Immersion
After more than a month in Sofia, I am still starry eyed and ready to take on the new world that Bulgaria has to offer me. It’s been a time of continual intake of information; navigating with maps and walking my way through the city, studying the local language and culture through books and personal contacts, and searching for the Lord’s imprint on the buildings, people, food, cultural practices, and natural creation.
Oh how overwhelmingly wonderful it has been to recognise the blessing of a body capable of learning and growing.
After over a month of this privileged intake, albeit exhausting, I was sent outside the city to a smaller town called Bankia to live with a local Bugarian family for a week. This was my immersion experience….
After a month of living in the city and trying to figure out the language myself, I had picked up the basics. You know, “yes, no, hello, goodbye, please, thanks, I want…, I love…” but this week was designed to immerse and advance me in the Bulgarian language through consistent exposure and the need to communicate basic needs. I was going to get an up close look at the lives of born and raised Bulgarians and learn straight from them. How cool!
However, after many alternate plans fell through, my experience was slightly different than I had thought it would be. The time I spent with the host family was priceless. Crossing cultures through laughter is an absolutely beautiful thing and I felt honored to be a part of it. We played card games, living room soccer (very carefully), and shared stories in both Bulgarian and English over a late night dinner table. I was encouraged by their love for the Lord and for each other. I was blown away by their consistent hospitality and effort to know and support me as they could in those moments. I loved that they could laugh with me through my stumbling language attempts as I tried to repay their conversational kindness with simply worded, yet, sincere questions in Bulgarian.
The downfall of my week was this, there was simply not enough time together. In fitting into their busy life schedules, I was left with short periods of interaction in the morning and evening, leaving me all day to my own motivation to quietly study personally in a nearby coffee shop. I put every effort into my simple interactions throughout the day, ordering a new tea on the menu, asking workers how their day had been, and even listening intently to a Bulgarian lady explain to me something for a significant amount of time without much comprehension. My struggle to relate in conversation left me disappointed as I so desired to participate. It’s in moments like this I am learning to extend grace towards myself.
In all honesty, I was extremely lonely. I honestly expected to be slightly misunderstood, embarrassed, uncomfortable, and even singled out at times, but I was not expecting long periods of loneliness. I love people and being in close relationships with others, so to be void of this for nearly an entire week was hard. But luckily, we have a good God who works all things for our good! In this time He had me reflecting on the gift of grace and how extravagant it is to be under such grace. How wonderful that we have been so graciously covered in order to be pulled close and receive so much joy from His presence? I don’t quite have the words.
For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under GRACE. Romans 6:14
For it is by GRACE that you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - Not by works, so that none can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
GRACE and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 2 Peter 1:2
Since my immersion it has been hard for me to classify if this experience was successful or not. But here’s the thing, if I believe that God is a good father who wants to give me, his beloved daughter, good gifts and has covered me and all others with extravagant grace then why would He not be at work in this time of self-prescribed loneliness to give me something good? So this is the truth I choose to rest in . . . . . how wonderful!