Above is a link to a article that my (Jen) Dad wrote for the Engage Magazine (the missions magazine for our church)… The call of parents is something that us kids recognize, but it was something else to read about it! Love you dear parents of ours! Thank you for supporting us in everyway as we follow God’s call around the world!
Welcome to 2012 & the Quiet months =)
Around the beginning of October, I start to long for January, February and March, months affectionately named the quiet months! Now don’t get me wrong, we LOVE the birthday month (October), Thanksgiving and the beginning of winter and then Christmas and all that comes with the celebration of Jesus’ birth. However, by the New Year we are usually a little tired and a little out of routine! With January comes a period of a few months where the kids and I (Jen) do not have to travel anywhere, school is fairly constant and we can get back into the rhythm of our daily lives. There will still be much work, guests and local travel, but Mommy starts to feel relaxed!
In many ways this Christmas was a tough one for me. It sounds silly considering I was surrounded by family (Doug’s parents visited for Thanksgiving and Jamesy’s 1st birthday, and my parents followed quick on their heels for Christmas). We had fun play times with a lot of snow, and I find myself in the land of plenty when it comes to finding things that I need/want to make the holidays feel special and traditional for us as a family. This year was tough because I missed “home”. I spent many hours reflecting on Peru and Kosovo. I missed our Peruvian friends and the Spanish language. I missed our friends and the fellowship in Kosovo (and you friends in Albania too)! My heart wasn’t quite here in Bulgaria. It was in the past. We love Bulgaria, our friends here and the way life goes here. We are comfortable, happy, and excited to live many years here. Yet that didn’t cover the feelings of loss that we experience as we have moved on and on and then on again! I guess the processing continues!
As with other New Years, this one did not start with any resolutions. I don’t want to get to the end of another year and have a hard time remembering the resolutions made at the beginning of the year. They may have worked during the quiet months, but not much further! So this year at the dawn of the New Year from my cozy bed with LOUD fireworks going off all around, I prayed a simple prayer (AKA Plea) to the Lord; that throughout the next 365 days 1) my relationship with Him would deepen, 2) as a result of No 1 we will get through all of the ups and downs of the year whilst being a good example to the kids and others and 3) that I would end the year speaking Bulgarian. If we get to the end of 2012 and I can reflect back feeling content that these three things have been obtained and continue to be in progress then I will be happy!
So, the year ahead… following our quiet months we have 10 days in the UK during April for a combined vacation/Home Assignment tour. June through July we will be in the USA doing 6 weeks of home assignment, touring Baltimore, Texas and Wisconsin. August we will likely host a W&W team or two and then September brings the start of Sarah’s pre-school year (how did that come around so quickly?). These are just the things in the calendar right now… goodness knows what the year will really look like! We will keep you posted as it progresses!
Christmas Greeting
I have been trying to write our “Christmas Poem” for a few weeks now…and to put it bluntly, it just isn’t happening! I don’t know if the kids have finally taken over my brain, and such, writing tasks are now beyond me. Maybe the study of language No 3 in 8 years has finished off a few too many brain cells, or maybeI am just plain too busy to be creative! So, I have decided to give up. After all… it is the Christmas thought that counts, not the rhyming!
This Christmas is an exciting one for us. For the past 8 years we have celebrated Christmas in either the Southern Hemisphere, which to be honest just didn’t feel right, or in “secular” nations that don’t celebrate Christmas. I did not realize how much we missed the Christmas temperatures, music, and festivities until we were confronted with them this year. Jonathan starred as Joshua the sheep in his Kindergarten Christmas play “The Crippled Lamb”. We have visited a German Christmas Bazaar a number of times in central Sofia and we have enjoyed snowball fights in the first snow of the season. We have sung (ok.. tried to sing) Christmas carols in church, seen the lights go up around town and even hung our stockings on a REAL fireplace! It is setting up to be a wonderful Christmas as we welcome my parents a few days before the 25th. We are looking forward to the time to rest, relax and enjoy the celebrations of Jesus’ birthday!
Well, no Christmas letter is complete without a round up of the year…here is it in a nutshell!! We started the year in Kosovo, newborn James in our arms and much excitement as to what the year would bring. Spring saw the move of the church in Prishtina to a new building that we could use 24/7. What a difference it made and new ministries were started immediately. There was much optimism in the air as to how God would bless the church’s efforts. Late spring, and we got the crazy news that we were on the move again…this time to Sofia, Bulgaria. We were too stunned to really take the news any particular way, but as it sunk in we felt both grief and excitement. We left Kosovo at the beginning of summer, travelled the USA on home assignment, and moved home to Sofia in September. The church in Kosovo continues to grow and reach into its new community. We remain totally excited from afar! We get back to Kosovo semi-regularly to support the folk there. Our assignment here continues to develop and we are starting to settle into fulfilling roles within the team. Some days we are excited by the opportunities here and other days we are overwhelmed! What we do know is that God is with us, he has placed us here and we will trust him!
