Sophia was an intelligent, observant two-year-old girl in Bulgaria. She had never heard about God at home because her parents had no interest in religion. But her parents had heard good things about a Seventh-day Adventist kindergarten in Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, and they were sure that Sophia should attend.

Sophia immediately fell in love with the Bible stories she heard every morning at the kindergarten. She soaked up the stories and soon knew many of them by heart.

By the time Sophia was three, she was able to make connections between the Bible stories. One day, the teacher read the story of Samson and spoke about how the wicked Philistines had seized Samson and put him in prison.

“Oh, the Philistines!” Sophia said. “The Philistines are where Goliath came from.”

And she was right! The Philistines who captured Samson were part of the same group of people that later gave rise to the giant Goliath in the time of King Saul and David.

Sophia’s observation amazed her teacher. She truly was a remarkable little girl.

One day, Sophia’s mother sent the teacher a photo of Sophia looking through a children’s book of Seventh-day Adventist Sabbath School lessons. The teacher was surprised because she hadn’t given the book to the family.

“Where did you get that book?” the teacher asked.

It turned out that a stranger had given the book to Sophia at a shopping center.

Sophia liked the book of Sabbath School lessons very much. But her favorite book was a children’s Bible that the teacher had given her at the kindergarten. She took the Bible home and looked at its colorful pictures every day. As she flipped through the pages, she remembered the Bible stories she had heard at the kindergarten.

Then, one day, the teacher noticed that Sophia was walking around the kindergarten carrying another Bible—a small, red book—     in her hands. She carried it all day long. Finally, the teacher asked, “Why are you carrying this Bible everywhere?”

“It’s my favorite book,” Sophia said. “I’m sad I don’t have it at home. Now, I’ll go to Grandmother’s and have to say goodbye to this book.”

The teacher was surprised. She knew how much Sophia loved her children’s Bible at home. The small, red Bible had very small text and didn’t contain pictures that were as nice as the children’s Bible. But on this day, Sophia had decided that the red Bible was her favorite—and she didn’t want to part with it.

When Sophia was leaving the kindergarten that afternoon, the teacher gave her the small, red Bible as a gift. Sophia was thrilled. She took it home and then brought it to her grandmother’s house that weekend.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how Sophia develops,” said her teacher, Maria. “She has a very profound connection with God. Just today, she prayed during our morning worship for our city and for the plants in our kindergarten.”

Part of this quarter’s offering will allow the Colorful Hope (Tzventna Nadezhda) kindergarten to move out of a rented facility into a building of its own in Sofia. More than half of the children who attend come from families that aren’t part of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Some don’t believe in God. Thank you for your generous support of this life-changing project in Bulgaria.