The indoor adventure of Ben and Trike...

While Cameron and Micah went to church this morning, Ben and I stayed home to do some breathing treatments and try to move forward from this lingering cold. I gave him permission to ride his bike, "I just wub my new bike mommy" he would keep saying.
He packed the back of the bike with his blankie and superman chocolate milk and he was off doing laps around the house.
Every now and then he would get cold and warm up by "Ben's heater" and then he would be off again.
The snow is gone and now with spring the ants have arrived. I have a feeling ants won't stand a chance with Ben and his new trike! The ant guard is holding his ground with his new ant killing bike! If they try to run away, he will get off his bike and pull them out into the bike killing zone.
It was comical when he saw a few ants high on the wall while using his 'hand Binoculars' and was seriously considering how to run them over with his bike. I reminded him that our bike won't fly despite his little attempt yesterday to make it do so! Enjoy the pics!

Update on Visa and Life

VISA:
The paperwork has been submitted and we will return to the visa office on Friday to see if we have an answer. Please pray for an answer.
Once again, THANK YOU so much to the Simmons and to the contacts that were made through them to acquire these documents in miraculous speed! I am not sure you will ever know the gratitude we hold in our hearts for your service to us for the glory of Christ!

LIFE:
These weeks have been extremely busy with visa issues, language and ministry opportunities. This week was particularly full. On Monday Ben had a runny nose and on Wednesday it was obvious he needed to see the doctor. He had conjunctivitis in both eyes and a sinus infection that was contributing to his fever. I will take him back to the doctor on Monday for a follow up.
On Friday, we took both boys to the park and ate dinner at a cafe close to the house. When we returned home the boys went to bed and within 30 minutes Micah was calling for us. Cameron brought Micah into the living room and his face and back had raised whelps all over it! It was shocking to see and confusing. The whelps itched him horribly and so I quickly dressed him and ran down to a local pharmacy. I purchased some ointment and by the time we returned home the whelps had almost completely disappeared. The allergy medicine we gave Micah before bed had been perfect timing because it helped whatever allergic reaction he was having come to a halt. Praise God!
Today, (saturday) we joined friends for a "Spring Fair" at the US Embassy. There was food and embassy workers’ selling household goods before they leave the country. I didn't know we would encounter such a mad dash and aggression for the items being sold but it was a competitive market let me tell you! lol We were fortunate to walk away with an umbrella stroller and a small bike for Ben. After the embassy sale we took the boys to a friend's house to get haircuts. They live on the sixth floor of their apartment and as we were leaving Ben asked to ride his trike to the elevator. I lifted him over the door's threshold and he peddled to the elevator but then out of nowhere decided to ride his bike down the stairs! My friend and I both screamed and before a step could be taken he was flipping down the first flight of stairs head over feet! I have to make sure you understand that we aren't talking about a flight of thirty steps but it was big enough for him to make 2 to 3 full flips. To be honest I didn't know what I was going to find when I got to him. I fully expected broken teeth, crack head, blood and/or broken bones. When I picked him up he was still doing the silent scream, the one where the mouth is open, lips are blue and no sound is coming out and no air is going in. He finally took a breath and started talking about blood on his arm but there was nothing. We looked him over and absolutely nothing was wrong! I can only say that we bought a bike that came with free assigned angles with it!
So it's been a packed weekend, times of smiles, times of relief and times of tears! Thank you for your prayers over our family because there isn't a time I don't forget to acknowledge the saints around the world who contribute to the times of mercy we encounter. Praise be to God who hears the voices of the saints!
With Love,
The Phillips

