What I've lost and What I've Gained

I’ve been living in Europe for about a decade now.  It’s interesting every time I go back to the U.S.  One would think that in this digital age people would stay up to date on the goings on around the world, but I never cease to be surprised by the things I miss out on by living thousands of miles from the place I grew up.

The first time I went back to the U.S. I had a conversation with my brother.  He told me how he would soon be getting his first iPhone.  He was quite excited.  I smiled and nodded at his excitement, but inside I was thinking, “What’s an iPhone?  I think I remember hearing about that once.”  They have iPhones in Europe now of course, but at the time, they were seldom seen in Eastern Europe.  I wasn’t sure what they were, but apparently they were important.

Another time, I heard a lot of buzz about these people called the Kardashians.  I had no idea who they were or why they were so important.  (I’m still not sure to be honest.)  They were not actors, or musicians.  They did not produce anything important, and when I finally saw a picture of them I realized that they really weren't even that good looking, but they seemed to be a big deal in the U.S.  I had no idea why.

Politics are a hit and miss thing.  I am up to date on the presidential election (more so than I would like to be), but I couldn’t tell you what the most recent thing is that Trump blamed Clinton for or vice versa.  I could probably name the Senators from my home state, but I’m not sure who my representative is.  Yet, I am surprisingly well informed on the scandal in the Stillwater, Minnesota school district thanks to a couple of Facebook friends.  (You know who you are.)

I am also disconnected from the Christian subculture.  Just today I realized that I have no idea who the big names are in Christian music.  I wanted to buy a praise album to listen to on my road trip tomorrow, and I had no idea what to get.  (My non-Christian readers will understand where I’m coming from.)

The last time I was in the States I was paying for gas at a station.  The cashier saw my phone and said, “A flip phone.  Old school.  Nice.”  This was about two years ago, and I still hadn’t gotten a smart phone because they are expensive, and I’m not someone with a lot of spare cash.  Apparently I had even fallen behind gas station attendants in my technological advancement.

Though I have fallen into much social and technological ineptness in my time abroad, I have also gained much.

For one thing, I’m not afraid of people from other cultures.  (I never really was, but I'm more comfortable around them now.)  I know that many of my brothers and sisters in America are concerned about refugees from the Middle-East.  I’m concerned for them, not about them.  I see them as people in need, not a threat to my way of life.  This is largely because I've already surrendered my way of life to God's will.

I’ve also found that there is a lot to learn from different cultures.  For example, I grew up in a loving family, but I never realized how close knit and supportive a family could be until I came to Eastern Europe.

By far, the best part of my time in Europe has been the friendships I have forged.

Actually, friendship is a mild term.  Family-ship is probably a better word.  There are people here that I am closer to than many of the people I grew up with.  I can’t explain why this happens psychologically, though I have my theories.  The best answer I can offer comes from Jesus:

“Truly I tell you, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and in the age to come eternal life.” (Luke 18:29-30)

I’ve gained a lot living here.  Perhaps many who read this will not understand what I mean by this.  I left my comfort zone.  I have much less money than I would have had if I had stayed and worked just about any other job.  I also have fewer rights here than I do in America.  I even have less security.  How can I think I have gained from such a venture?

I don’t know that I can explain it to you.  If you want to find out just how much you can gain by packing up and leaving your home, then I suggest you try it.  If you are doing it for the sake of the kingdom of God, you will be surprised just how much you gain.

Come and see.

The Gathering of the Clouds

As we sat by the Black Sea we noticed what we thought was a cloud gathering.  But it wasn’t a rain cloud.  It was a gathering of birds—storks to be exact.

A small portion of the storks over Nessebar, Bulgaria in August 2016

Every year in late summer storks from around Europe visit Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast.  They hover over the beaches for a while flying in circles, and then as a massive group, the fly south to Asia and Africa.  Some go as far as South Africa.

Why is Bulgaria their meeting place?  Just look at a map and the answer becomes clear.

Stork migration map from birdorable.com: Notice all the lines in Central and Eastern Europe converging in Bulgaria.

If you want to get from Europe to Asia and Africa by land, you have to go through Bulgaria.  True storks don’t actually travel by land, but they do have to fly over land in order to find food, water, and a place to rest when they get tired.  So they meet in Bulgaria and travel in a group for protection over the Middle-East, into Egypt, and down the Nile into the heart of Africa.  A stork that was hatched in central Bulgaria might now be nesting in Cape Town.

Storks are not the only ones who make their way through Bulgaria to the rest of the world.  People do as well.  Be it refugees from the east, businessmen from the west, or Bulgarians going abroad, our little country is a place that the whole world passes through.

This is why we are here.  Just as the storks fly throughout the world, we want the message of salvation through Jesus to spread throughout the world as well.

