Surely there will be Dancing in Heaven

      Today was the beloved pizza party for the sweet members of Berk 4 (the orphanage for the disabled). It was King and Queen themed.. We began the morning by party prepping and LOTS of decorations. We have spent the last 2 days working in our "tutu sweat shop" making eat little girl a tutu to wear for this party. We blew up balloons, put crepe paper on absolutely everything, decorated crowns, and made gift bags for each child. Bus by bus the children arrived and the room was overflowing with genunie happiness and excitement.

        Not only did we eat pizza and dress like royalty, we danced the afternoon away. Seeing the light brought to the lives of these dancing children we know that surely there will be dancing in heaven. It was absolutely heart warming to see the joy that we could bring just by singing Rocky Top and doing the chicken dance (a crowd favorite). Words cannot express to you how much of a difference human interaction and love makes in the lives of these children.  Once again we can say, surly The Lord is working in this place. 

        Not only did we have a wonderful pizza party with Berk 4 today, we were also able to share in some very special moments with some of the training center young men. 5 young men finished professional course work in cooking, carpentery, or care giving. We were able to celebrate their "graduation" and distribution of diplomas. The most touching part was that the young men asked Judy to wait to do graduation when "the Americans" came. Sharing in such a special event, one that most young people in Bulgaria NEVER experience, is such a blessing to us. We are so thankful for The Lord's work at the training center and the chance for us to be a part of it.. 

      Once again we ask for your continued prayers for safe travels, open hearts and minds, and the people of Bulgaria.

God is Love. 

Tuesday in Beautiful Bulgaria

Talk about a day filled with adventures. We started off the morning heading to the training center in Borovtsi to prepare for the day. We then headed to the preschool just down the road (maybe 3 American blocks). It is amazing the difference in the children of an orphanage and preschool. These precious children at the kindergarten taught us how to count to 10 in Bulgarian. Ten sounds like "That's it" to us! Two of the workers from the training center have children in this preschool, one of which is Steven. It was Steven's birthday and they have a wonderful celebration for him including a cake and candy!
At the preschool we set up stations to work on fine motor skills. We had stencils, puzzles, blocks, paper folding, and coloring. The children were absolutely marvelous; we were all very impressed. Special  children stole each of our hearts there. Once again, Dr. B did physicals with Katie (an Australian missionary Doctor who lives in Bulgaria) and Dr. Tom performed eye exams. We taught the children Slava Na Boga (Hallelujah, Praise The Lord), performed Daniel in the Lion's Den, and sang a multitude of  Christian songs. The children each picked out a stuffed animal and were given gift boxes. We were all so touched when they presented us each with a hand made construction paper flower. Those are the moments when we realize that maybe God brought us here to be changed and blessed.
After the preschool, we ate lunch at the training center and finished up work in our "tutu sweat shop". We then headed to Rakovitsa, the gypsy village. With over 4000 people, Rakovitsa village is a huge opportunity to spread the word of God. We traveled up to the school and were able to tour a classroom full of children. Then we walked through the village like the pied piper, gathering children all the way to the church. We put together a mini Vacation Bible School for these sweet children including Daniel in the Lion's Den, songs, the incredible enlarging maching, and crafts. We set up 3 tables of visor decorating, hand tracing and butterfly making to engage the children. It is so apparent how very little praise or validation they receive for their good works.

Words cannot described how touched our hearts were today. We ask for your prayers for change in Rakovitsa, acceptance of God's love and our giving spirits, compassionate workers at the schools and orphanages, and most of all that these incredible people come to know The Lord.

Ciao again from Borovtsi!