July 6, 2010 Sofia, Bulgaria

The sun is setting on our last day here in Bulgaria. We spent our last day in the park meeting a few new people and saying goodbye to the friends we made while we were here. We were only there a short while before Dani, Ana, and several others we had met came to our gathering place to visit and play volleyball, football or other games we had either invented on the spot or learned from our new friends. It is incredible to me how many people’s lives we touched while we were here. Each one, Christians and non-Christians, have been introduced to a view of church they had never experienced before. And while every day was not filled with preaching, it was filled with exposure of the love that Christ has for each and every one of us through the loving, gentle spirits of our teens. And each day we were there, they came back for more. I have been so honored to have experienced firsthand this amazing group of young people who have the ability to radiate the love of Christ through their words and actions.
It is always hard to say goodbye. Today was our last day to see Vania, Christo’s wife and Vania the translator. (We will see Christo and Raicho tomorrow when we leave for the airport). I have grown to love each one of these women. Vania, Christo’s wife, was so gracious to us during our visit. She has such love for the church. She is very strong support for Christo and his efforts to grow his congregation. Vania, the translator, is a member of Christo’s congregation and her desire to help the church grow and reach others is evident. I hope and pray that someday we will be able to return to Sofia to help them reach out to other women. This mission field is so fertile. While the urgent physical needs of food, water or healthcare is not as evident here in Sofia and in the surrounding countryside, the need to reach out to non-Christians is great. This is a country 20 years post communism still struggling. Vania commented to me that while the rest of the world is just now experiencing economic collapse, Bulgaria has been experiencing it for 20 years. They are so open for something to hang on to. They are hungry for something to believe it. It really concerns me that so few people we met and talked to had any clue about the strength and peace that comes from being a Christian. I hope and pray that Christos, Vania X 2 and the other churches of Christ can grow and spread the Word.
I honestly cannot remember a time in any of my travels that I was not ready to go home the day before it was time to leave. It doesn’t matter if it is a 3 day trip or a 10 day trip, pretty consistently, I’m really to be packed and on my way by day 2 or 9 whatever the case may be. Not so this time. Even with all my traveling, there have been very, very few times when I have been away from home for 2 weeks. I have to say that I was really concerned about the length of the trip and how I would handle it. While I am so ready to get home to Jerry, Jay, my parents etc., there is this part of me that is not quite ready to leave. So, I guess, I’ll just have to leave that little part of me behind. Bulgaria will always and forever have a piece of my heart. 

Sunday, July 4 2010, Sofia, Bulgari

We went to Christo and Vania’s church today. It was bittersweet because we all knew it would be our last time to worship with our friends until be come back. Christo presided while Rick Odell preached the sermon via our translator, Reicho. Jake O’dell and Tanner Robbins led the English singing, Brian Robbins lead the communion prayer as did a Bulgarian brother. It was fascinating to see these two men communicate as they took turns discussing the meaning of the emblems. Much to my surprise, our Bulgarian brother did his part both in English AND Bulgarian. Brian is getting pretty good at Bulgarian and can navigate the entire city streets and metro, even with all the signs in the Cyrillic alphabet, but did not attempt to do his part in Bulgarian and English. It sounded great in English. Tyler Robbins led the prayer. I was such a great honor for our young people to be invited to participate in this service. They all did outstanding jobs and it was a joy to witness. Rick’s sermon spoke of the importance of the church family and the importance of hospitality and was well done. Shortly after Rick’s sermon started, we heard a little rustling in the back of the church. Five of the teens we had met in the park and invited to church had come in the door! It was amazing. We had also had another young man we met on the mountain attending as well. One of the church members brought her teen grandson for the first time too! God is so great!
After services we invited our friends to join us for a meal. Our friends from the park and the grandson all joined us. Not only did we visit through the traditional 2 hour Bulgarian meal but they returned with us to our hotel for fellowship and games. It was about 9:30 p. m. when Rick started our devotional out in the grassy area connected to the hotel. We invited the Bulgarian to join us. Only one sat down initially when the rest stood several yards away. As we sang, another joined the group sitting on the ground. Rick then begin to speak again about church family and home family. The Bulgarian group inched closer throughout the lesson as we went around our circle with each of our youth speaking on their feelings. Our devotional time ended with one of the Bulgarians, who had joined the circle earlier actually sharing as well!! By this time, the other Bulgarians had inched up to the circle and were crouched on their knees to hear what Daniel (Bulgarian) had to say. Our hearts are soaring! Our teens are amazed at how God brings people together to share his word. This has all been so incredible!!
My room is at the end of the small hall where the teens gather to play cards and visit at night. I prop my door open so they can come in and out and use my computer to get on Facebook to communicate with our new friends. I can hear them talking about their wonderment of what occurred today. My heart is singing.
In His Grace,
Cyndi 

