It is What it is (some random thoughts)

We have been living in Bulgaria for some time and the Galloway family has a saying… “It Is What It Is”.  I cannot remember when we originally began saying it or how it became a part of our everyday lives, but it is now what we say when things happen here in Bulgaria that are the way they are.  It is how we cope with the different way of doing things.

My son says it is an Alabama saying, but I have heard it here in Bulgaria and from other Americans also, so who knows.  We realize that when you encounter a different culture it will not be the same as the culture that you are used to.  We have to embrace the differences and realize that it is not better or worse, it is just different.  Here are some differences:

       

 Driving and Roads:

     Every two-lane road is actually a three-lane road (pass at your own risk). There are pot holes in the road that will damage your car.  There are some big potholes!  We call them pot graves because some you could bury a person in. The Police are constantly pulling people over to the side of road for “inspection”. You park your car wherever there is some space (middle of road, sidewalk, etc.) There is no warning about workers ahead…pay attention.

           

·      Beaches

  The sand is very different from Gulf Coast beaches….coarser.

   Some topless and completely nude people…ages 2 to 80.

           

·      Food

   You cannot find a rib eye steak or any other steak for that matter!

   All the restaurant menus are the same.

   Best vegetable and fruits I’ve ever had in my life.

·      People

   Eastern Europeans are very family oriented.

   Public urination is not against the law.
  Women will clean the urinal next to you while you are doing your business.

   Some bathrooms are equipped with a hole in the ground only.
   Eastern Europeans will use a tool until it is absolutely broken and will use anything to       get the job done.

We have enjoyed getting to experience life from a different perspective.  Eastern Europe is a fascinating place; it has a lot of beauty and history.  Growing up in America we heard a lot about Greece and Italy, but because the Ottoman and Communist governments hid Bulgaria from us, we did not realize all the history and beauty here.  We enjoy getting to unfold and learn all about this hidden treasure of a country and learning all of the differences of how things are done and of course we continue to say, “It is what it is”.

Love is the only way

Over the past few weeks we have been busy with an amazing teen conference, several women’s conferences, church services, and visiting a summer camp for orphans.  We try to share insights that we get during the month in our blog, and with everything that has happened, we have come away with many insights.  

A group from Kyustendil (our home town and the church we work very closely with) was able to attend the large teen conference called Love Bulgaria that we were privileged to help with this year.  The group was led by Roddy, who was responsible for five other people from his church. Roddy participated in the sports group for street evangelism.  This is when we go to a village and play soccer (football) involving the community with the purpose of sharing the Gospel.  Roddy was always quick to volunteer and anything he could do to help, he came with a heart of humility and love.  As we did the evangelism, Roddy was always obeying the leaders in charge of the groups and as a member of his team he also participated in playing.  Roddy made a point to pass to open teammates and play any position on the field that would help his team win.  Roddy showed no prejudice to any race and always made a point to praise any good play on the field.  Roddy was the first to volunteer to give his testimony, and he shared his testimony on the last day of evangelism in the city of Razlog.  While Roddy was involved with sports, he looked after his group from Kyustendil like a father looks after his children.  He made sure they attended all events , he protected them, and made sure every need within his group was taken care of with a heart of humility and love.  As I watched Roddy, I was very impressed with his behavior and the attitude he displayed all week.  The week ended a great success!

One of the last things we did this month was to visit a camp held each year near our town for orphans.  We got to see the Bible dramas being told to the young children and listen to them sing praise songs to God.  The staff was made up of teens and young adults from all over the world, coming together in love to share the Gospel of Jesus.  All the children in this camp were very poor Roma children.  They were getting to experience the Love of God for the first time.  The staff is from different countries, races and denominations to share their love with children who have never experienced love of any kind.  You may be asking what does this camp have to do with Roddy?  Well, Roddy is an orphan.  Roddy is Roma.  And Roddy’s testimony is that as a child he attended this camp when he was a young boy and experienced the Love of Christ for the first time.

The Love of God is the greatest evangelistic tool.  “By this all men will KNOW that you are my disciples, if you have LOVE one for another.”

