Bulgarian
feeding 2022
The following
letter was written by missionary William
LeFevre in Bulgaria concerning the upcoming
flour and oil distribution. Please send
contributions to Charity Baptist Mission
P.O. 692 Bristol, TN 37621
“For he
satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the
hungry soul with goodness.” Psalm 107:9
To the Strangers
and Pilgrims scattered abroad,
Howdy from
Bulgaria. I hope this letter finds every
one of you rejoicing in the Lord, mindful of
His benefits, resting secure in His
promises, and comforted by His
faithfulness. It sure is good to know, that
in a world falling apart, and people falling
to pieces, that God’s word stands just as
sure as it ever has been: perfect, powerful,
and a present help for any and everything
that comes our way. And there’s a whole lot
coming our way. Wars and rumors of wars,
famines, pestilences, and earthquakes, and
Jesus said that was just the beginning.
Merciful heavens, if that’s just the
beginning, I pity the people that’ll see the
bulk of it.
You know, one of
the most encouraging things in scripture, is
how peaceful the Lord remains in our panic.
When the whole thing blows up, and no one
can recognize what was for what is, the Lord
is still on His throne, and it’s still
business as usual in Heaven. As bad as it
gets down here, it’s still as good as it
gets in the presence of Jesus.
Lots of folks
are asking how we’ll fare through the
winter, what with the continuing and
escalating war, the rising cost of
everything, and the lessening supply. Some
have even asked, given all that, if we’re
going ahead with distributing flour and oil
again. Don’t let the nightly news distract
you from the good news. How are our
believers going to make it this winter? The
same way they’ve made it through every
winter preceding this one, the same way you
and I make it, with the help of God. And
just as Heaven hasn’t shut down, we’ll keep
on doing what we’ve always done, trusting
Him to supply what we lack.
As of right now,
the dollar is up – the highest it has been
in years, near 2 to 1, on par with the
British pound and Euro; the price of flour
is up, but not outrageous, at 1.10 leva/kilo;
and oil is around 5 leva per liter bottle.
To put that in terms you’ll understand, to
provide a single family with 100 lbs. of
flour and 5 liters of oil it will cost about
$40. It normally takes around $70,000 to
feed who we can, starting with our own, and
helping all we can with what we have.
That’s a big
number, to us; to God it’s just a number.
It could be seven or seven million; it’s all
the same to Him. Believing that with all
our hearts, why ask little if He would just
as easily give much? After all, it’s the
same faith required to obtain the least
amount as the greatest. Help us ask big.
Gracious me, what a God! I’m looking
forward to seeing Him surprise us again.
Bless His name. Oh, and while you’re asking
big, ask quick as well; if He’ll do one,
He’ll be just as pleased to do the other.
God bless every last one of you. Love
y’all.
Because of a
living Savior,
The William
LeFevre Family
(a printable PDF
version of this letter with pictures is available here)
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Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. September
2017
But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come
unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 19:14
We hope this letter finds you well satisfied with the goodness and grace
of our Lord. Many of you have been faithful to help supply the
physical needs for the poor, hungry and destitute children in Bulgaria
and Romania. These children have been made full by your love and
generosity.
Our primary ministry is to the gypsy Turks in this region of Eastern
Europe. They are very poor, and most have no means of supplying
for their families. That being said, we would like to give you an update
on the feeding centers in Romania and Bulgaria. The children who come to
these centers are taught to sing hymns to the Lord and receive one hot
meal per day. For most this is their only prepared hot meal.
Currently
in Eastern Romania
our missionaries along with four national pastors oversee seven feeding
centers. For around $3,400 per month we provide one hot meal per day to
over 320 children. This breaks down to about 35 cents per child and
consists of 6,400 loaves of bread, flour, pasta, beans, rice, tomato
paste, potatoes and oil. We now have adults who grew up being feed in
these centers assisting with food distribution in many of these
villages.
In Eastern Bulgaria
our missionaries oversee eight feeding centers. Every month we send
around $5,000 to provide each feeding center with: five liters of oil,
five bags of sugar, five bags of salt, tomato puree, five bags of
macaroni, one large sack of potatoes, four 25kg bags of flour, and
sometimes bags of lentils, rice or beans. The children are not only fed
physically but spiritually as well with hymns and prayer.
Our missionaries give generously to help offset the cost of these
centers. Currently the exchange rate of the dollar is in our favor, and
we can feed more children, but this fluctuates according to the European
trade market. As this work continues to grow so do the expenses, but I
believe God will meet all the needs. Many souls have been saved by the
grace of God through your continual prayers and support of this
ministry.
Once again, thank you for all you have done and for letting the Lord
lead you in helping the helpless in their time of need. To God Be the
Glory, Rev. Mike Nixon, Director
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An update
letter from the Director Mike Nixon. September
2016
“Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that
may abound to your account. But I have all, and abound: I am
full, having received of Epaphroditus the things
which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice
acceptable, well pleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need
according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus”.
Philippians 4:17-19
Brethren in Christ, we hope this letter finds you
well and happy in the Lord. For many, many years the churches, saints,
and missionaries
have been made full by your love and generosity. I
would like to thank each and every one for supporting the work of God
and furthering
the gospel. Multitudes of souls have been saved by the grace of God
because of your continual prayers and support of this
ministry.
I have
been sitting here thinking about all the opportunities/needs that we
have in Romania and Bulgaria, and wondering how all
these needs can be met, then this
verse came to me. “Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven
and the earth by thy
great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for
thee”.
Jeremiah 32:17
So I am
sending this letter by faith believing God for Jesus’ name sake that He
will meet all these needs.
The first
I would like to mention is such a great blessing; Back in 1991 Brother
Ralph Cheatwood came by Brookside
Baptist Church with a burden to translate the word of God for the
Turkish speaking people.
Brother Cheatwood along with the other missionaries has now completed
three translations in two different languages of the KJV Bible,
Bulgarian, Latin Turkish and Cyrillic Turkish. They are now able to
print 100,000 pages per month. These are given to the people free of
charge and all the labor is
free. This costs just under $1,000 a month for printing supplies
and for around $12,000 they can print Bibles for a full year!
