Below are some of our mission letters.
 

Sent From:

Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church

1133 Mt. Pleasant Rd.

Murphy, NC 28906

  

 

The

Blalocks

Missionaries to Bulgaria

blalockstobulgaria@gmail.com

  

 

September 2024

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” Psalm 116:15

One of the great hopes we have as a child of God is the security of knowing that heaven is waiting for us when we die. It also gives us peace to know this is true for our loved one who died with faith in the Lord. August 29th at around 2:23 PM my mother went to be with her Lord. Words cannot express the impact she had on my life and the lives of my children and grandchildren. She was also “Mamaw” to many others. She was loved by so many whom she touched by the love she so eagerly shared. Thankfully, we were able to be with her when she went on to be with the Lord. We returned to the States when it became evident that Mom was going to pass. Thankfully we were able to be by her side at home under hospice care, as she peacefully went on to be with her Savior. Please keep my father in your prayers as he adjusts to life without his partner of 62 years.

We will be returning to Bulgaria on October 17th. During this time, we will be waiting for the arrival of two new grand babies. Zack and Haylie are expecting around mid-September and David and Mckenzie around mid-October. We are praying that we will be here for both. The latest we can stay due to our visa process is October 17th. We will be taking this time to assist my father in any way that we can and of course seeing our new grand babies.

The work in Bulgaria has been going well. We have experienced one of the hottest and driest summers on the books and with that have been unprecedented wildfires. The construction project in Avren has gone very well. I’m grateful to all those who contributed to this. We still have a little way to go in completing all the interior work; flooring, electrical, plumbing, kitchen appliances and bathroom fixtures. We trust the Lord to supply these needs as they arise.

We recently had a “Sofra” in Avren. A sofra is a special meal and gathering to commemorate or celebrate an event. In this case it was a celebration. Many people came, and it gave us a good example of what we desire to do with the building and church in the future. We all are very excited for what the future holds in Avren.

As always, I am grateful for your prayers and support. We ask that you remember us in these coming days as we prepare to return to Bulgaria a few weeks from now. We will be hosting Brother Duane Moore for a week when we return and look forward to seeing what God will do during the time that he is with us. Please also pray for our daughter and daughter-in-law as they await these babies to come and for my father as he adjusts to life without mom.

God bless you all,

Brother Keith Blalock         (A printable PDF version with pictures is available here)

----------------------------------------------------------

May 2024

And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become

the head of the corner: This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Mark 12:10, 11

 

I pray that this letter finds each of you doing well. We are doing fine here in Bulgaria and are enjoying the beautiful spring weather. It has been borderline summer-like at times, with brief moments of really cool weather, but altogether very nice.

We’ve had a few busy months since my last letter, and I’ll do my best to fill you in with the details. The village meetings are going well. We enjoy the well-attended monthly meetings in Dabravino as well as the monthly meetings with our pastors and faithful men, young and old. These meetings have been a blessing to encourage and strengthen us all. We have also seen tremendous progress in the construction project in the village of Avren.

This is very exciting for all of us, and we are encouraged by how it has progressed. I can’t say enough about the appreciation I have for Brother Matt Welch and his work on this project. It is his expertise and patience with folks like me who have little construction knowledge that’s getting things done. God bless you Brother Matt!

The Lord has greatly provided and we are very thankful for everyone who has contributed. It will cost about $10,000 to finish the building and we fully believe that God will provide.

Upon completion, we will have a building which will have two large rooms for two separate church services, one English the other Turkish. It will have a kitchen with a bathroom and a room for storage. This building will adjoin our current building where we have church services, the printing room, and a large room reserved for Coats for Kids storage. When it is completed, we will be able to have many large meetings here and weekly English and Turkish services. It will be a beacon of light on the hill in the village of Avren. Please make it a matter of prayer about what you may do to help with this important project.

Our family is doing well, and we have several things to share. Our son Zack and his wife Haylie are expecting their second baby in September. We are excited about this and look forward to this new little one. Please remember them in prayer. Kylie is doing really well in school, and we are excited to see what God has in store for her. She just completed a course in phlebotomy and will be practicing that while she pursues a degree in nursing. Pray for her, as she’ll be moving to Blairsville, Georgia to live with Zackary while going to school there. They are all excited about this move. Also, Zack and Haylie along with McKynlee and Kylie will be visiting us in June. We are beyond excited about this. Please pray for them as they travel.

We’ve also had some trying times with the health of my brother-in-law Greg Garrison. In March he had a heart attack. He is alone in the states so, Tracy flew back to be with him. She was there for about a month until he stabilized, then she returned here. Within a couple weeks he fell and broke the femur bone in several places and now is waiting to go into rehab. Keep him in your prayers; he is having a very difficult time right now, physically, mentally and spiritually.

Brother Duane Moore with “Preachin’ Time Ministries” will be coming to visit for a couple of weeks in October, and we look forward to his time here. Please make his visit a matter of prayer, that it may be fruitful.

God bless you all,
Brother Keith Blalock        (A printable PDF version with pictures is available here)

----------------------------------------------------------

February 2024

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlity,
so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” 2 Corinthians 11:3

This verse of scripture comes to mind as I see what is discussed and debated on social media these days. We now have a bigger platform and opportunity to voice an opinion or doctrinal stand than any other time in history. I feel that this opportunity is really far more than most of us need. Much is said argued and debated. My fear is for a lost and dying world, and many times a departure from the simplicity that is in the gospel.

I’ve been blessed many times in the past months of seeing this simplicity exemplified in the lives of the believers here. Tracy and I currently go to seven village meetings each week alongside Pastor Ahmet and his wife Gulzade. We see the gospel testimony in their lives and also in the lives of those in the churches in each village. Many of these faithful believers have limited education and some are even illiterate. The majority could not debate about Calvinism or Arminianism or many theological subjects, but they do know Jesus.

“…and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus” Acts 4:13. What a wonderful testimony to have and it is the witness that many have here in Bulgaria. The greatest witness a changed life and an ever-present Lord working and interceding in daily lives.

To see and hear the testimonies of God working in their lives is what spreads the gospel to others and truly makes a difference in the lives of others and the world that we live in.

In the village of Yankavo, we have the testimony of one who was sick literally unto death. He was placed in the morgue and left for dead. Our God revived him and raised him up to testify of the goodness and grace of God. This is what affects and gains the attention of unbelievers, the manifest presence of God in our lives, not the different stances we have on this issue or that. Do not get me wrong we need to stand for truth, but the greatest thing we can do is give the world Jesus and a changed life. I will get off my soapbox for now, but I am so thankful that I can be around the simplicity of Christ preached and believers who have been with Jesus.

We are doing well here in Bulgaria. The winter has been a little snowier and colder this year, but we have enjoyed the snow days yet missing having the children with us as those days come. We enjoyed Christmas together in our empty nest, and thank God for the technology we have to be able to talk to and see the faces of all those we love.

I want to take this opportunity to thank each one who sent cards and gifts for Christmas. The extra support which was sent as Christmas gifts is always a blessing and we are very thankful for each and every gift given. We welcomed the new year very thankful for what God has done in our lives. He has worked in ways personally that we really never imagined possible and for that we give him glory.

The yearly flour and oil distribution is in progress. Please pray that all goes smoothly and that many will be blessed because of this. God has always been faithful in this endeavor and for this we are thankful. We also have the construction project in Avren where we will be able to have a larger meeting area for church, a kitchen and housing for visiting preachers. We see this as a place for us to be blessed and to be a blessing.