Idols

I have been reading from the beginning of the Bible since I arrived in Bulgaria 8 months ago and I am in Isaiah now.  After reading through the Old Testament and how they would turn to idols and other gods so easily, I began to pray about the word "idol" and make it relevant to me.  I wanted to understand in my easy 3rd grade teacher mind, how this word would apply to my life.  I prayed and asked God to reveal this to me.
The other day as we were driving through the Thracian valley in the middle of Bulgaria in the most furtile parts of the country, I was talking and the answer just came out of my mouth.  I was talking about how we as humans put value on things.  Earthly things only are valuable in regards to how much value we place on it.  If we pay alot for something, we deem it valuable.  If it is a family heirloom, we may value it.  This is why we love to watch shows like "Antique Roadshow", because we see value in things we may not have valued before.
We, as humans, have this power of value that we can place onto things and also onto other people (or lack of value, however).
It causes me to think about the things and people that I value in my life.  As far as people go, of course, my faith, my family (my husband and our four AMAZING kids) and friends are the most valuable to me.  People I would die for...
As far as things/possessions, well, I've already let go of most things I valued already (like the Keiurig coffee maker and the Dyson vacuum cleaner).  You might say my laptop or some other thing of monetary value might rank at the top, but  I really would say my Bible.  I know, how cliche, a missionary loves her Bible....but I really do.  It is the most valuable thing to me...I really like it.  I lost it (or left it at the mission house we were staying at in the hussle and bussle of moving) and had to begin in a new Bible.  I like it ok, but the team brought mine back to me last week.  I liked the Dukes and the hot sauce, even the M & Ms, and the beef jerky they brought to us, but my Bible was back home with me.
Anyway, back to idols and the value we put on things.
This was just my assessment of the things I value.  We should all ask ourselves, what we value most...
I believe an idol becomes anything that we OVERvalue.  The idols of the Old Testament were old skulls put on a mantle and worshipped.  Graven images that became as gods.  They took ordinary things and overvalued them.  Made them worth more than they really were.
What have you overvalued?  If everyone else says, that's not really worth much, but in your eyes it's worth more than money could buy, has it become an idol to you?
Can you not sell your house because you have overvalued it?  Can you not let go of something because it is worth too much to you?  Has it then become an idol?  This, for me, is now my "idol test".  Have I OVERvalued an object, a person, or even a tradition?

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!

Great day!

I was very privileged to get to speak today to two classes at a local high school.  Their high school goes from 8th-12th grade.  The first was a class of older students, and they understood English very well.  Their high school is a language high school, so that is what they concentrate on mostly.  The second class was of 8th grade, so they have only begun studying English the last few months.  They both did very well in listening and asking questions in English.
Some background information in how this came about was that our translator and friend introduced me/us to one of her students and she helped me by taking me to get my first haircut in Bulgaria.
The lady that cut my hair is also an English teacher at the high school.  She teaches English in the morning and cuts hair in the afternoon.  She asked if I would come to her classes to speak English and let them hear and also to tell them why we are here in Kyustendil.
I told them that we were here to serve and help the poor.  That seemed to open a door to why we would even think of helping the gypsies because in their words, "they are dirty and nasty and thieves and they want to be that way."  I had obviously opened a can of worms.  I explained that in my faith I believe that God is no respecter of persons and that we all bleed the same.  We all have a spirit, soul and body.  That if we love God with all of our heart, soul, and strength, then we cannot help but to love our neighbor.  To help those that are less fortunate.  This became quite the discussion and I truly pray that I gave glory to God and tried to open their minds a little bit.  This new generation yearns for change and all that is American and western. They know the other countries in Europe look down upon Bulgaria as being less than they are, so why then in human nature do we turn around and do it to others, when we know how painful it is to ourselves?  I believe it's that ugly thing called pride.  We put others down to bring ourselves up...it becomes a vicious cycle.
I ended with this statement...  the definition of insanity is to doing something over and over but expect a different result.  If you want a new Bulgaria and want a different future for yourselves, begin with yourselves.  Put the past behind and think fresh and new.  To change the world (or country) we must begin only with ourselves.  We are only as mighty as our weakest link.
I also shared some of our testimony on how we were led by the Lord to Bulgaria (which is very strange for them to understand why anyone would want to come here).  We talked about perpective and choice.  I said, "Look at that tree.  What a beautiful tree!"  You may say, "What an ugly insignificant tree...I see it every day."  I said the only difference is perspective and perspective is a choice.  We choose every day how we choose to see or perceive things, life, and people.  They said that we as Bulgarians are very negative...it's the way we are.  I again said,  "That is a choice."
So needless to say we got into more than I can type, but that is the logisics of it.  I came home and read Acts chapter 4.  Peter and John said something that was very cool...they were told to be quiet about Jesus and not to speak in His name.  They replied, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard."  It is easier to conform and not to make waves...but God did not call us to be easier and conform.  He told us to, "Go your way, stand and continue to speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life." Acts 5:20
This Life is a choice...are you willing to live THIS LIFE? :D

What is a miracle?

