Thank you for praying for my July 14-23 mission trip to Bulgaria!
I went there with my friend and coworker Dana at the invitation of Agape Bulgaria (the name of Campus Crusade for Christ in Bulgaria) to teach communication. University students came from the cities of Sofia and Varna (see map below) for two weeks of English lessons, career-starting tips, communication training, and just plain fun.
This communication training was a first for Dana and me: two thirds of the students were non-believers. Surprisingly, one gave a talk during practice about why he believes in creationism. A Bulgarian staff member spoke with him personally later.
“He has read the Bible and thinks that it’s true. He said that when he started living according to some of the principles there, his life changed…He thinks that in the beginning God created everything in the universe to move in a certain way and now He doesn’t intervene, but when I gave him an example of how Jesus is God’s intervention in the world he was nodding in agreement.”
Pray for this young man to take the step of trusting Jesus for salvation!
One of my favorite things about this trip was reconnecting with the three Agape Bulgaria staff members I had helped train last year. This session completed their “apprenticeship” so they are now fully qualified communication trainers. In fact, they have already begun equipping a new person to become a trainer with them! Pictured below teaching communication skills for the first time are Polly and Danny (the English versions of their Bulgarian names.)
The university students were incredibly fun to teach! They took the lessons very seriously and put great effort into practicing the skills. The three students pictured with me below were in my practice group.
Stoyan, a Christian, wrote this about his summer experience:
“God called us to open up our hearts to the students who are non-believers. Once you do that for someone, your life can never be the same!”
Thank you so much for making this mission trip possible through your gifts and prayers!