Our Visit to Dom Maike i Dete (The Orphanage) in Vidin, Bulgaria

Our Visit to Dom Maike i Dete (The Orphanage) in Vidin, Bulgaria

I tried to write this note last night but could not. So today on our way to the mountain¸ as we are ride up there I’ll try to put together some words to express a bit of what happened yesterday. Today my words feel pretty unworthy to try to capture the emotions flying around. If I had to illustrate it I think it would look like the air space that all our technology flies through all the time. Certainly, Emily and I were anxious, excited, and somewhat overwhelmed with the events of the day. That was to be expected I would think. What was a little surprising, to me anyway was the way the children at the orphanage touched the hearts and lives our the youth in our group. I’m not sure they realized just how much sharing a few hours of their lives with these orphans would capture their hearts. We had our cameras turned toward the faces of the little children as they ran toward our youth searching for a lap to climb onto. Brian mentioned latter that he wished we had had the camera turned toward the faces of our youth during that moment because they were priceless. We spent only a few hours with them but the ties were so strong in that little bit of time that not only did the little children of the orphanage cry as they were pulled out of the arms of our youth, our youth cried as well.
While the children and the teens played in the park just down the street from the orphanage, I went back to the orphanage and talked with several of the caretakers and the orphanage director. Several remembered Jay/Ivailo as, “Oh yes, he was one hundred and one”. At the time that Emmy and Jay were in the orphanage, the current director was the doctor over the babies. She remembered his recurring respiratory infections and him being sick often. I was able to tell her he was now almost 6 ft tall and he still occasionally battles pneumonia but otherwise he is very happy and healthy and smart. There was also a nurse there that remembered him as well. Initially, I spoke with two caregivers that had taken care of Emily/Gana. They were very happy to see her. One spoke of remembering her smile and that she was always active. Another mentioned that she always had her hair in a little top knot. Many of the pictures we have of her from the orphanage have her hair in just that style. As as you all now, her smile is after all her smile. Emily, Rick and I were allowed to tour the children’s living space. We passed by a door and Emily stopped, asking where it went. The caregiver explained it was the door to the nurses’ area. Emily paused for a long while then spoke saying she remembered being in there when she was sick. (She has talked before about the time she was very, very ill and had to take pink medicine). She also remembered her bed room, and quickly identified, “this was the girls side and this was the boys”. She remembered the play area. Most of all she remembered the hiding place that she and her friend, Zacari, used to play in. One of her most difficult adjustments when Emily came home to us was leaving her friend Zacari. So difficult in fact that we inquired about adopting him as well. However, at that time, he was unavailable for adoption. Emily has always wondered what happened to Zacari. We asked several of the care takers if they remembered Zacari and were not having much luck. As we were beginning to wrap up our time and go back to the group, the caregivers giving us the tour indicated that she would like for us to wait just a minute. There was one nurse who had heard that Gana/Emily was in the building and wanted to see her. About that time a nurse came through the door, saw Emily and said Da, Gana, Da,Da (yes, Gana, yes, yes) she held Emily’s face close to hers as tears filled her eyes. She decribed how Emily’s hair used to be shaped around her face and hugged her close. She began to tell stories about Emily, Zacari and another little girl that were always together. She taked about how Emily had the heart of Dr. Uroukoff and she was privileged. She said she was very special. Most important to Emily, she remembered Zacari. She said Zacari was her special boy and that her spent weekends with her sometimes. She also said that he had been adopted when he was 5 (he was 4 when Emily left) by a couple in France. She said that about a year after he was adopted, they received a picture of him by a creek with sheep and he looked very happy. We were pleased to know that he had been adopted and was safe and not living on the streets in Bulgaria.
We rejoined the group seeing moist eyes and tender hearts who had just experienced their young charges for the day being taken from them to have lunch and then naps. Our quiet, pensive moods carried us through lunch. It started to rain again which did not help much. BUT as has happened so many times on this journey, about the time we decided the rain may had some negative impact, the sun began to peek out. We headed out for the next part of our journey. Vidin is home to one of the best preserved castles in all of Europe. Being from the US, we could not possibly miss the opportunity to visit such a place when it was just a few blocks away. As if going to visit a castle wasn’t enough, we way to get to the castle was to stroll along the Danube river. The visit to castle was mystically and a wonderful way to wind up a day that had been filled with such intense emotion.
In His love,

