July 4th in Sofia, Bulgaria

Just a quick note to say how blessed I am to be in Sofia, Bulgaria today. I’m spite of my shortcomings, God continues to open doors. This week, our team of three are at Blaga Vest (Good News) Church, serving and getting ready for camp. Tonight, Anthony Martinez will teach in the mid-week Bible Study. Thank you for your prayerful support!

Watch tonight’s service live at 11:30 AM EDT here.

Christmas 2015 Memories

I’m getting ready for another visit to Bulgaria and am looking forward to whatever God has in store. It has been several months since our trip to Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Greece. I figured I’m overdue to post the words that were on my heart as we left…

Sitting on the plane, half way over the Atlantic, I first thank God for His grace and His mercy. In spite of knowing the man I am, He has shown grace in more ways than I could even recount. He is worthy of much more praise than I could ever give and He has been gracious to me in ways that only He could.

During the past two weeks, Brenda and I have enjoyed great blessings from God. While not with family at home, we have been blessed with family half way around the world. Brothers and sisters, whom I love dearly, have been used by God to show His grace. From the smiles of little children, to the embrace of older saints, God continues to bless by using His people.

As the aircraft left the ground, as has been the case over the last few years, I felt pain and sorrow as I looked out the window. The faces of brothers and sisters, whom I will not see again for a long time, and faces of those whom I was unable to see on this visit continue to pass by in my mind. Yes, my own comfort will be enjoyed when I return home, a part of me remains in these lands far from me. This part continues to ache.

I am so thankful for time with my wife and the opportunity to introduce her to so many that I love. The hospitality and love blesses me beyond words. The sights, the sounds, the aromas, and the tastes linger on; but the love of God through His people fill my heart and is cherished forever.

One of the blessings, on this trip, is a long flight where God has worked on my heart. He has taken the burden within and has helped me give it to Him. With many prayers, I thank God for my Christian family and I will continue in prayer every day. With renewed determination, I look forward to the time we meet again.

For now, I thank God for my family and friends in the U.S.A. I also love them dearly and appreciate their support and the love they continue to show. One day, however, there will be no parting, no pain, no tears, no heavy burden of deep longing. One day, all God’s children will be together forever. I look forward to that day!

The Power of Prayer

Today is the fourth day for the Bulgaria-Macedonia Servant Team 2015. God has answered many prayers already and I want to thank those who are lifting this ministry to our Heavenly Father. We've seen His timing, His guidance, His leading in church services. We've been blessed in Skopje, Macedonia through His Spirit and His people. We've seen Him make a way for us in unexpected ways as paperwork just "appeared" as needed at the border crossing. We've felt His presence so strongly in Stolnik, Bulgaria that it was nearly overwhelming. God is doing what God does best and He's answering prayers. To those who have been praying, THANK YOU! To those who want to be part of this work, please help on your knees. 

Much travel is ahead and the lives of many men, women, boys and girls will be imacted by God. The gentleman seen in the picture proudly lifts the Bulgarian flag. Pray for these people as God moves among them and the the churches here as they find God's will among such as this man. 

Bulgaria - Macedonia 2015

The LORD says, “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Barnabas is one of my favorite men of the Bible. His real name was Joseph, but was given this nickname which means "Son of Encouragement." What a powerful statement, to be called that instead of your given name! This is the calling of our Bulgarian - Macedonian Servant Team... to serve and to encourage fellow believers.

This year, I'll be returning with the Bulgarian - Macedonian Servant Team from Bullhead City, AZ as we support and encourage fellow believers. We will be visiting brothers and sisters in several parts of Bulgaria and Macedonia. In an area where the protestant church only accounts for 1% of the nation, God is at work in the hearts of His people. In a place where the persecution is sometimes subtle, but very real. In a place where real believers are feared and often ridiculed.

We will visit and serve churches in Sofia, Svishtov, and  Macedonia during our eighteen day visit. Once again, a full week of youth camp will bless many children and adult. This will be our chance to serve children and teens.

