seeing the balkans a guest post by Christina corzine

In Bulgaria, I have witnessed beauty come to life out of the most unexpected places. The Nazarene pastor at the Razgrad Evangelical church, Pastor Nicolai, shared with us a friendship he has with the Muslim priest in Razgrad. They both have two completely different positions and yet they still cherish each other’s friendship. We were able to visit the mosque and hear about the Muslim faith and look into the life of another minority in the Bulgaria culture. We were welcomed with hot tea, sweets, and warm, heart-felt welcomes. I was completely disarmed by the love and hospitality the Muslims showed. My misconceptions of the Muslim faith were obliterated and I was able to see a group of people who also loved an almighty God and shared a passion for the Bulgarian people and the world. It was beautiful! Another people group minority that we met in Bulgaria were the Roma people. We were given the opportunity to hear their personal life accounts at the Nazarene church in Bulgaria and received insight to their history and the discrimination and oppression their culture received over the last hundreds and thousands of years into the modern day today. It was heart wrenching… But to hear the redemption that Christ brought into their lives… A perfect example of God bringing lives out of the ashes and showing them the beauty he has created! When we visited the Roma village, the people had little, but they shared everything they had. We were able to sing and dance in praise together and we learned that the church present in the village was actually the second church that had been formed there! The village sent their grown children to Germany to plant a second church. Families split for the good of the gospel.. Amazing.. They were and are willing to be apart to love those who have no hope! The good news is being spread by the humble and oppressed.The gospel they carry is so pure in love and compassion for the worlds lost and weary. I could go on and on about all that The Lord is doing. However, I want to leave you with a question. Where do YOU see the beauty The Lord has brought up out of the ashes? We’re on our way to Romania now and I’m very excited to see what the Lord has been doing through the church there. Thank you for all the prayers and support! I look forward to sharing more accounts with you when I blog again and when I get home 🙂 Until then, grace and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.