Summer Camp at the Black Sea

The team for this year has begun to meet regularly and one of the first items up for discussion is the summer camp at the Black Sea. This year, we will be responsible for organizing the entire camp experience which takes place every year in the town of Chernomorets, near Burgas. 50-60 kids come every year for a weeklong experience meant to draw them closer to the Lord. The camp will take place during the first week of July.
Joey Leslie brings years of experience planning the Vacation Bible Schools at Calvary Bullhead to play as he leads the team in this area. After much prayer, he's selected a VBS theme that we will develop to work with the Bulgarian camp.
The theme we are going to work from is called Tell It On The Mountain. Each day of the camp will focus on a specific mountaintop experience from scripture. For instance, on Day One, we will examine the story of Moses meeting with God on Mount Sinai to teach that God is with us in a personal way. Each day will feature a separate biblical story, along with a main idea about God and His relationship to us, and a specific memory verse for the kids to learn. The lesson will be reinforced throughout the day using teaching, activities, crafts and games, and more.
Our next step as a team is to re-design the schedule for the daily camp routine. We have to plan around the camp mealtimes to schedule bible teaching, beach time, activities, prayer time, and more. Our plan is to get the schedule to our friends in the Blaga Vest Church in Sofia by the beginning of March. We will then begin planning out the specific activities, games and crafts along with other details and have a full plan for the camp in place by sometime in April.
Please be praying for the camp. Pray for God's direction as we work out all the details and, above all, pray for the children who will be attending that the Lord would speak to them and change them during the week at the sea. God bless!

New Year, Renewed Vision

2013 is upon us and that means only six more months until we return to Bulgaria. We recently held our first meeting for those in our church interested in joining our team this year and I'm encouraged by the heart of our body to serve. Most of those who traveled with us last year are planning to go back, and we have a number of new people considering the trip as well.

Ministering in Fakulteta

As we  begin to assemble the new team, we are also considering several new opportunities for ministry this year. The Elin Pelin church recently purchased property for the construction of a new church. We are excited for the congregation there and looking forward to being able to help in any way we can. Also, after our initial visit to Fakulteta (a large Roma ghetto in Sofia) last year, we are excited about returning to serve the churches and people there. Also, we are looking into spending a few days with the Church in Macedonia.
Of course, we will still be serving at the children's camp at the Black Sea and visiting with the Blaga Vest church in Sofia and the churches in Elin Pelin and Stolnik. We are also looking to return to the orphanage we visited last year to minister to the children there.
More important than our plans though, is our vision... our understanding of what God has called us to do and why He is sending us to Bulgaria. It is so easy to get locked into repetitive, comfortable ministry that simply follows the pattern of what we've always done... even on the mission field. We can be so busy with the What of ministry that we forget the Why. We also sometimes overlook that, while God is the same yesterday, today and forever, He is constantly doing a new and fresh work in His Church and individual lives. We must be sensitive to His direction so that He can use us to carry out His plans and purposes, not our own.

American and Bulgarian teens hanging out at the mall

With that in mind, we have felt the Lord leading us to be more active in the areas of discipleship and evangelism. Our primary mission continues to be to encourage and serve the Body of Christ in Bulgaria, but we also want to come alongside and help them reach the lost of their nation for Jesus. Also, we have been blessed with a unique connection with many of the teenagers in the Bulgarian Church as God has developed strong friendships between them and members of our team. We have a responsibility to work within these relationships to help disciple these young men and women who are the future of the Bulgarian Church.
What it comes down to is this... God is doing a great work in Bulgaria and we are blessed that He has called us to be a small part of it. We have a responsibility to learn how God wants to use us and then be faithful to obey and serve where He leads.
I can't wait to see what He has in store!

Praying For a Declining Church

I am going to try and post something on a weekly basis here, now that I've had some time to get back into the routine of life back home and process this year's trip. This year was exciting as we saw some breakthroughs in significant areas. Before I get into that though, its important to understand why we go to Bulgaria every year in the first place.

We are not a missions team in the traditional sense. We are not evangelists sent over to win the nation of Bulgaria for Jesus. In fact, the idea is somewhat preposterous. Our small team giving up two weeks a year is not going to make a dent in the evangelistic needs of the country. The nation certainly needs to hear the gospel, but the work must be done by committed, full-time witnesses who live and work among them. Should the Lord ever call me and my wife to such a life, I would gladly obey and move there because that's what it would take.

However, there already is a Church in Bulgaria tasked with the Great Commission of reaching their nation for Christ. They have the message of the gospel and the language to communicate it in. Unfortunately, the Church is small and shrinking in Bulgaria* and it is our privilege to come alongside support them in any way we can. We are a Servant Team and our primary role is to encourage and strengthen our brothers and sisters in their fight for the land God is giving them.

* According to census data, Protestant Christianity has shrunk from 3% of the population to 1.5%.

I have given much thought and prayer to the reasons for the erosion of Christianity in Bulgaria and want to share my perspective on this. It is not my heart to offend any of my Bulgarian brothers and sisters, who love the Lord dearly and are often doing the best they know how. Part of the problem, as I see it, is a lack of active, concerted and ongoing evangelism from the Body of Christ.

