|
Adventures in Bulgaria 2005
Hot off the PRESS!!
Targovishte
Razgrad - Stanley Hughs
Shumen - William Boehm
Targoviste - John Glass
Veliko Tarnovo
Gorna Oriahovitza - Vassili Khrapov
Strajitza - Juan Sorto
Veliko Tarnovo - Carlos Ancheta
Pazardjik
Kostenetz - Ruben Rivera
Panagyuriste - Ronald Jackson
Pazardjik - Robert Fekete
Septemvri - Robert Evanenko
Velingrad - Abraham Swamidass
Sofia
Sofia Church Exarh Josif - James Fox
Sofia Church Solunska - Charles Byrd
Sofia Student Town - Phillip Byrd
Vidin
Belogradchik - Nathan Skaife
Lom - Robert Henricksen
Vidin - David Moench
"Extra!, Extra! Read all about it!"
Stories of transformation!
they are rolling in!
Seventeen Cities, Seventeen Evangelists, seventeen stories of transformation!
The first story! From Ron Jackson
Maria, short dark hair
 Baptized earlier in life but now found herself after a number of years falling away. She knew that God was with her but also knew that God was calling her back to church.
After some problems in her family and work she now finds
herself with a major medical problem. A brain diease.
Maria attended every meeting . Was always inviting others she
knew to attend.
She always filled out the committment cards and when given the
call for baptism she also responed to the Holy Spirit.
With the desire to get baptized her husband was against it and
threatened her,said he would come to the meeting and tear up the
hall and beat up the preacher. It only made her more determined.
It was not without fear and torment. Come Sabbath morning there
she was with the others.
DeAnn, older lady with white hair
Was always in a relationship with the Lord but was a seeker for
truth. As each meeting ended you could see the joy in her face
of hearing new truth and was under conviction of the Holy
Spirit. She was most eager to be baptized and become a member of
the last day church.
Nacca, man
Raised and baptized in the church but as time passed he found
himself being drawn to the ways of the world and others had a
great influence on him.
He aquired habits that were not healthful to him and after some
time he started having some problems with his heart.-- God used
this to speak to him and the Spirit was convicting him that he
needed to return.
The desire for tobacco was taken from him and each night he came
the truths were being cemented in his heart. He would sit at the
edge of his seat not wanting to miss anything. When the call was
given to be baptized he jumped at the opportunity and looked for
me after the meeting, he did want to wait any longer. A son has
come home.
In Christ
Ron J
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Pastor Bob Fekete
It was my pleasure to meet a young man around
twenty-two years old
his name pronounced in English as Angel. He came to several of my meetings in the Pazardjik Church. As I spoke with Angel after the meetings via my translator I learned that he has been visiting the church for around three years. He was now thinking of baptism, but thought he was not quite ready. He had a problem with his job. He worked for a company that built doors and windows. In the winter time, when the sun set earlier and earlier, he was caught at work during Friday sundown. Angel made his decision to confront his boss, and either get the bosses cooperation or leave that job. Angel helped prepare the baptistry, like a young deacon. On the Sabbath morning of his baptism he literally ran to get into it, when his time for baptism had come. It was my pleasure to apart of this young man’s life in Bulgaria and to see God’s Spirit work upon his heart.
=========================================
Daniela Petrova, mother of two beautiful
children, had studied during four years the Bible with a friend
from the Velico Tarnovo Seventh Day Adventist Church and was
always convinced it was the truth, but no one had ever made her
a direct invitation to follow Jesus in baptism as a public
declaration of her faith in Him as her personal Savior.
====================================================== Green Bay, Wisconsin November, 30 2005
Dear Ric:
I want to thank you for inviting me to Bulgaria, it was a unique experience. People were very friendly and I made good friends. I was very happy with my attendance of visitors and church members specially on weekends we had about 120 total each night. As you see the pictures. The first 3 pictures were taken at my evangelist site, the rest at the church last Sabbath. I will send you more pictures on a cd.
This happen last Sabbath morning at Stratgiza church where we had the final baptism. As you know Carlos Ancheta and Vassily where part of my group. Pastor Pabel work with Carlos and his translator was Beny, Vassily work with Pastor Nicolai and his translator was Poly, I work with pastor Christian and my translator was pastor Milene. You can identifid them at the pictures. We had a total of 8 baptism, 2 from Carlos, 1 from Vassily and 5 from my site. You can see the 5 of them with me in the last picture. I personally left 16 people who wanted to be baptized in the near future. As you know our big challenge was to baptize new people, but I pray that the Union will give them follow up.
As you know I promise Stratgiza church to rise money for a lap top and a video projector, I working with my local churches to help me with this project. I would like to rise the amount of $2000 dollar for them. I appreciate what you did in Bulgaria on this matter, but if you know more ways of how to help this people let me know. God bless you in your ministry and I pray that God will keep using you as a chanel to bless other pastors and lay people.
