5/6/2006 - Martin's St. George's Day Update
Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings to you on this fine St. George's Day! What is St. George's Day?
Glad you asked! St. George is the patron saint of Bulgaria (also England,
Portugal, Lithuania, Slovenia and other places), and on this day the people of
Bulgaria honor him. It is also the Ima-den Den (Name-day Day) for anyone who's
name is George, or any form of George. In Bulgaria one's name day is celebrated
much the same as a birthday.
A little history lesson... George was born in 263 AD to a Christian family of
nobility in Cappadocia of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). At the age of 17 he
joined the Roman army, and quickly rose through the ranks. In 302 AD, the Roman
emporer Diocletian began to savagely persecute Christians. George decided to
request an audience with the emporer to plead the cause of Christians, and
demand that the brutal persecution and widespread murder of Christians be
stopped. Diocletian was so incensed with George's demand that he ordered him
publicly executed. In 303 AD, George was imprisoned, tortured, dragged through
the streets, and finally beheaded. His Christian witness was so strong, and he
died so bravely that it is said that over 650 publicly converted to
Christianity, including Diocletian's own wife, Alexandra. All of these,
including the empress were ordered to be executed that very day as well. About
1000 years later, a legend about St. George began to spread that he slew a
dragon that was demanding to be fed two children every hour, and saved a city
from the terror of that evil dragon.
So usually St. George is depicted slaying a dragon. My protestant readers might
be saying, "So what?" Though I do not personally hold to the belief that one
prays to saints to intercede on my behalf to Christ, I do appreciate the stories
of many godly Christians through the centuries who lived such impressive lives
for God that their stories remain to encourage us today. As for St. George, he
ultimately represents the victory of good over evil--more particularly, the
victory of Christianity over paganism.
St. George represents courage, devotion, piety, leadership, truthfulness,
dedication, and selflessness. I ask you today to please pray for Bulgaria that
these godly traits truly become the mark of these people. Selfishness, greed,
corruption, and lack of integrity on many levels plague this culture.
At some time in their history, they chose St. George to represent them, because
they admired the reputation and character for which he stood. Pray that they
will once again admire and desire to attain these virtues.
It is a bad month to be a lamb or goat in Bulgaria! The traditional meal for St.
George's day is the same as Easter, lamb or goat--and all of its various and
sundry parts. I have opted to turn down invitations, and will quietly celebrate
by myself... and eat Italian! Pasta with meat sauce, a nice salad, and some
garlic bread.
The last couple of weeks we have been evaluating how the feeding program and
community center are operating. The program expanded quite quickly in my
absence, and there are some things that must change. We have decided to take two
weeks to restructure the way we operate. We will continue to feed the neediest
of our clients, but will not serve lunches as we have been doing for the next
two weeks. Pray that we will have the mind of Christ as we restructure, and that
we will be the best stewards of what God provides.
Many wonderful things have happened so far, but we want to ensure the continued
success of the program. We are well equipped, but the work-load of our employees
and volunteers, and the operating expenses have to be examined to see how to
best use our resources. We really need to hire another person, and there are a
couple purchases that if we could make the work load would be significantly
reduced, but we need to feed people--that is our primary objective! Thank God
for His provision so far, and for His continued provision through His people. We
strive to be excellent in all things to bring Him the greatest glory.
I want to let you know about our missionary, Sunne Gregg. Her cardiac
catheterization went well. There is no blockage in her blood vessels, and her
heart muscle is strong and not damaged. The only problem is that a valve is not
working right. This same valve was replaced 26 years ago.
They had her go off her blood thinners for a while before doing the surgery, so
her surgery is scheduled for this Monday, May 8 at 10 AM (Eastern Standard Time
or GMT -5). She is very encouraged and praising the Lord!
Please be in prayer for Sunne, Wayne, and their family. I know that God will
bring about the greatest outcome, and He will be glorified.
If you wish to support our ministry here in Bulgaria, you can send your tax
exempt donation to Obedient Life Ministries, P.O. Box 267, Clarion, PA 16214, or
you can make a donation by credit card through our secure PayPal link on our
website at www.obedientlife.org. (More of you are taking that option.) I
appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for this ministry. May
the Lord greatly bless you for all that you do for us.
Be blessed in Jesus' Name,
Martin