Update from Bulgaria: Carson-Newman's Bryant gives her final update on her mission trip to Bulgaria
Carson-Newman freshman outside hitter Lindsey Bryant is on a spring break mission trip to Bulgaria led by the C-N Campus Ministries. Bryant gives her final update on the trip.
(Carson-Newman freshman outside hitter Lindsey Bryant is on a spring break mission trip to Bulgaria led by the C-N Campush Ministries. Below is her blog.)
Francis Chans Crazy Love Book states: The crazy part about God's heart is that He doesn't just ask us to give; He desires that we love those in need just as much as ourselves..."Love your neighbor as yourself." Matt. 22:39
Hey everyone!
So this is most likely going to be my last update because we have a lot of back and forth stuff coming up the last two days of the trip.
Tomorrow we are going to an orphanage for handicap kids. We will probably just be socializing with them and showing them Gods love. It is rather sad because here in Bulgaria people just don't seem to care about children and I say that because a lot of kids here are put in the handicap orphanage even if they are not handicap. Sometimes if a child is born with a clef lip, an odd large seen birth mark, or something similar they are ridden off as handicap and sent to the orphanage. They do this mostly because the parents cannot afford surgery enabling them to fix their minor physical appearance and so the child is abandoned at the handicap home. It is really sad and will be quite an experience going to that tomorrow morning.
After that we will go to the center to work for a few hours. Then after lunch time we are going to head down to Sophia, Bulgaria which is the capital. We are going to do some cite seeing around the big city. Then early Saturday morning we will leave from Sophia to return home. It will be sad coming home. Even though I miss all of you, this will be an experience which I will never forget and it will be hard to leave the friends and memories I have made while being here.
Well something that God has been teaching me a lot lately (even before this trip) is to trust in His plan for me. I tend to want to plan things out and I want to know what's coming next when I don't I begin to worry about the unknown.
God has a sense of humor because we do a short devotional every morning at the center before we start working and as I was thinking about what to do my devotion on (since i am leading it tomorrow) I thought why not do it on one of my favorite verses. Isaiah 55: 8-9. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways declares the Lord. As the Heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." I was thinking about sharing with my team how He has a plan and how all that applies to life and then I got distracted and started over-analyzing something about the next day instead of trusting God. and that's why I think God has a sense of humor because the very thing I was planning on sharing with my team tomorrow is the thing that I was in fact not doing which is trusting in Gods ways and thoughts other than my own.
Anyways that is a big thing that I have learned this trip and it has helped me to just relax and rely on Him. So whatever task I am supposed to do, or whatever grunt work He wants me to do I am now learning to just have a willing and trusting heart that He has a plan for it all.
Well again this has been an amazing experience and my team and I are already trying to figure out ways to save up the money through fundraisers for next year. I am so grateful for everything God has done for me and my team through this trip and also so happy with what God has done for Bulgaria through this team. Thanks to all of you for praying for our team over the course of this trip and always keep Bulgaria in your hearts in prayers.
Love always,
Lindsey Bryant:)