We greatly appreciate your prayers for our brothers and sisters overseas and for our team. The Servant Team is not setting out to evangelize the nation, but rather to encourage our brothers and sisters as they share Jesus with their neighbors. We are only here to serve. (July 1 - 17)

Many thanks to those who have already donated.   - Northern Virginia Association of Free Will Baptists		Many have chosen to financially support mission work to Bulgaria in the past. If you choose this again, you will receive a receipt from Heritage FWB Church. Thank you for your prayers and assistance.

I hope you enjoy this video last year, as we look forward to this year's journey.
Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.
Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins,
 as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

Christmas in July

Christmas is upon us and greetings of glad tidings abound. All around the world; men, women, boys and girls reflect on this special time of year. The children are so anxious for Christmas that many will have a hard time sleeping tonight. Receiving a gift is a special thing, but when Jesus said that it’s more blessed to give than to receive, as always; he spoke the truth.

As I reflect on the great “gifts” I have received this year, I want to share something remarkable. In July, the Calvary Chapel Bullhead City Bulgaria Servant Team flew half around the world to serve other Christians, but WE were the ones who received the gift. Sharing with friends in Sofia & Svishtov, Bulgaria and Skopje, Macedonia; we were blessed beyond measure.

Working with Blaga Vest Sofia, Blaga Vest, Svishtov, and Dobra Vest Skopje; we experienced grace and love and joy. We could never give enough thanks to our wonderful hosts, who made us feel like family, but maybe as we look back, we can just thank God for allowing such a great summer.

Please enjoy the photos as I let them do most of the speaking. In the meantime, I’ll feel like the child waiting for my Christmas in July next year!

Here is a link for the photo album.

Inner Strength

From the outside, the hull of the old boat was battered and beaten. For many years, she had seen turbulent storms and suffered much damage. Now, don’t think that it was always that way, for this old girl had seen smooth waters and had voyaged to many wondrous places. She had experienced many adventures that would excite and entice anyone. However, it wasn’t the smooth sailing that gave her the worn look, it was those storms and rocky passages that made most people shake their head when they looked on her exterior. To the passer-by, she looked like she should have been put away years ago, yet there she was, still able to stand strong day after day.

What was the secret of the old boat? What gave her the strength to carry on? Deep beneath the surface, if you were to look under the scarred gunwales, you would see an inner strength. She was held together by what most could not see, by strong steel that made her able to withstand all the calamities on the surface. It was the inner strength that gave her character.

As with the old boat, many men and women who seem to be battered and beaten continue to carry on day after day. While they may not be the most attractive nor the fastest, they hold fast and stay true to the course. The strength of the truly resilient comes from what cannot be seen from the outside. It is God who can give such strength, holding us together as he lifts us up and protecting us with His armor. I thank God that He doesn’t fail and that He can be relied upon when the storms of life come our way. 

Bulgaria / Macedonia Servant Trip 2014

The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” – Psalm 32:8

In August 2010, the Lord started guiding me down an unexpected path. Taking my experiences and passions to allow opportunities I would have never expected. Over the past two summers, I've been blessed to work in His ministry to Bulgaria through The Hanna Project. God has moved in me, drawing me to this land so far away as I have seen Him work in peoples lives. Now, he has opened a new door.

This year, I'll be joining the Bulgarian Servant Team from Bullhead City, AZ as we support and encourage the Church in Bulgaria and Macedonia. We will be visiting brothers and sisters in several parts of Bulgaria and Macedonia. In an area where the protestant church only accounts for 1% of the nation, God is at work in the hearts of His people. Yet, all around them, people have no hope at all, or put their hope in ritual and superstition. Real believers are feared and often ridiculed. A special treat for me on this trip will be camp! We will be working at a Christian youth camp on the Black Sea. This will be our chance to serve children and teens in Narnian fashion.

