So what's taking you so long to get there?

Yesterday I got a Facebook friend request from a grad school classmate.  We finished school in the summer of 2006.  At that time, Susan and I were not very far along in our training with MTW, but far enough that it was official - we were on track to relocate to Bulgaria and begin our lives as foreign missionaries.  My former classmate and I got along really well in school, but because he was commuting from a long distance, graduation meant that our paths would no longer be crossing.  It was great to hear from him and I am grateful for Facebook because it will allow us to keep up in ways that would not have been practical 10 years ago, especially as we move to the field.  But because we haven't been in contact and it has been so long, he made the assumption that we had already gone and were now back home.  This is not the first time we have had that conversation with people we haven't seen for a while.  It can be a depressing exchange.  They expect that we should have gone a long time ago, and so do we.  It brings to mind questions like:  How long Lord? or Where will the rest of our support come from?  And in the darkest moments: Will it come?  Another difficult encounter that we have faced has been when we have let old friends know of our need in the course of exchanging emails or comments on Facebook.  Pleasant exchanges have ended abruptly with no additional comment after we mention that we need additional support.  This has been especially hard for me to take when those friends have been people with whom I have felt I could be completely open.  Is this just sin on my part -fear of man, or is it appropriate to feel the hurt of such moments?  I don't know, but I do know that I could use your prayers over this struggle (and so could Susan).  Please pray that God would raise up supporters and that He would direct them toward us.

Boots in the mud

Susan and I have just returned from a week in Bulgaria.  We spent our time there with other members of MTW Bulgaria, some already in the field, some just returning and others like us, hoping to get there soon.  Each morning we gathered for worship and then began a day of strategic planning.  Dal, our team leader told us that we were special forces.  Though there was much joking, the comparison stands.  We are on mission. We are in Bulgaria to claim it for the Kingdom of Christ, with Christ leading the charge, of course.  Much of our time was spent reviewing our history and drilling down to uncover our core values.  We came away with four that will guide our efforts at spreading the gospel in Bulgaria.  Our central value is that we will be gospel centered (Colossians 1:18).  The cross of Christ is central to our interactions with each other, as well as our relationships with the Bulgarians we go to serve and equip for living lives devoted to our God.  We will be body focused.  This means that we will live as a family and community cultivating the life of Christ in each other, respecting and valuing the unity and diversity of gifts, talents and abilities of each member (Romans 12:4-8).  We will be apostolic driven (Matthew 28:19).  We assume that God is raising up Bulgarian believers to serve effectively in every role in the local church.  As such, our task is to empower Bulgarian partners to carry out every aspect of the ministry of the local church.    Finally, we will be supernatural expectant (Philippians 2:13).  While seeking His direction, we plan and strategize our ministry in Bulgaria, yet we hold our plans loosely affirming the essential  supernatural core of life, recognizing that the Holy Spirit may choose to use our stated plans or guide our ministry into unexpected paths.  We are on mission and the King of Glory is leading the charge.  Huah!

Worshiping in Statesboro

This morning Susan and I got up really early, got ready for church woke up the kids and hit the road for Statesboro. It's not all that far away (about 40 minutes), but we committed to making it to the early church service which started at 8:30. Just before the service started, Susan and I got a brief moment to meet our contact person, Associate Pastor, Robert Wagner. He preached both services and soon after headed out of town for vacation. We are grateful that he was willing to work us into the schedule on short notice. We are also thankful for the prayers that he prayed for us. We had the opportunity to meet some delightful people. A young man came up to me dressed in a nice suit and tie. He wanted to know how to keep up with us. He let me know that he would try to send contributions to us when he could. Since he was only 11, I assumed he didn't have a job and told him that praying for us would be a tremendous way to help. He agreed, but insisted that he would like to make financial contributions as well. What can I say? He is the kind of supporter we need. He was a blessing to me this morning. Others came up sharing personal stories that really connected with our own. It is great to be with God's people. I am continually impressed that when we go to new places and meet other believers we have never known, there is a bond, a bond that we share in Christ. It is one thing to know it intellectually and quite another to experience it!

JOHNSTON REVIEW

07/28/2009

We are headed for Bulgaria!

Yes! We are going, however this will only be for a short trip in September to meet with the team during the team retreat. There have been many changes to our team since we were last there. The resource center Lomidol is no longer in existence, so we are redefining what our work will look like. Helping us make these decisions is our new team leader, Dal Stanton. We are very fortunate to have him as our team leader and look forward to working with him during our time in Bulgaria. During our short visit to Bulgaria, we will be meeting with the team to more clearly define the team's vision, and how best to support that vision. This is an exciting time for our team, but one that needs to be bathed in prayer so that we will go in the direction that God is calling us as a team.

So when are going to Bulgaria for real?

Greg and I need about $2000 dollars more a month. Please be in prayer for this money to come in soon. This is why. We need to apply for our Visas. This process takes about 2 ½ months and we only have about 5 months to get into the country after we get them. If we have not raised our support by then, we will have to start the whole process over again and it is not cheap. It is our desire and that of our team leader to be in Bulgaria by December or before. Now, our pastor, Bill Douglas, pointed out to us that it should be no problem since we only need 2000 people to pledge $1 a month. I, however, am thinking a little more on the lines of 80 people at $25 a month, 40 people at $50 a month or even 20 people at $100 a month, or somewhere in between. If you are already supporting us, Thank You! If you aren't, please consider supporting this ministry financially and prayerfully. To find out more information, here are some web sites that you can visit: www.mtwbulgaria.blogspot.com. This is a site where Greg writes updates about our journey to the field. Another website, http://www.mtwbg.com/mtwbg/Team_Video.html, shows a video about Bulgaria and what the team is doing there. It gives a great overview of the challenges that face us there and also the opportunities.

For those of you who don't know, our ministry is one to families with disabled children and while we hope to help them physically, we know that we can't cure these children. So the question then becomes what now? We hope to share with these families that we are all like these disabled children, except that our brokenness is not visible on the outside. We have hearts that are crippled with sin. And just as there is only One who can restore the bodies of these precious children, there is only One, THE Great Physician, who can mend our brokenness, and release us from the bondage of sin. This is where our hope lies.

What is going on with Greg?

Some of you may know that Greg had surgery to repair a hole in his eardrum. This was his second surgery and unfortunately, it did not work. He now has an appointment with a specialist on Aug. 3 to see if he can repair his eardrum. Also, this past Friday (July,24) Greg was playing basketball and turned his ankle badly. We know it is not broken,, however, he has been in a lot of pain and has just begun trying to put weight on his foot again. Hopefully, this will be the end of it and it will continue to heal, so that he won't need any other medical care. Please be in prayer for his ear and his foot.

New video explains why MTW is in Bulgaria

This video was produced by Matthew Blick, an intern with MTW. It features Bulgarians talking about their country and also includes comments from our team leader, Dal Stanton. It is very well done. Watching it has made us anxious to get to the field.

Caring for Bulgaria's Disabled children

Check out this link. http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=105551 It was sent to us by Beth Stanton who is the wife of our team leader in Bulgaria. It is about a lady with ties to Bulgaria who is engaged in the struggle and has started a foundation to change things for the disabled children there.