Things I Liked (or didn’t) This Month

So, apparently this column is evolving into a monthly feature rather then a weekly one.  My blogging hopes have fallen behind as we have gotten busier and been dealing with year end events like tax preparation (fun!).  But today I am here with a few observations from around the blogosphere. 

I like our new church building!  Having a place to call our own, that we can use all week long, is a huge step in the right direction for the budding congregation of the Church of the Nazarene in Sofia. 

I like that our kids have friends at church and look forward to going to service each week. 

I liked watching my first-time skaters take to the ice last week.  Even Don was a first timer, though he managed to not fall.  Can’t say the same for the kids!

I didn’t like the latest news about the Syrian Refugees and the situation here.  Please pray for these families.

I didn’t like this flu epidemic that has spread across Sofia.  Please pray for our health and that of our teammates!

I liked the countdown to our trip to the USA and the kids excitement!  48 days!

2013 Family Recap

Wow!  What a big year 2013 was in our lives.  This was the year of change, that much is certain.  The rest of it is marked by decided uncertainty, and also by God’s faithfulness.  Here’s a little about what happened in 2013.

January

After receiving multiple offers on our home on Dec. 31, we welcomed 2013 with a day of negotiation and realtor-finding.  We signed a contract with the buyers of our home on Jan 2.  Thankfully, they wanted to rent the house to us for 2 additional months, so we had 90 days to vacate.  Let the packing, selling, and temporary-house hunting begin!  At the time, we still had no idea where we were going to end up, but selling the house (for almost asking price!) was a huge confirmation from God that we were indeed supposed to be heading somewhere.

February

In February, we began selling our belongings in earnest.  Craigslist sales became an everyday affair.  We were offered a temporary place to live by friends, which was a huge blessing and took much of the stress off of us.  We also reached a decision to head to Bulgaria!  We set a departure date for July 9, and started fundraising.  We also had our family photos taken by a friend who did an excellent job, and ordered our prayer cards.

March

March was a blur of more selling, fundraising, and moving!  We left the only home the kids had ever known and moved into a temporary place at the end of the month (the Sunday before Easter!).  Our month looked like this:

April

April was a relatively quiet month.  This was the time when we started to settle into the idea of moving overseas and away from everyone and everything.  Living in temporary housing 30 miles from our beloved little town gave us a chance to slowly adjust to the idea of being much more the 30 miles away.  We began looking at every moment with loved ones in a new way and cherishing every moment.  

May

In May, we celebrated Elijah’s 6th birthday.  This was a very fun occasion for him as it marked the first year he was allowed to choose his own birthday activities.  He chose Jump-it, dinner at Texas Roadhouse and a sleepover.  We also did quite a bit of fundraising travel and speaking, including the amazing day we spent speaking and sharing at our beloved home church in Hillsboro, IN.

There was also one 3-week-long near panic regarding the FBI clearances and fingerprints… but we would prefer to leave that in the past. :)

Elijah and friends on his 6th birthday.

June

The month of June was a month of lasts.  It was full of tears, and bittersweet moments.  It is also overflowing with lots and lots of precious memories, many of which are making my teary-eyed as I write.  There were visits with family, park trips, and outings that we will never forget.

There was also the first round of goodbyes, these to family members that did not live close by, as we knew we would not have a chance to see them again before departure.

This was also the month of watching God provide for our financial needs and lots of prayers for documents to arrive in time (they did!).

One of the most precious memories in June was of Milena’s baptism.  Many friends and family came to celebrate with her, and it was a wonderful evening.

Milena’s Baptism

July

July was…  indescribable in a short paragraph.  Or even a full blog post, really.  We packed We said goodbye.  We left.  We vacationed briefly in Chicago. We flew.  We arrived.  We made our first trip to Greece.  We rented an apartment and moved in.  So much emotion.  So many new experiences. 