Pray also for our vehicle situation, we still have our van, but while we were on furlough insurance was purchased for the van. To make a long story short, whether deliberately or by accident, it was never entered into their system, so in the eyes of the police we had no insurance. Because of this the plates were removed from our van and we cannot get new ones until June of this year. Our hands are tied and there is nothing we can do but wait. We thought of trying to purchase a small car in the time being, but thankfully Brother William Lefevre is allowing us to use his van while on furlough. God provides!

Continue to pray for Kylie as she attends school in the states. She is doing well and made the President’s list her first semester. We are so proud of her. Pray also for our other children and grandchildren. God has been so good to us.

God bless you all and thank you for your prayers and faithful support,

Brother Keith Blalock      (A printable PDF version with pictures is available here)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

September 2023

God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:9

Without a doubt I am so thankful for the faithfulness of God.  We greatly enjoyed our time of furlough and seeing everyone we were able to see while we were in the states.  We are disappointed in not being able to visit all our supporters, but we are so thankful for what we were able to do.

God allowed us to have a good time with our family and for that we are also grateful.  We are entering into a new experience in our lives with an empty nest, but we look forward to seeing what God is going to do in Kylie’s life and ask that you remember her in your prayers.

We are still adjusting to being back in Bulgaria and face many cultural challenges.  We came back in order to apply for our new Visas.  This is the first major thing on our agenda, (but an important need to be addressed) and we’re thankful every time for God’s helping hand each time we do this.

I’ve been blessed to be in a few meetings since I’ve been back, and am enjoying the sweet spirit in the church each time I’m there.  I’ll be back to the meetings in full swing in a week or so after our Visas are secured and we get new tires on our van (which I’m currently waiting on for delivery as I write this letter).

We are in the middle of a construction project in the village of Avren.  The Bibles and hymnbooks are printed and stored in one of our buildings there.  There is also an upper room where the “Coats for Kids” clothing is stored, and where each week we have English and Turkish services.  This building had a house attached to it which was to the point of collapsing.  We felt the best option was to level that structure and build a new one.  This project has been going on for several months.  It is now in the dry with new walls, roof and windows, but it will still take around $20,000 to finish the building.  The insides will need flooring, electrical, plumbing and furnishings.  Then we will have a larger place for the church to meet and a kitchen with a fellowship hall.  This will include a room for visitors, and indoor bathroom -- a unique luxury in the village!  This will allow us to expand the printing ministry and the “Coats for Kids” closet.

We ask that you pray about this need and what you may do to help.

I’ll close by saying thank you again for your faithfulness and love you have shown our family over the years.  We look forward to serving the Lord together with you.  Please continue to pray for the people here, as God opens the doors for ministry.  We are looking to serve Him, and step through any door of opportunity he opens, whether it be with the Bulgarians, Turks or Ukrainian refugees.  I believe with what’s going on in Israel, that the time to serve the Lord is now. 

God bless you all.

Brother Keith Blalock     (A printable PDF version is available here)

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Dear Friends in Christ, June 2023

 

“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;” 2 Corinthians 1:3

 

It is truly comforting to know by experience that God’s word is true. This world offers us many ups and downs, trials and disappointments; but His word remains true. We have seen a few over these past few months, but God has been faithful. Our daughter Mckenzie recently miscarried her little boy Josiah David. God was indeed with us as we laid his little body to rest. Please pray for her as she continues to recover. We also discovered that the Stefanov family who were trying to get to the states to visit some churches were declined a visa by our government and will not be able to come. While this is a disappointment we trust that God will continue to use and provide for Mitko and his family.

 

We have been busy and have visited many of our supporting churches, and a few new ones. God has blessed in each service, and for that we are truly grateful. We also were in a wonderful revival at Westside Baptist Church in Mayodan, N.C. where our son-in-law Michael Lindsay pastors. Brother Barry Philbeck, pastor of Love Valley Baptist church, preached at the meeting and it was a real blessing to see 11 souls get born again! God sure is good!

 

We are excited about the upcoming weeks. Currently we have William and Hannah Lefevre’s boys with us, Carrick and Christian. They have come to the states to attend some Bible camps, and we will be taking them to Light on the Mountain camp the week of July 26th. We’ve enjoyed having them with us, and they are excited about going to the camps. Kylie is leaving for Papau, New Guinea in a couple days; and it’s been a blessing to see how God has provided the funds and worked in the visa process. We trust that God is going to bless them richly during the trip and keep them safe. I want to thank each of you that helped her to make this trip and pray that God blesses you for it.

 

We have purchased our return tickets to Bulgaria and will be leaving on October 3rd. We are looking forward to returning and ask that you pray that God helps us with the things we need to get done before we return. I will be seeing an Orthopedic doctor this week and please pray that they’ll find a way to fix the issues that I have in a quick and effective way. There are a few more things that need to be finished in order to get Kylie settled in school. She is now enrolled in college and is excited about starting school. We are proud of what she has accomplished so far, as she graduated from high school this past month.

 

In one of the villages an 11-year-old girl, named Ozlem, had been dealing with a brain tumor for several years. Last month the Lord called her home. She was saved and ready to go, but this is very difficult for her family. Please pray that God will comfort them in this very difficult season of their lives.

 

In closing, God bless you all for your continued prayers and support. We are so grateful for each one of you. We can’t express enough how much we appreciate you all.
 

Brother Keith Blalock  (A printable PDF version is available here)

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

March 2023

“The LORD hath done great things for us; Whereof we are glad.” Psalm 126:3 We had a great time during the Christmas season as it’s been quite a few years since the whole family has been together. It was a very special time for all of us for which we are grateful. We are actively pursuing school opportunities for Kylie and are excited to say that she’ll be going to Cleveland Community College in Shelby, North Carolina to fulfill her desire to work in the field of medical sonography. She is waiting to take six hours of driving school which is required for her to get a North Carolina driver’s license. Our desire is that she’ll be able to do this as soon as possible.

This brings me to my first prayer request. Please pray for Kylie. In June of this year, after she graduates high school, she’ll be going with Evangelist Chris Hewett and a group of around 30 people on a mission trip to Papua New Guinea. She is excited about this opportunity and we are thankful for her being able to do this. We also glorify the Lord by being able to say, He has already provided through His people the funding to go. God is so good!

I would also like you to pray for one of our national pastors, Brother Mitko Stefanov. It is our desire to get him here by July and spend a couple months in the states to raise additional support. He is a very important part of our work in Bulgaria and needs more support to help with the work he does in the villages. He is also translating the Bulgarian Bible to one more comparable to our King James Bible. He will be coming with his wife Monica, and their three daughters Anna, Ruth and Eliza. Mitko and Monica will be going on February 28th for an interview to determine if they can come. Before you read this letter, we’ll already know the outcome. I’m writing this by faith that they will be coming. Please pray about having them come and visit your church while they are here, and that the Lord would provide the means to get them to the United States.

We have been actively going around to churches since we’ve been home, but have stayed fairly close to areas where we have children. The Lord has blessed in these meetings primarily in North Carolina. We had the privilege of preaching a revival in Cramerton, North Carolina. We will however in March begin to venture out a little farther with meetings in Maryland, Florida and Alabama with a few in North Carolina and Tennessee as well. We look forward to these opportunities and ask for your prayers as we travel.

