Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Back in Berkovitsa

Dober Den!

Jim and I have successfully traveled on our own for the past several days. We visited Plovdiv, the second largest city in Bulgaria, on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. What a beautiful and wonderful city! It is nothing like other parts of Bulgaria that we have visited. There are many ancient Roman ruins woven throughout the modern city - including a large amphitheater that is still in use today (they were setting up for a concert while we were sight-seeing). Plovdiv is a more sophicated place than the others we have been to, including the capital city Sofia. We managed to have a few good laughs while there - first we don't speak Bulgarian and their alphabet is Cyrllic. Jim can "read" words now, or as he says, "I feel like I'm in 1st grade again having to sound out all the words."





I was the navigator though - and all I know is that I read words letter by letter: "The next street will look something like - 'Capital U with a tail' 'a' 'p' is the first word, and then 'the funny-looking lowercase b' 'o' 'p' 'backwards N' 'c' is the second word."

Pretty soon though I could pronounce that one - Tsar (or Czar) Boris. But finding the street signs! Oh! They are not good street marking people. And if they have a sign that points you in one direction, they don't really mean that it is on that particular road. But regardless of the language barrier, we found our way around - and needless to say, we appreciate all the interpreters that have helped us over the years with our groups! LOL!

As we said, Plovdiv is a very nice city. On Monday we drove from there (central region of Bulgaria) back up to the northwest region we generally work in (where Berkovitsa and Borovtsi are located). We could see the difference of the regions of Bulgaria once we arrived back to this area. The northwest is where we have done majority of our work over the years (and all our work for the past week) is the poorest region in Bulgaria. There are many people that do not have work in the villages and towns we have worked in - something like 60-70% unemployment for some cities. It was a visible difference! Not that any region of Bulgaria is shy its potholes, but you can't help but hit potholes everywhere (you have to drive both sides of the road not to blow a tire).

It was good to see the difference in regions though - it gives perspective, whereas before we just go and do the work and accept it as it is. The people in Plovdiv also made remarks about the northwest region when they heard that's where we were going. "We make fun of those people."

Regardless of the stereotypes that bestow this region, we love the people and find great pleasure in being here. We stayed up in the mountains in a village named Vratsa last night and woke up this morning and went exploring. What beautiful mountain scenery!!! WOW!





We ended up back at the Learning Center in Borovtsi this afternoon and immediately began more work. You would not believe what has been accomplished since last Friday when we saw it last! Okay - don't get your hopes up, but for what we know about the work ethic of this place and what needs to be done... wow! For all the team that is back home now: the hallway in the first floor around the 'dorm' rooms has been painted!! Which means sheet rock was hung, wallboard mud was put on, sanding was done, and the first coat of paint!! The ceiling has not been started, but it looks good. Now, if we could only get the doors on. Also, the railing for the staircase is semi-in - all the bars are up! The classroom hall has tile, and its ceiling has been painted also. The green room has a second coat of paint. The foyer has sheet rock (still no doors though). There's been a lot done! But there's still a LOT to do... but, hey, that's what we're here for... right?

The ribbon cutting for the Learning Center is Saturday - so please continue to pray for safety of all those (including us) putting things together quickly.

We send love to all!

Blessings,
Rach

Monday, May 30, 2011

Pictures!

Greetings!

Jim and I (Rachel) are still in Bulgaria. We drove to a town named Plovdiv yesterday and today we will sight see. It has a lot of Roman ruins and some other interesting history. Below you will find pictures from the past several days. It has been so fun and we already miss the team. They made it home safely last night and I know that they are happy to be home. Ask one of them if you see them about their thoughts on the trip. It was such a good time. Here are some pictures from the Pizza Party with Berk 4 and pictures from the 1st Annual US/Borovtsi Festival! (Notice "annual" is thrown in there - so this means if you are reading this, you need to help in the 2nd annual festival - LOL!)

Keep watching the blog later this week for more updates on the Learning Center and the dedication ceremony on Saturday.

Ciao -
Rachel

PIZZA PARTY PICTURES














US/Borovtsi Festival









Presenting the mayor of Borovtsi with a gift bag
















Saturday, May 28, 2011

Borovtsi Festival a Success!