That's my God

Lonliness, insecurity, body changes, inability to do everything I once took for granted...I could write five pages in detail on each of these and tell you what God has done but I think my most recent experience would be best...home. We applied for our long term visa and quite frankly I felt confident that we didn't have anything to worry about. Everything we knew they may ask for we had done our homework before hand and had brought with us. The day we returned to the visa office our paperwork was pending because they needed more documents. The three documents that were listed were already sitting at home waiting to be called for duty. The lady in the visa office informed us that if we couldn't get the required documents by our visa expiration of May 5th we would have to leave. No worries, we have everything at home. We brought the documents promptly the next day only to be told they wanted all new documents in origional form with apostils and then translated and legalized here! The paperwork from our company would be easy, but the FBI background check!? Were they kidding us? This took 6 weeks to get the first time around and we were in the states! How could we get everything they wanted in a matter of 7 days when Cameron's mom mailed us a package a month ago that still hasn't reached us? We called the FBI and they wanted new fingerprints from us and a new money order with a new payment of course. They said they throw away the finger prints so they couldn't recycle the ones we've already submitted and I laughed to myself and thought "Right, let me commit a crime and we'll see how quick they pop up in your system!" lol There was no budging either on the time it would take to get the new report, 6 to 9 weeks and it did not include the time it would take for the apostil. I began to worry about the inevitable...we would have to leave. Leave the place that's become home. Leave the language we're just beginning to speak and the relationships we've just started, FINALLY just started! Leave the home group that has only met one time and God so graciously laid in our laps. I don't want to leave...AND THEN in beautiful God fashion I heard His words whisper into the depths of my heart, "When did I give you permission to stop following me?" Home is not found in Bulgaria, America or anywhere else He calls me. My home is with Him and I need not tie myself so strongly to a place that I hesistate in protest if He whispers "Go" We are called to Bulgaria, this I know, but we are called to have our minds on our REAL home and never stop along the journey to say I can't or I will not follow anymore. God has amazingly made the impossible happen: We are allowed to stay pending the arrival of our paperwork, in 2DAYS we will have a state background check completed with an apostil and on it's way here b/c of the body of Christ back home working hard AND a senator in Washington told us to call when we send our FBI paperwork and he will personally see to it that he intervenes to move it quickly through the process! And that's my God! That's my God!

A beginning and an end...

Beginning...
Yesterday evening was our first home group! Banana nut muffins filled the air and God's sweet Spirit of fellowship filled the room! We talked about God's word in our lives, looked at scripture, shared prayer concerns and came together to lift those concerns to God. It was a very sweet time together and Friday will be one of my favorite days of the week!

An End...
Our visas will come to an end on May 5th and we need your prayers. We applied for a long term visa in the beginning of April and last week received the results that it was not approved. The application needs to be submitted with more documentation. At first glance we noticed everything they requested was paperwork we brought with us from the States and was only concerned with a new law that would require us to have a Bulgarian bank account with $3,000 Leva per person in the home. This amount for us would mean $12,000 Leva which is the equivalent to around $11,500 dollars. In addition we were told if the paperwork and bank account could not be acquired before our visa ended, we would have to leave the country. The next day we met with the consulate that makes the final decisions and brought the paperwork we had with us. She said we would not accept our paperwork but would require it to all be new originals with apostils and legalized and translated here. The good news is that she will accept a letter from our organization showing financial support and will allow us to stay in the country until the documents are received. Our concern is that when phone calls were made to the States, the FBI said a new back ground check will take 6 weeks to acquire and this does not include the time of mailing things back and forth for apostils once they are acquired. Our prayer is that this amount of time will not change the status of us being allowed to stay.
Here is how you can pray:
1. We need the paper work from the States to be miraculously fast and for the postal system to be very quick.

2. We need a background check showing we are not criminals and have no warrants for our arrest from the FBI and from the general police department. These documents will need an apostil and a stamp from the departments showing authenticity.

3. Pray the length of time it takes to acquire the documents, will not jeopardize our permission to remain in the country.

4. Pray that the new law requiring such large amount of money will have a permanent loop hole with it. Providing proof of income by a company will hopefully be enough for us in the future and for others who apply after us. Unfortunately this law would force a lot of people to have to leave the country if such amounts could not be obtained.

And finally pray for our hearts to never stop following God. It's easy to come to the place God has called us and start calling it "home" but our home is not of this world. Heaven is our destination and life here is just our journey. When we heard that we may have to leave the country by May 5th I started wondering "what if” What if our visa isn't approved after we give them everything!? "What if".... And then I heard God's voice ask me, "When did I give you permission to stop following me?"
This world is not our home and we never have permission to stop following God where He beckons our feet. I pray we don't have to ever leave Bulgaria but I pray even more that I never settle so much in this world that I hesitate if He whispers "GO" in my ear.

A week of blessings!

