat from the East, etc). After that lunch and some more discussion about my purpose for being there, we headed back to the BL office for some rest. I took time to write notes and read the Bible. I have a little spiral-bound notebook which Hari gave me that I’m taking around jotting down ideas and historical facts and such. It’s proving most useful. From the office we headed to a conference around 5 or 6:00pm which was a kind of ecumenical discussion between Muslims, Jews, and different streams of Christianity. I was given a translation headset and took notes, but they aren’t worth writing down here. We went outside to a café near the hotel in which the conference was held for dinner and had some good food and coffees. One conversation we had dealt with the mission organizations’ difficulties in financial matters, especially in understanding the way budgets are developed and used – and what causes tension in this process across cultures. After dinner we dropped Marino off at a hospital for a pastoral visit before heading to the BL office ourselves. He’s got a full plate of responsibilities. Please keep him in prayer. He’s very self-sacrificing for the good of others and exceptionally kind and humble. Back in the room Nicky, Stef, and I joked around and had a bit of a theological discussion before calling it a night.

Monday, June 20, 2011

I woke a few hours after I went to sleep in order to finish my packing and prepare myself with reading and such before our trip to Macedonia. As I grabbed a yogurt I had left in the fridge from when I first arrived, I met Rick Howard, who had been coming to Sofia for at least 15 years and preaching and acting as a kind of missionary (I think) before returning to the States and continuing now with short trips back and forth. We talked a bit about the changing landscape of global missions and about the assault on Christianity by the prosperity gospel. After we visited I went back to packing and at one point was able to talk with Ventzy at the office about the city of Sofia and ministry within the city and some of his background. We also spoke about the BL office and some of the grounds work. Later, we all gathered upstairs to pray before Nicky, Stefan, and I left for Macedonia. After packing our things into the vehicle, we headed out, first stopping at an exchange for me to grab some Bulgarian currency and for Nicky to grab some Macedonian currency. We did pretty well on exchange rates. From there we met with Vintzy, the newly elected president of the Church of God denomination in Bulgaria. We had a wonderful time talking about ministry in the country and the cultural context its ministers face. He wanted me to share my impressions from prior meetings with church planters and ministers and the BCPN first, and after I shared he gave me his thoughts on what I had seen clearly and what other factors had perhaps affected my perception and items of which I may not have been aware. As usual, we were having coffee and the weather was beautiful. How interesting it is that such places of beauty are so often empty of joyful inhabitants. Anyway, Nicky and Stefan were also testing some of their audio/visual equipment during our conversation and engaged Vintzy with some of their own questions as a means of gathering critiques of the most recent BCPN conference (the one I attended last month which helped initiate this mission) and what the attendees viewed as most beneficial and useful – the evidence or “data” of why the conference series is worth continuing. By the way, Vintzy is Nicky’s pastor and was a speaker at the BCPN conference. One of the subjects which dominated our discussion was the question of ministry structure. The western churches have structures: sub-ministries, organized leadership, regular programs and understanding of what a program does (what does a youth program look like and how does it function, under whose leadership, with what kind of funding, etc…). The Balkan churches, however, don’t seem to have such structure. They struggle in this area – finding it difficult to organize themselves often because of mentality and circumstance. I’ll talk about mentality later in this post or in another post to come. We had to be on our way and so did Vintzy, and so we ended the discussion with a “plan” to meet again and discuss more when I return to Bulgaria either in one month’s time or near