Rila Monastery

Some friends of ours took a trip to the Black Sea and left us their car for two weeks. We thought we would take advantage of the time with a car and headed south to the Rila Mountain to visit the Rila Monastery. The monastery was founded in 1335 by John of Rila (also known as Ivan Rilski), however it burned down in 1833. It has been rebuilt and restored over the years and is still an active monastery with resident monks – however it is also one of Bulgaria’s top tourist attractions.

It was an overcast rainy day but we enjoyed the drive and taking a step back in time. The monastery had a quiet and peaceful presence throughout the place, nestled in a valley within the Rila Mountains. The church was full of Eastern Orthodox icons – they actually have one icon that contains the bones of Bulgarian saints. The church was entrenched with tradition and rituals, yet you could feel the devotion and love for the Lord these monks must have through their discipline, devotion and craftsmanship. The artwork was amazing – you could have spent hours taking it all in – the walls of the church were almost like a living pictorial Bible.

The Rila Monastery has become a bit touristy over the years, but we were very happy to have visited. You could see the Bulgarians have a close connection with the Monastery, but I desperately want to know if they really know Him. This day-trip helped us renew our reasons for serving here in Bulgaria.

See pictures at: http://sheppardbulgaria.shutterfly.com/action/

VIDEO - Drews Birthday Prayer

At our church here in Bulgaria, called Bloga Vest (Good News), they have a tradition of calling everyone who has a birthday or anniversary that week up to the front – where they sing and then pray for them. Last Sunday, on Drew’s birthday, Drew was the only one to go up front. So the whole church sang “Happy Birthday” (Честит Рожден Ден / Chesteet Rozhden Den - in Bulgarian) to Drew and then Pastor Lutmil prayed for him. The prayer is also in Bulgarian, however I tried to place my interpreters headphone up to the mic of the camera, but you really cant hear it that well. We thought you may like to share in some of our cultural experiences surrounding Drew’s birthday.

Drew is 2!

It’s hard to believe that Drew’s 2^nd birthday has come and gone already! Sunday evening, July 2^nd we celebrated with many of the members of our SEND team and my language teacher MiMi. We even got to have the grandparents, my brothers and some cousins “come” via the web cam on the computer- we really love the modern technology! It’s really helped being so far away not feel so far away.

Drew’s recent loves are fish (namely Nemo) and monkey’s (no particular character yet) so his cake this year featured both. Thanks to a family on our team, the Faber’s we inherited two American boxed cake mixes so the cake actually tasted like home. For me it was exciting to watch and compare how Drew has grown since his 1^st birthday. He’s walking and talking quite a bit, both developments since last year. This year, he blew out the candles and opened his presents all by himself; you never think such accomplishments are so amazing until you have a child of your own. He is enjoying his numerous trucks, balls, books and animals this week that he got for his birthday.

Drew is such a joy to us! He loves to giggle and play toys. His favorite game right now is, “get Drew.” It involves him coming up to Marc or I and stating, “get Drew” and us chasing him back and forth till we are worn out, Drew is always up for more. He knows his colors and likes to sing and dance. He loves airplanes, trucks, tractors and things that go. Just today we had to stop and watch men in tractors repair potholes in the road for a half hour because of the tractors.

Thanks for indulging a mother gloating on her son!

Love- Lisa

PS to view the entire colletion of birthday pictures, follow this link and click on Drw's 2nd Birthday: http://sheppardbulgaria.shutterfly.com

Greece

Lisa, Drew and I just returned from vacation in Greece. It was a wonderful and relaxing time. Athens, Greece is only a 1 hour and 20 min flight from Sofia, so given it’s proximity it was one of our desires to visit while we are over here. This was our first vacation with just our own little family – we had to make some concessions due to Drew’s sleep schedule – however the payoff of experiencing new things through his eyes was very rewarding. There is so much to write about, so I’ll just try to give you the highlights:

Athens: The Parthenon atop the Acropolis, Mars Hill and all the ancient ruins along with all the history that goes with it - was all amazing yet too much to absorb in only three days time. Drew loved the Acropolis because there were many rocks for him to throw. At the Parliment, he witnessed the “Changing of the Guard”, however I think his highlight was feeding the pigeons and visiting the nearby “petting” zoo.

