Post-USA Update

We are back in Sofia!  You can read a recap of our time in the USA by CLICKING HERE.

USA Schedule

In just 5 short days, we will be headed to the USA!  Here is our schedule.  If you're available and in one of these areas, please come see us!  We'd love to see you.

March 12-18- Peoria Illinois Area

March 16, 10:30 AM- North Side Church of the Nazarene, 1203 NE Perry Ave. Peoria, IL 61603

March 19-22- Bushnell/Avon Illinois Area

March 23-April 7- Attica/Lafayette Indiana Area

March 23- PM Service at Covington Church of the Nazarene
1203 Washington St., Covington, Indiana 47932

March 30- AM Sunday School and Luncheon at Williamsport Christian Church, 20 E 3rd St, Williamsport, IN 47993

PM Service at Crossroads Community Church of the Nazarene, 117 E State Road 234, Ladoga, Indiana 47954

April 6- AM Service at Hillsboro Church of the Nazarene, 453 South State Road 341, Hillsboro, Indiana 47949
PM Service- TBD

See you soon!

February Newsletter

Hi all!  We have a new newsletter!  If you didn’t receive it by email, you can CLICK HERE to view it online. 

 

If you’re not on our email list, you can sign up over there >>>  in the sidebar.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Alyssa~

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

New Newsletter

If you’re not subscribed to our newsletter, you can read the newest one BY CLICKING HERE.  :)

Subscribe on the right if you want to get these biweekly in your email.

Travel Plans

 

We are now in the final stages of preparations!  We are praising the Lord that Alyssa's background check came back, just in the nick of time.  We will now be able to send all of our visa-related paperwork to our Immigration attorney, so that it can be translated into Bulgarian and the proper forms can be completed for our arrival.  What a relief to have all of that nearly taken care of!
We will be leaving Indiana on July 5, and heading to Chicago for a family weekend before flying out of O'Hare Airport at 5pm on July 8th.  Please keep us in your prayers as we travel on July 8th and 9th.
On July 11th, we will be spending the day looking at, and hopefully selecting, an apartment in Sofia.  Please pray that our real estate agent selects exactly the right properties for us to view, and that we have wisdom in choosing the best one for our family.   We will send photos of our new place as soon as possible!

Partnership Update

We are so THANKFUL to be able to report that we now have all of the funds needed for departure.  In addition, we have nearly $1,000 in monthly support.  At the moment, our biggest financial need is to increase this monthly support by another $1,200 per month.   This will not only cover our monthly expenses, but allow us to save for expenses like our return trip tickets.  Thank you for your support!

If you want to support our ministry, the fastest way is to make an Online Donation via www.WorldOutreach.org/donations and select our names from the list.  The system can process USA & International cards.  You can also set-up automatic Monthly gifts if you choose the "Monthly" option.  Or simply mail your check to:  World Outreach Ministries, PO Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 and designate for Don and Alyssa McGrew #214.

With Love,
Don & Alyssa

50 Days!

We will be leaving Indiana in just 50 days… surreal.  Here are a few quick updates.

• We all went to the optometrist last week.  The kids love it!  I think they are always hoping they "get" to wear glasses, but no such luck.  Don, however, got his first pair of reading glasses.  Check one more item off the To-Do list!
• We had to take both of our cars in for repairs, and BOTH bills were 30-50% LESS then estimated!  Can you believe it?  Another blessing.
• We are selling a few final items.  If you need a grill, a Plasma TV, or a Blu-Ray Player, let us know.  
• The kids have just 5 days of school left, and they are looking forward to the weeks of freedom ahead- and so is their teacher!

Partnership Update:

Thank you to everyone who has committed to supporting us!  We are so blessed to have each of you as ministry partners.  Here's where we currently stand.  We have raised about $23,000 of the total $80,000.  This leaves about $8,000 in one-time gifts, as well as $2,000 more in monthly support needed to fully fund all of our ministry and living expenses.  If you would like more details about our budget or expenses, please feel free to ask.  Here's a quick peek at some of our expenses for the first 60 days:

• Visas $10,000
• Airfare $5,000
• Insurance $2,000
• Living Expenses $3,000 (60-90 days)
• Apartment Deposit and Set-up $2,000

If you want to support our ministry, the fastest way is to make an Online Donation via www.WorldOutreach.org/donations and select our names from the list.  The system can process USA & International cards.  You can also set-up automatic Monthly gifts if you choose the "Monthly" option.  Or simply mail your check to:  World Outreach Ministries, PO Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 and designate for Don and Alyssa McGrew #214.