Whilst all that moving and shaking was happening as a family we continue to grow (in maturity, not numerically)! Jonathan started kindergarten this year. I officially have a school-aged child!! He is loving it and as mentioned above was the lead role in his school play. We were very proud of our solo singing, line memorizing first born! Meanwhile Sarah and James are doing a great job of settling into Bulgaria. They enjoy times with Baba Tsanka every week (who babysits them while we are taking language lessons). She plays with them and talks only Bulgarian with them. Sarah is doing very well with her understanding and we are hoping that as James starts to speak he will be somewhat bi-lingual. Sarah started ballet in September, and is loving being with other little girls her age. =) I find it hard to believe that my babies are growing up so quickly. Yet they are, and we are enjoying getting to know the little people that they are becoming!
Well, this letter is already a little longer than anticipated! I will end with a sincere thank you to all of you. For, supporting us, being friends to us, praying for us, loving us. We could not be living this crazy life of ours without your participation. We thank God for the way he uses each of you as He provides all our needs.
Our wish for you this Christmas year,
Is more than happy festive cheer.
We pray that each and every one of you
Will see Christmas from God’s point of view.
What a gift he sent us with his son,
His love, his plan, new life for each and every one!
Thank you Father in heaven above,
This season we celebrate Your gift of love!
With much love, Jennifer and the rest of the Mann Clan:
Douglas, Jonathan, Sarah and James!
Thirty Minutes
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday I, Jen, get the luxury of 30 minutes of childless quiet time =) I drop Jonathan at school and then drive to a bus stop where I sit in the car and wait for sweet “Baba Tzanka” who then looks after the little kids whilst Doug and I have Bulgarian language class. In the car stays a special Peruvian bag that stays in the car with my bible, book, personal prayer book and journal. Oh how I love that time!!
Well, this Monday I was reading about the importance of Sabbath. As a Mom I always have way more to do than time to do it. Ditto as a missionary. There is ALWAYS something to do! Yet, somehow in there I am commanded to take a rest! In fact, this Sunday evening I was sharing with a freind how glad I was it was Sunday night and we could “get back to the week!” How totally upside down, right?! I am enthused and excited by productivity, schedule, completed to-do lists, the very things that I get from the week. I find rest difficult to achieve. I always have that “missionary” excuse… Those of us who work “in the church” often find weekend to be the busyest times of the week, and thus that becomes a “good” excuse for not taking a break and taking the time to do something restful… reading a book with the kids, watching a movie under fluffy blankets all squished up on the futon, playing outside, baking something for fun allowing the kids to get themselves and the kitchen covered!
Well, I read Leviticus 23:3 “There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of Sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the LORD”.
Boy did that pop out at me… wherever you live… No excuses Jen! It doesnt matter that you work for the church, or live somewhere where regular life and tasks takes a little longer to accomplished. Even in Bulgaria Jen, you need to take Sabbath!
So here I am in front of you blog readers commiting to take a break on Sundays and teaching and examplifying in front of my family this gift from the Lord given to us each week! May this be the beginning of some fun Sunday family restful and playful traditions =)
Journeying
The Mann-Sunberg friendship started many years ago. My path crossed with Jay and Teanna when I was a kid and my parents were hosting the Sunbergs for some home assignment…unfortunately, they remember that interaction more than I do!! Then, many years later I happened to start dating their colleague and close friend. Doug and the Sunbergs had been neighbours for years. Doug served in the Ukraine whilst the Sunbergs were in Russia and then Doug in Romania whilst J&T worked in Bulgaria. Jay Sunberg married Doug and me in 2003, with sweet 7-year-old Lexi as our flower girl. The past 8 years have been filled with sweet Mann-Sunberg get-togethers. As our families have grown (in size and age!) and as our paths have increasingly intertwined, we have become family.
When as our bosses and our friends they came to us in April and asked in light of their potential move to Hungry for us to consider a move from Kosovo to Bulgaria, it was painful for us all. Jay & Teanna have grown their family, built a mission home and ministered for 13 years here in Bulgaria. After 3 different country assignments over 6 years we decided that enough was enough and Kosovo was home. Our roots had grown deep into the Kosovar soil. Yet, here we all were presented with change. We thought, we prayed, we discussed, we prayed and we thought some more!
