Maria’s son was three years old, and she didn’t want to send him to a public kindergarten in Bulgaria. But there were no options. There were no Seventh-day Adventist kindergartens, and she wasn’t sure what to do.

Worries filled Maria’s thoughts day and night as her maternity leave neared an end. Bulgaria had a generous maternity leave policy, and she was able to stay at home with her son for three years. But soon, she would need to return to her job at a financial institution. Although she liked her coworkers and her salary, she didn’t feel comfortable sending her son to a public kindergarten.

Finally, in desperation, she turned to her husband one night and asked, “What am I supposed to do? I must go back to work soon.”

He looked at her seriously and replied, “When are you going to understand that God wants you to do something yourself?”

His words surprised Maria. It was like hearing God’s voice. She knew he was right. She needed to open Bulgaria’s first Seventh-day Adventist kindergarten. But how? It was 2016, and there were no Adventist schools of any kind in Bulgaria.

As she shared her vision with church members, some expressed doubt that a kindergarten could succeed.

“Don’t waste your time,” they said. “It’s impossible. All kindergartens and schools are free in Bulgaria, so who would pay to send their children to a kindergarten?”

But just three months later, the Colorful Hope (Tzventna Nadezhda) kindergarten opened its doors.

It took six weeks to find a suitable location. With her three-year-old son in tow, Maria visited possible sites across Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia. She searched everywhere except in her neighborhood. She wanted the location to be convenient for the team she had assembled, not simply an easy 15-minute walk from her own home. But no one wanted to offer her a lease. When building owners heard that she wanted to open a kindergarten, they shook their heads and said, “No.” They didn’t want little children ruining their buildings.

Maria grew desperate. She didn’t understand God’s will and why she couldn’t find a place.

With just six weeks remaining until her target date, time was running out. Maria prayed again and told herself, “I’ll start looking closer to my home as well.”

Then, she saw an advertisement for a house just up the street. The moment she saw the building, she knew it was the place God had prepared. She prayed that the owner would feel the same conviction.

The owner seemed open to the idea, and Maria called her team to visit the house. They liked it, and the owner liked the team. The owner agreed to lease the house and even offered a generous discount, understanding that the kindergarten was a start-up project with little funding and no guarantee of profit.

Before signing the lease, Maria knew she had to tell the owner that the kindergarten would teach Seventh-day Adventist values. She wondered how the owner would respond. Some Bulgarians looked down on Adventists, considering them a sect.

On the day Maria went to sign the contract, she entered the house and saw the owner’s husband sitting in an armchair, reading the Bible. She was shocked. It turned out he was a retired professor of religion and philosophy.

Then Maria sat down at a table. The owner looked over at her and said, “You’re Seventh-day Adventist, right?”

Maria was even more shocked. How did she know?

The owner had found the kindergarten’s social media page and learned that it was affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. She had a very positive impression of Adventists. As a piano teacher, she had taught a number of Adventist students over the years. She said she was happy to entrust her house to an Adventist kindergarten. 

The kindergarten opened on September 15, 2016. God blessed the venture, and two years later, a second kindergarten opened under the same name at a new location. Today, one kindergarten has 16 children and the other has 14.

To this day, Maria and the owner of the first kindergarten maintain a warm friendship. Every time they talk, the owner says, “You’re very different. God is at work in your life.”

Maria and her team pray regularly for the owner and her husband.

“They don’t have children of their own,” Maria said. “They say leasing us this building gives them a sense of meaning and fulfillment. They always support us. We know God has a plan for their lives through us, and we continue to intercede for them in our prayers.”

Part of this quarter’s offering will allow the Colorful Hope (Tzventna Nadezhda) kindergarten to move out of one of its rented facilities into a building of its own in Sofia. Thank you for being part of this life-changing project in Bulgaria.