Greetings from Sofia after another great day in Borovtsi.  Wow, what a festival we had.  It was the U.S.-Borovtsi cultural festival, and there was lots of singing and dancing.  The purpose of the festival was an introduction of the town of Borovtsi to the Learning Center, which is just out from the town.  The learning center has been the biggest employer in the town over the last year and a half with its construction and remodeling, but there's still not full understanding of what this place is.  It will be a learning and transition center for young men aging out of orphanages, and they will live there 12-18 months to learn to live on their own and gain job skills.

Judy and Paul (the missionaries) offered to do a street festival for the town, and it grew into a cultural exchange festival, which was great.  It was a perfect day for it, with sunny skies and 80 degrees.  There's a large plaza and an outside stage in the middle of town.

For our American part, we started with games for kids (a "fishing" pond where you cast the line over a partition and someone on the other side attaches a piece of candy to the line, a small duck pond with prizes for the very little kids, jump rope, bubbles, etc.) and a line dance.  We served lemonade, s'mores (made beforehand with marshmallow creme), and candy. Then for our program, we dressed in overalls and straw hats.  We began with words spoken by Skip, then sang Amazing Grace, then Jim talked some about East TN as compared to Bulgaria.  (The two are amazingly similar in terrain, weather, plants and flowers, etc.)  We square danced to Turkey in the Straw, sang America the Beautiful, and performed the "doctor's office" skit, where one male patient in the waiting room catches the ailments of everyone else and then runs out screaming when a pregnant lady walks in.  We were nervous about how that would play with the crowd, but they completely got the humor and loved it.  We of course finished with singing Rocky Top.  It all went well.

For the Roma and Bulgarian parts, there was also singing and dancing.  The Roma (the politically correct term for gypsies) did belly dancing and some traditional dances.  Then the Bulgarians did a very elaborate play and dance about their culture.  It is a group from Borovtsi who has performed all over and even has some type of certificate from the UN.  They were in their traditional costumes (from hundreds of years ago) and had their own band, a spining wheel and wool-working on stage, wooden benches, food which they served to us during the play, and several dances.  The story line was an old history and even involved the stealing of a wife for one man.  They put on an excellent performance.

The mayor spoke, and we presented him with a gift bag.  The regional TV station was there to do a story, too.  Our estimate was a crowd of about 150.

Afterwards, we packed up a drove back to Sofia in time to go to the market downtown and then to dinner at the delicious Chinese restaurant near Paul and Judy's church.  We are now at the hotel in Sofia.  Everyone except Jim and Rachel will fly out in the morning.  They are staying another week and will be at the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Learning Center on Friday.

Check back tomorrow for photos of the pizza party for Berk 4 and the U.S.-Borovtsi Festival.  We had some computer difficulties this morning, and it's late tonight.

Thanks for all your prayers this week.  It's been a good trip.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Pizza Party for Berk 4

Dober den this Friday evening.  It has been a tremendous day and one full of joy!  We started with a few hours of work at the Learning Center but then made our way back to Berkovitsa for a pizza party with the residents of Berk 4.  The theme was a luau, so we showed up at the restaurant early (we had rented out the entire inside space) to decorate with balloons, palm trees, pink flamingos, beach balls, and toys.  We also prepared goody bags that contained pens, some small toys, a beanie baby, a banana, a cookie, and a pixie stick.

About 55 residents from Berk 4 came down the hill to town for the party.  This is a BIG deal for them because they rarely leave the grounds of the orphanage.  They were all smiles and full of excitement!  We greated them at the door with a lei around their neck and then welcomed them in.  It was a great party!  Each person got a bottle of juice, and there was plenty of pizza to go around.  Then the dancing began -- line dancing, the hokey pokey, the twist, a slow dance, and several more traditional Bulgarian songs.

Everyone had a great time.  They had all put on their best clothes and were very polite to wait patiently sitting at the tables until everyone had arrived.  (It takes a while to shuttle everyone there in vans.)  In a way, it's a big family at Berk 4, and they all look out for each other, especially the older ones with the younger kids.  They even cleaned up after they had finished eating, throwing away all the trash and neatly stacking all the throw-away plastic plates.  They are such wonderful, joyful folks, just in bodies and minds that don't quite work right.  They are beautiful creations of our Creator, and each has a unique personality.  They are a joy to be with.

