A Walk I Will Never Forget
"Are we really in Europe?"
- While distributing Baby Boxes with our team across Bulgaria, I've seen a lot, but this huge slum called "Hope" still startled me. It’s like its own world within the city of Sliven. A large proportion of the 70,000 inhabitants are Muslims.
It felt like we had moved from Europe to somewhere in Asia.
The interior of the slum could not be reached by car. I will never forget the walk we took on uneven streets following a cart, pushed by men from the church, loaded with the Baby Boxes to be delivered.
The alleys became narrower and narrower. Along the walls, there were boxes, sale stalls, and heaps of junk and waste. At a pothole in the street filled with putrid water, the cart tilted. Thankfully the boxes didn’t tumble off.
There were so many people. They sat in the street and on steps, selling, buying, chatting. The children sold plastic cups full of mulberries and small plums that grow wild along the roads.
The smaller children played in the dirty, dusty streets. Boys rode a skateboard where there was room to do so. One of them scared some girls with a dead pigeon.
Suddenly the cart stopped in front of the inconspicuous entrance to the church building. There was a cross made of tiles above the door. The meeting room was crowded with mothers and their babies.
Radka, the pastor’s wife, led the event and kept everything in order with the help of assistants. Only mothers who received personal invitations were permitted to enter for this special gathering. A large, curious crowd stood outside.
We brought two carts carrying more than thirty Baby Boxes. Six months earlier we’d given out sixty.
"Don't let the street raise your children."
“Teach your children from an early age what is right. Otherwise, the street will teach them,” Roumen Ivanov, director of MP’s work in Bulgaria, spoke to the mothers.
“The best place for your family and children is here in the church.”
After presenting the contents of a Baby Box, Radka invited the mothers by name to receive their package. We were all impressed by each one’s calm and gracious demeanor. Despite the heat and crowded space, no one was nervous or impatient.
PHOTO: Mother Irina with her little baby Boris. Behind them is our worker, also named Irina.
Churches are bright spots in the slums
Radka is thirty-two years old and has four daughters. She is a great role model and example for the women in the church. She has been working with her husband in this miserable place for eleven years and their ministry has been fruitful.
There are other small congregations in the area, too, and some of their workers attended this special event.
“The root of the problems in the slums is illiteracy. Kids drop out of school and marry at too young an age,” one worker told us.
“The city authorities can do little for this area. Drug use has increased. An ambulance cannot even access the people here. Authorities just hope the residents and their problems don’t start seeping into other parts of the city. The church’s work is so important.”
These issues were evident in this group of mothers as well. Many were illiterate. A young man who helped push the cart for us lamented that he can’t get any work because he only had a few years of schooling.
“I have a desire to teach people to read,” said one of the church workers.
“Mission Possible has a course for literacy teachers in the fall. Please join us,” Roumen said to him.
What can we do?
This slum has been here for decades and will certainly be here for a long time to come. But we can equip and assist the churches here in distributing aid, spread the Gospel, and guide families and children on the right path.
Jesus’ words to Paul come to mind: “I have many people in this city.”
You can help our Bulgarian team distribute Baby Boxes in places like this by covering the program's cost. To fill and deliver one Baby Box costs $60.
You can go to mp.org/donate or send a check to the address given on the back cover. Please designate your gift to Baby Box Project. A sincere thank you to you!
Pictured is the author of the story, Mirjami Ivanov, speaking to mothers in a church building in the slum of Sliven, Bulgaria. Behind her on the left is the pastor’s wife Radka, two helpers, MP Bulgaria’s work director Roumen, and worker Irina.
