Letting Faith Rest in the Power of God

As our date of departure for our family missions trip draws ever nearer, and the final plans are made, I found myself feeling more and more nervous about bringing our oldest on the trip with us due to his continued mood instability.  I feared for his safety with the way he was acting not to mention that I worried about how his behavior would be looked upon by the people in that culture.  I was praying that God would help him to become stable again, but it seemed that each day, there were only more problems rather than fewer.  I began doubting our decision and whether or not God wanted us to bring our son with us.  On top of that, I wrestled with the fact that the country we were headed to had fewer than 1% of the population who were Christians and there really wasn't a model for what a Christian family should look like in that culture except what the pastors and their families are presenting as they blaze the trail raising Christian families.  Part of my vision for the trip was that we could let the people there see what an American Christian family looks like.  However, with the way our oldest was behaving, that idea would be a disaster because we'd only show them how truly broken we really are.  I worried about showing that side.

I expressed my concern in a discussion with Tim who stated that it's not our mission to present to them a "perfect" Christian family.  It's our mission to be with them in body and Spirit encouraging and ministering to each other.  That's what a partnership is all about.  Through the ministry of one another, God builds His Church.  I was thankful for Tim's insight, input, and decision that we are going as a complete family no matter what.

The next day, in reading an excerpt from a meditations book written by missionaries with Josh, I had to smile at God's providence at the passage of Scripture and following reflection about that passage because it was just what I needed to read and meditate upon in my heart.

I Corinthians 2:1-5:  And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

God has this trip already worked out.  He has my son's stability under His control.  He's the one who called us to do this trip as a family, and He's the one doing amazing things to make this trip possible.  He has called us to be lights and bring the Gospel to all peoples making disciples.  We do that by presenting Christ in our brokenness.  We don't want to be making converts of the Russell Kingdom.  We want to make converts of Christ's Kingdom.  What better way to do that but through our own brokenness and desperate need for a Savior.  May these dear people we fellowship with see Christ and Christ alone in our broken lives and may all of the honor and glory go to Him who sustains us and gives us the strength to finish each day through His great and mighty power.

Interestingly enough, as soon as I embraced this new way of thinking, things calmed down in our household, and our son has seen the most stability yet since things got rough in December.  Perhaps God just needed to get my attention and teach me a lesson and grow my faith!  To God be the glory!

No Matter the Cost

As our family missions trip draws ever nearer, we are busy making plans and ironing out details and making reservations.  We are excitedly sharing our plans and desires for our trip with friends and family and asking for prayer and financial support.  We are also, more importantly, trying to mentally and spiritually prepare ourselves for the weeks ahead and the actual trip as we know that we "do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).

In my own personal preparations, I just finished reading the book The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected by Nik Ripken, which has been a HUGE blessing to me personally and a significant spiritual growth stimulator in my own life.  This book has incredible stories of Christians who suffered through significant persecution yet kept their faith and had God do amazing work in and through their lives and/or deaths. I have been reminded through these stories and lessons the author learned through his conversations with these believers that God doesn't call us to go and make disciples to areas that are safe.  He simply calls us to GO (Matthew 28:19-20).  At the same time, Jesus warned his disciples and us that the world will hate us and persecute us (John 15).  We are reminded by the Apostle Paul that we are crucified with Christ and no longer live but instead, Christ lives in us (Galatians 2:20).  He reminds us that we should desire to "know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death" (Philippians 3:10).

When we decided to do this family missions trip, we knew the risks we would be taking in going to a country suffering from unrest and where our dear sisters and brothers in Christ suffer various forms of persecution for their faith.  One of the churches we will be worshiping in is on terrorist group hit lists.  In a country with less than 1% Christians, it can get very lonely for believers, and the temptation to lose faith is great.  On the flip side, the opportunity for faith to grow and be ever resilient is greater for them than it is for us here in the comforts of our freedoms and our assumption of safety.  We want to go and minister to and encourage these dear saints.  At the same time, we hope to be challenged spiritually by their faith and learn to be ever faithful in the midst of suffering.  We want our fellowship with the believers to be a time of edification for them and us alike as we bear each others burdens and sharpen one another helping each other to be more like Christ so that through our lives more people will be led to Christ.  Isn't that the Gospel in action?

Some of our well-meaning friends and family have asked us whether or not we are truly being wise and thinking about our boys in choosing to take them into a dangerous area.  While we appreciate their care and concern for our family's well-being and safety, we have to follow God's calling in this area.  We have discussed with the boys the risks and allowed them to have the final say in whether or not they think it's worth it, and they are 100% behind this and so very eager to go.  We truly believe God has called us to do this, and He has been confirming this call in so many different ways (some even miraculous!) since we made this decision.  God hasn't called us to do this to put us in danger.  He has promised to be with us "always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20).  Our lives (and our boys' lives) are not our own -- they have been bought with a price, and hence, we must glorify God with our bodies (I Corinthians 6:19-20).  Our lives are nothing to us, and like Paul, our desire is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord has given us - testifying to the Gospel of God's grace (Acts 20:24)!  We have been reminded by a dear friend from this area that we are truly "bullet-proof"!  No bullet will take our lives or wound us unless it was God's ordained "bullet" because His work in us on this earth is complete or He has greater plans for us.

Are there fears and concerns?  Sure, we are, after all, human!  What's greater is God's call on our lives to take up His cross and follow Him and carry out the Great Commission wherever He leads us - right here in Elverson, PA right now and in other places near and far away as He directs our steps.

This great God whom we serve sacrificed His own Son's life through a terrible, painful death on the cross so that our sins could be wiped clean, and we could once and for all have right standing before God and a home in His presence for all eternity.  He intricately formed us in our mother's wombs giving us the breath of life and ordaining all of our days.  He made us His children when we were filthy in our sins unable to desire Him.  He has walked with us through our various struggles in this life and has never failed us.  He comforts us with His Word and His church universal.  He strengthens us and showers us with His grace to survive each day He has planned for us.  This is love too great for me to comprehend!

