Back in July my friends in NC hatched a plan to surprise me during my visit. I knew about the Dave Barns and Matt Wertz concert we were going to, but didn't know that Claire was coming and spending the night! What a wonderful surprise and yet another glimpse of God's love for me. Not only did I get to see friends I was looking forward to spending time with, but even friends I didn't expect to see! In spite of the rain, it was wonderful to eat dinner together, enjoy fun music, talk into the night, make breakfast and eat together, and paint words of truth from the Bible. I also got to wander around the farm my friends Jennifer and Katie live on, play with Ellie Harper Lee (Jennifer's hyper dog), pick apples at my favorite orchard and walk to a beautiful waterfall with Sarah, and cook dinner for my friends. What a wonderful time of relaxing and enjoying time with sweet friends.
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Three years ago I had a class of 9th grade AP Prep students who, I must admit, stole my heart. The next year, those same students were in my 10th grade AP Prep class and we grew even closer. At the end of the year, I bid them a fond farewell, promising to keep up via Instagram (and Facebook, "but seriously, Ms. Cary, that's so old, only old people use it anymore...you should get Snapchat."). This year, after I visited the high school, they decided to throw a party so we could all hang out together. It reminded me that one reason I love teaching is the relationships that you form. What a blessing that I get to to that in Bulgaria, as well as the US. Who knows, maybe in a few years one of these incredible kids will want to check out The Well Internship and come to Sofia, too! I have an enormous family in North Carolina. They may not be from the Cary family or the Swift family, like I am, but they are my mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, nephews and nieces. I had several experiences of seeing my family at 1st ARP lavish their love on me, and through them, caught glimpses of God's incredible love, whether it was the warm hugs and bright smiles when I dragged my jet-lagged body into the Lady's Night Out (which was incredibly energizing!), worshiping with them at a picnic, enjoying Sunday morning services, or just meeting for coffee. Not only was I encouraged and built up by the love my church showed me, but I was also encouraged by seeing them in action during the week. One highlight from my stay in Gastonia arrived in the shy smile of a young girl from the neighborhood surrounding 1st ARP. She took my hand as I agreed to "adopt" 3 neighborhood girls for the evening. I guided the beautiful, pre-schooler, 1st grader, and 4th grader into the line, helped them get dinner, find a table, get drinks, and settle down to eat. Amid playful teasing, encouraging the children to eat their veggies, and attempting to find that shy smile again, I took a second to see the big picture: the fellowship hall was full of children's voices, adults helping and taking care of the least of these, and I got to be a part of our church showing the love of Jesus to our community. What an honor! After dinner the children have a class and the adults either participate in electives or go to choir, which is where I went. Just as dinner had been a highlight, so too, choir was an example of our church loving and caring for those around us. The first half hour was Unity Choir, where the 4th and 5th graders joined the adults for singing and a game. The little girl whose hand had been in mine at the beginning of dinner found her way to the seat next to me. After we sang, we played a game to get to know each other: find someone with a similar name and talk about the things you have in common. This little girl's name had several letters in common with mine, though we didn't have the same initial letter, or final letter. She explained that since we both had a, i, and h in common, we really did have similar names. As we talked, we discovered a shared interest in jewelry, the color pink, and our baby brothers. At the time for sharing with the whole group, this sweet girl announced that we both had beautiful smiles. What a joy it was to meet her and love her as she loved me. What an encouragement to see my church reach out to those nearest to them with the good news of God's love! Click the photos below to view them at full size.
I was able to spend a few days with my brother in Edinburg, his new home! It was so cool to be able to take the train across England. One highlight for me was watching how comfortable Paul is in his new home. Scotland certainly agrees with him. Getting to walk around town and be together was a lot of fun, as was riding in the front of a double decker bus! While it rained most of the time I was there, I really enjoyed my time. Check out his blog, if you're interested in what he's doing in Scotland! You can find it at the this link: Lucky Calvinist. After spending a day in Bristol, UK, the city where I lived for 4 months in 2009, I realized that God had given me a great gift of wonderful friends and a place to find comfort after the death of a friend from college. As I was thanking him for the beautiful day, I saw some friends from my church. James and Sarah don't often come to the area of town where I was staying, but they had just happened to take their daughter for a stroll. I had been hoping to see my friends from my church, but knew that I probably wouldn't, since I wasn't going to be there for the weekend. It was such a sweet surprise to run into these friends, but God had ordained that moment! It turns out that the church I had attended there was having a prayer and praise meeting that night and Sarah offered to be my ride! What a blessing to not only see some dear friends, but to praise God with them!
One of the things I've been noticing this year is the many ways that God has shown me that He loves me. This is a small example, but a wonderful one! Not only did I get to have wonderful fellowship, but I also heard about how God is a better Father than ours because He is NEVER impatient or frustrated with us. I had never thought about it that way and was amazed to see God's love in a new and special way. |
Elisabeth CarySharing the love of Christ to make known the hope of Christ in Bulgaria. Archives
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