Down Syndrome Ministry

The week started with a visit to the hospital where some orphans were being treated because they were malnourished in the orphanage. The sight was horrendous seeing a 14 year old girl skin and bones weighing only 17 lbs. A week later I got a call from a mom, Nadia, whose husband just left her partly due to his lack of acceptance of the D.S. child, and now she found out that she has cancer. Oh, my heart was just aching. These experiences just confirmed in my heart the strong desire to help families keep their children and then walk with them the tough road ahead in a society that provides so little assistance to these families and children. Please continue to pray for them all.

Last week we had the chance to build awareness through numerous media interviews as well as a press conference in celebration of the International Down Syndrome day – March 21^st. Instead of asking us why we didn’t not do the prenatal screening, this year the media asked what we feel our children need to be successful. So, little by little we are seeing changes, but it is slow and painful, especially for the parents and those that have been abandoned to orphanages.

We culminated our week with our parent group hosting a Down Syndrome conference with guest speakers from the National Association for Child Development, US. who presented via skype invaluable information on how to help our children reach their best potential. We had a full room with 190 attendees including parents, therapists, doctors, teachers, orphanage workers and other. This is always such a highlight as our goal is to see all these people come together with a unified vision and effort to help create a place and better opportunities for these children here in Bulgaria. NACD did such a great job stressing the plasticity of the brain and the incredible potential that can be unlocked if given the right opportunities. They also encouraged parents that they are the vital part in the development of their child and that the specialists need to team up with parents, which is something you see very seldom here in Bulgaria.

The highlight of the conference, I feel, was a song Steve wrote about Jaden. There were many teary eyes in the audience as they surely identified with some of the feelings. It was a highlight, though, because it allowed us to share our faith and God’s view of these children. Here is a link to the song and the video Steve showed while singing the song at the conference.

We want to thank you all for all your prayers and support for this week and day. We were nervous, knowing that any technological glitch could profoundly impact the conference. But we are happy to say that except for one small recall, skype worked incredibly the entire 7 hours that we were online with our guest speakers. Thank you to all of you for your prayers and partnership with us in this ministry that we years ago would have never foreseen ourselves in. But in our weakness, He is strong and able to work. Praise the Lord!

 

 

 

Music Outreach

It's Easter season, a great time for reaching out and sharing God's truth and love. Rocking Chair is doing three concerts this week. On Tuesday we played in the central theater hall in Pazardzhik, helping a local church do outreach. Pazardzhik has a sizable and active Muslim community, and on a separate note was in the news the last year due to ethnic tensions. It was encouraging that more than half the people were not from the church!  Tonight (Thursday) we are in a charity concert for the Bulgarian Christian school (almost the only one operating) where Jacob & Julia go. And then on Sunday we are doing an outreach & charity concert in a local church in Sofia. Please pray that we don't have any major technical issues and that many who don't know Christ yet will come and hear a some “Good News”!

Apologetics / Teaching

Last week Todor and I taught apologetics in the city of Yambol.  We had a good group, many from the Roma minority who don't have as much educational background, but they made up for it with their interest and enthusiasm!  We pray they can put the things they learned to good use in their lives and ministries.  Thanks for praying!

 

 

 

March is rolling along and with so much going on, the time is really flying! Here are some upcoming events you can pray for, and below that an update on others that have taken place in the last two weeks.

• Today, March 21st, we celebrate the International Down Syndrome Day.  In honor of this day, we have been busy planning and organizing for our annual D.S. conference which will be held this Saturday with guest speakers via skype from the National Association of Child Development.  We already have 160 adults and 50 children registered and are expecting more in these last couple of days.  Our goal is to gather parents, therapists, doctors, teachers, orphanage workers all in one room and together learn how we can best help children with D.S. reach their best potential, besides positively influencing society's view of these children and advocating for greater integration into society.    