August

In August we celebrated our first milestone in Bulgaria.  Milena turned 8!  Along with her birthday, we also received our first package from the USA.  We began working and settling into life in Sofia.  We bought a car, had our first dinner guests, and attended church Sundays and Wednesdays.

Also in August, we got involved in an Embassy playgroup with people from all over the world, and started to make new friends.  We also met the Mann Family, who were later to become both great friends and ministry team members.

We also started school early, in preparation for our 2014 trip to the US.  Already we were looking forward to seeing friends and family again.

Milena’s 8th Birthday Breakfast- Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

September

In September we got into something of a routine, but frustrations were rising with our current ministry situation and we sensed a change coming.  God was working, though, and by the end of the month we are starting to see Him bringing things together for us to join the Church of the Nazarene (our denomination) as Tentmakers in Bulgaria.  It was a perfect fit for us, and we began to transition.

October

In October, we officially submitted our resignation to the first ministry and joined the Church of the Nazarene.  This change brought much peace and “settling” for our entire family, and things began to settle into a new, happier routine.  Some of the homesickness began to fade and we started seeing the purpose in our calling here.

Don began working with a ministry to the refugees here in Sofia as well.  It’s been amazing to be involved in a front-lines ministry to people from around the world.

We also took a walking photo tour of our new city, which resulted in many great shots for this Mama to scrapbook!

November

November began with a fun trip to the Nazarene National Assembly, where we spent time getting to know our new teammates and met many of the pastors and leaders from across the nation.  For the kids, the highlight was definitely the visit to the castle in Veliko Turnovo,

We decorated for Christmas mid-November, after making most of our own decorations.  We also celebrated Thanksgiving with a lovely Turkey dinner with Bulgarians and Americans alike.  It was a great holiday!

A group shot at Veliko Turnovo (minus Sarah, the photographer)

December

December, while filled with Christmas celebrations, had a few other highlights.  The Nazarene Sofia Church found a new rental location, and Don spent much of the month preparing it for our first service. 

Our team also made great progress in planning the soon-to-be-built new church building.  We ended the year with a rough drawing of our plans, a business plan being written, and a timeline sketched out for 2014. 

Christmas was nice, but quiet.  Most of our friends were travelling over the holidays, so we spent a few quiet days at home with way to much food and some fun Skype chats.  We were blessed with several packages from US family and friends, and this made Christmas far more special. 

We ended the year staying at the Mann’s house for a few days, enjoying the big yard, trampoline, and unusually warm weather.  The New Year’s Eve fireworks here are amazing!

Listening to Don read the Christmas story on Christmas Morning

Thank you for supporting and praying for our family through this year of ups and downs.  We are so blessed and encouraged to have an amazing support team. 

We are also blessed with an abundance of great friends and family, both in Sofia and in the USA.  We are beyond grateful for God’s faithfulness in 2013, and we are excited to see what miracles and amazing things God will do in 2014.

Much Love, Don, Alyssa, Milena, and Elijah

Another Guest Post: Easing Transitions

I have another guest post up at Missionary Mom’s Companion.  I meant to post this earlier and it slipped my mind, but you can still go and check it out HERE.

Here’s a excerpt from my post:

Our family is new to the field, and there was one thing that we did while leaving that made all the difference. We took a 3 day mini vacation just before catching our overseas flight.

I read this suggestion online from Laura Parker, a seasoned missionary mom. Laura was sharing the idea in the context of “things we wish we had done,” and the idea immediately resonated with me. When we left the US to come to Bulgaria, we were leaving the only home my kids had ever known. It was my husband’s first overseas move. It was my first time overseas in more than a decade. It was a LOT to process.
The long weekend away was just what we needed.

You can read the rest of the post HERE.

What $35 Will Buy At Lidl

My grocery-related posts seem to be popular, and I understand why.  I’m fascinated by how these things work in other countries too.  Last night, Milena and I went to our favorite local store to pick up a few things, so when I got home, I took a picture for posterity.

