We packed Tuesday evening, and woke up at 4 am to get on a train on Wednesday. We rode on a train for 7 hrs to Burgas. It was pretty uneventful. We had enough room to spread out, and praise Him because it was pretty much a sweat locker, ha. We are getting somewhat used to that. The heat/sweat rashes on our bodies say otherwise, lol, but you know what I mean! ha!
(Us and Simeon) (Brothers worshipping together)
(our team and Simeon and Dimitrie)
We arrived and Simeon and Dimitrie were there to pick us up! Simeon Krastev is the pastor of the Bible church we were staying at in Dolno Eserovo, a small village outside of Burgas. He is a man of God who really has a heart for
all of Bulgaria to know God! He is the director of an organization called Hope for the Balkans, that teaches people about Church Planting and Discipleship. You can visit his website at hopeforthebalkans.org-and pray for him and if you feel led, support him also. He has a heart to share the gospel with everyone and is teaching his church about intercessory prayer and has really grasped the concept, that discples make disciples. This is rare in Bulgaria. We should all remember that God's Word says make disciples, not just converts.
Dimitrie Todoroff is national director of a different organization called New Hope-Bulgaria. His emphasis is more on on raising up a new generation that loves the Lord, and training the families and marriages how to grow in the Lord. He understands that if families are functioning well in the church, that then the church also functions better, and that the gospel from there will change communities. He is also praying for a revival in Bulgaria.
Although Simeon and Dimitrie are with different organizations, they both go to the same church and help each other with each others ministries. They have a really neat friendship and are a perfect example of unity amongst believers. They could be wrapped up in their own ministry and get wrapped up in comparison, compete
for support, etc. Instead, they are partners! They help each other with each others ministry, without officially being a part of one another's ministry.
They live out Philippians well when it talks about preferring one another and serving each other. They also live out where it says to be in one accord, thinking on the same thing (JESUS), and I believe that because they love each other so well-they shine bright! People will come to know Christ, because they can tell there is a difference in these two. They have a love for each other that is different than what is in the world. They have the love of Jesus!
His love is unconditional. It unites us as believers. Our team is learning a lot about unity and love this month. Love looks like lifting each other up, being patient and kind even when you don't feel like it. It is preferring each other before yourself. May look like giving them the better seat on the bus. Helping each
other carry our packs on travel days. Cooking and cleaning dishes.
I'm so thankful that because He loves us so well, we can now love Him and others. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the areas in my life that need to change. I feel like, I'm never going to get it all right. Then I think about how God's first commands were to love Him and love each other. I think that when we do these, the rest happens a lot more naturally. And since I know I will never get the first two perfectly down, I've decided to focus the rest of my life on learning to do those two things better.
Love you all-thanks so much for supporting us and for your prayers. I can never say how much it means to us!