It has been so much fun to see our Parent Group unite and really work as a team this year.  Everyone has their tasks and amazing things have been happening.   Yesterday 3 of our mom's had an interview with one of the biggest TV news station and throughout this week we will have magazine, radio, internet coverage and more TV coverage for the conference.  God has provided some incredible opportunities for awareness.

Could we ask you to please pray for this Saturday, that all those that should be there would come, that they would be encouraged and positively influenced, drawn to God, and that there would be no technical difficulties as are speakers will be presenting via skype.  Please pray also that through the mini-concert Rocking Chair Band will perform at the beginning of the conference people will hear about God and His love (including for DS children).  Thank you!

Here is the English version of the flyer:

 

• Teaching Apologetics:  Please pray for the apologetics course Todor and I will teach in the city of Yambol next week - for active and engaged students, for us to present the course well, and for the students to put into practice whatever will help them in their witness and ministry.  

Here's a quick update on some events the last two weeks - thank you for your prayers!

• The Dynamis men's club meeting on March 7 saw about 10 men come and was a very interesting time, with Todor presenting on New Age.  We had a good discussion on the topic.  One young man (also named Todor) came for the first time, and since has come to church and hopefully will also join my small group.  Please pray for him - I think he has had some connection to a church in the past but he is struggling and I don't know where he is in terms of a relationship with Christ.   Another great outcome is that a man from our church expressed a desire to become part of the HARTA apologetics group -
  
• The marriage weekend March 9-10 went very well - we had about 13-14 couples present, a number of whom were not from church.  The days leading up to it were an adventure, as it turned out our speakers (Serbians) could not come to Bulgaria because their passports where in the British embassy being processed for visas for an upcoming trip to the UK.  Our pastor Grozdan got a hold of a German couple that do marriage weekends and by miracle they were available to come!  We pray it helped everyone in their marriages and also presented God's love to some who don't know Him yet.
• The HARTA public events on March 17 & 18 generated a lot of interest and by all measures were very successful.  Almost 100 people attended the philosophical lecture on postmodernism by Bill Edgar (Westminster Seminary), and the question/answer time was very active - it had to be cut off or it could have gone to midnight :)  The "Heaven in a Club" jazz concert/presentation also had a large attendance, probably around 170.  I ended up being the tech guy/soundman, and was glad that everything went well technically.  The music/singing was great and through the presentation of the black roots of spirituals, jazz and blues, the audience clearly heard the gospel.  Please pray for God to use the seeds sown to bear fruit, to draw people to Himself.

Every March seems to be a time filled with an extra measure of good ministry opportunities and this one is no different - Thank you in advance for praying for these things, and also for all your prayers for me as I preached and taught apologetics last week!

Dynamis Men's Club

This Wednesday is the monthly men's club gathering.  Todor will do a presentation on New Age, titled "Do we need a new religion (New Age)  for the new era?" and we'll also have a short talk on leadership.  Please pray we'll have a good group of men and that they will invite friends as well.  Pray too that God will work in the hearts of everyone.

Marriage/Family Weekend

This Friday evening and Saturday (March 9-10) we (our church) are putting on a marriage/family seminar for couples, with helpful topics and discussions, ending with each couple doing a romantic dinner where they present each other with a love letter they worked on during the seminar.  Our speakers/leaders are Nesa and Goca Savich, who also were the speakers at last year's family camp.  Please pray that we will have a good turnout of both believers as well as friends they invite, and that God will work both in their marriages/families as well as open their hearts to Him.

Down Syndrome Conference

Saturday, March 24 is the big Down Syndrome Conference put on by the Bulgarian Down Syndrome Association.  Tanja has been very busy organizing for this conference, which we hope will again draw 150 or more therapists, parents, doctors and teachers.  This year our speakers are from NACD (the National Association for Child Development), who will be speaking over video Skype.  Please pray for the many technical details that have to run smoothly, for all the logistical details, and for God to use this event to give hope and knowledge to many people, not least to begin drawing them to Himself.