As Isaac Watts penned in his great hymn "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," "Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small; love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."  No matter the cost, I give my life and the lives of my boys to our great God!  Here I stand.  I can do no other!

The Miracle of Hope

If you read my post "The Cost of Missions," I completed the post leaving you at my lowest point where Satan had found my weakness, and he had delivered the fatal blow - so he had thought!  I'm so glad our story didn't end there, but I never dreamed how incredible our story would transform from that point.  It all began with the most amazing miracle!

After a difficult day of work on December 20 caring for my patient while dealing with phone calls between Josh's school's principal, our behavior specialist, and Tim, I was emotionally drained and extremely stressed and frustrated.  I left work to go pick up Josh from Tim's office since Tim had to pick him up from school early due to behavior issues.  On my way, I had yet another difficult and frustrating phone call with Josh's principal which led to another call with the behavior specialist at which point I arrived at Tim's office an emotional mess having spent the majority of my day sobbing over the circumstances, crying at the pain and injustice Josh was experiencing, frustrated that I was stuck at work unable to be with my son when he needed me most, and stressed to get home because I knew David's bus would be dropping him off shortly.  At that point I got the final phone call from the behavior specialist who said there was no hope in changing the unfair circumstances for Josh for the day.  As I hung up with her, I got a call from David who arrived home and wanted to know where I was.  After telling him I'd be home as soon as I could, I hung up and broke down.  I had reached my end.  I was done fighting.  Satan's attacks on my family had been way more than I could have ever imagined, and I just couldn't stand to have him attack my kids one moment longer!  In sobs and tears, I said in defeat to Tim, "I can't do this any more!  I'm done fighting this battle!"  The moment those words were out of my mouth, my phone rang yet again.  Too emotional to answer it, I threw the phone at Tim for him to answer.  It was David, and the words he said proved that God existed, he cares, He's still in the miracle business, and He answers prayers and gives us the desires of our hearts: "The cat just came back!  He's really here!"

At my lowest point, I needed a miracle to snap me back from the pit of defeat, and that's just what God gave me.  After 10 days of going missing, our beloved Lightning Tabby Russell had returned to us!  When I thought all hope was lost, God gave me hope that He's still greater than the attacks of Satan, and He will bring us through this.

“But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” Psalm 34:19a

The story gets even better...

As I talked to David on my way home with Josh, David said there was something wrong with Lightning and that he was having trouble walking and was dragging his back left leg behind him.  He was also skin and bones and sick looking.  I knew that God wouldn't bring him back to us only to take him away, so I had to trust that God was working all things together for good.

By the time I got home, David asked to talk to me privately.  When we were alone together in the bedroom, he began crying and told me that earlier at school that day, he was struggling with focusing on his schoolwork because he was worrying about the cat wondering what happened to him.  He began praying to God begging for him to let the cat come home and telling God, "You know that I am struggling to trust you and believe that you are really there and care about me.  Please show you me You are there and bring Lightning home TODAY!"  God had done just that, and David was overwhelmed with God's answer!  God is so good!

After making a trip to a local animal hospital, we knew God wasn't finished with the miracles for our family.  We were told that Lightning had 3 fractures in his left hip and that he would need to be sedated the following day to get better x-rays to see the extent of the damage.  Nerve damage was also present in his left leg as a result of the fractures.  Because of the area of the injury, the vet was also concerned that the bladder had been ruptured which would mean Lightning would need to be put down.  We brought Lightning home in a crate to monitor whether or not he was able to urinate.  If he did, he could be sedated in the morning.  We prayed for miracle #2!  The next day left us in suspense as to what his outcome would be.  By mid-afternoon, we found out that the orthopedic surgeon felt that surgery would be necessary for the best outcome to put a plate across the 3 fractures of his hip and a procedure would need to be done to put his femur head back in the hip socket.  However, the surgery would cost over $4,000.  There was still hope of decent healing without surgery, and often animals heal surprisingly well on their own.  Enter Miracle #3.  We chose to go with this route and pray that God would provide sufficient healing to Lightning without surgery.  As a result, Lightning is on cage rest to prevent him from further injuring himself and to allow time for healing.  We are allowed to let him out to walk around/exercise and to play with him.  Each day, we see him as God's miracle of hope to our family at our lowest time.

God cares about our family.  He answers prayer.  He makes a way.

Since that miraculous day, God has continued to give us hope.  We received notice that both boys' schools will allow the boys to miss school for this trip.  Satan is not going to win this time!  All four of us know that Satan may continue to attack.  We continue to deal with the battles of the significant crises we have been hit with the last few weeks, and the resolution may take a few more months in coming.  In the meantime, we are doing our best to arm ourselves daily for battle.  We are so grateful to have a daily visible reminder of that HOPE that is within us each time we look at Lightning, cuddle with him, or even give him his pain medication every 12 hours!  We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!  Our HOPE is in the Lord!

The Cost of Missions

"Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

Before Tim and I were married, both of us felt called into missions, so when we met and it seemed as if God was leading us to be married, we started making plans to do missions together as husband and wife.  Tim was a Bible major, and I was a Pre-Med major.  We had great plans for how we were going to work as a team on the foreign mission field.  We got married in 2002 in time for Tim to finish his final year of college.  In 2003, we moved to Pennsylvania for him to go to seminary.  I had chosen to not continue on to med school and instead became a Certified Nursing Assistant with the desire of some day getting my nursing degree.  We were full speed ahead for getting to the mission field.