Sincerely your brother in Christ
Pastor Juan R. Sorto
A message from Pastor Ric Swaningson How about it will you help Juan?? God Bless
=============================================================================
By Pastor John Glass UNfortunately, all my photos
are on my aging laptop which is acting as though it has just
retired. As quickly as I can convince it to rejoin the land of the
living I'll email you a few photos from Bulgaria. For now, though,
let me send you this written report (from our new Mac). Bulgaria is a mountainous country that is just plain beautiful;
so are the people. Following orientation in Sophia we rode for
something like 5 hours in a private car to a place I'd never heard
of before: Targovishte (tar-GO-vish-tay). On the way my wife, Teresa, and I
began getting acquainted with our translator, Kremmen Krustuff
(sp?), a highly educated gentleman who was a major delight to us
during our days in Bulgaria. We stayed in a room in an actual
functioning sanitarium about 7 km west of town and walked in every
day it wasn't raining. Walking beside the main road between Sophia
and the Black Sea meant a lot of traffic passed us every day,
including the newest luxury BMWs and Benzes, monster tri-axle semis
and buses, scads of subcompact Ladas, Peugeots, and VWs, and the
traditional horse-drawn carts, dilapidated bicycles and pedestrians
who at first looked down as we passed. Communism left some horrible
scars on Bulgaria and its people, including fear and suspicion.
Within a few days, however, people began to respond and smilingly
wave as we passed. Irrepressible caring can crack most any facade
and reach the heart. Our meetings were held in the assembly hall in the town youth
center. There was hardly any parking space for cars and we wondered
about this until we learned that most everyone either walks or takes
the bus or taxi. For instance, one of our dear church members walks
8 km to work in an outdoor kiosk all day, then walks 8 km home each
evening. She was a loyal supporter of the meetings. We enjoyed mingling with the people before and after each meeting
(in between the ping pong tables in the entry way), and the building
superintendent commented that in his opinion our meetings were a
success because all of us were out where the people were. Following the preliminaries, Teresa (R.R.T.) gave the health
presentations following which everyone applauded. They needed them:
everyone in Bulgaria walks around with a cell phone in one hand and
a lit cigarette in the other. Between tobacco and the poor quality
of air in town a bumper crop of respiratory problems is on the way.
I gave the doctrinal presentations and within a few nights, whenever
I made any kind of appeal audience response was almost 100%, whether
it was raising the hand, standing, or coming forward. When I asked
them to fill out an information sheet many people did not return.
This was due to my lack of understanding the fear Bulgarians have of
this sort of thing. Following my presentation on Daniel 2 one of our guests
challenged me with (according to my translator), "You westerners!
You always look at things through western eyes. Ten tribes?! Rome
broke up into more than 120 tribes!" I replied that I would have to
take another look at it. I instantly liked this particular guest. My
translator told me that he had been an officer in the army in the
former regime. His name was Evon (a form of John) and because of some of the
things he had done in the past he felt unworthy. He attended the
Sabbath morning service at the church, which delighted me, but
UNfortunately he had sort of already worn out his welcome at church
because of his abrasive way of challenging on some things. One
member said that if Jesus chose to save Evon it would be all right
with him in spite of Evon being the way he is, because eternity is
such a large place that Evon could be at one end and he would stay
at the other. :) As the meetings proceeded I carefully watched this former
Communist writing down every text that was on the screen. The night
I asked people to lift their hands to heaven and give all their sins
to Jesus and then stand, Evon raised his hands and stood! I wanted
to cry and sing at the same time. I'm still not sure how you can
fall in love with someone so quickly, but I absolutely love Evon and
want to spend eternity with him. He can live next door and it will
be a pleasure. Attendance averaged between 50 and 100 with about 20 guests each
evening. At the time of the closing meeting 10 guests had signed up
to take Bible studies to prepare for baptism - including Evon! I
commissioned the son of the first elder to particularly befriend
Evon and shepherd him through the process of becoming part of the
church. We were able to purchase meals from the wife of the pastor and so
enjoyed being a part of their home and family twice each day.
Everything tasted so good. The best taste, though, was the sweet fellowship with some
wonderful fellow believers in a beautiful country. There were a lot
of tears flowing as we left. Truly the Gospel cuts across all
barriers. Why did we go? It was something Jesus wanted us to. Had we done something like this before? Not really. Teresa and I found the website information provided by
Global-evangelism and the materials they and the Quiet Hour provided
to be most helpful. We believe anyone who wishes to will be able to
do meetings just like we did. Why not? An experience in love awaits! Forgot this. A lot did happen last month. :) Teresa brought with us to Bulgaria a very large duffle bag
crammed full of school supplies. She told our pastor and interpreter
that she wanted to go to a school to distribute the things. They
arranged for us to visit a school for the deaf that is located in
Targovishte (one of only 3 schools like this in Bulgaria). When we
arrived the headmaster was waiting - as was a film crew from the local cable TV channel! We were treated like VIPs. The students put on a full program for
us and afterwards mobbed Teresa for the items (glue sticks, pens,
pencils, et. al.). We toured the school and then spent an hour with
the headmaster as he shared with us the history and program of the
school. It goes back to something like 900 A.D. to St. John of Lila.
