Pictures of Learning Center and Ceremony

The Learning Center - ready for the Opening

Jim and the NEW doors - installed the evening before the opening

The front entrance hall

 

People at the ceremony - in one of the large classrooms

The other classroom

The mock hotel room that the residents will learn how to host people

A hall that we saw from brick to this... it's nice!

The dorm hallway (notice there are doors!!)

Inside one of the dorm rooms

Workers who have been working hard cleaned up and came to the ceremony

Jim eating the AMAZING strawberries - why can't we grow them like this in the US??

Jim, Stancho, and Stani - posing for the picture

The house parents for the Learning Center. From L to R - Hristo, Marianna, Katie, and Daniel.

Katie and Rachel modeling in front of the stair rail (bars) they painted

Rachel in the country side of Borovtsi (where the learning center is located)

Jim in front of the lake near the learning center

Opening Day

Greetings from Sofia.  Whew, it's been a long day - we got up early to head to the Center in Borovtsi to finish up before the opening ceremonies.  It was complete chaos, with a large number of regular workers there on a Saturday.  There were people going everywhere, doing MAJOR work up until the last minute, including sheetrock, door installation, tile, and painting.  We worked way too long and then had to clean up all the mess as people were arriving.  It's not even close to being finished, but it looked GREAT compared to when we arrived two weeks ago.  Everything was neat and tidy and where it was supposed to be.

The ceremonies were great, starting with the handing over the keys from the architect to Judy, then a ribbon cutting, then a program inside upstairs in one of the classroom, then a tour, then a reception.  We didn't count how many were there, but probably 75 or so, including one of the directors of Bulgarian Child, a member of the EU Parliament, the US ambassador, the local mayors, many of the workers, and many others who love the Ridgways and the project.  These included the director of Berk 4, the lady who runs our hotel in Berkovitsa, and even the manager of the Baumax building supply store in Sofia. The presentations were long (over 2 hours), and many, many people spoke.  It was a joyous day.  The Lord's Name was lifted up.  The four ladies from Atlanta put on a great reception afterwards with good food, including the wonderful strawberries that just started coming in this week.

We're very tired and have to leave for the airport in the morning at 5:30, so we'll sign off.  Sorry we won't get pictures up tonight.  Check back in a day or two.

Thanks for your prayers and thoughts.
Jim

change of plans...

well... it's now 10:50pm and we are back at the hotel in Berkovitsa. We drove to Borovtsi and all power was out from the storm (with no idea when the power will be back). It was sort of cool... no lights except for flashlights... workers gathered together around the front door (that is now in!) and our group gathered together in the hall behind them... singing... praying...

although our plans have changed... we still give God the glory for all things. Judy seems to not be stressed out by the set back (we could have worked all night to get this place together) - but continue to keep her and Paul in your prayers for tomorrow - it's a big day for them.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow... we give Him the glory for the Center and for the work we do for it.

although some may not find too much praise in us getting up at the crack of dawn, we will continue to work and finish what we can. We will get to the center around 6am... the opening is at 11am (4am EST).

talk with you then... going to get a quick night's sleep.

Love to all,
rach

a long night ahead...

We just have a quick moment to write...

We started this morning by leaving the hotel at 8am. We have painted, sanded, dusted, and done this and that all day. We got back to the hotel around 8pm and ate dinner that the hotel ladies cooked: lamb, red peppers, rice and liver, bread, and creme caramel. It was delious! At dinner the Holland European Union Parliamentarian ate with us. He is a Christian and supports Judy and Paul's ministries... it was quite the contrast though: he was wearing a suit and I was covered in paint (literally). Hmmmm.

We are now heading back to Borovtsi at 9pm. We will be there for a while I assume. There is a lot to do. It is no where near ready for the opening tomorrow, but we are all still going strong (well, a little tired).

It is storming outside... lightening and thundering. Nice to hear outside... but not good news for all the mud at the Center. We will talk with you later.

Blessings to all,
Rach (and Jim)

A Late Night

This will be a short post because it's well after midnight, and we're due at breakfast at 7:15 in the morning.  We had a long evening of work, heading back to Berkovitsa for dinner, and then back to the Borovtsi center working until midnight.  It was a crazy day of everyone pushing hard, but that meant people kept getting in each other's way.  There's fast and furious painting, floor tiling, bathroom tiling, stair railing, drop ceiling installation, cleaning, and moving furniture.  And I'm sure I've left something out!  But still no classroom windows or front door - we're really hoping they arrive tomorrow.  It's really shaping up.

We've heard some of the plans of the dedication ceremony on Saturday.  Some of the honored guests that will be there are the Mayor of Borovtsi, the Mayor of Berkovitsa, the U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria, and an EU Parliamentarian from the Netherlands.  There will be several other visitors and guests as well.  There will be flowers and food in addition to tours of the center.  It's a milestone day.

Rachel and I did take the morning off and headed up to the old fortress at Balogradchik. There are amazing rock formations there, which the Romans took advantage of to build a fortress around in the first century. Various groups have used it over the centuries as well. It's a neat place.

Off to bed for the final push tomorrow....

Jim

The work continues...

Howdy after another long work day. It's been a good day - the weather has been very good and we have gotten a lot of things done. Things at the Learning Center are coming slowly but surely.

I know Judy is ready to see some progress... and she has seen great progress since last week and especially this week. We can understand her frustration with the work ethic here - they don't do things logically (and I say that not only from an American standpoint, but other European countries are not like this). The Bulgarians just don't do things the way you would expect - for example, if the workers need more nails, they won't tell anybody until there are 3 nails left and then, since the nearest store is at least 20 minutes away, they just sit around and smoke and think they don't have to do any more work until the nails get there an hour later. This happens with all supplies - even at the end of the work day so that the next morning they just sit and wait until someone tells them to do something else in the meantime and someone takes initiative to get the supplies. It's non-stop and never ceases to amaze the American mind.

And poor Judy, she got chewed out yesterday by one guy who was doing the tile. Judy and this guy had agreed on a price for him to lay tile, but he wanted more money and was rentless on it. Judy faces this day after day, week after week. She stood her ground, however, and the tile guys showed back up today. Please keep her and Paul in your prayers for holding on to where they stand.

On the positive side, the work is getting done - by Bulgarians, Americans, and Australians. Although the Center is looking good, we will admit that we missed having our cleaning crew there - Cindy, Midge, and Debbie - to clean today... we missed Brad helping lift the heavy furniture... we missed Skip, Jane, and Greg painting... we missed the Dutchmen laying the floor.

We have another wonderful crew here from America though - 4 ladies from Atlanta (and one of them is Jamaican). They just jumped right in and have picked up on the work.

The team from last week will be interested that a contractor got in most of the drop ceiling today in the dormitory hallway. They were fast and efficient, and it looks great. We'll get you a picture in a day or two.

We hope for another successful day tomorrow - we possibly foresee staying at the center really really really late to finish the big things. We'll see.

Blessings,
Rachel and Jim