In 2004, we were blessed with our first child.  In 2006, we found out we were unexpectedly expecting our second child.  We were discouraged to have to decide for Tim to drop out of seminary because we couldn't afford to have him continue and be able to provide for yet another baby.  In 2007, I was forced to begin my nursing degree because I found out my science credits were all expiring.  That same year and into 2008, we were overwhelmed by the increasing special medical needs of our youngest and starting to be concerned by some behaviors of our oldest.  In 2009, our suspicions about our oldest were confirmed, and Josh was given the scary diagnosis of Autism.  By the time I finished my degree in 2010, Tim was in full swing of being a financial adviser, and really excelling.  The action of missions was changing, so we decided that instead of having Tim finish seminary, we could do mission work looking into opportunities for business as missions.  Also, because of the special needs of our children, God had given us a heart for ministering to those with special needs.  We knew that we'd never be able to minister in a third world country due to our children's medical needs, so when we discovered the field of Bulgaria, we saw many doors of opportunity open before us, so we excitedly started walking through each one.

In April 2011, Tim and I went to Bulgaria on a Vision trip with the hope to figure out how our family can live there, see what schooling options were available, make sure we'd be a good fit with the ministry already there, and understand what our housing options were.  We loved everything about being there and saw many opportunities to minster.  We came home encouraged and believing we could make it work and that God was continuing to open necessary doors.

However, upon our return, David's health took as turn for the worst and by September, he was needing weekly antibody transfusions to help him fight bacterial illnesses.  In November, I ended up with a migraine that took 3 months to finally break despite several drugs, visits with 4 neurologists, and a 4 day hospital stay.  At the beginning of the ordeal, a CT Scan revealed 2 brain lesions that the doctors were concerned may be cancer or signs of Multiple Sclerosis.  All tests for those were ruled out, but they never could figure out what the lesions were or what caused them.

By February 2012, Josh had his first psychiatric hospitalization, and we were told that he had Bi-polar in addition to Autism and would need to be on a mood stabilizer for the rest of his life.  A few months later, we had a huge family crisis that nearly crushed us.  In November, Josh was hospitalized for the second time.  By then, we were so discouraged and felt that despite the call to missions in our lives, the door for Bulgaria as well as any full-time missions had been permanently closed.

We had to find contentment in the mission field at home where God had us in dealing with many medical and psychological specialists and finding opportunities to minister to families in similar situations as ours.  Missions didn't look anything like we had planned, but we knew God had a plan and purpose greater than ours.  We also found comfort in doing short term missions work and being able to be involved with a partnership in the Middle East.  We enjoyed the trips we were able to make over there and the growing relationships with our dear brothers and sisters in Christ.  In 2014, we had toyed with the idea of going over there as a family bringing our boys with us, but with the unrest happening in the country, we decided it wouldn't be wise.

In each of these attempts to serve God in missions, we felt these trials as a heavy hand of Satan working hard to keep us from the field.  We related to Job in many ways.  However, through each situation, we felt that God used the attacks of Satan to redirect our steps.  After all, Satan is not able to thwart God's ultimate plans!

Finally, in November 2016, we starting praying about taking our family over there in the Spring of 2017.  After much prayer, discussing logistics, analyzing the calendar, looking at the cost of flights, and coordinating dates with a gathering that was to happen in the Spring as well, we made the decision to go as a family and start making plans accordingly.  Within less than a week of that decision, our stable family situation crumbled in several directions.  It started with a crisis regarding David's outpatient therapy on November 30 that led to dealing with a legal agency which then resulted in the need to figure out another way for David to get help because of the trauma and loss of confidence in his counselor.  The decision also affected Josh's therapy hence disrupting the therapy both boys were receiving.  While in the midst of dealing with that emotional roller coaster, our beloved family kitten, who has brought so much joy to our lives the last several months, went missing after we let him out for the night on December 3.  He is an outdoor cat, but he would come in a few times a day to be loved and cuddled.  The missing cat brought heavy hearts to all of us but really took its toll on the boys, particularly Josh who began perseverating over his missing cat causing increased behavior issues at school and home.  It was difficult for us to hear the boys prayers pleading with God to bring their cat home and see their discouragement when in their minds "God didn't listen."

Seeing this battle in their hearts and seeing their tenuous faith shaken even more, I started to struggle with why God would do this to our children.  In the midst of working in the kitchen on December 14 praying and asking God to protect my boys' hearts and faith and asking Him "Why," God reminded me of the cost of missions and the struggles of our past each time we pursued missions.  I had that "aha" moment that this was Satan once again attacking our family trying to ruin our plans before they could even be put into action.  Tim and I had a great discussion that night about the circumstances, and while we had seen God using the circumstances in the past to redirect our paths, we really felt that God was in this trip and its timing and desired for us to go.  So, we decided to declare war with Satan and persevere and not let his attacks keep us from serving.  It was time to arm up for battle and move forward to show Satan he can't win.  We sent requests to both boys' schools for an excused absence for the trip, and we started working on a support letter.

Ephesians 6:10-13a - "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground."

It didn't take long for Satan to take things up another level this time causing significant issues at school for Josh and unjust treatment of his behaviors and the resulting situations leading us into a battle for Josh's well-being and the legal rights of a kid with his diagnoses and the requirements of his Individualized Educational Plan (IEP).  This began the week of December 19 for us.  After the events and frustrations with Josh's school on December 20, I had reached my breaking point.  I could not fight Satan any longer.  If he wants to attack me, fine, so be it!  But LEAVE MY CHILDREN ALONE!  It's not fair to them!  Satan had found my weakness, and I was ready to surrender.

Luke 24:26-27:  “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."

I Peter 4: 12-13, 16, 19: Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed...However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name...So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good."

Thankfully, our story doesn't end here!  Read "The Miracle of Hope" to hear how God miraculously intervened.

My Struggles and Blessings of Being a Special Needs Parent - Part 3 of 3

This is the conclusion of my 3-part post of my struggles and blessings of being a special needs parents.  Feel free to read part 1 and part 2 if you haven't done so already.

