After 4 months in Bulgaria, I feel like a 4 to 5-year-old. My language understanding and speech have grown substantially. While very understandable, I of course still have the child-like stutters, mispronunciations, and parrot-reflex of repeating whatever I hear most around me. This stage is full of exploring with greater independence, desiring deeper connections as my abilities catch up, and seeking interactions. Although parts of me still dream and ache for what it would be like to feel “grown-up” in Bulgaria, this phase is FUN and excites me to keep growing!
The development of language and culture skills has left me in awe of what a joy it is to build bridges, and ultimately, in awe of how Christ has built a bridge for us.
Bridges of understanding, bridges colliding cultures, bridges of love.
Before coming to Bulgaria, I read Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison (which focuses on racial reconciliation), and I took a course called Perspectives which had a chapter called Building Bridges of Love (which focuses on Christians working in cross-cultural spaces). Both of these resources hold truth and wisdom from biblical scriptures, history, and the person of Jesus; I highly recommend! Like I haven’t said the word “bridges” enough, I think you can see why this image has been on my heart and mind!
So, what does it mean to build this relational bridge? Simply put, it is making a way for meaningful two-way connections. Growing up bi-culturally as an American-Brazilian, little was I aware that I had been bridging cultures for my entire life, first within myself. I praise God that I was received within both cultures, having a loving family who embraced me in Brazil and friends in the U.S. who took me in as their own. I also recognize my privilege in my experiences as I was hardly ever deemed an “other” since I had no accent and white skin. In this move to Bulgaria, I have had to start over, but this time with more awareness. Building connections takes a lot of humility, listening beyond ourselves, meeting people where they’re at, and authentically communicating who I am and what I’m doing. And the foundation and motivation of it all is love.
Thinking about why bridges are even built, well, it’s to get somewhere! To meet or reach someone. And why would we want to do that? Because as Christ-followers, we are to love as God first loved us. These reflections took me back to the basics. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Why did God give us Jesus?? God sent his son, I’d say the best bridge builder, because he loves us :)
The joy of this stage is that I can better communicate this desire to love and connect. One day, between a train and bus ride, two friendships were sparked, and both women were quite shocked that a foreigner was reaching out and speaking to them in Bulgarian. The Lord made a way for another bridge to be built with a woman who is Spanish-speaking; we relate as newcomers to Bulgaria and now study Bulgarian together, through which a sweet friendship has blossomed. I like how Perspectives puts the importance of our efforts in this, because “the gospel has always been more than a message; it is an introduction to life under Christ’s lordship. When His messengers have connected with others in significant relationships, Christ can be introduced in powerful ways” (Hawthorne, 2013). I don’t know what God’s plans are for each bridge built, but I pray they are lessons of how to live, better together, with God’s creation and himself.
Hawthorne, S., Winter, R. Perspectives on the World Christian Movement Reader and Study Guide-eBook. 4th ed. William Carey Library. 2013.