This week has been an amazing week of blessings! It started out with some co-workers letting us use their car while they were out of town. The blessing of just getting to take a break from daily public transportation and having the ability to leave the house in the time frame you need to get somewhere rather than leaving an hour early so you can catch one metro and two buses was so wonderful. The gift of the borrowed car came perfectly too because just the day before, Micah had the bus doors close on his foot and I needed a break from buses and children! (he was fine)
Another blessing of the week was on Wednesday. A friend that I introduced to you in a previous blog post, "Awesome", was participating in a Bell Choir program at First Baptist Sofia. I remember having to sit through Bell Choir programs in school and though I wasn't a fan as a child, I wanted to go desperately. When the bells started playing their songs (familiar hyms and worship songs) the tears started rolling down my face. I had missed hearing the songs I would commonly sing on Sunday mornings and the gift the bell choir unknowingly was giving me at that moment was beyond their knowledge.
After the service "Awesome" and I went to dinner and talked about our week. As the evening came to a close and "Awesome's" bus was arriving she asked me a question that was a direct answer to my prayers! The night before, I asked God if it were possible that I would love to use our home for a house group. A place people could come together and dig deeper into the Word of God and have fellowship and prayer. As the bus was approaching "Awesome" said "Hey would you be interested in having a home group at your house?" Now I know it's not very Bulgarian of me to jump up and down on the street in excitment but I said "YES!" and I know I jumped! I don't know what I looked like walking home but I would confess I probably looked crazy! I couldn't stop smiling, laughing at God's awesome way He loves us and praising Him.
So Friday we will begin our home group and ask you to pray for growth, discernment to know what God wants to teach us and for His love to dominate our lives as we fellowship together! I am SSSSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Praying for our visas

The month of April is slowly fading away and we are hopeful it will take the glimpes of random snowfall with it. The month of May will mark six months in our new home and also the end of our visa! We have the renewal application submitted and are now waiting for word of it's approval. We went to the office today and they informed us that it is still being processed. If you don't mind making this request for a renewed visa as part of your daily prayer we would greatly appreciate it!
What six months looks like:
We can speak in general Bulgarian conversation as long as it stays in present tense!
We know what taxis to take and which ones to avoid.
We know how to properly order something from a waiteress but that doesn't mean we know what we're ordering all the time!
We have routine! Our days have an agenda and we longer feel lost.
We have two wonderful language teachers and we are improving each class.
We still LOVE the zoo and expect something crazy from the animals each time we visit.
We are very ready for the spring!
We don't struggle with illness as much.
Jenn can cook confidently in her new culture but is always looking to learn more.
We have travelled around Bulgaria and are beginning to see glimpses of God's direction for us.
We have been on several dates (we didn't know how to go on dates or who would watch our kids when we first arrived)
We no longer hear dogs barking at night.
The boys can walk longer distances now and public transportation is beginning to feel normal.

Thank you for your prayers and for covering us these last six months with LOVE and support! We love you all so much and hope you can hear the "THANK YOU" our hearts scream out!

A boy named "Mother"

I was nineteen and had been married a whole year when two beautiful lines clearly revealed themselves to me on a pregnancy test! I never imagined the difficult road that lay ahead of us and the tears and prayers that were waiting in our future on the journey to become parents. It was after our third loss that Cameron and I found a scripture in Micah 7 verse 7 "But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me." When we became pregnant again we vowed to name our child Micah if he was a boy in honor of the verse we held on to and for the glory of a Savior who always hears His children. Micah was born February 2006
Five years later....We arrive to Bulgaria and within the first week we realize Micah's name is the same word used as 'Mother' We suggested to Micah that he might consider going by another name and he tried it but insisted on just being "Micah" and we agreed. When Benjamin was born we almost named him Luke and decided against it. In Bulgaria the name Luke would have been the same as onion! So we laughed and would say "God You knew You were going to send us to Bulgaria, why did you let us name our child 'Mother'" and then follow up with "Well at least you helped us not end up with a 'Mother' and an 'onion'!
We have now lived in Bulgaria for five months and have shared our testimony over and over because of sweet Micah's name! One day in a taxi I told Cameron "We need to hurry and go pick up Micah" and the taxi driver said "Well where is your mother now?" We laughed and explained he was our child and then the driver wanted to know why we named him mother. We told him our testimony and of God's faithfulness in our lives. He then shared with us that his wife had had three miscarriages and was in the hospital that moment possibly losing her fourth pregnancy. Cameron asked him if he would allow us to pray for her and he said he didn't believe in God and didn't need Him. At the end of the taxi ride he told Cameron that he could pray for his wife.
On another occasion a woman didn't believe Micah was in the Bible. Cameron then showed her where the book of Micah was and showed her the scripture God lead us to. She was amazed that she had never seen that before and promised Cameron to study it.
I could go on and on but I am just reminded with sweet Micah's name that God knows where we are headed in life and when we live in obedience to Him we can rest assured that even times of "My son's name means MOTHER?!" that God perfectly Orchestrated every detail to bring Himself Glory!
It is Micah's name of "Mother" that has opened so many doors to introduce the lost to their FATHER.
Pray for opened doors, open ears, and hearts that are willing to receive.