Brilliant!

We have the smartest kid in the world!

OK – I’m sure every parent thinks that once in a while. Today, Drew did something that completely astonished me. He was on the playground playing on the slide and a Bulgarian boy, about 6 or 7 years old, cam up to Drew and said “Kak ce kasvash?” Drew then patted himself on the chest and said “Ondrew.”

I couldn’t believe it. “Kak ce kasvash” means “What is your name” in Bulgarian. We have never said that to Drew. We do tell Bulgarians who ask us what is name it, that his name is Andrew. We tell them Andrew, because that is a common name here, not Drew. (“drew” means “another” in Bulgarian and we just got weird looks when we told them that was his name.)

So without any coaching from us (there or anywhere) Drew understood a question asked to him in Bulgarian and gave the correct response. I am not sure I can even do that. (most the time I cannot!)

So this is just my moment of gloating… please indulge me.

Midnight Orthodox Easter Service 06

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This is the midnight Eastern Orthodox Easter service at the Alexander Nevski Cathedral in the center of Sofia, Bulgaria. So many come that most have to stand outside the church, as you will see in the video. You will see the priest and bishops come outside to perform parts of the service. In the end all light candles for those who have passed on and then parade around the church three times. It was fun to experience.

St. George’s Day - Military Parade

May 6^th was St. George’s Day in Bulgaria. We are not really sure who St. George was or what he did, but we know he is the Bulgarian Saint icon that represents the military of Bulgaria.

They held a “military parade” in the center of the city in which all of the military branches marched in full uniform. They were followed by the showing of Bulgaria’s power and might as they displayed their armory. The parade was lead by a Mi-17 helicopter followed by 6 fighter jets. The parade displayed their new armored Mercedes jeeps along with other tanks, missile launchers, portable bridges and transports. They all looked clean and new – witch is good. Not sure if I want to live in a small country where their military fleet has seen a lot of action.

We are enjoying the Bulgarian culture. There are some things to get use to, but the people are very friendly and tolerant of us “foreigners.” We enjoy learning about the culture and getting to know our new Bulgarian friends better. If you care to know more about Bulgarian culture and their myths and legends around the holidays, please check out the following site: http://knigite.abv.bg/bg_folklore/en/

For pictures of the parade, view the following link: http://sheppardbulgaria.shutterfly.com/action/

Easter in Bulgaria

We just experienced our first Bulgarian Easter last weekend. The Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter on the first spring full moon, which this year was one week later than those celebrating in the western parts of the world. Easter is said to be one of the largest holidays here in Bulgaria. We were not here in December to experience Christmas, but most will say that Easter has more customs and is celebrated more widely than Christmas. This may be because Christmas could not be celebrated under communism; however the Orthodox Church was able to continue the Easter/church traditions. (picture:"Велнкден"="Great Day")

On Saturday evening (technically 12:00am Sunday) we went to the center of Sofia to attend an Eastern Orthodox service at the great Alexander Nevski cathedral. Hundreds of people gathered outside because only a select few could attend the service inside. We were actually told that if we flashed our US passports they would probably let us in. They piped the ceremony outside so all could hear. Later the patriarch and bishops came outside to greet the people and pray. The crowd then all lit candles and walked around the church 3 times – one for every day Christ was in the tomb. It was pretty cool – not really “spiritual” but cool to witness. As one of my friends interpreted the prayer for me – it sounded “right on.” They definitely understand the gospel message and acknowledge Christ’s victory over the grave. However as you looked at the people in the crowd, you could sense that they were going through the motions, just as they had in years past, like their parents and grandparents before them. (not true for all I’m sure, but a general observation)

They have great traditions here. I have no problem with tradition as long as they point back to the central truth of Christ. Many of their traditions do that, unfortunately many more do not. Everyone decorates Easter Eggs here. They decorate them, give them as gifts, hold fights with them (I’ll explain later) and then of course – everyone eats them. The first egg is always died red – to represent Christ’s shed blood. Another tradition they have with eggs are the egg fights – not as the ones you may be familiar with. The children and adults alike with bang eggs together to see which are the strongest. The winner will be named the “fighter” and he/she will receive good health throughout the year. The rest of the egg shells are buried in the garden or put under the threshold so that they will chase away evil spirits through out the year. You can see how the traditions start to take a veer off course.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, Christian, pagan, atheist, communist, orthodox, will greet everyone else with this saying: “Hristos voskrese” and everyone will reply “Vo istina voskrese” translated, “Christ has risen” / “He has risen indeed.” We think this is awesome. Almost everyone takes the Friday and Monday off around Easter. They give each other gifts and everyone seams to be is a great mood. They don’t even know what the “Easter Bunny” is – thank God, but I’m sure he is coming as the west draws near.

This has to be one of the largest enigmas for us in coming to Bulgaria. How can the church be so “right on” yet be so far away? A friend explained it to me this way. They do have Christ, yet they have so many “other” things that Christ seams to get lost in it all. They have so many traditions and icons, that Christ simply becomes just another icon and is no longer the core foundation of their faith.

Lisa and I hope to incorporate some of these traditions into our own family – always decorating the first egg to be red to represent Christ and confirm to everyone that “He has risen in deed.” We also hope to build on these truths to reach out to our Bulgarian friends to encourage them to dig a little deeper and find Christ in the midst of all the clutter.

(pictures can be seen at: www.sheppardbulgaria.shutterfly.com)