March 8th, 2010
Year Goals:
- Help three local churches become resource centers that will advance the Kingdom in Bulgaria and beyond.
- Develop and demonstrate models of success for redeeming the lives of orphans and underprivileged children that can be replicated elsewhere. Convince local churches that they have a Biblical responsibility to care for widows, orphans, and the poor.
- Impact the lives of targeted young people in Bulgaria, helping prepare them for leadership roles in transforming their country for Christ, including planting churches.
 Amanda and Gayton  Fun and games in Bulgaria
Strategy to Achieve the Goals:
- We will consciously develop strong relationships with Ivan Vrachev’s and Venci Stoikov’s churches through cluster team interactions, youth exchanges, partnering on orphan ministries, and Shakaba. We will help them grow and expand their influence as Kingdom resource centers.
- We will maintain and expand our relationship with Peicho Muchtarov, realizing that he is a key leader in Bulgaria, and part of our Global Family network. We expect to both help Peicho, and learn from him.
- We will create mechanisms to interact with the Novo Selo orphanage on a consistent and regular basis to deepen relationships with the children, teachers, and administrators. This will ensure follow up to mission team visits, and provide accountability.
- Find alternatives to the current orphanage system – share with local churches, organizations, and individual Christians.
- Working with the Global Family and our own youth at Calvary, we will develop deeper and more meaningful relationships with targeted youth in Bulgaria. Our focus will be on those currently active in significant ministries, who we and our local partners feel are future leaders.
- We will work with the Star of Hope Foundation, and other targeted non-government organizations (NGOs), to learn from them, and to help them have greater impact serving orphans and the underprivileged.
Thanks
The Bulgaria Advisory Team
Posted by Mark in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
March 4th, 2010
Hi Everyone,
It’s been just over a month since our friends Frank and Ruth Wey moved back to South Africa to resume their care work in the Masoyi community. They have many testimonies of God’s faithfullness, stories of His miracles, and other testimonies of the incredible work that God has already done in their first month back! I’m sure you will be encouraged by their testimony. Please see the attached document below for a full report from Frank and Ruth:
Frank and Ruth Update February 2010
 Frank and Ruth
Posted by Mark in Africa, Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 4th, 2010
Hi All,
I spoke with Pastor Rendon this morning( the director of Casa Hogar Children’s Home)…..and though they have been experiencing cold weather ( the dormitories have no permanent heat supply) they are all well. Construction on the new dining room has yet to resume due to lack of funds but they are trusting the Lord for the finances to come in. They were so grateful that we fixed the leaks in the roof and are happy “no more rain” comes in….. He has said that many of the children still speak of the time when the team from Calvary was there in January and wonder if we are coming back in November. The particularly remember our outing to “Peter Pipers Pizza Place” where they enjoyed “as much pizza as they could eat ” and all the games they played.
 Our outing to Peter Pipers Pizza Place  Kids at the Casa Hogar Children's Home Also they sent a big “THANKYOU” for the computers that were sent and installed. To better communicate with our team Pastor Rendon’s wife Lupita is continuing her studies in English and by the time we arrive in November, she will be able to interpret for us. They are looking forward to seeing us again…..
Nick
Posted by Mark in North America, Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 4th, 2010
Hello dear friends,
Here is a quick update. Life in Bulgaria is great. We are seeing the return of greenery spread beautifully beneath the snowcapped mountains. Enjoying the beauty and creativity of His creation, and reflecting on how that reflects the Creator.
Last week we participated in a child feeding program for nearly 100 children in a gypsy neighborhood in middle Bulgaria. I appreciate the vision this pastor has to serve the community in which he was born and raised.
 They had loaves and fishes this time. And orange drink! We were in Northern Bulgaria for two days earlier this week, and we visited the special needs orphanage near Veliko Turnovo. The kids were so precious. We talked with them about good sportsmanship and then enjoyed a time in the gym to see that most didn’t learn a thing  . While there, the director called another special needs orphanage nearer to Plovdiv with a recommendation for us to start going there too. We will have a meeting with the director next week. A great opportunity that needs much prayer.
 Its hard to compete for attention with a camera! Tonight, we will be in a nearby village church sharing the word. Saturday, we travel with a group from the local church here to the toddler orphanage near Plovdiv. And then Sunday, we travel to Sofia to worship with our family at Crossroads, Venci’s church. Interspersed through all of this we are holding many one-on-one meetings with people in the church and community and with visiting missionaries and organizations.
Even though it sounds busy, it is a joyful privilege to do each of these things. We are very much looking forward to the teams coming in the next couple months. And for those of you wondering, Amanda is doing great! She doesn’t go on all the trips, and is still building back strength, but our God is gracious. And He has been and continues to be our rock and sure foundation.
1 Samuel 2:2 “There is none holy like the Lord; there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”
May God Bless you all!
