July 15—With the Hillmans, building relationships
Greetings from Velingrad,
Laura and I are staying with the Hillmans (Gabe, Melissa, and their 14-month-old daughter, Isabel). I've been blessed to see how a family does mission work in Bulgaria. Isabel is the cutest little girl. She loves all people, and she helps her parents meet new people just by being around. One day, I was walking with Gabe and Isabel in the bazaar, and one store owner ran into his shop to grab a chocolate bar for Isabel and to talk with her. The owner was so excited to see her. I'm realizing how important relationships are. The Hillmans have made some great friends here. One afternoon, we spent some time with the neighbor's grandmother learning to knit socks. I tried to learn.
Summer school is in session, and we volunteered at a school for special needs kids. The kids vary from being autistic to having physical hardships like not being able to walk. At this school, they do fun things such as painting pottery, making pudding cake and playing in the park. I had a blast tossing balls, playing in the sand, playing soccer and chasing runaway balls. I also had a blast sitting with a boy named Coco and listening to him talk. He is a fun, lovable kid who is unable to walk. He talked to me about the three little pigs and any other fairy tale that he has heard. I found it frustrating not being able to talk and even understand what the kids we're saying. The kids smiles were encouraging to me. Laura and I got the joy of showing Jesus' love to these kids. This was a highlight for me, and I fell in love with the kids.
For two Sundays, we taught a church Sunday school class to give the teacher a chance to attend the service and to hear her husband preach. Melissa was our translator, and we were so blessed to have her. The kids were fun, and I felt that they enjoyed it. On one Sunday, we talked about how Jesus calms the storm and had the kids act out the story. We took a sheet and two kids were the rough storm. It was time to go, and one of the little girls said, "Mom, I was the storm!"
We've had the opportunity to help pack and move the Hillmans to their new place. It's neat to be able to help do some stuff that needs to be done. I'm enjoying this time and learning so much. God is teaching me new things everyday. For example, today we read Ecclesiastes chapter 12, and it was talking about how the purpose of life is to "fear God and keep His commandments." Laura summed it up as "Surrender to God in everything."
I'll see you soon!
God Bless,
Patricia for Team Bulgaria