Bulgaria Site Trip Blog
Tuesday, June 5, 2007 -
After a number of delays, we did finally arrive in Sofia at around 8pm local time. The day did begin with our Chicago – Milan flight departure delayed for over 5 hours, so after getting to O’Hare on time for the scheduled departure, we (myself and Jim and Daniel Black), ended up spending much of the day waiting there at the airport.
Flying overnight to Milan went quite well and we had 2 ½ hours that turned into more like 4 hours to wait for the flight to Sofia. George Kirov (pastor of Bulgaria Baptist Mission in Chicago) and Sam and Bonnie Nikkel (a pastor of McKernan Baptist in Edmonton) were there waiting for us and we made our way to a hotel for the night for some much needed sleep.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007 –
We had a fairly easy time of it in the morning, getting up when we wanted to and having quite a good breakfast in the hotel. We finally had the chance to sit down and talk with each other about our thoughts in being here in Bulgaria and what some of our possible expectations might be, etc.
We then headed out in a van provided by the Sandanski church (drivers, Iliya and Lazar provided as well) for a 3 hour drive to Sandanski in a south-western region of the country. We drove in valleys through a number of mountain ranges; very beautiful landscape and came, by mid-afternoon, to this town known to tourists for its mineral springs. We had some lunch and had a good question/answer time with Pastor Dimitir. The Sandanski church has been heavily involved in church planting over the past 20 years; dating back before the overthrow of Communism. They’ve planted 34 churches in the region in this time and have established a medical outreach center as well for the community.
It was decided that we would split into 2 groups for the evening. One would stay in Sandanski and be a part of that church’s weekly youth meeting and the other (I, Randy was in this group) would drive over the mountains to another city, ‘Gotse Delchev’, and be a part of a church service there where the congregation met in a converted store. In Gotse Delchev, Jim Black and I shared our testimonies and Jim had the opportunity to preach.
Now, we had been traveling for a long time up to this point; and I was really asking God to help me as I shared my testimony and some words of scripture that it would all make sense and that He would use it some way. And we know that God is already at work here in Bulgaria and our being here is something that is a matter of partnering with Him where He is already at work. So, as I shared, it became apparent that God was really using my life story and somehow combining this WITH what I was sharing from Psalm 78 about discipling the upcoming generation WITH our emphasis in Gateway Teams on helping youth ministries disciple and raise up young leaders AND somehow molding all of this into a coherent message! It really was something hard to explain that God was doing.
So, at the end of the service, the floor was open to questions and a lady who was the leader of this church (they don’t have a full-time pastor) asked me if I still would be interested in working with youth and youth leaders in their church and helping them be more intentional about making disciples. And I just shook my head (which in this part of the world actually means ‘yes’!) in amazement how God had brought us to this town to begin our time in Bulgaria and answered one of the questions I was looking for answers for right off the bat; to discover if God would want us in Gateway Teams to partner to help youth ministries here in Bulgaria in a meaningful way!
An incredible beginning to what I trust will be an incredible time here in Bulgaria this month! Thanks for your prayers for our safe-keeping, for family members we’re apart from during this time and for eyes to be open to what God is asking us to partner with here in Bulgaria. He’s already made some things quite clear already! God bless!
Randy Schmor
Thursday, June 7, 2007
As we woke up this morning, we weren’t quite sure what was in store for the day ahead, but we soon were told that since we are in ancient Macedonia, we would be in for a “Macedonian Call” experience! And with that, we headed to Greece! The border is only 15 miles from here and so we crossed and made our way 2 ½ - 3 hours southeast to the ancient city of Philippi! Yes, the same Philippi that we read about in Acts 16 and the same Philippi that Paul wrote one of his epistles to! It was an incredible experience.
There are many excavated sites to see there including a number of churches dating back to the 4th and 5th century. These churches were built there in large part because of the prison that is there at Philippi where Paul and Silas were set free because of an earthquake. It was very sobering to see what was more than likely the site of this jail that they were in. We also saw a small town just outside of Philippi called Lydia after the first lady that Paul met in the area. It was a very moving experience to be in a place with such historical biblical significance.
Before finishing out our time in “Macedonia” or what is now northern Greece, we had the chance to see the northern Adriatic or “White” Sea and the coast and bluffs off of the city Kavala overlooking the water. Very beautiful.
As we came back to Bulgaria and Sandanski, we were invited to have dinner at the home of a doctor who practices at the Sandanski Baptist Churches medical clinic; an extraordinary vision in itself of outreach into this community. Gabor and Julia served us a delicious meal of Bulgarian favorites and we had some great discussions about his work here in this town and how God has continued to bless them with the means and equipment to work here even though they don’t have a lot of their own resources.
Little by little, we are discovering the possibilities for partnership here in the Sandanski region for the future. Thanks for your continued prayers! God bless.
Randy Schmor
- Philippi – in front of the prison where Paul and Silas were set free by an earthquake and an angel (Acts 16).