Well, many of you know the rest of the story… Within a few weeks of each other, the Sunberg Six moved to Hungry and The Mann Clan moved into their house here in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Our families just spent a wonderful weekend together here in “OUR” house. J, T, Doug and I had time to talk, reflect and enjoy each other’s company whilst the kids… well they just had ball! Along with the fun, food, meeting with friends and fellowship something significant happened this weekend.
Teanna and I had been able to spend time together chatting about our moves. We both carry heartbreak over leaving our homes and ministries and we both have a deep desire to sense God’s continued calling to the places that we have now found ourselves setting up home, ministry and life. I guess we both needed God to say “You did good, now continue.” We both have felt guilty, confused and maybe even scared that the we “heard God wrong” during the spring when we sensed God leading our families to move. We talked, we reasoned, we shared our opinions, we committed to pray for each other. Then, last night I overheard Teanna quoting Proverbs 3:5-6 to some of her friends. My ears pricked. As I listened to her sharing that God had given her these verses during the time that they were seeking God’s will over their move my heart started to jump! Anyone who heard our home assignment presentation this year will remember me quoting these verses and sharing how during praying over whether we should stay in Kosovo or move to Bulgaria God spoke to me through this section of Proverbs. A quick summary for those who didn’t have the “pleasure” of hosting the Mann Clan this year. 
In the eyes of the world, logic, even to our families and church supporter,s moving again made no sense. Yet however crooked our path looked, this was God’s straight path for our family…how my understanding always stinks in light of God’s. Only when trusting in Him can we begin to understand our lives! And here I am hearing Teanna express that God gave her the same verses at the same time. Wow! I had been praying for Teanna on and off all day that God would give her something… a sign, a word, something that would give her a renewed confirmation that The Sunberg Six are in the right place doing the right thing. And God did it again…he spoke to me, and The Mann Clan. He so often does that. As I erupted from the other side of the room with “No way T! Those are the same verses that God gave me too!” I was confronted again with how grand and awesome our God is. He has this whole thing planned out, but more than that. We have come away from this weekend with a picture of how God works and how interconnected the body of Christ is. We have a sense of being a part of the big picture…the picture that we cannot see or understand but that God is totally Lord over. God is teaching us to trust and submit to His will, leave our own logic and understanding to the side and follow him. Some of the confirmation or clarification that we were looking for and praying for came in those moments of God showing us our joint journey. These moves are His will and plan not simply our desires or based only on organizational strategies, finances or logistics. He is taking us and our families on a faith and character building journey… a joint journey… a journey that has so much history yet one that we are just beginning 
Birthday Week =)
Its been a fun, cake, gift, excitment filled week! Quite exhausting for the mom of the house! October is the month for the Mann Clan. Sarah turned three on the 19th, Doug got a little older on the 26th and then Jonathan turned five on the 27th. There were 3 small family celebrations, 2 friend filled parties and one crazy, costume wearing kindergarten class party! We are thankful for life and family, for years of health and happiness. Here are some photos of the birthday peeps!
Education and Training
I don’t know if I’m crazy or not, but before we traveled to the Regional Conference, I made a day trip to Prishtina for some meetings. We were planning out our Theological Education classes for our students in Albania and Ko sovo. The trip, when I’m on my own, is about 4 1/2 hours one way. I happened to hit the borders at times when there wasn’t much traffic and that helps a lot. In addition, there weren’t any kids needing potty breaks, etc.
The time in Prishtina was fantastic even though it was very short. I was able to meet up with some of our friends, including Selim who leads our group in Suhareka. It reminded me just how much I miss living in Ko sovo. Nevertheless, hanging out with friends wasn’t the only purpose of the trip. Planning for the future with regard to our Theological Education program was the main reason. I met with Gil Thibault and Steve Beiler and we were able to hash out a two year plan for classes…and aggressive schedule to move our students along in their education and training. I’m very excited about it.
One thing that causes me some concern, though, is that funds are tight. We are in the process of increasing tuition for the students. But the tuition costs don’t cover things like airfare to bring in a professor (all of our professors are kind enough to donate their time to teach) and other costs. We would love to find some supporters to help us with this incredibly important ministry…the training of pastors and leaders. If you are interested in helping us in some way, please let us know via email, Facebook or phone call. Thanks in advance for your interest and support!