The Roma people in eastern Europe are treated like outcasts.  In Bulgaria they are hated for just being in their country.  Bulgarians think of the Roma as thieves, beggars, and anything else negative you can think of about people in general.
Yesterday we helped one of the local Roma pastors load up toys and some of his congregation in our van. We made a couple of trips, some 10 km away, to a  nearby village.  This pastor decided to give some of the toys he receives for Christmas to an orphanage in this nearby village.  The pastor could give these toys to other Roma churches in his area to make himself popular with his fellow Roma pastors, but he gives them to the local orphanage.  In this orphanage there are Bulgarian and Roma children that have been given over by their parents.
Yesterday we got to see the heart of God.  A Roma pastor with little or nothing to give (a widow's mite) and persecuted in his own country, gave to a group less fortunate than himself...now that's a miracle.
As our family comes against mindsets that have been formed over hundreds of years, pray for us to be a part in starting some bridge building.  We truly believe that the seeds and giving spirit of this selfless pastor are why God guided our path to live in the city of Kyustendil.
So in conclusion, it's a miracle that the Roma are sewing into those less fortunate, it's a miracle we are here in Bulgaria, and it is a miracle that we got to go and witness this in person.  This is the miracle season...go out and love someone less fortunate than yourself...spread the miracle.

Amazing Grace

Everyday is a new day to learn about the world God has created.  We are having to learn about food, culture, climate, and language.  Each day we have Bulgarian language class with an instructor from Kyustendil.  He teaches us a language that over 300 million people already know (Russian, Poland, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Bosnia, Estonia, Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, Serbian, Croatia, Bulgarian, Slovenia, Macedonia) which are those that speak Slavic languages.  As our instructor said this morning,  "You are learning how to communicate to a whole new group of people."  Wow!  Isn't that amazing!

I am watching my daughters working in a teen conference in Samokov, and also connecting with many teens in different parts of Bulgaria.  I see Mitch connecting with basketball players and playing basketball in a city league that plays in different places in Bulgaria.  And yes, this is more than amazing!

I just wanted everybody to know the two most amazing things that happened to me this week.  I watched as over a hundred teens signed a song (Shout to the Lord), and you could feel the Grace of God in that place.  As the boys signed right along with the girls in Praising the Lord with hand motions.  I had the opportunity to speak to a Roma church about knowing God, that He loves them, and to teach about God's grace.  The Holy Spirit was at work and many of us began to weep.  At the end of the service, many testified about the love of God.  Now that is amazing!

What a wonderful week in the Amazing Grace of God!

Chance

God's grace going before us in Kyustendil

One week ago today, we were leaving for Bulgaria from Atlanta, Georgia.  Since that time we have traveled over 6,000 miles by airplane, bus, and car.  We now live in our flat in Kyustendil, Bulgaria, and have started to get settled in as best as we can.
We are so thankful for the ground work laid before we arrived in our new country.  Without the help of other missionaries like Al and Diane Mellinger, and interpreters like Joe, Vladi, and Peggy, we would not be where we are today.  We have now a Bulgarian bank account, a flat, two cell phones, and a God appointed city to live in.  We also have picked out a van and should be going to get that soon.  We are starting to learn where everything is located around us from grocery store to the dollar (leva store).
One thing that has been a constant though the whole process is God's presence.  A quick example of that is just after signing the contract to occupy our apartment with our landlord here, he brought us back and showed us all the things he had gifted us with like:  sheets, pillows, comforters, glasses, silverware, pots and pans, pictures, clocks, vases, decorations, and even a hair dryer!  We were amazed at the outpouring of gifts.  These are things we were going to have to get ourselves.
I realize the scripture in Ps 118:26 that says, "Blessed is he who is coming in the name of Jehovah."  We have been blessed and the Bulgarian translator that came to help us stated, "You have been blessed by God's provision ahead of you."
This is a remarkable place in which we live.  We are 20 km from Macedonia and Serbia.  The history in Kyustendil dates back thousands of years from Roman occupation to Ottoman control.
We are waiting to see what the Lord has in store for us concerning the next step.  We visited the gypsy church last night in our city.  They are located on the ourskirts of Kyustendil in population of about 10,000 we believe.  The pastor there is very nice and welcomed us and has helped us along the way.  He has a church of 60 adults and we look forward to working with him and helping out any way we can.
Our devotional gave us great wisdom that God gives us what we need for today and if we are constantly concerning ourselves with tomorrow, it takes the energy God has given us for today and we are left with less for this day.  We are living off the manna from heaven for each day's provision.  We know by His grace, though our faith, and in His Name, we are here to do His will and His work.
Please keep praying for His grace to continue to abound toward us.