July 1, 2010

Yesterday was overwhelming to me. I understand parts of it. Some of it is pretty simple. I have prayed that God will help me understand the parts I don’t understand. They were so intense. I understand being touched by the hospitality shown to us by Christo and Vania. It is a gift I would love to have. I would love to have the confidence and desire to invite people into my home outweigh every excuse and moment of second guessing if everything was suitable that stops me so much of the time. When I think of the time, effort and energy and love that went into rolling stuffed grape leaves and stuffed cabbage leaves for our entire herd of people, my fingers ache. I understand being touched by that. I think of the generosity evident as I consider the expense this couple must have incurred feeding 16 extra people on an income that comes from a very small congregation, I understand being touched by that. I think about the gift from Christo’s mother of not one cake but two, so each group would have their own entire sweet dessert to devour. It was so lovingly presented by Vania so that we would know and understand just how important it had been to Christo’s mother to give us this gift. I am amazed when I think about the flurry that must have occurred in the brief transition time between the two groups. I was in the second group and when we arrived, there were no signs that a meal for 8+ people had been served only moments before. We were greeted with the energy and graciousness that would make it seem as if we had been the only guests that day. I understand why I was impressed by that. It takes me three times that long to clean up after cooking for my family of four and then I’m ready to veg on the couch for a while, not jump up and do it again. I understand being touched by the thoughtfulness of the individual gifts she gave to each of us after our meal. They are something that each of us will treasure always. I also understand being moved by the song that sang for us. It came from so deep within their hearts and the love they felt for the Lord was evidenced through their song. So, I pretty much have dissected the things that make sense to me and understand becoming a little teary eyed when you combine them all together. I hear others in the group speaking of a new love for Bulgaria and that it has touched their hearts. I understand that and feel it as well. What I don’t understand is why I was moved to the point of being unable to speak for fear of tears. What was going on inside of me that caused such a stirring. I am not sure what to do with it and more than a little fearful of it. I’m going to have to keep praying about that. I’d kind of like to blame it on being a bit overtired, or hormones. It would be a lot easier to understand. But what if it is something more. What if it is a call to action . . .I’m going to keep praying.

