Doberden! That is pretty much the only Bulgarian word I know. It means “good day” and it’s a common greeting around these parts. That is if someone greets you at all. Bulgarians are not very welcoming and friendly. They often walk past each other without acknowledgment. These people are still trying to recover from the oppression of communism which they have only been free from for about 2 decades. That was a barrier this girl was looking to break. I said a friendly “doberden” to every person I came across. Some were polite and responded, some did not acknowledge me at all and others just gave me a cold look and walked away. It didn’t help that I was dark skinned. Everywhere I went I got stares. There was an occasion, while walking through the town square, that I walked by 2 little girls. The one tapped her friend and pointed at me. They both just starred in awe, as if they have never seen a dark skinned person before. Chances are they never have. I did not come across a single dark skinned person while in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria really is a forgotten nation. Their people are hurting and hopeless. It appearently is one of the most unhappy nations in the world. You can really see it in the people, in the towns. Villages look abandoned. People die out and their families don’t claim the property or people leave and go to other countries. In the village of Stambolovo where my team was doing ministry, there were 70 houses for sale. While we took our morning prayer walks, you could feel the hopelessness and sense of abandonment in the atmosphere.
It also doesn’t help that they post obituaries of their loved ones who have passed away on their doors. They also keep those posted forever. There is a constant reminder of death every time they enter their homes.
It was very difficult to communicate with these people. Aside from the fact that they aren’t very welcoming, I don’t speak Bulgarian. It was very difficult to communicate things like “Jesus Loves You! And has a plan for you. Don’t loose hope”. Here’s what I learned: a smile is universal. Though I couldn’t say words to them, I could smile and say “doberden”. They can go a whole day without having anyone smile at them, but my smile could have made a difference.
Bulgaria was rough. Leaving the comfort of Central America was rough. For the first time on the race I felt absolutely lost. Didn’t understand the language, didn’t know what was going on, couldn’t read signs. If you nod your head it means no but if you shake your head it means yes and everywhere I went there were the stares. Oh and let us not forget that it was cold!!! Like all the time!! In these moments you start to second guess yourself and lies creep in. You ask yourself “what the heck did I sign myself up for? I still got 7 months of this left?”. Sometimes in the most uncomfortable moments we want to check out. Here’s my challenge to you: don’t check out, persevere and shut out the lies. Also, smile at someone today, you may just make their day a little brighter.
Stay Blessed
Kim 🙂
p.s. these things were EVERYWHERE and acted like they owned the streets lol
