Just as I have done for
the months in Central America, I want to share with you a little bit of
comparison between the ministries I have been a part of the last two months.
For a recap of my first three months, click here.
Ministry…
Romania: Hope Church
Bulgaria: The Christian Missionary Center-Vidin
Location in country…
Romania: Draganesti-Olt
Bulgaria: Vidin
Ministry Contact…
Romania: Raul from Romania (main contact) as well
as George, Mircea, and Cornelia from Romania
Bulgaria: Javor from Bulgaria
What we did…
Romania: Worked with George and Mircea doing street
evangelism in the southern half of Romania’s Olt county. We went gate-to-gate
and person to person handing out tracks to them that shared the gospel.
Bulgaria: Our main ministry focus was to reach out
to the elderly here in Vidin. We went to nursing homes and shared with the
residents. We were able to visit some elderly whose families are a part of the
church and encourage and pray for them. We preached in front of several
congregations about The World Race including a gypsy church outside of Vidin.
We visited an orphanage for 3-5 years old, and then an adult special needs
orphanage. The ladies of the church pampered us one day with a spa evening. We
spent a lot of time with the youth from the church and had three youth
gatherings during out stay. The church also hosted us for a welcoming party and
a going away party.
Living Conditions…
Romania: Lived in a house with 2-4 people per room.
Bulgaria: Lived in an apartment where all of us
slept in one room.
Bathroom Situation…
Romania: 2 toilets (really 1 per gender), 2 showers
Bulgaria: 1 toilet, 1 shower
Team Chayil Worked with…
Romania: Team Depths of Freedom
Bulgaria: We were alone this month, but two squad
leaders stayed the last two weeks. (sorry I don’t have a photo of us all together)
Off Day Adventures…
Romania: Spent most of my off days resting with the
Father because ministry was very stretching & tiring. One off day we did go
to Braun Castle where we had to go up 1480 stairs in order to get to the
castle, it was an adventure, to say the least.
Bulgaria: We didn’t really have an “off day” during
the month, but our relaxed schedule made up for it. One night we had Thanksgiving dinner with a family from the church.
What God Taught Me…
Romania: Even a smile can bring someone to the
Lord.
Bulgaria: There is freedom in the mess.
My Favorite Part of Ministry…
Romania: Going to Corabia to do street ministry.
There were quite a bit of youth there that spoke English making it easier for
conversation.
Bulgaria: Sharing the story of my grandma and
grandpa to the elderly.
The One That Stole My Heart…
Romania: Cornelia
Bulgaria: Sarah
Mode of Transportation..
Romania: We went by train to get to Draganesti, but
while there we normally road in vehicles of the church members, generally a car
or van.
Bulgaria: Private bus to hold us and the church
members to go to the different nursing homes. Taxis were used often to get from
place to place. We took a ferry on our way into Vidin, across the Danube River.
Food…
Romania: Breakfast:
Cereal or eggs, mainly cereal. Lunch:
Lunchmeat sandwiches, with salami, cheese, and sometimes peppers and onions and
a fruit or chips. Dinner: Homemade
pizza, eggplant parmesan, chicken noodle soup, apple pie, chicken fajitas, Greek
salad, basically anything we could think of that consisted of chicken as the
meat because we cooked our own food and there was only chicken that we trusted.
Bulgaria: Breakfast:
Cereal Lunch: Mystery meat sandwiches
with fruit. Dinner: Taco salad, Bulgarian food made by the guy we live with,
potato soup, chicken and dumplings, stir fry, chicken fajitas, spaghetti, and
pretty much whatever we could come up with because there was beef and chicken!
Length of Ministry Daily…
Romania: At least 8 hours of ministry Tuesday-Friday, Saturday we had children’s church, church two times a day on Sundays, and then Mondays were our off days.
Bulgaria: We did ministry anywhere from 2 hours to
8 hours a day.
Currency Exchange Rate…
Romania: $1 = 3.4 leu
Bulgaria: $1 = 1.5 lev
My favorite European country would be…Bulgaria!
Favorite country on the race so far would be…
Nicaragua!
