Al & Diane Mellinger's Missionary Adventure

Partner Church Reports:

August 30, 2007 - Recently, I wrote to a number of the Partner Church Pastors asking about the plans for fall and how their summer went. You see one of our goals is to pray for the churches that keep us here. We want the people we work with to know as well as our prayer partners so that these churches can be prayed for too. We are all part of the body of Christ and in this thing called “Missions” together. Our needs are not more important to the father than your needs so this week we share what some of our partner churches said:

Sherwood Pastor wrote: I had an 8-week Sabbatical in June/July… It was a great time of refreshing & family time....much appreciated, much enjoyed & greatly beneficial. Trying to catch up & get back in the swing of things & apply what I felt the Lord was teaching me in that time.

Dearborn Pastor wrote: We are entering the budgeting time of the year, so will be looking at the missions support. It's easy to work with that when people have seen people they are supporting. I think one thing that would really help is a 3-5 minute video once or twice a year, specifically on your ministry that can be used in worship to keep people in touch with the heart of what you are doing.

Niles/Mapleview Pastor wrote: Mapleview is...doing fine. We are gearing up for the fall after a busier than usual summer. One thing I am really considering doing this fall is a small group that will explore the biblical concept of community. Yes, it's a buzz word, but I'd like to see the group do some in depth study of the concept as well as "live out" the principles that we would learn. There is a real sense that it would be a church within a church.

Westland Pastor Wrote: How about 7 days in paradise? We just got back 2 days ago from Puerto Vallarta, MX. Our 25th anniversary 2nd Honeymoon. We are hoofing it as we face a big fall program wise. You know how us westerners are. Do, do, do. Boy do we need to slow down. I came off of a pool/ocean experience, and feel like we are going 90 miles an hour. (By the Way Congrats on 25 YEARS!!!)

McPherson Pastor Wrote: Thanks for your note, and your prayers. We are "scrambling" a bit. Actually, we are without three full time positions -- Worship ministry, executive pastor and senior pastor. So, Zach, Jan, Pat and I are doing our best to move forward.

As you see there are needs to be prayed for all over the Body of Christ. Lift these and your own church up in prayer this week. Pray for these pastors as well as your pastor (he/she will appreciate the prayers too)!

"What you did was an amazing thing!"?

August 23, 2007 - Selling all you have and heading to another country didn’t seem all that hard a choice to make. The hard part was the physical labor of moving, or throwing out things, or giving away the stuff you have collected that you thought had meaning.

At times we really miss family and friends but we keep in touch by email, phone calls and video conferences (actually more here than when we lived in Michigan).

And yet we have been told by the people we have come to work with that it is really amazing for you to give up you house, family and stuff to come here. I hadn’t thought of it as giving it up but rather obeying God. They seem to think it is a BIG deal to decided to come. For some that may be the case but for us it was being in the center of God’s will. Yes by cultural standards we had a nice house, in a nice town, in a nice State, in a nice country but that doesn’t mean we are were we should be. We were restless and knew God had something different for us. When this door opened it was very obvious to us that going was the plan. So to stay would have been disobedient to God. No matter how nice the house, town, state or country, if it isn’t where God wants you it isn’t going to be good!

We didn’t decided to come to the Balkans – God called us. When God calls – God provides and supplies! We have better days and some things are tough but that comes with any move or job change. There is always a learning curve that one has to figure out. Mission happens to have a BIG learning curve.

We are also grateful to all those who pray regularly and keep track of what God is doing in our live and ministry here. We can be here because we know there are people praying weekly (even if it is only when you get our email) that is amazing and humbling to think about.

So to some this seems like a BIG move and sacrifice – we see it as another adventure with God. He has the best plans prepared for us and so we walk each day by faith doing the best we can to make the place and people around us a bit better. We hope and pray where ever you are you are doing the same!

VISA – UPDATE – we had our interview – they asked us a few questions and they then said pay us 40 euro and come back in a month to get it. We are able to come and go between Bulgaria and Greece without it – but we are still limited with the number of days we can be in Greece. One step down only about 3+ to go?!

This week
1) Pray for the final days for the Longs in the states that they are able to get everything done they need (and as they leave their oldest at Spring Arbor for the year)
2) Pray for us as we try and arrange to get our own vehicle. Pray that our contact will be able to help us find the right car this week. (We have the funds needed for this and now are just waiting)
3) Praise God for helping us with the first step in the VISA process!

Peggy & Steffon

August 16, 2007 - Our main contacts in Petrich are Peggy and Steffon. They have 2 boys a preschooler and one in elementary School. They are a great family and we have loved getting to know them.

