Sunday, May 17, 2009
Dear Friends,
Our journey is moving us towards home. Currently, we are awaiting departure from Frankfurt and looking at our likely transport--a double-decker plane!!!!!! We are so grateful for your love and support. We are returning to you as changed people. In our efforts to share God's love with the people of Bulgaria, we have been blessed beyond measure. Our hearts are also burdened with the needs we have witnessed. We have learned to rely on God's strength. God has bound our team together. Waiting for departure, we speak about the children and excitedly talk about plans for next year. We look forward to sharing with you. See you very soon!
Our journey is moving us towards home. Currently, we are awaiting departure from Frankfurt and looking at our likely transport--a double-decker plane!!!!!! We are so grateful for your love and support. We are returning to you as changed people. In our efforts to share God's love with the people of Bulgaria, we have been blessed beyond measure. Our hearts are also burdened with the needs we have witnessed. We have learned to rely on God's strength. God has bound our team together. Waiting for departure, we speak about the children and excitedly talk about plans for next year. We look forward to sharing with you. See you very soon!
Leanne at the Frankfurt Airport shocked at our possible transportation... notice the double decks...
We delivered the baby blankets yesterday... here we laid them on the babies' beds.
Skip and a kid at the preschool home.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Last thoughts before heading home...
Good evening (or afternoon - depending where you are!). We have had another good day.
We spent the morning at a baby home. It is very touching to see all the kids. There are over 100 babies in this home. What is hard to see is all the beds... there were so many; it made it clear that it was not a day-care, but a home to these babies (ages birth to 3ish). They are so precious! We gave the baby home the blankets and quilts that you made. The care givers were very appreciative and even though the children cannot express it, we are sure they appreciate them too.
We ended the day by going into Sofia and sight-seeing and buying gifts and keep sakes. It's been a long day and we are heading to bed now. We must get up at 3:00am (8:00pm EST) to go to the airport. We each will leave a piece of our hearts here. Please continue to pray for these children.
God Bless!!
We spent the morning at a baby home. It is very touching to see all the kids. There are over 100 babies in this home. What is hard to see is all the beds... there were so many; it made it clear that it was not a day-care, but a home to these babies (ages birth to 3ish). They are so precious! We gave the baby home the blankets and quilts that you made. The care givers were very appreciative and even though the children cannot express it, we are sure they appreciate them too.
We ended the day by going into Sofia and sight-seeing and buying gifts and keep sakes. It's been a long day and we are heading to bed now. We must get up at 3:00am (8:00pm EST) to go to the airport. We each will leave a piece of our hearts here. Please continue to pray for these children.
God Bless!!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Words cannot express what we have seen, felt, and experienced over this week. These kids have given us so much and taught us so much about the love God has for all people. They are dear to our hearts!
Today we went back to the preschool home and told Bible stories, handed out Beanie Babies, and colored. We also marched around the room several times singing "Father Abraham" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes." The kids were a delight and we gave lots and lots of hugs.
Then we had a party!! A party for the handicap kids from Berk 4. They were sooooo very excited!! They dressed in their best clothes and shoes and were so well behaved. They sang "Jesus Loves Me" loud many many times - I know people sitting outside the restaurant could hear it too. It was amazing and these kids absolutely had the time of their life eating pizza and ice cream and drinking coca-cola! We also gave them treat bags w/ tooth brushes, pens, beanie babies, and a banana. We wrapped bandanas around their necks and just had a good 'ol time. A big thank you to the Crusader's Sunday School class for providing the funds for the party!!
We spent the rest of the afternoon saying goodbye to the kids at Berk 4 - lots of hugs and tears. They are so precious. We have lots of stories to share!
We leave in the morning and head torwards a baby home on our way back to Sofia. It will be difficult to leave Berkovitsa. It is beautiful here, but more than its beauty, the hearts of the ones we hold dear are here. Our God is so good. His ways are greater than ours.
Love to all.
Today we went back to the preschool home and told Bible stories, handed out Beanie Babies, and colored. We also marched around the room several times singing "Father Abraham" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes." The kids were a delight and we gave lots and lots of hugs.
