The Tour in Shoumen

The weekend of August 27th through the 29th, we were in Shoumen where we held the first services of our www.bibliata.com National Tour 2005 in the local Pentecostal church. We began with a revival service on Friday night followed by four teaching modules on Saturday afternoon which included: (1) an informative introduction of the website, (2) a lecture on paleography, (3) an overview of the history of the Bulgarian Bible and (4) a discussion on the modern revisions of the Bulgarian Bible. The Saturday services targeted the youth and Sunday morning we concluded with the whole congregation ministering from Hebrews chapter 13. The message appeared to be a timely one as everyone came to the alters and many people at the end of the service testified of how the Lord had not left them in the darkest of times.

The Tour in Shoumen

The weekend of August 27th through the 29th, we were in Shoumen where we held the first services of our www.bibliata.com National Tour 2005 in the local Pentecostal church. We began with a revival service on Friday night followed by four teaching modules on Saturday afternoon which included: (1) an informative introduction of the website, (2) a lecture on paleography, (3) an overview of the history of the Bulgarian Bible and (4) a discussion on the modern revisions of the Bulgarian Bible. The Saturday services targeted the youth and Sunday morning we concluded with the whole congregation ministering from Hebrews chapter 13. The message appeared to be a timely one as everyone came to the alters and many people at the end of the service testified of how the Lord had not left them in the darkest of times.

Revival Harvest Campaign 2005

Revival Harvest Campaign 2005 is now in progress. Although we were planning to start in the beginning of September, the Lord has opened a number of doors for ministry right now. In parallel, the agricultural harvest in Bulgaria also opened earlier due to the torrential rains that hit Bulgaria in the past several weeks. The early start of Revival Harvest Campaign 2005 has been confirmed by a prophetic word, “move forward without delay” from one our friends and supporters in the States.

Bulgaria’s New Cabinet

The new executive power in Bulgaria will be inaugurated at a special ceremony on Wednesday morning at the Council of Ministers. The former Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg and his ministers are to “hand down” the power to the new cabinet headed by the new PM Sergey Stanishev. Later in the day each former minister will inaugurate his new successor into the work at the ministries.

The government formed by Bulgaria’s socialists, centrists and ethnic Turks was installed Tuesday. Socialist Party leader Sergey Stanishev, 39, claimed the post of Prime Minister, almost two months after the general elections and one failed attempt to form a government. His nomination was backed by 168 of the 235 lawmakers who voted; 67 opposed Stanishev’s candidacy. Parliament members okayed the structure of the new Cabinet with a 169-67 vote, a total of 236 MPs participated.

The line-up of the Cabinet was approved by 169 lawmakers, while 68 opposed it. The ministerial seats in the cabinet are distributed 8:5:3 among the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the centrist Simeon II National Movement and the predominantly ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms respectively. The new ministers swore in minutes after the vote.

Bibliata.com National Tour: 44 Baptized with the Holy Ghost

We launched the tour on August 13 at the Karandila Pentecostal Youth Camp near Sliven (in Southern Bulgaria). The camp is a historical meeting place for Pentecostal youth that was established before World War II. We participated in the Friday night service where 44 were baptized with the Holy Spirit. Additionally, 20 were baptized with the Holy Spirit at the Black Sea camp the previous week. Unfortunately, we were unable to attend that camp due to our late arrival in Bulgaria at the end of July.

Cultural Diversities

by Kathryn Donev

Upon arriving in a foreign country there are many things to which one will have to adjust. The first and most obvious is the language barrier. Yet, there are many other nonverbal forms of communication as well as common customs associated with everyday living that may seem peculiar when first encountered. The shock for some may be great, but take comfort in the existence of many universal elements that transcend cultures. In many ways, people are very much the same in the midst of their differences. It is possible for such divergences to be overcome one at a time, one day at a time. The following are some of the observations that I, from an American perspective, have experienced during my first ten days of being back in Bulgaria.

1. Even though automobile speedometers appear in kilometers, you should get worried when it surpasses 200.
2. When heading to a specific location you may end up stopping at up to five others before arriving at your final destination. So be prepared to enjoy the journey.
3. It is customary to let a woman with a child cut you in line.
4. Be advised that just because there is a pedestrian crosswalk you should not expect cars to stop for you when entering or much less to slow down if you are already in the crosswalk.
5. The person that is speaking that “funny” language and who is labeled “the foreigner” is now you.
6. You will no longer get ice in your beverage without asking and asking for ice is a sure give-away of your nationality.
7. If you do not manually open the door to the elevator once reaching your designated floor, it will start going back down. The doors are not automatic.
8. When visiting a restaurant, if ketchup is not already present on your table this is a good hint that you will likely have to pay for it.
9. When a cab driver says he will take a “short cut” you probably will end up paying a bit more than if you were to go the “long way.”
10. Energy usage charges vary according to the time of day. Therefore night energy is cheaper than energy used during peak daytime hours.
11. When the expiration date on your food appears as 02/08/05 and it is already July, don’t worry; dates are written with the day first and the month second.
12. Don’t get too excited when the price for diesel reads: 1.67. The price is per liter and if you multiple this number by about 4 you will get the price per gallon. Ouch!
13. When asking for an item at the market and the salesperson nods left to right, don’t leave. They do have what you are asking for. Bulgarians nod opposite than Americans.
14. If the price on a pack of batteries is marked one lev, you should not get carried away and stock up, the price is per battery.
15. When speaking in the native language, people will laugh, but not to worry they are simply surprised and delighted that you have done so.

To Be Continued …

Torrential Rains Hit Bulgaria

Three Bulgarian towns have declared emergency situations over the torrential rains that hit the country over the last 24 hours. The municipalities of Ihtiman, Kostenets and Gorna Malina are still fighting with the nature disaster. More than 1,500 people in Ihtiman have been evacuated because of the rain. The people have been gathered at the local schools and they are being supplied with food and beverages, mayor Margarita Petkova announced. The water in the streets reached 1,80 meters. Two of the nearby dams have been destroyed. Six people with minor injuries have been taken to the Ihtiman hospital. The damages caused by the floods that hit Bulgaria over the last two months are worth EUR 150 M, EU experts announced. About 3,200 people live in the regions, which were hit by heavy rainfalls from May 25th till July 20th this year. The number of the people directly affected by the natural disasters totals 2 million. According to data of the Finance Ministry as of July 25, registered damages amount to BGN 250 M.

Is There Revival in Bulgaria?

This question has been asked time and time again in the past 15 years since the fall of the Berlin wall. However, revival in Bulgaria is not a post-communist element alone. Regardless of the severe persecution of the Communist Regime, the underground church was in a state of nationwide revival and unstoppable growth. Through the testimony and the endurance of the saints, thousands were saved and sanctified. In the larger Pentecostal wing of the underground church, almost 100% were baptized in the Holy Spirit. Although the ruling atheism had proclaimed the death of the church and the communist regime had denied its existence, the Protestant church in Bulgaria was very much alive. Read more