Antiparos Island: This was the highlight of our trip and highly recommended for anyone wanting to visit Greece especially if you have children. This is a very small island right off the island of Paros. We were impressed by the people, the architecture and the family atmosphere of the island. We stayed at an “economical” family run studio/hotel on the edge of the small port village. The accommodations were nice and the family who owned it was fantastic. It was more like a bed and breakfast as they treated us like family. Magda and Markos with their two children Ponous (19) and Margarita (16) run the Kastro Hotel. Drew loved playing with the dog, named “Lara Croft” and Ponous gave Drew his childhood toy – a 19 year old plastic buffalo to keep as a souvenir. One memorable moment for me was staying up late one evening in the hotel lobby watching the world cup (US vs Italy) with Ponous and Erik – another guest from Norway. Chatting about this and that throughout the game – the conversation somehow turned “spiritual.” Both Ponous and Erik are trying to figure out who God is and what He is all about. I was able to share who He is to me and the reasons I follow Christ vs. all the other options we have out there. It was a good conversation and a reminder to me that God is always at work – even on “vacation.” The port town of Antiparos has a narrow main (walking) street lined with cafes, restaurants and local shops. Kids ran in the street and parents played bumper buggies with all the strollers. It was safe, quite and peaceful – knowing what we know now – we wish we would have spent the whole week at Antiparos.

Paros Island: We then moved over to the main Island of Paros. We stayed at a nice hotel with a great pool and beach. Although the hotel was nice – it was in the middle of nowhere. If you wanted to visit the villages you needed to take bus or taxi. Taxies were very expensive and it took 15 min to walk to the nearest bus stop. We did take an evening trip to Naussa – a small fishing village. They had great seafood and beautiful scenery – the highlight of the Paros visit.

Things we enjoyed most:

• Antiparos
• The Acropolis
• Playing with Drew
• A step back into western culture (Starbucks!)

Things to avoid in Greece:

• Taxies – they are a rip off! (the metro is great!)
• The Plaka in Athens – very touristy (go to Psiri)

Disclaimer: This may not need to be said, however I feel that it is important to let you know that we used our tax return money to fund our vacation. I state this because I know many of you sacrificially give of your resources for us to be here. I do not want to give the impression that we are touring Europe on your funds. Lisa and I strive to be good stewards of that which you have in trusted us with.

See our (many) pictures at: http://sheppardbulgaria.shutterfly.com

“Football” Mania - World Cup

I sure hope I do not loose a lot of credibility by writing this… If I told most of you that I spent my Friday night watching football… that wouldn’t surprise most of you – but if I told you it was World Cup “soccer” a few of you would think I had lost it.

Well I find myself getting caught up in World Cup “Football” mania like the rest of Europe. Maybe it is because of the sports withdraw I’m going through, but a few of the games (2 so far) have been quite interesting – or at least they hold my attention. I think my friend Tino from KC would be proud of me (I just hope my family of “FOOTBALL” coaches don’t disown me!)

World Cup Mania is crazy here. Every café, bar, restaurant, house, apartment, TV has a World Cup game on. I guess it would be comparable to the Super Bowl or World Series coverage. It is all the Bulgarians are talking about, and according to the news, most of Europe and the other football nations in central and southern America as well.

When we first got to Bulgaria, their club team “Levski” had just advanced to the quarter-finials of the European Champions League (It’s a big deal over here). Bulgarians were going crazy – something a Bulgarian club team has never achieved before. I am actually trying to find a Levski jersey as a souvenir. In the pictures they are the team in blue. The picture with the red lights in the crowd… those are not lights… they are home made torches! Kind of makes holding up your lighter look real whimpy!

Drew also has a little soccer ball he likes kicking around. Don’t worry… I still have plenty of time to get him back on the right track when we get back home. I’m still able to keep up with my NFL teams (Chiefs, Bears and Cowboys) via the internet – however I am still exploring my options on how to watch the games over here.

Soccer may be interesting – but could never fill the void of smash mouth, trash talking, show boating, put the women and children to bed it’s time to find dinner, sport made for kings – FOOTBALL!

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)

Drew's First Easter Egg Hunt

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Here is Drew's first Easter Egg Hunt.

The Bulgarian missionary community held an Easter Celebration and egg hunt for all the children. It was a nice to meet the other missionaries and the kids had a great time.

Hope you enjoy hunting eggs with Drew as much as we did!

(More details on our Bulgarian Easter to come...)

Welcome, Christian Lee Sheppard!

Christian Lee Sheppard

Lisa and I would like to introduce you to our first nephew, Christian Lee Sheppard, born to my “little” bother Micah and his wife Lindsey. Christian was born on Wednesday April 12, weighing in at 7lbs and 6oz and standing 21 inches tall. The new mommy, daddy and baby are all doing well.