In closing, please remember the work in Bulgaria. The missionaries and national pastors are currently busy with our yearly flour and oil distribution. Please pray that God gives them strength during this very busy time. Also, please continue to pray for the people of Ukraine and the refugees that are still in Bulgaria. Please pray for us as we have opportunities to minister in the coming months that we’d be sensitive to God’s leading us. We are so thankful for each of you and appreciate so much your continued prayers and support.

God bless you all,  (A printable PDF version of this letter is available here)

Brother Keith Blalock and Family. blalockstobulgaria@gmail.com  - www.facebook.com/Blalocks2bulgaria

------------------------------------------------------------------

 

November 2022

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:21-23

It always gives me great peace in knowing that our God is faithful. We have certainly seen in the past year the unwavering faithfulness of God. We have seen God continue to work in the ministry here through all of 2022 and for that we are thankful, and this was with many things added due to the war in Ukraine. Hopefully, these next few paragraphs will sum up the past year.

It would be exceedingly difficult to mention anything about this year without including the many opportunities that arose from the conflict which began in February. This has been mentioned in more detail in previous prayer letters, but it still amazes me how God moved in the hearts of his people since the war began. We were able to give over $50,000 of aid to Ukrainian refugees. This is far more than we ever imagined doing. Through your generosity we were able to give food, clothing, household goods, diapers, and other items for babies and families. Most importantly Bibles, tracts, booklets, and other gospel literature were distributed to thousands of people. God is faithful.

We also did our yearly Flour and oil distribution with 70 tons of flour and 7,500 liters of oil, which helped hundreds of families during the winter months. Please make it a matter of prayer as this will be done again this winter. With the possibility of higher prices due to the war in Ukraine, this will in turn affect the price of grain throughout all of Eastern Europe.

God has continued to work in the villages within our churches. We were able to see 23 souls baptized recently who professed their faith in the Savior. This reminds us that God is still interested in the souls of men. Please remember to pray for our national pastors as they faithfully minister to the flock that God has given them.

God is continuing to bless our family. As I write this, we are preparing for a nine-month furlough and will be leaving on December 11th and staying until September 2023. We are excited to see family and visit many of our supporting churches. I have contacted many churches already, as we prepare to come in and will be contacting more after our arrival and we get settled in.

This is an exciting time for us as our daughter Mckenzie, David and the children will be furloughing also. It has been four years since I have seen them, and it will be wonderful to see them and be in meetings with them as well.

Please pray that our travel will go smoothly, and that God will use this furlough for his will in our lives. We are hoping to see many of you and are excited to see what God will do.

I do have one big prayer concern. Over the years I have developed a problem with my knee. Currently my left knee has no cartilage, and I need a knee replacement. We will be looking into this upon our arrival. Please keep this in mind as this will affect our schedule after we get clarity on what will be required to get my knee functioning properly.

In closing, thank you all for your continued prayer and support. We could not be on the field without your faithfulness in prayer and giving.

It is comforting to know that there are people calling your name in prayer and care enough to invest their time and money into your life.

Thank you so much and God bless,  A printable PDF of this letter is available here.

Brother Keith Blalock and Family.  www.facebook.com/Blalocks2bulgaria  

----------------------------------------------------------------

 

August 2022

“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee,but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Micah 6:8

As I read this verse of scripture my mind naturally focused on three words: justly, mercy and humbly. The question is raised: what is good and what does the Lord require? I think in our hearts we all want to please God. Over the past few months we had many opportunities to take to heart those three words as we saw God’s hand working in us while ministering to those in need around us.

The word justly means honestly, fairly and with integrity. We have surely been given many chances to deal justly with people over the past few months. Thousands of lives have been turned upside down because of the unfairness and lack of integrity of the wicked regime in Russia. Millions of people have been put out of their homes and thousands of lives have been lost. With opportunities to do justly, we have been able to show mercy and meet the needs of many refugees here in Bulgaria. Through the generosity of so many we have been given many doors of ministry that we never even imagined were possible. From putting fifteen pallets of food and aid on a truck for delivery directly into Ukraine, to taking our own van ourselves, filled full of supplies, and taking it to missionary Mark Priem at the Ukrainian border, or sending one thousand dollars to Brother John O’Brien for military armored vests for frontline troops. We also helped individual families, such as Julia and her two sisters Christina and Yasmina, who fled to Bulgaria without their mother who had to remain in Ukraine. I believe it has been very pleasing to God for us with your help to show mercy to these in need. An opportunity was made available to help fund a Ukrainian Social Center in the town of Shumen. This has given us an avenue to see the gospel to get into the hands of hundreds if not thousands. Also, with the visit of the Maher family, were able to see the gospel preached at several locations where some of the refugees are being housed. It was wonderful to see the foundation of mercy shown, along with gospel tracts giving them an open door for the preaching of the gospel in their language. God is good!

Please continue to pray for the war in Ukraine and its people. There are still thousands of refugees here in Bulgaria and many needs associated with them. We have been fortunate to be able to help so many people since the beginning of the war and will do as much as we can until the funds run out.

Our regular Turkish meetings are going well. God is continuing to work in hearts, and we are grateful for God’s hand in their lives. Covid is still a constant hindrance, but we are learning to navigate the landscape of ministry with this virus constantly around us. Please pray for our national pastors and their families.

We had visitors from the states; Zack and Haylie visited for a week and we crammed a month of sights into that week. It was sad to see them go, but it was such a blessing to have them with us. My brother will be coming near the end of August. After he spends a week in Romania with his church he will come with a young man from his church and stay for a week here. I am looking forward to this time of ministering together. I thank God for my brother, his love for our Savior, and his desire to share the gospel all over the world.
In closing I would like to remind you that we will be returning for furlough in December. I will contact as many as possible about visiting while we are in. If you would like us to come by, you can also contact me through email at blalockstobulgaria@gmail.com.

We will be available from December 2022 through September 2023.  We are looking forward to seeing you all.

A printable version of this letter, with pictures, is available here.

Brother Keith Blalock and family. www.facebook.com/Blalocks2bulgaria 

 

 

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall their enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:14

March 2022

In this verse of scripture there is a question asked; who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? That question has been on my mind a lot in the past month. With the beginning of the war in Ukraine opportunities in Bulgaria for ministry have certainly increased; but truthfully, we have had the ministry of reconciliation since the day we were born again. “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;” 2 Corinthians 5:18

Thankfully, there has been a tremendous increase in activity due to many of the Covid restrictions being lifted each month. We have also seen an increase in attendance of our meetings which has been a huge blessing. Recently in the village of Dabravino, we had a meeting with over 100 believers attending along with several of our national pastors and missionaries. This was the first time we have been able to do so since the pandemic started. We met with boundless joy and testimonies of God’s goodness. It was truly a blessing.

The Lord is still moving and working on hearts in our meetings. Recently, at the end of the meeting in the village of Ruse, a young lady asked that everyone pray that she would have faith, and believe in the gospel, of course everyone prayed for her. Two weeks later she came before everyone in the meeting and confessed that Jesus was her Lord and Savior. Praise the Lord! He still saves.

We are also thankful for God blessing Nasuf with a new car. As you know, pastor Nasuf had an accident and needed a new car. I am glad to say through the love and generosity of God’s people we were able to get him an Opel Mireva. They are happy with it and very thankful for God’s blessings.