Struggle #6:
I struggle with guilt.  I feel guilty that I'm not doing enough for my children.  I feel guilty that most of my time and energy goes into my children making me feel like I am letting my husband down.  I hate being so exhausted that I have nothing left to give him at the end of the day.  I also feel guilty if and when I take time to care for myself.

Feeling guilty when I do something for myself seems to be the most problematic for me.  With the many therapists coming in and out of our house and the visits with Josh's developmental pediatrician and psychologist, I have heard, "Make sure you take time for yourself.  That's important!" way too often!  However, I rarely heed the advice.  I'm too busy.  Then, when I do take an evening to go out, I don't enjoy myself because I am thinking of all of the housework I could be doing or how I should be helping Tim put the boys to bed.  Often, my mind is my worst enemy.  It is very hard for me to do something for myself.  For my own well-being and that of my family's, this struggle needs significant work.  It's just so hard to find time in our crazy schedules for me to have "me" time.

My husband and I would love to get out more often and enjoy more frequent dates, but duty calls, and because the needs of both boys are complicated, it's not as if is capable of caring for them.  It takes a special and understanding person to know how to meet Josh's needs.  Those kinds of people are hard to come by in our circles, but slowly, we are seeing doors opening in this area.  Now, we need to figure out how to carve out the time to have "us" times.  

Blessing #6:
I am blessed to be used of God to minister to others.  It has been so difficult to go through life feeling the burden to answer God's call in long-term missions when God has seemingly put so many hurdles and obstacles in the way.  There were times when I felt like time was wasting away and I couldn't be serving God.  God has shown me time and time again that He's using me for Kingdom-work in every circumstance He places me.  I don't have to be in a foreign country to be His vessel of ministry.  He gladly uses me in the ordinary details of my everyday life.  More and more, I am amazed by the ways in which I am able to minister to others as a result of the struggles I have faced in my life personally or with Josh or David.  From people I meet in a waiting room, to doctors and therapists, to neighbors and friends, to someone reading my blog...the list could go on for a while.  I am humbled by the knowledge that God chooses to use me in all of my imperfections to be a blessing and ministry to those around me.   

Struggle #7:

I struggle with fears -- fear about whether I am making the right medical decision for my child, fear that I'm not choosing the right consequence for my son's actions, fear about the next bacterial infection, fear of what others will think about me, fear about the future for my sons, fear about whether I am doing enough as a mother or wife, fear about whether I am doing enough for God, fear that I will forget something important in our busy schedule, fear that I am just not good enough for the roles in which I find myself.  I hate the doubts that creep up on me all of the time.  Satan has a way of catching me off guard all too frequently.  On the positive side, I have been driven to trust in God no matter how tough the situation appears.  The more I rely on God to work out the details of my life, it becomes easier to release the fears and cast my burdens and fears on the Lord, for He truly cares for me and will sustain me (Psalm 55:22, I Peter 5:7).

Blessing #7:

I am blessed with peace that passes all understanding.  As a result of facing my fears and difficulties in God's strength and casting my cares on the Lord, I am filled with His perfect peace and rest (Isaiah 26:3, Matthew 11:28-30, John 14:27, Philippians 4:4-7).  Often, I get the question, "How do you manage everything and not get overwhelmed?"  I always answer, "God!" then go on to explain that God gives me His strength and grace to make it through each day and that even in the midst of the scariest of times, God fills me with His peace.  With God, I can truly have peace in the midst of the storm.  My heart can be calm when life's circumstances could fill it with anxiety.  There's no better place to be than resting beside God's quiet waters where even if I find myself in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because God is with me filling me with His love and wondrous peace (Psalm 23).

A Year Experiencing the God of All Comfort

II Corinthians 1:3-11³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. ⁶ If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. ⁷ Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
⁸ For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. ⁹ Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. ¹¹ You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

I feel that this passage is such a perfect summary of how we feel and what we believe.  For those of you who follow our story and pray so faithfully for us, this passage perfectly describes your relationship with us.  We are bound together in life through Christ.

We praise the Lord that He is the God of all comfort.  Although our year has definitely had its ups and downs, God has brought comfort to our hearts and lives in many ways, answering many prayers. We want to share with you some of the comforts God has given us this year.

David

Now 7 years old and in 2^nd grade, David has experienced his first full year of good health without any bacterial infections since his surgery in September 2012.  He was able to successfully come off of his prophylactic antibiotic for the first time in his life in March.  His gastrointestinal system went into shock requiring a month-long course of antibiotics to get his healthy gut bacteria back under control, but now his system is working properly again on its own.  If all goes well this winter, he will be able to start the weaning process of his weekly antibody transfusions in the Spring. God continues to work in his heart and life.  We are excited to see his willingness to use his gift of music with the violin to glorify God. 

Joshua

At 9 years of age and in the 4^th grade, Joshua is thriving and successful in his new school.  We moved in the summer to get Josh into a better school district where he will be supported with his Autism struggles.  His new school has absolutely amazed us with all that they do for him.  As a result, Josh is happy and showing great potential.  While he still struggles with the ups and downs of his mood disorder, we have successfully kept him out of the hospital now for a year.  We have to take each day as it comes and heavily rely on God’s wisdom to make the right decisions for Josh.  He has a loving spirit and wants to understand his environment desperately.  He too has found ways to glorify God through music using his talents for the Lord.

Christine

I celebrated a year in November of dramatically improved health when it comes to my migraines as a result of taking Vitamin B-12 and Magnesium supplements.  I now can experience up to 3-4 days at a time of being pain-free, and when I am in pain, it’s mostly manageable only being severe 1-2 times a month.  My last MRI also showed that my brain lesions are stable and not growing, so now I can wait until 2015 before having another MRI. I enjoy having much more energy now that pain doesn’t daily consume me.  I am still a part-time special needs pediatric nurse, although this year I changed to a better agency.  I am now working for Bayada Pediatrics.