Rocking Chair Band will play at the beginning of the conference, including a song Steve just wrote about Jaden that hopefully will be an encouragement to others struggling with the reality of having a special needs child and also a testimony to God's faithfulness and the value of these children.

HARTA Apologetics: Heaven in a Nightclub Jazz Concert

On March 18 HARTA is putting on one of its big public events of the year.  Apologist and jazz pianist Bill Edgar (professor at Westminster Theological Seminary) will be our guest for two events, the first a more philosophical presentation on postmodernism and the second a concert presentation on the roots and history of jazz music.  With the professional jazz singer and a bass player of his group, he will bring to life the music of this history, showing the Christian roots (the negro spirituals) and influence to this day.  It should be very interesting, and we pray that it will draw many people who do not know Christ to come, and open their eyes (and ears) to spiritual truth.

Teaching

The last week of March Todor and I will again be teaching the apologetics course in the city of Yambol.  As always, we would greatly appreciate your prayers for the course: for eager and engaged students, for good presentation of the subject, and for the class to be helpful in their lives and ministries.

Update on Christmas Concerts

Just wanted to thank you for praying for Rocking Chair Band's Christmas concerts. Between 100-150 people attended each of the concerts in Smolyan and Sofia, of which over half were non-believers.  Some of those in Smolyan came to a Christmas party a couple days later and showed interest in coming to the small home church there.  Please pray for these and others who God has touched, that they will get connected with local believers.  

Apologetics – Teaching and Meetings

This week Todor and I are in Varna, on the Black Sea coast, teaching the apologetics course for the United Theological Faculty. The students are great – actively involved and interested. Please pray that Todor and I will very effectively present the course and that it will be very helpful and practical to the students in their lives and ministries.

We also have a few meetings lined up with pastors and other potential collaborators for new efforts the HARTA apologetics group is undertaking in Varna. Pray that God will guide these meetings and that He will clearly direct us/HARTA in the next steps.

I am thankful for the privilege of working together with Todor and for his friendship – please pray for this to continue to grow and bear increasing fruit.

Club Dynamis – Men's Ministry

In one of my informal meetings with our pastor Grozdan a couple weeks ago, we talked about the need for a ministry among men – something that will build community among the men in our church, provide a place where they can invite their friends outside the church and faith, and grow together. I agree to start/lead a monthly group that we are calling “Club Dynamis,” and the first meeting will be next Friday, (February 3^rd). The plan is to address topics like business, family, leadership, and also things like film, music, sports, and others, so that there's something for everyone. In addition we'll try to do some outings like camping, paintball or team-building (since we men also like to “do things” together :) Each time we'll connect the topic or activity to spiritual/biblical truth and perspective, showing how faith in Christ is related to all of life. Please join me in praying for this effort, that God will lead me (and Grozdan), that He will use this to grow the men in our church and also make it a great outreach to men who do not yet know Christ.

 

We are into the final very busy weeks before Christmas and just want to give you a brief update and share some things you can be praying for.

Apologetics

On Tuesday I (Steve) and Todor drove to Plovdiv where HARTA organized a public lecture/discussion in the Plovdiv University, in partnership with the philosophy/religion department – the dean of the program was the second presenter. In connection with the December 8 holiday (The Day of Education) that just passed, the topic was the higher education in Bulgaria. Todor did an excellent job – he showed first how education (at least in Bulgaria) has become a “product” that people buy in order to feel better about themselves, get an easier life/job, or please their parents, attitudes which in turn undermine the educational process itself. He then presented the Christian view, which is that as people made in the image of a creative and thinking God, each of us have been given abilities and a “calling” (the original meaning of “profession”) from God, which it is our duty to develop (hence the need for education) for the good of those around us. This Christian view directly caused the growth of the Western system of schools and universities. Todor also pointed out how the disintegration of the healthy family is a key factor in the demise of the educational process, because it is in a healthy family that a child learns the key character traits needed to become a life-long learner: discipline, perseverance, the value of learning/growing, creativity, etc. Without them, no formal educational system can succeed.