I am sure many of you have seen the situation with refugees in Bulgaria. God has opened a great door for us to show the love of God to those around us. I know that most of us did not anticipate the presence of a modern-day Hitler, but the actions of Vladimir Putin have us all seeing the depravity and wickedness of man. The war has been devastating for the people of Ukraine, but it also has opened the door for God’s people to show the Love of their Savior. This door opened for us when our daughter, Kylie, befriended a young Ukrainian girl on social media. Her family is working tirelessly to help the refugees in Bulgaria and help those still in Ukraine. Through meeting her we began to volunteer and donate goods at a Refugee center in Varna. We contacted many of our friends and supporters, and it has been amazing to see the outpouring of love and support for those who are in such need. From that time, many avenues have opened for us to help and to share the gospel. We also started to work through a center in the city of Dobrich. We donated food, clothing, kitchen supplies, household goods, medicines, and we were able to help an expectant mother with many necessary things she had left behind.

We have also helped with a center in the village of Smyadavo, where William Lefevre and Ahmed have two meetings every week. A building that was to be used in the future for the elderly was converted into a place to house about 20 families.

We also took donations to two hotels with around 100 people being helped in each hotel. This led us to the resort area of Golden Sands where many refugees are being sent. There we found one hotel with 900 rooms, which is housing 1,800 refugees and over 1,000 of those are children. Each passing week opens more opportunities. We ask for your prayers as the Lord guides us.

Tomorrow we’re loading a truck which will go to Ukraine. We are using a store like Sam’s Club called Metro to send large quantities of supplies into Ukraine. Over $10,000 worth of goods are being loaded and will include; rice, beans, flour, sugar, water, pasta, ramen noodles, canned corn, peas and green beans, water, boxed milk, diapers, and toilet paper. There will also be insulated blankets provided by fellow missionaries and scripture cards with a QR code for people to access gospel preaching. We look forward to these blessings.

In the city of Shumen, where we live, a Social Center for Ukrainian refugees was opened this week. Tracy and Hannah Lefevre were very involved in helping get this center established, and we were able to help provide some of their needs. The center will be a place where people come and interact with their fellow countrymen and find the help that they need in this difficult time. We have several other opportunities that are presenting themselves. Please pray for God’s guidance in these situations.

This is also the time of year for our annual Flour and Oil distribution. Each year we give to the needs of the Church. It’s a joy to try to fulfill scripture “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” Galatians 6:10 About 75,000 Kilos of flour and 7,500 liters of oil will be distributed to our church members. This comes at a time when there is great need due to the skyrocketing cost because of the ongoing war and its effects on Eastern Europe’s economy. It’s a great honor to serve the Lord in this time and make a difference. “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference.” Jude 21-22

God has also blessed us with being able to purchase Russian and Ukrainian gospel tracts. We had 15,000 tracts printed and received 4,000 chick tracts from a fellow missionary. We were able to contact this man through Brother Richard Maher and Brother Paul Gray, missionaries to Ukraine, who spent a few days with us before going to Poland. We gave out hundreds of these at a protest march in Varna, and we are including them in the hygiene packs that we are putting together to give to the refugees. Thank God for His word!

Currently our needs are few. We ask for you to pray that God gives us strength and wisdom and that He guides us to exactly what He would have us do each day. I do ask that you pray for us as we will be preparing to return to the states for a nine-month furlough. We were planning on coming back in the spring of 2023, but due to the timing of our Visas it would be more practical for us to return at the end of this year. With that in mind, anyone who would like for us to visit your church between December 2022 and September 2023, you can email me at blalockstobulgaria@gmail.com or contact me through Facebook messenger at KeithTracy Blalock. We look forward to this time with our family and churches. Please pray for us as we prepare, that it will be a fruitful furlough. I will close this letter by saying that God is so good to us, and I thank him for his blessings. We cannot thank you enough for all you have done. I could never have envisioned some of the things we are involved in now. It’s only possible through your love and giving. God’s people are truly the best. Attached is a printable version of this prayer letter with some photos of what the Lord has been doing here. 

God bless you all, Brother Keith Blalock  www.facebook.com/Blalocks2bulgaria

 

----------------------------------------------------------

 

 

“I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.” Psalm 77:11

 

February 2022

Year after year, month to month, week to week, and day by day, it is safe for us to say that we can look back and see the works and wonders of the Lord. There is no greater blessing than to see God’s work done from the sanctuary.
I would like to begin this letter by saying thank you for your continued prayers and support. We are also very thankful for every card and Christmas gift. God gave us a great Christmas and a blessed new year, and we look forward to this year to come. Our family has truly seen the hand of God in our lives, and for that we are certainly thankful. I would like to share some of these blessings with you.

The last few months have been challenging, but God has been with us. I was diagnosed with skin cancer on the top of my head and had it removed. I was facing radiation treatments and decided to have a pet scan which came back completely clear, so I decided to forego the radiation and we trust the Lord with the outcome.

We also were able to have 12,000 tracts printed about the pandemic from English to Bulgarian. Pastor James Melton wrote the tract and gave us permission to have it translated and printed. The focus of the tract is not Covid-19, but it is used to point people to the fact that the sickness or disease in man is the Spiritual disease of sin and the only cure is through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We look forward to using them in the ministry here.

Another blessing for us came unexpectedly. Tracy and I had talked about having a van to use for the work here. I would like to say it was something we had earnestly prayed about for months, but truthfully it was just a desire of our hearts that our Savior was fully aware of and faithful to provide. How God did this was amazing, somehow - someway we met a young lady from Shumen, Bulgaria who had moved to Murphy, North Carolina. We were able to meet with her and her husband while we were back in the states. To make a long story short, God put it on this precious couples' heart to buy us a van.

We had also requested help with vehicles for the work here, and we have seen God’s hand in this. We still have needs for a couple of our national pastors and trust the Lord to provide.

We also need you to remember to pray about the yearly flour and oil distribution. God had been faithful to provide for this. We ask that all will go smoothly with the current aggravations due to Covid-19. We believe this will be a tremendous blessing here for our churches, because the economy here has been affected just as it has everywhere else. Everything is more expensive, and it really makes life more difficult for the poor.

In closing, God bless you all, and thank you so much for your continued support and most of all for your prayers.

In His name, Brother Keith Blalock

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

October 2021

Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Galatians 1:3

It is certainly our heart’s desire to see God’s grace and peace poured out on each of you. We are without a doubt in a season of time where we are in definite need for His grace and peace each day. We continue to see restrictions and limitations placed on us because of the pandemic. They now require everyone to have a green certificate in order to enter businesses, restaurants, and malls. There is also a 15-person limit in our meetings. We will adapt to each of these and ask that you pray for the villages where we go. Several meetings are on hold because of Covid in the villages. This is something we are dealing with constantly.