This is Drew’s second cousin, his first cousin, Anna Lynn, was born just a few months ago on November 14, 2005. Drew misses his cousins, but technology has closed the distance gap and he gets to see them through pictures and on video through Skype. Drew looks forward to the weekend video calls where he gets to see his Nana, Granddad, Pa-pa and Je-je almost every weekend. Just last night Drew was able to see his cousin Christian on video skype. Drew can say “Baby Christian” in “Drew-garian”. “Drew-garian” is the third language Lisa and I are now learning.

We love our family and friends and miss you all dearly – especially at these “momentous” times. You’re constantly in our prayers.

We love you,

Marc, Lisa and Drew

Work trip to Croatia

Last weekend I was able to travel to Croatia to help our SEND team missionaries there with a design project. I left for Zagreb, Croatia Thusday, April 6, and returned Monday afternoon April 10. Marc did a wonderful job of playing single dad, and Drew and he had a great time being boys while I was away. My brief view of Croatia is that it is a beautiful country. I wasn’t able to see much of it as most of my time there was spent meeting with the current camp staff to get an idea of what they need and measuring the existing facility. What I did get to see of Zagreb seamed as if they their infrastructure is a bit more advanced than Sofia. I actually saw paved walking trails with curb cuts that didn’t look as if they would trip you when running on them and parks with play equipment that didn’t look dangerous. They also have a new Tram design that is accessible at street level (rather than having to go up two steps upon entering) and are air conditioned!

The camp is located just outside Zagreb in Severin na Kupi, Croatia and the primary facility consists of a house that has been added on to to accommodate the camp. The quaint building has a pleasant exterior and is in a beautiful setting, but while currently comfortable and clean, it lacks character and an overall scheme and vision for how their existing space can be used. Other issues include that the kitchen and dining space currently are not functional for the camps growing needs. Who knew that we would come all the way over here for me to be working on AutoCAD?!? The camp exists to evangelize and disciple Croatians and to provide a Missionary Camp to the MK’s of this region. The plan will consist of an immediate plan to rework the kitchen and dining area, some of which will hopefully be able to be incorporated before the next camping season. The rest of the plan will consist of a phased plan to rework areas of the existing building as money is raised for the project. It is an exciting reminder that God creates each of us with unique gifts and you will use them in the most unexpected places! I am excited to be able to help them with their vision of creating a more comfortable place for the campers to learn and grow.

(by the way, if you know of someone looking to sell, at a reasonable price, AutoCAD 2000 or newer- please have them contact us via email. I will need to update my version so that the drawings I do will be able to be opened by others if needed.)

Buying meat in Bulgaria

I have to say that I have been pleasantly surprised with the food here in Bulgaria. We are especially enjoying that restaurants are a lot less expensive than in the states and serve good food. We have been able to find most of the things we enjoy and I was quite happy when I found out you can buy meat in neat little saran wrapped packages, just like in the states. That said, buying meat, like most things in Bulgaria is a process. Part of the process is my own fault. I don’t yet trust the meat from our closest grocer as I have not been able to find eggs there that are not yet past the date on the package and the milk is always within a week of expiring (unless of course you buy the radiated milk that has a shelf life of something like 3 years and isn’t refrigerated.)

There are two options when buying meat. I much prefer the first, when I get the chance I go to one of the bigger grocers with a fellow missionary who has a car. The second involves a bit more work. I first gather change- as you have to have it as a deposit on the shopping cart, my bags- (you have to buy them at the grocer, so best to gather your own) and the back pack to bring home my goods. I then walk the 6 blocks to our major bus stop. Then it’s 15 minutes on the bus to the grocery. Once at the store, it’s back to the frozen meat section. I walk quickly past the whole, frozen, saran wrapped pig (snout to hooves), and the section of mystery meats that look like tongues and such. My first few trips then involved a phone call to Marc as I had forgotten to look up the word for cow and pig. Even after the phone call I accidentally ended up with 4 packages of ground pork rather than beef because I didn’t look carefully enough and confused the word for meat for the word for cow. It’s amazing how the simple, everyday things can become less simple and everyday when you read in the wrong language! We have yet to tackle types of beef steaks, and are sticking solely to chicken breasts, pork chops and ground beef and pork. We are learning to enjoy the processes though and hope you enjoy an entertaining story of our treks in Bulgaria!

As they say in Bulgaria- Весичко хубаво, all the best!