We greatly appreciate your prayers for our brothers and sisters overseas and for our team. The Bulgarian Servant Team is not setting out to evangelize the nation, but rather to encourage our brothers and sisters as they share Jesus with their neighbors. We are only here to serve. (July 1 - 17)

Thanks to the following who are helping financially.		Many have chosen to financially support mission work to Bulgaria in the past. If you choose this again, you will receive a receipt from Heritage FWB Church. Thank you for your prayers and assistance.
NORVAFWB
Heritage WAC
Harold and Stacie Green

I hope you enjoy these photos from past years, as we look forward to this year's journey.

THP Team Bulgaria

Dear Friends and Family, 

Last year, the Lord opened a door of opportunity to me and many of you helped with your prayers and contributions. He allowed eleven of us to travel to Svishtov, Bulgaria and serve special needs children and local church members. God began opening doors for His Church - Protestant Christians in ways that are continuing to unfold. Thank you for the prayers for us and our friends in Bulgaria. What you may not know is that the Lord began unfolding a new work within me too. Just when I thought my life was planned and settled, God started shaking and challenging... WOW, what a mighty God we serve! As we continue to pray for guidance, your prayers are still cherished.

This year, I would like to share a new opportunity that the Lord is providing in June. Once again, we will be serving in a humanitarian mission trip to Svishtov, Bulgaria. The Hanna Project is sending a team composed of people from all around the U.S. to bring help, hope, and healing to men, women, boys and girls.

Purpose: The first and foremost reason for going is to share the Good News of Jesus with the people there by showing the love of Jesus to them. We will be constructing a playground at that same school for children with mental and physical disabilities, and will be working with conversational English sessions for high school students. Our hope is that they will see Jesus through us! We are looking forward to supporting Tim & Lydia Awtrey, along with Jonathan and Amy Postlewaite, our missionaries in Svishtov. We are asking the Lord to help fan the flame of the Gospel to people who are skeptical about Christianity and the protestant church. 

Prayer needs 

• God will open the hearts of the people there. 
• Team Unity. 
• I will be open to what God wants to teach me. 

I am so excited about this trip! Will you please consider sharing this opportunity with me as the Lord leads you to pray and/or give? Financial support is essential to my going on the trip, but of equal or greater importance is your commitment to pray! 

When:  May 31 - June 10, 2013

Where: Svishtov, Bulgaria 

Cost:    $2500.00 per team member. 

(This covers airfare, food, transportation, lodging and materials.Each team member is responsible for raising 100% of their financial and prayer support.) 

If you would like to be involved, please put my name in the memo and make your check payable to: The Hanna Project and mail to: The Hanna Project, PO BOX 417, Antioch, TN 37011 You can also visit http://www.hannaproject.com/fundraising/profiles/dockhoilman and support me online with credit or debit card.  

THANK YOU!

Ron Paul Warned Us About 9/11

Three years before terrorists attacked... Ron Paul warned us of our interventionist policies...

"Our National Security is more jeopardized by permitting this to happen because we're liable to start a war. We're liable to have our military men killed. We're liable to have more attacks on us by terrorists."

In 2008, Ron Paul was the only Republican saying that we should not be invading countries in the middle east.

In the recent New Hampshire debate, it seems that other candidates are finally getting some idea that Ron Paul has been right all along.

Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal wrote: "Every candidate who was asked took issue with U.S. involvement in Libya. Michele Bachmann asserted no "American interests" were at stake: "We were not attacked. We were not threatened with attack." Newt Gingrich spoke of "fundamentally . . . reassessing our entire strategy in the region." Ron Paul said we should get our troops home. Tim Pawlenty nattered on about something, but even he didn't take an opportunity to ask for patience on Afghanistan. John Huntsman, who was not announced and not present at the debate, told CNN he has doubts about the cost of Afghanistan and the likelihood of U.S. success there...

