As I settled in for the hour or so it would take to enjoy Teanna Sunberg's Cold Winds, Warm Hearts I was excited to read what this author had to say about the work of the Church of the Nazarene in Bulgaria. Little did I know that it would take me on a journey from 1954 to the present.
As Teanna wove this narrative of early Christians in Bulgaria, I was struck by the clear descriptions she supplied. I could almost feel the fear she depicts in the early 1950s of Communist Bulgaria. I wondered how many of us ever thought about being beaten for our convictions or of having to meet secretly to worship God, knowing that in doing so we would be breaking the law, facing prison or death.
In sharing about her mission call, Sunberg described the day when God challenged her skepticism of pictures of malnourished children that she saw in a missionary service; he moved her to accept His vision. This was when she grappled with a call from God at a young age.
I would recommend reading this book if you want to see the mission field in a way that does not gloss over problems facing missionaries. Sunberg shows us not only the good or easy side of living one's life for God, but also the hard side of living in a place where fear still exists in the post-communist culture. Through her writing, we travel to where she and her family reside.
I felt challenged to remember that even though God may already know the outcome of our prayers, He still prompts us to pray, and we need to be willing to continue to pray for His work. Though the Sunbergs considered it laughable at first to think of staying in Eastern Europe -- they were still feeling very disoriented in the midst of the culture -- it was in remaining open to God's guidance that they then felt oriented and no longer confused; that even in the midst of the grandeur of palaces and splendor of beautiful buildings, God showed that He is more grand.
If I were to choose a subtitle for this book, it would be "God still answers prayer," because the author shows that God not only provides for spiritual needs but also for physical. Sometimes immense patience is necessary while waiting for needs to be met.
A pronunciation guide and several photos are provided to further sweep the reader into the cold winds which blow among the warm hearts where God resides in the work of the Church of the Nazarene in Bulgaria. Winds of change continue to blow across Bulgaria and elsewhere because of the prayers of the faithful.
-- Charleen DiSante is a retired missionary who served with her husband, Ed, throughout Africa until 1998. Today she works with Friends of the Homeless of the South Shore, a ministry of Nazarene Compassionate Ministries International in Massachusetts.