Sunday Service

Recently a teacher on the TES asked me about the cost of living in Sofia, compared to Shenzhen.

To answer the question, I would say that Sofia is probably a bit more expensive than Shenzhen, but not much. When we were in SZ, the school's accommodation allowance covered the rent and it is much the same story here in BG. I can walk to school and back each day, just like I did in China. The metro system in Sofia is a lot more expensive than in SZ and also we have a car as well, so that bumps up our costs a bit. In the Middle Kingdom, I was usually drinking Tsingtao, especially with crispy dumplings fried in butter, whereas in Bulgaria this old hippo gets through those three-litre boxes of the local plonk.

On the other hand, each month we are given 60 leva of Kaufland vouchers and that helps with the groceries. One big advantage in Bulgaria is the school food, the best I have ever eaten in more than thirty years of teaching. Very generous quality cuts of meat, cooked in delicious sauces, with some fresh salads and yummy soups. The Green Oasis school lunches were horrible and you even had to pay for them.

Irena was leading the worship on Sunday at our church, the International Baptist Church of Sofia. Well done, darling! Well, the "line up" for the worship team certainly was very international: Africa, Pakistan, Bulgaria, Ireland and Russia! I also got roped in to read a couple of verses from the Bible.

After the service, Kathy, the pastor's wife, told me that many churches in China are going through a tough time at the moment. The Chinese government's policy seems to be much stricter. I thought of our many dear Christian friends in Shenzhen and wondered what (if anything) has happened to them. Shenzhen International Fellowship (SIF) was never "registered" with the government and so officially it was not supposed to exist.

It was good to see Patricia's husband Sohail. They will be having lunch with us tomorrow, on my 60th birthday.