We spent about $35 USD, and this is what we bought (weight conversions are estimates):
8 lb squash (not pictured)
22 liters of water (not pictured)
36 oz bag of cornflakes
24 oz Honey Cheerio-like cereal
3-12oz containers of Yogurt
6 oz bag of pretzels
16 ct. pack of hot dogs
1 Loaf of Bread
1 Bunch of Green Onions
1 lb Onions
2 lb Potatoes
2 Cucumbers
1 Head of Lettuce
4 lemons
2 lbs Oatmeal
5 Doughnuts (an unusual treat!)
10 oz. Mayonnaise
2 lbs Local Cheese
80 ct. Cleaning Wipes
I also bought tortillas (16 tortillas for $4) and Butter (2 lbs for $8) but I had to go to a different store for those.  Items like meat and butter definitely raise the total bill.  We often try to make our own tortillas, but it’s time consuming and sometimes we just can’t make it happen.  It’s much cheaper when we do though!
I hope you enjoyed this little peek into everyday life in Sofia! 

Videos!

We made a video of our move here.  We’re planning a whole series of movies, but for now…  Here is the first one.  Enjoy!

Weekly Mash-Up

Time for another selection of things I liked and didn’t like this week!

I liked (loved) celebrating this precious girl’s 8th birthday.  I didn’t like the fact that she is 8 (!) already.  Where does the time go?  I am so proud of her and the young woman she is becoming.  She is compassionate, devoted to obeying Christ, and is receptive to correction.  What more could a mother want?

Recipe: Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I didn’t like this news.  It broke my heart and made me sad. 

I liked (a lot) our Expat playgroup and the new friends we are making there.

I liked Skyping with our home church last week.  It was so amazing to be connected to our church family in this way and feel their support.

I didn’t like that I got powdered ammonia mixed up with baking powder and made some truly awful corn bread.  (We discovered it before trying to eat it, thankfully!)  When made without the powdered ammonia, this recipe is really amazing!

I didn’t like the construction noise outside my bedroom window at 7am on Sunday, and every other day.

I liked (kinda) the Mariachi music the night club across the way plays on Tuesday nights.  It makes me wonder what kind of dancing is happening inside.

I liked seeing God’s provision for our family in the form of this car:

What did you like (or not) this week?

I Met a Woman

I met a women at the market a few weeks ago.  Her kids were speaking English, and that gets you noticed around here (Any idea how I know that?).  So we stood, and talked, next to the eggs, which were in the freezer aisle.  In between my fleeting thoughts about the eggs being in the freezer aisle and the fact that you can choose your own eggs, one by one, because they are sold individually, I learned that she is an expat, new to Sofia, with 5 children.

Reading between the lines, I sensed immediately that she is lonely, misses her support network, and has mixed feelings about being in Sofia.  Yeah, me too. 

Se between the eggs and the ice cream, we connected over bags of ice in the only store in the city that sells ice.  We compared our children’s ages, spoke about our professions and our husband’s professions, and exchanged phone numbers.

The next week, we met at a park with a few more expat families, and one new relationship blossomed into four new friendships.

This week, we will meet again, with a few more families, to take the kids to the zoo.  I
think, however, that this is bigger then just seeing the tigers.

This I know because I serve a God who is all about relationships, I know for a fact that He is at work.  This open door is a connection, a road to ministry opportunities, friendships, and people.  People for whom God sent us to Sofia. 

One day, I will look back on this beginning and know exactly why we met that day in the aisle for eggs and ice.  I will look back and see every footstep carefully arranged by a loving creator.  For now, I will walk this path, pray for the people I am meeting, and share Christ when hearts are open. 

Because I am learning that we must always look forward, until it is time to look back.

Have you looked back and seen God working in ways you never realized at the time?  Feel free to share your story in the comments.  I'd love to hear it.

Things I Liked, or Didn’t Like This Week

The idea for this post is completely copied from Rachel at Djibouti Jones. I (Alyssa) enjoy her posts each week, and thought I’d give it a try here.  Let’s call it a weekly mash-up of our lives in Sofia and what we’re checking out online.