Then we had a party!! A party for the handicap kids from Berk 4. They were sooooo very excited!! They dressed in their best clothes and shoes and were so well behaved. They sang "Jesus Loves Me" loud many many times - I know people sitting outside the restaurant could hear it too. It was amazing and these kids absolutely had the time of their life eating pizza and ice cream and drinking coca-cola! We also gave them treat bags w/ tooth brushes, pens, beanie babies, and a banana. We wrapped bandanas around their necks and just had a good 'ol time. A big thank you to the Crusader's Sunday School class for providing the funds for the party!!
We spent the rest of the afternoon saying goodbye to the kids at Berk 4 - lots of hugs and tears. They are so precious. We have lots of stories to share!
We leave in the morning and head torwards a baby home on our way back to Sofia. It will be difficult to leave Berkovitsa. It is beautiful here, but more than its beauty, the hearts of the ones we hold dear are here. Our God is so good. His ways are greater than ours.
Love to all.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Blessings and Burdens
Good evening friends! What a blessed day we have had! We spent the morning at a preschool orphanage in Georgi Damyanovo. We put shoes on 48 children! These preschoolers were so patient with us as we worked to match shoes to their feet. All were delighted, especially those children whose shoes lit-up when they stomped. We played with the children outside on the playground and could not find enough arms to hold them. It's clear that these children belong to God. They are precious and joyful and a delight to love.
After a lunch of deer stew and banana ice cream, we spent the afternoon at Berk 3 for our final visit. Midge finished-up her exams, and Tom completed checking eyes and provided glasses to the children who needed them. The rest of the team spent time with the children outside. Many of the children were coming back from school, and we did not have as many children outside with us as we have had in the past, and this provided us the opportunity to engage them on a more inidivudal basis. Skip and Jane shared the story of Jesus healing the blind man with the "cools kids," the teenagers who group to themselves. Charles showed that he could jump rope with the best.
After a lunch of deer stew and banana ice cream, we spent the afternoon at Berk 3 for our final visit. Midge finished-up her exams, and Tom completed checking eyes and provided glasses to the children who needed them. The rest of the team spent time with the children outside. Many of the children were coming back from school, and we did not have as many children outside with us as we have had in the past, and this provided us the opportunity to engage them on a more inidivudal basis. Skip and Jane shared the story of Jesus healing the blind man with the "cools kids," the teenagers who group to themselves. Charles showed that he could jump rope with the best.
Bryan played socceer all afternoon, and the rest of us colored, turned rope, and threw frisbees. I spoke with a 13-year-old girl, Alex, and she shared that her favorite subject was literature, and when asked what she liked to read, she responded that she enjoyed a famous Bulgarian author known for his poem about a child saying good-bye to her mother. What we are experiencing is challenging, is special, and is a tremendous blessing and burden simultanously. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for your prayers for our team and our mission. God is truly at work!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Slava na Boga!
Slava na Boga! (Praise the Lord)
Greetings from Bulgaria. We had an awesome day working through the hands of God. We had a split day with our team.
This morning part of the team headed to Belogradchik to tour the Roman fortress and stone formations.
Tom and Midge stayed back and performed eye and physical exams at Berk 3 (home for ages 6-18) this morning which included around 40 children and 10 adults with the eye exams.
This afternoon we spent our last day at the gypsy school. Our activities really touched the children because our attendance tripled in size over the past several days. The many smiles of the children are a true blessing for the work of God.
The picture above is of a young gypsy boy and me (Russ). He attended church on Sunday and all three days of school while we were visiting. I really love to see the smiles on their faces because each one was created by God. I personally have been touched each day of our trip and all the glory goes to God and his work. In the evenings our team meets for a devotion time and to share our personal experiences that have touched each of our hearts. Every second that we are with the children is a special time but moments such as the one above are forever heart touching because of God's grace. Love is powerful. Russ
Greetings from Bulgaria. We had an awesome day working through the hands of God. We had a split day with our team.
This morning part of the team headed to Belogradchik to tour the Roman fortress and stone formations.
Tom and Midge stayed back and performed eye and physical exams at Berk 3 (home for ages 6-18) this morning which included around 40 children and 10 adults with the eye exams.
This afternoon we spent our last day at the gypsy school. Our activities really touched the children because our attendance tripled in size over the past several days. The many smiles of the children are a true blessing for the work of God.
