Mission Maranatha 2001

Excerpts from the testimonies given by Mission Maranatha ministry members, during the annual ministry retreat.

The village of Poliana: “We hold a regular church service in the village. I travel with two to four people approximately 70 km. (45 miles) when we have a car available. When we do not have a car, we take a bus and walk the last three miles to the village. What makes it hard is the fact that because of the financial crises, the busses of the public transportation have certain limits and they are not on a regular schedule.”

The town of Kamenetz: “The mayor of this little town and his wife just recently received Christ. They and two other ladies travel four times a week on their own expenses to the town Yambol where they attend the Bible seminars organized by the local Assemblies of God Church. Although I have recently graduated from the Bulgarian Bible Academy I go along with them to every seminar and support them in their studies.”

The village of Tchukarovo: “This village is at the border with Turkey, approximately 120 km. (45 miles) from Yambol. For the Bulgarian standards, this is very far away (Bulgaria is approximately 450 km. on the long side). There are three military checkpoints through which we pass in order to get there and we need a special permit to travel in this restricted area. Because of the closeness to the border, the population is predominantly Turkish. What makes it even harder to work there is the fact that a great number of underground mafia groups have interests in the area because it is a key point for commercial traveling, There are always kilometric-long lines of eighteen wheelers that are waiting to pass the border both ways.

Last month while having service in the local congregation, our team was disturbed by an armed group of Orthodox nationalistic fundamentals, part of a local gangster cartel. They surrounded the building with their BMW and Mercedes vehicles and ordered us to stop the services and leave. One of them, a representative of the local branch of the Nationalistic Party, threatened to arrest us using the authority of his office. Of course, we refused to obey and continued our service with the Lord protecting us and giving us great strength and wisdom.

After the meeting, one of the men on my team left our team saying that the work had become too challenging for him. Nevertheless, we increased our visits in Tchukarovo to twice a week, and at every second visit we show free of charge the movie Jesus. Last week we were told that the man who initiated the legal and physical action against us was released from his chairman position with a full majority on to independent electoral votes.”

Two new churches were added during the Christmas holidays. The Mission Maranatha team ministers to a total of ten churches in the Yambol area. Their schedule includes almost constant traveling and preaching, as follows:

Monday Total distance traveled: 138 km. (87 miles)

2:00 p.m. Poliana 20-25 people

Tuesday Total distance traveled: 100 km. (60 miles)

2:00 p.m. Kamenetz 20-25 people (plus children’s church)

4:00 p.m. Leyarovo 8-13 people (home church)

Wednesday Total distance traveled: 240 km. (150 miles)

4:00 p.m. Tchukarovo 5-7 people

Thursday Total distance traveled: 122 km. (76 miles)

1:00 p.m. Liulin 10-12 people

4:00 p.m. Bogorovo 10-12 people

Friday Total distance traveled: 138 km. (87 miles)

1:00 p.m. Poliana 20-25 people

Saturday Total distance traveled: 250 km. (156 miles)

9:00 am Borisovo 10-13 people (home church)

12:00 p.m. Saransko 15 people (plus children’s church)

3:00 p.m. Robovo 3-5 people (home church)

6:00 p.m. Tchukarovo 5-7 people (the movie Jesus)

Sunday: Total distance traveled: 140 km. (87 miles)

10:00 a.m. Tchelnik 25 people (Sunday School)

Leyarovo 54 people (Sunday School)

2:00 p.m. Kamentez 20-25 people (children’s church)

Luilin 10-12 people – Double Team Services

6:00 p.m. Tchelnik 25 people (plus children’s church)

Leyarovo 54 people