the end of my time in the Balkans. As we headed West, Nicky, Stef, and I spoke about our backgrounds. We hadn’t had much time to connect personally up to this point, and so the road trip provided a great time for discussion and the foundation of a closer relationship with one another. For instance, I found out about their educations, that Stefan was a Bible school student and his passion for photography and use of his skill as a freelance professional was as a way of self-support and also for helping other Bible school students – he sells prints online and donates 30-35% of the proceeds to help others get Bible school educations. His work can be seen HERE. Nicky, on the other hand, has his education in Psychology and Screenwriting. His passion is for the cinematic arts. He’s written one major screenplay on a Bulgarian WWII hero as well as smaller pieces for commercials and humanitarian PSAs. As we progressed in conversation, we eventually began kicking around ideas for businesses in Bulgaria as well as solutions to problems which inhibit business in Bulgaria (marketing, market size, regulatory issues, start-up capital, etc.). We stopped along the way for some ripe cherries and again for lunch before we reached the border (I think). It was definitely a time of mutual encouragement. We also talked quite a bit about movies and differences between European and American tastes and music performers as well. We sampled different songs and I was educated in the musical cultures throughout the Balkans. I would later learn more about the events that have historically shaped the music each region promotes. The same events could also figure heavily in why the movies and arts emphasize the asking of different questions and promoting different values. We finally arrived at the BL office in Macedonia in Skopje and quickly unloaded our things into our room and spent some time catching up with Stole and Marino – BL officers as well as pastors and church-planter trainers. After organizing dinner plans with another brother (denominational leader), we headed for dinner at a local restaurant. The restaurant was located next to the Macedonian capital’s soccer stadium, and it just so happened that next to our table was the country’s minister of covert intelligence. After great discussion (most of which I didn’t understand..hah) and a wonderful meal we headed toward the city’s center to view the brand-new statue of Alexander the Great which was being placed on a large pedestal to make it the world’s tallest statue of the renowned military leader. I have some video and several pictures you can view on YouTube. We decided to find a place to sit down and have some coffee and catch up and talk about the history of the ministry as well as the cultural issues the churches are currently facing, and we found this nice outdoor café near the statue. I had the greatest coffee drink this world has ever known. It was so rich I couldn’t stand to drink it all, but because it was so good I couldn’t stand to let it remain in the mug. Nothing has ever tasted so good on my tongue. It was like what liquid gold would taste like if its taste reflected its value. Again, the discussion was beyond my vocabulary, but the company was great, and so I was able to relax and not be burdened. Thankfully, the seating consisted of couches and pillows and cushions, and so I was pretty much lying down, and the café had free Wi-Fi, and so I was able to see some of your e-mails to me and read some scriptures and pray intermittently. After awhile we decided to call it a night. But first, Marino had to take me to the police station because unregistered persons who plan to stay in the country longer than two days are required to or be liable for removal from the country. It didn’t take long at all, and we drove back to the office immediately afterward. From there I unpacked my bags while chatting with Nicky and Stef about the dinner and the day. We were at the point of starting to crack jokes, which is that point at which you know a friendship is really forming. That’s probably one of the closest points we have to a universal cultural truth (except in some Asian contexts): where you can be vulnerable to another’s friendly jabs without bitterness is where you have a friend. Traveling drains you physically, and so we were ready for bed (even though we gained an hour journeying westward).

