David Bliss's blog

Kindergarten

Sophia started kindergarten this week.  Now I know what most of you are thinking, "Doesn't that violate the Minnesota State law forbidding beginning of a new school year before Labor Day?"  And the answer is, "No, because we are homeschooling."  With our upcoming move to Bulgaria we decided that it would be better to stick with a schooling system that we can take with us.  Since the local elementary school did not like the idea of being sent to Bulgaria, we went with another option.  We started early to offset any disruptions to her classroom time around the move.

She loves learning.  In fact, it is hard for us as parents to keep up with her.  The curriculum we use begins reading on week 10.  Sophie tried to start reading the first reader book today (and to some extent succeeded).  She also designed a plate of prehistoric foods after learning about what hunter/gather's might have eaten.  Though interested in early means of food production, she made it clear that she much prefers her method of opening the pantry and getting out a snack.

She loves English school, but she is also excited to start Bulgarian school.  It's coming soon Sophie!

Kindergarten

Sophia started kindergarten this week.  Now I know what most of you are thinking, "Doesn't that violate the Minnesota State law forbidding beginning of a new school year before Labor Day?"  And the answer is, "No, because we are homeschooling."  With our upcoming move to Bulgaria we decided that it would be better to stick with a schooling system that we can take with us.  Since the local elementary school did not like the idea of being sent to Bulgaria, we went with another option.  We started early to offset any disruptions to her classroom time around the move.

She loves learning.  In fact, it is hard for us as parents to keep up with her.  The curriculum we use begins reading on week 10.  Sophie tried to start reading the first reader book today (and to some extent succeeded).  She also designed a plate of prehistoric foods after learning about what hunter/gather's might have eaten.  Though interested in early means of food production, she made it clear that she much prefers her method of opening the pantry and getting out a snack.

She loves English school, but she is also excited to start Bulgarian school.  It's coming soon Sophie!

Not Quite Home

Those of you who have spent a while away from the US might know what I'm talking about.  The rest of you might not.  I (David) enjoy being in the mid-west.  I grew up here in Minnesota, and there is always a part of me that will have a soft spot for the St. Croix Valley.  Yet in spite of spending over two decades of my life in this beautiful little part of the land of sky blue water, I did not feel like I was coming home when we landed in June.  I could name all the sites as our jet came in for final approach at the Minneapolis Airport, but it felt different than other flights back to Minnesota.  It felt foreign.

Of course, this was no fault of the great people of this fine state.  Though change always happens everywhere, I found Minnesota to be much the same as it was when we last left it.  No, the sense of foreignness came because I had changed.  I had left my homeland and adopted a new homeland.  I had become a foreigner.

I expected this feeling to fade over time, and in a sense it has.  I have re-familiarized myself with many of the cultural aspects that I had forgotten.  I have relearned that everyone around me speaks my first language.  I have remembered what slang terms should be used and when.  In our two and a half months back I have readjusted fairly well.  Still there is something that constantly feels off.

I can't exactly put my finger on it.  Maybe it is unfulfilled expectations of what it would be like to be back.  Maybe it is that I have become so familiar with life in Europe that life in the US now seems slightly off.  Maybe it is simply that after four years of having to put just a little more effort into fitting in that I have forgotten how to relax and simply be an American.  Whatever it is, this summer in the US has left me with a feeling that, though I'm home, I'm not quite home.

Not Quite Home

Those of you who have spent a while away from the US might know what I'm talking about.  The rest of you might not.  I (David) enjoy being in the mid-west.  I grew up here in Minnesota, and there is always a part of me that will have a soft spot for the St. Croix Valley.  Yet in spite of spending over two decades of my life in this beautiful little part of the land of sky blue water, I did not feel like I was coming home when we landed in June.  I could name all the sites as our jet came in for final approach at the Minneapolis Airport, but it felt different than other flights back to Minnesota.  It felt foreign.

Of course, this was no fault of the great people of this fine state.  Though change always happens everywhere, I found Minnesota to be much the same as it was when we last left it.  No, the sense of foreignness came because I had changed.  I had left my homeland and adopted a new homeland.  I had become a foreigner.

