It’s officially time for me to write about Bulgaria- where has the time gone? This country is very special to me and it has been a place of growth, peace, and discovery. No pictures or words could do it justice, but here I am to try anyway. Also, as I am writing this I am currently in Vietnam! This is an exciting new chapter and I can’t wait to see what this month will bring!
This month my team and I worked at a conference center along side a wonderful couple named Emi and Val. During one of the conferences a few people from my team and I were able to go with Val to get some fresh milk from a farm down the road. Val knew that one of my teammates, Brie, really loves horses, so when we went to the farm Val asked the farmer if we could go and pet his horse as a special treat for Brie and the rest of us. The farmer, Plumin, (I’m 1000% guessing on the spelling here, but this is how I imagine his name is spelled) said yes. We got to spend an awesome time petting horses, cows, and we even got to meet at 5 day old piglet! We walked back out to the road afterwards waiting for the milk when Val came up and surprised us by saying that we could also ride a horse if we wanted to- to which of course we did. Then we all piled in the car and drive right outside of the town limits to a little valley were some horses were grazing (freaking amazing). Plumin, let each of us ride around the pasture on this beautiful white horse.
I share this story because I want to show you how sweet and loving the people of Bulgaria are. Val knew how much Brie had wanted to pet a horse, so he took time out of his really busy day (we were in the middle of hosting a conference) to help make that happen for her. And then, Plumin, a man we had never met before, showed us all of his animals, even bring out his little piglet and his dog because they made us happy. He stopped what he was doing and took time so that each of us could ride around on a horse. They went above and beyond to love us just because they could. It was really awesome and I felt so incredibly loved by these people.
This was taken during the women’s conference that is hosted by Mission Possible. We were lucky enough to be here the same time as a team from the UK (meaning we got to chat it up in ENGLISH!!! Such a gift). The love and grace that was poured over the women of the conference was amazing. It was so special to be a part of so many people, from so many places, just crying out to the Lord together. The women from Mission Possible that host the conference give so much of themselves and it was amazing to see such faith being lived out. They not only loved on the women attending the conference, they loved on each other, they loved on us, and they loved on our hosts, Emi and Val!
It was also just amazing to hear and see all of the crazy mountains that God moved to allow those women to come to the conference. One woman has a daughter around my age with special needs who she cares for. Her friend told her about the conference and insisted on her coming. She got her a ticket and everything. The woman’s daughter needed to come with her mother and be cared for so this lady’s friend came to the conference with her solely to care and watch her friend’s daughter for a week while she got to relax and draw closer to God. How incredible is that?! Another woman was extremely pregnant and attended the conference because her mother gave her her own ticket, knowing that after the baby was born the mother would not have an opportunity to go again any time soon. Some women came to the conference not even being believers, but searching for some truth and peace. God moved mountains and prepared a way for each of these ladies to come, sit at His feet, and rest. It was amazing to see and hear.
I ate WELL this month. As a joke, I’ve heard it said that a good cook is like a pastor in the kitchen- that is embodied so greatly in our host Emi. She cooks and cares for the people she cooks for. One of my teammates has dietary restrictions, every meal Emi prepared something special just for her so that she could eat something amazing too. And not just the meals, but also desert. BTW guys, I’m in love with Bulgarian food. Emi is an amazing teacher and I now have a few recipes under my belt now that I’m excited to bring home.
During one of the conferences that we helped to host, some of the younger people attending invited me and my teammates to join them for a bonfire, little did we know that this bonfire wasn’t just a hang out that we were crashing, but it was specifically for us! They talked with us and prayed over us and it was a super cool time of reflection and connection. Two girls prayed over me and gave me words of encouragement, which was super amazing. I left that night feeling so full and thankful (also really really tired). They shared their experiences with us and invited us in. They love God so fiercely that that love spilled all over us as well.
We spent our time here preparing food and cleaning dishes behind the scenes, to help the conferences run smoother. Our job was to help Emi and Val, because this is a lot of work for two people. But no one let us stay behind the scenes. We made so many friends from all of the conferences. The women taught us Bulgarian phrases, and gave us hugs, kisses, and squeezed our cheeks every chance they got. They prayed over us and invited us to join them for morning devotionals (which was my favorite part of the month). At the end of the women’s conference we were able to join in and listen to the women sharing their testimonies When all of the women had shared, they turned to us and presented us with this gift. We were told that the beads represented the number of women whose lives were changed because of the conference, and the traditional Bulgarian jug represented the love of Christ that is pouring out of us. WOW! They saw us and they loved us so much. We weren’t just some behind the scenes lackey, they encouraged us and lifted us up with thanksgiving and blessings. I am so thankful for my Bulgarian friends, and the reminder that I now have that no matter how we serve the kingdom, whether it be through washing dishes, or sharing the gospel, God multiples beyond what we can imagine.
When you step foot onto the conference center grounds, you immediately feel an overwhelming peace. This place feels like Holy ground. During our time here we were able to learn more about Mission Possible and about this conference center itself. God moved mountains to provide this place. God did the impossible and He is using this place to bring life change in a way that I couldn’t imagine until I saw it with my own eyes. During the women’s conference, for example, in the Bulgarian serve team, that worked as small group leaders, one of the women got up and shared her testimony on the last night. She had attended the conference the year before and it changed her life so drastically that she came back as a volunteer, to help grow and serve other women, because she knew how powerful this conference could be. Disciples are being made here. Lives are changing here. Light is being brought to the darkness. God chose a little tiny place like Dobromirka (which literally means ‘good piece of mind’) to bring heaven to earth in a very palpable way.
Meet my Bulgarian mom and dad. I cannot even put into word the love that I have for these two people. They are such humble and faithful servants and from the very beginning of our time here with them they treated us as family. They laughed with us, joked with us, worked with us, and lived life with us this month. They invited us into their lives for multiple birthday celebrations, they invited us into their home for dinner, and we got to invite them in our blanket fort for a movie night! They love each other so deeply, that you can’t help but feel loved and giddy when you’re around them because they are just so stinking cute. They work so well together as a team and honestly as I’m writing all of this my heart is just bursting. One of the coolest things about them is just how content and happy they are to be where they are and to be serving as they serve. If you ask either of them where their favorite place is in Bulgaria, they will both say Dobromirka (I know this because I asked them- separately). I am so so so very sad to be leaving them, but I am so so so so SO happy to know that I gained family this month. Bulgaria is always going to feel a little like home from now on.
Guys, bad news, unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of the mountains this month, so instead, here is a picture of a cute little ugly cat that I met! I know everyone was very excited to see the third installment of what I’m affectionately calling ‘Morgan learns what mountains are’, so I’d figure I’d just tell you about them even though I didn’t get a cool picture to show you. The mountains in Bulgaria are stunning. They are huge, rolling, lush and green, but they are also rocky, sharp, dangerous, and majestic. We drove through the northern part of the country probably around 5/6 times so I got to see the mountains a lot. They never ceased to amaze me -or make me feel sick (motion sickness + big mountains + an old bus = death). I feel like after these past three months I have a new appreciation for just how big our God is. Mountains are HUGE y’all! God made those!! Wow, truly crazy stuff.
These are my mountain rankings:
1: Romania/Bulgaria (Tie)
2: Ukraine
Will the mountain trend continue in Asia? Stay tuned to find out!
Much Love,
Morgan
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