We were (are) very impressed with the school and its students. The cable TV report that was aired was very positive toward us
and our faith and meetings. Further media coverage was a reporter
from one of the radio stations showing up to interview me and a
number of our regular attenders. She saved the "loaded" question
until near the end. When she asked it I replied that I had found
Bulgaria beautiful, the Bulgarian people wonderful, and that I
wasn't sure I understood what she was asking me. She smiled and
ended the interview. I later learned the reason for her coming was
an attempt to discredit our meetings. The reporter received
favorable reviews by our attenders, so she stayed for the meeting
that evening. She was so impressed herself that when the report was
aired it was completely favorable to our faith. The radio report generated articles in two local newspapers (one
on the front page), both of which were positive. When I read the
translation of the articles I had to smile at the way they were
written: they were designed to uplift the school and its program,
not us. I appreciated them. Later I was told that the population around
Targovishte is 50% Muslim. What they wrote in each article was as
informative and supportive as possible, without generating a
groundswell of opposition from this sector of the populace. I
believe most everyone in town was aware of our presence and
meetings. John Glass
========================================================================================================== By Phillip Byrd Hello Again Family and Friends, It is good to write to you all again. So much has happened since I wrote to you all last I don't know where to start. Suffice it to say that the rest of our tour in Israel went well and we were all blessed by our experiences there. It was very interesting being in the presence of so many pastors for such a long time. With so many spiritually minded people together there was much appreciation for the spiritual experiences we had. A few of these were: spending a few minutes of silence in the Garden of Gethsemane considering what happened there, singing in the dungeon of the house of Caiaphas, and stepping into the garden tomb and picturing in our minds the angels saying, "He isn't here, He is RISEN!" We all carry with us many special memories that there is no time to recite but it was a very special experience. Upon the close of our tour in Israel 17 pastors along with several team members flew from Tel Aviv to Sofia to begin the two days of orientation and prep for the biggest reason we went overseas... Evangelism. As you can imagine we were already fairly tired out from the first week and a half of our trip but we were receiving Holy energy from the Holy Spirit as we arranged the last minute details for our first night of meetings. We were all duly excited to see what kind of turn out we would have on the first night. (I will have to send this report to multiple people so this was the introduction to you, my friends and family, and I will use the following for my official report. I know it's generic but please email me if you'd like to hear more personal details.) Friday, November 4 we (Myself, Pastor Ric Swaningson - The Wisconsin Conference Evangelist, and a fine young man named Kurtis Lamb who assisted with the technical side of things) started our Global Evangelism /Adventures in Prophecy series in Sofia, Bulgaria. We were located in a meeting hall at a university portion of town called Student Town. Thanks to the funds of donors like you who donated personally and through the Quiet Hour we were able to launch our meetings there in Sofia. Originally it was intended that I would be assisting my father in the meetings he was holding in another location of Sofia but through Pastor Ric Swaningson the Lord called me to preach my own series. Pst. Ric asked me to join him in Sofia for a church plant that the local Adventist Church was interested in spawning. I was very excited about this kind of work because it would be with younger people and I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen. I only knew what I was supposed to do. Preach! That’s the way I like it when it comes to ministry. As a Byrd I like to WING it most of the time and this was definitely one of those times when it was necessary. An average weekday usually went something like this. First thing in the morning after breakfast the three evangelism teams in Sofia would meet and discuss how things were going and encourage one another. Then we would have some time to look around the city a little or just relax from the night before. Then about one o’clock it was time to start rehearsing the sermon for that night. Around 3 or 4 our translator would show up and we’d rehearse together. (Often throughout the series Pst. Ric would tour around Bulgaria to the different sites to support the pastors there. I was the main speaker for 14 out of 17 nights so I was very thankful to have the local pastor helping us out. He, his family, and our translator went the extra mile day after day to make us comfortable, welcome, and more than taken care of. Our team was very grateful for their sacrifice and for the Spirit of Christ that they demonstrated toward us and the guests who came.) Carrying on with the day we then would go to the meeting hall. For a portion of the meetings there was a health expo put on by the youth and volunteers from the local church. This was held in the large foyer just prior to the meetings to increase interest in attending the meetings as well. We were mildly disappointed to see that most who came to the health expo did not stay on for the meeting, however, we were all pleased to see 30 or more people coming to the expo every night. This will increase awareness in this area and in a city of over a million people awareness is vital to the success of a church plant. Finally, to close our days we would have supper with the local pastor’s family. They were so hospitable to have us in their home so many nights in a row during such a busy time. A regular Sabbath was not much different than what you may experience in the States. Pst. Ric would speak for church and then there would be pot luck. Then in the afternoon we would visit other evangelism sites or go for a hike. Naps were always cherished like gold when one had a half an hour here or there. Then there would be the regular evening meeting and supper with the pastor. I’d like to share just