Tuesday, June 29

I wanted to write this last night but was way too tired. Most people on this trip I have known or gone to church with for some time now, however there is a group of young peoople on this trip that are somewhat new to the WCC family and that is our summer interns. Their efforts prior to and during this adventure have been invalualble. Having the extra person with just a bit more responsiblity and accountablity than they teens, available to be in each group, gives us the opportunity to spread out a little more and reach more people. If you have ever been a group sponsor then you understand the energy and effort it takes to be responsible for other peoples kids. (The WCC kids DO make it easier than any I have ever traveled with) The interns add another pair of eyes and ears, and legs when needed. It is a huge help, and we have needed it. And as a rule, that is what you would expect. THESE interns are special. They each bring to the table a love for the Lord that is visable and almost palatable. Each one has a special gift or chacter that adds a dimension to the group that would be missing if it weren't here. Abby's beautiful voice adds depth to every song, Nolands humble, protective spirit adds a dimension of safety as we travel in mass. Matts ability to start up a game of soccer and actually looking somewhat comfortable at it gives us creditability in the park. Hailey's gentle, evangelistic spirit has touched so many both Bulgarian and American in this group. I have grown to love and appreciate each one of the special young adults. My life has been enriched by them and so has our youth group and church family.

Monday, June 28 Sofia, Bulgaria

We returned to the park today. It was sunny and there were more people there. The weather here is very comfortable. It's been 70 at the highest! We were in the park for less than 15 minutes when the Bulgarian teens joined ours playing with the soccer ball. We had three different groups with combined Bulgarians, Irish, and US teens visiting and playing different games. At first it was our teens starting the activity but before long, the Bulgarian teens were teaching our group a new game. It was fun to watch. The day went on with different kids joining and others moving on. Toward the end of our time in the park we had a devotional. As we gathered our crew, they would invite whoever they were visiting/playing with etc to come join us for our devotional. A few came over and joined right away. As we started singing, several that had said, "no thank you", ended up coming to our area, sitting down with us and joining in the singing. Many thanks to the interns who put together our song books. It made it possible for our new friends to join in and sing along!! 

We learned that Bulgarians LOVE facebook and it has become a wonderful tool to use not only as a conversation starter but to stay in touch after the day in the park is over. Already this evening more than six new FB friends have been exchanged and accepted between our teens. Several have said that they would see us in the park tomorrow! 

I wish I had the pictures to go with this note. I was a great day! I'm certain some will be posted soon. Keep us in your prayers. This is truly an amazing time. 

June 28, 2010 Bulgaria

Today was my favorite so far. We attended services at two different CofC's. First, the church our translator, Raicho attends and the other Christos. Raicho's church is a small congregation of young couples with very young children. They have passion and desire to grow. We joined them for lunch following the services and had the opportunity to visit with them and encourage them. We talked to the young women of the church and talked them through how they could help grow the church through their children with classes and activities for the young mother's and children. We talked about the importance of growing the church family through families. They are so eager and hungry for the encouragement from other Christians. We take so for granted the history and deep roots of our church family. This young church longs for the day when they too will have roots so deep. 
At Christos church, the faces were a bit different. His congregation is an older group with no young children there. Their concerns about the future and growth of the church was also evident. Their worship and words were filled with love for the Lord. They also hungered for the encouragement from other Christians and were delighted that we had come to be with them.
Paul speaks in his letters about encouragement to other Christians. I don't think I ever fully grasped the meaning of this until today. This encourement deal is a pretty good thing. There I was receiving hugs and thanks for just being there. For taking the time and making the effort to come to worship with them and encourage them. But it was me who came away so inspired. 
This country is a country seeking. They will find something too. I pray that what they find is the Word of our Lord and not the Koran. We as Christians must remember not only the obivious needs of the world where we can help and be of service; the need for water and medical care, but we also need to remember to nurture and help grow where the seeds have been planted and cultivate what has taken root. 
You would all have been proud of our Rick Odell, Brian Robbins, and Matt Curran. Rick taught the lesson. His words were beautiful and all that . . . but then to hear them translated, as he spoke, into Bulgarian was spell binding. Brian was eloquent in his opening prayer of the service and Matt Curran prayed and served communion. Christos is a very dynamic speaker and though his words were translated for us into English, you could feel what he was saying even before it was translated.

I am still trying to find time in the day to caption some of the pictures to fill in the blanks of this amazing adventure for you all, but not tonight. . .