The Lord continues to bless us to which we are thankful. While we were back in the states, to get Kylie, we met a young lady from Bulgaria. She is from the town of Shumen and somehow made it to living in Murphy, North Carolina. It is really a small world. We were able to meet with her and her husband while enjoying a wonderful time of fellowship. They also discussed their burden for Bulgaria and their own desires for ministering in the Murphy area. We are thankful to God for allowing our paths to cross and are amazed at His providential hand. Through our meeting them we have seen God’s hand in a couple areas of our life. We were able to get a gospel tract dealing with the pandemic translated, and we hope to get it formatted for distribution soon. Also, this dear couple has committed to buying us a van for the work, and we should be getting it sometime in November. God is so good. It was such a blessing for us to hear her testimony of coming to the states and truly hearing the gospel for the first time. It still amazes me to hear the testimonies of those who might have had religion and a form of godliness but never knew the truth. Please pray that the Lord would guide us in reaching her family who still live in the Shumen area. It is on her heart for her family to hear the same pure saving gospel that was able to change her life. Pray that God would grant us this blessing to share the gospel with her family.

We really enjoyed our short trip to the states. It was great to be around family and to see the arrival of our 14th grandchild, Presleigh Jane. We also enjoyed spending time at our home church. We were grateful to be there and preach while our pastor dealt with Covid-19. I am thankful that he has recovered and is getting his strength back. We also spent time with my parents and are grateful to have been able to do so.

We, like all of you, are looking forward to the holidays and are soon approaching my wife’s favorite time of the year. Thanksgiving! We certainly have much to be thankful for as we gather this November. We also want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and thank you in advance for your prayers and Christmas gifts. As we end this year and look into the next, I am so grateful that each of you have been such a vital part of our lives and ministry.
In closing we do ask that you remember the people here during the harshness of winter. Many have faced hardship and sickness this year. We ask that you pray for the needs here as we approach the time of year for the yearly flour and oil distribution. We trust God to provide this once again and ask that you pray earnestly about this. God bless you all and a Happy New Year!

The Blalocks
 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Dear praying friends, November 2021

I am enclosing with my latest prayer letter as a special request. This is an urgent need in our work right now. We recently have had three unfortunate accidents involving vehicles of our national pastors and one of our missionaries. Our fellow missionary had his car stolen and totaled. They are waiting on the process of receiving insurance funds which could take a year or so. Also, the wife of a national pastor had a tire blowout and rolled their car several times. Thank God no one was seriously hurt. This week we had the third incident with a national pastor having a wreck and ending up off the road upside down. Thankfully, he also was unhurt.

With these accidents it has really put us in a bind concerning getting to the villages. We are in desperate need for three cars. We are prayerfully asking our supporters to give toward this important need. We would hope to be able to purchase three used cars as soon as possible. Over here we can get three good used cars for around $10,000. We will get them one at a time as the money comes in and just ask that you pray that God meets this need quickly.

God bless you and thank you for all you do,

Brother Keith Blalock

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake:

because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people. I Samuel 12:22

 

Dear Friends in Christ, July 2021

I have given a lot of thought recently about John chapter three. We as Christians love this chapter and rightfully so. We as children learn John 3:16 by heart and it brings comfort to us all unto this day. As comforting as that is, two verses later should be just as troubling to us. The word condemned is stated in verse 18 twice. In both cases condemnation is reliant on one thing, belief in Christ. Belief in him; no condemnation, unbelief and you are condemned. According to the scriptures the entire unbelieving world is already condemned, because they have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. It could be your neighbor, the young lady taking your order at the restaurant, the guy sitting behind you in biology class, your cousin, your father, your child, or spouse, every unbeliever is condemned already. I believe this should give us a greater sense of urgency within the church to reach the world with the gospel. Let us pray that God would burden our hearts.

 

  

 

Thank you all so much for your continued prayer and support. God has surely been good to us through the faithfulness of his children. The work here has been going very well and we are grateful to be getting back into village meeting several days a week. I have been going with two of our national pastors to villages and thankfully am able to go to eight or nine meetings each week. I am really blessed to once again worship with these dear people. I have particularly enjoyed worshiping with our oldest church member a dear lady that is one hundred years old. What a blessing to see her have church in her little one room place faithfully each week. We were also able to meet in the village of Dabravino to have a large meeting with several of our national pastors bringing in car and van loads of believers. We had at least one hundred people gathered for the first time since the pandemic. What joy was experienced by us all as we met together to sing hymns, pray and to hear the preaching of the word of God. Our greatest joy however was hearing testimony after testimony of God’s love and faithfulness in the lives of these dear people during the difficulties of this last year. God has truly been good.

Our family is doing well, and I am certainly thankful to be together with my wife after her time in the states with the passing of her mother. Kylie is currently still in the states with her oldest sister finishing her last Bible camp of the summer. We are thankful she can do this, and it has truly been a spiritual blessing for her. Please remember my mother’s family in prayer. My grandmother recently passed away, she was ninety-eight years old and died peacefully in her sleep. We thank God for the joy we have in knowing the destination of those who believe and trust in the Lord.

Please keep us in your prayers. I will be making a short trip to the states for around six weeks on August 25th. There are three reasons for this trip. The first being we need to get Kylie and bring her back to Bulgaria. We also have a granddaughter due around that time, and for me it is an opportunity to see my parents. We have seen in the past few years with the passing of Tracy’s parents how quickly things can change. It will be a short trip, but we pray God will bless it. Please pray specifically for Sunday September 5th. We will be having a missions Sunday at Mount Pleasant Baptist, and we desire God’s presence during the meeting.

Thank you again for your continued prayers and may God bless you all richly.

The Blalocks
 

 


March 2021

In the day that we are living in, it is a joy to know that no matter what we endure or encounter we are promised that God will be with us. We are still dealing with restrictions due to Covid-19 here in Bulgaria, and I am sure where each of you are, you are still feeling the effects of the virus. Here we are almost a year later, and I am sure none of us expected to still be discussing this topic, but even though this is still hindering us; God is with us; we are still his people and he is still on the throne.

We as a family are doing well and are thankful for God’s hand and blessings on our life. We recently moved to a new house here in Shumen. We had been in a two-bedroom apartment. It was nice, but smaller than what we wanted. Our desire is to be able to have room for people to visit, which really was not possible in our previous place. Now we have room for visiting pastors and visiting grandchildren. Kylie is doing well with home school, and Tracy and I are both learning to speak a little more Bulgarian and Turkish each day.

The work here is opening a little more each month. I write this entering into March, and we are seeing more of the villages opening back up and for this we are grateful. We will begin in the first week of this month with our yearly flour and oil distribution. We received the oil last week and will be getting the first truckloads of flour this week. With the tough economic times, due to a lot of business closures due to Covid-19, this will be especially needed this year. We thank God for each individual and church who have given faithfully to this yearly blessing to the church. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:10

We are praying that as we head into Spring that things will open for us to have complete liberty with our travel from village to village. Now it may be that we must adapt to a new normal, and we will I am sure learn to live with that. I am thankful that God is in not any way hindered and that the gospel is still the power of God unto salvation. Our desire is also that travel opens back up for people to visit and see what God is doing here among these dear people. We encourage anyone who would like to visit to contact us. I promise you that if you have never been to a foreign field, doing so will change you in a way that you cannot even imagine.


Please continue to pray for us and our family. Our parents need your prayers as they are dealing with health issues. My father is recovering from the Corona Virus after a lengthy stay in the hospital and rehab, and Tracy’s mother is currently in the hospital battling liver disease. We thank God for his hand on their lives and appreciate your prayers on their behalf.

