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.