Al & Diane Mellinger's Missionary Adventure

Happy Grandma March & Martenitsi

February 29, 2008 (Happy Leap Day) – Every year on March 1st, the Bulgarians mark the coming of spring by greeting each other with the words Chestita Baba Marta, or “Happy Grandma March”. Symbolizing the unpredictability of the weather at this time of year, Baba Marta (Grandma March) is the capricious old woman who serves up wind, rain and sunshine according to her whims, but also brings the promise of warmer times ahead. 


Bulgarians also celebrate March 1 by presenting each other with a good-luck charm known as a martenitsa – a tassel of red and white thread which brings health and good fortune (the white symbolizes long life, the red symbolizes strength and health). The more friends and colleagues you have in Bulgaria, the more martenitsi you will receive (and the more you should be prepared to hand out in return). The martenitsi are worn around the wrist, bracelet-fashion, until the first migrating storks appear.
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According to legend, the first martenitsa was presented to seventh-century Bulgar Khan Asparuh by his sister as a good-luck charm. However the practice is probably much older. The fact that martenitsa customs also exist in neighboring Romania suggests that they date back to the pre-Christian period, when both countries were ruled by closely related tribes and shared a common pagan culture.

So From us to YOU – Chestita Baba Marta (ЧЕСТИТА БАБА МАРТА)

Here is a link to our activity page for kids on this topic. Can be used at home or for Children's Church or a Sunday School Class. http://almellinger.typepad.com/MartenitsaActivityPage.pdf

This week we want to focus on praises;

1) For a safe month of traveling – 4 trips to Sofia and 2 to Greece.
2) For on going process of our networking and getting to know the Pastors
3) For the times when we hear a word or phases in Bulgarian and understand what is being said ☺ (the language lessons and YOUR PRAYERS are working)

Next week – Information on the Summer Youth Conference and How You can be a part if it!

Do You have a Bible?

February 21, 2008 - At a recent English Club, one of the ladies in attendance asked if we had a Bible she could give to a friend. The lady had one but only the one that she read herself and her friend was wanting one.

Here are some interesting points about this situation.

We have religious art on our walls but at the English club we do not talk about God (at this point)

The lady asking appears to be a believer although not part of our group. How would she know to ask if we had a Bible? We don't know her very well and yet she felt like she could ask. (that is really a God thing)

Yes, we did have a Bible to give her and we were happy to let her have one. We do have Bibles to give to people who do not have one. We were recently given Bibles to give out and use and already God is helping us find people who need and want them! Who knows what God will do because His word is given away.

This week Pray:

1) for the Lady who received the Bible – Pray that the author of it might become real in her life!
2) for the Lady who asked us if we had a Bible she could give – Pray that she would continue to share whatever faith she has and that we can help here grow.
3) for the English clubs – Pray that they will be a bridge to introduce more folks to Jesus!

Thanks again for your prayers ands support – Next week a special article about – Happy Grandma March -

Travels

February 14, 2007 - It seems with the passing of the harshest of winter weather we are being asked to travel more to speak and teach in different places around Bulgaria and beyond. Over the next few months we are going to be traveling to many different places. So as you hear us speak about going here or there know it is all part of the bigger picture of what it will take to impact Bulgaria for Christ.

Last Sunday, we were in a town called Etropole about an hour past Sofia in the mountains. Here is a wonderful work in a Village of about 8,000 and it is the only non-Orthodox Church there. We had a great time of singing, sharing the word and getting to know the people. Pray for this group as they are small but have nice building and location and there are many needs I the village.

Monday, we were in Sofia to have a planning meeting about our summer Youth Conference that God is putting together. I am getting very excited about this and what it might mean for the youth in Bulgaria. Pray for the details of the Conference to come together smoothly and that it would be the beginning of an annual event.

Later on Monday, we attended a gathering of pastors and other missionaries meeting with Bill Hybels of the Willow Creek Church. They held a Global Leadership Summit here in October (2007) and are coming again this October. He was wanting to get a feel for needs of the country from the Pastor’s perspective. I was able to connect with many new folks that I was wanting to meet but hadn’t. It was a good day for the kingdom. Pray that the contacts I was able to make will be fruitful in the long run for the work God wants to do here and pray for the conference this fall to help pastors and leaders learn better how to lead there people.

Additionally, I am meeting regularly with a young Pastor/Leader in a nearby village. His name is Mladen and he has a heart for Bulgaria and many ideas to reach the people but isn’t sure how to make them work. He has asked me to help mentor him by meeting about twice a month with him. It is a great joy to hear his ideas and then help think through how they might become reality. Pray for our time together that God would work and show us what He wants done.

Our coworker in Greece – Mike Long has returned home from his hospital stay and is recovering well – So praise God he is home and continue to pray (as it takes a while to get back to normal after kidney failure, I am told) for his return to his old self.

New Web Resources

February 7, 2008 – Some weeks are non eventful, as far as things to write about. That is good for we have recently been busy and to have things slow down a bit is helpful. It has also given us some time to be creative by developing some more resources for our Partner Churches to use in promoting Missions. They are all downloadable from our website www.almelliinger.com

The first one, for kids, is called Missions Mask (http://almellinger.typepad.com/MissionMask.pdf) and is about the New Years activities in our town. The second one, for the whole church, is Name Day – Bulgarian ABC’s (http://almellinger.typepad.com/NameDay-Alphabet2.pdf), it talks about what is in a name and how and when they are celebrated – the second part explores the Cyrillic Alphabet and the Latin letter counterparts. These with the others that we have published are designed to get you started on promoting missions and what we do so you and your church can better know what we are doing. It is our prayer that you will find these helpful.

We have also posted our February Newsletter online (http://almellinger.typepad.com/February08Newsletter.pdf). We do not mail these out as most of our supporters get regular email communication from us. But Missions Promoters or Pastors can print a copy to post on the churches Bulliten Board or Pass around Sunday School classes to help inform those who don’t get our email updates weekly.

All of these tools are created to help peopel know what God is doing through our partnership. We are here but only because of your prayers and giving. Together, God is using US (You with Diane and I) to make a difference in this small corner of the world. Thanks we never forget the important part you play!

This week

Pray for my (Al’s) mind to remember all the words I am learning and how to use them.
Pray for Mike Long our coworker in Greece who had surgery and some complications but is on the mend (www.mikenmaria.typepad.com for more info)
Pray for our home office in Indy – there has been a change in personnel and in the recording system in the financial area. Pray that the learning curve to the new systems will be quick.