I expected this feeling to fade over time, and in a sense it has.  I have re-familiarized myself with many of the cultural aspects that I had forgotten.  I have relearned that everyone around me speaks my first language.  I have remembered what slang terms should be used and when.  In our two and a half months back I have readjusted fairly well.  Still there is something that constantly feels off.

I can't exactly put my finger on it.  Maybe it is unfulfilled expectations of what it would be like to be back.  Maybe it is that I have become so familiar with life in Europe that life in the US now seems slightly off.  Maybe it is simply that after four years of having to put just a little more effort into fitting in that I have forgotten how to relax and simply be an American.  Whatever it is, this summer in the US has left me with a feeling that, though I'm home, I'm not quite home.

Language

David has been working on Bulgarian in preparation for our move to Sofia.  So far he has a pretty good jump on it, but being his third language there have been a few linguistic clashes in his mind.  For example, sin is the English verb for doing something against God’s will.  Syn (pronounced like the English word, “sin”) is the Polish noun meaning “son.”  Син is a Bulgarian word that sounds very similar to both sin and syn.  It is the Bulgarian adjective for “blue.”  Three different words with three different places in grammar and three different meanings all converge to make one mixed up Minnesotan.

However, there have also been many helpful aspects to his previous linguistic experience that is helping him in this new language.  Many Polish words are very similar to their Bulgarian counterparts.  Some words are even identical to their English or Polish companions.  For example, it is bank in English and Polish, and банка (banka) in Bulgarian.  The Polish word zamienam (I exchange) is very close to the Bulgarian word with the same meaning (сменям or cmienam).

Of course it also helps that David has been married to a Bulgarian for 9 years.

We are expecting language accusation to go smoothly, but please keep him in your prayers anyway.  Language learning is like a marathon for the mind.  It takes a lot of hard work.

Language

David has been working on Bulgarian in preparation for our move to Sofia.  So far he has a pretty good jump on it, but being his third language there have been a few linguistic clashes in his mind.  For example, sin is the English verb for doing something against God’s will.  Syn (pronounced like the English word, “sin”) is the Polish noun meaning “son.”  Син is a Bulgarian word that sounds very similar to both sin and syn.  It is the Bulgarian adjective for “blue.”  Three different words with three different places in grammar and three different meanings all converge to make one mixed up Minnesotan.

However, there have also been many helpful aspects to his previous linguistic experience that is helping him in this new language.  Many Polish words are very similar to their Bulgarian counterparts.  Some words are even identical to their English or Polish companions.  For example, it is bank in English and Polish, and банка (banka) in Bulgarian.  The Polish word zamienam (I exchange) is very close to the Bulgarian word with the same meaning (сменям or cmienam).

Of course it also helps that David has been married to a Bulgarian for 9 years.

We are expecting language accusation to go smoothly, but please keep him in your prayers anyway.  Language learning is like a marathon for the mind.  It takes a lot of hard work.

Birthday Photos

Veronica had a really fun birthday as you can see.  Here are some pictures from her party. I bet you can't tell what the theme of the party is :)

Birthday Photos

Veronica had a really fun birthday as you can see.  Here are some pictures from her party. I bet you can't tell what the theme of the party is :)

Sleep Walking

Our oldest was found wandering the house at 3:30 am turning on lights.  We are pretty sure she was sleep walking.  This would not be totally unheard of in our family.  Dave has family members who have been known to sleep walk, and Dave himself has done some pretty strange things in his sleep.  Let's face it.  We can do some pretty funny things when the link between our brain and our body is only partly awake.

We took the last few days off for a much needed time of rest after months of craziness and a bit of an emotional roller coaster.  In the spring, we packed up our home in Lodz and closed our our ministries.  We then moved everything into storage and left Poland.  Since being back in the US, we have undergone many interviews and had many meetings with various people who have evaluated our intellectual, mental, and emotional ability to make sure that we are sound people who are qualified to start a new mission field.  All of this is, of course, very important, but it is also taxing on those being evaluated.

