Family Matters

I have learned to value many things in life, and time with people is one of the biggest.  We are only on this earth for so long, and it is mainly through interactions and time spent with people that we are really remembered.  For this reason alone I cherish every memory I am able to make with people I love.  We recently returned from a vacation to Germany.  Now, before you think we are rich, we had a conference to attend the week before and simply tagged on extra days as vacation.  However, Steven's parents were able to travel with us and it was wonderful.  I have been blessed with great in-laws, and I'm not saying that simply because they might read this blog.  I truly have been blessed.  They both became ill while on this trip, yet managed to keep up with everything we did.  I could tell they didn't want to miss a moment with us or their grand kids.  The encouraging thing about it is that my kids made so many great memories with not just me and Steven, but also with their Papaw and Mamaw.  We have pictures of them all in front of castles, cathedrals, and the Alps together.  Not to mention the hours spent in a rented van simply driving the countryside.  Now the fact that it was in Germany is really neat.  However, the time spent could have been anywhere and been just as precious to me.  It was the act of being together as a family and experiencing life together that made it great! 

Beginning to see God move!

As you can tell from my previous post we have been here for one whole year.  It has been a great year, and we are starting to really see God move among people we know here.  Yes, it took a year for this to happen, but I praise Him for His timing and grace in even letting us be here.  We have many friends who have started to ask us some great questions about the Bible.  We even have a few who are interested in starting a Bible Study! :)  However, coordinating times for this is another story.  I want to share the opportunity I had just yesterday to share with a friend of mine. 
    She speaks great English, but we meet once a week so she can help me with my Bulgarian.  I have really enjoyed getting to know her and she has an adorable little girl that is in love with Eli. So very cute!  Anyway, I have been meeting with her since October and while I always speak biblical truths into our conversations, I hadn't had a good chance to share the Gospel.  This all changed a couple of weeks ago when she began asking me about who we work for, and what we will really be doing here in Bulgaria.  I was able to tell her we are looking at starting bible studies in the villages.  She lit up and said, " This is wonderful! Bulgarians don't know what the Bible says."  We then started talking about baptizing babies.  I told her that while I understand it is a tradition in many churches in Bulgaria (and America as well), the bible never mentions baptizing infants.  She was intrigued and shared an interest in being able to read the Bible herself to find out if this was true.  I told her I could get her a Bible in Bulgarian and in English and she was extremely receptive.  Our meeting ended and we planned to meet the next week.  Well, we just met yesterday and she came armed with questions.  She was excited when I told her I had a Bulgarian Bible for her and that my father-in-law was bringing her one form the states in English.  I then showed her the verses about Jesus' baptism and explained this was what we based our belief in baptism on.  I told her that while many churches do have the tradition of baptizing infants, the Bible tells that the only way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ.  So, how can a baby understand that.  She agreed and had many other questions about the Bible, such as, what is the difference between the Old and New Testaments.  I explained and through that was able to tell her the plan of salvation and why God sent Jesus.  It was just getting good when her boss called and was very upset she wasn't in the office.  So, we had to quickly finish our lunch so she could get back.  I know that time was ordained by God, and I pray He will continue to give me opportunities to share with her.  For her to be genuinely interested is extremely rare in Bulgaria, and I praise God for this chance!  Please pray that her thirst for biblical knowledge would continue, and that when she receives the Bibles she will be excited about reading them.  Also pray that God will give me wisdom on how to answer any questions she might have.  But, most of all, REJOICE with me in the work the Holy Spirit is doing in her life!!!