New Shoes!

Today was a pretty busy day at the orphanage. A team came delivering new shoes for most of our eighty-eight kids. The kids who can't walk/wear shoes were not involved, but it was quite an ordeal. The team was comprised of a missionary couple, members of a church in Sofia, and a few visitors from America, all associated with the baptist church. This missionary couple has been in Bulgaria for eighteen years now, working with several orphanages, and was quite familiar with our children. As is customary when hosting visitors, a group of kids performed some songs. A few of the older ones were dressed in traditional Bulgarian outfits while everyone sang and danced traditional Bulgarian folk songs. Everyone had his or her hair done and all the girls were elated for an opportunity to don some makeup.

This project is, I am assuming, similar to some of the nazarene church's compassionate ministries. This couple has been working in a total of twenty orphanages for almost twenty years now, occasionally hosting teams who feel the need to reach out to the children, as well. The team from America is here for a week and I may have misunderstood, but I thought I was told that they will be visiting all twenty homes. They had a large box truck full of shoes, so I am assuming and hoping that I heard correctly. That would be a huge feat (no pun intended), but leave it to the Lord to make big things happen.

After the production, an assembly line was set up in the small room used as a cafeteria. As children were brought down, their shoe size was written on their hand and they were sat down in front of a visitor who found a fitting pair. I was pleasantly surprised that every pair I saw was brand new and appropriate for the coming winter weather. When I think of projects like this, I tend to assume that the items will be cheap or used, but this was not the case at all. Everyone was tromping around showing off their new boots. Some kids are drawn to zippers so they were found accidentally tripping those whose boots had zippers. One boy likes to look at the soles so he was laying on the floor looking at those of the kids sitting on the couch. He didn't touch, just laid there mesmerized.

The organization this team had was awesome. It took less than an hour to fit almost 80 kids with shoes, which included bringing them all from their rooms into the cafeteria.

All that said, I am about as happy as all the kids are about their new shoes! I am thankful that people invest in their lives and that others are also called to do ministry here. One of the workers told me today that she is happy Alex and I are here because the kids aren't as lonely. Especially in the room of bed-ridden kids, even if just to sit with them and to hold their hands makes a difference because they know someone cares.

I am so appreciative of comments like these because honestly, I feel like I am just in the way sometimes. I appreciate the workers who have no problem looking like a fool using charades and silly noises trying to communicate with us. I love the kids who laugh at us and say "ти не разбираш?" (You don't understand?) then turn to each other with this funny "Oh my word!" look on their faces. They made me feel like it's ok that I am not fluent. They get so excited when I tell them "Аз уча български" ("I am learning Bulgarian") and often take on the role of учители (teachers) while simultaneously wanting to soak up as much английски (English) as possible.

It is a lot easier to give grace when you rely on it daily.

Fundraising Update

Wondering where Alex and I are on fundraising? Here you go!

Strangely enough, we are within $20 of each other and are both sitting right on the 40% mark!

Although we still have a little ways to go before we reach halfway, which is what Mission Corps requires before we leave, all we need is $1,100 and we have 48 days to get it.

So many times I have been asked, "So, are you ready/excited/nervous?" And my usual answer is something like, "Nope, I am totally ready to be back in Bulgaria; however, I am nervous about the money." I have no doubt that God will provide, He already is, but it is easy to get into my day-to-day routine (which, these days, is not a routine at all) and lost sight of that and start to worry. When I fall away from this faith, I step back and look at the fact that we have come this far just since the start of the summer. God is good.

"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. " Philippians 4:6

Countdown: 56 Days!

Today is July 9^th, the day we were supposed to have our visas. About two months ago, Alex and I went to Washington DC to visit the Bulgarian Embassy and turn in all of our paperwork and documents. Let me say that the whole process was not as nerve-racking as I thought. Yes, we started the process back in November, getting an invitation from the Church of the Nazarene in Bulgaria, a letter from the Bulgarian government granting the church permission to invite us, housing documents, an FBI background check, getting that FBI background apostilled, not to mention all of the money these things have required; however, everything has gone smoothly and we have had no major hang-ups. Right now, my biggest prayer is that my visa gets here soon. Did I mention that my passport should have been here today, too? Yeah, the Embassy had to keep it. I was not ok leaving it there, but they needed it so what could I do?

I have recently (in the past two months) spoken at three different churches, which have all been a blessing. In May, Real Life Community Church of the Nazarene in Murfreesboro, TN invited me to speak at their annual missions service. I was given all the time I needed and to my surprise, I was able to share 30 minutes packed full of facts about Bulgaria, personal stories, prayer requests, and financial needs. This was the first time I formally spoke outside of Trevecca about Bulgaria and God’s calling for me to return and the first time I introduced myself as a graduate (which was super exciting!).

