Pomorie, Bulgaria… a beautiful small tourist town on the Black Sea.
We’ve been stationed here for the past 2.5 weeks. Our host is an incredibly sweet Bulgarian woman, Daniella & her two teenage daughters. She has gone above & beyond to make us comfortable.
Last week we got the opportunity to go to a youth camp in the mountains for 6 days. I would describe the setting like a mega church camping trip with a football game concession stand. Worship & sessions were under a massive circus tent. It was incredible to see so many Bulgarian believers coming together to fellowship & encourage one another. We didnt understand most of the songs since they were in Bulgarian, but some of the tunes we knew & got to join our brothers & sisters in worshipping in two different languages!
Fun fact: this camp has been going on since 1938!
Breakdown of our daily schedule & belly fillin delights:
Breakfast was at 8:45 am- Bread, Nutella, & sometime mushy noodle
Morning session typically lasted from 10:30-12:30
Lunch- Bread, cucumbers & tomatoes, watermelon, Bulgarian cheese, super DELICIOUS lutanitza sauce & sausage links
Discussed the session with youth group from Pomorie & Burgas area
Free time which we spent hiking & watching the youth soccer games
Dinner- Bread, leftover sausage links & wild rice or soup
Evening session from 8:30-11:15
Usually the youth would hang out till 2 am but we oldies would be in bed by 12!
It was an interesting week because at the beginning we didnt know exactly why we were there or what our purpose was. We knew some of the youth from the church but felt weird. We hadn’t been given a whole lot of instruction or direction as to the vision for our time there. After a couple days of being there, the Lord helped us to recognize the opportunity we had to build relationships with the youth that could speak English & even those who didnt!
Daniel & Nicole were two twenty year olds who jumped in to translate for us on NUMEROUS occasions. They welcomed us with open arms & sought to make sure we felt included into the conversations as well as the sessions.
Another fun fact: Daniel learned most of his English through watching TV!
The camp taught some solid Biblical truth that I agreed with but it also raised several flags for me. It was cool to be challenged in what I believe because it causes me to go back to Scripture & continue to seek the Lord on some things I have always been taught to be the correct theology but may not have that same conviction myself.
It was confusing to hear some stuff being taught & not know if it was a miss translation through language barriers, a misuse of the Scripture or a difference in personal theological convictions. The Lord reminded me that its important to remember most everyone at that camp really did seem to love the Jesus & want a relationship with Him. It doesnt matter whether we agree on every single doctrine or theological idea.