Retreat-Conference Reflections
As I, Jen, reflect on the last week I have a bunch of mixed feelings. Last week saw 638 (or so) Christians from around Europe and Aisa congregate for a time of rest and renewal before celebrating and seeking the Lord together at our Regional conference. Being together with so many nations and languages yet all christians is definatley an amazing experience. The surroundings were beuatiful and the fellowship, when I had time to talk for more than a quick “hey”, was wonderful. It was great to not have to cook, clean, study, errand run etc. for a week. Yet, for me, the word that comes to mind that sums up my conference experience was sacrifice. This motherhood thing continues to stretch me and teach me in the area of sacrifice. Going into the retreat conference I knew that it would be challenging with three little ones along for the ride, and challendhing it was! Mealtimes saw me dashing from one buffet table to the next trying to feed 3 hungry mounths (and my own!), rest times saw me running around with the kids at the water park and between the indoor outdoor pools, and service/workshop times were inevitably interupted by the needs of one of the kids or my own inability to relax and enter into worship without worrying about when I would be needed! Was the sacrifice of my own rest and retreat worth it? Was the time invested in the kids rather than my friendships well placed? A resounding “yes” springs from my heart. Jonathan and Sarah loved mixing with the other MK’s. They benifitted so much from the wonderful kids program that was run by folks from Texas. They feel loved, accepted and normal when we get together with our multi-cultural family. I believe that some of the experiences that they had, lessons that they learned and seeds that have been planted in their hearts and minds will last far beyond the conference week or even this year. Therefore, exhausted as I am from being away for the week, coming home with a sick baby and a sick self, I can say that it was worth the effort. It was a god conference
Misho Home =)
Here is an update from Jessica on Misho’s progress. Thanks for all who prayed and helped!
“Last week on Friday they released Misho from the hospital. He and his mom spent the night with me before travelling home to Razgrad with some friends headed that way.
Before he left, we got some good news from the doctor. It appears that the first surgery might be enough and the second might be needed on a cosmetic basis only. In 4 months Misho’ll be back in Sofia for a scan and then they’ll be able to tell us more.
Due to your generosity, there’s still more than $2,000 which remains from what was raised for the first operation. We have left that in a bank account and are waiting to see about the second operation. They’ll use that money to come for the scan and future medical treatment. The Razgrad church has been gathering homemade canning and jams for the family to make it through the winter. Thank you for your prayers and your help for this wonderful family! Tanya headed back to work yesterday and Misho will go back to school in a couple of weeks. I’ll keep you updated…”
A month ago today…
… we arrived at our new house here in Sofia. It’s been a busy month! The first week was full of unpacking boxes, buying and making up flat pack furniture and getting somewhat settled. We still have a “junk room” that is filled with odd bits of furniture and a few boxes filled with office stuff and decorations. This time we WILL open and organize our office stuff… you could say that in ALbania and Kosovo we didn’t exactly accomplish that goal! We are starting to feel at home. Today, for the FIRST time as we drove up the road Sarah yelled with excitment “There our house!” Up until now she has called it Uncle Jay’s house (AKA Jay Sunberg who we often visited here).
Each Monday, Wednesday and Friday we pay someone to give us an all day headache. In other words, we start our day with a couple of hours of language study! We are encouraged by Bulgarian. A lot of it sounds familiar to our ears, and if we can find the time to memorize vocabulary, we believe that we will suceed wth this language! However, it still is headache inducing in these first weeks! In fact, being immersed in a new culture and language is physically exhausting. A least this time around we understand and can predict some of things we will experience with this latest transition. We hope that in a few months we will at least be able to get around in Bulgarian.
We have enjoyed becoming part of the weekly fellowship in Sofia. The church is made up of some young couples and a bunch of sweet Grandmas. We are enjoying getting to know everyone with our (very broken) Bulgarian! Most of the couples have some English, so right now that helps!
I (Jen) have started a MOPS group on Thursday mornings. This is something that in Kosovo was a weekly lifeline for me! Getting together as a group of young Christain moms is so fun and refreshing. This week there were three of us moms with 5 and a half of our kids (one lady is pregant). There are a couple more moms who I know will be joining us next week
Jay Sunberg, previous man of the house that we are now living in, came “home” for a few days this week for a District Advisary Board meeting this weekend. It was fun and weird to have him here! We have visited the Sunbergs at this house many times over the past 9 years. It was strange to have Jay here without all of his girls and it was strange that he was in the guestroom… it was strange, but it felt great to have him here! We hope that soon the whole Sunberg family can come visit. Over the weekend, we had 5 extra people stay. It was fun to use the house to entertain. We certainly have the space here!
We have also visited Zhana, one of the national leaders here, to celebrate the beginning of the school year in Vidrare, a village that she works in. We thouroughly enjoyed our time with her. Sarah wanted to stay at school with the other kids and then with Zhana at her house. We will post more about Zhana and her work in another post (soon.. I hope!).
Jonathan continues to enjoy school. He is making friends and learning a bunch! Check out this little movie of him in school =)
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