I thought no one even read this, but my loving mother-in-law just emailed me and told me I needed to update my blog. I now feel very loved and wanted on the internet. So, if there is anyone else out there, besides my in-laws, that read this, enjoy.
I am going to briefly fill you in on what has been happening with us by month:
April: I celebrated another birthday. (Can't believe I am already 25!) We continued in language, the kids continued to do well in school. I recieved the shocking news that my grandmother, Mimi, was terminally ill. God was Sufficient!
May: Henry Silas Cooke surprised us all 5 weeks early. Late at night May 15th, we became a family of 6. Although he was so early, there were no complications at birth and we brought home a healthy little guy just a week later. Kids got out of school, we adjusted to life with a baby. Audrey, Jonathan and Eli showered their new baby brother with love and kisses. My Mimi got to meet Henry via skype and speak with all the kids mulitple times. God was Gracious!
June: My Mimi passed away, and I felt the first sting of being so far away from family. God wrapped me in His arms and provided me with many ways to grieve so far away from home. My parents came to meet Henry and we had fun showing them around Bulgaria for a few weeks. Then my dad headed back to the states while my mom stayed behind to help us out for a month. God was Comforter!
July: We all traveled to Greece for a meeting with all of the missionaries who serve in Europe. With my mother along to help and have fun, we drove first to Thessaloniki for a few nights, then on to the conference. After the conference we spent a few days in Athens. On our drive back home we detoured through Philipi and along the northern coast of Greece. It was beautiful! We started to get back into the routine of language and began to look at the next step in our journey here. God was Love!
August: My mother went home, and I was left to cook and clean for myself again. It was hard to say goodbye, not knowing the next time I will get to see family. We reapplied for visas. All of us, except Henry, recieved said visas. His is still in the works. We began to make preperations to move. Steven and I traveled to Kazanlak to look for an apartment and God made it very clear as to where he wanted us. We crammed in some final language lessons and said goodbye to a wonderful teacher whom we will miss dearly. We continue to pray for Elka, and the many truths we were able to share with her while in her class. God was our Guide!
September: We said "see you later" to some very good friends, packed our few belongings(well, movers packed....and it was a little more than "few" belongings.) and moved to Kazanlak. We got here just in time to get Audrey and Jonathan into school, and they arrived on their first day excited about what the year had in store. We spent many days unpacking boxes, putting furniture together and getting to know our new little town. There are only about 50,000 people that live here, compared to the 2 million in Sofia. We love the slower pace to life and the small town feel. We also enjoyed getting to know our new church. While we loved our church in Sofia, the church here is bigger. We look forward to getting involved. We already met a few people and started developing relationships. We also had a team come from Tenessee and work at the church. They had a physical therapist who helped out in the medical clinic at the church, while a group of men led a bible study, and a group of women visited some ailing church members. We had a blast getting to know the team and are looking forward to them coming again. God went before us!
And that brings us up to October. We have continued to strengthen relationships already made and look for new ones everyday. I have already met up with two women I met, and am planning playdates with two more hopefully some time this week. God continues to shine the light right before us and we continue to follow. We continue to pray that His will be done through us here, and that we would get to see an awakening among the Bulgarian people. God is with us!