Come to the crossroads!  God is at work here.

Rosa Damascena

Rosa Damascena in all its common beauty

Rosa Damascena is the name of a specific breed of rose that is very popular in certain parts of Bulgaria.  It grows on a big bush, and is small and rather unimpressive compared to other roses.  You are not likely to see it in flower shops because it is just not that good looking, yet all of our lives would be dramatically different without this rose.

Rosa Damascena is harvested in Bulgaria like corn is harvested in Iowa.  It is the best rose in the world for the production of rose oil.  After being harvested, the rose pedals are put through a complex process to extract as much oil as possible from every blossom.

This rose oil is then shipped around the world for use in most perfumes, colognes, and soaps.  Without rose oil, the world would smell a lot worse, and about 80 percent of the world’s rose oil comes from this homely looking blossom found in the heart of Bulgaria.

If you are like me, you may occasionally look at your life and wonder if anything good can come from you.  You may think of yourself as just an average person without much to contribute.  You may see value in yourself, but it is the everyday ordinary kind of value.  If you were a flower, perhaps you would think you were a very plain looking flower like Rosa Damascena.

Yet if an ugly rose like this can be used to change the world, surely you can be too.

Think of the people who have had the most impact on your life.  If you are like me, most of them are relatively unknown.  Looking at my life, I can't say that it has been greatly transformed by any famous person, powerful politician, or great speaker of our time nearly as much has it has been transformed by the people closest around me.  These plain ordinary people have made a great impact on my life, and their legacy will live on in me even after they are gone.

I doubt that I will ever be known as a great man.  I am not a beautiful rose that will sit as a centerpiece in some great palace.  I am a common rose like Rosa Damascena.  And I am ever so grateful that God has made me common.  For it is the common people of the world that make the greatest impact on it.

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him."  -Paul (I Corinthians 1:27-29)

Keeping Humble

My car, my phone, and Sasha’s food processor all had something in common:  they all needed to be brought in for repairs yesterday.  This gave Sasha and me a chance to take a nice long walk.

It didn’t start with a walk.  It started with a six-block drive to the mechanic.  I had been dreading this drive ever since I discovered that our car was making a lot of noise two days earlier.  I started up the engine and the entire neighborhood shook as if a massive thunderstorm had just rolled in overhead.  The earth trembled on its foundations, and men and women ran for the mountain hoping to seek refuge in caves.

Needless to say, Sasha and I were utterly mortified.  We considered driving down a one-way street to get to the mechanic a little faster, but we decided to go for safety over speed.

When we pulled up to the shop Nick the mechanic was waiting for us.  Apparently he heard a business opportunity coming blocks away.  Nick and I are on a first name basis.  He’s a friendly guy who always greets me with a smile.  Most mechanics are friendly people in Bulgaria.  Nick is a cut above which is pleasant for me as I am the owner of a 15 year-old car and have to spend a good amount of time at his garage.

Nick knew right away what the problem was, and said he would get to it the following day.

Now that we were without a car, Sasha and I had to walk to the local mall.  It’s an easy 10-minute walk down hill from Nick’s to Park Center Mall located on the edge of Sofia’s Yujen Park (South Park).  There we went to the Telenor shop to have my phone looked at.  We explained to them that the phone was not starting up when we pressed the power button.  We took it out to demonstrate and it started right up.  We thanked the lady for her amazing repair job and outstanding service and walked out amid the smiles and chuckles of the Telenor employees.

This is where our walk got interesting.  We had to make our way through the west side of Lozenets.  (Lozenets is the name of our part of town.)  West Lozenets is very different than East Lozenets where we live.  West Lozenets is a maze of narrow streets going up and down the steep slopes of the neighborhood.  It is a place that works your leg muscles in ways you never thought possible.  It was into this labyrinthine place that we began our quest for the appliance repair store.

After burning several hundred calories, we found the place.  We showed the lady the part we needed replaced, and she told us she would be more than happy to order it.  All we needed was the REF number off of the bottom of the machine.  We left the bottom of the machine at home, so no part was ordered.  On the bright side though, at least we know where to go now.

On the way home, Sasha gave me an amazing lesson in Bulgarian grammar.  One of the great things about being married to a Bulgarian is that you get free language instructions.  Sasha has been patiently putting up with my many errors for years now.

We made our way back up the hill to the safety and security of East Lozenets and our home.  We were several pounds lighter and eagerly awaiting the day when our car would be working again.

Repairing things is one of the aspects of life in a second-language that keep me humble.  Everything takes a bit more effort in Bulgarian, even when you have a native speaker standing right there with you.  Yet it's part of the adventure living in another country.

I love it!