Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” —Matthew 28:19–20

Bulgaria–Here We Come!

If you are interested in following Keith, Cherie, and Noah on their short-term missionary trip to Bulgaria just check back every day or so, and we will try to post some updates (depending upon Wi-Fi connections). Below is an overview and prayer requests so you can be a part of the team.

For those of you who don’t know Noah, he is from our church in Ohio, Calvary Chapel Mansfield. This will be his first time to Bulgaria, but about 2 years ago he met a boy who loves robots (when this boy and his parents visited us in Ohio). They made a connection, and we are excited to see what God has in store.

• April 16-17: Keith and Cherie fly to Bulgaria
• April 20: Women’s Bible Study at Blagavest (Good News Church). This Bible study Cherie started in the year 2000, and it still meets weekly. Praise the Lord!!!!
• April 17-24: Throughout the first week, Keith and Cherie will meet with Sofia friends (the capital city of Bulgaria) and handle some business matters
• April 23-24: Noah flies to Bulgaria
• April 25: Women’s event at Blagavest Church. Clothed in Strength and Dignity Proverbs 31:25.
• April 25: During the women’s event Keith, Noah and Niki will hang out building deeper relationships
• April 25: Late afternoon drive to Troyan, Bulgaria (2 ½ hour drive, Noah will be tired!)
• April 25-May 4: We will be in Troyan. Pray for Noah as he teaches Stephen more about robots. (Stephen is 13 years old and has been building robots from scratch since he was a little guy. Always asking Keith and I for old cell phones, electronics, basically anything that would work. He is homeschooled and has even taken 2 or 3 online coding classes at Harvard University.
• April 26: Church and meet families from the church.
• May 1-3: Family camp with the Troyan church. Camp will be in Lyaskovets, Bulgaria. If you are following us on a map this village is near the city of Veliko Turnovo.
• May 4: Drive to Sofia.
• May 5: Noah flies to Ohio
• May 6: Keith and Cherie return to the states

Prayer Requests

• Travel mercies and uneventful flights (although a divine appointment might be nice).
• Health!
• Keith and Cherie’s time in Sofia with friends, may we encourage, strengthen, and help equip them in their walks with the Lord.
• Divine appointments.
• Inspired teachings.
• Noah specifically asked for guidance in what to teach and share with the children at family camp.
• Noah is hoping to bring a 3D printer to Bulgaria for the kids interested in robotics. Pray for the funds to be provided.
• Keep Noah’s family in prayer while Noah is gone.
• Short Connection–Keith and I have a short connect in Washington Dulles. Please pray that our flight out of Columbus will depart on time (or even be early), and that we can make it to our next flight without running! Dulles is huge and last time we had to run to make our connecting flight.
• Upgrade–Keith and I are wait-listed on our long flight from Washington Dulles to Munich, Germany. We are hoping to use our frequent flyer miles to get upgraded to Business class. (Hebrews 11:1).

Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. We will try to update this blog post every few days–so check back here. Thanks for being a part of our trip!

P.S. If you like to listen to a couple of Embrace Truth episodes that have true Bulgarian stories, click on the titles below:

Is It Hard to be on the Receiving End of Hospitality?

In this special Thanksgiving episode of Embrace Truth, Cherie shares 7 unique and not-so-unique ways to offer hospitality inspired by true stories from her life on the mission field in Eastern Europe. She and her family have been blessed to receive hospitality in so many life-impacting ways. Enjoy!

Who Was Wrong? The Drunk or the Priest?

Cherie shares an interesting story that she watched unfold in a small village nestled in the Balkan Mountains of Bulgaria in Eastern Europe. She’s still amazed at what happened between one drunk and a priest at the Holy Saturday (Easter Service) at a small Orthodox church.