Back from Europe

After two months in Bulgaria, we’re all back in Minnesota. The trip back was amazingly smooth. We flew from Sofia to Amsterdam and stayed over night in Amsterdam, which allowed us to make a short trip there and get a dinner. Our hotel was in this smaller town about 25 km south of Amsterdam.

We didn’t really have time to walk through Amsterdam, just kind of drove through part of it and went in to have a dinner at this Irish restaurant. The next day we had to get up at 4.30 am and so we had to go to bed on time.

The challenge next day was the fact that my green card had expired on August 28th and the Dutch authorities didn’t want to let me on the airplane. Then they called this guy who seemed like he was an American working for the INS. He made a call to the INS office in Minneapolis and made sure we would be able to get back to the US safely. Now I have to renew my green card and also to apply for US citizenship as well. It’s about time. In the mean time another problem came up. KLM couldn’t find three of our electronic tickets into their system.

So we didn’t make our original flight and had to say at the airport for 6 hours and wait for another flight. In the mean time, KLM confirmed our tickets, etc. It all worked well, since our new flight was now a direct one to Minneapolis, vs. the original reservation, which was to take us first to Detroit and then change planes to Minneapolis. I crashed at the airport in Amsterdam (and Jenny took this picture of me), which helped me later on with the flight. When we got to Minneapolis, the INS had to do this check on me and then they let us go. Katherine (Wanda’s sister) was there to meet us and helped with the whole process of getting back home. It’s good to be back home, thanks everyone for your prayers and support during this time.Our kids are so good when flying. We were blessed to have three seats on one row for them.

Our day at the zoo; what Bulgaria needs

Well, this is the first post in what I think I’ll use from now on as my truly ‘personal’ official blog spot on the web. Ever since we hooked up Reformation Cafe to kingdomfirst.tv, I haven’t really had a ‘personal’ blog online. And with over 13,000 visits in 3 months for the English and the Bulgarian versions combined, it seems like the content there is picking up momentum.

This is not what I’m after here. It’s actually of little importance how many people read this journal. I think what’s important for me here is who reads it. I’ll be journaling mostly for you, my friends all over the world.

Still, everyone else is welcome to listen in, too.

I’m with the kids in Sofia. Wanda left last week on Tuesday to go back to Minnesota and be with her father in what the doctors are saying are his last days. All of us miss her a lot and can’t wait for her to be back.

Today we went to the zoo here in Sofia. We actually joined some families from church, who had organized themselves to do the zoo thing. It was really a lot of fun and I think both the girls and I really enjoyed it. Jenny was taking pictures and later in the day when we were going through them, she said that this one looks like I’m preaching to the them again...ha-ha.

In actuality I was telling them about the book The World’s Most Dangerous Places and my very own real story of how few years ago one Nigerian pseudo-minister was trying to get me to go to Nigeria, possibly to abduct me for a ransom.

What you don’t see in that picture is some of the strangers who were sitting on the benches not far from our group, how they were listening to our conversation. I remember the heavy, kind of serious looks on their faces.

Earlier we had stopped at one of the concession stands to buy some treats. The girl who was selling the stuff was young woman, may be in her early 20’s and also had this same heavy look. Even Abigail noticed and asked me why is the lady so serious. Around lunch we stopped at another stand to get something to drink and then Jenny said: “Everyone here is so silent and so serious...”

People ask us if we think Bulgaria has changed. Changed as in improved, that is. In some ways we have to say, yes. After all, they are finally filling up some of the infamous street craters, commonly called pot holes. But beyond that, I’ll sum it up using my daughter Abigail’s words from few days ago. She was playing in the living room on the floor while I was watching the news. The Bulgarian Prime Minister was speaking of what Bulgaria needs in the wake of her admission to the European Union in January of 2007. The man went on and on and on telling the journalists how Bulgaria needs this and that.

Abigal looked up to me and said quietly, but firmly in Bulgaran: “Bulgaria needs God!”.

Right on, Abie!

Because programs and money from the EU won’t bring purpose, peace and joy to all those people with the heavy heart and serious faces. Rather, the same Jesus, who flooded my being with life 17 years ago, is the same Jesus everyone in Bulgaria needs, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, social status and economic potential.