Tags: Bulgaria, Liters
Posted by Gayton and Amanda in Europe | 1 Comment »
March 4th, 2010
This is something I wrote on the last morning of my time in Malawi. For those who have never been to Africa, I hope it gives you a picture. For those who have been here, I hope it reminds you of what this place means to you:
I’m sitting here on the balcony of Kabula Lodge [in Blantyre, Malawi] and I’m just mesmerized by the beauty of what I see. The sun is just breaking over the mountains to the east. To the northwest, off in the distance, are some small hills with low, thick white clouds crawling over them. And just in front of me is the city of Blantyre, with all its early morning life and noise – music, lights, cocks crowing, people at work, horns. I love Africa. I love what it is, what it represents, the people and cultures, the life and resiliency. Just as these clouds attempt to swallow up the hills, there is light breaking forth to the east. This is Africa. Life out of death. Battles that seem insurmountable are conquered. Where there seems to be no hope, the birds are singing a different song. It’s the people of this land that make it Africa. The landscapes, the animals, the skies…they could be called something else, located somewhere else. But in the end, it is the people that make this place Africa.
Posted by Nathan in Africa, Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 2nd, 2010
We had a great day today. Malawi is called “the warm heart of Africa” and I have definitely sensed that this week…welcoming, caring, beautiful people. We spent our day moving around the city of Blantyre today meeting with various home church leaders and groups. It was so encouraging to see and hear what God is doing.
We did have some very sad news regarding a very good, strong couple that we’ve been working with. I would ask that you please just lift Frank and Maggie up in prayer. They have some serious struggles ahead of them and they need God’s divine healing. They deeply love and serve Christ but were hit with some devastating news yesterday.
I look forward to being home in just a few days. If this unending rain can just stop tonight then our departure flight to Joburg may actually leave in the morning. Apparently its hard to land and take off in an ancient little airplane on a runway that doesn’t have lights because people just steal them:)
Oh, the adventures of Africa…
Posted by Nathan in Africa, Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 1st, 2010
Hi All,
Please see the following documents for more information about the Uganda Trip in July 2010. The two documents include a summary of the Uganda Trip as well as instructions on the writing of the application essay.
Uganda Trip Summary
Uganda Essay Directions
Please see the “Mission Trip Application” link on the left toolbar, under Pages, for a Mission Trip Application form.
Thank you!
Natalie
Posted by Mark in Africa, Announcements, Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 1st, 2010
So I arrived in Malawi yesterday afternoon after traveling through Joburg from Uganda. What a beautiful country this is! Green, mountainous, kind & welcoming people…it is good to be hear.
I have met up with Dave Toms (from Capetown, SA) and we are connecting with various leaders throughout the city of Blantyre to encourage, input, and learn from their experiences in building small, simple churches throughout the region. It has been so encouraging to see how God is at work here and how we are connected on such a global level.
We have two packed days here, meeting with small groups of Christians and leaders through Tuesday night. Please pray that God gives us wisdom, discernment, and direction as we connect and build relationships.
Appreciating all the prayers and love.
Nathan
Posted by Nathan in Africa, Uncategorized | No Comments »
February 28th, 2010
I departed from Uganda this morning after a phenomenal week of ministry. I am headed now to Malawi for a few days of investigative work on our new missions work and partnerships in this region. I look forward to working alongside of Dave Toms and to see all the fruit of Pastor Noel Cromhout’s ministry over the past few years of pastor’s conferences that he has led.
I spent the last week with Darrin Jahnel, Ryan Baum, & Jason McIntosh along with Chris Bwami, Kintu Deogracious, Simon Peter Mukhama, and others as we did ministry throughout northern Uganda with our partnerships with Christ Community Church Mutungo, Paicho Baptist Church, New Song of Grace Ministries, Lukodi Community Church, and ChildVoice International. It was a busy week, but so fruitful! God is doing so much and it was especially encouraging to see how God is building His Church in this area of Uganda. After two decades of war, the region in moving into a new season of growth, development, and change. It was awesome to see how God has connected Calvary Tabernacle with such powerful local churches and organizations, all working to see God’s transformative work in their communities.
I look forward to being home at the end of the week but I am so deeply privileged to be a part of such a global movement of God that we find ourselves a part of. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
Posted by Nathan in Uncategorized | No Comments »
February 28th, 2010
Today I am waking up in southern Uganda after a good flight in from Joburg last night. We had a great weekend visiting Liberty Church and are so grateful for all our friends there. Last night I arrived here in Uganda, got settled into our (meager) hotel, and then went back to the airport to pick up Jason, Ryan, & Darrin. They had a great flight from the US yesterday and seemed to have arrived refreshed and ready. This is Ryan and Darrin’s first time to Africa!
This morning we drive straight up to Gulu where will connect with the church in Paicho and with ChildVoice in Lukodi. We have a busy schedule this week with a lot of pretty cool ministry taking place. We’ve crafted the week around the skills and giftings of these guys – they’ll be working with some of the older primary school-age kids teaching on career planning and then at the end of the week they will be working with a large group of young adults on small business development. Personally, I am very excited to see what God does here with them.
Nick and Zak are on their way back to the US right now! I know my son had an awesome trip to South Africa. He really didn’t want to leave yesterday:) Again, I would encourage anyone to really make the effort to be a part of the teams going to South Africa. God is really doing some powerful things and we have had just a great privilege to be a part of it.
Posted by Nathan in Uncategorized | No Comments »
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