Wow! Hello everybody! We are so sorry that it has been such a long time since we have posted. We want to let you all in on what has been happening here in Bulgaria. The month of February has included all sorts of emotions. Because this post will be much longer than usual Katie and I will be splitting it up. I will write the first part and she will continue through the end of the month. We hope to not let our blog get this far behind again, but with summer approaching soon we are unsure of the plans that will be set out for us. We really want you to feel connected to us, and to know what is going on so pull up a chair, sit back and take a few moments to get caught up!
These past few weeks have been the best of times and the worst of times. The last time I posted I had been through quite the experience in the Romanian snow storm while returning to Razgrad from Bucharest with Brian Fentress and Jacek Konieczny. Brian and Jacek came to Razgrad to host a gospel music training seminar for three days, and then lead those they had trained in a concert on Sunday. However, due to the extreme weather, and the delay of rehearsal from the snow, training for the concert didn’t begin until Friday. We were afraid that this would cause issues and with the snow and the cold we were afraid that the attendance would not be as good as we had hope for. Praise the Lord we were wrong!
Around sixty people attended the trainings both on Friday and Saturday evening. The turnout was amazing! Brian taught us half a dozen songs in two training sessions. As he taught the songs he explained the meaning behind them in short sermons. This presentation of the gospel was powerful and effective. This was wonderful since two thirds of the participants in the choir were nonbelievers. The training went wonderful! Brian and Jacek stayed with us at the apartment and we had a wonderful time. They bragged on Katie’s cooking and each night we enjoyed talking about the day’s events and how God was using them. Every evening while we were sitting around chatting about the day Brian and Jacek strived and succeeded to conquer all of Katie’s record game scores on her iPad. It was a joy having them stay with us.
I preached Sunday morning and at church Brian and Jacek performed a couple of songs for the congregation to show them the type of music that would be performed by their fellow church members later that evening. When the time came for the concert the philharmonic auditorium was packed with people. We organized the event so that it would not just be a "church event", but an event in coordination with the Razgrad Municipality government. Therefore, several choirs performed from Razgrad and many leaders from the area attended, including several former communist leaders. However, the gospel choir performed last and had more songs than the other ensembles. Many of the other singers in these ensembles were a part of the gospel choir as well. The spirit of our Lord was among us! We sang each song while Brian presented the gospel in between. It had a very powerful effect! We swayed and clapped, prayed, cried, and praised God with all our bodies, including hands, feet, and voices! Many great contacts were made for the church, the relationship between government leadership and the church has grown tremendously, and the city invited Brian and Jacek to come again as soon as they could. Everything went great! Praise the Lord!!
Monday morning Pastor Nikolay and I took Brian and Jacek to the airport in Bucharest where we thanked them and bid them farewell. We returned home without any obstacles! Praise the Lord! However, over the next several days, and even weeks, the weather has continued to get colder and colder and the snow and ice has been piling up! Many of the roads in Bulgaria have been closed, and people are staying inside. We were scheduled to host theological courses for ordination here in Razgrad a few weeks ago but snow and ice made this impossible. Pastor Nikolay keeps telling us, “just stay warm, stay inside and eat where it is comfortable, and wait for warmer weather. This is all one can do!” We believe him! Many people have been telling us that this is the worst winter they can remember. Many of the older generations have said this is the worst winter they have experienced in twenty or thirty years. At one point the Danube River had been completely frozen over, so that you can literally walk across it from the Bulgarian border to the Romania border. This has not happened in decades.
Several weeks in the month of February I was not in great health. One week in mid-February my wonderful and caring wife finally presented me with an ultimatum. She told me to stay off my legs or she would break them! I chose the former. I stayed home for two days, but it got worse. Thus, when I made my way to bible study on Thursday of that week the church family took a vote and called a doctor. I was diagnosed with bronchitis. I got a prescription and orders to stay warm. I did this for a week while on antibiotics and I made a speedy recovery! Praise the Lord!
Athlete’s feet is very common in the winter here because of how cold your feet stay and with inadequate shoes ones feet can get wet and therefore fungus is typical. My feet were itching and burning slightly and so we looked up home remedies for athlete’s feet and it said to soak your feet in apple cider vinegar twice a day until it is completely healed and then do for a week more to make sure it is gone. Well after a week of this my feet continued to get worse… This was very difficult because we have to walk everywhere and with athletes feet you should keep your feet dry and warm. By the end of the first week of the ‘home treatment’ a few of my toes were turning black… Katie and I were both worried so we emailed pictures to a doctor friend back home, and she informed us that it was in fact NOT athlete’s feet but that I had a mild case of frost bite. We immediately stopped the apple cider vinegar soaking and it within days the welling a discoloration had subsided. Today my toes are 100% better! I just want to say THANK YOU to all of you who have kept us in your prayers throughout the month of February. Both of these cases could have been much worse, but I know that many people were taking us to the Lord in prayer and your prayers have not gone unanswered. Know that we are always aware of the prayers of our family and friends and we are grateful. God is good and so are His people.
Since the beginning of February we have been planning and strategizing in order to start an aggressive evangelism campaign called “Each One Win One.” Many of you have probably heard of this. It is a great plan for aggressive evangelism based on planting churches. It starts with prayer groups and discipleship training. A few weeks ago the prayer groups were organized and they have all been meeting on a weekly basis since. We are so excited to see what God will do with dedicated believers working towards the building of the Kingdom of God! Katie, Debbie, and I are all sharing in teaching the aggressive evangelism Sunday School classes. We each are covering two chapters and this first Sunday Katie taught her first class! She did an amazing job, and several people could not believe that it was her first class. It went great and afterwards I preached on the power of prayer in faith from the book of James. Because of weather we were all gathered into a small meeting room with sufficient heating. It was a powerful time of worship together. After the service many testimonies were given and I received a blessing from an elderly man who was especially touched by the word of the Lord. We finished with a time of hugging, laughing and fellowship together. We know that many are devoted to praying for us each week and we truly appreciate it. Not only are your prayers reaching out to us but they are extended to those with whom and to whom with which we are ministering. We feel your prayers daily and know that your intercession gives us strength. We just want to say thank you and God bless you for your faithfulness.
Stay tuned for part two from my partner in ministry!
Joshua and Katie
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