We have experienced lots of technical challenges of late! Since we're home virtually all the time and doing our work online, being "without a Net...as in internet" is a big deal. In the last 3 weeks, we have had our internet provider out 4 times due to lack of service. There have been adjustments, more adjustments, a new modem and some adjustments outside our apartment. While frustrating, we are very grateful for both our Bulgarian friend who calls and explains our problem and that our provider usually sends someone out the same day. So YEA for customer service!
At the same time we were experiencing these issues, I realized my computer cord was quite frayed. Some electrical tape helped for a couple of days and then....nothing...no fiddling, moving, adjusting could give me a charge. A quick online order to the local Apple provider and free home delivery in about 24 hours (although they told me it might be 3 days) has me all charged up again!
Paul's technology issue has been his phone with missing pixels on his screen creating some havoc in his communication. After determining that trying to fix it would be expensive and challenging in the current environment, a new phone was ordered from the local Best Buy equivalent. Ordered on Friday, we are still waiting to hear when that phone might arrive.....
As we deal with life amidst the Coronavirus, we experienced the loss of a friend and church member. Danny was an 80+ year old vibrant gentleman with a great smile and compelling story of miraculously escaping Bulgaria 50 years ago. He built a great life in the US, but has spent most of his time the last few years in Bulgaria. We were privileged to share life with him, hear his story and eat his incredible home made banitsa (Bulgarian pastry.)
We have big personal news! After much prayer and consideration, we decided in January that we would be heading back to the US in early fall. We told our kids and got a call back from Peter and Megan. Before we purchased tickets, they wanted us to know that they are expecting twins, due in early Sept (and probably arriving in August...) Big excitement!!! While we will leave part of our hearts here with the awesome people we have come to know, we are also anticipating this new time in our lives!
Now the Coronavirus....and we don't really know when we will get back. By choosing to stay here now, which we both think is the place we should be, we realize that timing of travel over the next few months is uncertain. And so, we seek to be faithful to our call here, trusting that God has the PLAN - like He always does! Please pray for us, that we would trust His plan and timing for us. Thank you!
Blessings, Kathy
If you are interested in giving to our work in Bulgaria, and Paul's consulting in Africa and beyond, gifts can be given online at Global Horizons/Emmaus Assoc or mailed to Global Horizons, P.O. Box 64059, Eagan, MN 55164-0059., Please attach a note indicating Emmaus. Thank you!
Monday, April 20, 2020
Monday, April 13, 2020
Happy Resurrection Day!
Dear Friends,
We in Bulgaria celebrated the resurrection with you on this Easter Sunday. We will also remember Easter in our church service next Sunday, which is the traditional Orthodox Easter celebration.
Around the world, this day is remembered in ways that are unprecedented in our life times. We didn't dress up and go to church for a big celebration - maybe with a choir, maybe a special breakfast before the service and certainly a lot of hugs and smiles. This year, as you probably are, we celebrate remotely from our homes tuning into the service of our local church or somewhere else we find on the internet.
Here in Bulgaria, we celebrated our services and small groups over Zoom - and a lot of us did dress up! Since we are a relatively small group, this allows us to talk together and have different people in their homes take part by singing, reading scripture, etc. A bonus has been that it's given people in other countries (most who lived here previously) opportunity to also participate - kind of a nice reunion!
Daily life has changed drastically here as well. Schools are teaching kids online, many people who still have jobs are working from home, only "essential" stores are allowed to be open and - even on the nicest days we've had - fewer people are outside. (There may be such a thing as a "hair emergency" here because I've seen a couple of hair salons open 😁!)
Saturday we heard loudspeakers outside of our apartment building twice. We weren't sure what that was all about, but had a guess which was confirmed by a Bulgarian friend later on. As of midnight, some kind of face mask needs to be worn anytime people are out in public for the foreseeable future. Many people have been doing this already (including us) but I think there was a need for a renewal of commitment. So far Bulgaria only has 676 reported cases and 31 deaths, numbers which are updated online twice a day. Like everyplace, this most likely doesn't account for all cases, but I find it somewhat encouraging that numbers seem to be increasing by less than 10% each day.
