“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in Love, as Christ Loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
-Ephesians 5:1-2
So we are finishing up our third week in Bulgaria now, and the thing that God has been revealing to me is the Father, child relationship that He wants to have with each one of His Beloved Children. He has shown me that I do not know the first thing about Love or the first thing about His Love for me and for His people.
We are staying at a Christian center that was just purchased in February and is being renovated as a conference center and place of refuge for woman and children. I can already see how this plot of land is being used as an agent of Grace in this small village. It is amazing to think while working on this building, that I am sleeping and walking on grounds that are going to change this village for eternity.
Small children have already found comfort on the grounds here. It hasn’t taken long for the word to get out and kids have been flocking to our yard, which is called Dobre Mirka (which means “good peace” in English).
The hearts of the children and the way they have received us, and this place has spoken to my Spirit. There can be so much beauty found in the heart of a child, some of them have not been so burned by the world yet and they live in so much more freedom as they are taking the freshness of life in for the first time. These kids come early in the morning to late at night. When they see us they have huge smiles and they run to us, they just want to be around us, they want to hold our hands, they will just sit and watch us paint, and they want to do what we do, they want to laugh with us, they want to show us off to their friends and family, they want us to know them, they want us to love them, when they are hurt they want us to comfort them, when they do something good the first thing they do is look to us for praise, when we leave for the market they run after our car, when we come to see them they jump into our arms and kiss us (I’m still getting used to this cultural norm).
The heart cry of a child is so clear, so exposed. We all have that cry in our heart, the cry to be Loved, the cry that our Father has placed in each one of our hearts, the cry that only He can answer fully.
“For you did not receive the Spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God”
-Romans 8:15-16
My prayer is that I will receive my Father as a child, as the children in this village have received us. I pray that I will walk in love and in the comfort of my Father’s arms, but most of all I pray for the people in this village, I pray that they will come to know their Loving Father, their Creator, and that He will adopt them into His family, and they will see the great LOVE and HOPE He has for those who come to Him.
God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit call your children HOME.
Please join with me in prayer, and thank you for all of your continued prayers in support, they have been received in MIGHTY ways. I love you all, and may the Grace and Peace of the LORD be with you always!!
Below is a video of some of the village kids after a soccer match in our yard:
