This is the first of 11 blogs I'm entitling "You know you're on the World Race when…" Hopefully as the months progress the stories will be entertaining and serve as reminders of good memories. These are from my first month of ministry in Vidin, Bulgaria. Feel free to read as many or as few as you like!
You know you’re on the World Race when…
- People shake their head to say “Yes” and nod to say “No'
- Yogurt tastes more like sour cream or spoiled milk than yogurt.
- Raffy carts are everywhere and sell amazing Ferro Rocher Ice Cream!
- Your teammates are mooing and oinking at the man behind the meat counter in the grocery store to determine what we’re buying for dinner.
- In order to tell the temperature in Fahrenheit for the day you’ve got to multiply by 1.8 and add 32. (Oven temps are also in Celsius when baking)
-
You ask your contact where the nearest restroom is and he advises you not to go. Me: “But it’s 5 hours until we get back home.” Pastor Yavor: “It is very very bad.” Me: “We’re going to Africa, we need to be prepared anyway.” Pastor: “THIS toilet will prepare you for ANYTHING.”
- Because of the aforementioned toilet concern you carry a Charmin To-Go with you at all times.
- Hand sanitizer becomes a lifesaver in so many ways.
- The orange you bought for Fruit Salad turns out to be a grapefruit.
- You try to take out the trash late at night and a Bulgarian cat jumps out of the dumpster nearly making you pee your pants.
- You walk into a Gypsy village and all activity stops as everyone on both sides of the street watches your group with interest.
- Church service lasts at least 2.5 hours and never starts on time.
-
You find out that cool kids songs like “Baby Shark”, “Bananas” and others are international and the children will laugh their heads off even more if they can’t understand English.
- The aforementioned kids songs also entertain many adults.
- When talking with and praying for a Gypsy family a small chicken walks out from under the bed, a small kitten walks between your teammates legs and a baby pug puppy is trying to cross over the doorstep.
- McDonald’s is only found in the big city.
- McDonald’s offers a special Shrimp Lemon Burger!?
-
There are 3 (soon to be more) currencies mixed up in your wallet.
- You are offered carbonated beverages that taste and smell like U.S. cleaning products.
- You are always with a buddy 24/7 for 11 months.
- A strange Romanian man offers for his son to drive your entire team and your luggage to the ferry at 9pm. Note: the man’s son has a “G-Unit” tattoo and has flashed a gang sign within 45 seconds of meeting us.
- You knowingly try a taste of soup that contains cow stomach/intestines.
-
The “gym” consists of a dirty playground overgrown with weeds, trash and broken glass. (We cleaned it up last week and it looks fantastic!)
-
The "gym" above is an upgrade from our previous one. Note the graffiti Ninja Turtle on the wall!
- You’re in a Gypsy village praying over people and Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” is playing in the background.
- You don’t care how many flies land on the cookies and eventually determine that those with the most must be the tastiest.
- You can’t remember the last time you’ve showered.
- Ministry includes weeding/removing all the grass from three 20' x 30' sandboxes at a Bulgarian orphanage.
- You’re learning to step out in faith and share the Gospel whenever there’s an opportunity.
- Your prayers are desired from broken people to help them find encouragement.
- The Lord asks you to learn to live in community with 6 other people that you just met.
- You realize that the Body of Christ is truly connected no matter the language, location, race, age or gender. We are all One in Him.
Thanks for reading along. This is all for Bulgaria. Please pray for my team as we're traveling to Targu Mures, Romania on Tuesday to begin Month #2 of the Race.
