Day 1 - Sofia

Everyone arrived safely yesterday afternoon and our whole group was met with smiling faces by the Bulgarian Pastors and friends and family of Georgian's.
Exhausted yet relieved to have gotten through customs and security without any problems we boarded a bus and checked into the hotel with 45 minutes to freshen up.
Before dinner Georgian loaded us on the bus to take a small tour of the city - we stoped at the government buildings where Georgian explained to us alot of the city's communist history and the miracle that we are now allowed out on the streets to preach the love of Christ Jesus.

We had a little trouble getting off of the bus as we started getting a tad drunk in the Holy Spirit. It was just such a joy to be meeting and celebrating with 40 new found brothers and sisters in Christ. As we sat on the bus enjoying the sweet intoxicating presence of the Holy Ghost an old street peddler came aboard with us and tried to sell us an old bagpipe type insturment made of lambskin and what looked like bamboo. He gave us a little serenade which set us off all over again in laughter and rejoicing. Finally off the bus, we took a walking tour through the streets. Bursting out into spontaneous worship with guitars and drums, Georgian led us like a pied piper through the government district. We passed ancient churches and communist statues all the while praising the name of Jesus. A small group formed of people following us and joining us in song and clapping.
Delirious and exhausted from our long flight and lack of sleep we were finally able to return to the hotel for what we thought would be a quiet dinner in a banquet room of the hotel.
We shared the room with what appeared to be another group of either Israelies or Turks. The room was divided, our tired yet joyful group on one side and the Turks on the other.
In the front of the room was a small stage where a husband and wife performed quietly on keyboard and accordian.
As dinner was winding up, the woman began to play a sort of old time traditional song with a strong sort of 'opa opa' flavor. Two of the turkish gentleman stood up and began to dance with arms outstretched kicking their legs side to side.
Not to be outdone - John Jordan and Georgian stood as well on our side of the banquet hall and joined in the dance.
That moment set off the festivities for the rest of the night.
For the following 5 hours the entire room danced and celebrated in wild abandon - dancing circles, fire tunnels and a whole lot of laughter and dancing!
The most confused person in the room had to be the bartender who couldnt figure out why the people on our side of the room were drunker than the Turks he had been serving drinks to all night - yet he knew he had not made one dime off of our group. After watching us for a long while,. about half of the Turks decided to join our party on our side of the room. It was a wild celebration. Jet lag and exhaustion was miraculously replaced with an resurgance of energy and joy!
As surreal as those 5 hours were, the final insanity was when Georgian hopped up on the husband and wifes stage and started singing with them. When the song was over Georgian eagerly introduced himself to the accordian playing husband. When he did the mans jaw dropped, and in Bulgarian he introduced himself. The two men yelled and quickly embraced with tears of joy. It turned out that man was not only an old friend of Georgians who he had not seen in 30 years, but he was a memeber of Georgians first band, the very first rock and roll band in Bulgaria that had skyrocketed Georgian and bandmates to such popularity that the communist party had to shut them down for fear of competition.
That reunion only spurred the party on further. Till midnight everyone danced and tore the room up with an intense constant supernatural joy that only the Lord can produce.

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