a couple stories of interest that made our time there special. For well over a thousand years the Bulgarian people have been oppressed. All through history we always see them under some greater powers thumb. And now, just since 1989, they’ve been liberated. However, while oppression and communism is out of the state, their effects linger on in the people's hearts. Often communists would try to be baptized into the church to so they could spy. The church would have to question baptismal candidates in front of the board to root these spies out. It was a survival technique. Now it has become tradition and is no longer necessary nor Biblical under the current circumstances. All the evangelists were speaking out against this. This often became very tense and it was clear that the devil was making a strong effort to suffocate the church in Bulgaria and create animosity between brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. However, through fervent prayer and seeking for the character of Christ, unity was maintained as the message was made clear that this was not a Biblical practice. One of the finest examples of this is when I heard Pst. Ric address the conference leaders and the pastors of Sofia. They had gathered for a pastors meeting and had asked Pst. Ric to speak. Pst. Ric had definitely felt strongly about what was going on and the Lord has blessed him with the gift of bluntness. I thought about all the things that he could have said and possibly wanted to say. But it was almost as if the Holy Spirit had descended upon his lips and given him every word that he was saying. It touched my heart so profoundly that I think it was one of the most Spirit filled appeals I’ve heard in my whole life. I could almost picture Jesus standing in front of all those pastors and leaders and saying the very same words. It moved me to know that this man of blunt straight forward talk, who could have shaken a finger at them verbally and called it righteous indignation, was gently appealing to their desire for Christlikeness. The results were clear. Afterward, the conference leaders gathered and made a commitment to leave tradition behind and continue to walk in truth and in the way that Christ would have them lead in this area. It will take a long time for new traditions to be made, let alone accepted, but a large rock has been thrown in the pond and big changes are taking place. The other story I’d like to share pertains to our baptisms. Although we had only two baptisms from our meetings in Student Town we were very excited because more than 5 showed interest in being baptized but needed further study and acquaintence. Before we had even started the meetings there we knew that these meetings were going to be a seed planting time. Therefore, we weren’t expecting as many baptisms as we would have in other churches that were already established and had completed lots of pre-work. So the baptisms we did have we were very thankful for. The two that were baptized were young men who had been attending the church for awhile. Although they had made it known that they wanted to be baptized, the meetings inspired them even more to be baptized. Their names were Dany and Vlado and they were body builders. When they first walked into our meetings I thought our guardian angels had arrived because they are so big and strong. But it seems that some of the biggest men have the kindest hearts and that’s the way it was with Vlado and Dany. It was clear by the look in their eyes and the joy on their faces that they loved the Lord and wanted to go all the way with Him. Not only did it show on their faces but also in their action. It was special to see them getting involved even before they were baptized. They were major players in making the health expo happen. Although I did not have the privilege to baptize them myself, it was very special to know that the Lord had worked inspite of my week human lips and encouraged them to go all the way with Jesus. I’m still writing Vlado and we’ve become friends over a short period of time. But, I long for the day when we can sing together before the throne of God and fully understand each other’s language because we will be like Him; speaking the same language. May that day come soon. Because of the nature of these specific meetings we do not have many stories of lives being completely transformed but we know that the Lord left a great influence there and touched hearts that will soon be saved for the Kingdom. We (the evangelists and lay workers) all sensed that the work in Bulgaria was on the brink of an explosion. When the church will only throw open it’s doors to the Holy Spirit and to new members then there will be a harvest almost too great to receive. The key word there is ‘almost’ because nothing is too hard for God; but it will certainly be a vast harvest. May that day come soon so that we can all go HOME! Well I know that this is probably the longest update that I've sent out yet but I trust that it was informative and was a blessing to you. Feel free to write back and ask questions. We are finally catching up on sleep and almost catching up on all the work to be done but we have a warmth in our hearts knowing that the Lord has used us for His work. May His name be glorified for using sinners such as I to complete His righteous work. May God bless you and your loved one's with His Holy Spirit that you may experience Him working through you each and every day until He returns. Thanking you for all your prayers and support, Philip Byrd
=================================================================================
