Al & Diane Mellinger's Missionary Adventure

Summer Starting

May 29, 2008 – Well this is going to be our second summer over here. And now that we sort of know what we are doing. We have much happening this year.

1) We will be having 6 individuals coming over through out the summer for anywhere from one month to 80 days. These persons will be helping with the work in Petrich, the Love Bulgaria Youth Conference, Creating PR videos that you will get to see and just learning what it is like to be a missionary.

Adam Hoskins – our first one came yesterday – Adam will be a Senior at Spring Arbor University and was part of the student ministries leadership team at CrossRoads Community Church when I was on staff there. So Adam and I go back a few years. I will introduce others as they arrive through out the summer.

2) The Love Bulgaria Youth Conference is the biggest thing on my mind right now. It can use lots of prayers as we try and work out all the details of this from housing to transportation from translation to how to feed them all. There are many details that need to be put in place soon. Not to mention praying for the Spring Arbor FMC youth and Leaders who are coming.

3) In the Petrich area we have been asked to help with a local Christian camp – and so with the Individuals who will still be here we will begin to partner with them and see what that might lead to.

So this week and over the next few weeks be in pray for these things!

Blessing to you start your summer as well!

Contacts and Possibilities

May 22, 2008 - I (Diane) have had opportunities from my time at a local bookstore to meet women. Maria has great ministry in Petrich through her bookstore (Maria is also part of our cell group in Petrich). She fills a need and ministers to those who enter her store. I met a mother whose son is a newborn Christian (in Italy). She and her husband have questions about what has happened to their son and we intend to answer those questions as they are asked. They are thinking about coming to our Bible Study.

When people find out I have moved here they ask where I came from and whether I like it here. Some try speaking English while others feel they don’t have enough skills to speak to a native English speaker. I make lots of mistakes in my Bulgarian but people have been very patient with me. Maria and I spend time, when the store is empty, learning each other’s language.

We have started the second session of English club. Tuesday evening the returning students looked like they were tired after the lesson. It is hard work to spend time in a language you are unfamiliar with. Last week I enjoyed talking about travels and seeing pictures Lili one of the students took of Egypt and Italy.

Another woman from our group has a new job at a radio station broadcasting the news. Yesterday we talked about how we can use her contacts to share Jesus.

God is at work here and I waiting to see what He does through our contacts and possibilities with the groups and individuals coming this summer.

Pray for
The Couple whose son is a new Christian and the questions they have about this.
The groups & Individuals coming to minister this summer in Bulgaria.
The Love Bulgaria Youth Evangelism Conference in July

The Economy –Yours, Ours & Gods!

May 15, 2008 - We have been following the news reports about rising prices and the difficulty with the economy in the US and elsewhere around the world. It seems to be getting tight all over, which means making ends meet is more difficult all the time.

We understand for as it is getting tight where you live it is also getting more expensive where we live too. Your gas prices are pushing $4 a gallon we are between $7.50 & $8 a gallon. Milk is $2.50 a gallon (on sale at Kroger this week) we pay $5.70 a gallon. I am not wanting to play I can top this one with anyone but I do know that sometimes when it gets tough for us we cut back on what we have to help others with. It is understandable but remember it is probably harder on them as well.

For us, and all missionaries, we have the problem of the shrinking dollar around the world. A year ago we would get $1.45 leva for every dollar we converted – now we are getting 1.25 leva per dollar – our rent has gone from $272 a month (which isn’t high) to $312 a month just due to the exchange rate drop that is an increase of $40 a month. So not only are the costs for many things higher the amount of money we have to spend is decreasing as well.

But what I am really wanting to write about is the up coming Love Bulgaria Youth Evangelism Conference – we are trying to raise some funds to scholarship teens to this event – and we needed $8,000 – 10,000 to do this (We are at about $1,200 right now) – but with the decline of the dollar in real purchasing power we are needing more like $14,000 - $18,000 to just equal what we had budgeted, with the current exchange rate and inflation here in BG.

When you work 10 – 12 month out on things it is hard to know where the dollar will go – but we plan and look at trends and do our best and sometimes that just doesn’t seem to be enough. That is when we have to depend on God and trust that He lead us and because of that He will provide. But I also know His people are often the ones He uses and so we are telling you about this need – we are asking you to pray and if God leads, to help us help the teens here in Bulgaria. (For some of you who have given, thanks!)

I will keep you posted on this site as to where we are and if all of you will pray that God provides He will. He always has and I know always will.

Thanks for you help and prayers.

(Here is a video that explains it more we created before)

Bulgarian Youth Conference $ (Donated before? Sign in.)

If we had 150 people/Families give an extra $100 we would have all that we need (that is less than the tithe on the Government rebate checks)

Missions Meetings in Europe

May 8, 2008 - Our time away – we are on special assignment this week – we are meeting with all the other Missionaries that are from the mission board here in Europe. We are meeting in France because of it centrality to all the missionaries travel and because it is off season and the price was right.

As I write this I see mountains all around (much like in Petrich) but they are much higher. And even though you see them again and again they continue to be amazing to look at.

A joy for me (al) is that I volunteered to cook for this group of about 30 this week. For you who know us well, you will not find that unusual as I often cooked for large groups in the States but this was the first time that I have been able to do this again since engaging in this missionary adventure. It has been fun to get back at it and created some meals that people seemed to really enjoy.

We have also counted it a great privilege to meet and get to know our coworkers over here better. God has a great group of people participating and working for Him, doing all kinds of different things to share the Gospel.

On Friday we leave France and head to England to participate in the UK Annual conference of Churches that we work with. I will get to share what God is doing in our work and also in the work of the other places around Europe. (Funny how I get to spend time with the others and then have the opportunity to share what I hear God doing in and through them to the UK churches)

Anyway when that is done we return home and will basically stay put in Bulgaria for a while.

Thanks for your prayers, and interest!

This week pray for:
Continued Safety in travel
The Love Bulgaria Scholarship fund – we need more money given
The summer team God is bring together to run the Love BG and other summer evernts (more on these later)

Easter 2008 Part 2

May 1, 2008 - Easter in Bulgaria follows the the Orthodox Calendar and so the date will most often differ from the calendar followed in he West. It was last Sunday, April 27, 2008. Here is a bit of history about some of the traditions surrounding Easter in Bulgaria.

The bright red colored egg is the symbol of Easter for the Orthodox Christians all over the world. It is tradition that the eggs are colored on Holy Thursday after the Divine Liturgy. The eldest woman in the house has the privilege of dying the eggs.



The Easter breads are a worldwide Orthodox tradition as well. These are big or small and decorated. The bread is called "kolache" or "kozunak". One of these Easter breads may be specially decorated with one or more (but always an odd number) of the red-colored eggs.

The ritual of tapping the eggs takes place just before the Easter lunch begins. Each person will select his or her egg. Then the people in turn exchange the Easter greeting ("Christ is Risen!" / "Indeed He is Risen") 3 times before tapping their egg against the eggs of others.

The person who ends up with the last unbroken egg is believed to have a year of good luck.

This week pray for -
The summer plans and the details even though it is a ways away now is the time to sort everything out.
Safe travel as we finish up our last round of trips for a while
The Group in Petrich that it would grow and that we would see more men interested in the claims of Christ.