Heavenly Worship

Wow I don't think I have ever experienced anything like today. Imagine Hillsong worship music and the song "I can only imagine" in a completely foreign tongue. This worship band was incredible. Two of the three musicians are the top in this country. What beautiful sound in less than ideal surroundings. We forgot all about the lack of heat when the Spirit moved among us!

These guys have translation for the Americanos and Internet radio. In fact one testimony was a young woman who was healed last week listening to their service. The pastor brought a really solid message. He was just with Jack Hayford a couple of days ago.

Talk about Living Water I just took a big ole gulp today!

Ministry Day One

Today the Bruton's presented a marriage seminar to a local church community. We had 31 in attendance despite less than ideal conditions like 3-4 inches of snow and blowing cold wind. In Richmond the event would have been canceled. The group was engaged and receptive all day. We started at 9 and went until 4 with a couple of breaks.

It was good for me to hear the material. I realize there are a number of areas where I need to improve. Carla pray that I can remember them by the time I get back to Richmond. This group of Bulgarian believers were sharp. Several spoke pretty good english. They are very enterprising as a church. ( I will write more on that another time)

The Bruton's have put together a lot of good material and did a nice job.

We are in Sofia one more day then off to the country.

The Language of Love

I came to Bulgaria with a couple from our church - Bob and Pat Bruton. They have been coming to Bulgaria for 9 years. One of the fruits of their ministry is an encounter with a couple who have created a ministry to gypsy orphans who are turning 18 and being thrown out of the orphanage to fend for themselves. This couple is providing technical training for some of these young adults.

The Brutons have "adopted" (not formally) two brothers. These brothers have a mother who had 12 children all by different fathers. We had dinner last night. These young men can barely speak english and we speak no Bulgarian. What a fun evening. We laughed constantly. And the expressions of love and connection were everywhere. These young men were so excited and eager to see Bob and Pat. I was blessed to be "adopted" by these young men. click here to see a couple more photos (note you will need to copy and paste the link) http://picasaweb.google.com/josephruizjr/LanguageOfLove?authkey=Gv1sRgCK3y4LfXlfzPHg#


I left our time together reflecting on 1 John 2:9 where John is reminding us to love our brothers. If we love our brothers we are walking in the light if we hate our brothers we stumble around in darkness. For me it is easy to think of this exhortation in black and white. I don't hate my brothers I just don't like this or that. I feel the Spirit convicting me to filter my thoughts, actions and conversations with the question.... Is this interaction moving in the direction of Light or darkness. It is way too easy for me to dismiss most behaviors because after all I don't "hate" but with this new conviction I feel the Spirit is calling me out to a new standard. Oh man.

Here we are in Sofia

Arrived right on schedule. It was a long trip. If you haven't flown internationally you should what a different experience. From dinner with HOT bread to breakfast to hot face towels it was amazing. The flight attendants were through the cabin regularly with water, juice etc. They don't charge for any beverages!

For those who might care we flew right over Dublin then England and Germany.

Sofia is an interesting place. Lot's of high rise apartments many in need of repair. It is snowing and chilly. Fortunately the snow isn't sticking.

We will hit the ground running. Tomorrow is a marriage seminar. Sunday we attend church, then we have dinner with some folks. Monday we hit the road.

I look forward to some rest. BTW thanks for your prayers the flights went very well and our luggage arrived right on time with us.

At the airport

The wait is over. In about an hour we will be on our way to Vienna then on to Sophia. Scheduled to arrive around 1:30 Friday afternoon. Weather looks like colder, rain/snow. Oh well after all this isn't a vacation.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your prayers. I feel Aslan is on the move for those of you who speak Narnia. So far things have gone well.

We are flying Austrian Air so getting a taste of the global population already. :-) It's a good thing.

Bulgaria here we come.

Countdown has begun

The clock is ticking, 24 hours from now I will be on my way to the airport. As you can imagine I am running around tending to a bunch of details. I feel a growing sense of anticipation in my spirit. I believe the Holy Spirit is constantly communicating we simply have to be alert and aware. I believe this is going to be an opportunity to trust and walk in God's love. I am convinced the most important part of the mission will be to love all God's people. To share from the heart not just the head.

I have a new sense of what it means to feel the prayers of others. I cannot tell you how good encouraging it is to feel and hear your prayers! Thank you. I would especially ask for your prayers from next Wednesday and Thursday while we are in the Muslim part of the country.

God's fingerprints are all over this little adventure and I look forward to sharing it with you.
Grace & Peace.

Bulgaria

Here are a few facts about Bulgaria. The capitol is Sofia. Bulgaria is one of the 27 EU members. The population is approximately 8 million. The language is Bulgarian. About 83% of the population is Bulgarian, 9.4% are Turks, 4.7% Roma (gypsy) and the remaining are other (wouldn't you love to be in this group). In 1997 84% of the Roma's lived below the poverty line. NOTE: (you can click on map to see more detail)

Right now Bulgaria is 6 hours ahead of EST. Bulgaria is surrounded by Romania, Greece, Serbia/Montenegro, Macedonia, and Turkey.

OUR TRAVELS (We arrive 3.19 and I return 3.20)

We arrive in Sofia, then on to Purvomai, Nova Zagora, Stara Zagora, Kurdzali (this is the Muslim part of Bulgaria), Pazardzik, and Plovdiv.