The Rila Monastery

Monday we picked up our first summer guest, Gantt Bone.  He is a 17 years old that decided to forgo his summer and come spend the entire 9 weeks in Bulgaria with us.  We are so excited to have him here to join us with all God has in store for this summer.  We will definitely be keeping him busy with all the activities we have planned this summer and we will keep everyone posted as we go.

We decided to introduce him to Bulgaria this week as his sleep patterns get "adjusted".  Plus the fact that I've wanted to visit the Rila Monastery for 5 years and have just not been able to get there yet.  When we arrived in November it was too cold, and when the snow finally melted last month, the rain started in.  So, needless to say, when I saw the slightest ray of sunshine today, I said, "Today is the day!"

It was so beautiful and entirely worth the wait.  If you would like to learn more about the monastery, you should look it up!  A monk came to these mountains and lived in a cave up here in the 10 century.  It is one of Bulgaria's most famous and important landmarks.  The colors in the church and in the paintings are amazing!

The Rila is also the tallest mountain in the Balkan region.  I can't wait until it gets a little bit warmer and we will be hiking up to the Seven Lakes even higher in elevation than the monastery.

There is also a beautiful river up there and you might even get to see some pigs along side the road on your way back down the mountain!

My friend

A few days ago, I had a thought about an old friend of mine when I came across a song that he liked so much back in the day.  I’m almost too embarrassed to mention the song but it was Neil Diamond’s “Hello Again”.  The song references “I just called to say hello” and my ole friend would always call me and say hello.  I have some very fond memories of him because we grew up together.   We would talk for hours about football, girls, and every other subject meaningful to a boy growing up in the south.  We also argued about church things, especially the Methodist and Pentecostal movements (he would be surprised I’m a missionary today).  I was with him through many of his girlfriends and a couple of his marriages, with him through the death of his dad and brother in law.  After the divorce from his first wife, these pains took their toll on his life, and he began to battle with alcohol.  We both had our struggles with alcohol, but dealing with the grief, guilt, and failure of his life was very hard for him to handle.  We had many conversations over his last days, and he was consumed with his past (before all the tragedies in his life had occurred).  He just did not want to talk about the future or face the reality of today.  He had such a fear of the future and did not want to take any more chances, because he did not want to fail again.  He was such a big part of my life, and I still miss him to this day.

Years before his death, my life was spinning out of control.  I was struggling with alcohol and drugs and unable to let go of the past and face the future.  I had made a mess of my life with my family and friends.  As I happened to be sitting in jail as a result of my actions (solitaire confinement to be exact), it was the first time I was able to think about all my actions and deal with the guilt.  I knelt down by the cot in the jail cell and told the Lord, “Not my way anymore, but Your way!”  That was the day the Lord forgave me, and I forgave myself.  I still, to this day, ask people to forgive me for all of my actions.  Please forgive me.  I let go of what had been holding me back all those years and gave it to the one person who could take it, Jesus.  I was ready to face the future with no fear and no guilt.  Now, giving to God is the easy part, but walking it out everyday, was, and still is the harder part.  I do not want to limit God in my life anymore.

I tried my best to reach my friend and tell him that there is another way and let’s face the future together.  He knew his destiny was heaven, but he was not willing to face the reality of today.  The lesson I’m sharing today is to always humble yourself (submit), repent (change your mind), confess everything (and give it to God), take the limits off of God in your life and see how everything changes!