After the party, we headed back out to the Learning Center in Borovtsi to do some more work.  It's really coming together, although there's a lot left to do.  The Dutchmen finished most of the laminate flooring installation in the meeting rooms and offices.  We assembled furniture for the dorm rooms and did some more painting and cleaning.  We also helped the two sets of house parents get moved into their upstairs apartments, and tonight will be the first night they stay there.

We had a quick dinner of sandwiches because we had to practice our presentation for the festival in Borovtsi tomorrow.  Several of our team met with the officials there this afternoon to plan the event, and they're expecting singing and "traditional" dancing from us.  Yikes!  There are posters around town announcing the U.S.-Borovtsi folklore festival, and rumor has it that the regional TV station will be there tomorrow to do a story.  So we've coreographed our square dancing and practiced singing songs!  We'll also have games and food for the kids.

It's late, and we're off to bed.  We pack up and head back to Sofia tomorrow after the festival.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Dober Den

Progress is being made! What a difference since we got here on Saturday!! The Learning Center (herein "Center") is coming along... slowly... but it is coming along. We actually were only at the Center 1/2 a day today - we spent the morning at one of our favorite places (Berk 4 - explained below) and then this afternoon at the Center cleaning, assembling furniture, and doing other various tasks (explained below also).

First, we went to Berk 4 this morning. Berk 4 is a wonderful place to go! It is a home (orphanage) for handicap children and adults (herein "residents") - ranging from age 5 or 6 to age 40! This is a wonderful example of a well-run orphanage here in Bulgaria. They teach the residents skills of making crafts (you may have seen some of the manger scenes they have created!), and the residents look after each other as if they were one big family. It is a sweet and refreshing place to be. I've often wondered who was the better example of Christ: us coming all the way from America... or them, loving each other and caring with no reserves. What a beautiful picture of Christ.

They have the residents split into 5 different "groups" - so we did the story of David and Goliath, colored pictures, and sang songs in these 5 different groups. They enjoyed it so much... and so did we.

Lots of folks send their love to the people of our past teams. One specific greeting is for Tom - from Hristo (Cristo) at Berk 4. He says "tell him hello and that the Lord bless him."

After Berk 4 we drove to the Learning Center and worked. Judy asked us today to set up a bedroom for the open house - it's the first furnished room now! It is still not completely finished, but it hopefully will be soon. It's all hands on deck here now. We have lots of people coming and going. We set up the room for Judy with furniture that men in Texas made - handmade, quality, solid wood furniture. It is amazing what God provides!! For each room there are bunk beds (also can be made into two seperate beds), 2 desks, and a dresser and wardrobe.
It's funny (not really) how a lot of things are different from the US construction sites... REALLY different. Nothing seems to have much order - you cannot find anything you need, you hardly have the tools you need when you need it... and Judy and Paul have been dealing with this for a year! When we got here this past weekend, Bulgaria was celebrating a national holiday for their language and alphabet. Yes, that's right. They took Monday and Tuesday off, having a long weekend (but don't worry, they will work for the next 2 Saturdays to make up for their holidays). Anyway, the working crews for the site have finally come to work (since we've been here) and there are a lot of people helping now - when they are not on break. :) Oh, and there are major OSHA violations... such as no goggles or eye protection on site, even for the ones cutting metal.

Good night to all... we have just gotten back to the rooms after a delicious meal... did we mention that the food is amazing?? :) Well... time for sleep.

Lots of love,
the team

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Greetings!

It was a long but lovely day. We began this morning by first driving from Berkovitsa (where we are staying) to Borovtsi (where the Learning Center is) to do our devotional (as we begin each day). We like to do the devotional at the Center so that the workers can see that Christ comes first and is important in our lives.

Directly after the devotional our Dutch friends began laying floor, our Aussie friends began painting, our Bulgarian friends began their normal duties of contruction, and we, the Americans from FUMC went to Georgi Damyanovo (the preschool orphanage), with Rachel driving one of the cars - her first Bulgarian driving experience.  (Leanne, we saw the water buffalo again on the way.)

