Dear Everyone,First off I'd like to thank all of you who supported me financially and who prayed for me and our team…for making it possible for me to go to Bulgaria. My missions trip to that country was incredible. I really believe that God was able to use us.
The village we were staying in was run down and poor. Many houses were make-shift or half built. We were staying in the village's school dormitory. The school needed a dormitory because many of the kids come from villages that are too far away from the school and so the students are not able to return home each night.
The dormitory was basic. We did not have normal toilet, but a "squat-pot" - basically just a hole in the ground. There was only one shower. There was no central heating. Instead, each room had a wood burning stove that was stocked every night.
On Sunday we went to the village church. It was a mix of Orthodox and Catholic. It was quite an interesting experience. It was on Sunday that we began our VBS activities with the kids. Quite a few kids showed up(20-30). There was some singing and a Bible story, as well as crafts and games. The games were particularly interesting. Although we had planned out many specific games to play, we ended up only really playing one thing: soccer. This was actually a very good thing. Since communication was quite hard (at the beginning we only had one translator) teaching the kids games was no easy task, but everyone understands soccer. Through this we were able to break the ice and start to get to know the kids.
Throughout the week we had great weather, which was really an answer to prayer because forecast was for rain, and we needed sunny days to paint. As far as painting and work goes, we didn't get that much done, but I am sure this was God's plan; instead of physical labor, we got much more relationship building done. It was especially sad when on the last day, tons of kids came to say goodbye to us. And I really think we were able to have an effect on the people in the town. Zhana, our translator, was telling us how people in town couldn't believe that people were coming to their tiny village to help.
Not only we were able to help the kids, but we grew as a team. We had daily devotions, and one time we hiked up to the cross that was up on top of a hill to watch the sunrise. Once up there we just hung out, read our Bibles and talked about what God had been teaching us this week.
For me particularly. God had been teaching me the power of prayer. I was quite nervous about everything, and convinced that I wouldn't be able to connect with the kids. But once things got going it was just amazing. It was actually easy to get to know them even if we spoke a different language.
All in all it was a great experience, and I would love to go back, because more work is needed. By the way, there was some money that was leftover from our missions trip and we left it for the school in Bulgaria so that they could buy whiteboards.
Once again, thank you for all your support and prayers. Please keep praying for the kids in the village of Vidare.
Gratefully, Tyler
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