Sunday, June 19, 2011

I’ve been having a lot of dreams myself recently. Saturday night’s dreams were about being sent out. After waking and cleaning up for the day, I prayed and sang a little and then had some breakfast with Marjan and Zoya before church. We visited the same church I had last time I’d visited for the BCPN conference. Pastor Steve, a missionary from the Bible Baptist Fellowship who planted the church didn’t recognize me immediately with short hair, and so he started speaking to me in Bulgarian, and then because I was with Marjan, asked if I was Macedonian. Then I spoke in English and he had the epiphany. Hah! A young man from Pr. Steve’s sending church who plans himself to be a missionary in Ecuador was visiting and shared the Word with us on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, particularly about being the light of the world. This message would prove helpful later. After church, we greeted the brothers and sisters for a little while and then went to Zoya’s parents’ house. David had been staying there the previous night, and so we picked him up and took him home with us after a short visit. At home we relaxed and had some ice cream for lunch and then took time to rest before the home group arrived in the evening – generally those who don’t believe or are very young in their faith. While everyone else rested I spoke with my parents on Skype and worked on some updates and e-mails. Then, as it was nearing time for people to begin arriving, we did a little to clean up the apartment. Some of the children who came from the neighborhood have seen me around the past few days, and we’ve had fun talking and me showing them how to do some breakdancing. I mime for them a little too. Two of the girls who came for the first time had such a great time that their mother – whose a family friend of Marjan and Zoya – called to say they will be coming back from now on because they enjoyed it so much. The kids play games and color and hear a good message while the adults sing and also hear a good word. Pastor Steve came and told me about the results from the last time I preached at his church. He said that a man repented and came to faith along with the other man who was convicted to be baptized as a believer. Pastor Steve said that he has seen more people come to faith in the past month or so since around the time I preached than in the previous decade of his work in Bulgaria. Whoa! Another couple from the church that came to the meeting is a newer missionary couple with IMF who desire to work among the Gypsies in the country. Since around that same time I last came, the church has had an influx of Gypsies and the church is holding a VBS specifically for the Gypsy children this coming week. Pray for them. We spoke with this brother and sister, holding them over for coffee after our house service had ended and everyone else departed. We spoke about their calling, their desire for ministry, their past experiences in ministry and prior to missionary service, and humorous personality stories. After dropping them and their two boys off at their place, Marjan, Zoya, David, and I headed for the Gypsy community in the Valley to take them the clothes and shoes and other items. When we arrived to deliver the clothes they were burning tires for heating up metal for salvage and sale. The entire community was present. It was especially dirty because of the burning of rubber. Kids were covered in black soot and dirt because of the fire. Some were at play, rolling in dirt and trash. I was able to speak with one young man and an older woman who spoke Spanish – apparently some of them have joined this group from Spain…he was somewhat versed in the knowledge of Jesus, but he had some very strange ideas and was into drug use for visions and such. He wouldn’t share this knowledge of Jesus, distrusting others. I shared about the light and fire, based on our morning’s message about letting your light shine before men, utilizing the blazing rubber fires in the darkness as my illustration. They all seemed to catch this understanding. I don’t know his name, by you should pray that God gives him understanding through capable teachers. These communities need teachers. Too much demonic activity prevails among them because these people lack knowledge and they are carried away in deception and myths. As we left we saw Loudon (the brother who is a kind of Christian leader to them, especially the children) on the way out. Marjan spent time talking with him because of the poor conditions that are so dangerous to the kids, and Loudon’s scavenging for food is a bad example even if it provides something. Eating expired eggs and half-eaten sandwiches cannot be accepted. Because he was willing to listen, Marjan stayed and he and I said farewell, and Zoya and little David and I headed to the BL office to drop me off. After they left, I grabbed my things and started doing some laundry and packing. It’s late now, and I’m going to bed.

Please pray that:

o My travel to Macedonia is safe and time well spent (perhaps in rest or valuable conversation)

o My time in MK is filled with joy and hope by the Holy Spirit and much fruit is born through my meeting and working with the brothers on business plans and strategies for stronger financial positions with their ministries

o For humility in working with, listening to, and potentially advising brothers who have been faithful servants for years, and being attentive to the kind of anxiety which changes involving money and new habits can create

o For powerful times of prayer and praise and that God would be my refuge always against the troubles, trials, and wiles of the flesh, world, and evil one

o For grace and wisdom in conduct, and a strong mind for evaluating the environments where I live and loving my keepers

