1 Year Anniversary and Update

Well, our 1 year anniversary has come and gone. Looking back, the testimonies of God's faithfulness are countless - each one a reminder of God's goodness and faithfulness. Moving here hasn't been easy or comfortable and sometimes, it's been downright hard, but we see the fruit and we know that God has been in and behind everything that is going on here.


Here is a short video of what we are up to:


Ramos Family Update





This past year has been both humbling and life-changing. Thank you again for love, prayers, and support and for believing in what we are doing here! SO humbled and SO blessed!

To support us monthly please contact our stateside office at denisedoyle74@gmail.com

If you would like to give a one-time tax-deductable gift you can send a check or money order to:

Ramos Ministries/Noah & Andrea
PO Box 72272
Springfield, OR 97475


or

Donate via PayPal

Baby Ramos

Hello Friends and Family!

Just a quick update to catch you all up on how we are doing and all that is going on here in Bulgaria!

The past few months have been extremely full and busy. In early August, Noah had the opportunity to speak at the largest Christian camp in Bulgaria about the A21 Campaign and the fight against human trafficking with the purpose of raising awareness and helping prevent future victims. There were over 1200 people in attendance and it was an amazing opportunity to be able to share about the cause of freedom. After the camp, we were able to spend a few days at the Black Sea before heading off to minister at a church in Sliven.

On September 29th, we welcomed the latest addition to the Ramos clan - Jude Hosea Ramos. There is nothing little about this guy - 9 lbs 11 ounces. The nurses where shocked that such a big baby could come out of such a petite woman. Having a baby in Bulgaria was a life-changing experience, and I am so proud of my wife. We were blessed to have my mom at here for the birth and she only had to yell at the nurses a few times. Haha! Sorry, mom. Baby Jude is such a joy. He has blonde hair and blue eyes and is so alert. Everywhere we go, people stop us to look at him and are surprised that we are out and about with a 3 week old. Malachi, Levi, and Asa adore him too and want to hold him every chance they get. It is surprising to me, but somehow this little guy has made us fall more in love with Bulgaria and excited about the future He holds for us and our not-so-little family.

November is going to be an even busier month with the team from City Church coming along with the A21 Global team coming the following week!


Here are a few prayer points:

• Finances for school.The boys have started school once again at the American English Academy and are loving it. 
• In November, we are moving into a new apartment due to problems with our current landlord and exorbitant electricity bills. So we could use some favor with our new landlord.
• That we would be able to obtain a passport for little Jude quickly.
• Wisdom and favor with the school district as we try and find solutions for the Roma community that we are working with.

We just wanted to thank you for making this journey possible. The fact that you have sown your prayers and finances in to us is truly incredible and words alone are not enough to show our gratitude. If we could, we would have named our baby after all of you, but that would just have been weird. :) We love you all and hope to hug your faces soon!

Noah, Andrea, Malachi, Levi, Asa, and baby Jude

6 Months and Counting...

It has been a while since our last blog and there has been sooo much going on! We have been here in Bulgaria for the past 6 months and what a journey it has been. It has been such an amazing experience, and there have been trials, as there are with every new season, and the adjustment has not been easy. However God is faithful and we know that we are smack dab in the middle of His will for our lives.

Easter Sunday

As far as being a part of Zoe Church, at the end of May we celebrated Orthodox Easter with our biggest service yet. There were 200 in attendance and 13 decisions for Christ. The following week we were hoping to ride the momentum  - however, the secret police shut down our planned venue due to government elections. What an adventure. Welcome to Bulgaria! Church is thriving and we are enjoying being a part of healthy, growing church.


On the A21 side, things are busy as well. The Gypsy Outreach is going well with 30-50 kids attending. We are just in the beginning stages of making a difference and we constantly looking for ways to help the families living there rise above their circumstances. Roma are some of the most poor and marginalized people groups here in Bulgaria. It has been both rewarding and challenging adjusting to yet another culture, but I believe we are making a difference. As we move ahead, we are looking into different ways of meeting their needs and moving the community forward.