- 4th Century Christian Church in Philippi
- Kavala, Greece – possibly where Paul landed (at Neapolis, Acts 16:11)
Friday, June 08, 2007
Hey friends! This was our last full day in Sandanski and we were told that we would be visiting 2 homes where the Sandanski church is involved in helping the mentally retarded. In both cases, the homes are run by the government, but if it wasn’t for people like the Christians in the Sandanski church, things would be much worse than they are.
The first home was a complex just outside of Petrovo for children. It’s heart-breaking to see all of these children who have in many cases been abandoned at this orphanage because of their mental capacity. However, those working there with them seemed quite committed to the work and the children seemed to be happy. We interacted with some of the kids and gave them some snacks that we brought. We also toured the facilities and spoke with the director about what the situation is like.
The second home for adult women we went to was a whole different experience and situation. It was an incredibly run-down facility where these women have been pretty much left there; left there to die. This home was behind fences to keep the women in and it was a long drive to get there, way up high into the mountain away from everyone, very close to the border with Macedonia. The Sandanski church has been at the home laying floor-tile in some of the rooms, but we could see that the walls were badly deteriorating and the ceiling was bowed down and in danger of oollapsing. We then went into the residence hall and the cafeteria. The cafeteria was fairly newly painted, but when we went upstairs to the residence area, there were small rooms were 3-5 women had beds and one very large room with 40 beds all lined up next to each other, a wood floor that was in very bad shape and dirty, and throughout the entire residence hall the smell of human waste. An addition, the buildings of this home, including the residence hall are wood-heated, even the large 40 bed room only had a small wood heater that was obviously insufficient. The director of this home told us that they hoped to install a boiler in the residence hall for heating but that the funds were not there. Being there was very a very frustrating and hopeless experience to encounter these women who have obviously been discarded and literally taken out of society’s view.
We also found out something else which was quite disturbing; only 3 of the 75 women there have actually been diagnosed with a mental disorder, usually schizophrenia, the rest of them are there because of situations of abuse and abandonment by families and husbands. These women can be expected to die at this home without a funeral or any remembrance.
However, although this is a government run institution, the director received us as we asked questions and had tea and welcomed our prayers for her, the staff and the women before we left. But what a sobering look into how people that don’t fit in can just be “discarded” from society; what a place for the church to have an impact, as the Sandanski Baptist Church is and Pastor Demiter.
Our day ended with our group splitting up to go to 2 churches; one in Petrovich, and the other a Gypsy church plant within the Gypsy community of Sandanski. I had the opportunity to preach and share my testimony there and we were welcomed in a big way by these people. The group that went to Petrovich included Pastor George Kirov (the Bulgarian Baptist Church of Chicago pastor who is with us and is doing most of the translating for us) as this was his boyhood home and he had not been back there in many years. George was overjoyed to see how what had been a struggling congregation had just opened their new building up last week and welcomed him back with open arms. It was a very joyful experience for him. The comeback that this congregation made has also been due in large part to Pastor Demiter of Sandanski. We’ve come to discover that Pastor Demiter is an amazing visionary and has had a tremendous impact on this Sandanski region of Bulgaria for Christ in a number of different areas; not the least of which has been in the planting of 34 churches over the past 25+ years as well as all the humanitarian work that the church has been involved in in the area.
A very full day where God has been making it clear that we should continue to develop our relationship with Pastor Demiter into the future and see how God leads us in Gateway Teams to work together in this area. But, we still have 2 more regions of Bulgaria to see over the next week or so in the capital area of Sofia and the northwestern Romanian border region of Lom.
Thanks so much for praying. We have been traveling a lot over very steep mountain roads and have been challenged by quite a hectic pace ever since we hit the ground here in Bulgaria. Please continue to pray for us this weekend in Sofia and in the days to come. Blessings!
Randy Schmor
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Greetings everyone! We left Sandanski this morning after an incredible 3 days there and began to make our way north to Sofia. On the way, Pastor Demiter (not to be outdone, he decided that he would be our driver for today as well!) drove us up into the mountains to visit what is probably one of the most revered sites in Bulgaria; the Rila Monastery. It dates back to the 9th century and is the most holy site in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church as well as being a crucial place in the saga of Bulgaria’s history. It is in a beautiful setting with surrounding mountains and has at it’s center an ornate church (below) which is painted inside and out with countless icons.
Relics (bones/remains) of Rila, the monk who first came to this site in 900 A.D. are kept at this monastery which bears his name as well as many ancient icons that are prayed to by Bulgarian Orthodox Christians. Even the tomb of the last king of Bulgaria, Boris, who died in 1943 is kept inside this church. It is a place of great significance in Bulgaria.
After visiting the monastery, we made it to Sofia and finally had an evening off to recover for more busy days ahead including 2 church services in the Sofia Baptist Church tomorrow morning. I’m looking forward to seeing our good friends, Teddy and Didi Oprenov, the pastor of this church. Shelly, Kameron and I stayed with them here 2 years ago when we had a very brief visit to Sofia in 2005.
Thanks again to all for your continued thoughts and prayers! Blessings!
Randy Schmor
