Mission Bulgaria Week 18

NEWS – Week 18 – December 17-24, 2001 – Sofia, BULGARIA

Greeting from Bulgaria:

This is Kathryn Barton reporting on behalf of my fiancée, Dony K. Donev and Cup and Cross Ministries International.

What a true joy it has been to be a guest in the Country of Bulgaria. The people are extremely nice and welcome me with open arms.

On Tuesday Dony registered me with the Bulgarian police department with no problems. In Bulgaria this is the only requirement for visitors without a visa and registering has to be done within forty-eight hours of entering the country.

On Wednesday night Dony preached on Revelations chapters 18 and 19 on a lesson entitled “Behold the Bride Cometh”. About 60 people came to the alters for prayer. Then after the service we enjoyed a traditional Christmas pastry desert called banitza, which one of the ladies in church had prepared.

Dony and his family have been introducing me to many different foods. Some are very interesting, but for the most part I have found them to be very good. Most of the meat here in Bulgaria during the winter season is smoked and therefore do not have to be cooked and a meal would not be complete with out bread.

On Saturday we traveled to Pravetz were Dony showed me the town where he went to school and served as a youth pastor for 3 ½ years in the local Church of God. The temperature has risen 10 degrees since I have been here. The snow is beginning to melt and the roads are clearing. So on Sunday, after church we were able to travel to Borovetz. Borovetz is a ski resort about a two-hour drive southeast of Sofia. The resort has hosted tournaments of Alpine World Cup Championship and its biathlon course is among the best in the world.

Service Sunday morning was absolutely wonderful. Dony began the service with his Sunday School Lesson on the Christmas Story and more than 400 Sunday School pamphlets were handed out. Tedy, Dony’s sister, translated for me during the service, but for most of the service no translation was needed. I could see God moving in the lives of about 50 individuals who came to the altars to receive Christ as their personal Savior. Then after the service, Christmas shoeboxes were distributed to all the children present. It was absolutely wonderful to see the Children’s faces as they received their gifts.