In our building, we are also participating in trying to keep cases low. We normally have a shoveling schedule in the winter and, on average, each apartment is listed once a month. With only one real snowfall all winter (until April 1 & 2 when we got a good amount of heavy snow that stuck to tree limbs for days) our assignment was now to disinfect the common areas of the building - door handles, elevator buttons, etc. - a task I think most people are happy to do.
Despite the challenges of this time, we are encouraged that God is faithful and we can trust Him. In one of my ladies small groups, we have been discussing a book entitled When Changing Nothing Changes Everything, which encourages us to look at our situation not just for how it impacts us, but how we can be a blessing and encouragement to others in the midst of difficulty. And we don't alway see, until much later, the full impact of any given situation or difficulty. While we continue to pray that this pandemic will end soon, we also look for how we can stay faithful in sharing God's love where he has us currently - in still beautiful Sofia, Bulgaria!
With love and prayers for health and safety, Kathy
If you are interested in giving to our work in Bulgaria, and Paul's consulting in Africa and beyond, gifts can be given online at Global Horizons/Emmaus Assoc or mailed to Global Horizons, P.O. Box 856678, Minneapolis, MN 55485-6678. Please attach a note indicating Emmaus. Thank you!
We in Bulgaria celebrated the resurrection with you on this Easter Sunday. We will also remember Easter in our church service next Sunday, which is the traditional Orthodox Easter celebration.
Around the world, this day is remembered in ways that are unprecedented in our life times. We didn't dress up and go to church for a big celebration - maybe with a choir, maybe a special breakfast before the service and certainly a lot of hugs and smiles. This year, as you probably are, we celebrate remotely from our homes tuning into the service of our local church or somewhere else we find on the internet.
Here in Bulgaria, we celebrated our services and small groups over Zoom - and a lot of us did dress up! Since we are a relatively small group, this allows us to talk together and have different people in their homes take part by singing, reading scripture, etc. A bonus has been that it's given people in other countries (most who lived here previously) opportunity to also participate - kind of a nice reunion!
Daily life has changed drastically here as well. Schools are teaching kids online, many people who still have jobs are working from home, only "essential" stores are allowed to be open and - even on the nicest days we've had - fewer people are outside. (There may be such a thing as a "hair emergency" here because I've seen a couple of hair salons open 😁!)
Saturday we heard loudspeakers outside of our apartment building twice. We weren't sure what that was all about, but had a guess which was confirmed by a Bulgarian friend later on. As of midnight, some kind of face mask needs to be worn anytime people are out in public for the foreseeable future. Many people have been doing this already (including us) but I think there was a need for a renewal of commitment. So far Bulgaria only has 676 reported cases and 31 deaths, numbers which are updated online twice a day. Like everyplace, this most likely doesn't account for all cases, but I find it somewhat encouraging that numbers seem to be increasing by less than 10% each day.
In our building, we are also participating in trying to keep cases low. We normally have a shoveling schedule in the winter and, on average, each apartment is listed once a month. With only one real snowfall all winter (until April 1 & 2 when we got a good amount of heavy snow that stuck to tree limbs for days) our assignment was now to disinfect the common areas of the building - door handles, elevator buttons, etc. - a task I think most people are happy to do.
Despite the challenges of this time, we are encouraged that God is faithful and we can trust Him. In one of my ladies small groups, we have been discussing a book entitled When Changing Nothing Changes Everything, which encourages us to look at our situation not just for how it impacts us, but how we can be a blessing and encouragement to others in the midst of difficulty. And we don't alway see, until much later, the full impact of any given situation or difficulty. While we continue to pray that this pandemic will end soon, we also look for how we can stay faithful in sharing God's love where he has us currently - in still beautiful Sofia, Bulgaria!
With love and prayers for health and safety, Kathy
If you are interested in giving to our work in Bulgaria, and Paul's consulting in Africa and beyond, gifts can be given online at Global Horizons/Emmaus Assoc or mailed to Global Horizons, P.O. Box 856678, Minneapolis, MN 55485-6678. Please attach a note indicating Emmaus. Thank you!
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