The two weeks

The last two weeks were extremely busy for us and as a result we did not get a chance to write another post until now. In our last post we gave a quick description of what we would be doing and for the most part it came about just as we expected.

There was a lot of traveling, puppets, and gifts which proved to be a lot of fun for the children and the puppeteers. If there were leftover gifts the van got to share some the goodies inside. Alla was one of the main characters in the puppet show and I was camera man and sound guy. We all helped set up the puppet theater and tear it all down but since all i can say to the kids is "ne Bulgarski" which means no Bulgarian, I figured its better for me to take pictures than interact with all the children. All the groups varied in size and character depending on what part of the country we were in. Closer to Turkey there were a lot of Muslims. Our largest group of kids was at an elementary school which we estimated had 250 kids. Once they all knew they would get presents after the show it was madness! We also had a few groups that were much smaller in size especially in the orphanages. The typical size there was probably 20-30 children which seemed a lot more manageable than 250 little animals. We spent more time with the orphans, typically opening the presents with them and getting the opportunity to see a child stuff his face with a large chocolate bar. The second week was similar but we spent most of the time in Sofia and retirement homes. I also got a chance to play one of the puppet roles which was fun.

Overall the puppet shows were a success and we pray that some of these children will take something from them that will lead them down a different path than many of the present day Bulgarians. It would probably be helpful if we explained what the puppet shows are about. For that I will hand it over.... popcorn, Alla.

Hello all!!!:) Well....the main character, a little boy, is on the hunt for true happiness after his grandpa tells him that the Bible he always reads is just that. The boy then comes across people and asks their opinion. One guy tells him its in money and then a pretty girl says its in beauty. Another character says its in strength and yet another tells him its in wisdom. Then, the character i played comes along and tells him about Jesus...in which he can find strength and wisdom and beauty. Its really quite cute. I enjoyed being a part of this wonderful program they put on. It was interesting that they let us come to their schools and day cares and orphanages and openly speak of Jesus. I guess if you bring presents they don't really care. I would always watch the faces of the teachers to see if I could tell by that if they were unhappy or something. I didn't really see anything crazy. There were a few ladies with attitudes but, surprisingly to me, it went really well.

We got to see a lot of the countryside and some mountainy areas of Bulgaria as we were driving around to do the shows. It really is a very beautiful country. Its nature is amazing!! We drove down almost to Greece and almost up to Romania. We didn't go as far east as i would have liked to see but im sure we'll get a chance in these next 4 mos or so. It'll be better to go to the black sea when its warmer anyway.

I got to see my favorite little girl again...i helped her open her present! She's still just as amazing as i remembered her to be. The orphanages were definitely more enjoyable, for me anyway. I just didnt like handing the gifts out to the kids as they were walking out the door. Doesnt really leave time for me to take it all in and connect in any way. Or even to see how the kids differ from kids in other cities. The gypsy kids were interesting to see too. I'll have Mike put up pics on photobucket, you'll be able to tell which ones are the gypsies.



Christmas has come and gone. It was kinda a weird one. Even though it was good, its just not the same without family. We have a tree but didnt do gifts for one another. There was just no time, and mike has all the money and we're together all the time. It wouldnt have worked well even if we tried. We spent christmas eve at Sasha and Oksana's with 2 other couples. It was time well spent. Christmas day we went to church and to a church-wide lunch afterwards. Hung out with our new best friends: Ira, Sveta, and Marina...our fellow Kostinbrodians. (the little city 10km outside of Sofia in which we live) And then we went to church again. For New Years the plan is to head up to Vitosha Mountain (if im not mistaken) for their youth retreat. That should be lots of fun. We have a lot of fun with the youth, even though Mike doesnt know whats going on. I can follow conversation but its hard to follow jokes and after a while my mind gets tired from all the paying close attention and translating in my head and i just zone out. With most of them we have no problem communicating! I feel like we'll never learn Bulgarian because everyone speaks English or Russian when speaking to us. We leave for the cabins on friday of this week.

Thursday is the last day that the puppet show will be played. Emmanuel (pastor) is taking us with him to one last school for the show and gifts. It'll only be us 3. That will definitely be a challenge...it takes 7 people to do the puppet show. Ive played 2 roles but this will be a little much. I'm sure it will be fine, but kind of chaotic. I cant wait!:)

So one more day of rest for us and then we're back on the move. I always try to be brief and it doesnt work, sorry for the ramblings. Love you all! Miss you all! Thanks for reading!