This last month has been an absolute blessing! Team Rise Up (the 7 of us on the World Race) have been so incredibly honored with the amount of love that we’ve all been shown. Our first week we visited members of the church in the mornings, involving plenty of laughs, tears, and food, all while we tried to understand each other, testing our patience as our translator would often try to re-word things in attempt to make sense of everything. We were able to pray over many individuals from the church, and really be a light in the community. In the evenings we visited gypsy villages, orphanages, and disabled homes. This was the time where the “great collide” happened.
We seemed to step into a time machine, out of this modern background where cities were riddled with fountains and statues, into this new world of horse drawn wagons, children wearing tattered shirts, and where shacks were considered homes. We had stepped out of our comfortable city of Vidin, where compact cars wove in and out of tight back allies that were constructed of asphalt and mile upon mile of cobblestone. Large, old, weathered trees towered over the streets, providing shade for the roman-victorian style homes, tucked away between giant grey government housing that climbed high into the sky in despair. The presence of these high-rises cast cold, dark shadows that reflect a time in history effected by communism, control, and conformity. The community we lived in was a time concerned civilization with crowds of people headed in every direction and walking with purpose. Stray dogs ran wild between the landscaped courtyards, and a grey haze of pollution blanketed the city.
Nope, we weren't there anymore. We were in a gypsy neighborhood complete with rocky dirt roads, acres and acres of farm land and a presence of poverty. Homes where made up of red cinderblocks, concrete and red-clay tile roofs. The choice method of transportation was a buggy piled with hay and other market goods, pulled by a horse or donkey. Here children played in puddles that looked more like mud, offering no reflection of another world, and flies would land on people with no threat of being swatted away, it was as if the people here weren't agitated by them at all.
If we weren’t visiting the gypsy villages, then we we might have been in a disabled home: one of the hardest places I’ve ever been. The people there are generally happy, but there is an overhanging, lingering gloom over the grounds. The attendants are covered in dirt, food, or waste, smelling of urine or feces, and often drool all over you. It’s uncomfortable to shake the hand of someone you really can’t help. I mean sure, we prayed over them, played games, sang songs, and blew bubbles but were we really making a difference? All we could do was wish them better, and love them like they were our friends.
The third place the team could be found was in a children's orphanage. The language barrier was quite difficult but they’re kids, and they communicate by laughter, and laughter is what they do best!
It was often over stimulating to our senses I think, going back and forth into what seemed to be Narnia’s wardrobe. It often made us super tired, trying to process everything, but it has been an incredible privilege to see the many faces of Bulgaria! Praise God for the continued protection and blessings over this last month!
Here are some photo’s of the times we’ve spent spreading Jesus’ love!
Thanks for reading!