Second, I would like to mention the feeding of the
churches in this same area. These people are very poor and many have no
means of
supplying for their families, especially during the
winter. As many of you know, over the last several years by the grace
of God we have been buying 110 lbs.
of flour and five liters of oil and giving it to each church family.
The cost varies yearly due to fluctuations in the exchange rate
and of flour and oil prices. Usually it cost between $70,000 to $80,000
dollars to feed
around 2,200 families each year.
Third, I would like to mention the Coats for Kids
ministry that the Lord laid on Brother Larry and Sister Carrie Leach's
hearts. One day
as they
were driving down a road in Bulgaria they saw a woman holding a little
child upside down in a dumpster as the child was
trying to find some food. When the
woman pulled the child up out of the dumpster it was naked. This broke
their hearts. As they
thought of what they had seen, they began to ask the Lord for the means
to keep extra clothes with them to help these poor people.
They began to search and soon found
a place where they could buy a coat and a pair of socks for about six
dollars. So over the last several years they have been clothing
some 300 to 500 kids each winter as the funds allow.
And then
last of all, I want to mention a building that Brother Ralph has a
burden to buy for a church in one of the villages.
It is a really good buy at $5,900 and they are think it would cost
another $2,400 to make all the repairs needed.
This work continues to grow and so do the expenses,
but I am believe God will meet the needs. Many of you have been so
faithful to support this work through your prayers
and financial support. I want to thank you and say I believe when we
get to heaven God will show you the
fruits of your labor. Once again, thank you for all you have done and
for being sensitive to all these needs as the Holy Spirit leads
you.
To God Be the Glory
- Mike Nixon --
Director
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From Bulgaria
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-
Bible printing update
-
Dear Friends in Christ, Aug 2016
Current prices of Bibles, New
Testaments and hymnbooks in the Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet, the Turkish
Cyrillic alphabet and the Turkish Latin based alphabet.
- A4 Bible - Turkish and Bulgarian with
cross references $12 - A5 Bible - Turkish and Bulgarian with cross references $6
- A4 New Testament - Turkish and
Bulgarian no cross references $3
- A5 New Testament - Turkish and Bulgarian no cross references $1.50
- A4 Hymnbook - Turkish with the Gospel
of John and 14 Psalms $1.30
- A5 Hymnbook - Turkish with the Gospel of John and 14 Psalms $.65
We are currently distributing free of
charge New testaments and hymnbooks to all the believers in our churches and
others that are interested. We provide whole Bibles to the national pastors and
preachers. These Bibles and hymnbooks are produced on a printer/copier and the
holes are then hand punched or drilled and then hand sewn with a laminated
cover. The labor is provided freely by the national pastors and American
missionaries. From July 2015 to June 2016, 12 months, we printed 1,220,000 (One
million two hundred and twenty thousand) copies, an average of 100 thousand a
month.
In August 2016 we bought two used
Minolta machines ($2,000 each) which are guaranteed for five million copies
each. We start printing again in September 2016. The amount needed each month
is just under $1,000 for 100,000 copies. The equivalent of 300 A4 or 600 A5 New
Testaments or 750 A4 or 1500 A5 hymnbooks or combinations thereof.
The balance in our printing fund is
zero. We need your help to start printing again in September of 2016.
Brother Ralph Cheatwood.
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p
lease
click on the link above for a printable pdf version
Bulgarian update
June, 2015
We
want to thank all those who contributed to the flour and oil distribution in
Bulgaria. It was a great blessing to everyone involved. This year the US
dollar was very strong against the Euro and we were able to feed over 2,000
needy church families. Each family received one hundred pounds of flour and
over a gallon of oil. These are saved, baptized church members who attend our
church meeting in Bulgaria. They thank God for the brethren in America who
gave toward helping them in their time of need. Your generosity has redounded
to the glory of God.
In Christ,
Rev. Mike Nixon - Director of Charity
Baptist Mission
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
October 1, 2014
We are so thankful for the kind responses we have
received about Jacob. He is in the last month of his medication and doing very
well. By the Lord’s grace we were able to marry him to his new bride on August 2
and it couldn’t have gone any better. We were blessed to have large attendance
of Turks and Americans and the Senior Missionary preached in English and then in
Turkish. I thank you for your prayers and gratefully praise God for giving them
the desire to share such a Christian testimony among the people we have tried to
edify these many years. It was one of the greatest days of our lives and our
prayers are ever before the heavenly Father to produce many more fruitful
testimonies for Jacob and Elmaz to shine forth in this dark world.
We were able to purchase the larger car at the end of August. It was a blessing
and we are so thankful for your patience and charity. Jacob took the car for the
first time to the meetings and the Turkish believers knelt and cried and prayed
prayers of thanksgiving. Many of them waited for over two years so they could
start going to the villages and encourage their ill-treated brothers and sisters
in Christ.
The meetings and feeding centers are all well. Many new people and children are
coming. In one of the villages there are around fifty children who come and love
to sing. Sometimes there are twenty children and adults who are waiting outside
for us to arrive. Jacob was telling me that in this meeting a little girl came
with her mother and was naked. Some of the people wanted her to leave, but a
couple of the ladies took off their head coverings and girded the little child
and set her on their laps. I am so glad they are not afraid to disregard the old
Muslim law that teaches it is a great shame to remove your head covering in
public. They covered this young child to shield her from public rebuke so her
mother could sit in peace to here the Gospel. I still remember the day when God
clothed me when I was naked and ashamed.
We have returned to the states for a short furlough. The Senior Missionary has a
burden and asked us to help him raise some money. Jacob is taken care of the
work with the national pastors. Little Nate has never been to his country and it
has been over three years since Teresa was home. Would you please contact me at
828-803-3451 or 828-783-0265. We look forward to seeing and sharing all the Lord
is doing in Romania and Bulgaria.
