slava na boga!

Slava na boga! That means "praise the Lord!" in Bulgarian, and it is one of the default phrases I go to in pretty much every conversation that I have... especially when there is a language barrier and it is one of the only things I can say that will be understood. :)

It has been two weeks here in Bulgaria and our team has been blessed to be able to serve practically in a variety of different ways in the city of Kazanlak in nursing homes, orphanages, day cares for disabled children, and in a church in the Roma community. We are staying in the YWAM base that is launching here, and we have also had the privilege of helping out a bit there.

Here are a few of my most favorite times!

• Toward the beginning of our time in Bulgaria, we spent a few evenings on the streets meeting people and engaging in conversations about some upcoming church events. A friend and I met a girl who asked to meet up with us for coffee. Later that week, we met up with her and a friend and had a great conversation about everything, including God and how the country has a history of Orthodox Christianity. 
• We spent two days in a local orphanage, where many of the children have disabilities. We put on a program for the children who could attend, acting out Bible stories and singing songs with dance moves (think "Father Abraham" and "Who's The King of the Jungle?"). For the ones who were unable to attend, we were able to visit with and pray for them individually. 
• Most of our involvement in the community has been organized by the local church. They have church services three nights a week, and our team has been invited to be a part of the services in worship and in giving testimonies, which can mean our personal stories about experiences with God or sharing something that stuck out to us from the Bible. On Sunday I was able to share a reflection I had about Isaiah 58:11, which is: The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.

Tonight a few of us are going to preform a few songs in the local village Christmas concert, so I am going to head off to get ready for that! 

Oh, and one more thing! After much prayer, our team has decided to go to Macedonia next. We plan to leave Bulgaria on December 29, and then stay in Macedonia for about two weeks. We are excited to see what God has called us to do there!

Love and prayers and Merry Christmas!

Meg

from Czech to Bulgaria!

Wow! I cannot believe that today is day 12 of outreach. It seems like way more and way less all at the same time. Our team has experienced so many blessings and has been able to invest in relationships since we left Herrnhut, Germany on Monday, November 26. We spent about five days in Cheb, followed by visits to various cities around Czech, ending with a journey to Bulgaria. Read on for the fun details! :)

We began on Monday by revisiting Cheb, which is on the border of Germany and Czech Republic. We met high school students during our mini outreach in October. It was awesome to reconnect with those friends and make new ones as during our daily cafe ministry times! Two nights last week we reached out to prostitutes in the region, offering warm tea, words of encouragement and of their value, and prayer. The women really are so precious, and it was such a blessing to be able to connect with them. We spent a lot of time in prayer and worship as well. 

When I was in Cheb in October, I was nervous to bring up God in conversations. God was gracious though, and the students I spoke with actually paved the way by asking lots of questions about what I was doing and Christianity. Czech is mostly atheist, maybe the most atheist country in Europe. This time around, I asked God to help me to be bold, and for Him to highlight opportunities for me to bring up faith in conversations, instead of relying on the people I wanted to talk about God to to bring Him up! God is so good, guys, and he did just that. I was able to be the one to bring God up, and sure enough good conversations followed. God really is doing amazing things in the hearts of young Czechs!

On Saturday, we left Cheb with some of the YWAM Cheb team to do a four day tour of the Czech Republic, connecting with various churches and student groups to share about YWAM Cheb, which is beginning its first DTS this coming February. We spent Saturday and Sunday in Prague (such a beautiful city!), splitting up into teams and visiting different churches and staying with families that have a heart for hosting missionaries. I was so blessed to be staying with a family whose ministry is encouraging missionaries! I felt God's love in the nightly conversations, the warm shower, a delicious breakfast and the donation they gave to our team in a letter that said "to open after you leave." I visited two churches, one of which actually meets on a boat and has a cafe inside! That one had maybe 40 people in college or in their 20s. 

On Monday, we left for Pilsen, the third biggest city in Czech. After a 3 hour train ride, we gave a presentation to a group of university students. It was fun to set up the presentation which included worship time, a PowerPoint, testimonies and info about the Cheb base.

On Tuesday, I woke up and quickly showered. I am helping out with hospitality on my team, and we realized we needed one additional chocolate bar as a gift for our hosts, who allowed us to stay in a room rented by Christians above a club. I had a fun time running quickly to a store to grab it with just  enough time to leave to catch our train! :) We spent 6 hours on trains and buses to Berno, the second biggest city in Czech. This time our leaders were busy coordinating dinner and such, so I was asked to help arrange the presentation. We had a great time and there was a great group of high school and college aged students. That night we stayed with families from the church. It really helps our team when churches offer this to us, because on those nights we don't have to pay and on top of that can engage in new friendships with our hosts!

And then on Wednesday, we began what would be a 33 hour journey to Kazanlak, Bulgaria! We spent about 12 hours on a train from Berno to Serbia, and then another 12 or so from Serbia to Sofia, the capitol of Bulgaria. After the wait, we spent 3 hours on a bus and then our friends who are starting a YWAM base here in Kazanlak picked us up in an epic blue van. After many days of ministry, presentations, carrying around our massive backpacks and traveling, it was such a blessing to have today to relax.

I will be here for the next 3 weeks! I am super excited to spend time in the local community. We are planning to help in local kids clubs and orphanages, in addition to partnering up with local churches in what they are doing. Our days are split up in three ministry times: morning, afternoon and evening. One of my favorite things about doing missions this way is that we are partnering up with long term teams, so the seeds that are planted will continue to be watered even after I leave. I love being able to come into a city and be able to see what God is already doing and how He can use the talents he has given our team to be a part of it!

If you are supporting me through prayer, could you please pray for God to continue to point out areas for me to step out in boldness for Him, and for a healthy time in Bulgaria? I would so appreciate it!

Love and prayers from the mountains of Bulgaria,
Meg :)

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