Lisa

(Picture not actually from Bulgaria - but we've seen close to the same meat- just w/o sunglasses!)

Tribute to Grandma Moeckl

(Lisa's Tribute read at Grandma Moeckl's Funeral)

My grandmother had an incredible gift, while she had so many family members vying for her attention, I could say without a doubt she made each one of us feel as if we were special and important in a meaningful way. Ask anyone of us and we will give you a unique story. My husband Marc holds much love and respect for her as well in the brief time he was privileged to know her, that is the kind of woman she was.

While it is difficult not being with everyone to celebrate her life, it is also difficult not being able to be with the wonderful family she had so much influence in creating. There is a great amount of love, laughter and pride in being a Moeckl and in being “a cousin” which would not have been possible without my grandmother’s sacrifices in so many ways.

Each of us in our quest of earthly existence hope our lives are in some way meaningful. My grandmother without a doubt accomplished that mission, not through earthly titles or wealth, but by being “stubbornly” committed to first her faith in God and then to her family. Today my heart is with all of you while my presence can not be. While I am saddened at the end of an era of my grandmother’s earthly presence I rejoice that she is in the heavenly home she always yearned for and taught us so much about. More so I rejoice that she is now with my grandfather and with us in her spirit and in who each one of us have become just by being touched by her faith and loving presence.

With all my love and respect grandma- Lisa Rachelle

I lost my grandma Sheppard when I was 8 so I never really had the chance to know here, but I still remember those big hugs that almost crushed you. She too was a prayer warier that held the family together when she was her. Grandma Moeckl embodied everything I knew my grandmother to stand for. It was easy to fall in love with Grandma Moeckl with her accepting love, her kindness, those hugs that would almost crush you and let’s not forget those awesome chicken and noodles. I love Grandma Moeckl as my own and rejoice that she is now home. I know Grandma Moeckl will have a very long line of greeters to welcome her into heaven, and at the end of that line will be my Grandma Sheppard anxiously awaiting an update – I think they will become great friends.

Love you grandma, Marc.

Obituary

Wilma “Jean” Moeckl
(June 11, 1919 - March 23, 2006)
“Her children arise and call her blessed…” Proverbs 31:28

We, her children, celebrate the life of our precious mother, Wilma “Jean” Moeckl, born June 11, 1919, to Irving and Jessie Wenig. She was ushered into heaven at 6:59 pm March 23, 2006, at Maranatha Village in Springfield, Missouri, on her grandson Ashton’s 17^th birthday, as her children were singing Onward Christian Soldiers. She grew up on a farm near Gray, Iowa, attended Iowa State Teacher’s College, and then taught in a one-room school for eight years. She married Harold “Pat” Alvin Moeckl, December 26, 1945; eight children were born to this union. She was a member of the Gray Assembly of God church until 1974 when Pat and she moved to Des Moines, Iowa. There they became members of the First Assembly of God church.

Jean was loved by many and will be remembered as a powerful prayer warrior who excelled in the gift of hospitality. She mastered the art of homemade wheat rolls, cinnamon rolls, chicken & noodles, scrumptious pies, and more. Her greatest joy was that all eight of her children and their spouses have accepted Christ as their personal Savior and are active in serving Him today.

Jean is survived by all eight of her children: Patti (Chaplain Delwin) VandeKrol, Ft. Madison, IA; Harold (Esther) Moeckl, Mechanicsville, VA; Dan (Jeannie) Moeckl, Des Moines, IA; Rev. Ken (Trudy) Moeckl, Springfield, MO; Pauline (Duane) Everett, Clifton, VA; Pam (Mark) Schaad, Des Moines, IA; Peggy (Rev. Randy) Williams, Vero Beach, FL; Penny (Chuck) Francis, Hollister, CA; 26 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister, Nettie Clemmensen, Minneapolis, MN, and brother, Rev. Tom (Mae) Wenig, Kearney, NE. She was preceded in death by her husband, Harold “Pat” Moeckl (July 30, 1978), her son-in-law, Red Behnke (January 27, 1993), her parents, Irving and Jessie Wenig, her sister and husband, Eloise & Leonard Franz; and brother-in-law Glenn Clemmensen.

Memorials may be sent to First Assembly of God, 2725 Merle Hay Road, Des Moines, IA 50310 and will be used for “Fire Bibles” (study Bibles) for pastors overseas.

