New Year... New Team

2012 is upon us and the team has begun to gear up for our trip back to Bulgaria this summer. We kicked things off with a two day yard sale last weekend that brought in about $500. More importantly, though, the event provided an opportunity for the team to spend time together, as returning members welcomed the newest additions and regaled them with stories of the land we love so much.
This year's team will feature a number of familiar faces, but we're also glad to introduce some fresh blood. Joey Leslie and Linzi Drew will be returning as the longest standing members of the team, followed by me (Mike Kern) and my daughter Megan. Last year's newbies, Vernon Garrett and his son Roy, are both planning to return this year as well.
Both Brijon Ortiz and Brittany Hogle helped with the yard sale and plan to make the trip this year. Brijon has a lot of preparation already underway, as she planned to go last year but couldn't make it. A number of others are praying about making the trip as well, so we are eagerly awaiting the Lord's direction on what the final team is going to look like!
Pastor Chuck's recent accident has put a crimp in his travel plans. He has still not been released by his doctors for air travel, due to the nature of his brain injury, and we are still praying about God's direction for him and Lynda in connection to Bulgaria. If all goes well with his continued recovery, they make take a separate trip this spring (as they usually do). We will continue to seek the Lord on their involvement with the team trip in the summer.
Meanwhile, we continue to encourage others to pray about going with us. We are going to begin meeting as a team this month and plan to purchase our tickets earlier this year, so if the Lord puts it on your heart, let us know soon!
In my next blog update, I'm going to share some of our ideas about some things we'd like to do this year. We've got some really exciting new possibilities we're considering and we'd love you to keep us in prayer as we plan our visit. God bless!