The picture above is of a young gypsy boy and me (Russ). He attended church on Sunday and all three days of school while we were visiting. I really love to see the smiles on their faces because each one was created by God. I personally have been touched each day of our trip and all the glory goes to God and his work. In the evenings our team meets for a devotion time and to share our personal experiences that have touched each of our hearts. Every second that we are with the children is a special time but moments such as the one above are forever heart touching because of God's grace. Love is powerful. Russ
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Extraordinary Day
What an extraordinary day! Again today we went to Berk 4 (the handicap home) in the morning and to the gypsy village in the afternoon.
Tom has jumped right in and been doing eye exams for 2 days now. Today, in the gypsy village alone, he saw 50 kids!! He also saw kids at Berk 4 - where he is quite a popular man... everyone wants glasses!
Midge and Emily did physical exams again today - saw lots of handicap children. Midge says that it is a great blessing to work with these kids, some of whom are not kids - some are as old as 40! Emily has been a great blessing helping with both eye exams (yesterday) and physical exams (today).
The children at Berk 4 have been really responding to music and joining in and opening up more. Their favorite song is Jesus Loves Me (which we have learned in Bulgarian!).
There are a lot of new children at Berk 4 - young ones. It is fun to watch the older kids at Berk 4 take care of the little ones. You can tell that they care for one another. Today Skip held a younger looking child (which turned out to be 13). The workers said that this child does not speak or respond to much - but as we were about to leave, Skip looked into her eyes and she smiled back. He said he didn't know what she was thinking, but that it was a joy to see her respond and to connect with her.
Russ has visited the cows and chickens at Berk 4. The kids love showing their animals off to the group. Charles has been walking with the kids; Debbie has been hugging and loving them; Bryan has had the privilege of playing the role of Jesus in all our skits; Jane and Leanne have been our narrators; Rachel loves playing follow the leader with 20 kids.
Midge writes: Rachel has been a great leader for the team and loves each of the children dearly.
At the gypsy village there were a lot more kids today. Jessie refreshed them on Tennessee again and the kids remembered a good bit. Again we took them outside to play and just ran around. We played follow the leader, frisbie, soccer, red light/green light, and jump rope. It was very hot, but it was worth all the sweat. We feel like we have connected with the kids. Tomorrow is our last day with the gypsy kids.
Judy and Paul (the missionairies) have been wonderful. It amazes us how God is using them. Their ministry over here is such a blessing to see and experience. They are loved by so many.
Our interpreters are great too! They work well with the children and are fun to be around.
Tomorrow most of the team will do a little sight seeing at an old Roman ruin... Tom and Midge will be staying in Berkovitsa and doing more exams at Berk 3 (the home for kids aged 6ish-18). Please continue to pray for the health of the team and our ministry here.
Our God is so good! He is doing amazing things! None of this would be possible (or worth it) without Him. All these children are so precious - pray that they see Jesus' love in us. They are often mistreated and lonely; they want to be loved so much. Pray for their comfort and for a hope that only comes from God.
We love you all!! Thanks for keeping up with us!
The Team
Tom has jumped right in and been doing eye exams for 2 days now. Today, in the gypsy village alone, he saw 50 kids!! He also saw kids at Berk 4 - where he is quite a popular man... everyone wants glasses!
Midge and Emily did physical exams again today - saw lots of handicap children. Midge says that it is a great blessing to work with these kids, some of whom are not kids - some are as old as 40! Emily has been a great blessing helping with both eye exams (yesterday) and physical exams (today).
The children at Berk 4 have been really responding to music and joining in and opening up more. Their favorite song is Jesus Loves Me (which we have learned in Bulgarian!).
There are a lot of new children at Berk 4 - young ones. It is fun to watch the older kids at Berk 4 take care of the little ones. You can tell that they care for one another. Today Skip held a younger looking child (which turned out to be 13). The workers said that this child does not speak or respond to much - but as we were about to leave, Skip looked into her eyes and she smiled back. He said he didn't know what she was thinking, but that it was a joy to see her respond and to connect with her.
Russ has visited the cows and chickens at Berk 4. The kids love showing their animals off to the group. Charles has been walking with the kids; Debbie has been hugging and loving them; Bryan has had the privilege of playing the role of Jesus in all our skits; Jane and Leanne have been our narrators; Rachel loves playing follow the leader with 20 kids.