We rise up and honor the memory of our mother and are so thankful for her unselfish life. Patti, Harold, Dan, Ken, Pauline, Pam, Peggy, and Penny

Transportation in Sofia

We don’t have a car here in Sofia which is both a blessing and a curse. We knew coming over we would not have a car, although we did not realize just how far the bible school was from our home. We take public transportation (Bus, Tram, Trolley or Taxi) almost everywhere. To get to the school I take two busses. I walk 5 blocks to get to the bus station, take a 30 min bus ride, walk another 4 blocks to the next bus, take a 20 min bus ride and walk another 3 blocks to the school. The whole trip door to door is about 1hr15min. Once the weather gets better it won’t be too bad. However with all the snow we have been having – it makes for quite a trek. The positive is that I will have some genuine stories to tell Drew about waking blocks on icy snow packed roads in a foreign country – so don’t give me any whining! Another plus is that I am getting my exercise in.

Last week a family on our team left for a few days and left us their car to use. That same trip to school is only 35 min by car – but driving is a whole new adventure. Every car here is a manual transmission – automatics are unheard of. I can drive a stick – but pray that Lisa never has to go anywhere. The roads look like they just got bombed by the Germans. There are pot holes you can actually loose a car in – and some have. We had a family on our team who drove through a “puddle,” this puddle happened to be 16 inches deep. They ended up breaking their front axle on their min-van.

Road signs, street signals – are merely a “suggestion” here. The biggest and fastest win – the others get hurt. I have to admit – it was an adrenaline rush to drive. You are a race car driver with everyone else. The “right-of-way” goes to the one who gets his bumper in first – I felt like I was cutting my way through a defensive backfield once again. The only problem is – if you get tackled here – it will cost you some serious money. (It didn’t help that my friend’s car is a Volkswagen 6 speed turbo diesel – it could move)

I pulled back on my testosterone levels and we actually got around pretty good. We made some runs to the large groceries stores and visited some stores we had not been to. I gave back the keys and came down with “car bug fever.” Actually we will hold off and see how the public transit works once the weather gets nicer. On the down side, almost everyone on our team who has a car has had it in the shop a few times this year. Bulgaria just eats cars.

Meeting Dr. Ilianna Ivanova

As we struggle through language and feeling reduced to bumbling fools in our attempts to communicate in Bulgarian, a friend who speaks English is a welcomed joy. I was able to meet one such woman at our local bakery (yes the same one in our afore mentioned blog!) A blondish haired, blue eyed baby stands out here and I don't exactly blend in as well so it was easy to pick up that we weren't "from around these parts," which opened up a conversation with Dr. Ivanova. Come to find out, she is a professor in micro-biology at Sofia University. Awhile back, she won a grant to go to Tennessee for 6 months so spent some time in the states. In our short meeting at the bakery she gave me her card and told me I could call her sometime.

On a beautiful Saturday in Sofia I was able to get together with her. It started out a bit rocky as a big difference we're finding with Bulgarians and Americans is that they don't plan much and can be a bit non-committal. Our telephone conversation started with planning a time to meet. After I thought we had agreed to 10 am Saturday, she then said, "Well maybe 1pm." Ok then, 1. "Well maybe 11, as I have to go to a showing of pots, pans and assorted kitchenware, or maybe you could meet me and go with me to the show?" We FINALLY agreed that we would meet at 11 and I would go with her to whatever this "show" was. I was thinking I was possibly going to the Bulgarian version of pampered chef? I would never find out exactly what I was supposed to go to because the next mistake I made was when she told me we would meet at Universidad I assumed that was the University she works at in the center of the city. I was mistaken and what she actually meant is that we were to meet at the Universidad sports complex which was only a little ways from our apartment. I was 20 mins away in the opposite direction! Thank goodness for cell phones, she called, then came to meet me in the center of the city. Finally united, we spent a wonderful day. We spent the morning touring one of the most well known cathedrals in Sofia, the Alexander Nevski. It is the cathedral in the background of our magnets we sent out. She gave me the insiders view of the city and I enjoyed every moment of it. While I felt bad Dr. Ivanova had missed her show, I had such a wonderful time and hope she did as well that I felt like it was ordained to be that way. I'm looking forward to calling her in the coming week to hopefully arrange a second meeting. This time I'll be more careful to get street names as to where I am supposed to go!

Much love to you all!

Lisa

(Picture insert is the Alexander Nevski Cathedral)

Gypsy Worship

Last Friday night we attended Gypsy Church again and a took a small video
snipit with my camara. I want to try to show it here on the Blog, but not quite
sure how. So this is a test. Hopefully you will see it below. We'll write more
later, but for now Im just trying to see if this works. Let me know if you have
any feedback or if you have a better way of sharing video.