Peggy and Steffon were co-managers of a local 24 hour supermarket and that consumed much of their time which kept them away from their boys and helping with the home group. (Peggy speaks English and right now is our translator) - They recently quit because the job was just getting to be too much and they wanted more for their family and ministry. So they are looking for new jobs.

Peggy is also planning on finishing her schooling this fall – she has until the end of the year to take here exams – she has had all the classes and now needs to complete the exams. That will begin in September.

Peggy also received word that here uncle – who took her mother and her in as a child was diagnosed with incurable cancer and given 6 – 12 months to live. He is not a Christian, but was like a father to Peggy and she is taking it hard.

They are good people – Steffon and Peggy have also trained at a Bible college and are great people to lead the work here.

But I believe that Satan is trying to derail them right now as we are getting ready this fall to reorganize and figure out what to do next here in Petrich.

So this week Pray for Peggy and Steffon.
Pray that God would help them as they look for the right jobs to give them time with their boys and time for ministry and a livable income.
Pray that Peggy will be able to finish here exams and complete her degree this fall
And Pray for Peggy’s unlce that God would touch him physically and more importantly draw the uncle to Himself so that he would know JESUS personally!

Thanks for the prayers – we also have our VISA interview on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 – pray too that it goes well!

VISA Progress

August 9, 2007 - As it stand right now – we have an appointment on August 21, 2007 at the Bulgarian Consulate in Thessaloniki to apply for our D-VISA – single entry. (That means that we can go in on it once and we must stay until we process the residency permit). To get our D VISA approved could take as long as a month. (Now we can still come and go between Greece and Bulgaria on our passports until then.)

Once we are in Bulgaria (probably early September) we will apply with the local authorities for our residency permit which takes 7-10 days we are told, but this has to be done in a city about 70 minutes away (and us with out a vehicle at this point). The only glitch I am feeling is that we need some of the same paper work that we had to get for the D VISA including the letter from the Ministry of Religion and our contact says he has to get another one issued from the Ministry of Religion. (The a copy of the same one will not work and the last one took almost 3 months to get)

One final potential glitch is that as we are considered Tourists currently which allows us to stay up to 90 days in each country (90 days in Greece and 90 days in Bulgaria) we are reaching our limit in Greece – as of the today we have spent 74 days in Greece giving us only 16 more. So we are spending more time this month in Bulgaria where we have only spent 37 days so far. So it will be a juggling act to get all this done and be in the right country for the right amount of time.

Once we have the D VISA another 90 day Clock starts counting down - we have only 90 days to get the residency permit. So if we don’t have the Letter needed from the Ministry of Religion and it takes 3 months to get it again, we could be in trouble with the paper work.

Also I am suppose to go to England in Early October for a conference but if I don’t have residency in Bulgaria at that time I will not be able to go.

So this is what we need prayer for:

1) A quick turn around time on the D VISA Application in Thessaloniki
2) A quick approval of the second letter from the Ministry of Religion so we can apply for our residency permit
3) A quick approval of the residency permit once we apply for it!
4) Transportation to do all of this!

Then we will be set for a year although we plan to start the process almost as soon as we get it done to be on the safe side! We have to renew the residency yearly for 5 years then we get residency permanently in Bulgaria.

Thanks for your interest and prayers!

Abiding in the "GRAPE" Vine?

Here in Petrich, Bulgaria on every street you see Grape Vines. They create a covered walk way, they create covered patios they grow up the side of homes. They are great for creating shade and this time of year they are loaded with grapes.

Earlier this year everyone was pruning or cutting back their grape vines and we were told that was because they had flowered and now they remove any part of the plant that didn’t have fruit on it so that it will not take energy away from growing the fruit. They wanted to get the best fruit and so they cut parts away that would keep that from happening.

I am reminded about what Jesus had to say about the vine and fruit in John 15 1-9. It has become much more real having seen it done by many wanting to get the best fruit from their vines.

1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3You have already been
pruned for greater fruitfulness by the message I have given you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me.

5“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7But if you stay joined to me and
my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! 8My true disciples
produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father.

What in "our lives" takes energy away from growing in God?
What should we prune out of "our lives" so that we produce the best harvest for the Kingdom and the King?

I am asking myself this question and looking at hard at what comes to mind. I would challenge you to do the same.

This week pray for:
1) The final month of Long’s Summer travels in the states (they return September 5, 2007
2) The Church: in August as many are on Vacations and go away for 1-3 weeks at a time. Pray services will be good and attendance steady and that others will step up an cover the work while some are on Vacation.
3) Pray for our transportation issues as the Jeep we were using is in the shop being fixed and so we are back to Trains, Taxi’s, Buses and Walking.