Berk 4 and the Gypsy Village

Yet another great day with special friends in Bulgaria.  We started this morning in the Berk 4 orphanage, which is a home for the physically and mentally handicapped with an age range of 5 to probably 40.  It is the best handicap orphanage in the country, with workers who care and residents who help take care of each other.  It is one big family and community.  We spent time in five different rooms, which are divided largely based on care needs.  We were able to tell Bible stories as we acted them out and then invited them to act out the story as well.  We sang, played musical instruments (a bit loud and chaotic!), colored with crayons, held, rubbed backs, loved, and prayed.

You definitely realize that each resident has a unique personality and is an individual, intentional creation of God.  We don't know why they were made with minds and bodies that they have, and the world discounts them because of that, but they are wonderful individuals with lots of personality in many cases.

We were also able to meet with the new director that just started last week.  He doesn't have a background in social work, orphanages, or the handicapped, so he has lots to learn.  However, he received us and said he appreciated our work.  He asked our impression of the home, and we gave lots of positive feedback and left him with gifts.  We told him we were praying for him, and we prayed for him after we left his office.

We spent the afternoon in the gypsy village on the outskirts of Berkovitsa.  We parked at the Baptist Church, which is at the entrance to the village, and walked up through the village and back gathering children.  There was lots of excitement as they saw us walking through the streets!  We wound up with over 100 children back at the church where we had a fun afternoon of 'Sunday school' with them.

We sang, told Bible stories, acted them out, colored, decorated sun visors that they got to keep, and loved on them.  Jane and Debbie together led a great event with nothing but clapping -- totally impromptu --  which transcended language and engaged the whole group!  This type of outreach helps the church to reach out to the children and their families throughout the year.  Gypsies are looked down upon by society, usually are isolated in separate villages, typically have rundown houses, and are very poor.  However, once this church was established there, it really helped bring spiritual transformation to the village.  The crime rate even improved.  The pastor wasn't there today, but it was a joy to pray with his wife and several other women in the church.  They are truly sisters in Christ.

We went back by the Borovtsi Learning Center and spent some time praying there, as it's only a little more than a week from when the first residents arrive.  We prayed in all the dorm rooms, the cafeteria, the meeting rooms, and the offices.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to stop by the baby home again this afternoon to drop off the baby blankets that had arrived in our lost luggage.  The director had to leave early today, and she said another day would probably be better.  Paul and Judy will get them to her after we leave.

We drove to the town of Vratsa for dinner and to spend the night at the Hotel Chaika, which is in a beautiful setting in the mountains.  In fact, the hotel is at the base of a 1500-foot rock face, and the view from the front is spectacular.

After a wonderful dinner, debrief of the day, and our evening devotional, we're all tired and ready for bed.  Good night from Vratsa.

Our hearts have been stolen...

Another great day in Bulgaria.  We started the day at the preschool home where we had been on Monday as well.  We had a long time with them this morning, and they were singing for us as we arrived.  After joining them for more singing, we told the story of David and Goliath -- Tom was David, and Skip was Goliath, complete with a great crash to the ground as he was killed!  Two other sets of children also acted out the story.  We told them that God gives us each tasks to do, and He will give us the strength to accomplish them.

Each child there is so precious.  A few of them really stole our hearts today.  Several of us have particular children we felt called to pray for.

While we were there, Katya and Asya (our translators) spoke with a teacher, and they said she was impressed that professional, educated people from America would choose to come to Bulgaria and play with the children on the floor.  Apparently, that would be very unusual for a Bulgarian professional to do.  She also commented that she could tell our love for doing that came from our hearts.  Katya offered a more full explanation -- that our love of Christ was the reason we did that.  It reminded us to pray for the workers.  Think what a difference it would make in an orphanage if the workers knew and followed Jesus!

We headed to the Borovtsi Learning Center for lunch, and we stayed there to work the rest of the afternoon.  The Learning Center is for orphans who have aged out of the orphanage system.  They typically have no skills, no money, and no place to go and often wind up on the street.  The Center will give them a place to live for 12-18 months, teach them life skills and vocational skills, and provide spiritual teaching too.  There is nothing like this in Bulgaria.  The first twelve residents arrive on June 10, and there is still much to do.  We fixed, cleaned, hung curtains, and moved furniture to get ready.  Staff training is going on this week, with Daniel and Katie (the missionaries from Australia) doing much of the teaching.  Skip taught a session this afternoon on ethics.

After a quick trip to the lake a mile or two down the road from the Center, we headed back to Berkovitsa, where the ladies at the hotel cooked a lamb dinner for us.  Yum.  We had a debrief of the day, which Ian led and tied into Matthew 16:24, where Jesus told His disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

On the logistics front, four more of our suitcases arrived today, which only leaves one of the eleven still not here.  Most of the baby blankets were in the bags that came, so we'll be able to stop by the baby home again (where we were on Monday) on our way out of Berkovitsa tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks for following along with us.  Tomorrow we'll be at Berk 4 (the handicap home) in the morning, Rockavitsa (the gypsy village) in the afternoon, and then up to a hotel in the mountain town of Vratsa tomorrow night, to get us closer to the orphanage where we'll be on Friday for another Hawaiian luau party.

Good night from Berkovitsa.

Terrific Tuesday!

What a fun day!! Started off with a pizza party and ended with playing with kids...

