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