By Bill Boehm Bulgaria Trip 2005 thoughts: The meetings in Shumen were a great success in my mind. There were no baptisms during it but 5 people wanted to be baptized and three more wanted to enter by profession of faith. The local pastor felt that more time was needed before any baptisms would take place. I told him that my local Portage, Wisconsin church would like to help his Shumen church and that for anyone new that would join his church as a result of these meetings during the next year we would send $50 over. Just let me know. He said, “I guess we will have to get busy.” Amen. At three different times during the two-week meetings, the church leadership suggested that my translator be replaced as she stumbled on some words but I felt strongly impressed that she was the one to help me. I believed that this work was a great blessing to her and her husband. On the last night he said to me, “Thank you for what you have done to my wife. She is alive again.” And I continue to pray for Tsvetelina. You did a great job. Thanks. Most of the time there was about 30 to 35 people coming each night with about half of them non-church members. Almost every night someone new would come and someone else would stop coming. I was told that very little preparation for the meetings had been done plus the boxes containing soap, toothpaste, etc that had been sent over quite a while before the meetings were to begin did not arrive in Shumen until the meetings were half over. Also only half of them ever got thru customs and to the churches. We ended up giving them out to the people that came on the last night. The hall was great being a nice size and right in the middle of town. Also it was only about three blocks from the pastor’s house. The pastor’s wife served tea and cookies after each meeting, which worked great as a time to mingle with the guests. However the hall was rented for only 2 hours and we had to be out at 8 o’clock so as it got close I told the local pastor and my translator to keep mingling and I would go pack up. One night we gave out soap bars to remind the folks that it was the Blood of Christ that cleansed them and that the Law was only a mirror to let them know of their great need. On the night that the Sabbath message was preached we gave them cake after the message. But toward the end of the sermon I took a piece of cake right in front of them and ate it, letting them know how good it was. Inviting them to taste for themselves the blessings of the Sabbath. They loved both object lessons. On the first two nights I was sick so the Pastor here gave the sermons using the powerpoint presentations. Sabbath morning he spoke on another subject so that put us one night behind. Rob told me to leave out the sermon on tithe so I did. All week then I was feeling good and the meetings went well or at least that is what my translator told me. The folks are very serious faced so for the first few meetings it was hard to tell. Friday night I was again not feeling well but spoke anyway and asked the folks to pray for me. That night the subject was on the Sabbath and that night my translator stumbled much more than other nights. A young women came that night for the first time and some near her were afraid that this was her first visit. Afterwards she stated to the pastor that she had looking for someone to give her answers and finally she found them. Praise the Lord. The next morning at Church there was a visitor (woman about 60) in church that had not been to any of the meetings but had visited the church before several times. After church she asked my translator who that man was, pointing toward me. The translator told her that I was the American that was having the meetings. She stated that she had had a dream that last night and saw me with the pictures on the wall behind me. She met me then and told me the story and promised she would come that night. I had her come up at the end of that night’s sermon and give her story. She asked me why God had done this for her and I stated that this is how much God loves each one of us. He will do anything He can to draw us to Him. If He gave His son for us what else will He withhold? When I made a call for ones to come forward that would decide for baptism she came up plus another young lady. This young lady (Radostina) had just seen by "accident" her friend, the translator, as we were walking to the meeting hall. She had asked what she was doing and was told to come and see. She came and made a decision for Baptism. A third lady came up to us after the meeting was over and told us that she wanted to come forward but didn't. Pastor and I spent some time talking to all three. One Evangelical Pentecostal visitor (George) told me on the night that I spoke on hell that I was preaching just like Karl Marx now because he knew that hell was in the center of the earth and was burning right now. I told him to go over the scriptures in his Bible, as each night we handed out a sheet giving the Bible texts that we had used that night. At this point my translator stopped translating and just spoke back and forth with him. I felt that this was not all bad as it gave her the opportunity to share her faith. So I just stood by not knowing until later what was said. On the night that the topic was on the Holy Spirit and tongues, this man came up to me at the end and said, “I have heard many sermons on this topic and this is the clearest that it has ever been presented. My church is pressuring me to speak in tongues as I have been in my church for many years but I have not had clear guidance on this before. Alleluia!” There was only that one subject (on hell) that he did not come up to me after each meeting and say alleluia. At the beginning of the series the people sat quiet and a little stern looking but as night after night went by they warmed up considerably. On the last Friday night I mentioned that the next night would be the last meeting and that I would speak on the topic of heaven. But Sabbath morning I felt strongly impressed that I should speak on the mark of the beast. During the series we had given the first angel’s message but not the second or the third. That last night I told the audience of 50 (again half non SDA’s) that I believed that God was impressing me to change my subject. That the last sermon of Noah could have been about many things but I believed that it was, “Get in the Ark!” The topic was longer than any other but after it was finished many came to me and expressed very warm appreciation for all the topics but especially the change of topics that night. This included at least two people that came for the first time that night. May God be glorified. Two things that I would do different next time are: I would insist on much more visiting of people in their homes and second I would take along a song leader. The local church had none and I feel this was a loss. We did not give the health talks as the local people felt that the material was too simple. I did not feel this hampered us much. The ride home from Chicago was 6 hours long instead of 3.5. I had not seen my wife for 31 days now and this was the longest we had ever been separated since we were married 33 years ago. Heavy traffic made our driver 1 hour late in picking us up and it was also a slow ride