Mission Bulgaria Week 31
NEWS – Week 31 – March 18-24, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
This morning Bulgaria woke up covered with snow. The temperatures are in the 20s, but the weather is expected to be very warm by the end of the week. This is a usual March weather for Bulgaria.
On Thursday and Friday I traveled to the Yambol area where several churches are in revival. We had a really good time rejoicing in the Lord. The trip coming back was more difficult as a strike of 10,000 Bulgarians had gathered in downtown Sofia to protest against the politics of the present government. None of the politicians at the Bulgarian Parliament came out to speak with the crowd, which stayed for hours under the pouring rain. This is perhaps only the first of many strikes, which are expected to follow.
On Saturday, March 23 the ministers of the Sofia region gathered together at the Bulina Livada Church of God to take important decisions on the development and the future of the region. The Sofia region includes 1/3 of the total membership of the Bulgarian Church of God and extends to an area of approximately 20,000 sq. km. The Sofia region includes 37 churches and more than 5,000 members.
A new strategy was developed for providing for the needs of the churches, and a regional government was elected. It included 14 men plus the regional overseer. Among them were elected men to work with the Roma communities in the region, Social Work Regional Pastor, Evangelism Regional Director and Educational Regional Director.
I was elected for the position of Educational Regional director for the Sofia region. This election comes in time with the organization of the first of its kind round table for Evangelicals. It will occur on March 29, 2002 in the Aula of the University of Sofia as Orthodox and Protestant scholars and pastors will present lectures on “The Influence of the Protestant Missionaries for the Spiritual Upbringing and Political Liberation of the Bulgarian Nation.”
Mission Bulgaria Week 30
NEWS – Week 30 – March 12-17, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
This Sunday marks the 50 days (actually 7 weeks) before the Orthodox Easter (Easter in Bulgaria this year will be on May 5th). This also marks the beginning of the Easter fast which starts on Monday. As an old national custom tonight every household in Bulgaria gets together and has a nice big dinner in preparation for the fasts. The tradition also includes a request for forgiveness from relatives, friends and enemies. While as Protestants we do not observe the Orthodox holidays, in our church today we did request forgiveness for our mistakes, errors and sin. We had a wonderful time of seeking the Lord, worshiping and calling upon Him.
The week was exciting for our ministries. I finished teaching the three-weeks systematic theology module at the Department of Pentecostal Studies at the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute in Sofia. I praise the Lord for this opportunity and the successes of the students. Our studies on Pneumatology, Ecclesiology and Eschatology ended with a revival service that moved from Sofia to the Pravetz Church of God, where we went with 2 vans loaded with students and ministered to the people there.
On another note, Pastor Doneva just came back from Yambol on Friday, where they had revival services with prayer and fasting at the churches she pastors. The church in the village of Polyana, where they shot at Mom and her team, officially reopened for services. Filled with great joy the people have restored the building to its original state and are having three services a day. I am planning to travel there this week and participate in the revival, which is going on there.
Mission Bulgaria Week 29
NEWS – Week 29 – March 4-11, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
Our ministry was again mentioned in the chaplaincy report Church of God Chaplaincy Commission. However, the best news is that the church, which I asked you to pray for, has its building back. Not only that the man who wanted it gave up on the idea, but he and the mayor will personally give the keys to the congregation this week. My mother is traveling tomorrow for the service at which this will be done. We are praying that the church will have the opportunity to purchase the building for the price at which it was originally offered.
Again I had the opportunity to speak 19 times this past week. It has been a time of self-examination and consecration as the whole institute, students, teachers and administration have devoted ourselves to prayer and fasting through the week. The time of seeking God continues as more pray for afresh anointing, power from above and a vision of the glory of God. We are also planning a trip to Pravetz on Thursday, with some 10 students who have had a desire in their hearts to travel with me.
Mission Bulgaria Week 28
NEWS – Week 28 February 24 – March 3, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
What an exciting week we have had. Our ministry has found place in the reports of both Church of God World Missions, the Church of God Chaplaincy Commission and the Church of God FaithNews Network.
This week I began teaching Systematic Theology in the Department of Pentecostal Studies at the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute. This week we had three lectures a day on the subject of Pneumotology. The class ended with a debate on 1 Corinthians 14 on Friday in which professors and first, second and third year students participated.
We also had a wonderful service on Wednesday as I perched a sermon called “… and don’t’ you be afraid.” The altar call lasted for more than an hour as we ministered to the people with needs. On Thursday we again traveled to the town of Pravetz and held a service in the Church of God there. On Saturday our crusade services continued. I preached a sermon called, “There is power.” Although the attendance was a bit law due to the soccer game in town, we had a very good service as many pastors from Sofia attended with their families and congregations.
So far I have preached 50 times this year and have spoken 19 times only this past week. I am physically exhausted, but I rejoice in the Lord for what He is doing and I personally feel fulfilled in what I am doing.
My mother Eva Doneva traveled to her churches and gathered the congregations for a three-day of fasting and prayer. They received good results on one of the buildings they wanted to purchase for a church auditorium. The men who pretended for the building, has brought them the keys of the building himself. He declared that he does not wish to purchase the building any longer and that they can use it for their services. The mayor has approved this settlement and now the church in Polyana has a real opportunity to buy the building for a church.