We spent the morning with these beautiful, bright-eyed, energetic children. There were about 26 kids there total. Many of the faces that we are familiar with from past years have aged out (at age 7) of the orphanage and were not there (although we saw some of those 'older' children walking in another nearby village on our way to Georgi - they have been moved to another orphanage).

We told the Bible story of Zacchaeus (from Luke 19) to the children, acted it out (Greg was Zacchaeus, Brad was Jesus, and Skip made a great tall tree!), sang a song, danced, colored, and played. The children are wonderful!

There was one brother and sister that was at the preschool orphanage that have an interesting and sad story. Earlier this year they were found living under a bridge with their mom. The workers at the orphanage showed us a picture of when they were found and told us this story. The kids were taken from their mother and have been living in this orphanage since February. Such a sad story. Rachel held the sister for a long time because she just wanted to be held and loved on. Others in the group held children, sang to them, and just played (swinging them round and round). Jim counted in Bulgarian from one to ten with the children.

After about 2 hours we headed back to Borovtsi and ate lunch with everyone... then we jumped back into work - painting, sweeping, cleaning, scrubbing windows, and doing whatever we were needed to do (including carrying heavy furniture up 3 flights of stairs).

Following our work we headed to the mountain town of Vratsa with wonderful food and atmosphere. Of course we are eating the famous Shopski salad (with tomatoes and cucumbers and cheese - mmmmmm!) and good home cooked meals! Fanta orange and lemon are the drinks of choice. The resturant we ate in is at the base of vertical rock cliffs a couple of thousand feet tall - a beautiful place.

We are now going to sleep in the midst of a thunder and lightening storm. It is soothing to hear the rain falling outside our windows (the prefered choice is to sleep with the windows open). It is a hard rain and very calming.

Good night to all. We love you. Thanks for your prayers. We ask for continued prayer for the Learning Center - the work is slow and the opening for the center is scheduled for next week. Judy and Paul are under a lot of pressure and want to see this completed.

Brad, Andrew (Judy and Paul's son), and our Dutch friends singing during our devotions.

Midge cleaning a window.

One of the Bulgarian workers lifting cement buckets up to the 3rd floor.

Skip and Jane after a hard day's work.

One of the dorm rooms at the Learning Center BEFORE.

One of the dorm rooms AFTER.

The view of the mountain where we had dinner.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Dober den (which means good day in Bulgarian).  Hope everyone is doing okay. We continued work on the learning center today.  We continued sanding, painting, and laying floor.  Today we also cleaned windows and vacuumed floors. 

Fun events of the day:
(1) We have been doing our devotions in the mornings at the work site. We have good memories this morning of singing and our devotional done by Greg (yesterday Cindy gave the devo).

(2) We had lunch with 5 countries represented: US, Bulgaria, Australia, Holland, and Hungary. A group of teenagers joined us today to help with the painting (thus the Hungarian addition).

(3) We had Stancho from Berk 4 work with us today - one of the orphans that is now living on his own and doing construction at the Learning Center.

(4) We are seeing progress. This morning rooms were bare that now have color... floors were concrete that are now laminate... walls without drywall now have it.

(5) Brad ate a tomato for the first time in about 15 years. This is a momentous event.

(6) We took a walk through Berkovitsa after dinner as a group. It's a nice spot for a walk.

See below for examples of us in action today at the Learning Center.

The Cleaning Crew: (L to R) Midge, Cindy, Jane, Debbie, & Brad

 

Cindy, the clean sweeper!


Jane, the bandit, cleaning.

Greg cleaning.

Jim sanding.

Mr Clean, Mr Clean... Brad the vacuum man!

Our Dutch friends laying floors - amazing work!
Debbie, Midge, and Cindy looking out a newly cleaned window.
Outside front view of the Learning Center.

Side view of the Learning Center - there is an addition of a 3rd floor (the skylight windows in the red roof) and beautiful wood trimming (see the picture below).

Bigger view of beautiful wood trim on side of roof.
Wilma the dog that lives at the Learning Center (one of many dogs!).

MAY 2009: BULGARIA

MAY 2009: BULGARIA
May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us -
yes, establish the work of our hands.
~ Psalm 90:17