A few days ago as an amazing answer to prayer, we received our 1 year residency cards which allow us to remain in the country for one more year. We were both surprised and blessed by Hope Church in Japan and Pastors Steven and Shelley Kaylor in that they paid for our visas. It was such an answer to prayer and we are forever grateful for their investment in us.






God is so faithful in how He using Zoe Church and A21 in Bulgaria. We are so blessed to be a part of this amazing journey!

The Winds of Change

Here we go again...

  

Dear friends and family, when I first started journaling our adventure I was afraid I would run out of things to say. Well it turns out, I couldn't have been more mistaken. The past month has been a whirlwind. Last week we said goodbye to our dear friend and nanny, Katie. What a godsend she has been and such a blessing to everyone around her. She took the junior high and high school girls under her wing and started a small group while raising up someone to take her place and, all of this, while taking care of our boys full time. Every day she would drop and pick up the kids for school. What other 20 year old girl would set aside 3 months, pack up her entire life, move to another country with a family she doesn't really know, drive in a place where drivers are border-line psychotic, and do it with a smile?! She is truly amazing and we are forever grateful for how much she has sown in to us! We will miss you, Katie!




For the past month, there have been protests in the streets over high electricity bills. While high electricity bills in the winter are common, it wasn't till recently that the power companies were forced to itemize each bill they sent out. It seems as though there were a few people skimming off the top, imagine that. Never really understood how someone could become angry enough to riot over an electricity bill until I received our bill 2 weeks ago to the tune of $450 for 1 month of usage. Ouch! You can see me here in the top right-hand corner with the Bulgarian flag...just kidding! Andrea wouldn't let me. But I now understand the reason behind it. Also amid protest, the Prime Minister and his government resigned which then incited more protests. Just to put your hearts at ease, we are safe. God is still on the throne.



My wife has informed me that I failed to mention a very, VERY important detail in my last blog. We are expecting our fourth, yes fourth, little Ramos. Andrea has been experiencing morning sickness for the past few months and has just recently been feeling better and better. She is amazing and I couldn't imagine having a better life-partner and soul mate. Not once has she wavered or doubted the fact that we are smack dab in the middle of God's will for our lives. Not once has she told me that she wants to go home. I'm amazed at her faith and her strength in all she is going through. We will find out next month the gender of our baby - not that I'm anxious or anything to hear if we're having a girl, just saying, I can't wait is all. =)

I have been busy too. Not anything as important as growing a baby but staying busy none the less. This past week, I met with 5 pastors and discussed human trafficking. Each pastor was receptive and eager to help in anyway they could. A few of the pastors had heard about human trafficking but had never been confronted with the truth of its enormity. It is easy to be overwhelmed with the issue, but it is so good to be reminded that the church is THE answer. It is easy to see that knowing is half the battle. The other half, happens to be poverty. What do you do when you have no choice but to sell yourself or, even worse - your children, just to be able to eat? Well, this is another one of my jobs. A21 helped 8 gypsy kids start school in September and I have been given the responsibilty of going to their village every week, engaging and connecting with the kids, but also building relationship with their parents and giving them a way out through social enterprises, work opportunities, and training. Needless to say, it is a daunting task but so worth it. From the first time we went down there, I fell in love with the kids. Last week when we went down to see them, we brought along a BBQ, a soccer ball and frisbee, as well as some volunteers from church. We spent 4 hours cooking, playing, and chatting with them. It was amazing. We are also working on a few ideas to get the parents working. Slowly but surely, we will see a turn in the tide of poverty. There is a bunch more I am doing including: program director for church, small groups and curriculum, men's ministry, family events, facilitating midweek service and baptisms, and a few other odds and ends. Life truly is full.