My Resolve

Hello, friends!  I apologize that it has been a little while since my last post.  Sept. was quite the crazy month and all seems to have settled a little.  After going to Washington and submitting the visas and having some paperwork issues, the Bulgarian consulate said they would accept our background checks, "Praise the Lord!"  The only issue was that it could take up to 40 business days to process the paperwork.  The rest of the month of September we travelled to Panama City Beach to visit my aunt's condo and have some family "down/reflective" time and then drove down to visit Chance's parents that live north of Tampa for a few days.
When we got back to Columbus, we had our Commissioning Sunday at Christ Community Church and many family and friends came to support us.  We are so thankful for you all (more than words...).  We then prepared to leave the house, stepping out totally by faith, because at this point we had no buyer.  At one point we had a "For Sale" sign and a "For Rent" sign in the yard.  We would take what we could get.  We knew we did not have a mortgage payment in the budget when we left for Bulgaria.  We had many days of waking up and "walking by faith and not by sight" by packing the house, giving away items and then having an estate sale and having Valley Rescue come get the left overs.  I also had a day or two of, "the righteous cry and the Lord hears and delivers them from all their troubles" days of weaping before the Lord and coming to the end of my strength.
We decided to move out of the house on the 23rd and spend a week getting the house cleaned up.  Some of our great friends allowed us to stay in a mission house while we worked on it.  The Tuesday before we were set to leave, I woke up and wrote what God had put in my heart, which is the title of this blog, My Resolve.  It is my private devotion from the Lord that I never intended on making public, until God asked me to a few weeks ago.  (Yes, it has taken me a few weeks to obey.)
MY RESOLVE:
To walk in strong weakness.  In my daily walk, I resolve to know the Peace that I have and know the bigger picture.  To not measure success or failure BY successess and failures.  Those are OUR measuring sticks, based on OUR plans and OUR measures of success (or the worlds).   This life is not about that at ALL, but to walk in the blessed assurance that I am His and HE is mine.  He is the lifter of my head.  We make plans in the earthly realm, but we do not walk there.  In that is carnality.  We walk above it in the spiritual realm.  We walk in the Peace that is above all things.
Ultimate sacrifice is to give one's life (martyr).  We should be laying down our plans and life down here everyday and choosing to live life above all things.  HE will judge our life as sucesses or failures, and HE ALONE.  I will not judge myself nor allow myself to be judged.  "There is therefore no condemnation."  I will not bring myself down to earthly matters, I will walk in the spirit only as one going into the coluseum to lay down my life.  I will listen only to HIS voice, and only He will I follow...ONLY.
It is in the earthly matters that you are moved.  I will not be moved!  I will rise above circumstances.  I will walk my daily walk and attend to His voice and follow His guidance, and rise above.  My life is not determined by my circumstances, they are temporary and subject to change.  I am above it in heavenly realms.  I choose to walk here with Him.

That afternoon we got a call about selling the house.  God is so amazing and He wants a life surrendered to Him.
We left the house as scheduled on the 30th after much cleaning and help and hard work by my kids and some AMAZING! friends (Kristy Jones and Beverly Pope).  We attended a family wedding, then drove up to my parents house in the mountains of north Georgia.  We drove back down last Tuesday to close on the house.  We were scheduled to leave for Bulgaria on the 7th of October.  We received a call last Tuesday that a Roma/Gypsy leader had killed a 19 year old Bulgarian and that racial unrest was happening in the country.  The worst in more than a decade.  Our visas did not come in as scheduled and we were not able to fly out last Friday.  I am now reminded again of my resolve and that He is in control and will guide our every footstep.  Please help us pray for peace and racial healing in Bulgaria.  We LOVE you all and know we could NOT be doing this awesome walk with the Lord without our amazing partner support.  We will talk to you soon and keep you posted on the new travel dates.  God Bless!