I was delayed in finishing this letter due to a couple circumstances. As I stated in the previous paragraph Tracy’s mother has been battling liver disease. On March 14th she went on to be with her Lord. Thank you so much for your prayers for her, and please continue to pray for the family during this time. Tracy and Kylie went back to the states to help be with her mother as they called hospice in to help with her. She arrived at three o’clock on the 14th and her mother passed away a couple of minutes before midnight. We are grateful that she was able to make it back to see her before she passed. Please pray for Tracy as she handles her mother’s affairs and will return here as soon as she can.

I am also including a few pictures of this year’s flour and oil distribution that took place during the delay of sending this letter.
 

A picture containing snow, outdoor, clothes Description automatically generatedA group of people in a room Description automatically generated with low confidence

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Our oldest church member at 100 years’ old.

We thank God for meeting our needs and for the faithfulness of his people. We are so grateful that as we moved from a furnished apartment to an unfurnished house that God’s people gave and supplied for that need. I am also amazed how God spoke to hearts to do this essentially without my help. I have a good God!

May God bless each of you richly, and I pray that God grants you good health and grace each day.

God bless you all. The Blalocks   www.facebook.com/Blalocks2bulgaria    blalockstobulgaria@gmail.com

 

November 2020

Hebrews 13:5 tells us that God will never leave us or forsake us. This is a biblical truth that most believers over their lifetime find to be true. Some days get dark and the road long and wearisome, but we find God faithful through it all. I think it is safe to say that most of us are feeling that the year 2020 has been one to test our faith and resolve. I can say without a doubt however that God has truly been with us this entire year, He is faithful.

Things here in Bulgaria have been interesting to say the least. Covid-19 has certainly influenced our lives and the ministry. In October we began to return to a lot of our villages and the meetings were spirit filled and the people so thankful for the church. However, the virus increased during this time and many lives were affected by it. Our family was directly affected as all three of us contracted the virus. This was a difficult time for us, as me and Kylie had mild cases and recovered quickly, but Tracy developed Bilateral Pneumonia and ended up in the Shumen Hospital for ten days. This was a trying time, but also a time for Tracy to be able to be a blessing. By divine appointment, Tracy was put into a room with a 74-year-old Turkish lady. Tracy enjoyed sharing tracts with her and was able to give her one of our hymn books and a Turkish Bible. It was a blessing to see the pictures of her reading the tracts and the hymns that our believers sing in our meetings. Please pray for Reni as she recovers and pray that God would touch her heart. At the writing of this letter Tracy has been home for three days and is in quarantine for two weeks. She still has a trace of Pneumonia and please pray for her as she continues to recuperate.

The work here has been greatly affected by the pandemic. We ask that you pray specifically for God’s guidance and for him to give us wisdom on how to proceed in the difficult days that we are experiencing. Our heart is to be in the village and going to meetings daily. We however want to be wise and thoughtful of the health of all involved. We have seen firsthand the seriousness of Covid-19 not only in our own lives, but also in the lives of national pastors and fellow missionaries. We are thankful that God has brought everyone through these times, but it is exceedingly difficult to have a loved one in the hospital and not able to see them. God gives grace and that is for sure during these times, God is good.

We have a couple things that we need you to pray about. First, we have our visa’s needing to be renewed in December. This virus has thrown us a curve as we are behind in the process and cannot do much more toward this until after Tracy’s quarantine is over on the 26th of November. Please pray that we can get everything done in a timely manner. Also, pray that if we are late in getting it done that they will show grace and not impose too strict a fine. God knows our situation and we trust him to help us. Secondly, pray for God’s help as we look to move from our apartment to a house here in Shumen. We will be moving into a larger place that will make it possible for us to have room for visitors and family to come over and visit. We also are beginning to prepare for Christmas and the holidays. Last year we gave out around 200 gift bags in the villages where we minister. We would like to do that again this year. At this time, we don’t know if we will be able to do so or if we will be restricted due to the virus. We also do not know how this will affect our yearly flour and oil distribution later this winter. Please pray about these things.

I will close by saying, God has been good and certainly faithful. Please keep us in your prayers and the people here as we pray for you there. With the uncertainty of the elections and the virus we have a lot to pray about, but we have a God who hears.

God bless you all. The Blalocks
 

----------------------------------------------------------------

“…and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? “(Esther 4:14)

After the wicked Haman conspired to destroy God’s people Mordecai made this proclamation to Queen Esther knowing that her life would be at risk to deliver God’s people. We certainly are living in a time for our Country that is perilous and more worrisome than we have ever known. Yet for the Christian our hearts desire should be to be a light in the darkest of times, we have hope, we have a future no matter what comes our way here. God has been so good to us and we have so much to look forward to, for this I praise his name!

Since my last letter, we were able to spend some time in the states due to Covid-19. We really enjoyed the time with family and with our church. Usually when we are in the states, we are terribly busy on the road but due to the restrictions we spent more time with our children and grandchildren. We thank God for this blessing of extra time with family that was unexpected. We were able to return to Bulgaria on June 9th and we thank God for safe travels and only a few delays on the way.

We returned to Bulgaria with the country still holding to a lot of restrictions. These have hindered us from keeping our normal schedule in the villages. We are thankful to know that while we are not able to go as normal that the faithful are still gathering until we are able to go as usual. We also have been able to have our English church service each week at the home of fellow missionaries. We have seen God move greatly in these services including the salvation of one of our fellow missionaries’ youngest son. We also are grateful for each opportunity he gives us to reach one person at a time as we have handed out many tracts on our evening walks here in Shumen. We also ask you to pray as we cultivate relationships that God has allowed us to begin with individuals here and that we would lead them to a relationship with our Savior. Each month we wait to see if the restrictions will be lifted. I pray that as you read this letter that these will have been lifted.

We did have an opportunity to help Brother Matt Welch with a building project. One of our faithful believers this past winter was burned out of his home. Brother Malcho who is in his 80’s greatly desires to get back in his home. Brother Welch made it possible to put a new roof on his house and only needed a little help. We are thankful to be able to help this dear brother and thankful for Brother Welch’s expertise in building projects. It was fun to help.

Our family is doing well, and we are so grateful to be back where God has called us. We have just a few things we ask you to pray about. We ask that you pray about Kylie’s Visa situation. Due to travel restrictions for Americans into Romania we are not able to go to the Bulgarian Consulate in Bucharest to continue with her Visa. Please pray about this need. We also ask that you pray about the restrictions to be lifted on the meetings here and that we will be able to reach our churches as we normally would. We also ask that you remember our youngest son Riley as he will be getting married in September, please pray that God would really bless Riley and Christin.

In closing, I want to say thank you all for your faithfulness. I know that these are difficult and trying times for churches and I thank God for every church and person who have been faithful to give to missions.

May God bless you all.

------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:” Ephesians 1:3

 

November 2019

I generally begin a letter by describing all our blessings, and as usual we have many to mention. But most of all I want to give blessings to my Lord and God. I praise Him for His holiness and righteousness. I praise Him for His faithfulness and truth. I could spend an entire prayer letter telling how good my God is and not cover a fraction of what He has done and who He is. I can however tell of His goodness toward me, and for that I am thankful!

It has been a couple of busy months since we returned to Bulgaria in mid-September and began going back to the village meetings, witnessing Gods hand in the lives of the people here. We also had the privilege of seeing the last baptism of the summer. It was a blessing to see the joy on each face as they took this important step in their life. It’s been wonderful to see God’s presence in every meeting as we go from village to village each week.

