I’ve been starting to edit my vlogs from last month in Bulgaria. I’m usually not a procrastinator with editing but since India, I have been consistently very behind… whoops.
However, this is both a blessing and a curse.
It is a curse because I want you all to get a glimpse of what I am experiencing the moment it happens! But I don’t end up sharing the stories until about a week into the next country.
It is a blessing because after leaving somewhere I have called home for a month, editing vlogs will bring all of the memories back and I feel like I am reliving the moments I had. I am also able to really reflect and see what the Lord did during the month as a whole as I edit videos.
Before arriving in Bulgaria, I had already made some assumptions of how I thought the month would go. I thought it would be basically a bleak and slow month. I have no idea where this assumption came from. I had hardly any prior knowledge about Bulgaria but still, I had it in my head that it wouldn’t be miraculous or as memorable as previous months.
But I was so very wrong.
My entire perspective was flipped upside down on the first day of ministry. That day, I began to fall in love with Bulgaria. When we pulled up in the driveway of the nursing home we were serving at, my eyes began to open to the potential of this being one of the best months of the World Race. The grass seemed greener, the flowers more majestic, and I had an unexplained love for the people group I was surrounded by. When we walked inside, we were greeted with the biggest smiles I have ever seen.
This man was the highlight of my month. His name is Amil.
Amil taught me that no matter what life may bring, victory can be found in joy, love, and a giving heart. After having two strokes, his right arm and right leg are completely paralyzed. Although confined to a wheelchair, he lives a life of abundant joy, selflessness, and generosity. His smile literally brightened up the entire room and he never failed to make us all laugh.
Ministry this month ranged from doing a kids club with Roma kids in the gypsie community, house visits to the elderly in the community, manual labor, and visiting different nursing homes. We partnered with a local church and were led by our host Pastor Yavor (we just called him Pastor). Shelby and I even got to go fishing with him one Saturday!
It was an incredible opportunity to work with Pastor and invest in the church outreaches as well. Pastor is such a funny guy. It was awesome to watch him open up with us as we found common interests like fishing, music, playing guitar, and movies (specifically Mel Gibson movies lol). We even got to watch a movie together on Easter and his smile was RADIANT he was so happy.
I started this month bedridden for 4 days with an insane stomach virus. Looking back at the month now, that setback was nothing compared to the joy waiting for me.
Each day we would come home from ministry and say, “Wow! That was the best day ever!” We felt full and were filled with such awe at what the Lord accomplished that day. The next day we would come home from ministry and say, “No, THIS was the best day ever!” The Lord would move in a new way and leave us in awe of Him all over again. This would continue until the end of the week and we said, “This was the best week ever!” Then another amazing week of ministry would happen and we would say, “THIS was the best week ever!” This kept repeating over and over until we were saying our goodbyes at the end of the month. They had a goodbye party for us and served us traditional Bulgarian dishes, taught us traditional dances and they even had a surprise for us of a slideshow of photos from the month. I felt so celebrated and loved by our host and the church.
After weeks of “the best days ever,” it turned out to really be the best month ever.
What I’ve been reading lately :
What Happens When Women Say Yes to God by Lysa TerKeurst