I liked the encouragement and influence K-Love has on our family.  We play it all the time, including when anyone is having trouble sleeping.  It sounds like home and is comforting to all of us.  The kids even make K-Love appointments with their friends- both of them listening at the same time, from different continents.

I liked this post from Rachelle Wright.  It made me think, and I enjoy this type of “digging deep” post.

I like/don’t like the struggle we are having with feeling like we need to earn our financial support.  I appreciate the accountability, and the need to make sure we are fully engaged and active in ministry here.  I dislike the tendency I have to focus on pleasing supporters, rather then pleasing and obeying God.  I like the way this forces me to consider my motives and challenges my level of obedience to God.

I didn’t like the struggle this week to both find our niche here in Bulgaria and choose the right places to jump in and get involved. I didn’t like the feeling of being here, but not really fully HERE yet.

I liked seeing my kids make new friends, and meeting families from around the world at our new Expat play group.  Praying for ministry connections there.

I liked the new possibilities that presented themselves this week.  We have multiple ministry avenues we’re exploring, and it’s exciting to think about what God will do.

I liked having our first guests in our new apartment.

I didn’t like waking at 4am to the sounds of some random stranger puking under my window.

I liked how Pinterest makes it easy to find recipes.  Like, for example, what to do with the ground ham I bought while trying to buy ground beef.

I liked the encouraging posts from family and friends.  We have a great support network.  I love you all.

Observations of Sofia

Time for a fun post about some of the unique things about Sofia.  Or at least, things that are new to us.
 
1. There is fresh produce everywhere.  I mean, everywhere.  Little stands on the sidewalk, larger markets in the center, and shops with produce stands in front of them.  I know this will change come winter, and I will really miss it.

2. The Bulgarians are very friendly, but generally will not start a conversation with a stranger.  If we start a conversation, even with a simple comment, it will often lead to hour-long conversations.  This is challenging for one of us, not so much for the other (guess which?).
3. There are many rules for driving here.  Not many of them are obeyed.  Except when they are, and then we are usually the only ones who didn’t get the memo.
4. Bulgarian is a very challenging language.  Much more for one of us then for the other.  (guess which?  Hint: It’s the opposite of #2). The Bulgarians love it when we attempt to speak their language.  They usually warm up to us right away if we (read: Alyssa) can manage a few sentences.
5. It is a highly valued skill here to speak English.  It’s often difficult to practice Bulgarian, because people frequently prefer to practice their English on us.
6. Salads in Bulgaria include lettuce about 5% of the time.  The rest of the time, cucumbers, yogurt, and/or tomatoes serve as the base, with other toppings added in for variety.  Salad dressing is nearly non-existent, with the exception of oil and vinegar.

7. Cheese comes generally in 2 varieties: white (feta) and yellow (kinda-sorta like mozzerella).  Other cheeses are available, but for a much higher price.
8. Almost everyone lives in apartments.  Houses are considered expensive to heat and maintain, and are less desirable to the average Bulgarian. 
9. Bulgarians are passionate and enthusiastic, but you may never discover that until you build relationships with them.  They are outwardly quite reserved… unless you get in their way while driving.
10. Bulgaria is a wonderful place, full of beautiful landscapes and architecture.  It is exactly the right place for our family, at least for this season.  :)

Today (or yesterday, now)

Today, we needed an outing.  We were all feeling homesick, and so this was not the day to sit at home, even with language study to keep us occupied.  So we combined the fun with the practical and headed to Metro, Bulgaria’s version of Costco or Sam’s Club. 