We began the day getting ready for a pizza party at the local pizza hall for the handicap kids at one of the orphanages. We had prepared for a Luau theme... so we had Hawaiian shirts and grass skirts, games, and gift bags. At the pizza hall we placed visors at each place for the kids to decorate while they waited for their friends to be bused down to the party (it took several van loads to get a little over 50 kids there). We gave them leis when they walked in, as well as pineapple shaped sunglasses, stickers, and a banana (a fruit they really like). When everyone had arrived, we cranked up the music and danced our feet off... the Chicken Dance (which was requested again later), Cupid Shuffle, Surfin' USA, and some other great classic American music that made us jump, twirl, and sweat, provided by the DJ. We then ate about 50 pizzas and the kids got juice. They sang some songs and we gave them treat bags that included an apple, a pen, and a mini beach ball. OH MY!!! We had sooo much fun!!! It was good to reunite with these kids and to have a fun time... putting a smile on each of their faces. It was a highlight to see how excited these kids got. I (Rachel) traced a cross on one of the girl's stickers on her hand and she smiled and pointed to the cross around my neck - recognizing that they were the same symbol and that we were there for that. Leanne and Ian broke it down on the dance floor with the kids - especially noted was the song that goes "jump, jump around" and the kids knew the words (at least how to say them and not what they meant). Haley and Debbie spent some time with a special friend of our group who cannot stand without help and who cannot see very well - Haley helped him make a visor and they both danced with him. Skip spent some time with one of the young men who is blind - he also helped him with his visor and danced with him. Jane, Midge and Jim danced all around and loved on the kids... and Tom stood on the chairs doing the chicken dance! I'm sure we were a sight!

After this we drove to a city in the north on the Danube River. We saw the river and Ian, Haley, and Tom skipped rocks. It was fun. Then, in that city, we went to an orphanage for school-aged children (ranging from first grade to high school). We put shoes on these kids feet and then played and played with them - jumping rope, braiding hair, talking, laughing, and just spending quality time. The kids had a choice to be there or not - it was a time they could go out and do their own thing, but they ALL chose to stay and wait for our group and to get new shoes. There were about 50 kids at this home (not including the younger kids who were in a different building). Especially noted were the older young men - about 15, 16, 17, & 18 years old - who stuck around and wanted interaction with our group. They talked and showed off and were a joy to have around.

Please pray for the children we reunited with today and those that we met for the first time. Oh how our Father cares! May they see His joy and His delight in each of them - they are each so unique and special in His heart. And they are so special and such a joy to us. Pray for their protection and for their health... and that they know they are not fatherless - oh how HE loves them!

Love to you all at home!

We Are Really Here!!!

What a journey! We are finally glad to say we are in Bulgaria!! Lol! The last we wrote was in New York. We got a three-hour tour of the city... it was a lovely fun time. Then after the exciting day we again went to the airport Saturday evening for our second attempt to fly out of the country (with the first one missed because of a delayed flight from Knox). We finally caught a fight to London... although it wasn't without a delay leaving Newark. So yes, we were late arriving in London and missed our next flight to Sofia (the capital city of Bulgaria). Then the majority of the team was redirected through Brussels, Belgium to Sofia... but the flight was two seats short. Jim and Rachel took an Athens to Sofia route instead. The majority group arrive in Sofia late Sunday night then drove over 2.5 hours to get to their hotel... finally making it to bed by 2am. Jim & Rach arrived later than the other group and spent the night in the missionaries' home (Judy and Paul) in Sofia.

The team reunited early Monday morning (today) for a great day! We were very relieved to finally be in Bulgaria and begin the work. We began the day at the Training Center (where we did construction work last year) and how good it looks!! It has come a long way and is ready to house residents the week after we leave. After touring there we headed to a preschool-aged orphanage to tell a Bible story and color and play and sing with the kids. The hokey-pokey was again a big hit. After this we went to a beautiful Orthodox monastery near the preschool home. There we learned from the local priest about that church.

In the afternoon we went to a baby orphanage (ages birth to 2) to put shoes on their feet. We loved on the kids and held them and gave them new shoes. There were touching moments as we all held these precious little children - some of which are months old. Knowing that they are made in God's image, it made it all the more special knowing that God sees and loves these little ones. Our hearts were changed. It has been a long journey to get a good nights sleep now, so we are signing off for bed. :) We will write again tomorrow.

We Made It!! ... to New Jersey

Greetings! Welcome to the Bulgaria Team's blog. Once again we are blessed to go to Bulgaria (and other 'slight' detours); it's our 5th year going. We left yesterday on our journey... and it hasn't been without its challenges. :) Before we left there were circumstances in Bulgaria that might prevent us from going into some of our favorite orphanages. We realized early on that this was to be a prayer trip as much as (if not more than) a trip to go "do stuff". God has opened doors and we will get to go into the places we didn't think possible. We also expect surprises on the way... and not always in the way we expect. Which leads to the 'slight detour' that we are on now. :) Let's just say that if our first pictures look like New York City... it probably is. We made it from Knoxville into Newark 3 hours late yesterday and Newark was a mad house (late flights were the fashion)... they couldn't get us out last night. It wasn't without trying. We set the new record of standing at the customer service desk: 4 hours & some change. We made good friends though with the ticket agents (several of them) and a pigeon (roaming freely in the airport), and by the end of it they (the ticket agents, not the pigeon) gave food vouchers and free hotel (though they weren't handing those out freely). The 4 hours didn't pass without entertainment - besides the pigeon, discussins of probably losing luggage for several days came up... but have no fear, the team came up with 'plan B': to use the things in our carry on for the entertainment and mission work. Tom created sock puppets and ideas of a puppet song and dance team emerged. Characters in the airport helped keep the juices flowing. We will visit in New York today and fly out tonight for London... then on to Sofia, Bulgaria. We would very much appreciate your prayers. :) We may be the ones going, but our prayer warriors are doing the hardest work. Thank you!!! Ciao!