After getting approval from ReachGlobal to start a team in Sofia, Bulgaria, David hit the road pretty hard to reconnect with supporters around the mid-west.  In the past month we have met with supporters from three different states, and Dave will be adding a fourth state this weekend when he visits Geneseo, Illinois.  Our meetings have been two fold:  1)  We want to update as many people as possible in regard to our move to Bulgaria.  2)  We need to get some one time funds as well as some additional monthly pledges before returning to Europe.  We still have a ways to go on the support raising front, but we have made some great progress thanks to some generous donations from individual supporters and supporting churches.  Meeting with our supporters and supporting churches always proves to be a great experience.  Those of you who are following our ministry and sustaining us through your prayers and financial gifts are a great blessing to us.  We love chances to visit with you all.  Still, by the end of July, we were pretty tired from months of seemingly endless transition.  Like Sophie, we felt like we were sleeping walking.  When you are sleep walking you know it is time to take a proper rest.

Sasha's former roommate came to visit over this vacation week, and they got to spend some time together reconnecting.  We had some good family times as well.  We were given coupons for Under Water World at the Mall of America, and we took advantage of them.  The girls are still talking about the fish and turtles that were swimming over their heads.  We also visited some local parks and found some inexpensive ways to relax in the beautiful outdoors of Minnesota.  This is one of the most beautiful states in the nation 11 months out of the year.  (March in Minnesota is just ugly, so don't ever come visit then.)  We are returning to work today refreshed and ready to hit the trail hard.

If you are in the Twin Cities area, and have not had a chance to visit with us yet, we would love to meet with you some time.  Send us an e-mail, find us on facebook, or send us a tweet on twitter to get a hold of us.  We would love to see you.

Sleep Walking

Our oldest was found wandering the house at 3:30 am turning on lights.  We are pretty sure she was sleep walking.  This would not be totally unheard of in our family.  Dave has family members who have been known to sleep walk, and Dave himself has done some pretty strange things in his sleep.  Let's face it.  We can do some pretty funny things when the link between our brain and our body is only partly awake.

We took the last few days off for a much needed time of rest after months of craziness and a bit of an emotional roller coaster.  In the spring, we packed up our home in Lodz and closed our our ministries.  We then moved everything into storage and left Poland.  Since being back in the US, we have undergone many interviews and had many meetings with various people who have evaluated our intellectual, mental, and emotional ability to make sure that we are sound people who are qualified to start a new mission field.  All of this is, of course, very important, but it is also taxing on those being evaluated.

After getting approval from ReachGlobal to start a team in Sofia, Bulgaria, David hit the road pretty hard to reconnect with supporters around the mid-west.  In the past month we have met with supporters from three different states, and Dave will be adding a fourth state this weekend when he visits Geneseo, Illinois.  Our meetings have been two fold:  1)  We want to update as many people as possible in regard to our move to Bulgaria.  2)  We need to get some one time funds as well as some additional monthly pledges before returning to Europe.  We still have a ways to go on the support raising front, but we have made some great progress thanks to some generous donations from individual supporters and supporting churches.  Meeting with our supporters and supporting churches always proves to be a great experience.  Those of you who are following our ministry and sustaining us through your prayers and financial gifts are a great blessing to us.  We love chances to visit with you all.  Still, by the end of July, we were pretty tired from months of seemingly endless transition.  Like Sophie, we felt like we were sleeping walking.  When you are sleep walking you know it is time to take a proper rest.

Sasha's former roommate came to visit over this vacation week, and they got to spend some time together reconnecting.  We had some good family times as well.  We were given coupons for Under Water World at the Mall of America, and we took advantage of them.  The girls are still talking about the fish and turtles that were swimming over their heads.  We also visited some local parks and found some inexpensive ways to relax in the beautiful outdoors of Minnesota.  This is one of the most beautiful states in the nation 11 months out of the year.  (March in Minnesota is just ugly, so don't ever come visit then.)  We are returning to work today refreshed and ready to hit the trail hard.

If you are in the Twin Cities area, and have not had a chance to visit with us yet, we would love to meet with you some time.  Send us an e-mail, find us on facebook, or send us a tweet on twitter to get a hold of us.  We would love to see you.