Within SFC, we have a particular love for acronyms; there are our B.R.I.D.G.E. values, the L.E.A.D principles from the basics course, the M.O.M. report, and the T.I.M.E. travels. I told you, we use them everywhere. But as the title might have indicated, I want to share about the recent T.I.M.E travel we went on!
T.I.M.E stands for Talk, Invest, Mentor, and Encourage. On T.I.M.E. Travel Trips, we go to places with our exploration goggles, equipment to rekindle the fire, blankets of encouragement, and baskets of service. To Bulgaria, we brought our exploration goggles, as it was the first time in the 28 years that SFC has existed that we set foot in Bulgaria to explore its beautiful mountains, rich culture, and the warm hearts of the people.
Josh and I met up in the capital, Sofia, with our dear friend and Czech leader Libor, who is half Bulgarian by blood. This definitely gave us a home advantage! The three of us had a lovely time visiting the capital and reconnecting. Soon after, we made our way to the first ski resort, Borovets. Here, we met up with Mitko, an elder in the church just a town over. His church is more focused on outreach to the gypsy community but still wants to connect with us. He prayed for us and agreed to connect us to any shredders or local ski town workers in the church. The next day, we visited every ski lift operator, passing out chocolate croissants along our way and thanking them for their work, “Merci zo vashta dobrota“!
The highlight of the week was the time we spent in Bansko, Bulgaria’s largest ski resort and a popular ski destination for Brits who come for a cheaper ski holiday. The town of Bansko is not only a popular ski area but is also the location of the oldest evangelical church in the Balkans, founded in 1868. The church honors the 20 previous pastors with a portrait on the wall. The current pastor, Dimitar, and the church welcomed us with open arms and organized a burger and wax night together. Libor, Josh, and I rode the chair lift alone to connect with people and hand out flyers about the event on Friday and Saturday. Unfortunately, nobody came, but we had a great evening with the Bansko church, strengthening and encouraging one another and feeding a couple of local boys who happened to walk past the church. The Bulgarians are very closed off to the idea of coming to a church, which is why we want to grow SFC there!
Throughout the travel, we were blessed in so many different ways. Libor’s family cared for us; we found accommodations in Bansko thanks to Milen. The Bansko church blessed us with a financial contribution, and we had beautiful weather the entire trip.
This T.I.M.E. travel was a success; the church asked us to return, and we definitely will! This is just the beginning of how God will work through SFC in Bulgaria! So keep an eye out next year for part two of this amazing journey!