Ever since applying for the Race last year, I have been dreading Month Six. Our first five countries were Spanish-speaking, so Month Six represented the end of my communication skills along with my effectiveness as a missionary. I had debated going on an exclusively South American route that would leave in August. Leaving later would give me more time to fundraise and more opportunities to speak Spanish, but I followed God’s prompting and left in January instead.
I already battled questions about short-term missions, so the fight only increased when I entered a country where every word I uttered had to be filtered through a translator. Let me know the next time you have a meaningful conversation consisting of this extensive word bank: hello, good, yes, no, tomorrow, bridge, volleyball, God, years, thank you, you’re welcome, goodbye.
This month was also difficult with the added challenge of fasting. A few people on my team felt called to grow in self-control through the Daniel Fast, where you can only eat foods from the earth. I did it by default, and now I’ve eaten enough chickpeas, lentils and cabbage for the rest of my life.
I personally attempted to abstain from sweets while seeking wisdom in leadership. What a nightmare. My teammates entered delirium as they tried to convince me to eat “ice cream” (frozen, mashed bananas) and “cookies” (roasted cashews) as a dessert. Their latest delusion is “apple pie” (warm apple slices with a flax and chia seed crust).
God was looking out for me though, and this month has felt the closest to “normal” that I’ve experienced on the Race. We have an entire apartment to ourselves, a washing machine, and rapid Wi-Fi. I am reminded of Minnesota when strolling through lush parks or wading in the river. The currency is the easiest I’ve encountered so far, as the USD to Lev ratio is relatively close – 1:1.7.
Weekends have included fishing, tubing down the Danube River, camping, and jumping off of an old castle called Baba Vida. We visited a cave and hiked over huge rocks in a town called Belogradchik. We watched various movies with locals: one in English with Bulgarian subtitles, one in English with Portuguese subtitles, and one in Bulgarian with no subtitles.
Ministry involved visiting nursing homes, hanging out with orphans, playing volleyball, and leading activities at a local gypsy village. Every day during the week, we led a discipleship group where we prayed, worshiped, studied the Bible, exercised, and chatted.
Our discipleship group included four special people: Ivan #1, Ivan #2, Nelly, and Baba Mladenka. They were a ragtag group I felt privileged to be around on a daily basis. Ivan #1 has muscular dystrophy, so he can only move his limbs slightly. He has a wide smile, taught us how to count in Bulgarian, and sports bright yellow shoes and a white fedora. His mother, Baba Mladenka, is blind and diabetic. Due to fear, she has not left her apartment in two years. She enjoys exercising and has a toothless grin that surfaces almost as often as her tears of distress.
Nelly and Ivan #2 help take care of Ivan #1 and Baba. Nelly provides the visual definition of skin and bones, even though hidden in a mossy velour sweatsuit. She is incredibly animated and did the splits during one of our dance sessions. A couple of my teammates prayed with Nelly to give her life to Jesus!
By contrast, Ivan #2 is subdued and slow to speak. His favorite outfit is a cutoff tank and orange swimming trunks. He was orphaned at a young age when his dad died and his schizophrenic mom was imprisoned for murder. Due to a dentist’s negligence, Ivan #2 lost teeth at an appointment, which left him with severe nerve damage. We partnered with the local church and raised sufficient funds for his dental reconstruction!
Through these experiences, God has been showing me how I can still show His love to others despite lacking linguistic knowledge. I’ve held hands with Baba and squeezed her tightly. I’ve played guitar and sang worship songs to people in nursing homes. I’ve raked, weeded, and swept yards. I’ve pushed Ivan #1’s wheelchair, and none of that work requires a mastery of Bulgarian.
Next, our whole squad will be in Thessaloniki, Greece, working with Assyrian refugees!
