"We are as grasshoppers"

During my devotion this morning, I heard something that was quite profound.  Go with me here as I lead with a personal example and bring it all back together.
Many times in my life the Holy Spirit has given me wisdom and helped me in the raising of my children (praise the Lord).  I would not always know the exact place in the Bible where to back up this wisdom, but many times through my studying the Word, would come across things in the Word that confirmed what the Holy Spirit had taught me in my cry as a mother for wisdom in raising my kids.
They are 16, 15, 14, and 8 right now.  In elementary school and especially middle school, children need to be firm in who they are, but at this age it is tested and retested.  Peer pressure and name calling is rampant throughout these ages.  My children would come home at a young age and say, "..... called me this" or "....said I was....".  I would always tell them, "Are you this?  Is this who YOU say you are?  Is this true to be what you know about yourself?  Is this true about what God says about you?"  The answer would always be, "No."  Then I would say, "Then what does it matter?  Why should it move you?  The only truth that matters is what God thinks of us and what we think of ourselves.  People will always try to get you to change those two things, but if you are firm in who you are, you will never be moved."
So this morning I heard a word confirmation on this advice.  We know the story in the Bible of the spies that are sent out to check out the land and they come back with the report that there are giants in the land.  The next statement is what stood out the most to me..."and we are as grasshoppers in their eyes."  They did not ask the giants what they thought of them.  This was their image of THEMSELVES.  This image of themselves was not the image God had of them.  This wrong image of themselves kept them from entering the promised land.  The image they had of themselves.
As I tie this all together, we as parents try to ground our children and have them rooted strongly in confidence and in knowing who they are and not to be moved by outward circumstances.
It makes me question us even as adults, "Who do you say you are?  What is it you believe about yourself?  Is this true about what God says about you?"
In this world there will always be prejudices, racism, and even in small clusters like a middle school you will have those usurping and ranking themselves.  It even goes back to the message we have here in Bulgaria as we are teaching the Roma.   The question still goes back to "what image do you have of yourself"?  How do you see yourself?  Will you believe what others say you are?  Will you be put in the category others put you in?  Will you rise and be who you are and who God says you are?
His Beloved, bought with a price, valuable, and created for His purpose in such a time as this!

Opportunities

God has been talking to my heart over the last 6 weeks about this word...opportunities.  We as parents want/wish to give our children every opportunity we can to help them to be a better person.  We introduce them to different sports, different people, different activities, and different foods.  We do this to make sure they are given every opportunity to better themselves or to be anything they want to be.
Growing up I was given great opportunities that my parents worked very hard to give us.  We then become adults and choose to walk away with the opportunities we want.  I can't begin to name all of the opportunities my parents gave me, but I would like to list 3 main ones.  First, was education.  My parents knew that education was very important.  They would find the best public school in a city and then find the closest house for sale.  Education mattered.  Second, speech.  My mother would constantly look me in the face to correct my speech.  Third, people.  I was not raised to belittle another race nor look down on anyone, no matter their status.
I remember this lesson of "opportunities" was ingrained into me through a situation I found myself in when we lived in Bibb City (a poorer section of our town) in my twenties.  Chance and I were living in a staff house at a local homeless shelter.  I was given the opportunity to help a young girl in her twenties just like me, with small children, just like me.  The only difference between the two of us were the opportunities given to each of us growing up.  Her speech was different and her education was different.  I saw us as no different other than the fact that I had been given different opportunities.  This reminded me of the movie "My Fair Lady" in which the professor takes a lady away from the poor part of town, educates her and perfects her speech and tries to pass her off as royalty.  These are opportunities.
In America, "the land of opportunity" the opportunities are vast.  Being here in Bulgaria, I saw this desire to be more like America in dress, slogans, and pop culture, but I believe the desire to be like America, comes more in the opportunities available.  In America you are told you can be anything you want when you grow up.  You can take advantage (if you work hard enough) of every opportunity America gives you.  Many choose to take advantage, but many don't.
We, here on the mission field, want to give opportunities to those wanting to choose them.  An opportunity to move from the kingdom of darkness and into God's glorious loving kingdom, an opportunity to learn God's word and become a disciple and live in freedom and victory, an opportunity to learn English so that more opportunities are given to them, and an opportunity to change the world.

God is good!

Friday, Al and Diane Mellinger came up to Kyustendil with a new member of our team named Mark that just came to Bulgaria Dec. 29th from Michigan.  He plans to be here for 7 to 8 months.
Saturday, Al and Chance went to Samokov to have a meeting with many of the Roma pastors from all around the region to set the teen conferences and pastor trainings schedule for this year.
Sunday, Peggy and her husband and son came up to help us translate and Al took us to a Bulgarian church (which we found out is a stone's throw from our house) and introduced us to the church members there.  Our three teenagers and Mark went back to the Bulgarian church for their teen activity that afternoon at 3.  I have explained before how the two (Bulgarian and Roma) don't usually do many things together.  While the teens were there, they explained how they had to leave at 4:30 to be able to go to the Roma service that evening and Jessie explained how to her, "God loves everyone the same."
So we get a text from Catherine telling us that several of the teens would like to go to the Roma service that evening and asked if they could go with us.  We said, "Certainly!"  So our group of 12 met them on the street corner and they (being 8 of them!) followed us to the church.  So our group of 20 joined the Roma service last night and we all (Roma, Bulgarian, and American) worshipped the Lord of Lords and King of Kings together last night.  It was powerful and amazing!  Sometimes all it takes is for an outsider to come in and bridge the gap...and praise the Lord for teenagers to come in and show God's love.  His love is cross cultural and breaks barriers!
Monday (today) was Diane's birthday and we went to brunch together to celebrate.  We are now home and our company has gone back.  We are going to rest after having company and cooking 3 meals a day for 9-12 people for 3 days.  Whew!  It was so good to have them here...it is good to have a feeling of family here while we are separated from ours back in the states.
We are basking in His goodness and thanking the many others that have gone before us to pave the road that we are walking.  Many seeds have been planted in Bulgaria over the many years before us, and we are seeing God's growth due to those that have gone before us!  Thank you to all of those who pray for us and keep us lifted up...it means so much!

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.