More soon!

~Alyssa~

April 17th Update

Hi all!  We are in the midst of of fundraising, which means traveling, researching prices, and trying to unload more items that we can’t take with us.  Here is the past fortnight in bullet points:

• We traveled to Illinois to visit friends and see many of you at 2 informational meetings.  We had a great time!  So many of you, both new friends and old, came to see us and joined our support team.  ‘Thankful’ does not even begin to describe it!
• We crossed the 25% mark in our fundraising efforts.  Again, thankful.
• We purchased tickets for our flight to Sofia!  We will be departing July 8th, arriving July 9th.  The 5 day delay meant a savings on our tickets, plus an extra bag per person for free (British Airways gives free luggage to missionaries!  They rock, in my book).

More updates to come soon.  I’ll update as soon as I find time to exhale.  :)

Thanks for the prayers and support.  It means a lot!

Coming to a City Near You (Maybe)

We'd love for you to come to one of our upcoming informational meetings!  As much as we would enjoy the chance to see each of you individually before we leave, our time is limited and we really want to be able to see as many of you as possible, hand you a prayer card, give you a hug, and talk to you about how God is leading you to partner with us in this new ministry.

We are planning meetings in several places, including Peoria (IL), Avon (IL), Attica (IN) and Crawfordsville (IN).  Some of the dates are already send and are listed below.  Others are still in the planning stages and will be announced soon.  Here are the dates and locations:

April 13th, 1pm
1621 E Crestwood Drive Peoria IL 61614
Hosted by Heather Nelson and Betty Garner

April 14th, 1:30pm
Walnut Grove United Methodist Church
Hosted by Jim and Elizabeth McGrew

April 26th, 6:30pm
Hillsboro, IN (Location TBA)
Hosted by Alison Acton

May ??
Attica, IN
More Info Coming Soon

Questions?  Email us at alyssa.mcgrew@gmail.com.

See you there!

February Update

Time for a practical update! 

Our family photos have been taken (thanks, Kim!) and our prayer cards have been ordered.  See us in 2 weeks if you want one.

We have lots of items for sale.  Many of the smaller things will be included in our garage sale (March 21-23), but there are some larger items we’d like to sell ahead of time.  Here are a few of them.  If interested, email me (alyssa.mcgrew@gmail.com).

Bedroom set (dresser, desk, chair, full sized headboard and bed frame) $100

Red Radial Flyer Wagon- $8

Decorative room divider, iron, 3 panels $50

Kitchen Aid Mixer with Meat Grinder $100

FiestaWare 4 red,4 Navy Place settings- make an offer

Tools- Lots of different things- table saw, drill press, tool boxes, etc (call Don 765-426-8721)

Camping Equipment (Various Items - Call Don)

Pigeon Throwers with seat- $75 each

6-cube wire organizer (14" cubes $8)

Christmas Tree (6' tall) $20

Large Nativity Set $40

Snowblower $75

Quilt Rack $15

Push Lawn Mower $40

Regarding our first move: We have found a place to rent in Crawfordsville, and it a huge answer to prayer.  We will be moving March 30th.  After the move, our mailing address will be PO Box 311, Attica, IN 47918 (we will be maintaining this PO Box during our time in Bulgaria). 

Regarding finances: we have not begun fundraising in earnest just yet, but have received a few donations already (thank you!).  If you’d like to donate, there is a link to click on in the right sidebar. >>>>>>> 

There will be much more updating in the coming weeks regarding our financial needs, so please be praying, asking God if He wants you to partner with us in reaching Bulgaria for Him.

We love you all,

Don & Alyssa

Do Not Let…

Sometimes I read a passage,and it speaks to me in a whole new way.  Such was the case today when I read John chapter 14.  Our Sunday School class has been discussing the work of the Holy Spirit and his effect on our everyday lives, and this passage was part of our homework for the class, in reference to that topic.  Reading it today, however, something entirely new struck me. 

Check out these verses:

Here are a few things I noticed today:

• Jesus tells the disciples not to let their hearts be troubled, implying that they have choice in the matter. 
• Shortly after telling them that, he tells them that they know how to follow him to where he is going.
• Thomas, ever the doubter, says to Jesus ”How can we follow you if we don’t know where you are going?”
• Jesus tells him “I am the way.”