In all of the political turmoil, changes of life, culture-adjustment, family stuff, it is easy to lose focus. But one truth still holds true, when you lean on Him for everything, He is faithful to make sure you won't fall. He uses what's in your hand and makes it great. It's amazing when looking in a mirror, how glaring your short-comings are. But what we see is rarely what He sees. So what do we have left, except to trust and to respond to His Grace? He is doing amazing things. We are blessed to be a small part of it and we are blessed that you are a part too.




My mom, of course, has demanded...not asked btw...that I include a few prayer requests. So here they are...(love you, mom)

• Favor - with pastors, government leaders, and those in the gypsy community 

• Finances - we have to apply for our 1 year visas next month to the tune of $3000 and also the birth of Ramos baby #4 due in September(dear Lord, help it be a girl)

•  Wisdom - God would continue to lead and direct us in work, relationships, in family

•  Protection - continued health and safety in all we do

Thank you all for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers! We love you and miss you all!




Here are some pics of the BBQ:

Home for the Holidays

He is Faithful..

 

 

Well, let me just say, the first month and a half was definitely...interesting. Our dear friend, Monika, allowed us to live overtake/dominate her 2 bedroom apartment and by the end of our time there, we were ALL ready to be in a place of our own. This was our first Christmas and New Years away from our families and it was not easy. Every Skype call and chat with our family started and ended with tears, but we also had the amazing opportunity to share Christmas Eve with orphans and a few girls who had been rescued from human trafficking and that made it a Christmas to remember.

Christmas morning was chaotic. It took us 45 minutes to get through the Christmas story, but at the end, Jesus finally came to Earth as a baby, so that's good. We tried to keep ourselves as busy as we could, so as to keep our thoughts off of home. Christmas night was spent at some of our close family friends and their kids. There was a total of 9 kids, 6 and under, between the 3 families with only 1 girl. It was crazy.

Vladi and me in our new van

The week before Christmas, my friend and I flew to Germany to purchase a minivan for the family. We did look at a couple of vans here in Bulgaria but it is extremely hard to find a car that hasn't been tampered with, including the mileage being turned back. So, in order to be certain that a car is in good condition, it is best to buy one from Holland, Germany, or Switzerland. The whole trip took about a day and a half with only little 'hiccup' on the way home. Nothing like getting blackmailed and threatened at the Hungarian boarder to remind you just what part of the world you're living in. Anyways, we were blessed to find a Mercedes Vito which is a minivan for the same price that we sold our van in the States. It does feel weird driving a black Mercedes, but I'm sure we will get used to it. ;)




The view from our balcony

At the very end of December, we moved in to our new apartment which is located 2 blocks from the American Embassy. The location is perfect with the Subway only a 5 minute walk away and bordering a park. It is also very spacious almost 2400 square feet. It is a perfect place for having guests and hosting church events. We spent the good part of 2 weeks buying furniture and settling in. It feels good to have a home of our own.

Malachi and Levi started school the first week of January and they LOVE it! They are attending the American English Academy which is the school I attended when we first moved to Bulgaria 20 years ago. It blows my mind how life has come full-circle. We had parent-teacher conferences last week at their school and we couldn't be more proud, not just of how they are adjusting, but of who these boys are becoming: intelligent, friendly, kind, caring...all attributes of their mother by the way. They are also the loudest, most energetic, and curious in the class. They may have gotten that from their old man...maybe.

Even as the boys have fallen into their routine, Andrea and I have as well. I started working full-time for A21 and Zoe church after the first of the year and Andrea is working about 20-30 hours a week. I have been put in charge of 3 projects for A21, including: Roma or Gypsy outreach, connecting and partnering with local churches and pastors throughout Bulgaria, and construction supervision of a cafe that A21 will be opening to support victims of human trafficking. That is just for A21. For Zoe church, Andrea and I are in charge of facilitating The Exchange, which is our midweek teaching and training classes, as well as, connect groups for families, Alpha courses, and toddler/nursery classes on Sunday. So, we are staying busy.

