New Bulgarian Bible Translation Released
January 5, 2008 by Cup&Cross
Filed under Publication
It was a great personal joy and satisfaction to see the results of many years of work come to a reality. On Christmas Day, after a long time of prayer, fasting and translating, we were finally able to release a new Bulgarian translation of the Gospel of John prepared directly and literally from NA 27. It was indeed an indescribable feeling to see the first printed copies being distributed to church bookstores, Bible markets and public libraries as our personal and precious gift for Christmas.
Commentators that were able to review the new translation over the holidays are already calling it a “bold step toward the true meaning of the Bible” and “a revolution in Biblical interpretation.” But for us, it is a fulfillment of a long-lasting dream and the fulfillment of a vision which God has put in our hearts many years ago. After over a decade of studies and preparation, the first fruits of this work is finally an undeniable reality – a text of a new translation which can be put in the hands of people hungry for the Word of God. But this is only the first step, only the beginning of something new which God is doing in Bulgaria in 2008.
2008: The Year of New Things
“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful”
Revelation 21:5
We are approaching 2008 with great anticipation that God is readying us for a new thing, as we are reminded that our spiritual anticipation has been built since 2005 which we called the Year of the Spirit. Then, 2006 followed as Year of Promises and indeed we all saw promises being fulfilled and visions coming to a definite reality. The very beginning of 2007 came as the Year of Breakthrough, and today we can testify of a Divine Breakthrough in both spiritual and material realms.
Now, God is preparing us for something new in 2008. We are anticipating developments in every area of life and ministry. We believe it and we proclaim it . 2008: Something new is about to happen.
The Season for Giving
In cooperation with various local businesses and partnering churches, Cup and Cross Ministries was able to donate several hundred toys during this Christmas season. We want to especially thank Wildwood Wholesale and the Spartanburg Church of God for there contributions.
In a country of plenty we often take for granted the simple things in life such as the small gift under the tree on Christmas morning. But in a foreign country where most families live in economic hardship with the reality of a past of 45 of years persecution, from the communist regime, in which Christmas was strictly forbidden, this small gift is cherished.
Our team on location was able to personally give out these blessings and transform the faces of many during this Christmas Season. We thank all who were able to participate.
Merry Christmas
Website for Church Leaders Released
At the end of 2007, our team in Bulgaria released a new website dedicated to the subject of church leadership. The website incorporates materials, study guides and Bible studies from leading authors like George Barna and John Maxwell. It is a long awaited tool for training of both ministers and laity.
Gospel of John Released for Christmas
December 15, 2007 by Cup&Cross
Filed under Publication
Cup & Cross Ministries has scheduled the release of a new Bulgarian translation of the Gospel of John on Christmas day. The translation was prepared during the past three years from Nestle-Aland (27th ed.) of the Greek New Testament and follows a literal word-for-word methodology. It purposes to provide:
1. A literal translation in the Bulgarian vernacular, which common interlinears are unable to provide.
2. Preservation of the word order from the original text, except where grammatically impossible.
3. Preservation of the Greek grammatical forms, as well as the Hebrew and Aramaic linguistic uniqueness of the text.
4. Preservation of the original parts of speech and verb tenses.
Bulgarian Audio Bible
December 10, 2007 by Cup&Cross
Filed under Publication
The Bulgarian Audio Bible is one of our web ministry projects in progress. We first introduced the Bulgarian Audio Bible in 2003 and since then it has been one of the most popular downloads in the Bulgarian internet space. In the very first month that it was introduced some 3,000 complete copies of the Bulgarian audio New Testament were freely distributed. The whole Bible was recorded in the Bulgarian vernacular in 2003 and became the first Bulgarian Audio Bible ever.
During our National Bible Tour in 2005, we released a new version of the Bulgarian Audio Bible making the product more user-friendly in an online parallel along with four audio versions of the Bible (KJV, Hebrew, Greek and Bulgarian). Since then, over 10,000 copies of the full Bulgarian Audio Bible are being distributed over the internet every month.
In 2006, we released the Bulgarian Audio Bible in a new DVD format. Some 36,000 complete copies were downloaded in the first month of its release making it the most popular Bulgarian software. With this in mind, our internet traffic surpassed ½ petabyte, which equals 500 TB. For comparison, San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) has a 1-petabyte hard disk store attached to the National Science Foundation\’s TeraGrid network.
You can listen to Psalm 23 in Bulgarian here: http://bible.netbg.com/bible/bg/psalms23.mp3.
Ministering at Hamer, SC
It is always a joy to minister across South Carolina and we are thankful that we have had so many opportunities to hold revival and missions services since our return. But it has been years since we have preached in the lower part of the state and it was a real trill to be reacquainted with old friends of ours this week as we ministered in the Dillon/Hamer area.
The Story of Jesus for Children
The Story of Jesus for Children is one of our web ministry projects in progress. We first introduced the film as soon as it was made available in the Bulgarian vernacular in the summer of 2006. Since then, it has generated approximately 3,000 downloads per month in its DivX version. In September, 2007 we introduced its original DVD version which contained translation in Bulgarian, Turkish, Armenian, Russian and Romani (Gipsy) languages. Some 42,000 downloads of its DVD version were completed that month as our internet traffic surpassed ½ petabyte, which equals 500 TB. We are now working toward the release of the DivX version in Turkish and Romani (Gipsy) languages.
The Jesus Film Project Online
The Jesus Film Project in the Bulgarian vernacular is one of our web ministry projects in progress. We first introduced the Bulgarian version of the Jesus Film on the internet in 2006. It was offered in its original DVD form and in another compressed DivX format. To much of our surprise, over 10,000 copies of the film were downloaded in the first three days after it was posted. This number doubled every month that followed, but in September, 2007 it reached its peak of 46,000 downloads. That month our internet traffic surpassed ½ petabyte, which equals 500 TB. For comparison, San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) has a 1-petabyte hard disk store attached to the National Science Foundation\’s TeraGrid network. We give God the glory.
