The Need for Joy

We entered Bulgaria about a week ago, which marks our last month in Eastern Europe. Bulgaria is “Manistry” month, which means that all the guys on our squad are on the same team. I’ve loved the teams that I have traveled with, but you never know how great “bro time” is until your in it. We are currently working with a Baptist Church in a town called Dupnitsa, which is about an hour outside of Sofia, the nation’s capital.

Dupnitsa a small town, but its quite beautiful. The town is surrounded by mountains, which including the tallest mountain in the Balkans – totally planning on climbing it in a few days. The work this month is quite fitting for “Manistry.” We’ve spent the past week putting in frames, drywall, and insulation for a new church. Construction work in foreign nations can be difficult with language barriers and cultural differences, but the project is coming along nicely. The down time has been a lot of fun and I spend much of it exploring the mountains around us.

My favorite definition of joy is “an inward happiness that is not dependent on outward circumstances.” The challenges of this area have been mostly cultural, as there doesn’t seem to be a lot of joy- even within the church. As you discover the nation’s history, the lack of joy makes more sense. The communism that Bulgaria was under several decades ago seems to have instilled a lot of fear and seriousness in the culture. For example, they joke about how Americans always ask them, “what do you do for fun?” because they don’t really have a focus on fun in daily life. One of the attributes of God that flows out of the Christian walk is joy- and I’m beginning to realize how important that is.

Despite the obstacles, God has been meeting us and we’ve been experiencing joy as a team. We had an amazing worship night with just the guys and it was one of the most powerfully nights of worship we’ve had on the race. One man came to Christ the next day in church and we believe it was out of an overflow of the night before! We’ve been praying big over this city, over the church we’re building, and over the people. I’m learning about faith, understanding that God has eyes for potential in people and churches that my finite eyes have trouble seeing. My hope is that God is laying the groundwork for something big. My biggest prayer for Dupnista is joy.

Please pray for joy and boldness for these people who have been through so much.