A Starbucks Frappucino. A Footlong from Subway. Little Caesar’s Hot and Ready. Somewhere to sleep in Bulgaria. Food for a day in Bulgaria
Some of these items are clearly unlike the rest, yet with a five dollar bill I should be able to purchase them all. While the price of living in Bulgaria is significantly less than the good ole US of A, “$5” has been a roadblock for my team for the past week. We are stationed in Varna, the third largest city in Bulgaria. Located right on the Black Sea, this popular Eastern European vacation destination knows the tricks of the tourist trap trade.
The cheapest hostels are over double our budget and the price of food is not much better (excluding their signature street food snack “corn in a cup”). To make a LONGGGGGGGG story short, we have trekked across this city looking like pack mules, stayed several nights over budget at a 1970s style hotel, shown up with our luggage at 3 different apartment rental deals that fell through—the last of which we had, foolishly, put all of our hope in. Stranded on the side of the road the last time, feeling completely defeated, we prayed A BUNCH… and wow did God deliver!
Before we get to the “deliverance”, you need to know a few things. My team’s assignment this month is called Unsung Heroes. We are sent to a city to make contact with any existing ministries and establish relationship for future World Race teams to come assist in ministry! We are basically John the Baptist. We’re like the stage crew. Laying the tracks so the train can make it later. I cannot wait to creep on all the future groups sent to Varna and see what good God does through them because of the trailblazing He has done through us!
My teammate Kenneth is like a giddy preschooler and if he would be embarrassed by my saying so, I doubt he would be carrying his teddybear pillow with him. Amidst all of our efforts figuring out the logistics of living here, he has been so eager to do ministry and on the ball at making contacts! This particular day of homelessness, he had arranged a meeting at the Second Baptist Church here. Because we had nowhere else to go, we all accompanied him to the meeting and sat, sweaty and hungry, in their basement with so many bags we looked in desperate need of a U-Haul.
The meeting resulted in a pair of keys to the apartment on the fifth floor of the church building.
The church is renting to us for half price so the apartment is actually under budget for us, enough for us to make up for the over budget housing we had previously resorted to. Two bathrooms, a kitchen (alleviating the food budget, because cooking is cheaper!), a balcony, plenty of room for all 7 of us, free wifi for research purposes, and an alarm system to keep us safe! God kept closing doors because we were trying to walk through all of the wrong ones! His plans are ALWAYS the best, dare I say it again! DELIVERANCE
Thus ends the Varna Housing Crisis 2015.
In other news, we have contacted 20 different churches, children’s homes, English teaching organizations, campus ministries, at-risk youth centers, and a center for prevention of sex trafficking. We have been meeting with them discussing future partnerships, helping out at the childen’s home, and learning about Bulgarian culture with our new friends. Life is good here and God is at work like crazy!
Pastor Trif, his daughter Debbie, and Mike from New Life Church in Varna gave us a walking tour of the city!
