Meet Skylar Orr, a college student with a desire to share the love of Jesus with the world and help others find their worth in Him.
What led you to want to go to Bulgaria?
In Bulgaria they have a very large Roma population. The main thing we were told about the Roma population is that they felt that they were unworthy of love and they viewed themselves as less than nothing. They are so hated by the people around them that they felt that they would never be good enough for anyone. In a time in my life I had similar feelings and this hit home for me. By teaching them about Jesus and His love, they learn that they are so worthy of love. Love from Jesus and love from me. By them coming to know Him, they learn they are worthy of everything. This made me want to go to Bulgaria so that I could love on them and from that teach them about Jesus’s love. I wanted to be a person that showed them they are worthy of so much more than they will ever know.
How did God prepare you to serve there?
God taught me so much about how a smile, a hug, or a prayer in and unknown language can change someone’s life. Those things can sometimes share more than any verse or scripture ever could. That is the biggest thing that he taught me. He taught me that you can prepare by memorizing and reciting all the verses in the Bible, but in the end that is not what always gets the love of Jesus across to people. He taught me that simple love is some times the best love.
What’s one thing you learned through fundraising for your trip?
When you are serving the Lord, He provides even when you think there is no way you will raise so much money. People come out of no where to help you get where you are going. Why do people do that? Because they believe in the work that you are doing. They want to help you share the love of God. All that money is given to you because people want to help, and God takes that money and he multiplies it and takes it and lets you use it to make greatness in His kingdom.
What’s one moment from your time in Bulgaria that you hope to never forget?
I hope that I never forget any of it! To pick one moment is so so hard. I think that one of my favorites was the day that we traveled to a village to have a church service one night and we had done things all day long and were so tired and hungry. When we arrived the elderly ladies who were sitting on the only benches all got up and forced us to sit down and brought us bottles of water and insisted that we rest even though we were there to work. Once the church service was over, we were invited into the church building, and they had all gathered money from the community in order to go buy us some meat and fresh vegetables for dinner that night. People who had no money, no food of their own, no certainty in life, and they spent what they had and gave it to us. That is the real life example of Jesus’s love. We never expected or wanted them to do that for us, but they wanted to and gave everything they had to tell us thank you for coming and spending time with them.
What advice do you have for someone who feels called to go but is afraid to say yes?
Never be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. No matter your reasoning, if you are supposed to go serve, God will make it happen. One of my favorite things about my trips to Bulgaria is the uncertainty and how different each trip was. You never know exactly what is going to happen because everything is in the hands of God. You should never be scared to take a leap of faith because I believe that my God will always be there to catch anyone who wants to take the leap for Him. He will catch you and help you the entire way, you just have to trust in Him. Always remember that when God is in control, everything will work out in the end. Just take the leap and never look back because it will be one of the best experiences of your life. You will love every minute of it, and I promise you that.
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