Sliven

We are in Stara Zagora, the town where we have so many friends from so many trips in the past. We came here the first time in 2000 and held our first seminar at the Bulgarian Theological Seminary (BTS). Subsequently, we came back and taught our entire course to the facility and students here (there are a total of 16 modules and it took four visits to finish.) In addition to those visits we have been here on other occasions. It has been our base for going out to the gypsy churches before.

On Sunday morning, we attended church at the Bridge Church where Stefko is the Pastor. The church is one year old next month and there are about 30 people attending. They meet in one of the classrooms of the BTS. After church, we rested for a while and then departed for Sliven.


Sliven is a town not far from Stara Zagora where there is a very large gypsy village. The Pastor here is Sasho, a good friend with a huge heart for his people and for the Lord. It is very rough. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.



When we arrived about 6:00pm, the service was fully engaged. These people know how to worship! The music was joyful, the smiles abundant and we were uplifted. I can tell you that gypsy worship music will touch your soul. It is impossible for me to describe it; you just have to hear it.


Despite their circumstances, they love the Lord and their praise and worship comes from grateful hearts. When we consider our own circumstances, it is very humbling. They have so little, but they have what really counts! We taught our basic entry module for three hours and enjoyed every minute with these precious people.


Teaching in these gypsy churches and even teaching the pastors is a challenge. Many have only three or four years of formal education, sometimes less. Some cannot read or write. We are teaching rather complex concepts and so getting it to a level that they can grasp is very difficult for us. However, they tell us that they are learning so I suppose we are somehow getting there.