Called to the Bulgaria Sofia Mission

[J.Hotchkiss]

Hi my name is James Hotchkiss, i just recieved my call to Bulgaria yesterday and was pretty shocked as i was not expecting Bulgaria or even a foreign country, but i have been reading up on this website and about Bulgaria, and I am so excited to serve there it all looks so amazing and i cant wait to help the church grow there . I am to report to provo MTC on august 9th so i was just wandering if anyone has recieved there call for the same date?

I was reading that there are only 20 branches in the mission so i was wandering if the church has meeting houses or if members meet in there homes?

Also whilst reading through the website i saw a link to an online language learning website where i could learn the alphabet but i cant find it now? can anybody recommend any good websites?

Im so excited to serve in the mission and cant wait to experience Bulgaria for myself. Any replies would be greatly appreciated thanks.

[Brinton]

Chestito on your call.

There are dedicated meeting houses in Bulgaria, in Sofia and Plovdiv.  I'm not sure about the other cities, as they opened after my  time.

Here are some good sites, you can also just google yourself as well...

http://www.digitaldialects.com/Bulgarian.htm (words, colors, numbers)

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/bulgarian.htm (alphabet, with a recording you can listen to)

http://www.studybulgarian.com/Bulgarian%20alphabet.htm (another alphabet page with some simple grammar.)

Good luck in your preparations.  I'd also suggest learing a bit of the history of the country as well.  Bulgaria has a very rich history and the people are very proud of it.

Brinton

[J.Hotchkiss]

Thanks for the links and answering my questions i appreciate it , i've got the alphabet down now so i can read and sound out bulgarian slowly i just dont know what the words im saying mean yet so im going to start working on some phrases . Thanks again

[Blindspot]

Just a word about learning words and phrases.  Like all languages, Bulgarian has accented syllables.  If you learn the words with the accents in the wrong places, you could just be speaking gibberish.  I learned a lot of words incorrectly by not paying attention and it took me a while to get out of those bad habits. 

I applaud your efforts to learn the language as much as you can.  A mission in Bulgaria is a unique and exciting experience and I'm pretty sure I can speak for all RM's in saying we envy the road ahead of you having already passed that way ourselves.  Of course the best thing you can bring with you is your testimony of Jesus Christ, The Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith.

Best wishes on your preparations and congratulations to you and all newly called missionaries.  Our prayers are with you.

[momof5]

My son downloaded bulgarian phrases from itunes and put them on his Ipod so he could get a head start before he went out in April. Good luck on your mission! He says it's the best mission in the world!