Thank you so much for all that you do. From North Carolina,
Nathan Reed and Family
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Bulgaria - Romania Update
click above for pdf
attachment
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September 27, 2014
Missionaries:
Eight (8) American
Families, three (3) in Romania and five (5) in Bulgaria: Dave Turner, Nathan
Reed, Jacob Reed, Ralph Cheatwood, Matthew Welch, Zachary LeFevre, Larry Leach,
William LeFevre. We work as a group, with each missionary having their
individual work.
National Pastors:
Four (4) pastors in
Romania and eight (8) in Bulgaria. Besides these pastors there are several
young men in Romania that preach but do not pastor churches at this time. All
these pastors and preachers work under the authority of the missionaries.
Churches:
Mostly Turkish house
meetings, with seven (7) self-standing buildings, twenty (20) churches in
Romania and eighty (80) in Bulgaria. We minister in English, Turkish, Romanian
and Bulgarian.
Our simple definition of a
local church is a group of baptized believers, meeting regularly as a church,
having a national pastor.
Charity East Association Romania:
Casa Julia: Home where we
are raising eleven (11) children. This home is also lovingly called ‘The
Father’s House’. We have had most of these children since birth.
Our ministry in Romania is
done from this complex.
*
for full update on Casa Julia, see Attachment 1
Feeding Centers:
National believers’ homes
where we feed children a hot meal every day. Twelve (12) in Romania and nine
(9) in Bulgaria. In these homes the children learn to sing hymns and pray,
thanking God for His many blessings and for their daily bread. As these
children have grown up, many have been saved and are now established in one of
our local churches.
Coats for Kids:
This ministry was started
by Larry and Carrie Leach in 2008 with just a few coats in the back of a van.
It has grown and now over one thousand (1,000) coats with a pair of socks are
given out each winter.
Flour and Oil:
Each winter, over two
thousand (2,000) families in Bulgaria receive a fifty (50) kilogram sack of flour
and a five (5) liter bottle of cooking oil. This helps them get through the
winter.
Bulgarian and Turkish Bibles:
These Bibles have been
newly translated from the English King James 1611 Authorized Version. Along
with Turkish hymnbooks, the New Testaments of these Bibles are being freely
distributed to our believers and others that are interested.
Daily Bread:
Over 4,500 loaves of bread
are freely distributed monthly to needy families in Romania through the daily
prayer meetings.
Three Seas Missionary Journeys:
Our purpose for these
journeys is to raise interest and support for the work in Romania and Bulgaria,
and also to expand into Turkey. Since Romania and Bulgaria are a part of the
European Union, many of our believers have travelled into Europe, seeking work.
They carry their hymnbooks and New Testaments with them, finding each other and
meeting together wherever they go, so we have a witness in many parts of Europe.
Several of the missionaries have already made trips into Turkey this past year,
giving out New Testaments and hymnbooks in Turkish to contacts they have made.
In order to achieve our
purpose, we want pastors, mission directors and church members with a heart for
missions to have the opportunity to see our work in Romania and Bulgaria, take
part in church services and evangelization and visit sites of the seven churches
mentioned in the book of Revelation which are in Turkey. We want you to have a
‘hands on’ part in this work. To use a military term, we want ‘Boots on the
Ground’.
The cost of these missionary journeys would be your roundtrip airfare to
Bucharest, Romania, where you would be met at the airport and brought to our
Children’s Home complex in Constanta, Romania. The price after arriving in
Bucharest would be one hundred dollars ($100) a day per person all inclusive.
This price would cover all your expenses while with us- travel, hotels, meals,
snacks, etc.- and would leave us with enough money to produce DVD’s, hymnbooks
and New Testaments to give out on the way.
*
For itinerary of
missionary journeys, see Attachment 2
*
For more information on
journeys, see Attachment 3
DVD’s and Website:
Twenty years ago we began
giving out cassette tapes of our church services that included preaching,
testifying, singing and praying. We now give out DVD’s with videos of Turkish
church services and have a website where hundreds of meeting videos are posted.
This is our work that the
Lord has given us. We are thankful to be able to share it with you.
Brother Ralph Cheatwood
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Sep 23, 2014
As summer draws to a close we pause to reflect on what the Lord has done for us
this season. The work in Bulgaria continues to flourish. We recently
finished our summer baptisms. This year the Lord added over fifty souls to
the church through the ordinance of baptism. Others have been saved, but could
not make it to the meetings to be baptized. Lord willing, next summer they'll be
baptized as well. Our baptizings are the highlight of our year, because
the older believers get to meet the new ones and they fellowship together.
Normally the church service afterwards goes long into the night. This year
was no exception. Even after the closing prayer, the believers broke out into
another song, and then another.
This year the Lord has provided new vehicles for each of the national pastors in
Bulgaria. We want to thank those who gave towards this work. Most of
these men preach in about ten villages per week, some of them, even more.
They have addicted themselves to this ministry. With pastors so dedicated to the
churches, it's no wonder that the churches are thriving.
Another special blessing is the large meeting at our church up in Romania.
Earlier in the year we took about sixty believers from Bulgaria who met about
that many in Romania for a weekend of meetings. Now our plan is to have weekend
meetings every fifth Sunday up in Romania. (Thank the Lord for the new cars!)
The believers are thrilled to see one another. The preachers are tickled to see
so many people gathered in one place that they preach extra good.
Please continue to pray for the work here, the new believers, the churches, the
national pastors, and the missionaries. Without your continued prayer and
support, the work would not be what it is today.
God bless each one of you. Zach LeFevre
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Dear Fellow Saints,
August 2014
We are Dave and Dara Turner. We have been Baptist missionaries for 22 years this
year. We came to Bulgaria in 1992 to work with Dara’s parents, Ralph and
Sandy Cheatwood. They have been missionaries since 1975 working among
Turkish speaking people, many of whom live in both Romania and Bulgaria.
The idea for Casa Julia came to Bro. Ralph about 13 years ago. For several
years we had been starting churches among the Turks living in Romania in the
area around the city of Constanta. In these churches, we sang hymns, preached
the Gospel and prayed for God to move and save sinners. We also prayed for
the sick and those with special problems and needs. Out of these churches,
we began to give bread to needy families and eventually to provide hot meals
once a day to children in the poorer neighborhoods of Constanta and in villages
nearby. Our churches became known among the people as places where one
could truly get help from God. As a result of our reputation for genuinely
caring about the needy, we began to get asked if we could take babies who, for
one reason or another, would be abandoned. From this was born Bro. Ralph’s
vision of what is now Casa Julia.
