I hope everyone enjoyed my last blog about Zambia. I am going to skip Zimbabwe for the time being and write about Bulgaria, because I want to spend more time on that particular blog. Zimbabwe was my favorite country and the Jesus really did wonders on my heart that month.
Bulgaria started off crazy with our third debrief in Sofia, Bulgaria. It was a beutiful city with many things to do. After eight months of no biking I was finally able to rent a bike! As I was riding with my friends Derek and Sean throughout Sofia, wee got separated. The eventual lone bike ride provided me with some much needed alone time! Without a doubt one of my favorite days on the race. Once debrief was over we departed to our ministry location in Vidin, a small town in far Northwest Bulgaria.
We did a variety of things from manuel labor to visiting several nursing homes, an orphanage, gypsie villages, and sports ministry. By far my favorite ministries were playing volleyball nearly every night and visiting the gypsy village. Volleyball is one of my favorite sports and something I do quite often at home. It was refreshing to play sports as a ministry. When I chose the route I am currently on one of the things that drew me to it was the posspossibility of working with gypsies. I was ecstatic to find out I would get to meet and love this extremely segregated and discriminated group of people. Although I was only able to go to the village twice, I loved every second of it. Megan (team leader) brought her guitar and we sang songs and danced. It was heartwarming to see the joy on the children’s faces and how much it meant to them that we were there. The time we spent there was short and precious.
The sports ministry has been very impactful. They have successfully formed relationships with the youth and several attend church. It was awesome to mix ministry with something I really enjoy doing.
Bulgaria was an inspiring month and solid start to ministry in Europe. I will not be forgetting the sleepy town of Vidin for a long time. Some of my favorite team moments on the race happened there. There is something special about sharing a meal with friends and laughing and joking with one another. It formed a feeling of friendship and family. Whenever this would happen my heart always felt light, and caused me to reflect on the importance of community and healthy Christ-centered friendships.
