Bulgaria Trip: Update #1

How can you not fall in love with a view like that?! This was my first impression as I landed in the beautiful country of Bulgaria on Sunday.

And yes: praise God, I arrived safely! Thank you so much for all your prayers! This first day and a half has been wonderful; it's felt like I've stepped into a heatwave (!) as well as the amazing plan of God for this nation in so many little ways.

The One Collective team members that met us introduced us to Bulgaria with a walking tour of central Sofia including a visit to the Orthodox cathedral and a meal at a traditional Bulgarian restaurant with live folk music. We even saw some folk dancing in the square. You might catch a glimpse of some of these sights in the video which I'll share on YouTube about my first day!

I found the cultural performances particularly exciting because one of the things I really have on my heart is to see the redemption of Bulgarian and Roma culture. This idea of discovering the image of God in their cultural practices and using these to point them to our Father and the saving name of Jesus has really captured me!

Now that my fellow interns and I are settled in our accommodation in Stara Zagora, we look forward to beginning our working week (Tuesday to Saturday), to see first-hand the community of Tulovo and join in with the Lord's work here.  Some key prayer requests for this week are: 1) That I continue to catch and carry God's heart for these people, this place, and this time. 2) That I connect quickly with people (especially parents and children) and for mutual embrace and acceptance...and to that end: 3) That I am able to communicate well with people and grow every day in speaking Bulgarian (and picking up some Romani). Thank you again for your support and generosity towards me for this trip. I am truly grateful. I look forward to keeping you updated over the next three months and seeing what God does! Love, Olusakin