Adjusting has not been easy, but through it all He is faithful. There have been times when we have been at our weakest, but each time with His Grace, He has shown Himself strong. With each door He opens, there are giants to face and with each struggle, we realize our need for Him. I can't even begin to comprehend what this journey would look like without your love, support, and prayers. Thank you for believing in us. It truly is an adventure, but not just ours. Every life touched, every victim saved, and every heart changed through what we are doing is a direct result of your generousity and friendship. We are so grateful and so appreciative.

 

Here is a quick video update!

Enjoy!

The Promised Land

We Are Here!!!

Well, we made it. What a whirlwind/roller coaster ride this has been, and to think it's just the beginning. The past month has been insane. Our plan for leaving had been scheduled and rescheduled with our final departure date set for Monday, December 3rd. After enjoying Thanksgiving with Andrea's family in Oregon, we were nervous that we were again not going to make our departure date due to our visas being processed. Then on Tuesday, November 27th, we received an email from the Bulgarian consulate informing us that our visas were approved, in the process of bring printed on our passports, and would be in the delivered to us by Friday. Wow. His timing is perfect. The next few days were a blur filled with heart-felt goodbye's, happy tears, lots of hugs, and nervous excitement.

 

 

 

. I was both surprised and proud of how well the boys did on the flights. We were so blessed to have extra seats on both flights so Asa and room for Andrea to lay down and rest. We also got to spend the night in London which was an amazing experience for all of us. I have been to London quite a bit in transit to Bulgaria, but it was surreal to have a family of my own to share it with. Arriving in Bulgaria was truly a dream. It felt like coming home.  God is so faithful! 21 boxes and bags and not one missing! The boys were beside themselves when they saw the freshly fallen snow on the ground and proceeded to white-wash themselves and each other in it. We arrived at 2pm and we spent the rest of the day trying to keep ourselves awake which was not an easy task with our little rug rats. But we made it to 9:30 and everyone passed out. With only one little hiccup from Asa at 3am, everyone was able to sleep through the night. Our first full day in Sofia, consisted of apartment shopping and we looked at several that would have accommodated us but none seemed like the right fit, so we will continue looking. Thursday night we went over to Nick and Vicky Rough's house (the couple from Hillsong London who run A21 BG and Zoe church) for dinner and fellowship. They are so warm and welcoming, truly people-people and we are honored to serve along side them.

 

So far in this journey, we have learned one glaring truth...His timing is perfect. About a month ago, when we were still living in the 'Delay', we were introduced to someone that, unbenounced to us, would be such a huge part of our journey. Katie was introduced to us by a close friend who thought we could use some help with the boys as we were preparing to leave. Malachi, Levi, and especially Asa fell in love instantly with Katie. Little did anyone know that God would so move our hearts, as well as hers, to take this huge step of faith. We asked her to pray about coming with us and helping with the kids as well as, serving A21 and Zoe church. After much prayer by both Katie and her parents, God spoke and Katie listened. It has seriously been a kiss from heaven having Katie here. She is kind, compassionate, happy, easy-going, and is able to dish it out as well as take it. His timing truly is perfect and He always knows best. Miracle after miracle He has led us. If we would have left when we planned to, we would have never met Katie.

 

Yesterday as we were walking around looking at apartments, Andrea turned to me with tears in her eyes and said, 'I am excited.' I asked her what she was excited about and she simply said, 'About being home.' I can't even begin to express how blessed I am to have this woman. She is so filled with faith and resolve. It's hard to be overwhelmed when living with such an encourager.

 

We are so blessed to be here. Thank you for everything that you have sown into us, not just financially but in your prayers too. You have made this dream a reality and we want you to share in the joy of making a difference and seeing the lost saved, restored, and redeemed. You are both in our hearts and our minds and we pray that His faithfulness and goodness would be so glaring in your life as they have been in ours.

 

Here are some prayer points:

 

 

- Easy transition to timezone

 

-Smooth adjustment to new culture and pace of life

 

-That we would find an apartment quickly and get settled in.

 

 

Thank you again!!! We love and miss you!

 

 

The Ramos Clan