Written by the Awtreys, IM missionaries in Bulgaria

Ten years ago, grandmother Danche, or “Baba Danche” (as the people in our church lovingly call her), was sitting in the park in Svishtov. At that point, she was a retired teacher, divorced mother of two children, grandmother, and an atheist (like most of the people who grew up in communism).

But one day, while she was sitting on a park bench, she saw the beautiful sight of a Christian family, playing with their children. It was the family of our FWB missionaries to Bulgaria, the Provows. They engaged in conversation with her, became good friends, and later led her to faith in our Lord. At that time, she was 67 years old. Baba Danche started regularly attending our church in Svishtov and openly sharing her faith with everyone, despite the social pressure in Bulgaria against Protestant Christians. She was regularly attending bible studies and growing in her faith. Often, she would express sorrow at finding Jesus too late in her life and all the wasted time she had before that. But her health was declining, and she wasn’t able to leave her apartment anymore and participate in church activities.

Then I (Lydia Awtrey) started going to her home every Thursday to study the Bible together. Many of her friends and neighbors would sometimes join us, and soon we had a Bible study with a few seekers. One day, she decided it was time to be baptized, and because she couldn’t leave her apartment, my husband Tim baptized her with a bucket of water in the small bathroom. What a joy we had that day together!

But her health was declining even more, so three years ago she moved to a nursing home in Svishtov for severely handicapped people. Even there, Baba Danche wanted to continue to grow in her faith, and with another lady from the church, she did a six-month discipleship course. What a commitment!

She also wanted the other people at the nursing home to hear about Jesus and asked the director if our church could start regularly going there with the Bible and games. The director said “yes,” and for the last two years, every Friday, I go there to give them the hope of the Gospel and to have some fun playing games. Recently, our lovely Baba Danche celebrated her 77th birthday, and even though her health is fragile, her faith is strong, and she has a vibrant ministry. She is also deeply loved by her church family.

What is your excuse for not serving our good Father in every season of your life?