Not stopped by COVID-19

Reflections on a short-term mission trip to Bulgaria in early 2020.
I woke to my alarm at 5am, I said “goodbye” to the Lambanana* at Liverpool airport.
I hopped on a plane and arrived at София Airport in Sophia, Bulgaria in September. When I arrived I spent a week with the ECMers Kate and Andrew Blackwell in Sofia, then I travelled to Blagoevgrad. There I met Bill and Lisa from the Navigators as well as Radi and Ani.
Radi is a Bulgarian Roma with a passion for equipping the Roma to reach other Roma people with the gospel through discipleship and storytelling. As I spent more time with them I realised the challenges and the need there is for this in a language that doesn’t even have a word for discipleship.
Whilst I was there I spent some time with the American University Logos club (Christian union). It was encouraging to see the relationships Bill and Lisa have built in the university over their many years in Bulgaria. It was great to spend some time with the students who were all at different stages of their faith. I also met a local teacher named Сашо who heads up a youth group at the local church in Blagoevgrad. It was really encouraging to see the intercultural relationships that are being built and the unity between different organisations working together for the sake of sharing the good news of Jesus with others.
Although worldwide we may be in a pandemic, and travel and reaching those in Europe looks different at this time, throughout my time in Bulgaria one truth remained the same — God is the same yesterday today and forever."
For more similar stories in our magazine, please follow this link.
Please click here for more information on ECM's involvement in Bulgaria.
Archive > 2021
December
- December - 28 - 2021 16:40 - Happy New Year!
- December - 07 - 2021 16:05 - European Christian Mission welcomes Harvey Kwiyani
November
- November - 30 - 2021 16:00 - When did God do something special in your life?
- November - 23 - 2021 12:00 - Helping others to love Muslims
- November - 16 - 2021 09:43 - The call to missions
- November - 12 - 2021 12:10 - Trusting God in Portugal
- November - 09 - 2021 10:00 - The Extraordinary Re-Evangelization of Europe
- November - 02 - 2021 16:00 - Equipped and connected for a move to multiply during COVID-19
October
- October - 30 - 2021 10:14 - Helping others to love Muslims
- October - 26 - 2021 14:00 - The gospel into people's homes
- October - 19 - 2021 13:11 - How long, oh Lord?
- October - 12 - 2021 11:00 - How will they hear - prayer campaign
- October - 11 - 2021 12:12 - Tom and Grace Campbell
September
August
- August - 24 - 2021 13:56 - "That's the tremendous thing that God is doing..."
- August - 17 - 2021 11:00 - Europe 2021: A Missiological Report
- August - 17 - 2021 10:30 - The House that love built
July
- July - 28 - 2021 15:41 - Launching NZ Mission Internship
- July - 27 - 2021 00:09 - Where will your journey of faith take you?
- July - 26 - 2021 00:00 - Where will your journey of faith take you?
- July - 06 - 2021 11:48 - It all starts in the heart
June
May
April
- April - 27 - 2021 12:00 - Confined but connecting
- April - 20 - 2021 17:30 - A life transformed...
- April - 06 - 2021 11:30 - A light in the community
March
February
- February - 23 - 2021 12:15 - Our best laid plans... How God aligns them with His
- February - 16 - 2021 12:30 - From depression to ministry
- February - 09 - 2021 12:14 - Not stopped by COVID-19
- February - 02 - 2021 16:17 - Once forbidden...