Too many thoughts in my head and not enough on paper.
We’ve only been here since midnight Thursday evening, but already my mind and heart are sinking in the depths of Bulgarian love. Love for our ministry hosts and their team, love for the team with whom I get to live, love for the Bulgarian people. I am in love with the Lord and the work he is doing in my heart and in this place. I didn’t think it would happen that fast, but it did.
So how did it happen?
It started with the church and the team here in Svishtov.
The outside of the church – a tired, dilapidated 19th century building – tells the story of former communist rule, as do most Eastern European buildings, but the inside is vibrant and alive, full of warmth and affection. As Tim, our ministry host, showed us around our living situation, our sleepy eyed manner gave way to awestruck gratitude and humility. Not only did he and his wife Lydia go out of their way to provide a “bedroom” with an assortment of beds and mattresses, but there is a fully-equipped kitchen, a bathroom (with a showerhead), and abundant space. They even provided food to welcome us here. Talk about goodness and generosity. I wasn’t expecting much, but this I would never have imagined.
As we’ve gotten to know Tim, Lydia and their team, the Lord has greatly expanded my understanding of the generational effects of communism on this country and culture embedded in and expressed through the people. I’ve read about the consequences of communism, but being here has given me an entirely new perspective on the very real political, economic, social and religious implications, and with that the Lord has placed on my heart burdens for both the Bulgarian people and those ministering to them.
The poverty found here in Bulgaria is not the pervasive physical poverty so common in other parts of the world, but it is an underlying emotional and spiritual poverty that permeates virtually every aspect of life. Most Bulgarians consider themselves to be culturally orthodox, but less than 0.5% – half a percent – of the population are Bible-believing, church-going people. One of the biggest challenges to ministering in this country is the near-universal mistrust engrained within the people. And another is the negative perception of the Protestant church and constant pressure against those who are curious and brave enough to step into a relationship with the Lord.
Tim said it best when he quoted Thoreau: “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” That is the spiritual and emotional condition of the general population here. I people watch and see an emptiness behind the glazed over eyes, a yearning for something more than the void they know and experience. I allow the Lord to show me his heart and he speaks of unreached potential and a deep, buried desire within the people for change.
The burden the Lord has given me this month is one for Tim and for those who, like him, seek to reach the people who have never heard the gospel before. Even in Europe, where church buildings dominate street corners as frequently as they do in the South, pastors and missionaries need the support of the Church. Those in big cities often receive support and encouragement, but those outside of that perimeter frequently find themselves alone and isolated in the Great Commission.
My prayer is to bring encouragement and lift to the team here. And my heart is that you pray with me. The ground is hard, the road is long and the work is difficult.
Pray that the team would be encouraged and strengthened, that they would labor and see fruit. Pray that the hearts of the people would be softened. Pray for healthy churches. Pray that the Father would raise up a Bulgarian couple to pastor this church so that Tim and his team can continue to multiply the local church body. And pray that our team would be the spark that starts the fire. I don’t know what that looks like, but the Father does.
If you want to know more, just ask me! I don’t have wifi regularly available, so I will respond but it might be a bit slower than usual.