• Active: Much of the evangelism I have seen in Bulgaria is passive. Subtle references to God and spiritual issues, casual invitations to attend church, unwillingness to participate in ungodly activities... All of these are good but not enough. We are told to let our light shine before men. This light should be bright and intense, not dimmed and veiled. We must be able to boldly proclaim the truth of the gospel, not only in actions, but in words backed up by our actions.
• Concerted: The Body of Christ is strongest when it works together. Evangelism should be a corporate function of the church family, something done in fellowship together as our primary purpose. The Church was not simply created as a place for Christians to hang out together apart from the world, but as a symbol of hope and life-changing power for the world to see clearly.
• Ongoing: Sharing the good news of Christ's plan for salvation must become a regular part of who we are as Christians. A follower of Christ should find themselves talking about Him without even thinking about it! We must share the gospel at every opportunity, even if it costs us.

This seems self-evident to many of us American Christians. The American Church was born in an era of personal rights and freedom. We have always had the right to exercise and proclaim our faith without opposition from our government. Our history is full of street preachers and fiery evangelists, tent crusades drawing tens of thousands, and the personal freedom to share the gospel whenever and wherever we want. Its easy to look elsewhere and wonder why others are not so overtly evangelistic, but to do so would be hypocritical.


We have more freedom than anyone to share Christ, yet we do so less often than many Christians in persecuted countries like China and the Sudan. We have the right to preach the gospel, but how many of us have ever stood in a crowd and proclaimed the name of Jesus? "Well, that's just crazy and would turn people off!" Maybe... or maybe it just makes us uncomfortable to even think of doing something like that. After all, it worked in the New Testament and it still works all over the world. God's word clearly states that the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying in their sin. I think many of us just don't want to look like fools to the world. For that matter, how many of us go weeks (or even longer) at a time without telling someone about Jesus in a simple one-on-one conversation?

My point is, we are in no position to lecture anybody on evangelism. Our Church family in Bulgaria has only recently been delivered from the oppression of Communism, when overt evangelism led to certain persecution. Before that, the Church was oppressed by their Turkish occupiers who also fought against Christianity. The fact is, it has never been easy for a Bulgarian Christian to boldly share Christ with unbelievers. It has always cost them to do so.

However, as a brother in Christ who loves the Bulgarian people, my heart breaks at the fact that a huge percentage of them do not know Jesus Christ personally and have not given their lives to Him. The simple fact is, nothing will change that but the Church stepping out in boldness and sharing the good news of the gospel with as many people as possible.

Romans 10:14  How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed. And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

Bulgaria is a nation of unbelievers who need to hear about Jesus. My prayer is for God to raise up preachers among the men and women of the Church. Bulgaria does not simply need more pastors. Pastors preach their sermons in churches. Most unbelievers will never come to a church to hear about God. Bulgaria, and America, need preachers... followers of Christ who will simply share what they know to anybody who will listen... Anywhere... Any time!

To my beloved family in Bulgaria: I love you with all my heart. I cry for you and the struggle you face. I know you have it much harder there than we do here in America. But God's Great Commission has not changed. Your nation must be reached with the gospel if they are to be saved and you are the ones to reach them. Be strong and courageous. Be bold in your witness. You may face persecution, you may be mocked and ridiculed, you may simply be ignored. But you cannot afford to be quiet!

Acts 4:13  Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

Home, Sweet Home!

We're back everyone! Gonna be sharing with our family at Calvary Bullhead this weekend and catching up on some much needed rest.

Stay tuned to this blog as we start planning soon for next year's trip! If you're interested in going with us, drop me a message...

Heading Home

Our time in Bulgaria is drawing to a close. Last night, we returned to Elin Pelin for a final service with our dear family there. Vernon, Joey, Roy, Linzi, and me all shared a bit with the church and, of course, our sister Christina fed us until we couldn't breathe!

Today, we took the public transportation into the city and spent some time as tourists in a new mall with a group of the teenagers from here. This evening, we returned and joined the Blaga Vest church for their evening service. After a joyful time of worship through music, I shared a message from Colossians 1. We stayed afterward for a sweet time of fellowship with the church before heading upstairs to clean and pack.

The team is drifting off to sleep and we're up early in the morning to head to the airport for the flight home. We have a 22 hour trip ahead of us so keep us in prayer. Bullhead City, see you soon!

God is Faithful in Fakulteta

A shy gypsy girl watches us from the doorway

Today, we spent several hours in Fakulteta. The Roma (gypsy) people account for 10-15% of the population of Bulgaria but are considered an unwelcome minority within the culture and treated as such. The majority of them live in isolated villages or, within the cities, in large ghettos known as mahalas. Fakulteta, located here in the capital city of Sofia, is the second largest mahala in Bulgaria and holds at least 40,000 Roma in an area of several square miles.

Please consider reading my post from last year that offers a more in-depth look at the Roma culture within Bulgaria and the struggles they face here. Also, a photojournalist named Cinzia Dambrosi offers an incredible visual look at the culture in his photo blog.

