For the last two nights and again tonight, we are presenting Equip Level 1 in a small gypsy village near Plovdiv. We are in a church that we have been coming to and teaching in for the last three years and we have really bonded with the pastor and his family and with the people.
The gypsy people are one of the most neglected and desperate people groups in the world. None of the Western European countries want them and have taken some rather extreme measure to move the out of their countries. Their plight in Eastern Europe is not much better. The native cultures and governments reject them and just ignore them. Bulgaria has a lot of gypsys and they are in a sad state. Essentially, they are treated like the lepers of the Old Testament.
Most live in ghettos in the large cities or in small villages outside of the large cities. Many cannot go to school because there is no school in their village and no transportation to get to the village where there is a school. So, their plight is perpetuated generation after generation. They live with almost no medical care, often without running water and usually without sewers. Their unemployment rate is usually about 60% or more in normal times. Now it is 80% to 90% because of the hard economic times.
We are training this group and two others. These are people who are the hope of their people and culture. They are leaders in their villages and communities. Most are pastors, others are not but they are all leading in some sphere of activity. They are often poorly educated but very bright and with a wealth of hard life experience. They are like sponges; eager to soak up everything we can teach them. (Not many Americans have come to teach them anything.) And they appreciate us so very much. We have never been so fulfilled as we are when serving these people!
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