Summer Reflections

I will come home to the Seattle area in a few days and although I miss being home, I will miss being here in Bulgaria as well. It has been an amazing summer full of hope and promise. I had a conversation with Nadia last night and am even more encouraged about her faith and the growth we are continuing to witness in her. Nadia is the girl from Roman,in whose flat we have been having the bible lessons. A week ago Viktor went back to her apartment and confronted the people who have been causing so many problems with calling the police and making Nadia feel so unwelcome. This time Vikor was armed with Bulgarian law. Although he never became angry, his attitude was firm and his argument sound. "How can a 22 year old orphan girl with virtually no life skills integrate into society without any help and with so much opposition from you?" he would ask. There was no response. They were informed that they were breaking Bulgarian law with their prejudices, and although one older woman was still quite belligerent,the rest were seemingly quite repentant and Nadia has been treated well from that point on. Praise the Lord!
I recently spend 9 days in Obzor with the children from both facilities from Roman and a small team from the Seattle area and from Vancouver, BC. We had a sweet time with the kids and the Lord's presence was evident throughout. Although we were met with a little resistance at the beginning of the daily bible lessons, the Lord blessed our time and children from other orphanages came to check us out and stayed for worship and lessons. Many thanks to Craig and Cathy Dulin, Vlady Mladenov, Alex Mladenova, Illyana Mladenova, Avia Mladenova, Joelle Burch, Brittney Derouin, Bre McDaniel, and Jon Boks for their contributions and efforts in the "VBS" Bulgarian style. It was a huge hit and the kids were blessed.
I had a great conversation with Ludmill Yatanski, the senior pastor at Blaga Vest, the Calvary affiliate in Sofia. We discussed mutual goals with the children from Roman and possible future alliances, with an emphasis on orphan outreach, which admittedly, they are very weak in at the moment. We also talked about CCE's mission trip to Bulgaria in the summer of 2011, and ways to best meet the needs of the children. I will be in touch with him throughout the year and I know that we can count on him for prayer and support! Please be praying for host families for the children involved in the Bulgaria Child Project.
I will travel to Roman on Monday for one last visit with the kids before returning home. Viktor will travel with me and for this I am thankful and blessed. We will spend the night in Roman and I will pass on your greetings to the children.
All for now from Sofia, Bulgaria. Thank you all for being so faithful with your prayers throughout the summer. See you soon! In His love and for His glory, Mark