I believe the gypsies of Bulgaria offer the greatest possibility for revival in this country. They are unloved and uneducated, with little hope for their lives apart from Christ. Sin has corrupted their culture, leading to rampant alcoholism and drug use, crime, and prostitution. For all that, they are ripe for the message of the gospel and power of God to change lives and cultures. Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound!

Roy and Brijon walk past a home

Today was more exploratory than anything. We had no concrete plans or expectations but have known that the Lord was calling us to this place for some time. We came with a handful of tracts outlining the gospel message, a bagful of candy, a guitar, our bibles and lots of prayer. As we turned the corner and entered Fakulteta, the change was remarkable. We left behind a modern city of concrete and glass and entered a third-world ghetto that reminded me of the worst neighborhoods in Mexico. It was eerie to walk their streets while still hearing the Sofia traffic only blocks away and seeing jets fly low overhead toward the airport.

Praying together in a Fakulteta church

Simona sharing in Bulgarian

From the first moment, God had His hand on today. We brought along three Bulgarian friends: Simona and Teddy (sisters) and Emi. None of them had ever done anything like this before and, although nervous, were excited to come along and be used by God. As we exited our vehicles parked just outside the area, Simona began to ask some of the residents about any churches in Fakulteta. After talking with two others unsucessfully, a woman walked up to her smiling and introduced herself as Lilia. She was a Christian and walked us into the community and down a street to her church... named Jehovah Jireh. The pastor was away, but we were greeted by his son, Assen, and welcomed into their church building where we talked for some time. Afterward, we prayed with several women from the congregation that came to see the Americans and continued on our journey.

Roy leads worship

Linzi shares candy and love with kids

We began handing out candy to children and the gospel message to the adults we encountered. Before long, our Bulgarian friends began stepping out on their own, sharing the love of Christ with strangers... gypsies. What a blessing for us to see them taking a step that is quite radical in their culture! One crowd, after hearing that we were Christians brought several children, including a newborn baby boy, to be prayed over by us. They were believers as well and we embraced as brothers and sisters in Christ. Further down the street, Roy used his guitar to lead our entire group in a worship song that drew a small group of people to share with.

Three cultures join in prayer

We continued to pray for the Lord's leading and several streets later found ourselves in front of an even smaller church than the first one. The pastor, Nayden Borisov, was out front with a small group of people and eagerly welcomed us into his church building after hearing who we were. After hearing about their ministry with neglected children and sharing our desire to serve the Bulgarian gypsies, we joined hands together and prayed. Then, Roy played another worship song accompanied by one of the Romani on a drum as we all sang together. When we finished, the church exploded into a worship song of their own. The gypsy music and singing style was completely different than the worship we have experienced in the Bulgarian churches. The presence of the Lord filled the place as we blended our two cultures together in worship!

Impromptu worship service

We came with no plan, but the Lord had one for us. We shared Christ with a people in need, we contacted and encouraged two Roma pastors, and we were able to demonstrate practical evangelism to several Bulgarian teens and see them grow spiritually today. God is truly good!

Please keep the Roma people of Bulgaria in prayer. They need to experience true revival borne out of repentance that will change their culture from within. God wants to heal their brokenness and we are so blessed to be a part of His work among them.

Back in Sofia!

My apologies for the  lack of update for the last day and a half. Yesterday, we left the camp at the Black Sea and drove back across Bulgaria to Sofia. With the packing and traveling, we didn't have much time, or energy, for writing. :-)

Breaking bread with the family of Christ from three nations

Last night, we took a group of friends out for dinner at a local pizza restaurant. In addition to several teenagers from the Blaga Vest church who live nearby, we were also joined by the Goshev family. Mite (pronounced Mee - tay) Goshev pastors a Blaga Vest church in Skopje, Macedonia a few hours from here. His daughters, Lidija and Ani, have been attending camps with us four about 8 years now and are good friends of ours.

The Church in Macedonia is much smaller and faces unique struggles in their mission to reach the nation for Christ. They have a large, and growing, Muslim population along with the traditional Orthodoxy that prevails in Bulgaria. Also, like Bulgaria, Protestant Christianity is seen as a fringe sect to be alienated. The church there needs our prayers and support. Pastor Mite is a loving, joyful man with a real heart for his people and we have been blessed by our relationship with him!

Today, we embark on a new adventure. We will be going to Fakulteta, a Roma (gypsy) mahala of several square miles in Sofia filled with about 40,000 Roma people. The living conditions in these ghettos throughout eastern Europe are way below the standard of the people around them. They live with illiteracy and unemployment rates above 70% and are seen as outcasts by the rest of society. But God loves them!! And so do we.

For pictures and more info on the Roma of Fakulteta visit the blog of photojournalist Cinzia Dambrosi.

We have no plans or expectations for today. We are going to see what God will do and to learn more about this area for future ministry opportunities. Please be praying for the Lord to lead us and for opportunities to share His love with a people who desperately need it. I'll post pictures and an update this evening (morning in the US). God bless and see you soon, Arizona!