Tim

Tim is growing his financial adviser position at the Life Financial Group and has taken on a more complex role as a result of a training course he has been taking.  His tasks at home have increased significantly with our new home and large property that needs upkeep. On top of that, he is still trying to rent out our Pottstown house, and until he does, he has to maintain that house as well.  He has also enjoyed his role as a den leader for David’s den in Cub Scouts.  As if that's not enough, he continues his work as a deacon at our church all while being a huge help and support to me at home as we parent our children. 

Answering the Call

We have come to significantly know God’s comfort when it comes to His call on our lives to be missionaries.  We have struggled to understand what God is doing with our family since God closed the door for us to be missionaries in Bulgaria.  This year, God has showed us in many ways that He is using us for His Kingdom work on the mission field where we currently find ourselves.  We don’t have to live overseas to be used by God.  Yet, God has also showed us how we can still be actively involved in foreign missions.  We have stepped up our work in the Asia Minor Partnership we have been a part of now for over 6 years.  Tim took another trip to Turkey this past August.  We are praying about taking our whole family over there at the end of this coming summer. 

In addition, God has been opening many doors to missions through the special needs of our family.  Not only are we working to help our home church launch a special needs ministry, but we have been talking with some key people regarding training churches internationally to make the Gospel accessible to ALL – including those with special needs.  As a result, we might be making a trip to Bulgaria this year to help with a special needs seminar in some churches there.  We don’t know what the future holds, but we are excited about the ways in which God is working in our hearts and lives and using our family with all of our faults and struggles for His Kingdom work and His glory.

Thanks for sharing in our afflictions and comforts.  We get through each day on prayer and God’s grace.  We hope and pray that this next year will be a year in which each of you experience God’s unending comfort despite the circumstances in which you find yourself.

In Christ's love and grace,
Tim, Christine, Joshua, and David Russell

Doing the Ordinary

God has been working in my heart the past several months helping me to be content with where He has me in this life.  I just returned late last night from a 3-day Mission to the World Global Missions Conference in Greenville, SC where God sealed the deal in my mind that He has me right where He wants me, and now, not only am I content, but I am humbled and excited all at the same time.

For those of you who have known me for a long time, you know that my heart has always been sold out to missions.  I had God's plan for my life all mapped out ever since I felt His call to missions as an 11 year old girl.  The problem was, once God gave me the call, I ran with the "how" it was going to all work out.  I eagerly looked forward to the day that I could go GREAT THINGS for God as a medical missionary.  I went to college on the fast-track to med school to become a doctor.  I was going to be a single missionary doctor and spend the rest of my life on a foreign field showing needy people God's love.

The problem was that I forgot to ask God how HE planned to carry out His will for my life.  God started working on that revelation when He put my husband Tim in my life during my second year of college.  Marriage upon graduation from college certainly put a wrench into my plans, but I was able to smooth things out deciding I could become a Physician's Assistant as a married woman and serve on the foreign mission field.  While waiting for Tim to finish college, I worked in a maternity ward and got the "baby bug."  At the same time, I was working as a certified nursing assistant, quickly realizing that the role of a nurse was so much closer to my desires of having a relationship with and being able to care for patients, so with the "baby bug" in full force, I quickly figured out that I could go back to school to become a nurse once my baby was school-aged.  That plan got more complicated when I got unexpectedly pregnant with our second child and then found out all of my Pre-Med college credits were expiring and that if I didn't start nursing school just after giving birth, I would lose 12 more credits on top of the 8 I had already lost from expiration.  I started and completed nursing school by the grace of God and became very excited about how God was going to use me to do GREAT THINGS for him.  However, through the years of nursing school, our family world was quickly becoming unraveled as we faced the realization that we had two children with significant special needs.  Despite that realization, Tim and I stepped out in faith that God would provide, and we pursued full-time foreign missions in 2010.

Tim and I quickly became excited how fast we were walking through open doors to finally do the work we felt God had called us to do.  As we pursued joining the missions work in Bulgaria, our world came crashing down, and in a few short months, we had our feet kicked out from under us multiple times from multiple causes.  The special needs of our children intensified, my health failed, and our relationship was challenged.  We felt as if we were collapsed on the ground, incapable of moving, with our heads spinning.  We couldn't believe how fast our lives had done a 180° turn.  The question in my mind: How am I ever going to do GREAT THINGS for God?

Now those of you who know anything about me know that I am a planner.  I like to know well in advance what to expect so that I can have all of my plans laid out in orderly fashion.  All of the sudden I found myself in a situation where I was clueless to what God was doing and where He wanted me to go.  It was a very unsettling place to be and has been since that time.  Even though I continued to trust God to work all things for good in my life (Romans 8:28), I was frustrated by God's choice to leave me in the dark regarding His plans for my life and frustrated about all of the time being wasted for me to do GREAT THINGS for God.  I chose to submit to God, but it didn't mean I was happy about it.

However, despite the sin of backhanded rebellion (I was submitting, but not happily or willingly), God started using me in the ordinary things in my ordinary life.  In different interactions with doctors, therapists, other caregivers of special needs children, etc., God started opening doors for me to share the Gospel through our story and struggles.  Sometimes, it was more my actions than what I said that stood as a Gospel witness.  I began to get excited about these witnessing opportunities.

In addition, with our increasing love for and participation in Asia Minor Partners, a partnership in our favorite country in the Middle East, I began learning the lesson of living in the moment and taking each day as it comes.  With the increasing stress of the issues my boys were facing, I was forced to have to take one day at a time.  My brothers and sisters in the Middle East, due to the instability of their environment and practices of culture, were great examples to me of not worrying about what tomorrow will hold but living for the day that God had given me.  It's not an easy or comfortable place for me to be, but it was necessary.