getting home. On the way one woman said to me that I could take her home as it was only 1 hour out of my way and what was the rush getting home to our spouses anyway, she might just slip in the door and take a nap before telling her husband that she was home. I tried to explain to her that I was sure my wife was as anxious to see me as I was to see her and that she had probably prepared a wonderful meal for me with just the food that she knew I loved and she would have a nice warm fire in the house going and besides I wanted to hold her and tell her stories about all the people I had met and how they had given their hearts to Jesus. I wanted to go home, don’t sidetrack me. Thankfully a single man offered to give her a ride home. When we stopped at Janesville to let off one of our riders three people went into a restaurant. The rest of us in the van believed that they would just go in quickly to the bathrooms and come back out but as I looked they were ordering food and standing around and eating in there. One of them had said as he walked toward the restaurant, “You guys won’t mind, we’ll be back in about 35 minutes.” I knew that he was kidding, as he is that kind of guy. But he wasn’t. What were they doing? We were just 45 minutes from the conference office where we all would go our separate ways and then they could take as long as they wanted at any restaurant. And I could go home. We had just had an open discussion about the above side trip. What were they thinking, I thought. I went into the restaurant and said as nicely as I could at that moment, “Get in the van!” And the parallel hit me that this is just the way many in the church feel about Jesus return. “What’s the big deal? What’s the hurry?” And I want to yell, “Get in the van!” The next day was Thanksgiving Day and as I sat down to a great meal that my wife had prepared tears came to my eyes. I thought of all the new friends that I had made in Bulgaria and I wished that they lived just next door so I could call them up and say, “We have plenty of food, come on over and join us in this feast. Sit here right next to me. I want you to meet my wife, she is what makes my heart keep beating.” And they would come and we would feast together forever. Even now I can hardly type this up for the tears that come. I think of all that Christ has prepared and how He longs to rescue His children. And I want to yell, “Get in the van!”
Bill Boehm
=======================================================
By Stanley Hughes
Dear Pas. Ric:
Christian greetings in the blessed name of our Lord Jesus
Christ! What an awesome privilege it was to be on the battle
field for our Lord. It was the most thrilling experience of my
entire life; indeed, the best two weeks in November I ever had.
It was so amazing, so tremendous, so faith building and
affirming to see Heaven in operation at all levels in the work
of saving people, of transforming lives, of giving hope and a
future. From the way the Lord moved in getting me to the city of
Razgrad, the doors He graciously opened, you asking me to be a
speaker, the number of provisions He made, the people He
inspired to assist me, and most of all the precious people of
the Lord I met in Bulgaria, people who love Jesus and desire to
serve Him come what may, were evidences of His presence. What a
blessing!
My part was so small. >From the beginning, I understood that I
simply was my Lord’s delivery boy. I delivered His messages of
divine love and life, hope and healing, faith and forgiveness,
and mercy and grace. To go on an errand for God, Wow!
One had to be there to fully appreciate the ingenuity, miracles,
and the greatness of our Creator and Savior in doing what He
takes ecstatic, spontaneous delight in. It is undeniably beyond
my mere human words to describe. So I share in picture form
highlights of what Jesus did.
============================================================================== DATE: October 31, 2005 TIME: 7:15 am PLACE: Bismarck Municipal Airport Bismarck, North Dakota DESTINATION: Bulgaria PURPOSE: Spread God’s message to the world SERMON: Bob HEALTH MESSAGE: Jessica CHILDREN’S PROGRAM: Charlene
After a calamity in the main lobby of the airport, when a suitcase burst open from being overloaded, Bob, Charlene and Jessica Evanenko departed on an adventure of a lifetime, arriving in Sofia, Bulgaria 23 hours 6 minutes and 43 seconds after departure.
Not knowing what to expect, never having been on such an adventure before, we were greeted in the lobby by someone holding a sign that simply said: EVANENKO. So at least we knew we were in the right place!
From there we were taken to a hotel where we stayed for the next two days. During that time we met the pastor of the church we would be going to and received an orientation about what to expect and do during the time we would be there.
Following this we departed to Pazardjik, a city of 80,000 where we would be staying for the next 19 days.
Talk about a “Culture Shock” when we arrived! On the way to the apartment we would be staying at we encountered many horses and wagons sharing the streets with the cars. Each morning we were woke by the sound of horse hooves trotting past our window. When we looked out we would see a man taking his goat for a walk every day and they would stop for a few minutes right outside our balcony where the goat would eat the grass under our tree.
After our morning worship we would take a stroll to the gypsy marketplace where, despite the language barrier, we became fast friends with many of the merchants.
After a few days of being in Bulgaria we went to Plovdiv where we walked on cobblestone streets that the Roman chariots used to drive on. We also visited a coliseum and saw where many Christians were thrown to the lions because they refused to give up their belief in God. We were glad we didn’t have to worry about that happening to us!
But, we must remember the main reason we came to Bulgaria was to tell others about Jesus. We were assigned to a city called Septemvri.
Septemvri has a population of 10,000 and our meetings were held in an old movie theater on the edge of town. The SDA church is just a few blocks from there but didn’t have enough room to hold everyone that wanted to come. We were amazed by the response received. The people continued to come night after night. Most didn’t have transportation but they were so hungry to hear God’s message that many walked a long distance to come to the meetings.