Casa Julia is our home now, and the only home these children have ever known.
Dara and I have 6 children and one grandchild. Shalyn, our oldest and only
girl, turns 20 this year and lives in the States. Noah Cross, our
youngest, went to be with the Lord 8 days after he was born two years ago.
We live here with our other 4 boys and the 11 children in the Home ranging in
ages from 6 to 15 years old. All of the children call me “Daddy” and Dara
“Mommy”. We got most of the children newborn, several of which are now 12 years
old. We are very proud of what the Lord has let us do here and that He
helped us realize Bro. Ralph’s vision of having a place where we could raise
unwanted children as our own in the hope of one day seeing them saved and maybe
even staying here and serving with us in the work.
Bro. Ralph told us he did not want the children to grow up ashamed that they
were raised in an orphanage. When they are asked where they live, he wants
them to be able to hold their heads up and say proudly “I live there, in ‘The
Father’s House’”.
Bro. Ralph always taught us that all of the work should be an extension of the
local church, in which he believes strongly. We always keep the church as
the center of our work here and also the Children’s Home. Each week we
have a Turkish meeting here on the grounds which the children attend. We
also have an English meeting each week in the Children’s Home on the top floor
which we built to be our church. The children love to sing and know many of the
English and Turkish hymns. It is such a comfort to know they are being
raised under the Gospel and are given this opportunity to grow up knowing Jesus.
Besides Dara and me, our 4 boys, and Ralph and Sandy, another missionary family,
Nathan and Teresa Reed and their children also live here on the property.
Nathan, his son Jacob, and our national pastors take care of the village church
meetings. There are five other missionary families in our group who live
in Bulgaria.
Over the years, the Children’s Home has become somewhat of a ‘safe haven’ for
the other missionary families. Three times a year, we have a week-long
campmeeting. The missionaries and their families come and stay here and we
have two services and three meals a day. They are able to get away from
their every day work, relax and get a spiritual refreshing here at the meeting.
We also open the home to them whenever they want to come up for a weekend to
have church with us or if they just need a day or two away. We provide a
comfortable place to stay and meals so they can rest and get whatever help they
may need. This is just one outreach that we have been able to be a part of by
having the Home.
About 4 years ago, we met some servicemen stationed at the nearby American
military base. We invited them to church at the Home. They came on
Sunday to church, stayed for lunch, and spent the rest of the day playing with
the kids. This began a very special relationship with our servicemen and
women. As their mission here is rotational, we have a steady flow of
Marine, Army, Navy and Air Force men and women coming through the base.
We have stayed in contact with the military, making sure they know they are more
than welcome to attend our services or just come and spend time with the kids.
This has enriched our lives and those of the kids so much and, from what many
have said, been a great blessing to these men and women. Several have said
that it was the first time they had ever been to church.
We are very thankful that several of the children have people in the States who
have taken a special interest in them. These are people, mostly in
churches, who have heard about the children and have taken it upon themselves to
help with things like birthday presents, Christmas gifts, and cards at holidays.
A few of these even write back and forth with the children. It is so special to
the kids to have someone in America to call their own. To the children,
America seems to be some far-away magical place that must be wonderful since
that’s where Mommy and Daddy came from. There are others who on occasion send
gifts to all of the kids….Easter candy, presents, school supplies. These types
of things help us give to our Home children a little of what kids in America
take for granted. We really appreciate those who have taken the time to do
something special for our children.
When we talked about what we would tell you about Casa Julia and our children,
we discussed telling you the story of how we found each of the children in the
Home….of the dreadful conditions, of the lack of love, and in some cases, of the
terrible abuse. We decided that we would rather give you the picture of
how we see our children. They are bright, loving, adorable little people
who have been as much a blessing to us as we could ever be to them. We
thank the Lord for calling us to this work and we feel blessed beyond measure
for the wonderful life He has given us.
We believe that God has a very special plan for each one of these children He
sent our way and whatever that plan is for their lives, we want to care for them
and raise them in a way that will bring them to know Jesus Christ as their
Savior.
In Christ, Dave and Dara Turner
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CHARITY
CHILDREN’S HOME
North India
North India
Established 1979
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy
laden and I will give you rest” Matthew 11:28
Pastor, Church & Friends,
August 2013
Greetings to you in Jesus’s
Precious Name. We trust this short note will find you all well.
We are writing this specially to let you know of the
goodness of God towards us. I have been sick for nearly a year with dizziness
and a constant headache. This year Susan called 911 three times as I was
passing out. The doctors did a lot of investigations and they referred me to
several specialists like: the Neurosurgeon, Cardiologist, Ear Nose and Throat
specialist but nobody could find out the cause for such spells. It had become
very difficult for me to have one good day without a headache. Well, on July 15th
2013 Susan & I went to Ann Arbor MI to visit our daughter and her family. On
the 20th we both went for a morning walk. I suddenly felt dizzy and
was unable to walk. By then my pulse and blood pressure was not recordable and
our son-in-law drove me to the hospital. There my EKG was not recordable
either. Immediately I was admitted into the Cardiac ICU. I was revived by
evening that day. The Cardiologist in charge took great interest in my case and
put me under observation. They connected me to several monitors and also did
many, many tests. After the third day they found out that my heart slowed down
so much that it was not pumping enough blood to my brain which caused the dizzy
and headache spells. On the fourth day the doctor placed a pace maker in me and
I cannot explain what a difference it has made to me. I feel more energetic
without a constant headache bugging me. I cannot write all the details, but all
the way I could see the hand of the Lord planning and getting things done for
me. I am so thankful to Him for His goodness and mercy upon me and Susan too.
We want you to rejoice with us and praise His Holy Name.