Now in 2013, our heads are spinning once again, but now for a different reason: God is opening many doors of opportunity for missional/Gospel involvement in ways we never envisioned or dreamed.  God is using the fact that we are stuck here in the States for the time-being to allow us to come along side and partner with mission works around the world.  God is opening doors for us to be a part of helping the Church love and embrace those with special needs helping to make the Gospel accessible to ALL.  God reminded us that we are on a mission field right here where He has us.

Through speakers at the missions conference this week, I was reminded that God chooses to use ORDINARY people through ORDINARY means to do intentional KINGDOM work.  As I reflect back on the course of my life these past few years, I realize the ways in which God was working and using me.  He wasn't using me because I was GREAT.  He was using me because I was ORDINARY.  I am so humbled that God chooses to use me (just an ordinary person) to do His work.  It's not about what GREAT THINGS I can do for Him, but the GREAT THINGS that He can accomplish through little, ORDINARY me.  Now, I stand with excitement and anticipation, being perfectly content in God's will for my life--still not knowing what tomorrow will bring--but confident that He who began a good work in me will bring it to completion in the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

Under the Siege of the Lion

And the saga continues....The woes of the Russell household continue.  Things continue to be extremely difficult with Joshua and his battles with Autism and mental health issues.  We are constantly emotionally and physically drained by his all-consuming behaviors and melt-downs.  Nothing we do seems to help.  He's fully aware of his own struggles and is now coming to his own faith-crisis saying that he keeps praying and asking for God's help to make good choices but "God's not helping him" or "God doesn't seem to care."  Nothing we say seems to get through to him.  This week, Josh ended up being suspended for a day from school because his behavior got so out of control.  It is becoming so difficult to cling to any source of hope in this situation.

David's most recent infection is finally behind us, but he is back on a prophylactic antibiotic despite the weekly antibody treatments.  We are in limbo with the specialists now because the ENT felt that it would not be a good idea to proceed with the tonsillectomy now because of his condition even though for the past year this same ENT had been pressuring us to have the surgery done.  Instead he wants to do a weekly rotation of antibiotics where David will be on a different class of antibiotics every week for 4 weeks then repeat each month.  It's kind of a new, more complex idea of a prophylactic antibiotic treatment.  We are waiting to hear back from David's immune specialist to get his opinion on the matter.  Otherwise, we will need to go for a second opinion with another ENT.  The past several days David has become extremely emotional and easily upset/angered.  We are wondering if he is again starting to not feel well (this tends to be a going trend for him) or if everything going on with Joshua is finally starting to affect David since David has had to witness way too many traumatic events for a sweet, innocent 5 year old.

Not surprisingly, the headaches for me have become more intense, but with the amount of stress I've been up against, it's no wonder.  We also are not getting good sleep as often Josh or David are waking us up in the night, so sleep deprivation isn't helping either.

We have finally come to the conclusion that we are not just up against simple trials in which God is trying to teach us a lesson.  We are under direct attack from the Evil One, and he is working overtime to be relentless!  We have fallen under the siege of the Lion!  Each time we seriously pursued missions within the past 2 years, Satan has directly attacked our family hindering our ability to further pursue missions at that time.  As things had calmed down last Fall, we revisited the idea once again, and the next day, I woke up with the severe migraine pain in my head that has yet to fully leave.  In April, we were excited about the ways in which God revealed to us how we could serve doing short term work encouraging and building up believers through short term mission trips.  As soon as we made ourselves available to God for this work, the lion attacked us from all angles and has not let up!  It is easy to understand why the devil does not want the Gospel to go forth.

Jesus was aware of the evil one and prayed for His disciples to be protected from the evil one as He had sent them into the world (John 17:15).  The devil wants to attack everyone and anyone who is a servant of God because he hates righteousness.  Peter commands and warns:

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen."  (1 Peter 5:6-11 ESV)

Yes, the lion is trying to devour our family.  We are doing all we can to resist him, standing firm in our faith.  We are heavily relying on God's grace to sustain us and look forward to the day that He will restore and strengthen us.  Never before have we prayed so earnestly for Christ to return for His Bride!  We long for our eternal home where there will be no more pain or sorrow or suffering, and we can spend our days in God's presence worshiping at the feet of Jesus.

Until then, we must endure.  We must finish the race that has been set before us.  We must press on.  We can't do it alone.  We need the prayers of the saints, our brothers and sisters in Christ.  James 5:16 says, "...The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."  We need everyone to rally around us and pray that this cloud of darkness be lifted from over our household, that the power of Satan be weakened over our family, and that we be released from the stronghold of the lion.  Will you join us in this battle against the evil one and rejoice with us in the victory that is ours because we serve the Lion of Judah who has conquered (Revelation 5:5), and "we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:31-39)?

Remaining Unmoved

The Russell family continues to be buffeted by waves of tribulation of unmeasurable magnitude.  It seems that this last year has been one intense trial upon another without a chance for us to catch our breath.  We do not know what God has in store for us or what He is doing, but we rest assured that God remains in control and that He is working all of these things out for our good and for His glory (Romans 8:28).

We long to serve the Lord in full-time foreign missions, but it is clear that in this moment, that is not what God has for us.  He is simply working in each of our lives molding us to be who He wants us to be preparing us for the work He has called us to while using us for his Kingdom work as we go about our daily lives.  What He wants us to do in the future, He will lead us to do in His perfect timing.  For now, we remain unmoved while the storms rage around us from all sides, for that is all we can do.

"Our soul waits for the LORD;
        he is our help and our shield.
    For our heart is glad in him,
        because we trust in his holy name.
    Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
        even as we hope in you."
(Psalm 33:20-22 ESV)

As this current trial seeks to break down our family, threatens to weaken our physical bodies, shake our emotional states, and waver our trust in God, we have to keep our eyes on Christ the author and finisher of our faith as we continue to run this race of life that God has for us right now.