Midge writes: Rachel has been a great leader for the team and loves each of the children dearly.
At the gypsy village there were a lot more kids today. Jessie refreshed them on Tennessee again and the kids remembered a good bit. Again we took them outside to play and just ran around. We played follow the leader, frisbie, soccer, red light/green light, and jump rope. It was very hot, but it was worth all the sweat. We feel like we have connected with the kids. Tomorrow is our last day with the gypsy kids.
Judy and Paul (the missionairies) have been wonderful. It amazes us how God is using them. Their ministry over here is such a blessing to see and experience. They are loved by so many.
Our interpreters are great too! They work well with the children and are fun to be around.
Tomorrow most of the team will do a little sight seeing at an old Roman ruin... Tom and Midge will be staying in Berkovitsa and doing more exams at Berk 3 (the home for kids aged 6ish-18). Please continue to pray for the health of the team and our ministry here.
Our God is so good! He is doing amazing things! None of this would be possible (or worth it) without Him. All these children are so precious - pray that they see Jesus' love in us. They are often mistreated and lonely; they want to be loved so much. Pray for their comfort and for a hope that only comes from God.
We love you all!! Thanks for keeping up with us!
The Team
Monday, May 11, 2009
A Fun Packed Day!
Greetings! We are doing well and having a wonderful time. We have had an amazing day - we have laughed and we have cried; we have sung and played; we have held hands; we have given numberous hugs away.
We began our day with Berk 4 (the handicap orphanage). What a blessing those kids/adults are. This orphanage houses small kids around age 6 to adults aged 35, and is probably the most loving and caring setting you could possibly imagine. The kids care for one another and for us. They give us gifts - when they have nothing. They are such an example of unconditional love. What beautiful hearts they have! With them we told the Bible story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 - Jane Frierson was narrator and had planned and prepared the lessons. Then we went outside to play. The main activity was the kids wanting to walk outside - which basically consists of walking around the building. The setting is absolutely beautiful w/ the Balkin Mountains surrounding them. We walked and walked and walked... =) and just showed we cared by holding hands, rubbing backs, and just smiling. They were also eager to introduce us to everyone at the orphanage and to help us w/ our Bulgarian speech!
We spent the afternoon at the gypsy school. Jessica Goddard had planned a Tennessee lesson for the children and she did a wonderful job! The kids were so interested in learning and even spoke some English words. We even taught them the Hokie-Pokie! It was so much fun!! The kids are a delight.
One neat story from the gypsy school: Midge Allum is doing physical exams. As she was finishing the exams for the day, she gave the school nurse a huge bottle of multi-vitamins that we brought with us to give away. The nurse started crying and said that she had asked (the people in charge - whoever that is) for some vitamins 2 weeks ago, but saw no hope in getting any... and here Midge handed her a huge bottle of 1000+ vitamins!! The nurse asked Midge how this was possible and Midge told her that it is because of God. What an awesome thing our Lord has done!!
Also, one of the orphans asked about Blain Potter - he came to Bulgaria last year - and the child remembered him by name and specifically asked for him! Even when we don't feel like we make any kind of impact or what seems like such a short period to us, these kids soak in every minute of it!! And yes, the kids remember each of the returning team members from last year and have accepted the new team members with big open arms. It is amazing how God uses our presence here, just spending time with these kids and just staring into their eyes to show how much we love them - this is more than they ever get!
Tonight our team did a devotional about keeping God before us. It's not about the work we do, but rather it is about our Lord! We realize that if we are going to make any kind of impact in this world, it is by God's grace and for His glory only! We must keep our eyes on Him and everything will happen as it should. Our God is good!! A quote from our devotional tonight:
"The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him" - Oswald Chambers.
It's all about Him! And it is about our relationship with Him so that our ministry can be effective and for His glory!
Please continue praying for us. Tomorrow we have the same schedule (Berk 4 in the morning and the gypsy school in the afternoon). We ask specifically for you to pray for our day tomorrow - that we are rested and are able to place a lot of energy into the kids; pray that the barrier of language is broken down; pray that these kids see Jesus in us.
We are very tired and must go to bed now. Thanks again for your support and all you do!