Off Our Feet

Our theme at church for many years has been about the river spoken of in Ezek. 47, and Pastor Keith has been talking in depth about the river for the last two Sundays.  Last Sunday, God really spoke to my heart about where I was in my walk into the river.  You might think...,"They are selling or giving all they own, leaving all of their family and friends, an amazing church family, good jobs, and a school family we have been a big part of for 12 years to follow the calling on their lives.  How much more in the river can you get?"
Well.... God is always calling us deeper isn't He?
He brought me back to last year when Jessie, Mitch, and I went white water rafting on the Nantahala River.  He showed me how I thought I knew what I was doing so decided not to go with a guide or a group, but instead took a small boat with Jessie.  Of course, Mitch knew how to do it and went in a boat on his own.  Which goes back to his independent spirit from the beginning as he told us before he began first grade, "I really don't need to go to first grade, Mom.  I already know how to read."
So Jessie and I had to work together without getting frustrated at one another, nor blaming one another for our constant mistakes.  We noticed after not too long how incredibly COLD the water was and how hard we had to work at paddling together.  We also noticed soon after that, that the closer we stayed to the edges of the river, the more we went round and round in circles and ended up not getting any progress done.  The more we stayed in the middle of the river, the deeper the water and the more progress we could make.  (See the spiritual stuff already?)
Anyway... we were making quite the progress and stride and feeling quite the experts WHEN we saw a large log stretched out across the river.  Tried as we might, we could not get to either side to avoid the log.  We hit it at the far right edge, the boat's backside turned and we were now stuck up against and alongside the log.  Because of the force of the river, the boat then began to tilt and fill with water.  Before I knew it we were dumped out!  As I tried to get to my feet (this seemed to be at a place in the river that was about thigh deep) and go against all training I had just had about "if you find yourself capsized, DO NOT TRY TO STAND UP, but let the river take you and find a way to get to the side."  But they did not understand, as I looked to the side, my Jessie was out of the boat and the river's strength had pushed her under the log and all I saw was her head sticking up and the look of panic on her face.  I had to be strong and save my child.
I used all the strength (probably that mama adrenaline that they talk about) and jerked that girl up from under the log.  Yay, right?  Well, yes and then we were left with the dilemma of our boat stuck now under this log and standing in rapids.  This is when I cried, "Jesus!"
Out of nowhere, comes this long blonde haired guy on a surf board.  We push the boat out from under the log, he jumps in to the boat and paddles up to us and we jump in.  He was my surfer angel "dude".  We were safe!
Now, back to the river analogy that God whispered to my heart Sunday after church.  "Dee Dee, where are you in the river?"  I replied, "In the middle of the rapids, Lord, but I'm on my feet."
He said so gently, "It's time to let go."  Wow how the tears flowed!
My prayer since that moment every morning is "Lord, I'm off my feet today.  Let the river take me.  I will enjoy the river ride.  Life is an adventure with you."
Every day since Sunday this week has been one amazing story after another.  I just wish I had the time t share them all.  I will/must share one!
Yesterday, we had our physicals and then were heading up to Atlanta to take care of opening an account that will be beneficial since we will be doing things internationally.  On the way to Atlanta I heard in my heart Marietta Diner.  I dismissed it and thought strange and moved on.  Again, Marietta Diner...I thought, "I've never been there but I've heard it's good...strange."
We got to Peachtree St. to do our business and there are lots of great restaurants around.  We were looking for a place to have lunch, but nothing looked good.  Again, I hear, "Marietta Diner."
So we got back in the car, punched Marietta Diner into the GPS and headed the 20 minutes out of the way to Marietta Diner.
When we get there, the host takes us to a booth, but at the last minutes swerves and places us at a different booth.  No big deal....
Our waitress takes our order and we notice that she has an accent.  I tell Chance, "Ask where she's from."
So as she comes back, we ask her and she says, "Bulgaria."  We proceeded to have the most amazing conversation about Bulgaria, the language, the culture, the do's and don'ts, the places to go, websites to help, etc. etc etc.  We exchange emails and she invites us to the coast on the Black Sea where her family lives and would like for us to stay in her apartment in Burgas when we visit.
We have met now a friend for life in one afternoon all because God whispered, "Get off your feet."
He may ask something of us and it may seem like a huge sacrifice, but the adventure He wants to take us on is sooooo much better!
God Bless and have an OFF YOUR FEET DAY!