When it is hard to get up in the morning, I remember:

"But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
I cried aloud to the LORD,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the LORD sustained me."
(Psalm 3:3-5 ESV)

"But this I call to mind,
        and therefore I have hope:
    The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
        his mercies never come to an end;
    they are new every morning;
        great is your faithfulness."
(Lamentations 3:21-23 ESV)

The Lord recently encouraged Tim and me from a great passage in Habbkkuk of all places reminding us that no matter what happens or how desolate we feel, we can still rejoice in God our salvation.

"Though the fig tree should not blossom,
        nor fruit be on the vines,
    the produce of the olive fail
        and the fields yield no food,
    the flock be cut off from the fold
        and there be no herd in the stalls,
    yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
        I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
    GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
        he makes my feet like the deer's;
        he makes me tread on my high places."
(Habakkuk 3:17-19a ESV)

When we start to feel overwhelmed like the storm waters are starting to overflow, we must not fear and we must remember:

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
        and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
    when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
        and the flame shall not consume you.
    For I am the LORD your God,
        the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."
   (Isaiah 43:2-3a ESV)

 "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."      (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV)

Please pray for our family as we face yet another trial that we would keep our eyes on the Lord.  That our faith would remain strong, that God would receive the glory, and that soon we would enjoy the restoring of our souls by the still and quiet waters (Psalm 23).

A Year in Review

As I reflect on Mary's song in response to God's work in her life, I find that I too can praise God as she has for the work God has done in my own life.

...“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant...
...for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
(Luke 1:46-50 ESV)

This year has been extremely full.  I started off my year successfully completing my nursing boards and getting my RN license.  By April, I had a job through Personal Health Care as a home health nurse for special needs pediatric clients.  It definitely was not the hospital maternity job I wanted, but I have come to love my job and my clients tremendously.

In April, Tim and I took a large leap of faith in our pursuit to fulfill God's call on our lives for service in missions as we went on a Vision Trip to Bulgaria to see if that is where God would have us serve Him full time.  Our time there was amazing, and we could definitely see ourselves fitting into the ministries there and into the missionary family that is already serving there.  However, through many different circumstances God has brought into our lives this year, our pursuit of missions has once again been put on hold.

Sofia, Bulgaria

Joshua, now 7 years old, has had a good year in many ways.  He has come a significant way in his therapies for his Asperger's Syndrome.  He's definitely had some really rough spots this year with increased anxiety and behavior issues causing the addition of a new medication as well as dose adjustments to both to help him with his anxiety, impulse control, and focusing ability.  The most exciting parts of his year were when we passed his food challenges for both eggs and peanuts officially allowing him to be food-allergy free and lightening my purse significantly with not having to carry benadryl and epi-pens all of the time.

Joshua, 7 yrs. old

Josh is having a great year in second grade.  We are thankful for a really great special ed team this year who work really well with Josh and treat us as equal team members keeping us very informed.  Josh met all of his behavior goals for his wraparound services who provided him with a behavior specialist and mobile therapist for help in the home as well as school.

David, now 5 years old, has had another rough year physically with his continued battle with bacterial infections due to his immune dysfunction.  He has stumped doctors in his ability to come down with tonsillitis while on Augmentin to treat another bacterial infection 2 different times!  He managed to squeak by the threat of impending surgery thankfully by his body deciding to not come down with a 6th bout of tonsillitis, for which we are thankful since he has already had to have 2 other surgeries in past years thanks to recurring bacterial infections.  We had to make the most difficult decision regarding his health late this summer when after much testing, no cause could be found for his body's inability to produce enough IgG antibodies which are needed to fight off bacterial infections.  He was given the official diagnosis of Primary Immune Deficiency Disorder, and since after being on a prophylactic antibiotic for over a year, he was still getting infections 1-2 times each month, the only other treatment option was for him to get antibody blood transfusions.  These transfusions, because they are only antibodies in plasma, are from 70+ donors instead of the usual 1 donor for whole blood.  The good thing is that because it is not whole blood, it can undergo more rigid cleansing processes.  However, the risk of a blood-borne transmission is still present.  Since we had exhausted all other options, we  decided to go through with the transfusions, and David started them at the beginning of September.  Thankfully, they are done subcutaneously with the use of a pump and take only an hour each time.  We only have to do them once a week now, so it's not too time consuming.  I am able to do the transfusions so we don't have to rely on a nurse coming to the house or having to take David to a hospital where he will be exposed to more germs.  After a couple of infections before reaching therapeutic antibody levels, David has now been infection free for almost 2 months which is the longest he has gone in his entire life!

David, 5 yrs. old

David started Kindergarten this Fall at West-Mont Christian Academy.  He has a harem of girls who follow him around at school, and he loves it!  We are thankful for his sweet spirit and his desire to make good choices to glorify God.

Tim has been thoroughly enjoying his job as financial adviser, and his job flexibility has been a blessing in light of my recent illness.  Tim has had to step up and do a lot at home to take over many of my responsibilities.  He never complains and is a real encouragement to me.  We praise the Lord for the health and strength with which He has blessed Tim.

Having a migraine for 2 months straight now is definitely taking its toll on my body and my spirit, but God has been faithful, and His grace has been sufficient.  I am still awaiting some test results and have a few more specialist appointments coming up this month.  I just weaned off of my old drug due to problematic side effects and started a new drug, so I've been dealing with a great deal of pain as a result of the weaning process and am hoping that the side effects of this new drug are less severe.  I am learning to rely on God in a deeper way and have experienced His peace on a completely broader level throughout this painful and scary time of learning about my brain lesion and going through so many tests for so many scary diseases.  Thankfully the worst possibilities have been ruled out, but we remain without answers for what it is and what is causing the migraine pain or the neurological symptoms.  Having to wait for God's timing in all of this has been hard and the temptation to despair gets stronger as time passes, but the only thing we can do is wait on the Lord and trust Him to accomplish His will in our lives.