Later,

Marc

 

Here is some Gypsy Preaching:

My first assignment

I thought you may all like this...

Here is my first email I sent from my new role at UTF. It took me three days to write it, but I think you will see why.

Basically I am introducing myself and then requesting the team to fill our an employee survey I created to help us develop our new Job Descriptions. At least... that is what I think it says...

Здравейте, аз се казвам Марк Шепард и аз съм мисионер за кратък период с SEND International. Тук съм да помагам на Тони и ОБФ с работното управление. Със съпругата ми, Лиса, имаме момче на 19 месеца, казва се Drew (Дру). Ние сме от Kansas City Missouri, USA (Кансас Сити, Мисури, САЩ) и ще живем в България за 18 месеца.

Намерението на този ‘общ служебен преглед’ е да получава информация от работния колектив на ОБФ, така че ние да можем да документираме точно ролите и отговорностите в ОБФ. Ще използваме тази информация за да помогнем при създаването на длъжностни характеристики за нашата текуща работа. И за нови длъжности в бъдеще.

Разделът ‘Лична информация’ ще събере вашите лични интереси и ще се погрижи за обратна работна връзка. Моля попълнете формуляра и го върнете на Марк Шепард или Тони Лалев преди четвъртък, 24 февруари. Моля питайте ако имате въпроси относно формуляра.

Блогодаря за вашата помощ и ще се радвам да работя с вас.

Марк

Bulgarian Valentine

Happy belated Valentines Day to everyone. Yes, they do celebrate Valentines Day in Bulgaria. They kind of go a bit overboard as they were not allowed to celebrate Valentines Day under Communism as it was considered a “Catholic” holiday. However it is still not as commercial as in the US. Lisa and I had involuntary started to boycott the V-Day holiday in the states, as we swore it was a holiday that Hallmark invented just to make a few extra bucks.

Bulgaria does have its advantages, as I was able to get Lisa a big bouquet of roses for about $20 the day before V-day. I would have easily had to pay $60-$80 in the states for the same. Sorry, the truth is revealed, I am a “cheap” romantic.

Drew made his mommy a valentine day card and he was able to tell her that he was “hop-pee” (his new word) to be her valentine.

Drew is a big Nemo and Lion King fan, so he got a large stuffed Simba, who is about Drew’s size. Drew loves to read books in his “turtle tent” that is in his room. So Simba now has to go to the tent whenever we all read books.

We are all doing well. We have had a lot of snow and it has been cold here. Highs are in the 20s and it dips to the single digits when I go to work in the morning. The only time I really long for home is when I see that KC has been in the 50s and 60s through out all of Jan and Feb. Because of the temps it is hard to get out and explore like we would like to. On the positive side of the weather, we are planning on going skiing this weekend on Mt. Vitosha. This is the mountain we can see outside of our living room window.

We continue to struggle through the language, but we are making malko (some) progress. My job is going well as we are in the middle of creating job descriptions for the bible school. We have kept in contact with the taxi driver, Stoiam, who invited us to the gypsy church. We have invited him and his whole family to come of Saturday night. Your prayers for Saturday night would be appreciated.

Please drop us a line if you have time.

Love you guys!

Marc, Lisa and Drew

Invisible Children

Some of you may remember that my cousin, Mallory, went to Uganda this last summer to work with Invisible Children (IC). She is the one who got real sick with malaria, typhoid and salmonella. She is now alive and kicking, better than ever before, in case your wondering. Anyways… she shared a DVD with us about the project. It is an awesome story that really needs to be shared. We really feel this is a worthy cause to pray about. This was also the cover story of Christianity Today in December of 2005. It is awesome to see that they are finally getting some press.

Blow is a cool “podcast” that keep you up to date. This whole effort is driven by these two UCLA Film School Students, who happen to be Christians, therefore the videography is really cool. I know your all into the Ipod – so you will need to check out the link below.

Our engines have started, so start yours and copy this link into your browser: itpc://rss.mac.com/invisiblechildren/iWeb/Site/Podcast/rss.xml i-tunes will automatically start up and you will see I.C.'s first podcast ever. Subscribe to it and you will see many more to come. If you don't have i-tunes get it now, or you'll miss out. Buckle up, let's WinnebagOOOOOOO! Much love and cheese- The I.C. team