Despite having problems with the visuals the first 2 meetings, people continued to come, more and more each night. The goal for our meetings was 120. But, we learned to never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit as the numbers continually grew, night after night. Before long there were 160 to 180 adults attending each night with well over 200 at our final meeting.
As you know there is always someone who sticks out in your mind because of something special they did. We had such a person attending our meetings. An elderly lady, who lived in a village several miles away, was always among the first to arrive. And, each night she would have 3 large bouquets of flowers in her arms when she came in and would give one to my interpreter, one to Jessica and the other to me. I was told she sold flowers to make a living but never missed a meeting and not a night went by that she didn’t bring us fresh flowers. One night she even gave us a large bag of fruit that she had grown herself and it was some of the sweetest we had ever tasted!
In general, the people we met were overwhelmingly friendly. They were very generous to us and made us feel right at home. The opening night of the meetings we were given what we were told was the traditional Bulgarian welcome. They had us come on the stage where they presented us with a special loaf of bread. We broke off a piece of the bread, dipped it in salt and ate it.
Church service on Sabbath morning was the same way. There were enough chairs to seat 80 people in the church with an average attendance of 40 to 50. The second Sabbath we were there every chair was occupied and the last Sabbath some even had to stand as there was not enough room for everyone to sit. One of the members of the church told me that over half of those in attendance were visitors.
The children would meet in a tiny room in the Pastor’s house for their Sabbath School class with 20 in attendance on an average Sabbath. But, while we were there 30 to 40 children were there each week.
Besides the overwhelming response from the adults the children amazed us even more. Before leaving the United States we had done some research and talked to some evangelists that had been overseas before. We were told to expect that 10 to 15 % of the adult attendance would be children. After hearing this Charlene planned for 12 to 15 to attend. We than began to pray for 18 and knew that 20 would be a miracle!! But that’s NOT what happened. On opening night 8 children were in attendance so we prayed harder. And God rewarded us with 30 the second evening. But, God was not done with His surprises – the following night 53 children were there!! And they all kept coming back, night after night. We topped off with 56 children in attendance. The children were so hungry for God’s message that when we would arrive at the building at 5 PM many of them would already be lined up waiting for us.
Jessica and her mother were kept very busy due to the response of these young people. Even though an interpreter was not provided for Charlene and Jessica, the pastor’s son, who could speak some English, would help out when he could. During the times that there was no one to interpret the children would still enjoy learning the songs they were being taught and doing the many craft projects that Charlene had brought along. Laurie Foerderer from our local church in Bismarck had put together a large assortment of crafts and sent them with us to use. The children were fascinated by all the things they learned to do and we are eternally grateful for her help. Thank you Laurie.
Besides the responses from the people in the city we were in, we were informed about another group of people in a village approximately 9 miles away. There were 20 people in this village that met for church every Sabbath in someone’s house and they wanted to attend the meetings I was having. The problem was that their only mode of transportation was horses and carts and they didn’t want to go out on the highway at night so they had no way to come to the meetings. To alleviate this problem I went to their village on Sabbath afternoon and gave a presentation to them. They were so happy we came that they even sang a special song to us. The response and smiles we received from them was well worth the effort!!
At 3 different times, during the meetings, we had a baptismal call and approximately 30 people came forward to answer the call during the first two. On the night of the last meeting, when the last call was given, over 50 people responded. These people did not get baptized during the time I was there, but will begin taking Bible studies and attending church and will get baptized in the future when their studies are completed.
The last Sabbath we had a baptism in which I baptized 8 individuals. These included 2 brothers with their wives. Praise the Lord!! During baptisms the children in the congregation come up and sat at the edge of the baptismal where they observe what is taking place.
We had the experience of a lifetime and look forward to having an opportunity to do this again. And, we would especially like to thank everyone who was instrumental in helping make this possible. Plus, a very special thanks to those that gave us financial help.
May God continue to bless each and every one of you.
Thanks Again, Bob, Charlene & Jessica Evanenko
More From: This just in!! 01/30/2006 The Evanenko's!
Here's another article I would like to add on the Bulgarian Evangelistic trip we just took. This was written by Berneice Lunday, the Communication Secretary for the Bismarck SDA Church in Bismarck, ND I'm also sending some pictures in a separate email Thanks again for the opportunity you gave us to go!!