Paperwork

Fun day!
We have been going through paperwork here in Bulgaria since around January.  It is always fun to find out what you need, how it is not enough, or how it has just expired and you need another one.  We truly give our lawyer plenty of work to do.
We recently had to get FBI criminal background checks processed and sent from America to Bulgaria.  (I won't bore you with the details and length of this process, but began back in Feb.)  They were finally obtained in America and sent to Bulgaria via my amazing parents.  We were on a time crunch, but we had gotten an extension so we had three weeks to get it here.  Priority mail in the states costs around $17 to get it here and states that it takes 6 to 10 business days.  DHL or UPS is about $130, so we opted for the cheaper and figured we had time.  I should also state that we are not familiar with the mail here and how it works.  We just put up a mailbox with our name on it for these documents specifically and checked everyday for the notice they said would get placed in the locked mailbox.  They were sent Apr. 24 from Atlanta.  On May 7, I went with a friend here to the post office to check on them and was told they had not arrived.
By May 14 the lawyer called and said the police stated that they must be here by the 23rd (and apostilled and translated) or we would have to leave the country.  This is when you send prayer requests to prayer partners :D
The next morning (thanks to prayers) the police officer told our lawyer that if we sent the unofficial copies he would accept them and give us another extension, praise the Lord! (but of course this meant more paperwork)
So, our lawyer comes to our town (I've lost count of how many times she has had to take the bus to our town from the capital to help us), to help us submit the extension papers.  While we are there I am apologizing for not using the faster service, thanking him for his extension, and made a joke, "Wouldn't it be funny if they are sitting at the post office right now?"
So afterwards, I asked our lawyer if she would go to the post office with us just to check.  Guess what?  They were there!  And had been there since May 7!  (The lady said someone must have stolen our notice.)
We ran them back to the police officer and we all had a good laugh!  We are currently getting them translated and sealed and go back Monday to present them.  Please help us pray for the finalization of these documents.  This will give us legal residency status until next year.
This reminds me of how God has provided for us "Everything pertaining to life and godliness" (2 Pet. 1:3), but how the enemy or people or circumstances sometimes make it seem we are at a loss.  The good thing is that we weren't emotional or fearful about the situation in any way.  We knew God called us here, and He would see it through.
The documents were there the whole time...sometimes we just need a little wisdom and persistence to see it.

Catherine

A little over 16 yrs. and 4 months ago, I found out that I had cancer.  If having cancer in your lymphnodes is not bad enough, I also happened to be 4 months pregnant at the time.  Many doctor visits, tests, and a biopsy later, the option was given to me, one option...terminate the pregnancy and receive treatment immediately.  The cancer would infact, "spread through you like wildfire" due to your pregnant condition because your body is built to protect the baby at all costs and not you, therefore, all of your immunities will be going to this baby and not you.

Being a young mother of Mitch already and fairly new at all of this Christian stuff, there were many things to think about and consider.  Much advice came from all around.  It wasn't until I was driving in the car and heard a scripture that I gained all clarity.  Deut. 30:19, "choose life, not death, blessings not curses, and both you and your seed will live."

I figured if I am truly doing this Christian thing, if God has my back and He says this....there is truly no other way to go.  I will be true to my faith, my convictions, to who I say that I am.  

Chance and I thanked the doctors for all of their help and advice, but told them that we had made our choice.  Catherine and I both would be in God's hands.  He told me to go home, that there was nothing they could do...not even an xray to see how far the cancer was in my body.

Prov. says that the word is medicine to your flesh, Psalm says the righteous cry and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all of their troubles.  He says He is near to the broken hearted and saves those of a contrite spirit.  I lived all day taking my Word medicine.

Catherine Elizabeth Galloway was born on the National Day of Prayer in America, Thursday, May 2, 1996, weighing 5 lbs. and 6 oz.  She was a little ball of fight and muscle.  She is turning 16 today, and I have to say that God is so true to His Word.  He is not a man that He should lie....and His word does not come back void.

I am so proud of the awesome young lady that she has become!  Still a ball of fight and muscle.  Loves her friends and family and softball with great passion, is so strong on her convictions and draws children in from all around no matter where we are.  She has one of the greatest sense of humors I know.  Your dad and I love you so much and are so proud of you for sacrificing so much to come to Bulgaria with us.  You are the awesomeness of Catherine!  Thank you God for your faithfulness and thank you for blessing us with this gift.