I strapped up my pack and walked out of my Atlanta hotel room at 12:30am on July 3. It is now afternoon (or late morning where you are) on the 7th and I am finally sitting on the bed I will sleep in until I leave Bulgaria. Traveling around the world is no joke! Four planes, five airports, 2 busses, 3 taxis, and a couple overnight stays later we are finally settling into our first real ministry on the world race.
We are southern Bulgaria. To protect our contacts I cannot tell you exactly where, but we are in the Rhodope mountains which are low, forested and beautiful. The fields lining the highways from Sofia are colored bright yellow with Sunflowers, and houses here are roofed with red tiles laid one over the other.
The people here are equally beautiful. Everywhere we go we are greeted with smiles and helpful attempts to guide us in Bulgarian or broken English to the bathroom, bus stop, internet cafe, etc. Our team has discovered if you stand on the corner looking lost long enough, someone will stop and ask you where you are trying to go!
The primary ministry we will have this month is to Muslims. (In the town we are currently in, about 80% of the population is muslim. The other 20% are Orthodox Christian (similar to Catholicism). The number of born again believers is just 20. [Well, it just rose by 7!] For the remainder of the month we will be standing alongside these tiny fledgling churches, praying for their sick, helping with construction, spending time with their youth and children and ministering to them with our testimonies and songs.
Here are some photos from our last two days of ministry in a muslim Gypsy community. I had the opportunity to pray for children and women whose families are locked in bloody feuds, who had experienced gang-rape, prostitution and human trafficking. Please take some time this month to pray for the people of Bulgaria, particularly those believers here who are risking their safety to spread the gospel and that new believers who come to faith would grow despite the many obstacles. I will keep you updated as I can.
Pablo and I are already seeing that God has so much more for us than we can imagine. I’m overwhelmed by what he has allowed us to experience so far. Please also pray that He will continue to grow us and strengthen our faith for what is coming. He is so good!
Pablo and I cannot do this journey alone! We must raise $5,058.00 more by October 1, 2014 to continue the WorldRace. If you feel led to give, please click on the support us link. Thanks to everyone who helped us raise $16,942.00 so far!
