This month we have had the opportunity to travel around Bulgaria to different churches that our contact,Mladen, has helped in planting. Our team was very excited for the privilege of traveling and seeing more of the country. We feel like Paul or the disciples. We are literally going house to house in the same area as Paul actually traveled! What I didn’t realize is how much I was going to be impacted.
We started our journey on Friday. We went to our first church service Friday night. As I was sitting there, I was overwhelmed with awe in how blessed my life has been. I was reminded of my previous travels around Europe and Brazil and thought about how many different church services I have been able to attend. How many languages I have listened to (or tried to understand!) and how MANY people there are in this world that love the same Lord as I do. I seem to focus on how many lost people there are, which is really our mission in life. But, it is so encouraging to see how many believers there are. It is so comforting to see how we are all alike and how amazing it is that the Lord loves ALL of us!
Saturday we traveled to another city by train. The countryside was breathtaking! I was once again flooded with memories of my missions trips I had been on and thanked God that I am able to travel the world and share his love. When we arrived, the pastor picked us up and took us to his home. His family welcomed us and showered us with coffee and snacks. We were showed such hospitality and generosity. It was so humbling to receive so many blessings when WE were the ones who were there to bless them. Crazy!
And then came today. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew that God was going to do something great. We had a great devotional as a team before leaving for church and then we walked just a few blocks away to church. We walked in to a room full of smiling faces. Everyone greeted us and we made our way to the front row. We were able to do a drama for them and then Pam preached for the first time. I was so proud of her, but more importantly I was SO happy to see how God has touched her heart. She and I have had a strong bond with each other since day one and I have witnessed her transformation to the Godly woman she has always been with my own eyes. I could hardly hold back my tears of joy for her! I know that God spoke through her and she impacted many lives with her story.
After the message, we were able to pray for the people. I prayed with several girls, but one stuck out. I prayed for a guy and a girl at the same time and prayed over them. When I was done, I hugged the guy and by the time I turned around, the girl was heading back to her seat. I felt like I needed to hug her, so I ran after her and hugged her. As I was hugging her, she started to sob. I just hugged her and prayed. I didn’t really know what was going on inside her, but I knew I could just say the name of Jesus. So I hugged her while she cried and called on the name of Jesus. I believe he touched her heart.
This afternoon we traveled to another small town. We drove up to the house and were in AWE of what we saw. It was huge! Once again, the coffee and snacks came out. The beds were made for us and everything was prepared. We kept on looking at each other in disbelief that this was OUR life! We prayed over the land that is available for the church to build. We prayed for God’s favor and believed that he would provide the funding to build. Six o’clock came and we headed inside for church. I climbed the stairs to the second floor. I walked in and it was a small two room attic type room. People were crammed in as tight as they could. Their hunger and thirst for the Lord was so inspiring. I felt so convicted. In the states, church is taken for granted. We choose whether or not to go. It is often something we do out of obligation or habit. These people were craving the church. I was overwhelmed by God’s presence. He showed up big.
We are continuing to travel around the country for the next 10 days or so. I am very humbled to have this experience and I pray that God will provide for these people. I pray blessings over Mladen and his family. God is doing a work in Bulgaria and I am SO happy to be apart of it!
I am going to post a picture blog soon, so stay tuned:)