As far as the Children’s ministry, it is all going well. The
children have started their new academic year as we informed you in our last
news letter. During the next three months Susan and I will be traveling
extensively throughout India while visiting the four Centers. Therefore, it is
our earnest request to you to pray that we will be physically well to do this.
There is great joy to visit many of the children who were raised by us and also
see the existing children in the Centers.
We thank you as always for your
continued prayer and financial support. Little is much when God is in it. This
is the experience of our life. The little what you give, the Lord multiplies
and makes it sufficient for all our needs. “And God is able to make all grace
abound toward you; that ye always having all sufficiency in all things, may
abound to every good work:” 2 Corinthians 9:8
May God richly bless you. Suraj & Susan Dalabhanjan
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Jul 24,
2013
As the wheat has been harvested in
Bulgaria, so the Lord is reaping a
harvest among the poor and needy Turks
of this land. Last weekend we had our
first summer baptism and saw thirty
young men and women publicly profess
their faith in Christ. Over two hundred
believers gathered, and after the
baptism we had church services all
night, and again on Sunday morning.
Lord willing, we will have at least two
more meetings in August as we try to
gather in every village for baptisms and
overnight meetings.
One lady got a good report from the
oncologist last week, that she no longer
needs surgery. This was after she came
to the meeting and gave her heart to the
Lord. Now she is a walking testimony in
her Turkish neighborhood to the power of
prayer.
We appreciate your prayers for the
pastors here who have suffered a heart
attack (Pastor Nasuf) and a stroke
(Pastor Ismail). Pray the Lord of the
harvest that he would send forth
labourers into his harvest; pray
especially that these experienced
labourers would be able to return to the
work again full time.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bro Mike,
Mon, Jul 8, 2013 at 12:49 PM
Just wanted
to let you know how much I appreciate
listening to the children's home hour
every week. I listen to your
announcements, then switch over to the
link that John posts on the website and
listen to the entire sermon of whoever's
preaching. One week on the radio
broadcast there was only enough time for
half of the sermon (it was Ricky
preaching) I was so excited about the
sermon that I had John send me the rest
of the sermon that day so I could listen
to the whole thing. Sometimes John
still cuts the sermons in half, but at
least now he posts the entire sermon on
the website where I can listen to it
without having to wait a week. I
absolutely love hearing the preaching,
both old and new.
I want to
see if I can get anybody to pray for
some things over here. Just in the last
week or so I've had so many people
asking me to pray. We've had the Lord
answer some prayers in our village
church here, but there's so much more to
pray about. Brother Nasuf is the father
of five girls (and one boy). When they
were younger, the girls would sing
together, and what a blessing it was!
Now, four of the girls are married: two
to saved men, two to lost men. The two
girls whose husbands are lost are truly
suffering. Their husbands don't work at
all, and they live off of the welfare
checks. One of them is a compulsive
gambler. Sometimes he even gambles (and
loses) the welfare money and has to beg
his parents to pay their bills. The
other young man drinks all day long.
His wife is afraid to say or do anything
because he beats her. I just hate it
that these girls who were raised in a
Christian home are now skinny and sickly
because they've barely got enough to eat
because of their husband’s behavior.
There are
others that are also hungry. Last week
Nasuf asked me if we had any extra food
from the children's feedings because a
woman in his church was penniless and
hungry. I noticed that one woman in the
church that is a real blessing was not
in the meeting this week. When I asked
about her, they said that she went to
stay with some relatives because she
doesn't have anything to feed her
children.
There are
some other things that we need, but I
won't mention them; the Lord knows about
it.
Wednesday
we'll start our meeting up in Romania.
Please pray that the Lord would come in
every meeting; we really need him.
From
Bulgaria, Brother Zach
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Howdy
Preacher,
Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 2:24 PM
It's been
a little bit, but thought I'd write and
give a quick update. Everything is
going well here. That's not to say
we're without our struggles. We have an
enemy who fights us daily, but, by the
grace of God, we're winning more than
we're losing.
Since Bro.
Larry's return to the States I've been
going with Ismael, the national pastor
from Novi Pazar. He has nine regular
meetings he looks after. Since I'm
living in Varna now, and have about an
hour's commute just to pick him up, Zach
and I exchanged the farthest meeting for
one closer at hand, for convenience.
Ismael's meetings are all doing well,
and his people love him to pieces.
We've changed the hours we meet for the
Summer, to escape the heat of midday; we
now meet later in the evenings. We
thought this might be a problem, but as
we discussed it with everyone, they were
just happy to have a meeting, regardless
of what time we showed up.
Ismael's
health is not the best, however. Bro.
Larry can attest to this. He's had
heart problems for a while now. Just
prior, or after Larry's departure, I
can't remember now, Ismael had a slight
stroke. He refused to enter the
hospital, partly out of stubbornness,
but mainly due to a lack of money.
Without insurance the bill would be
beyond his means, and without insurance
they more than likely wouldn't take
him. He persevered through his weakness
and continued attending to his
churches. This week, though, was too
much for him. He preached his Sunday
meetings fine, and was in good spirits.
On Tuesday, however, midway through our
second meeting, he began to have
problems. He exited the meeting and
sought water to splash on his neck and
face. He said he had to go home and
rest, and begged the church's
forgiveness. Halfway to the car, he had
to sit down. When he finally got to the
car, and I was able to crank the air
conditioning up, he felt some relief.
He said the left side of his head was
throbbing and he felt weak. I asked him
if he wanted me to take him straight to
the doctors, to which he replied he
would feel better once home. I left him
there Tuesday with the promise of seeing
him again the next day. Wednesday, when
I arrived, he was weaker still. At some
point in the morning they had called the
ambulance, but he refused to go, and
they were reluctant to take him without
insurance. They all acknowledged
though, that he needed to go. After
talking with the other missionaries, and
especially Bro. Mitko, who knows the
Bulgarian hospital and insurance
situation, we thought it best to pay his
insurance upfront to avoid a more
substantial bill later and hopefully
stop or prevent any further health
problems. His insurance came to about
$500 (700+ lev). As it was the end of
the month, and most of us we're fairly
strapped for cash, we borrowed from our
Turkish camp meeting fund, and were
happy to do so to meet this need.