My family has settled in quite nicely to the everyday routine of Bulgarian living, and they are so thankful for your daily prayers. We are thankful for each blessing that God has provided since our return and believe these to be a direct result of your fervent prayers on our behalf. God has been so good even with the small things. One such thing is God granting a desire of Kylie’s heart. For quite some time Kylie has wanted a puppy. After arriving in Bulgaria we were told that a dog wasn’t something we could have in our apartment. This of course disappointed Kylie, but she didn’t lose faith. When we had to renew our rental contract due to the Visa process, I asked our landlord if it were possible for us to have a small dog. He was very happy to allow us to have one. So soon after our return we added a new member to the household, a little Yorkie named Sage. I’m so thankful that Kylie believes God loves her best.

 

We have also seen God moving in our monthly meetings in Dabravino. We have this meeting to gather in believers from the surrounding villages into one large meeting place. It’s a time of fellowship and encouragement for all. We start with a time of worship for a of couple hours, then break for a meal and fellowship, followed by another hour or so of worship. It is really a time of refreshing for all. While it is a great to know that God is blessing in these meetings, it’s also good to know that opportunities still abound for the spreading of the gospel in new meetings. Earlier in the year I was with our national pastor Nasuf as he began a meeting in the village of Antonovo. It’s great to see that the meeting is still carrying on each week. Because of this meeting we recently visited the village of Kamburovo and had an evangelistic meeting in a home there. Just a few people from the family were present, and they are asking us to return. We’re excited about what God will do in that village. Since that meeting began we have learned of two other nearby locations where they have asked us to come and hold a service. Thank the Lord for these opportunities.

In our spare time we are staying busy binding Bibles, and are thankful to be able to help in this important ministry. It’s such a joy to know that someone who never had a Bible before can now have one in their language. As Americans we can easily get a Bible, but for others it’s not that simple. It’s real a privilege to be able to bind these and then give them away.

There are several upcoming needs for the ministry that we desire you to pray about. Winter is upon us, and that is a very busy time for the missionaries while helping those in need in Bulgaria. Once again we will be providing flour and oil for around 2,000 of our church families. This is a big undertaking. Last year there were over 70 tons of flour distributed to those in need. Also, fellow missionary Larry Leach heads up the Coats for Kids drive. Last year they were able to provide over 1,200 coats for needy children in the region. These ministries are a tremendous blessing to the poor. It is also a great encouragement to the church. We look forward to seeing what the Lord is going to do this upcoming year concerning both. Please be praying about and contributing to these vital ministries.

We also ask that you pray about the finalizing of our Visas. Lord willing we have just a little longer, and look forward to putting that behind us. Also, please pray for the ongoing task of learning the language. Tracy and Kylie began Bulgarian lessons this month and are progressing a little each week. Another big blessing is that they can have their lessons in the same building we live in. I’m also progressing a little farther with Turkish each week. It’s an ongoing process, but I’m thankful for each step, and I’m encouraged by being able to preach at the village meeting in Targovishte. Right now, I must spend several hours translating what God puts on my heart into Turkish and then reciting it as I preach. I want to get to the point where I don’t have to recite it. For now I’m grateful to be able to preach to them any way I can. God has been too good to me for me not to find a way to share His grace.

Gratefully, we have had very few setbacks so far and for that we are grateful. We did have an issue with our car and had to replace a fuel injector which set us back over $500. Thankfully, fellow missionary Zach Lefevre has allowed us to borrow one of his vehicles while ours is in the shop for a few weeks.

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas here and pray that God blesses you during this time of year. Please continue to pray for the Turks that we minister to here and in Romania. God bless you all, and may we all be found faithful until His return.

The Blalocks, Keith, Tracy and Kylie. www.blalockstobulgaria.com      blalockstobulgaria@gmail.com

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

August 2019

“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ,…” Col 4:2,3a

God has greatly blessed us over these last five months here in the States: we have seen many blessings in our family and look forward to what God is going to do in the future. The greatest thing we were anticipating was the completion of our Visas to return to Bulgaria. We received these in the second week of August and immediately went to work on getting tickets. We will be leaving on September 17th and arriving on the 18th. We so look forward to returning to our home in Shumen, Bulgaria. Please continue to pray that God would provide for the expenses that come with travel and settling back into our life there.

We were able to see God move in many ways these past five months. We saw his hand in the life of our family and the ministry. It was a blessing to see Zack and Haylie begin their life together in marriage; and it was great to see Riley graduate and then start college. We had several churches take us on financially and we saw many lives touched during our time on the road. We are thankful for each church we visited and for the love and support shown to our family.

We have several prayer requests as we prepare to return to Bulgaria. First and foremost is for safe and trouble-free travel as we go back to Bulgaria. Pray that all the paperwork required to get our residence Visa will go smoothly.

In closing, we look forward to what the years to come may hold and are excited to be partnered with you in reaching the Turks of Bulgaria and Romania with the gospel. Please remember that we will soon be preparing for all the needs of winter. We will have the Flour and Oil distribution along with the Coats for Kids, and these are two big yearly undertakings. Last year over 60 tons of flour were distributed, and over 1,200 coats provided for needy children. We ask that you pray about what part you can take in these vital ministries. God has already done so much, but we feel that he is far from finished and believe the greatest days may be yet to come. Please keep us in your prayers, and don’t forget to mention the needs of Turkish believers in the lands of Bulgaria and Romania.

By His grace, The Blalocks

-----------------------------------------------------------

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,                   May 2019

It’s with great joy and excitement for the future that I write this letter. We are currently in North Carolina after spending the first three months of the year in Bulgaria. It has truly been amazing to see what God is doing among the Turks in Bulgaria and Romania. The Lord is still doing great things and for this we are grateful. I’ve been working daily with a national pastor, Nasuf Kadirov, and I thank God for him and his heart for his people, and the desire he has to help me learn Turkish. It’s a true blessing to have him talk to me constantly, from one meeting to the next regardless of whether I understand or not. This is a much-needed blessing. Please keep Nasuf in your prayers.

We settled into Bulgarian living quite nicely and are very thankful. God has given us a nice place to live and we feel very fortunate. Our next step is obtaining visas for our continued residency in Bulgaria. This is a complicated process which led us back to the states to complete the necessary paperwork at the Bulgarian Embassy in Washington D.C. We ask that you pray for God’s hand in each step of the process as we face each obstacle and expense.

While stateside, we have quite a lot going on. The Visa requirements will have us going to Raleigh, NC and to Washington, DC. Please pray for God’s protection as we travel. We will also be going around to churches as we look to raise our last seven - eight percent of support. It has been and will be a busy schedule with our family. Just this past week we saw Riley graduate high school, and for this we are so thankful and proud. Next month on June 22nd we will have the long-anticipated wedding of Zack and Haylie. We are so happy to be here for these events and ask that you pray for Riley and Zack and Haylie.

God is truly blessing our family, and we ask for your continued prayers as we prepare to return to Bulgaria. We are more certain than ever of God’s desire for our lives there, and have seen how God has blessed the churches. We have also seen new villages crying out for the believers to come. There is much to do, and we are excited about getting back.

Will you consider helping us with a couple needs? Please pray that we find reasonable airfare for our return and that God provides for this need. We are also continuing to work on the church and print shop in Avren. Please pray that God meets the needs there and what you may do to help with this vital part of the ministry.

