“I believe each person has a certain kind of beauty to share and I love to help them make that known.” These are the words of a sweet friend I had the opportunity to meet and learn from during our time in Bulgaria. Lazzarina is a member and leader of Zoe Church in Sofia, where my team and I attended church for the month. During the greeting part of the service, Lazzi came up to me to introduce herself and I was immediately captured by her sweet smile, genuine hospitality and crazy, cute earrings! That’s right! Lazzi is the founder of an accessory company called Underground Oasis. She expresses her extreme creativity by hand-making jewelry, purses, belts, etc. Her business is a beautiful example of the uniqueness of her style and being in her presence offers a sweet reminder of the love of Jesus. With these two powerful giftings, Lazzi was the perfect person to target as this month’s kingdom hands!
If this is your first time reading a Kingdom Hands blog, allow me to fill you in:
Last summer, before I left for the World Race, I was thinking about the different ways I could share my experience with those at home in such a way where they had the opportunity to learn a piece of what I was learning on the field. So, I looked down at my hands and thought about all the different hands I would shake, hold, high-five and study… Each holding a different testimony, calling and work-ethics. It is my desire to learn from the people God surrounds me with this year, especially those living in the countries I visit. So, for 8 months I have been intentionally seeking out at least one person each month to spend time with, ask questions of and write about them, so you can all meet the beautiful children of God that I am pleased to work alongside for a short period of time. I make it a point to hear their story, ask about their work and inquire about long-term relationship so that I can continue to learn and grow by the work of God’s children around the world!
This month, Lazzi stood out to me almost immediately. She is unafraid to share the love of Jesus with anyone, she is extremely relational and she makes the most beautiful fashion-forward accessories! She is such a joy to know and learn from. Her vision is to use her business and talents to grow the Kingdom on a relational basis. She draws people in with her style and captures their attention with her personality. Lazzi bears the image of Jesus by speaking his name boldly in all she does, preaching honestly in front of any crowd and choosing to love others no matter their background, story, situation, race, religion, etc. It was an honor to spend time with her and to learn from her. Please keep her and her husband Deemo in your prayers as they fight for the name of Jesus in the city of Sofia, Bulgaria.
To understand more of her story, hear from her heart and see her beautiful art, check out the video linked below.
