Zhani Slavcheva isn’t easily shocked. She and her husband Stoyan have been serving some of the poorest communities in Sliven, Bulgaria, for many years, bringing the gospel and responding to people’s immediate needs. “We have seen everything,” she says, “poverty, unemployment, misery, destitution, disease and a whole lot of grief.

“But I was shocked when I saw inside the home of Nadya, a 49-year-old Roma lady who is bedridden with diabetes and high blood pressure. Her husband has had a stroke and they survive on state benefits and begging because they are not fit to work.

“Their one-roomed home has no electricity. The toilet outside has no door and they depend on a tap in the yard to wash their dishes and their clothes.”

Zhani explains that despite these hardships, Nadya’s outlook was transformed a year ago when she became a Christian. “Nadya listens to the word of God with hope,” Zhani says. “She prays fervently for her family and for her children.”

“She was very sick at Christmas when we delivered your gifts to her. Despite her illness her eyes shone with joy and surprise when she saw the shoebox. She never imagined that friends from far away would think of her.

“We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the privilege of being channels of blessing and happiness for someone in need.”

Nadya was unwell when she received a shoebox at Christmas

Even Zhani was shocked by the conditions in which Nadya lives