Ismael, as well, was much relieved, when
yesterday afternoon we came back with
the proper documents allowing him
extended health care. His family all
cried and hugged our necks. Today he is
going to through the myriad of doctor
visits necessary here to be admitted to
the hospital.
Please
keep these nationals in your prayers.
Ismael isn't the only one without
insurance. When you have to choose
between paying your insurance or buying
your groceries, you do the latter and
pray you never get sick. Also, pray for
us, as our surplus to host these Summer
meetings has diminished. When we
thought about postponing July's meeting,
we just as quickly dismissed the idea,
resolving to press ahead trusting God to
supply.
I pray you're doing well. At all of
Bro. Ismael's meetings they pray for
you. They've been praying for
Brookside, and every service they
remember the Lyons. God bless you all.
From
Bulgaria William LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tue, 11
Jun 2013
We just
finished the second of our summer camp
meetings. The first meeting was held up
in Romania at the property the Lord gave
us next to the children's home. For
three days we met with about eighty
Turkish believers, most of them from
Bulgaria. There was great joy and many,
many tears shed as the Turks testified
about how they were in darkness, but God
had translated them to the kingdom of
his dear son. After three days most of
the people had lost their voice from all
the singing.
Then, this
past weekend we met at the church in
Dabravino for one night. Over two
hundred people gathered from the local
churches in eastern Bulgaria. There are
many more that wanted to come. Some of
them even cried when they found out
there was not enough room in the cars
for them to come. Next month we'll meet
again and bring in some others.
Although the primary purpose of this
type of meeting is the edification of
the saints, there were some that came
for the first time, wanting to be
saved.
Pray for
us. From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date:
Tue, 7 May 2013 10:34:06 -0700 (PDT)
Subject:
May 7 Update
Today I
had the privilege of meeting with other
missionaries and national pastors to
proof read the gospel of John and
epistle to the Romans in Turkish.
Although we were proof reading, looking
for typing errors and such, somehow
reading the Bible out loud seemed to be
a greater blessing than reading
devotionally. Soon we will begin
printing these for distribution. Next
week we will continue proof reading the
rest of the New Testament. Each of our
national pastors has a complete Bible,
but very few people over here have any
kind of Bible, save the gospels of John
that we distributed years ago. I
recently had a special blessing: after I
preached one night I overheard one of
the ladies in the church that said, "I
have got to get a Bible and start
reading it." How encouraging it is to
know that my preaching brought a love
and a desire for the word of God.
This past
month has given us some absolutely
beautiful weather. Usually, that means
that many of our people are now working
and not able to attend church, but we
are still encouraged to see the Lord
working. In our village church we have
new people come about every week. I
think that at least half of the families
in the village have been to the church.
This week we had a new one come and
promise to continue coming.
There was
a bit of excitement in the village this
week. A young couple from a nearby
village ran away together to marry. Her
father and family apparently are in some
type of mafia and are feared in this
region. Somehow, the father came to our
village with several helpers and they
thought that the girl was hiding in the
home of one of our church members. They
broke the windows of the house and
started beating this brother with a
metal chair. They grabbed his wife and
threatened to break her arm. As soon as
she got away, she fell to her knees and
cried out loud, "Jesus, save us!" Upon
hearing this, the men realized that the
missing girl was not there and they
left. Our brother here may have
suffered a concussion (we're not sure,
the hospital wouldn't admit him because
his insurance hadn't been paid), but he
came to the meeting last night and gave
a wonderful testimony that he could have
died, but he knew the Lord protected
him.
From
Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
From: "Dimitar
Stefanov"
To:
"Brookside Church"
Date:
Sun, 05 May 2013 01:52:22 -0400
Subject: May 2013
To:
Pastor Mike Nixon and Brookside Baptist
Church.
Greetings
in the Name of our Lord and only Saviour
Jesus Christ.
We thank
the Lord for His manifold spiritual and
material blessings. It has been about
11 days since the summer has been here.
So everyone is rejoicing for that. A
lot of our believers now go all over
visiting the sick, looking for work and
etc.
One lady
came back from Germany with her teenage
daughter. Over there they took her to a
Hoja and the girl literally went crazy,
lost her mind and could not recognize
any body. Her relatives come to
church. At church they presented the
need and we have been praying. At home
every night they sang to her hymns and
prayed for her and showed her love.
After about 10 days of praying and
believing God the Lord delivered her
from the devil's trap and she came back
to her right mind. Praise the Lord for
that. She begged her mother to stay
with the believers because she felt so
good. Some of these people go to the
wrong place and get spelled by the
devil, but praise God they come to the
church for help and the Lord helps them.
On the
17th of May we have a Turkish meeting in
Romania. Please, pray that the Lord will
bless abundantly.
The
churches over here are very thankful for
the oil and the flour that you all
provided for them. They praise the Lord
for providing for their table. A lot of
them praise the Lord for providing them
with victuals so they can help someone
else.
May the
Lord bless you with a good service this
morning.
In
Christ, Bro. Mitko.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013 Bulgarian flour and oil
distribution update
To: Pastor Mike Nixon and Brookside
Baptist Church,
April 19, 2013
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. Once again we
over here are bound to thank God our
Father through the Lord Jesus Christ for
all of His blessings bestowed upon us
from above.
All the believers over here are thankful
to God and to you all for the flour and
the oil that God supplied them with
through your all's faith and charity.
Last week we gave out 15,000 kg of flour
and 1,500 liters of oil. The believers
are rejoicing for the Lord's supply and
praise Him for that.
The church attendance has been very
good. Most of the people that come to
church are out of work. New souls
started coming to church as their lives
have been destroyed by the devil.
Please, pray that the Lord will touch
these newcomers.
One lady testified that she became a
believer through her daughter in law.
The girl kept telling her that if she
would come to church only once, she
would not want to leave it. After she
came once after years of prayers and
invitations, she came once to church and
got saved and she is in church. Praise
God for that.
Another lady said that she was passing
by the church and we had a service
outside. She heard the singing and
someone told her to come to church.