Not many teenagers would probably consider it exciting to go on a mission trip with their parents. However, Jessica Evanenko, Bob & Charlene’s 19 year old daughter from Baldwin, North Dakota does. Jessica recently returned from the village of Septemvri, Bulgaria (population 10,000) where she helped her mother and father conduct an evangelistic crusade for the Seventh Day Adventist Church. The meetings were held in an old movie theater as the church was too small for the number of people they were expecting. Her job was to give a short health lecture before the main meeting where her dad would tell the people about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then, after her talk she would go help her mother work with the children in a different section of the building. When asked if there was a communication problem she stated, “My father was provided with an interpreter but we had to make do on our own. However, most of the time, Krasi, the 22 year-old son of the Adventist pastor in Septemvri, who had a good grasp of the English language, would come and interpret for us.” She said they spent a lot of the time teaching the children some songs in English. Jessica laughed as she remembered the children’s favorite song, ‘I Just Want To Be A Sheep.’ It goes, she said, “I just want to be a sheep. Baa, baa, baa. I praise the Lord my soul to keep. Baa, baa, baa.” She told how the children would put their hands up to the side of their heads to make it appear they had sheep ears and wave their fingers in the air whenever they wanted to sing the song. In addition to the singing, she also ministered with her mother through puppet shows and various craft activities they had brought from America with them. When asked where they got the stuff from she said that her grandmother had made the puppets and Laurie Foerderer, the kindergarten and Vacation Bible School leader for the Bismarck Seventh Day Adventist Church had donated all the crafts and materials for the projects. Jessica said they were very surprised by the number of children who would attend each night. She said they would arrive at 5:00 PM each night and many of them would already be lined up waiting for the door to open. When asked how many they had in attendance she chuckled and said, “We were told to expect 15 to 18 children each night, but we were astonished as we averaged 50 in attendance each night, topping out with 56.” When I asked Bob how his meetings had gone he told me about how hungry the people were to learn about God. He said he was expecting 120 to attend but the average attendance was 160 – 180 with over 200 present on the final night. He stated what really amazed him was that the people would walk all the way across town to attend as most of them didn’t have a car. He said, “Many nights the heaters in the building didn’t work but that didn’t stop the people from coming as they would just sit on the seats bundled up in their coats and listen to the message.” He also talked about another group of people who lived in a smaller village seven miles away that wanted to attend the meetings but couldn’t because their only mode of transportation was by horse and wagon and it was too dangerous to come out on the highway at night so one Sabbath afternoon Bob went to their village to give them a presentation. When asked about their total experience, Jessica said, “Talk about culture shock! Each morning we awoke to the sound of horse hooves trotting past our window. (Horses and wagons shared the streets with cars.) Then, each day, at about 1:00 in the afternoon this man would take his goat for a walk and would stop right outside our balcony where the goat would eat the grass under our tree while the man would rest on a rock. After about 15 minutes the man would get up, tug on the leash he had on the goat, and they would proceed down the sidewalk.” Each afternoon she said they would walk downtown where there was a gypsy marketplace and they became fast friends with many of the merchants despite the language barrier. She said they also went sightseeing to a city called Plovdiv where they walked on the same cobblestone streets where Roman chariots used to drive. She also told about visiting a coliseum and saw where many Christians, years ago, were thrown to the lions because they refused to give up their belief in God. The Evanenko’s said they were grateful they didn’t have to worry about that happening to them! Although they did have some time for sightseeing, Bob said they kept the main purpose of their mission to Bulgaria uppermost in their minds – the mission of telling others about Jesus. When there he conducted a baptism in which 8 people were baptized. There were also over 50 others who came forward when asked to give their hearts to Jesus. These people are now in the process of taking Bible studies and attending the local church as they are looking forward to baptism in the near future. Charlene also told me how overwhelmingly hospitable the people were. She told how, on the first night, they were called on the stage and presented with a special loaf of bread. After receiving the bread she said they were told to break a piece off, dip it in salt and eat it and were therefore officially welcomed to Bulgaria. Bob also talked about an elderly lady who was always one of the first to arrive each night. He said how, even though she didn’t have much money, she would bring 3 huge bouquets of flowers and give one to Bob, one to his interpreter and one to Jessica. And she did this each night of the meetings never missing one. When asked how they got involved in this Bob, who is an elder in the local Bismarck SDA church, told how they went to the Wisconsin Seventh Day Adventist Campmeeting in 2004 where he attended an evangelism workshop conducted by Pastor Ric Swaningson, director of Adventures in Prophecy from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Following this, Pastor Swaningson invited Bob to come to Green Bay, Wisconsin that fall for further training during an evangelistic crusade he was conducting. Shortly after this event Pastor Swaningson invited Bob to go to Bulgaria with them and so the plans were laid for this event. Jessica, a 2005 graduate of Dakota Adventist Academy had done some local evangelism in the past. As a member of the senior class she helped conduct evangelistic meetings at the Bismarck Civic Center in 2005 and she also wrote several sermons which she preached in several churches throughout the Dakotas. She also had done charitable work in the community. Today Jessica still keeps busy by volunteering in the Bismarck Seventh Day Adventist Church kindergarten department.
If you should happen to talk to Jessica, Charlene or Bob about this trip today, they will all tell you they still can’t believe it happened! They feel they had the experience of a lifetime and look forward to having an opportunity to do it again! ==============================================================================================================
|
