We thought spring had arrived, however yesterday winter threw one last snow at us!
We had a busy Easter week, and I wanted to give you all a quick update.
Easter Egg Dying party. The Thursday of Passion week in Bulgaria is the day for dying eggs. Our colleagues and us were invited out to a nearby village to join several families in the festivities. We had many good conversations with them about the significance of Easter, and had a great time getting to know them.
Easter Egg Hunt. Stacie and I were trying to think of a way to share the resurrection story with our neighbors and the kids at the park near our house. On Saturday we had an Easter egg hunt (they don’t have plastic eggs here and so we hard-boiled 90 eggs) at the park. While I was hiding the eggs, Stacie was able to share the gospel and significance of our Risen Savior using the resurrection eggs with the kids! She was able to clarify some misconceptions they have about Easter, and each kid went home with a list of scriptures about the resurrection. We also prepared and gave some gifts to our neighbors with a candle, candy and scripture. Pray with us as we try to be a light in our neighborhood!
On Easter Sunday our group met at our house for a great time of singing, prayer and hearing about the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. We currently have one Bulgarian family coming each week, and are praying God would grow this group into a church start. We ask that you pray God would do awesome and mighty things through this small group, and the other churches in the area!
We are continuing with weekly events at the office, as well as a monthly outreach event. Our colleagues have settled into Veliko Tarnovo, and it is a blessing to have another family working alongside us!
We had the blessing of family coming to visit from Austria and Texas.
Once again thank you for your continued prayers, and please let us know how you are doing and how we can pray for you.
In Christ,
The Cooke Family
ps Some Bulgarian friends of ours are in San Antonio for a very specialized surgery for their son. Stacie’s parents, my parents, and Bulverde Baptist church have been helping take them to doctors appts., grocery shopping, and even the riverwalk. They have been overwhelmed by the hospitality, and are seeing Christ’s church at work! They will be in SA for the next 2 months. Please pray for Galya and Rosan.