What an extraordinary day! Again today we went to Berk 4 (the handicap home) in the morning and to the gypsy village in the afternoon.
Tom has jumped right in and been doing eye exams for 2 days now. Today, in the gypsy village alone, he saw 50 kids!! He also saw kids at Berk 4 - where he is quite a popular man... everyone wants glasses!
Midge and Emily did physical exams again today - saw lots of handicap children. Midge says that it is a great blessing to work with these kids, some of whom are not kids - some are as old as 40! Emily has been a great blessing helping with both eye exams (yesterday) and physical exams (today).
The children at Berk 4 have been really responding to music and joining in and opening up more. Their favorite song is Jesus Loves Me (which we have learned in Bulgarian!).
There are a lot of new children at Berk 4 - young ones. It is fun to watch the older kids at Berk 4 take care of the little ones. You can tell that they care for one another. Today Skip held a younger looking child (which turned out to be 13). The workers said that this child does not speak or respond to much - but as we were about to leave, Skip looked into her eyes and she smiled back. He said he didn't know what she was thinking, but that it was a joy to see her respond and to connect with her.
Russ has visited the cows and chickens at Berk 4. The kids love showing their animals off to the group. Charles has been walking with the kids; Debbie has been hugging and loving them; Bryan has had the privilege of playing the role of Jesus in all our skits; Jane and Leanne have been our narrators; Rachel loves playing follow the leader with 20 kids.
Midge writes: Rachel has been a great leader for the team and loves each of the children dearly.
At the gypsy village there were a lot more kids today. Jessie refreshed them on Tennessee again and the kids remembered a good bit. Again we took them outside to play and just ran around. We played follow the leader, frisbie, soccer, red light/green light, and jump rope. It was very hot, but it was worth all the sweat. We feel like we have connected with the kids. Tomorrow is our last day with the gypsy kids.
Judy and Paul (the missionairies) have been wonderful. It amazes us how God is using them. Their ministry over here is such a blessing to see and experience. They are loved by so many.
Our interpreters are great too! They work well with the children and are fun to be around.
Tomorrow most of the team will do a little sight seeing at an old Roman ruin... Tom and Midge will be staying in Berkovitsa and doing more exams at Berk 3 (the home for kids aged 6ish-18). Please continue to pray for the health of the team and our ministry here.
Our God is so good! He is doing amazing things! None of this would be possible (or worth it) without Him. All these children are so precious - pray that they see Jesus' love in us. They are often mistreated and lonely; they want to be loved so much. Pray for their comfort and for a hope that only comes from God.
We love you all!! Thanks for keeping up with us!
The Team