In the weeks since we have been here, I have spent a great deal of time going to different stores, both to become familiar with what is available and to compare prices.  I have lists of what is available where, and what the prices are, so I can make the most of each trip into a particular store. 
Metro is good for a few things in particular, and today was out third trip there.  Our first trip was fact-finding only.  The second was an attempt to stock our home with some essentials (think toilet paper, flour, and sugar), as well as to purchase small amounts of a few items to try them before buying in bulk. 
Today, I finally felt prepared to enter the store armed with a list (based on a complete menu for 2-3 weeks) and get down to business.  Here’s a sampling of what we bought (and the prices, since so many of you are curious).

- Milk.  We are milk drinkers, and although we don’t drink nearly as much milk here as in the States, we do use about 3 liters per week.  (4 liters per gallon.  You’re welcome.)  At the grocery store milk ranges from 2,19 BGN to 1,49.  At Metro, we paid 1,07 BGN.  We bought 24 liters (no refrigeration necessary till they are opened.)
- Ground Beef.  It took me a while to find 100% ground beef.  Most of it is mixed with ground pork or lamb.  I even bought ground ham once by accident.  The price is 9,95 per kilo, which works out to about $3.00/lb.  It’s very lean too. 

- Muesli.  We eat this nearly every morning, with whatever fruit we have.  This morning, I cooked it with cinnamon and bananas.  A few days ago, it was peaches. Muesli, complete with flax seed, and dried fruit, is about $1/lb. 
- Eggs.  We bought a flat of 30 brown eggs.  Here,the price is often per egg, or for 10 (not often do you see a true dozen).  We paid ,16 per egg, or $1.26/dozen.
- Watermelon.  It’s in season now, and delicious.  We paid ,27 per kilo for ours, and it was a 7 kilo (just over 14 lbs) watermelon.  Total cost: 1,89 BGN or $1.24.
- Chocolate Chips.  This was our splurge, for sure.  This was the only place I have seen them here, and less demand drives up prices.  The bag was 2.5 kilos, or nearly 6 lbs (close to 7 bags in the US 12 oz size).  The cost was 35,00 BGN, or $23.00.  I’ll be making these last as long as possible.
I’ll try to take more photos next time we go.  I forgot this time. :)
Thanks for coming by!

Our Apartment

We’re now completely settled in our new apartment.  Please email me if you would like our mailing address (postcards for the kids are highly valued and carried around everywhere for days.  Just saying.  :)

Here are some photos.

As for the date stamp on these photos…  Well.  It has since been corrected.  These are indeed 2013 photos.  :)

Coming soon… observations from Sofia.

Our First Day In Sofia

We arrived in Sofia on Tuesday afternoon, and were greeted with a warm welcome by some old friends, who had prepared lunch for us.  It was so much fun getting reacquainted! Honestly, I don’t remember many details of those first conversations, other then the basics, like the delicious food and the feeling of being with friends that I have missed.

After a visit and a little unpacking (we stayed at Pastor Plamen and Debby’s house for a few days) we headed to IKEA for a meal with friends and a little activity.  This trip was designed to keep us awake until a decent bedtime.  It worked!  We had another nice visit and walk around IKEA, then collapsed. We slept reasonably well, and felt soooo much more human in the morning.

The second day we jumped in headfirst to deal with many of the details needed to settle in Sofia.  We started with a visit to currency exchange, then a visit with our immigration attorney.  The we opened a bank account (also required for our visas), had some awesome pizza, and coffee with Dessy.  I have a photo, but she made me promise not to post it.  :)

The iced coffee, however, was wonderful, and exactly what the mid-afternoon slump required.

After the coffee, Johnny (another new friend) took us to the police station to register.  This was required for our visa application and had to be done in the first 5 days.  Basically, it means that we have to let the government know where we are staying and how to contact us.  We used Johnny’s address for this, since we didn’t yet have our own. 

After all this activity, we capped the day off with a tour of the neighborhood we hoped to settle, and a relaxing dinner at a local Chinese restaurant.  Turns out, the grocery store tour and the Chinese dinner provided that night by Dido and Milena turned out to be EXACTLY where our new apartment is!  We didn’t know it that night, however. 

Up next… apartment hunting.