Day 1

We are very grateful to God for keeping us safe during our travels Friday and Saturday! Our flights and airport experiences were very smooth! The van ride from Sofia to Lom was exhilarating! Kris and Wayne flew over bumps and potholes; passed hay wagons and buggies; and delivered us safely to our hotel. Our accommodations are good! We have clean rooms with air conditioning! The power went off this morning for an hour or two, but it is back on and we are cool again!

Our British friends, Beth, Aimee, Emily and David are here. It has been good to catch up with them and share our fond memories of past trips. We are missing Tedi and Christopher. They are in Bulgaria with Tedi's mother recuperating from surgery. Christopher had his tonsils taken out this week. Please pray for his speedy recovery. Our friend and translator, Steffi, is here. She met us last night at the hotel and was at church this morning. She brought us up to date on lots of the children. She told us to expect lots of new kids, too! We are grateful for Steffi and her friendship to us! She has been teaching the children at the orphanage weekly. Steffi is also good to email us and keep us informed about the children during the months we are home. We really appreciate all she has done for us and the children.

Our church service this morning at the Baptist Church was very international! We had a guest speaker from France, a missionary couple from the UK and all of us from the US! Our group led the congregation in singing "What A Friend we have in Jesus". It was heartwarming to see the familiar faces of the church members who always greet us with hugs and kisses! The pastor praised the people for being so welcoming to all. The children's sermon was about Lydia and how she welcomed the Apostle Paul and his companions. The guest speaker preached about the blind men who were healed by Jesus. He urged us to be persistent in our prayers and requests to God. Persistence paid off for the blind men.

God has been very good to us so far! We are so thankful for everyone who has helped make this mission trip possible! We ask that you continue to pray for us this week. As the pastor told us today, be persistent in your prayers to God.