Saturday, June 18, 2011

We arrived home late Friday night. Again, during the ride, Marjan and I spoke extensively about following God’s will in your life as well different business ideas for the Balkans. We stopped along the way out of Macedonia to visit the family of his second cousin consisting of two parents and three young adults, a little younger than me. They were working in the field when we arrived, planting and harvesting some crops. They immediately stopped what they were doing and came and joined us. Marjan ended up spending quite a bit of time on the porch with the young man (probably 22) while his sister (21) cleaned up and started showing us hospitality (chairs, coffee, cookies, fresh vegetables. While we waited, Marjan and Zoya’s younger boy, David, took his soccer ball and found some neighboring kids to play with. All of these people, Marjan’s relatives included, are not believers. They are very open, however. The boys, including one not present, had come to Sofia previously and spent time at Marjan and Zoya’s to help work on a church construction project. They are very proud of helping in that, and were pulled over by some Bulgarian police at one point and were let go because the police were stunned that these Macedonians were coming to help Bulgarians work on a church. It probably made them feel purposeful. I find it wonderful to no end that even though I don’t speak more than basic greetings and one or two other phrases that people seem to really enjoy my presence and want me to stay with them. These people don’t ask for money, and they aren’t Christians. Sure, I could say that there are probably ulterior motives, but why? How about I say the Holy Spirit has ulterior motives, which is to save such people? Maybe then I’ll accept such invitations, but not yet. Perhaps when this mission is accomplished and groundwork is laid for other work to be done I will have the privilege of revisiting some of these brothers and sisters who want me back. Before a good long draft of relaxing conversation I had taken some time away from the group to pray. They hadn’t yet congregated on the porch for refreshments, and so I was okay to go a ways away. Many things were running through my head and heart, ideas about Christianity, my own faith, and the mission for which I’m here. I have a greater sense of what I’m going to do now, after spending some time reflecting and having a bit of input from Marjan, as he and Zoya know most of the brothers and sisters who I’ve come to help and the present situation in some of these organizations. Their thoughts have been valuable for helping me frame my situation better and consider what’s possible. I hope you meet them as they are before you meet them as they shall be. After the time spent together talking and hearing about the present affairs of things on their farm and the usual discussion between family members separated by time and distance we took leave and headed back to Bulgaria. It took awhile to reach the border. On the way, while we were talking about the destruction of ministers and ministries, Marjan told me a story about how the communist officials used to discredit and destroy the work of ministers. They would kidnap the pastors, and then they would strip them and tie them to chairs in rooms naked. Then they would hire two or three prostitutes to go into the rooms. While this happened they would be taking pictures which were them disseminated throughout the community and the pastor’s witness was effectively tainted by the “evidence” of his immorality. The lesson here is to no be deceived, for our enemy is a crafty Devil, and he will work woe against you. He is not silent. He is not all-powerful, for to the Lord belongs all power, wisdom, might, authority, and honor. But His foe hates you nonetheless. Make the Lord your Refuge. We passed through the border crossing without incident, though it took a little longer this time around as there were more vehicles passing through. As we were nearing home (maybe 40-50 minutes out), we were stopped by policemen who tried to ticket Marjan for driving too fast near a city. He explained that there wasn’t a sign and that there wasn’t a city. They tried to get him to pay them a bribe but he wouldn’t. After about 15 minutes they let us go with no ticket and no warning. I was praying because this unrighteousness is ridiculous. And, Marjan and Zoya are giving sacrificially to people all around them – me included. It’s not right that they should be harmed in the midst of such honorable living. Thus, I knew God would deliver us out of the hands of such wicked men. He did. Okay, so now for what happened on Saturday. Well, we slept in (we arrived home around 2am). Then, we got up and had breakfast. I read my Bible while some kids played and Marjan and Zoya handled some things. Then Marjan and Zoya and I spent some extended time in prayer. We prayed in particular about the kids in the valley and their provision. They have nothing and they need everything. Well later in the afternoon, we went to one of Marjan’s friend’s houses to have coffee and hangout. He’s a motorcycling friend of Marjan and Zoya, married, and well off financially. At one point I was helping him locate some items to purchase online for better prices than they could find in Bulgaria. Anyway, while we were there, one lady neighbor had heard about their Marjan and Zoya’s visits to the brothers and sisters among Valley, specifically the children, and how Marjan and Zoya clothed, fed, washed, and loved them. Well, this woman had a lot of extra clothes and shoes and things to give away, but she hadn’t known where to give them. When we came she was happy because she remembered hearing about them and was glad to give them to us. Now Marjan and Zoya will be able to clothe nearly all the girls in the valley. We prayed in the morning, and God’s rain of provision came in the afternoon. All praise be to God. We had six bags of clothes and shoes. Marjan and I also had coffee with another friend in the late afternoon, and the evening’s plans were to ride with another friend and that previous man and his wife on motorcycles out to a government-rented lake for a fish fry. It was a great evening, and these friends are all unbelievers. The fish-fry was awesome. The company was friendly. The motorcycles were hardcore. I was on Marjan’s friend’s Harley. Whoa. Without speed-limits you can really learn what these things are capable of. :) At home we rested a little and had coffee and some pop and spent a few hours talking about a lot of things. We shared more personal stories and they shared many testimonies of what God has done in their lives. Recently, God has given them many dreams together. I’m finishing writing this on Sunday morning. I’ll have more updates later.

God bless.