A flurry of polls this week show the public is on the side of the new sobriety. CNN had 62% now opposing the war in Afghanistan, just 36% in favor. CBS News found 64% want the number of U.S. troops decreased, and 51% said the U.S. shouldn't be in Afghanistan at all. A Washington Post/ABC News poll said 54% of respondents feel the war has not been worth fighting, and 73% said the U.S. should withdraw combat forces this summer. A Rasmussen survey found a combined 56% who said the U.S. should withdraw from Afghanistan immediately or on a firm timetable, up four points since March."

Rather than these Johnny and Jenny-Come-Lately folks, why don't we vote for the real visionary? Why not Ron Paul?

The Pro-Abortion Party

The Pro-Abortion Party - WSJ.com: In the budget deal, Democrats make clear their No. 1 priority.

In 2009, Planned Parenthood killed over 330 thousand children. Making his voice perfectly clear, President Obama showed that he would rather shut down the government than take away the taxpayer-funded murders. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, the "conservative" politicians agreed with Obama... Sure, let us help you pay to kill these children! No wonder our country is in such trouble.

Philadelphia Doctor in Culture of Death

This is an outrage... but why does this continue in the United States of America?

During his tenure in the United States Senate, Barack Obama co-sponsored the 2007 Senate version of the Freedom of Choice Act (S. 1173). Later, in a speech given to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund on July 17, 2007, Obama declared, "The first thing I'd do, as president, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do."

While he still hasn't been able to push that wicked promise through, he has continued to promote the killing of the innocent children. As president, he has released millions of tax-payer dollars for abortions in the U.S. and in other countries. This is the legacy that his supporters embraced when they put in the Illinois state senator who worked diligently on four separate occasions to prevent newborn babies from receiving medical care that could have saved their lives. His record in opposition to the "Born Alive" legislation has, for years, made sure that babies born alive in Illinois after surviving an abortion attempt were tossed in a corner of the room and left to die.

In our culture of death, what is the difference between discarding a baby and allowing it to die with no care, no comfort, no medical attention, and killing the same baby with a pair of scissors? I agree with Bryan Fischer who said... "I submit that the president of the United States shares moral culpability for creating a climate in which this kind of Mayan-era butchery could take place. He too, just like Dr. Gosnell, has shown a 'disdain for the lives and health of ... infants.'"

Why is it so hard for some to believe the words of the Declaration of Independence...

"that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life..."

Merry Christmas!

Praying the Lord's blessings for all our friends and family during this Christmas season. Some day we'll have time to sit down and spend the time together that we want... If not this side of Heaven, then in the presence of the Lord. WOW... what a day! ... But for now, Brenda and I wish the very best for you and those close to you.

High Seas Adventure - Tuesday

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High Seas Adventure - Monday

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Obama Welcomes Accreditation of International LGBT Organization by UN

A homosexual activist group has gained a non-government organization status at the United Nations. It took the help of President Obama and the United States, but the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has gained official status at the U.N., which is an "important step forward for human rights," according to President Obama. While he may be deceiving Congress and the country at large, I will say this... Our President is consistently keeping promises to those who voted for him to usher in greater sin and debauchery into our country and world. He has, once again, circumvented the proper protocol and procedure in order to push a very unpopular policy.

More: President Obama Welcomes Accreditation of International LGBT Organization by UN

Pentagon Disinvites Franklin Graham from Prayer Event

The U.S. Army on Thursday withdrew an invitation to a Franklin Graham because he has the audacity to speak the truth. In an interview last year with CNN, Graham said "true Islam" was too violent to be practiced in the United States.

"You can't beat your wife. You cannot murder your children if you think they've committed adultery or something like that, which they do practice in these other countries," he said.

"I don't agree with the teachings of Islam and I find it to be a very violent religion."

How dare anyone disagree with beating your wife? Who knows, they may soon have wife-beating awards to wear on the soldiers' chests... You go ARMY!

