My Last Day in Sofia

Angie flew back to Germany very early this morning, and I am waiting for my evening flight right now.  I had a really nice last day here in Sofia.  After breakfast I needed to change money in order to pay my last night’s stay at the hostel.  When I did that, having time before Bill was to come pick me up, I went to the center of town and bought some postcards.  I don’t always have time to look for postcards, buy stamps, write, and send them.  But this time I did.  Let’s hope they arrive as they should.  Bill had his doubts, but I have faith.

Then he took me to another mall, so now I’ve been to 3 malls in Sofia.  I don’t know how many malls Sofia has, but all 3 of these could be in the US because there were so many familiar stores—particularly at the food court: Starbucks, KFC, Subway, Dunkin Donuts, and of course McDonalds.  He bought me an Italian cappuccino and told me about his ministry as a Christian businessman.  He has plans that will bless others both materially (the homeless, for example) and will be financially very profitable in a very short time.  The most impressive things about his ideas are that they are easily sustainable and reproducible throughout Bulgaria and even beyond.  He is putting the finishing touches on his business plan, and when he launches his website, they will take off and that is when he will find investors from all over the world.

When the topic turned to technology, I had to admit that my computer is just a really fancy, smart typewriter that helps me to stay in touch with people.  He smiled and took me to the technology store to show me what he thinks I need: a tablet.  I resisted buying cellphone until 2005, and resisted buying a portable computer until 2009.  And so far, I have resisted buying a GPS device, a smart phone and a tablet.  But as he showed me how easy they are to use, I felt my resistance crumble.  How have I managed without a tablet so far?  Well, I have managed.  It is something to think about, but do I really need it?  I’m tempted, but resisting.

In a few minutes we will be boarding the plane.  All electronic devices must be turned off.  Ha!  They can’t turn my book off!  And prayer is always online with God.  He will show me if He wants me to get a tablet.  God is good!

More Coincidences, More God

Yesterday I posted about the coincidence of seeing a friend after more than a year (https://europeanfaithmissions.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/coincidence-is-spelled-g-o-d/).  We’re both English-speakers, we’ve both moved, we wanted to get together for a Bible study in English, and we find out that now we’re neighbors.

Yesterday I also put a bunch of my old posts on the blog because my old blogsite was accidentally closed down.  One of these old posts was “The Train God” (https://europeanfaithmissions.wordpress.com/about/ancient-blog-posts/), about a ride in the cab of the train with the engineer.

This morning I went to morning prayer at church.  When I’m home, I go to prayer meetings, cell groups, church services, and events.  This is how I fuel-up my spirit for ministry when I go visit missionaries and pastors in other places.  Usually I take Milan’s city transportation (trams, buses, subway), and since the church is clear across town from my apartment, it takes a combination of means to get there, and can be accomplished in several different ways.

Today on a whim I took the passante train to return home afterward.  The passante is the best-kept secret in Milan.  Most of the people who take the passante train are entering or leaving the city, but the same bus pass that works with all the other city transportation also works for the passante, provided you are traveling within the city.  During the morning and evening rush hours the trains are packed.  But during the day, they are practically empty.  Since I live not far from a passante station, it’s not so strange that I took the train.

I got onto the train and was talking on the phone when I heard a gasping intake of breath.  I turned and saw Alfredo, the engineer from “The Train God” post.  Clearly he had remembered me.  I finished my phone call just as he was entering the cab to drive the train.  I was only going two stops, so at my stop, I got off the train and knocked on his window.  He opened the little side door and said, “My Texan friend!  You’re back!”  I told him that I had thought of him just yesterday.  And he said, “And here I am!”  Unfortunately, we didn’t have a lot of time to talk because he had a schedule to keep, and I had to meet the electrician at the house.

I believe we will meet again sometime.  Maybe I’ll ride in the cab of the train again—who knows?  Maybe he’ll even let me drive!