“Good morning from Shumen!
This was a very big week for our Shumen church-planting team! Early Friday morning Jamie Clinton Driscoll was born at a hospital in Varna. Brenton, Debbie and baby are all doing very well. We are so thankful that Brenton and Debbie were able to come to Bulgaria, wait out the two-week quarantine, and get settled in before the baby was born. The only bad news: one week after turning over the reins of the worship ministry, I have to fill in! 😊
Do you want to hear something interesting about James’s birth? Brenton and Debbie took part in our James Bible study on Thursday night and went home after 9:30 that evening. When we said bye, we had no idea that anything was going on. And then before we woke up the next morning, James was born! My best guess is that he heard us talking about the book of James and got confused and thought we were talking about him and so he decided to be born. That makes sense, right?
While that is by far the biggest news of the week, it isn’t the only news! Last Sunday, a neighbor of R stayed for Bible study for the first time. In the past she has come to say hi, but always left right before we started. This time Sevdi convinced her to stay and in the end she accepted a New Testament from us. When I went back to the village on Tuesday for a Turkish lesson, R and I went to visit this neighbor and her elderly father. I was excited to find out that she has been reading the New Testament a lot since Sunday! She said that she can’t wait to come back on Sunday!
On Friday afternoon, a small group from our church and a small group from the Varna church went together on a hiking trip up the tallest mountain in central Bulgaria. Well, not all of us went up. I stayed with three of the kids at the lodge part way up the mountain, because Phoebe and I had done the hike recently, and there was no way we were dragging Pavcho or Malachi all the way to the top! We got home a little after 9 PM yesterday.
I am excited about the possibilities that today holds. I can’t wait to see who shows up in Vehtovo, as at this point almost all of R’s close neighbors have come at least once. And this evening I can’t wait to see how God uses Sevdi as he preaches for the third time.
Next week we should have an exciting update for you, as tomorrow morning we head out for a week of church camp. It will be a really different year of camp, as there are strict occupancy limits and we will try to maintain social distancing. But we are excited that another family from church will be going with us.
God is so faithful to us, and one of the ways He shows us His faithfulness is through your continual prayer and support. Thank you!”
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