God has taught me so much through all of this.  The promise of Philippians 4:7 has come to mean a lot to me:  "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (ESV).  In our devotions together, Tim and I are continuing to use the Table Talk magazine, and we just finished the discussion on Philippians this month.  I was really encouraged by the reminder the writer of Dec. 23's article gave us in his discussion of Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me:" 

"Our peace amid joy and tribulation is not based on our ability to calmly face life but on the facts that we belong to Christ, that He never lets us go, and that He is faithful to give us the grace to live for Him no matter our circumstances...If we depend on our own power and character in the midst of storms, we will by no means find lasting peace.  But when we trust in Christ and seek to do everything in Him, we can serve Him faithfully.  This does not mean that our concerns do--or even should--go away; rather it means that our concerns no longer define our lives and bind us with worry.  On the contrary, we rest satisfied in the Lord no matter what happens around us."

Our prayer is not only that we not lose site of these valuable truths and our faith remains strong, but we pray that this will be so in the lives of all our families and friends so that they too can relish in God's love and perfect peace!  

Leaving Bulgaria

The day had come and the sun had set on our time in Bulgaria.  We left Sofia Friday morning with mixed emotions.  Our very full week of experiencing Bulgaria went very quickly.  We learned a lot about the country's history and current status, had a chance to talk with its people, and spent a lot of time asking questions of the missionaries serving faithfully there.

Since we did not have a "lighting bolt" experience confirming or negating God's call for us to serve in Bulgaria full-time, we have decided to continue to pray about and pursue serving God in Bulgaria until God clearly shuts the door.  The next steps include the team leader talking to the other team members on the field.  It is ultimately up to the team to decide to extend an invitation to us to join them in their work there in Bulgaria.  Also, in July, we go to the REV which is an assessment/boot camp of sorts in which we are observed and carefully scrutinized to determine whether or not, we are fit for missionary service.  At the end of the week, we are either given a green light to serve as missionaries, a caution in which certain things need to be worked on before we can serve or a red light saying we are not up to the rigors or serving on a foreign field.  All of these are ways in which God can use to direct us.  If we are given the "go-ahead" from the REV but are not offered an invitation to serve in Bulgaria, we will start looking at other fields.

The biggest concern for serving in Bulgaria is education for Joshua.  However, we know that if it's the Lord's will for us to serve Him in Bulgaria, He will work those details out.  We will be looking into the options that are before us for Josh's schooling to decide what would work best if we did end up there.

Please pray with us as we seek God's will for our future service.  Pray that God would make His will clear to us and equip our family with whatever is needed to serve God effectively.  Thank you to all who prayed for us while we were in Bulgaria.  God answered all of our prayers and those we didn't even think to pray about.  The boys did extremely well with my parents and Tim's parents.  God sustained David's health and gave Josh the strength he needed to cope with his anxieties about our being gone.  Josh did not have any of the behaviors we were seeing right before we left.  We were able to either video skype or talk on the phone with the boys every day, and many times, they were having too much fun to talk to us for more than a couple of minutes, which is fine with us.  We'd rather that then having them crying for us to come home.  We are praising the Lord for His goodness to us as we were away and to our boys while they remained here in the States. 

The unique beauty of Bulgaria

Part of the view from the 10th floor of a block where we are staying in Musagenitsa, which is part of Studenski Grad (Student City)

Tim and I are having a wonderful time in Bulgaria.  We are learning a lot about Bulgaria and its people.  Everyone has been so kind and friendly.  We've had some really meaningful conversations with the missionaries over here as we are continuing to seek God's direction regarding serving in Bulgaria as full-time missionaries.

The food here is awesome.  There are parks all over.  Various transportation options are available and easy to use to get around the city.  The pottery made here is absolutely amazing!  Here is sample of pictures that we've taken to give you an idea of what we are seeing and experiencing:

Feeling the hot springs water that come up from the ground and have been routed through walls of these spouts.  People come here to bottle the water for drinking or drink right from there hands while standing at the spout.

I bought myself some cute shoes for wearing around the house and paid less than $2 US for them.

Front of the church in Center City (before the service began)

The choir did a wonderful job performing a special cantata for Easter

A building the church in the Southern part of Sofia (poorer area of town) rents for worship

Another view from the 10th floor of the block where we are staying

View of the snow capped mountains to the south of Sofia

Sun setting over Sofia

Touring Bulgaria

Roman Road

After getting a much needed good night's sleep and getting a shower after 48 hours without one, we felt human again and went out to explore Sophia, Bulgaria.  We spent a good amount of walking down town and learning about the history of Bulgaria.  We had the opportunity to see ancient ruins and walk on a stone street built by the Romans when Bulgaria was controlled by the Roman Empire.  As we walked around, there were many sights drawing us to reflect on Easter and the Resurrection like vendors selling beautifully decorated eggs or assorted pictures of Jesus and/or the cross.  Easter is a big holiday for the people of Bulgaria, and people celebrate from Good Friday through Easter Sunday.  Many go out of town and spend time with families in the country or out of the country.  Many of the people who claim to be Orthodox go to church on Easter Sunday (and/or Christmas) even if they never step in a church the rest of the year, resembling the practice of many Americans, sadly.

We got to go inside many different Bulgarian Orthodox churches including the largest one which was bustling with activity as workers were setting up lighting and sound equipment in preparation for the special Resurrection Celebration service being done tonight.  Although many people of Bulgaria are now non-religious because of the reaction to Communism.  Eastern Orthodoxy was the religion of people of today's grandparents.  However, those who are still attending Orthodox churches are more hung up in the practice of lighting of candles and relying on saints in their path to heaven.  While some seem to have a solid profession of faith, many do not have a saving knowledge of the Gospel.

As we prepare to celebrate Christ's resurrection, it is our prayer that the hearts of the Bulgarian people have a resurrection in the sense that their heart of stone is made into a heart of flesh and they see the truth of the Gospel and make Christ their Savior and King!