In June, Alex and I both spoke at two churches together… on the same day. That Sunday morning, I drove from Bradenton up to Brandon, where Alex lives, to pick her up and we drove to Orlando. Center Pointe Community Church of the Nazarene gave us time in their morning service to speak about our upcoming journey. During the same service, two missionary families, one serving in Africa, the other in a creative access country, were represented and prayed for and a team of teens was seen off to Jamaica where they would serve for, I believe, a week. I am pretty sure we went a little bit over our allotted 10 minutes, but the presence of God was there and moving, which became even more evident after the service had ended. The church provided a table for us to use as we needed and it became a place for people to come and speak to us, ask questions, and offer generous donations. I was so taken aback when a woman, a perfect stranger, gave a $500 gift to each of us! This was a person who did not know us from Adam, yet she so believes in the work the Lord is doing in and through us that she was willing to make such a sacrifice. I am very thankful.

When we left the church in Orlando, we had just enough time to eat lunch and head back to Bradenton. This Sunday happened to be one of the days Tropical Storm Debby (Debby Downer) decided to slam Florida. We had 30 minutes to spare by the time we made it back to Bradenton and ended up running into the church 10 minutes before the service started. Bradenton First Church of the Nazarene is my home church and I was offered full control of the Sunday night service. Alex and I alternated speaking of our own unique paths and the callings we were each pursuing. As different as our stories may be, we have very similar passions and callings, all leading us to Vidrare, Manaselska Reka, Pravets, Botevgrad, Etropole, and Razliv, Bulgaria.

Fast-forward to today: My visa is not here, but Alex and I are at the 1/3 mark on our fundraising! Thank you so much to everyone who has already helped us out financially!! It truly is a blessing. That being said, we still have a ways to go. We each need at least $2,000 before we leave on September 3. That is only 56 days away! If you have not already done so, please consider helping us out. I promise that you will not regret it.

We are currently putting together a list of email addresses for our newsletter we will be sending out, hopefully monthly. If you would like to receive it while we are gone, please let me know by emailing me at vspendergraft@gmail.com. Feel free to use that to contact me about anything else as well. My prayer/information cards should be in by the end of the week, too, so I will be handing them out like crazy! If you would like to help, visit my Convio page --> http://web.nazarene.org/goto/vspendergraft Remember that you can make a one time donation, but the option to do monthly deposits is also available! This would be super helpful because we will also need to continue raising funds even after we get to Bulgaria.

Oh, I also got shots today! Boo… I had to get my second Hepatitis A shot, that one is in my right arm. That one’s doing well. My left arm, however, feels like it got punched a hundred times with brass knuckles. The Polio vaccine combined with the Typhoid/Diphtheria/Pertussis vaccine is killing me. Plus, they did a lovely Tb skin test on that arm. The good news? They gave me Bugs Bunny band aids J I felt like a child when I looked down and saw them, but something as terrible as shots deserves fun band aids, right? I think so.

Thanks for reading all of this! I haven’t posted in a few months so I had a lot to catch you up on!

-Vera

"Dig a hole and bury it."

It's 11 PM and I cannot sleep so I have decided that blogging is the next best option; It has certainly been a while since I've done it. I am reflecting on the one on one "interview" I had tonight with one of the CCO leaders, if you even want to call it an interview. This weekend, I am participating in a Cross Cultural Orientation, a weekend of training for those considering Mission work through the Church of the Nazarene. Since I am going to be on the field for a year, I am required to participate; however, it is more than training, but an awesome time for reflection and community with others at different walks of life, all who are answering the Call.


We have covered so many things this weekend, including travel safety, self-evaluation (the peer mentor in me was going crazy!), culture shock, and the Nazarene Network. I have even added a ton more acronyms to my Nazarene vocabulary (try to imagine how that could even be possible)! We also participated in a few activities to really get us thinking about cultural awareness, leadership, and teamwork. [[For everyone who was at the Amazing Race in Lake Placid, I got my payback from other "government officials" this weekend. Fortunately for me, they weren't as tough as I was on yall :) ]] These activities were fun, but really allowed us to reflect on real conflicts we will face on the field.


My one on one time with Greg wasn't as scary as I was expecting. There were no trick questions, no tough scenarios to tumble through - just good, honest conversation. I cannot express how comforting it is to sit down with someone who genuinely wants to know what God is doing in my life and offers just as much conversation as listening. I felt comfortable enough to become vulnerable and express some questions and concerns I had, even one that I have been struggling with for a few months now. "Dig a hole and bury it. Leave it here when you get on that plane."


I am going to Bulgaria to do God's work. Leaving behind my ideas and my plans is not easy, but that is just extra baggage to weigh me down and keep my hands full when i should be using them for the Lord's work. The mission of the Church of the Nazarene is To make Christlike disciples in the nations -- What God is looking for is disciple-makers. That is me. It can be me if I put myself aside and commit myself to his work each day.


I am thankful for this time to learn more about myself and the church I serve. I am confident that I have made the right choice and that God is talking to me through others, which is so assuring.


-Vera