Just a few days before that her own
daughter died. She went home and asked
her husband if she can start coming to
church. He let her come. She started
coming and got saved.
The work on the Bulgarian Bible has been
going. Please, keep on praying for us
as I pastor churches and work on the
Bulgarian translation.
The Lord has been good to me and my
family and I praise Him for that.
In Christ, Brother Mitko Bulgaria
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We've got more good news to report.
April 15, 2013
The church here in our own village is
doing very well. Recently there have
been some people come for the first
time, but even better, we've heard of
several other family members and
relatives that have been saved. Most of
them are in Western Europe working, but
the Lord has affected the believers here
so strongly that He's all they can talk
about. Just this week there was a woman
who had her daughter and son-in-law and
grandchildren return to Bulgaria for a
visit for the first time in a year.
They arrived one hour before the
meeting. So, this woman visited with
them for one hour, then left them and
came to church. When a person puts the
Lord and the church ahead of everything
else, the excitement and dedication is
contagious.
This week we were able to finish the
flour distribution for the churches in
our area. As Paul was being sent out to
the mission work, he was told to
remember the poor. So, we, endeavor to
remember the poor and help feed them
once a year. Each church family
received one hundred pounds of flour and
over a gallon of cooking oil. For some
of them it came just in time, as their
winter store of supplies had just run
out. I'm including a picture of a
little girl. She has nine brothers and
sisters in her house, and ten other
cousins living next door. Many days
they go to bed hungry, but praise the
Lord, that won't happen now for the next
month or more. Thank you all so much
for your prayers and financial support.
There are some children going to bed
full tonight.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Brookside,
March 29, 2013
I first want to say how much I love and
appreciate each one of you. I am so thankful
for your faithful prayers for all of us
missionaries and the churches here in
Bulgaria.
After twenty years the Lord continues to
bless the ministry here and I feel
privileged just to have a small part in it.
I am currently going to nine different
meetings every week with Brother Mitko and
it is truly a blessing. It is such a
blessing to see these gypsies get touched by
the Lord. When we sing hymns I see them
crying and many stand up to testify about
how good Jesus has been to them. Even though
they are dirt poor they say how rich they
are in Jesus. In several meetings there have
been many more young people coming. It is a
blessing to see them coming to the meetings
where they get to hear the gospel.
Some of these believers live in extreme
poverty but what a blessing to see them
thanking the Lord with tears for his
blessings. I am thankful for your prayers
but I also want you all to know that these
Turkish gypsy believers also pray for you
all.
May the Lord bless each and every one of
you.
In Christ, Frank Cornelius
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Preacher Mike and Brookside Baptist
Church,
March 27, 2013
We send greetings from all the churches
that are among us in Christ Jesus. Grace
be to you, and peace, from God our
Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
First, Brethren, we would like to praise
the Lord for visiting his people in
giving them bread (Ruth 1), and secondly
to give thanks for the gift bestowed by
you all (2 Cor. 1).
To date, we have distributed over
140,000 pounds of flour, and more than
1,500 gallons of oil to the families in
our churches. Every family receives 110
pounds of flour and over a gallon of
oil. For many who live from hand to
mouth, and truly live by faith, this is
such a blessing. They rejoice how God
has provided for them during the most
difficult time of the year when most
people have no work or money. Many
people have gone to Germany or Holland
to find work but most have returned
empty and hungry. I cannot begin to tell
you of all the joy that has come from
the most needy believers and how they
have testified about God providing for
them.
They give thanks to the Lord for laying
the Bulgarian Christian believers on the
hearts of American Christians.
Here are few testimonies from the
believers of our churches:
A woman from the village of Sadovo said,
"I am a shut-in and I was going to ask
someone to bring me 10 pounds of flour
and when I would receive my pension I
would repay them because I had nothing.
That same day the pastor came with a
truckload of flour. The Lord gave me ten
times more than I asked for! Praise be
to God!"
In Yankovo, they gave a testimony how
that for the winter two families were
living together and by February all the
canned goods they had laid up for the
winter were gone, as well as the flour.
So as they were going to the store to
see if they could get credit for a 25
kilogram bag of flour word came to them
to "Bring your horse-wagon to the
church, God has given us flour!" They
returned home with 50 kilograms of flour
and a big jug of oil, praising the Lord.
In another village they were shaking the
last of the flour from a sack, and some
had made fun of the Christian woman who
was praying for more flour. But then
they heard that a truck of flour had
arrived at the church and that woman ran
and told her husband, "See there is a
God, and He has heard our prayer! Before
the bread ran out He has given us more!"
We have seen thousands blessed and
provided for by God's hand. Truly many
here pray, "Give us our daily bread",
and the Lord still answers prayer.
To God be the glory! From Bulgaria
Brother Matt Welch
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March
26, 2013 Update
The weather in Bulgaria is cold, and
church attendance is still high.
Pastor Nasuf has a good crowd of young
people coming to his meetings. They
love to sing the hymns. Recently, a
lady came back to church for the first
time in several years. The Lord blessed
her so well that morning that she's
revived, and on fire for God, attending
all three services in the week. She's
also bringing her family and friends to
church one by one.
Pastor Alish has so many people coming
in some of his villages that he's had to
split the church up to meet in different
houses at different times. In one of
his villages he's had the "town drunks"
get saved. The last one came to church
and got saved, because he didn't have
any friends left to drink with. Now
they've turned from their sins and are
serving the living God. They're helping
assemble the Bibles and hymn books that
we print.
The old Pastor Alish is planning to
build a special room on the end of his
house this summer just for the church to
meet in. The meeting is full every week
and the believers never sing or pray
without tears.
Last week while preaching in a village
church there was a lady that heard the
gospel for the first time. As I
explained about Christ dying and being
buried, then the women coming to the
tomb three days later and finding the
tomb empty, this woman's mouth dropped
open in awe. When she heard that he was
arisen, just as he had promised, she was
again amazed. After church she cried
and hugged me and thanked me for
preaching the gospel to them.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 4, 2013
The last few weeks we've been busy
getting back into the regular schedule
of preaching in the villages. There
have been several visitors to the
churches recently. It's been my lot and
privilege to preach the first
gospel sermon they've ever heard. I
certainly covet your prayers in
fulfilling this great responsibility.
