Bulgaria: Local Elections 2003

In October, Bulgaria held local government elections. The elections created severe tension in the political situation of the country as the current government is failing to provide the promised results in the first 800 days of the political program. The government is headed by Bulgaria’s former King Simeon, who ruled for three years until he was nine, when his family was exiled from Bulgaria after the Communist take-over in 1944. In 2001, he was named as Bulgaria’s prime minister becoming the first exiled East European monarch to return to power.

Four major political forces participated in the elections. Among them were the National Movement “Simeon II” (now in power), the Bulgarian Democratic Party (in power during 1997-2001), the Socialist Party (in power in during 1996-1997) and Liberty and Rights Movement (representing the minority Muslim population of Bulgaria). While final results of polls will become clear after the second round in a week, it is already clear that the ruling political party did not win the local elections.

As the government is getting close to their first 800 days the statistics are the least to say threatening. More than 65% of the Bulgarians live with less than 100 Euro a month, while large corporations close to the government are increasing in income and status. The medications are 40% more expensive than two years ago and the cost of electricity has doubled. One million Bulgarians have immigrated since 1990.

Bulgaria: Harvest Training Seminar

On October 25, 2003 Cup & Cross Ministries held another training seminar for the Yambol region. More than 80 local church leaders joined otgether in a conference hall on the Bakadjik mount outside Yambol. The date of the seminar was quite significant since it was held on the day before the Bulgarian local government elections.

The training seminar was organized with the participation of several church elders, mayors and sponsors. There were several training sessions

Along with the training sessions, there were media and drama presentations, and a special prayer for the Bulgarian government. The Kamenetz church choir led the meeting in praise and worship. There was also a special presentation on the Walls of Jerusalem that our team has worked on for the past six months. A husband and wife who have been marred for over 50 years recited Psalm 127 together as a testimony of God’s faithfulness in their lives.

The conference hall was built during the Communist Regime along with hotel quarters for meetings, which Communist Party representatives used to have there before 1989. After the Fall of the Berlin Wall the place was purchased and remodeled by the present owners. For the past three weeks the husband in the family has been in the ICU of the Yambol hospital, and our dealings were mainly with his wife. When she told him that a Pentecostal seminar will be held in their conference hall, the owner requested that they bring him in the seminar for prayer. The family was touched and were in tears during the time our team ministered. After the seminar they requested to host all of our future training events we hold in the Yambol region. For us, it was a reward that we were able to minister to these people and that our ministry was recognized in such a special way.

Harvest Testimony 2003

October in Bulgaria is a month of harvest. Among other crops like wheat, corn, fruits, etc. it is a time to harvest the vineyards. Similar to the ancient Greek culture, the Bulgarian people celebrate the fruit of the grapes and the winemaking process. This tradition was somewhat changed this year by our ministry team in the Yambol region.

A lady from one of our village churches had been praying for the salvation of her husband for over ten years. He was saved several weeks ago. He decided that instead of making wine this year and in the future he would give his whole grape harvest of several acres to the church. Our team and members of the church took several truckloads of grapes to an orphanage in Yambol. The only condition of the donors was that the children are allowed to eat as much grapes as they want.

September 2003 Report

September 2003 Report

In Bulgaria…
Our ministry team has marked an outstanding month of ministry. As the actual Bulgarian harvest continues through the month of October, the ministry gathers fruits from our labor for the Kingdom.

Radio Ministry
We have received two parallel offers to extend our radio ministry. The first one is to add a round-table discussion segment to our weekly broadcast in the Yambol region. The discussion will include pastors from local congregation who are willing to participate in this media endeavor. A specified time during our regular program will be devoted to answering questions on-air and discussing current events. This is a great statement of recognition for the Pentecostal influence our ministry brings in the area and a new way to use the media for our Kingdom work.

The second offer is for a broadcast on NET Radio – a Bulgarian national broadcast network which reaches seven major cities in the country. We will be able to participate in a Sunday morning segment between 9 and 10 a.m. local time.

Several villages have requested our broadcasts to be run on their local radio networks. We also have been successful in broadcasting sermons and radio segments through our internet ministry.

Healing Reports
Among the several healing reports which we received in September one stands out among the rest. It is the testimony of a 68-year old lady who had been sick for many years.

After supporting her in a 21-day fast in the middle of the night she felt a strong electrical power going through her body and heard a voice that told her, “Go and testify, God healed me, God healed me, God healed me. Needless to say she did not go back to sleep that night. Early in the morning she went to the doctor who after a thorough check-up certified a complete healing of the disease.

Bulgarian Elections 2003
In the month of October Bulgaria is facing local government elections. The coalition between the Simeon II National Movement (SNM) and the mainly ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) is increasingly unpopular and suffers from serious internal divisions. The prime minister, Simeon Saxe-Coburg, carried out a limited restructuring of his cabinet in July, but this is not likely to restore the government’s popularity. The October 2003 local elections may provoke a deeper split in the SNM, causing the next general election to be brought forward to 2004.

We have organized all churches where we minister for prayer and fasting for successful results. On September 23 our ministry team had a meeting with more than 20 village mayors from the Yambol region. The meeting continued for more than four hours, as taking a lead away from the agenda, mayors began asking questions about the Bible, the book of Revelation, the number 666 and bar-code analogies, the Bible Code and other popular Biblical topics. At the end of the meeting they all requested prayer. As the power of the Holy Spirit was explicitly evident, all present in the meeting were emotionally touched and in tears. We only pray that this single event of God’s presence and power witnesses to the hearts of these men and allows them to include our ministry work in the governing plans for their respective areas.

In October …
We are planning a training seminar event for the month of October with a water baptism service strategically chosen for this time of the year after the end of the Bulgarian harvest.