Monday, June 13, 2011

Because Monday is Hari’s day of rest, we planned to sleep in a little given our fast and full pace through the week. I woke around 9 and went over for breakfast at Hari’s knocking. Hari had some writing he wanted to do, and so we planned to not go out until the afternoon. After about 20 minutes, Hari came over and said that plans had changed, and an older believer (new in conversion from Orthodox belief, but 78 years old) desired to be baptized. She had been encouraged to be baptized since her new birth, but because of her background in the EOC, she thought she was fine. Hari explains how this call for obedience is just that, something YOU must respond to, not something another can respond to on your behalf (though there’s something about the dead in Scripture that’s antiquated and only the Mormon’s practice). Anyway, this sister had wavered, saying, “maybe tomorrow or next week” for too long. Eventually she became sick with cancer and then with her brain so that she is bedridden and could not be baptized by immersion with the other believers at the lake. Thus, Hari recognized the importance of going immediately because of the Lord’s work in her heart to desire this with a firm decisiveness. This could be considered the third-style of baptism after immersion and pouring, because only sprinkling was practical for her situation. Pastor Bob explained this on the 5th of June, baptizing J. Custer and Pastor Joe performed the 2nd form on a new, older brother. The sister had two other sisters (biological and spiritual) present with us, and I shared a song through Hari with them to encourage the sister. Hari likes the song and took a copy of it so that he can use it for baptisms from now on (Wounded for me, wounded for me). The sisters like to make sure I’m healthy and strong, and so I had more cherries and strawberries and some iran and cookies. Hah. After ending the visit, we dropped off one of the sisters and then went back to the apartment and picked up Penka. We were heading out for the day, and so we took all we needed, and went first to the local electronics store for some printer ink and then to the Bank. They were expected a wire transfer, but it was late by a week, and so some error must have occurred, but they were not troubled. From the bank, Penka walked to the art gallery while Hari and I headed to the church for some training material prints he needed a sister there to make. There had been internet issues and so Hari asked me to pray that it worked, because we would have to drive home otherwise. After finding the internet still not functioning and calling the company which said it should work, I prayed with Hari, because he was ready to go back home and have me stay there. I did some checking and found out that the maintenance person who had worked on their machines earlier that week had not plugged in all of the Ethernet cords…how frustrating that can be. With great joy we thanked God for the simple solution and wisdom to check such simple things and then left to head to the art gallery. Penka was cleaning around the building when we arrived – it’s a government building that they are the caretakers of, having a 10-year contract that concludes this year. Pray that with the elections and potentially new government, that they keep this relationship and strategic location for their witness. The courtyard of the building has apple, pear, cherry, almond, and walnut trees. Flowers, too, adorn the walkway. Inside, their art and that of other local artists hang on the walls. The first floor has a few of their pieces, but upstairs was where the true treasures were. I was amazed at the prophetic messages that call out from Hari’s works. I hope you have a chance to see them some day. He and I spoke about having some placed on his website. Penka too, has amazing pieces, and their personalities are definitely evident in the diversity of the messages. Penka’s work demonstrates a soft power that is beautiful as only a sister could rightly capture, and Hari’s tell the message of suffering, growth, and glory that only a church-planter in his position can rightly convey. Hari and I rested a little on a couch while Penka put some music on through the gallery and did some organizing. Later, she put on coffee for us and brought out some chocolate and cookies. Then, a young artist who they know arrived and came up and spoke with us. This was unique, as they lady had never been willing to stay with them prior to this event, and she opened up a bit. Thus the foundation for further relational contact is laid. After she left, they shared stories with me of how the Lord had inspired different pieces of their art and used them to bring people to know Jesus as well as create relationships with churches and government agencies (God has strategically placed Hari in this situation…it’s amazing who they know and how they came to know them, and how those relationships figure into their calling to share the Gospel, plant churches, and bless people in the region. Then, Hari and Penka told me they wanted give me a print from each of them. This was beyond gracious. The selection from Penka’s was their selection for my mom, and I know she’ll love it as I love it and it will speak deeply to our family because it’s actually about a Scripture which means a lot to her and me in particular. Hari’s piece is one that is very evangelistic and deeply thoughtful. Perhaps someone can help me frame them when we return and we can show them at the church? After we finished up at the gallery, before it started raining, we headed to a currency exchange for my sake. The dollar has been up the past few days so that I get a few more leva now than when I arrived. Our next stop was a gypsy brother’s home. We visited him to speak about his daughter who desires to switch schools, but Hari and Penka, after having spoken with the director of education for the region, believe she will do better to remain in the same school for one more year and then switch at the beginning of high school (going into 8th grade). After speaking with the young sister (the father wasn’t home), we headed back to our vehicle only to intercept the brother and share about the matter with him. Some other possibilities came up. This is a great need for these people – education for the children. This gypsy brother is a light in this community because he loves and cares for his wife and daughter in a way that is unique. Please pray that God might make ways for the church to help these brothers and sisters who seek help and work hard, but are devastatingly poor. Their homes are illegally constructed on sides of mountains, and who knows what may happen if the government stops turning the blind eye. They are under-cared for by the government, and so this is their response. They are continually discriminated against, and this village in particular is the most dangerous in the entire region. After leaving this brother, we headed to one of the highest mountains in the region where the television studio is located and took time to pray and take pictures. Hari and Penka call this the special prayer room. You’ll see pictures and video soon. The videos are already uploaded but I have yet to make the links available. I’ll do that by e-mail, and so if you’re not on the list, let me know and I’ll add you. Fierce rain attacked us after we had returned to the van, and we headed for home. One of my first jobs at home was to help Hari create some YouTube and Picasa accounts to help him share his videos and pictures with the church and supporters more easily. While Hari was working with these new functionalities, Ivaylo, his son, and I spoke at some length about the economy, governments, gold, and investing. We continued over dinner (Wow, what a send-off dinner!), and then afterward, I Skyped my mom, dad, and brother. Finally, I asked Hari to talk seriously about accepting a small amount of money for ministry expenses. I shared my testimony of how the Lord brought me to this region the first time and then again, and that all the brothers and sisters who are supporting me would very much like to share this small gift with them because of the great need in the region and their faithfulness to steward something well, even though it was not much. To end the evening, we took and extended period of time to pray together and take a couple pictures of the four of us. Then I said goodbye to Ivaylo, went to my room, packed, showered, and went to bed.