NATO Top General “Pleased” with Bulgarian Military Bases

NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and commander of American troops in Europe General James Jones has been impressed by the qualities of the Bulgarian bases and infrastructure offered to the US troops, reads a letter, addressed to the Bulgarian Chief of Army Staff General Nikola Kolev.

General Jones also says he is ready to present and to uphold the US’ use of the bases before the competent authorities in Washington, the Bulgarian Defense Ministry press center informed Tuesday. On Friday the Defense Minister Nikolay Svinarov has announced that the US troops are to deploy to three new bases in Bulgaria. Negotiations are nearing the finish line and are expected to be wrapped up in March, Minister Svinarov has said.

Last month NATO’s General James Jones made a trip to Bulgaria and Romania, where the US were to choose from four of five locations for the prospective military sites in each country. The facilities are to be used by Army, Air Force, Navy or Marine units.

Superbowl Sunday

We have just learned of a tremendous opportunity for men to witness at the Super Bowl to be held in Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday, February 6, 2005. William W. Adams of Revival-USA has notified us that men are needed to witness and hand out tracks at the event. The Super bowl witnessing schedule is February 4-6 at the following times:

Friday: 6:00 p.m. – Midnight
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – Midnight
Sunday: Noon – 7:00 p.m.

All participants will meet together at the beginning of each day for prayer and then go out for the remainder of the day. The length of the day will be determined by each individual’s schedule. Accommodations are free if you are willing to bring a sleeping bag otherwise very inexpensive arrangements can be made through Revival USA with or without meals included. If you are interested please contact us at: 1-866-646-LOVE (5683).

The Bulgarian Underground Church

The modern day Pentecost began in Bulgaria in the 1920s as Ukrainian immigrants Zaplishny and Voronaev preached in the Congregational church of Bourgas where several were baptized with the Holy Spirit. In the late 1920s a conservative Pentecostal group emerged and formed the union called the Church of God. After the 1944 Communist Revolution in Bulgaria it continued its existence as an underground organization and was severely persecuted. In 1986, the Bulgarian Church of God joined the Church of God (Cleveland, TN). A national revival followed the fall of the Berlin Wall in which hundreds of thousands of people have been touched by the power of God. Today, the Bulgarian Pentecostal Movement claims over 100,000 members.

However, this was hardly the case through the years of persecution when the Bulgarian Church of God refused to register with the Communist state and remained underground for over 45 years. Recently published archives from that era show that the Bulgarian underground church grew slowly during the Communist regime experiencing virtually constant crises in leadership and structure. At the same time the government aggressively attempted to penetrate and influence the organization of the church in order to revert its growth.

One of the earliest archive documents from that era is a 1974 study which reported that the Bulgarian Church of God had 600 members nationwide. By 1981, the membership had grown to over 2,000 members with congregations in 25 cities. The congregation in the capital Sofia had 100-150 members, but grew to over 200 by the end of 1982. At the same time, the Bulgarian Pentecostal Union (registered with the government and affiliated with the Assemblies of God) had approximately 10,000 members.

A detailed list of churches and members was kept in government archives as the secret service was ordered to watch the underground church closely. The agent’s logs from that time show approximately 1,000 known members. This number is only a fraction of the actual membership, which at large remained underground and hidden from the eyes of the agents.

The pressure from the secret service was not able to stop the growth of the underground church. By 1985, the Bulgarian Church of God had grown to 3,000 members nationwide while doubling the number of congregations to over 50. Two years later this number was 4,000 and continued to grow as the central church in the capital Sofia had 600 members and several churches (like the ones in Rouse and Gabrovo) had congregations over 200. In 1989, the Communist regime collapsed and Bulgaria began its journey on the road of democracy. In 1990, the Bulgarian Church of God received government recognition as an official denomination representing over 5,000 nationwide to become the fastest growing Bulgarian church with over 30,000 members today.

Newsweek: Bulgarian Ski Resorts Trendiest in Eastern Europe

Bulgaria boasts Eastern Europe’s most fashionable resorts, says an article in the January 14 Newsweek magazine issue. The magazine points out the opportunities to spend a holiday at Bulgaria’s top ski resorts like Borovetz and Pamporovo at low prices, which are a fourth of what tourists would pay in France’s or Switzerland’s winter resorts. “There has been a massive increase in the popularity in skiing in Eastern Europe,” says Chris Rand of the Britain-based tour company Balkan Holidays. EUR 150 million have been invested in Borovetz to make it a “modern European resort” with an additional 80 kilometers of family-friendly runs, Newsweek says.

NATO Top Commander Eyes Bulgarian Contenders US Bases

US Airbase to be Built in the Village of Bezmer in the Yambol Region

NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and commander of American troops in Europe, General James Jones, arrived in Bulgaria for a two-day visit to Bulgaria. at the invitation of the Chief of Army Staff, Gen Nikola Kolev. The future stationing of US bases in the Balkan country toped the agenda of General Jones, who visit ed eligible units and sites on the territory of the country, including the firing field at Novo Selo and the air base at Bezmer in the Yambol region.

Bulgaria, Romania and Poland are favorite destinations for hosting US bases. At the end of 2003 Bulgaria’s Parliament expressed support for the future stationing of US bases in the Balkan country. The Black Sea port of Bulgaria, which became a full-fledged NATO member in April last year, has already been used by the US army during the Iraq war.
General Jones last visited Bulgaria a year ago when he highly assessed the reforms in Bulgaria’s army as well as the work of the Balkan country’s military forces participating in NATO peacekeeping missions.

Decommunization.org

Each year Cup & Cross Ministries invests in one significant media project. This tradition was started in 1996 to provide a ministry outreach with comprehensive media coverage. The 2005 project is a website dedicated to the subject of decommunization – a global effort to present archive documentation revealing the destructive effect of communist regimes. For more information, visit the project’s website: www.decommunization.org.

The Year of the Spirit

We live in the 21st century. What was just a dream several years ago is a global reality today.

Unfortunately, as the world wanders in the crossroads of postmodernity, between alternative ideologies and lifestyles, churches are being closed every day. This fact alone signifies that in our search for personal spirituality and excellence for ministry in 2005, we cannot trust world governments, political powers or economical conglomerates. The only One who remains faithful to the Church today is the Spirit of God, and more than ever before in the beginning of the 21st century we must again pray with the cry, “Holy Ghost we need thee …”

This is exactly what we are planning to do as we dedicating 2005 as the Year of the Spirit. We are committed to take only the steps which God directs and we want to participate in the work of other ministries and churches which are willing to do the same. If you are planning a revival, mission campaign, youth rally or other special services we are available. Please feel free to contact us.