Kostov Prayer Letter – December 2006 - www.kmission.org

Dear Friends,
Grace and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ to you. Here are the reports from our work.

Reports
:: Christmas Youth and Orphan Ministry, Dec. 8-9 ::
We visited the two teams in Plovdiv and their two orphan homes on Saturday, December 8th. All of us, including the boys and Noah, the youngest missionaries on our team, traveled to Plovdiv. Yavor and Poli, from the Vidin team joined us. We had a short Christmas program of two puppet shows, music and small gifts to hand out. Danny and Matty ministered to the orphans with a new level of confidence and anointing. They performed a puppet skit on what it means to be a “King.” Then each one of them played a popular song on the portable keyboard we brought along. They’ve been learning the piano lately and wanted to bless the kids with some music. The time in Plovdiv was also a good connection with the teams we trained this past year. We encouraged them in planning and practicing their ministry ideas before they go to the orphanage to minister. (Please see photos in the links below.)

:: Internet Forum for Youth Workers ::
We started the forum on the web back in March. The internet forum is a place where people from different towns in Bulgaria, who work with orphans, join in to discuss important issues about the ministry. Yavor is the moderator of the discussion. After several tries of different hosting services for the forum we’ve now moved to a better interface and hosting service. Internet in Bulgaria is not as ubiquitous as in the US or other Western countries. It was a challenge to engage the youth workers in a forum discussing issues of the Christian faith and missionary work to orphaned youth. But slowly the forum is picking up speed. We hope that this use of the web will be for a blessing and encouragement of this missionary work in more towns around the nation.

:: Religious Freedom Website – Issues 8 and 9 ::
Our last issue (October) hit a nerve: violence and drugs in Bulgarian schools have raised concerns in society. We offered articles on the homeschooling alternative as the right to freedom of faith of parents and a solution to the collapsed government school system. We have just now published the latest issue on chaplaincy (December) in the army and other institutions. The issue is a hot topic because a friend of ours who registered the Bulgarian chaplaincy Association was called in to the Ministry of Justice. He was told that the issue of chaplains is a matter of “national security” and not just anyone can freely form such associations. Yet one more example of spiritual oppression going on in Bulgaria. We have five excellent articles by different Bulgarian Christian authors who work as chaplains or are theoretically involved in the subject. So far we have not been harassed in any way by the government about the Freedom for All web site but the issues we bring up are surely well-noted.

:: Viktor Participates in a Conference on Religious “Sects” (Nov. 10-12) ::
I was invited to participate in the work of a conference on “New Religious Movements.” In Bulgaria the dominant religion is Eastern Orthodoxy which sees all other Christians as sects and heretics by clergy and lay people alike. This has been changing slightly, however, as Bulgaria tries to join the European Union. The conference showed two interesting trends. One “scientist” from the former “Department of Scientific Atheism”, of the former communist regime, openly stated that now they are not trying to prove that there is no God but to study religions and see how they can dialogue with them. This statement was stunning! These are the same people who were the ideological masterminds of the campaign against evangelical Christians and other religions during the time of communism. This scientist had no shame in stating his affiliation with the past, which shows that the former communist “scientific” cadres feel comfortable, even among the very people whose persecution they had previously organized. The second trend, which is positive, was that the central government is less prone to intervene in evangelical’s internal affairs. They also recognize that no government registration is needed so that believers can meet. This is a step forward since registration was a from of state control over evangelicals in general.

:: Teresa’s Friendship Women’s Ministry ::
The boys drawing teacher “gospozha” (Mrs.) Maria had to undergo serious surgery. Teresa had struck up a friendship with Maria and prayed numerous times for her. Mrs. Maria is greatly touched by the love shown her by her students and Teresa – they wrote her kind cards they made themselves and gave her small gifts. Teresa has several female friendships with non-believers and believers, and her ministry of help and kindness blesses them tremendously. In the harsh and hostile relationships of the Bulgarian culture, these acts are a prophetic show of God’s love.

:: A Good-bye Party with the Saints in Vidin (Dec. 10) ::
Last Sunday we were in Vidin for our orphanage visit and to teach at the Sunday church gathering. In the afternoon we had a good-bye party since we are going to be absent for several months. This was such a rewarding experience for us! The saints were openly sharing how difficult it was for them to hear the challenges I had given them, by teaching from the Scriptures or in a personal message or conversation. They shared how they initially strongly opposed my challenges but that now they are grateful because they knew that it was God who was actually calling them to look deeper into their hearts, not me. (For those of you who know me personally, this confession would make much sense, wouldn’t it?) Yet the words of thanks and recognition of personal growth in the Lord was the biggest reward for us and for me personally. These words were not forced out of these Christians - they spoke freely and honestly as if they did not really come from an oppressed and oppressive cultural upbringing. As Teresa put it: “This meeting could have easily been held in America. Yet these were Bulgarian Christians!” We are glad to be part of this process for these dear saints in the poor and forgotten town of Vidin. Although NW Bulgaria is the poorest area in Europe, we saw that these guys were rich in Jesus Christ and free in His Spirit by making a choice to battle sin and let God take over their lives. It is indeed a rewarding feeling, worthwhile the hours of labor and rejection to see people set free by the Spirit of God. As all said that they’ll miss us, we remain however with all of them in the spirit.

:: Youth Worker Training Seminars (YWTS) in the first six months of 2007 ::
Our work with chosen teams of (orphanage) youth workers will continue in the first six months of the next year. We have disbursed small amounts of support for the two teams in Plovdiv and the one team in Vidin for this six month period. We hope to gather old and new teams sometime in 2007 for a three-day conference and training yet again. Please, pray that we find the funds and the new trainees.

Prayer points
Prayer for Biser :: He became a Christian while living in the Novo Selo orphanage. He started out good but now is struggling with unclean thoughts and deceit. We advised him to find a job, however he continues to turn down job offers left and right (6 to date!) and that prevents God from working in his life. Some of these job offers were found by the church people in Vidin.
Our trip back to the US :: Traveling mercies for going through airport security and checks with a small child.

Photo Links
Christmas ministry parties in Plovdiv – smaller kids
Christmas ministyr in a institutional home for kids with slight mental disorders – Plovdiv
Novo selo ministry

Thank you again and again for your prayers and for being part of the Church of Christ that helps us in our work. Have a good Christmas season, and we are looking forward to seeing some of you in person. God bless!

Visit our website: www.kmission.org. We are grateful to all of you who pray for our work and give generously. The work we do is possible due to the sacrificial giving of God's people. To support us financially, make checks payable and mail to: Door of Hope International S-15, P.O. Box 303, Glendale, CA 91209-9984. To use your credit card or donate via PayPal go to the Support Us web page on our web site. To subscribe to, or unsubscribe from, our e-mail newsletter, write to vikkostov@hotmail.com

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