Now I realize that this is perhaps an over simplification of these verse, because there are many, many truths hidden in the words of Jesus, but here’s what resonated with me: Jesus knows where He is going.  He gives us the job of following Him.  We follow Him by (v. 15) loving Him and keeping His commandments. 

So here we are, our family on this journey of following Jesus to Bulgaria, and we have no finances just yet.  We’re trusting a attorney to correctly complete the visa process for us, we are selling everything we own, we are FOLLOWING.  And we don’t know how to do it.  We just don’t. 

I feel like Thomas, saying to Jesus ”How can we follow you if we don’t know where you are going?”
We don’t know how God will make this move happen.  We don’t see most of the steps between here and Sofia.  But He does.  He’s there already.  He’s done this before. 

I started reading this chapter with verse 1: “Do not LET your hearts be troubled” and I wondered immediately, “yeah, and how do I do that?!”  Oh me of little faith.  I do that by following.  Jesus knows where he is going, what the path ahead of us looks like, and all I have to do is be obedient to the step in front of me.  

And, blessing of all blessings, the Holy Spirit is here to teach me how to follow. (v. 26)  The completeness of my inadequacy is revealed a little more every day, but to the same extent, His Strength is also revealed.  Tomorrow, just as with today and yesterday, my job is simply to follow. 

Now, THAT I can do.  With His strength, of course. 

Newsletter #1

Dear Friends and Family,

Hello!  We hope this finds you well and full of joy.  We enjoyed seeing many of you over the recent holidays, and we hope to see many of you soon.

We are writing to let you know about what has been happening in our lives.  Several months ago we felt God calling our family to the mission field.  We began a series of interviews and weeks of  information gathering, considering and praying about positions in several different countries, with several different organizations.
Last week, we accepted a position serving as missionaries in the city of Sofia, Bulgaria.  We will be beginning a 2-year term there in July, 2013.  We are so excited to begin our ministry there!  Here is a summary of what we will be doing as missionaries to Bulgaria:

• We will be working and serving in New Generation Church, alongside Pastors Plamen and Debby Tzolov.  Yes, this is the same church that Alyssa served with in 2002.

• We will be working to develop a new ministry for foreigners living in Bulgaria.  This includes people from across Europe, South Africa, and several other locations who have made their home in Sofia for a variety of reasons.
• Alyssa will be working as Administrative Assistant to Debby Tzolov, assisting with work both in the local church and in the Bible School.  The Bible School provides training for pastors, missionaries, and other students feeling a call to ministry or a desire for deeper Biblical knowledge and ministry training.
• Don will be working as a construction advisor for the church’s building project(s).   There are several projects underway, and others nearly ready to begin.  Someone with Don’s skills is needed to help oversee the project and insure that these projects are completed as smoothly as possible.  
• We will have opportunities to visit Bulgarian orphanages and minister to many of the nation’s neediest children and those that have dedicated their lives to caring for these precious little ones.
• We will at times be travelling across Bulgaria to assist other local churches and pastors in their church plants and outreaches.
• In addition to the above projects, there are ministry needs in the area of men’s ministry, children’s ministry and others.  Once we arrive, we will be seeking God’s direction about which areas we can serve in most effectively.

Our planned departure date is July 2, 2013.  We will be purchasing tickets and applying for our visas soon!  We need to raise $80,000 to cover all of our expenses for this 2-year term, and we would like to ask you to prayerfully consider how God is leading you to partner with us in this ministry to the people of Bulgaria, and around the world.  We believe wholeheartedly that those who support us with prayer or finances are part of the work God is doing and reap equally of the rewards.  We are very excited to see how God will work in Bulgaria and meet the souls that will come to Christ as a result of our ministry there.

If you would like to be on our email newsletter, please let us know by adding your email address to the right of this post.  This is the easiest way for us to keep you up to date on our travels and all that God is doing. 

With much love,
Don, Alyssa, Milena, and Elijah McGrew

P.S. If you want to support our ministry, the fastest way is to make an Online Donation via www.WorldOutreach.org/donations -- and select Don and Alyssa McGrew from the list.  The system can process USA & International cards.  You can also set up automatic Monthly Gifts with your credit card if you choose the "Monthly" option.  Or simply mail your check to:  World Outreach Ministries, PO Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 and designate for Don and Alyssa McGrew #214.  We will be in touch with many of you over the upcoming months, to share our vision further and see how God is leading your hearts to partner with us.  Thank you for your love and support!