<p>Peter and Samantha Taylor Mission Partners Bulgaria December 2003 </p><p>Evangelical Methodist Church, Shumen</p><p>Здрабеите (Hello, pronounced zdraveteyte)</p><p>After a long wait our 90-day visas finally arrived & we made it to Bulgaria on 11th September. We flew from Birmingham to Sofia via Prague, then straight onto a bus for a 6 hour journey to Shumen. </p><p>Bulgaria has a population of 8 million; Shumen is the 10th city with 100,000 people. The country has mountains & lakes and the black sea coast. Shumen has strong links to its communist past, evident in many unsightly concrete monuments and statues.</p><p>1 John 4:16 “God is Love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” </p><p>Our time there was mainly to begin learning the language, which is not easy! Resources for learning Bulgarian are scarce in Britain and even scarcer in Bulgaria. But there were plenty of English teachers and a few that are willing to try and teach Bulgarian to English speakers. </p><p>We had a very warm welcome from the people, smiles and gestures have spoken clearly, when we have not been able to communicate effectively, but Pete talks with his hands anyway!</p><p>Our stay was long enough for us to see what the needs are and to consider how we will be best used. Our return to the UK will give us time to think, reflect and pray about what we have seen and experienced. </p><p>Pete took opportunities to preach, with an interpreter of course! We were able to join in the thanksgiving service (like our harvest service). The produce from the service was given to both the congregation and the social kitchen. The Social Centre, which is opposite the Church</p><p>The Social centre above was opened in 2000. It is supported by a partner Church in Germany. Inside there is a social kitchen which feeds 60 people a day, mainly elderly and orphans. There is a GP clinic and an 11 bedded hospital on the first floor. On the top floor there is a conference room and a flat where we have been living.</p><p>Спаба на Бога (Praise the Lord, pronounced slava na boga) The congregation greet one another with this after the Sunday service. </p>