Columbus family seeks support for mission work in Bulgaria
On their first night, they cried.
Chance Galloway and his wife, Dee Dee, had sold most of their possessions to move their family some 5,600 miles from Columbus to Bulgaria to begin missionary work.
As they sat in their hotel room shortly after arriving to the eastern European country, they asked themselves, "What have we done?"
That was four years ago.
What they have done since is plant churches, train pastors, teach the Bible, teach English, coordinate church mission groups and provide food and clothing to the poor.
"A lot of people have been saved," Chance said.
The couple is now visiting the United States to seek support for those efforts and two new projects.
They will be speaking about their work Friday at "An Evening With the Galloways," a partnership dinner at Christ Community Church, 4078 Milgen Road. Tickets for the 6:30 p.m. meal are $10 per adult and $5 per child and may be purchased online at www.ccclive.org or at the church.
The projects
One of the projects is an agriculture ministry.
Dee Dee said the Roma people, commonly called Gypsies, live in poverty and face ethnic discrimination in Bulgaria, making it difficult for them to get an education or a job.
"It breaks your heart," said Dee Dee, who teaches English in hopes that it will give the people a chance at a better life.
"We live in a land of opportunity for everybody. These people don't," Chance remarked.
With financial support from a church partner in England, land has been purchased for the agriculture ministry.
"We are going to teach people how to farm," she said. "We will grow vegetables."
Those will provide products for a food pantry and soup kitchen.
Chance said it is the "teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime" approach.
The other project is a home for girls.
"Human trafficking is a huge problem in Bulgaria, with girls being snatched and trafficked as sex slaves," Dee Dee said. "I pray for these girls."
Chance said men come and take the girls away, and they are never seen again.
"We want to provide protection, a place where the girls can feel safe," he said.
Their mission
The Galloways live in Kyustendi, a city of about 40,000. Many of its people live in squalor.
Dee Dee said building hope is a big part of their mission.
While they miss family, friends and food in the United States, the couple feels they are meant to be in Bulgaria.
The Galloways have long shown an interest in helping the needy.
"We have always had a heart for missions," Dee Dee said.
After marriage, the couple worked at Valley Rescue Mission and, for a while, managed a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center.
He is a graduate of Glenwood School, and she is a graduate of Hardaway High School. He has worked as a painting contractor, and she has taught at Calvary Christian School.
Dee Dee is a cancer survivor, having been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma while pregnant with their daughter, Catherine.
The couple has four children.
Recalling a time when they lost their home in a financial crisis, they say they know what it is like to be without things.
"We have both been broken," Chance said.
The couple first became acquainted with Bulgaria during a stop there on a short mission trip.
"I can't explain it, but I just fell in love with the people," Chance said.
About their mission in Bulgaria, they said they want to develop people's character to have a personal, loving relationship with God and to become loving persons with successful relationships with others.
The Galloways said they try to get back to this country every two years.
They have been visiting churches in different states seeking support. They also took time to visit Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
"We don't get much family vacation time," Chance said.
This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 10:35 PM with the headline "Columbus family seeks support for mission work in Bulgaria."