We were pleased to see 50+ people attend, mostly university students. A good question-answer time followed, and it became clear there were all kinds of people present – believers, agnostics, atheists, and one guy who believes in “chaos.” (Todor joked afterward with me that he almost wanted to respond that “if you believe in chaos, then Bulgaria is the right place to live.”) What really encouraged us was the great discussion environment afterward – people of different views shared openly, without heated arguments, and the Christian position was clearly articulated. This is something very unusual here in Bulgaria, and it is the goal of one of HARTA's two main projects going forward: to be a catalyst in creating “centers” or “environments” in which real, open discussions on the important issues in life can take place, and where the real Christian worldview can be presented, not the twisted, irrelevant version that most people here think of when they hear “Christianity.”

Our return to Sofia late at night was interesting, as we had to drive through fog so thick in places that we could not see more than about 15 feet in front of the car – once we hit a hole and realized we were not even on the road! Praise God for his protection. Please continue to pray for HARTA as we seek to develop these projects in several cities in Bulgaria.

Music

Rocking Chair Band is in a busy two weeks of concerts. On Monday we did an outreach concert in a small church in Sofia. There were a number of non-church people there and people really seemed to enjoy it. The pastor gave a mini-sermon in the middle of the concert and we pray that through that and the songs people were touched with the reality and meaning of what God has done for us in Christ.

We have three more concerts to go – please pray that God will work through them and open hearts to the gospel.

Sunday, 18^th: Concert in Smolyan (50% Muslim city in southern Bulgaria). This is the city where our church in Sofia is working to plant a church and more people are getting involved. We are excited that this time Petsi Giuzelev, a believer and the lead guitarist of the legendary Bulgarian rock group “The Crickets” will be our star guest. During Grozdan's visit to Smolyan a couple weeks ago the director of the mathematical high school said she would encourage the whole school to go (several hundred!) We don't know what to expect but please join us in praying for this event.

Wednesday, 21^st: Charity concert in a theater in Sofia, again with guest Petsi Giuzelev, partnering with the organization of Evlogi and his friend Kalin, who work with orphans. NEWS FLASH! Grozdan just told me that this very morning he was able to lead Kalin and his wife Milena to the Lord – Praise God! We are excited to see that God is working through the band, apart from concerts – God used our collaboration with Kalin on these concerts to open his (and his wife's) heart to Him. Evlogi could hardly believe his ears, saying to Grozdan “You aren't kidding with me, are you? Kalin never talks about spiritual stuff with anybody!” Now that Kalin is also a believer, through him and Evlogi we anticipate new doors of ministry opening up among young people who are struggling, whether orphans, alcoholics or drug addicts. God is at work! Thank you for praying!

Friday, 23^rd: Outreach Christmas program at our church. Rocking Chair Band will be part of the program, along with our praise team, a short children's presentation and, of course, Santa Claus will be on hand to give out presents to the kids. :) Pray that people invited by our church members, and those from the neighboring apartment block, will come and hear the real meaning of Christmas.

Women's Ministry

Tanja and Slavitza (our pastor Grozdan's wife) are planning to start a women's group after the new year. They plan to use a study dealing with the issue of how to live in God's grace, not just believing it in our heads but living according to it, not letting past things keep us from living the kind of victorious, God-honoring life He has for us. Please pray for all the people God wants to be part of the group and for Tanja and Slavitza as they prepare.

Children's School

Tanja and I had the privilege of teaching together in Jacob's class one day a week for several weeks. They did a large project where together we built a house in their classroom, complete with real lights/outlet, sink, tiling and painting, through which they learned some basics about these professions. Now they each just have to put together their individual presentation (each one represents one “profession”) for the class presentation to the parents.