In Closing, I would like to thank each of you for your prayers and continued support. Upon returning to the states in April we came home to the passing of my father-in-law, Ronnie Garrison. During this loss in our family we knew for sure that people were praying. Thank each one of you for your faithfulness and love. May God bless you!

For Him, Keith Blalock www.blalockstobulgaria.com  blalockstobulgaria@gmail.com

 

-------------------------------------------------------

 

January 2019

 

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Psalms 34:8

 

Without one doubt I can surely say that my LORD is good and surely worthy of all my trust.  I am currently writing this letter from my apartment in Shumen, Bulgaria and that is truly because of the goodness and faithfulness of my God.  We arrived in Bulgaria on the 16th of January a little over two years after beginning deputation.  We are so grateful to be here and look forward to seeing what God will do in the years to come.  The family is adjusting to the differences of living in a third-world country.  Thankfully we are not complete strangers to what it’s like in this part of the world.  There are many things that come unexpectedly, but that is not unusual, for example waking up this morning to no water in the apartment, a nice welcome back to Eastern Europe!  Yet we are thankful for a warm place to call home, and are blessed to have such a place as we do.  God is so good.

 

There are so many “Thank-you’s” to be said for all that has been done to get us to this point.  We appreciate each one who has given faithfully to help us get here and for those who give faithfully to keep us here.  We are certainly in this together and could not be here without you.  Most of all we desire your continued prayers while moving forward with everything that needs to be done.  With that in mind we ask that you pray about a few things.  We have just purchased a vehicle over here and ask that you pray that it will prove trust-worthy and reliable.  We would like to thank Corriher Heights Baptist Church and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church for giving and making it possible for us to meet this need in our life.  God bless you for generosity.  We also ask that you pray about our Bible-printing ministry.  I’ve brought over a new way to bind our Bibles together.  Please pray that it will prove to be a sturdy, reliable and more efficient method, so that we can distribute them faster than we’ve been able to.

 

We’ve certainly had a good start to the year and look forward to all that God is going to do.  We were in our first Turkish meeting on Sunday and it was so good to hear the singing and testifying about the goodness and blessings of God even in their poverty.  We also will be attending a special meal today given by the believers in the village of Zlatni Niva in honor of our return to Bulgaria.  What a special blessing for us.  We feel humbled by their love for us and their willingness to do this.  What a special day!  Our life will get busier in the coming weeks as we get adjusted to living here and the needs and demands of the work.  We will soon be distributing flour and oil for all the churches.  God has been faithful in providing for this.  I look forward to seeing the joy each believer has in receiving this blessing from the LORD.

 

Please pray that all will go smoothly while obtaining our Bulgarian residence visas.  We also ask that you also pray concerning our return to the States in April.  We will complete the visa process stateside and attend Riley’s graduation at the end of May, then attend Zack and Haylie’s wedding.  We look forward to this day and also to adding this loving and fine Christian young lady to the Blalock clan.  We will return to Bulgaria in July and begin our five-year stay.  We cannot express enough gratitude for each of you, and we are so excited to be partnered with you for the years to come.  Let’s all pray that God’s will be done in every area of our lives and in the work he wants to do among the Turks of Bulgaria and Romania. 

 

By His grace, The Blalocks

---------------------------------------------------------------

“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works;…” Revelation 2:5

Greetings,                                  October 2017

I have said in many churches that we are returning to our first love when it comes to service to the Lord. This was made very clear to us as we spent 24 days of September in Bulgaria. It was such a blessing to stand among the believers in a village church and share about the goodness and grace of our GOD. We were also thrilled to hear of their faith and love for the Savior as they testified. “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;” Psalm 107:2

Many things have changed in the past 13 years. The countries of Bulgaria and Romania both are far more advanced and modern. The Soviet era cars and outdated machinery are gone, replaced by modern vehicles and shopping malls with western clothing and fast food chains. Things are different in the cities, but life changes quite a bit as you enter the villages. The people are still poor, with indoor plumbing a rarity. Much of their life has not changed like those within the city. The greatest thing that has not changed is a need to spread the gospel to the Turks of Bulgaria and Romania, and there is a great hunger from many villages desiring the believers to come.

We also saw the great needs with what God is doing in Bulgaria. We visited the village of Avren where our printing ministry is based, and saw how Bibles are being produced for the Turks and Bulgarians. Over 100,000 pages of God’s word are being printed each month and given away. The cost of printing 100,000 pages is around $1,000 a month. If you would like to help with the printing of God’s word, you can send a check to Charity Baptist Mission with note that it’s for Keith Blalock/Bibles. We would love to raise a thousand dollars a month outside of our personal support for this great need. “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God”

Of course, the heart of the work is still the everyday village meetings. We only got to a portion of these meetings, but at each one we marveled at the sweet spirit and faith of the people. They truly just believe God. One believer said concerning a prayer, “you believe, I believe, it will happen”. The singing of the hymns, testimonies, and hospitality of the people were such a joy to see. At each meeting just about everyone testified, and they were sure to have coffee for us plus a meal. I thank God for such loving and giving people.

It was such a blessing to be able to see Sully in Romania. Words cannot express how much this meant to us after not seeing him for 13 years. God is so good! Then we were able to spend some time with Monica, who lived with us for several years. What a blessing both reunions were to us!

While in Bulgaria we visited the town of Novi Pazar where we would like to rent an apartment and live. It is a quiet town, and we believe it is an ideal location for us. Please pray that God would open the door for the place he would desire for us to live. We also looked into what transportation would cost. For 10-12 thousand dollars we can purchase a decent vehicle for the work. If you are interested in helping with this please send any gifts to our mission board designated for Blalock Family car fund.

Lastly, please pray that our support would come in quickly. We returned from Bulgaria last month not wanting to leave, and we are currently at 42% of our needed support. It’s our desire to go back soon. We look forward to seeing how God will work to supply this need, and we will be diligently working toward meeting these other needs. If I’ve not contacted you concerning a meeting please give me a call at (828) 644-8123, as we look forward to sharing God’s blessing on our life.

God bless you all,  Brother Keith Blalock

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Psalm 126:3 “The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”

Greetings;                                      June 2017

Four months ago, my family began another journey of faith with our Lord. We have certainly seen the hand of God on our lives and He has done great things and we are glad.

We began the task of deputation at the beginning of the year and are currently close to 25% of our needed support. This is truly a blessing and we thank God for each church and individual who have partnered with us. We have enjoyed so much the opportunity to get back on the road and share our hearts with God’s people. It’s been a pleasure to have been in many wonderful churches preaching, singing and sharing the work with everyone.

On a personal note, we also enjoyed a trip visiting our daughter and her husband on the mission field. It was an enjoyable time of refreshing just being with them. There is nothing like spending time with your grandbabies. We are so thankful for all our children and we are truly grateful for our older children who made the trip possible as a Christmas gift. We are so blessed.

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue on to raise the support we need. Also, we are planning a trip to Bulgaria in September or October. We would like to use this trip to re-familiarize ourselves with Bulgaria and let Kylie see the country for the first time. We also want the folks there to be able to see us and for our return to be real in their hearts as well.

May God bless and keep you. If we can be a help or be a blessing to you in any way please feel free to contact us at: (828) 644-8123 or email us blalockstobulgaria@gmail.com.

For Him, Keith Blalock

 

(Home Page) (Previous)