MOULTRIE — At 47, Moultrie native Alan Colson recently completed his first year serving as a high school administrator and teacher. What makes him unique is he is one of nine American teachers at the American English Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Colson was born in Athens, Ga., but moved to Moultrie and has grown up here. He considers Moultrie to be his home and often returns here to visit his mother, Shirley.

After serving as an associate pastor at a church in Syracuse, N.Y., Colson said he made his first visit to Bulgaria after his church’s pastor moved there to start a Bible college. The college was shut down after three months, but the pastor continued to visit, and Colson fell in love with Bulgaria on his first visit in 1997.

“The Lord put something in me that very first trip,” Colson said. “I then began looking at the possibility of serving there.”

Colson said he visited Bulgaria three more times still trying to find a way to live and serve there. A friend then told him about the American English Academy, an American school started in 1993 by Frank and Ruth Munsey of Chicago, and he applied, was interviewed and hired to work at the school within a few weeks.

The American English Academy is an American high school, but Colson said it uses the A Beka Christian curriculum. It is not, however, a private Christian school and has about 180 students from 31 countries and different faiths, including Muslims, Jewish and Orthodox Catholics. Graduating students receive an American high school diploma, which is why the school has children of diplomats, royalty and businessmen who want their children to receive an American education.

“It’s a very unique opportunity to present the gospel to students of different faiths,” Colson said. “We’re sensitive to the beliefs of the students, and it allows us to gently present the gospel but also live out our faith.”

After completing his first year, Colson said he faced a lot of challenges, on-the-job training and had a “very steep learning curve.” He taught five subjects and served as upper level director of academic affairs, allowing him to have contact with parents regarding administration and discipline. The staff at the school was very beneficial to him getting through the challenges of his first year there.

“The staff is like a family,” Colson said. “ It’s the best group I’ve ever worked with. God has put our staff together, and they have a concern for each other as much as the kids.”

Although he does not have a teaching certificate, Colson said the Munseys were more impressed with his work as a youth and children’s pastor for about 20 years. They want people who can relate better to the students as well as teach them academics, he said.

“The Munseys strive for excellence in everything they do,” Colson said. “They want it to be like a family and are concerned about the kids. We want them to succeed and we’re going the extra mile with the students.”

Colson said he will be heading back to Bulgaria to begin his second year at the school in early August. This year should be easier for him provided he is teaching the same classes, but he knows there is still a lot to learn. There will also be new challenges as the school moves into a new building, but he knows how to get through it all.

“I’m confident the Lord will provide what I need when I need it,” Colson said.

Colson is not the only Moultrie person making a difference in Bulgaria, as he said he met a man who was starting a Christian publishing and printing company on his first trip. Since then, he has taken “Happily Ever After: Keys to Unlocking God’s Fairy Tale Ending,” written by the founders of Good Samaritan Counseling, David and Jayne Brown, and had it translated and published in Bulgarian. The book has been given away in Bulgaria, and it has received a very positive feedback from the people there, he added.

Colson said he is in need of prayers every day he is over in Bulgaria because his school is training the leaders of tomorrow. The children leave the American English Academy and go all over the world along with the spiritual battles being waged there.