P.S. - Tom and Rachel arrived safely late last night and are well... just tired. =)
We began our day with Berk 4 (the handicap orphanage). What a blessing those kids/adults are. This orphanage houses small kids around age 6 to adults aged 35, and is probably the most loving and caring setting you could possibly imagine. The kids care for one another and for us. They give us gifts - when they have nothing. They are such an example of unconditional love. What beautiful hearts they have! With them we told the Bible story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 - Jane Frierson was narrator and had planned and prepared the lessons. Then we went outside to play. The main activity was the kids wanting to walk outside - which basically consists of walking around the building. The setting is absolutely beautiful w/ the Balkin Mountains surrounding them. We walked and walked and walked... =) and just showed we cared by holding hands, rubbing backs, and just smiling. They were also eager to introduce us to everyone at the orphanage and to help us w/ our Bulgarian speech!
We spent the afternoon at the gypsy school. Jessica Goddard had planned a Tennessee lesson for the children and she did a wonderful job! The kids were so interested in learning and even spoke some English words. We even taught them the Hokie-Pokie! It was so much fun!! The kids are a delight.
One neat story from the gypsy school: Midge Allum is doing physical exams. As she was finishing the exams for the day, she gave the school nurse a huge bottle of multi-vitamins that we brought with us to give away. The nurse started crying and said that she had asked (the people in charge - whoever that is) for some vitamins 2 weeks ago, but saw no hope in getting any... and here Midge handed her a huge bottle of 1000+ vitamins!! The nurse asked Midge how this was possible and Midge told her that it is because of God. What an awesome thing our Lord has done!!
Also, one of the orphans asked about Blain Potter - he came to Bulgaria last year - and the child remembered him by name and specifically asked for him! Even when we don't feel like we make any kind of impact or what seems like such a short period to us, these kids soak in every minute of it!! And yes, the kids remember each of the returning team members from last year and have accepted the new team members with big open arms. It is amazing how God uses our presence here, just spending time with these kids and just staring into their eyes to show how much we love them - this is more than they ever get!
Tonight our team did a devotional about keeping God before us. It's not about the work we do, but rather it is about our Lord! We realize that if we are going to make any kind of impact in this world, it is by God's grace and for His glory only! We must keep our eyes on Him and everything will happen as it should. Our God is good!! A quote from our devotional tonight:
"The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him" - Oswald Chambers.
It's all about Him! And it is about our relationship with Him so that our ministry can be effective and for His glory!
Please continue praying for us. Tomorrow we have the same schedule (Berk 4 in the morning and the gypsy school in the afternoon). We ask specifically for you to pray for our day tomorrow - that we are rested and are able to place a lot of energy into the kids; pray that the barrier of language is broken down; pray that these kids see Jesus in us.
We are very tired and must go to bed now. Thanks again for your support and all you do!
P.S. - Tom and Rachel arrived safely late last night and are well... just tired. =)
Saturday, May 9, 2009
WE HAVE ARRIVED!!!!!
Hello from warm and sunny Berkovitsa. The team has arrived safely with the exception of Rachel and Tom who are on their way from Chicago. Rachel had a small mishap in Chicago and injured her finger. The airline required her to go to the emergency room for treatment. Meanwhile she and Tom missed the flight to Munich. She is doing well and we expect them to arrive safely tomorrow. Please keep our team , the orphans, the Ridgeways, and the congregation of Rakovitsa(gypsy church) in your prayers. Thank you FUMC for giving us this opportunity to serve our Lord with gladness. All praise be to God.
Meeting at the Church
We gathered at the church on Friday morning to depart for Bulgaria. We are on our way!! What an exciting time! We will keep you up to date on all our happenings.
Today we will traveled approximately 20 hours to get to our final destination. We each have 2 50-lb bags plus our carry-ons to get through customs. Each bag is packed full with the generous donations from all of you back home. We have medical supplies, baby blankets, moon boots, socks, underwear, hats, hairbows, eyeglasses, beanie babies, clothing, and much, much more! We have truly been blessed by our gracious Lord! Pray that these gifts are life-touching to the kids we will encounter in Bulgaria.
We had a wonderful sending off, where our pastor, Scott Layer, prayed us off. Jack Kennerly was our wonderful bus driver who took us to the airport... thank you Jack!
Our God is a God of abundant joy. Continue to keep us in your prayers as we travel.
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MAY 2009: BULGARIA
