What really goes on at a Bulgarian youth revival camp?
We spent our second week in Bulgaria at a youth revival camp, buried about 3 hours into the beautiful Blue Mountains of Bulgaria. We went into the week a bit unsure of if we were going as campers or as helpers, and while that question was never verbally answered for us, we came to very clearly see that we weren’t allowed to help with anything except cutting cucumbers and tomatoes for lunches and dinners (but hey, if you can’t do anything except cut cucumbers and tomatoes, cut them well and for the Lord, right?).
The youth camp was similar in many ways to the Training Camp we all attended back in October for the World Race, which was a bit ironic. We slept in tents, showered once in seven days, wore the same clothes practically every day, etc. But this time, not only did I know the girls in the tents surrounding mine, but I was lucky enough to be able to say that they were six of my best friends. Instead of falling asleep wondering if this whole “World Race” thing was really worth it or if it was just an insane dream, I got to fall asleep surrounded by fellow runners of this Race (both figurative and literal). And that was a true joy.
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Anyways, one of the highlights of our week in the woods (for me, at least) was getting to celebrate my 23rd birthday, camp-style. When I was younger, I was always so thankful that I wasn’t one of the kids whose birthday fell during the middle of summer and therefore, potentially during the middle of summer camp. I always loved being home on my birthday, having whatever I wanted for breakfast, (almost always) requesting to go to Noodle and Co. for dinner, and just taking it easy. I knew this year would be different, but had no idea how different. I was lucky enough to be able to share the day with CiCi, the youth pastor’s wife, who was also celebrating her birthday. As a way to bless her, the youth kids woke up early and made breakfast (or… attempted to make breakfast). Long story short, breakfast was a combination of spaghetti and bread with pasta sauce. Look at God, making sure I got my pasta fix on my birthday.
The youth kids even gave me a special piece of bread with Nutella complete with a match that they had tried to light in place of a candle. Later in the day, a mom of one of the campers showed up and offered us a chance to go take a shower at the nearby hotel she was staying at. You heard that right… a SHOWER. There was nothing I wanted more in the world at that moment than a hot, private shower, and my teammates made sure I got one in honor of my special day. We walked to her hotel and I almost shed some tears upon stepping into that glorious, clean bathroom that smelled like mango body wash. I have never been, and may never be, more thankful for a shower. What a perfect birthday gift.
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Each day of camp, there were two sessions: one three-hour session in the morning, and one three-hour session in the evening. Every session was in Bulgarian (obviously), but two of the campers were gracious enough to translate the entirety of each session for us. Being translated to is hard for everyone involved, and gave me a lot of compassion for any future students I may have who don’t know English as their first language. Being translated to is also very humbling, because there’s genuinely nothing you can do yourself in order to understand what’s going on; you have to fully and completely rely on someone else in order to understand anything. But God bless our translators, Daniel and Nicole, for graciously serving us time and time again.
The youth camp was Pentecostal, unlike the Orthodox climate of Bulgaria as a whole, which added another interesting aspect to the week. Throughout my time on the Race, I’ve seen that the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit are pretty constant topics of teaching, unlike many churches throughout America. Baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, healing, etc., have all come up time and time again on the Race, and this camp was no exception. As a Month 1, 2, or 3 Racer, all of that stuff would have freaked me out, mostly because I had never really thought or been taught about any of that before coming on the Race. But this time, I was incredibly thankful to both experience it and have downtime to mull it over, search through Scripture, and actually decide what I believe on the matter, and to make that decision independent of what the camp, my teammates, my church, or even my community back home may have to say about it. It’s so encouraging to know what I believe about something and to be able to give scriptural support as to WHY I believe it.
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We came back from camp last Saturday and spent the next day preaching and giving testimonies at two different churches in the city of Pomorie. Yesterday (Sunday), we finished our final week of ministry in Bulgaria and is Europe as a whole. Two of the highlights of from this past week were throwing an “American surprise party” for one of the youth girls, complete with mac & cheese, pizza, and cake, as well as going to the water park in the neighboring town to visit another one of the youth girls who works there. This morning, we left Pomorie and arrived in Sofia, Bulgaria for Month 8 Debrief. We have a few days of rest before we dive into Debrief, getting our new team assignments, and then heading off to AFRICA! We’ve passed the 100-Days-Left mark, which blows my mind, and once we get to Africa, we’ll have less than 90 days left on the field! Wow!
Stay tuned for updates, pictures, and stories! Thanks for reading and following along on this crazy journey!
(On our last full day of camp, we got to take the lift down into town. What an incredible view of the Blue Mountains!)
