“Childhood is Short Here”
“There is an Enormous Difference Between the Church Youth and Other Young People.”
For several years Mission Possible has supported the church’s work in the slum district of Ihtiman, Bulgaria. We provide groceries, clothing, and Baby Boxes so the local believers can take help and the gospel to those who are in extreme need.
Pastor Hristo was raised in this neighborhood, and now he teaches and encourages families and youth to show practical love to their neighbors.
“Bread and soup help open hearts to the gospel.”
“Young people need to be taught early
what it means to live as a believer.”
“Childhood is short here, so I try to teach children early on what it means to be a follower of Jesus as a young believer. It is so necessary in this culture.
PHOTO: The author, Daniela, speaking to the ladies at the Ihtiman church where our team distributes Baby Boxes. Pastor Hristo is pictured in the background.
“Roma families start marrying off their daughters as young as thirteen years old. The main goal in a girl’s life is a wedding celebration where she is dressed up and treated like a princess for three days. But after the party is over, a miserable existence begins.
“Young people who have not finished school have great difficulty finding work and supporting their families. It often happens that the first pregnancy of a frail and malnourished teenage mother ends in a miscarriage. The husband then has the ‘right’ to cast aside his wife.
“Abandoned and hopeless, these poor and rejected young women end up as victims of prostitution, criminal activity, and gambling.
“The difference between our young believers and other young people is enormous,” says the pastor.
"I Am Helping the Lord!"
Metody (pictured on the left) soon turns thirteen. He is one of several youths in the slum whose life, values, and plans are different from the rest of their peers. Metody is the youngest of three brothers. As long as he can remember his family has been a part of the local church.
Metody is a diligent pupil. His parents encourage him to study so he can have a good job someday.
Every time we have visited Ihtiman, Metody has been helping distribute food as an “Angel of Ihtiman,” the church’s team of volunteers. During our most recent visit, he and his friends came along to unload the supplies from our van and to carry boxes of bread and food.
“Why are you always with the team?” I asked him.
“I help the Lord!” the boy replied
as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
BY DANIELA ENCHEVA, BULGARIA
