It's great to have friends!

This week I have really enjoyed the time I've gotten to spend with friends. God has blessed me through friends here. It's wonderful to see people I know, and have them happy to see me. I enjoy brightening up peoples' days. I enjoy spending time with people and getting to know them more. This week I have been able to spend time with friends, and I have been blessed.

Debbie and Elli

On Wednesday, I spent time with my friend Elli. We grabbed a bit to eat as we walked around the city. We ended up walking to a nice park, and saw the little "zoo" Razgrad has. I hadn't known of it before, and I was surprised to see those animals there! There was a lion, a bunny, a monkey, some llamas, and some gazelle, among other things. It was nice to spend time with Ellie, walking and talking together.

Simon, Lili, and Debbie
at choir practice

Thursday afternoon I was at church, and Thursday evening was Bible study. Bible study is always a good time of prayer and Scripture reading, and I get to see people from church and spend time with them. This week, there was choir practice after Bible study. So, many people who do not come to Bible study came for choir practice, so I got to see many people from church! It is fun to sit next to my Bulgarian friends and sing in Bulgarian with them. I know enough Bulgarian that I can chat with them in between songs, and enjoy our time together. Sometimes I share choir folders with the person next to me. I usually sit next to Yanca, the lady who taught us to make banitsa, and chat with her. Our conversation is a mixture of Italian (Yanca), Spanish (me), and Bulgarian (both of us), depending on what we are trying to say. It is fun to laugh together. I enjoy the fellowship of being together with other believers, lifting our voices in praises to God together.

Last night we had Bible Study for Bible Quizzing. We had changed the day of meeting for Bible study this week because some of the youth couldn't make it on Wednesday. On Friday, we had four teens show up. One was missing from last week, but someone who had not come last week came this time. We had a good discussion about healing, salvation, and working alongside of God as we studied John chapters 2-5. Some of the teens were asking questions, digging deeper into it, trying to learn more about what it means to believe in Christ Jesus and live as a Christian. It was a good Bible study.

Near the end, after we'd been reading a lot, some of the teens didn't feel like reading anymore. So, they started to take turns, going around the room and each person reading one word. They soon realized that didn't work well at all, no one could understand anything! They switched to each person reading one verse, and going around the room that way. I have a New Testament in Bulgarian, so I took turns reading a verse in Bulgarian, as well. Sometimes I fumbled a bit, or read slowly trying to pronounce long words, but I think the teens were impressed that I was able to read in Bulgarian. When I first read a verse, a couple of the teens were laughing, they were surprised I could read in Bulgarian! We all had a good time together. I look forward to seeing what God will teach us in Bible study next week!