Pentagon disinvites evangelist who scorned Islam | Reuters

GO10 Walk

On April 5th, a historic walk began in Glennville, GA. Laura Belle Barnard, the first international missionary Free Will Baptists sent out, attended the Glennville FWB Church before leaving for India in 1935. The GO10 Walk for the World, a 2,500-mile walk that covers a route commemorating major events in Barnard’s life, began at this church. The purpose of this walk is to challenge youth to consider their role in reaching the nations with the Gospel in their generation.

Thanks to an anonymous donor this unique walk-a-thon has the potential to raise more than a million dollars to share the Gospel with those who have never heard it. So far there are 1,083 walkers registered and $225,451.19 donated online in this historic event.

Pray for Joe Wilson and volunteers who help him coordinate this event. Pray also for safety and health for those walking the different segments. Pray for walkers from Heritage FWB Church as we walk on May 27. The walk will end at the site of our national conference in Oklahoma City on July 20. Check out the website for more information or to participate... I really need the sponsors! www.go10walk.com/dock.

Obama's Radical Recess Appointments

President Barack Obama is using the Congressional recess to make his wildest appointments. Two of these individuals are so radical they couldn't even be confirmed by a Democratic-controlled Senate. Obviously, there is no way we should condone such behavior by a President, but it's hard to not be impressed by his deviously silent maneuvering... Even to get beyond the very liberal Democrats as he continues to deliver on his promises to the homosexual activist community.

Lesbian activist, Chai Feldblum has been nominated to be commissioner for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She is for "superior rights for homosexuals," and which is very dangerous for our country." Speaking at a forum in 2004, Feldblum stated that "gay sex is morally good."

Andrea Lafferty has stated that "sexual liberty trumps religious liberty," she's opposed the Boy Scouts being able to determine who should be Scout leaders, and she also is the author of ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act), which is a bill that will force Christians and everybody to have to hire transgendered people.

For more on these appointments see...

Obama's radical recess appointments (OneNewsNow.com)
President taps lesbian activist to EEOC (OneNewsNow.com)

Job or Ministry?

Some people have a job in the church.
Others involve themselves in ministry.

What’s the difference?

If you do it just because no one else will... it’s a job!
If you do it to serve God... it’s a ministry!

If you quit because someone criticized you... it’s a job!
If you kept on serving in spite of criticism... it’s a ministry!

If you’ll do it only so long as it doesn’t interfere with other things... it’s a job!
If you’re committed to staying with it... it’s a ministry!

If you quit because no one ever praised or thanked you... it’s a job!
If you stay even though no one notices your efforts... it’s a ministry!

If you do it because someone else said it needs to be done... it’s a job!
If you do it because you sensed God saying it needs to be done... it’s a ministry!

It’s hard to get excited about a job.
It’s almost impossible not to get excited about a ministry!

An average church is filled with people doing jobs!
A great and growing church is filled with people involved in ministry!

Have you considered your ministry lately?

President Obama Loved Biden's F-Bomb?

Great... The offices of our United States President and Vice President are getting more vulgar every day. In fact, if you ask Joe Biden, his use of foul language isn't a big deal to the President of the United States.

Apparently Joe Biden is "laughing off" his use of a profanity on the national stage as it was picked up by nearby live microphones. He used the "f-word" during the White House ceremony surrounding President Obama's signing of the Democratic healthcare reform bill.

After a his introduction of the president, Biden leaned into Obama and stated: "This is a big [expletive] deal." (View video report from Associated Press)

Now... Even worse... On Wednesday night in the vice president told supporters at a fundraiser that Obama was not upset by his use of profanity in the setting. According to the report, Biden quoted President Obama as saying he considered "Joe's comment" as the "best thing" about the nationally televised signing ceremony.

So these are the men who are our leaders? One would at least expect an apology.

President Obama Loved Biden's F-Bomb? - Special Report w/ Bret Baier - FOXNews.com