A few weeks ago there was an older woman that came to a village meeting for
the first time. After church she told us that after hearing the local
Islamic leaders her whole life, she decided that she believed the Jesus whom
we preached. What a blessing she was to the church that day. The next week
we went back to that village, but half of the crowd was gone - to that
lady's funeral. She only heard the gospel one time, and with her little
faith received it as truth.
In another village there was an older man who allowed us to have a meeting
in his house (his wife is saved), but he never would come inside. For four
years he was as welcoming as could be, but politely told us that he followed
a different religion. Recently his health began to fail; in his time of
need he began coming to church. Then, this week he fell into a coma. The
doctor said that he might only live for three days. The last time I saw him
healthy he was smiling and saying "Amen" while I preached.
He probably only heard two Bible sermons in his life, but with his little
faith he received it as truth.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bulgarian 2012 food distribution:
Several weeks ago our missionaries finished the
flour and oil distribution for 2012. Over 190,000 lbs of flour have been
given out to many of our village churches. It has been a harsh winter for them
this year which has delayed the distribution process, but the believers are very
thankful for what you have given them.
Please
click on the following link:
Bulgarian feeding update 2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Turners (one of our missionary
families in Romania) recently had their newborn infant called home to be with
the Lord
Please click on the link to read about the journey with
Noah Cross Turner
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click
here for a 2011 -
Update from Charity Baptist Mission
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update from Eastern Europe
- Please click on the following link:
A SUMMARY OF OUR
35 YEARS ON THE MISSION FIELD 1975 - 2010
(An overview of what the Lord has done
through Sr. Missionary Ralph Cheatwood, who is over the work in Bulgaria and
Romania)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coats for Kids 2010-2011
(The above link is a brief
photo essay of the "Coats for Kids" distribution in Bulgaria)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 Feb 2012
To: Pastor Mike Nixon and Brookside Baptist Church From: Bro. Mitko
Greetings in the
Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I would like to thank you all
enormously for getting me a decent used vehicle. I really appreciate you
helping me with this. Just a few weeks ago I wrecked mine on an icy curve. The
roads have been rough on my vehicle. This will be a great relief for me to know
that I can get a vehicle that I can drive comfortably to the churches and use it
in the Lord's work. Right now the weather has been cold (-10 to -20 Celsius
around 14 to -4 Fahrenheit) with snow and ice. So, as soon as I can get out I
will start looking for a vehicle.
The work has been
going well. The churches praise God for His goodness and grace. The Lord has
been drawing more new souls to come to church. For the last two weeks I was
able to go only to a few of my meetings. Most of the time, the roads have been
closed.
I would like to
share one testimony that I hope would be a blessing to you all. One sister in
the church of Shumen testified that they had a thief stealing from them for a
long time. They even knew who the man was and they were looking for him. One
day the lady saw two policemen beating a man for stealing and the snow was red
with blood. She started praying to God for the man that they would not kill
him. She got closer to the policemen and she saw that the man they were beating
was the thief she was looking for. She said that the Lord gave her His grace
and she started begging the policemen to quit beating him. She said that the
Lord went even further and she went close to the thief to wipe his blood off
then bound his wounds. At the end she told the thief: “You have stolen so much
from us and we have been looking for you, but I forgive you everything”. She
said that only the Lord can do that.
Also, the churches
here are praying for Sister Teresa and feel for her and Bro. Mike's family. We
lift you up in prayer in every church service and at home when we have
devotions.
Thank you all for
everything you are doing for the churches over here, the gospel, me and my
family.
The Lord has been
good to us. This year we expect another baby coming in August. Please, pray
that the Lord will help my wife with the third one we are having. She is in
constant pain.
May the Lord bless
you all richly through His grace.
In Christ, Brother
Miko. In Bulgaria
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brethren,
February 3, 2012
I
have another prayer request to keep in mind as you all pray for the work here in
Bulgaria. I got a call from Brother Ismael today. He is the national pastor who
goes with me to the meetings. He was calling me to let me know that he was out
of firewood and needed some help (we have had record low temperatures here the
last week or two). The Lord worked everything out and he is going to be ok in
the fire wood area. What I am writing to ask pray for is his wife. She just
recently had an operation and is not in very good health. He worries about her a
great deal. Please pray that the Lord would work everything out for their needs
to be met and also for her health to improve. Lord's will be done. Thank you so
much for all of your faithful prayers.
Brother, Larry Leach
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 31 Update
Winter's hit us hard. The (high) temperatures have been below freezing for over
a week, now. The low temperatures are below zero. We've not been able to get
out to any meetings except for the one in our own village.
At
home we've been singing, doing home school, and I've been proof-reading the
Turkish Bible. We got a letter this week from someone wanting a thousand of
them.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 17, 2012 Update
The
last several days here have been below freezing. Our meetings, on the other
hand, have been warm. We've seen some new people coming, and there is a good
spirit in all of the churches. The other day I talked to an older Turkish woman
in our village. She never had been to church, and didn't really know much about
it. I witnessed to her for about ten minutes and she listened intently. Two
weeks later she came to the meeting. Every day we feed the poor children in our
village. The children sing a hymn, pray and thank Jesus for providing the meal,
and then eat. One of the boys has been saved and now has brought his mother to
church. She's only been coming for two weeks, but has really enjoyed the
meeting.
Another woman came back from Western Europe to Bulgaria for a visit. I'm not
sure whether she's saved or not, but apparently the Lord had done something for
her and she wants to tell us about it. She asked, "Am I allowed to come to
church?" Don't you wish you heard that more often?
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
January 3 Update
As
we begin this new year of ministry we are encouraged. Recounting all of our
blessings of the past year, it's hard to believe everything that the Lord has
done for us. And it just gets better. Already this year there are different
groups of preachers and churches planning to visit the work; a container of
building materials is being sent to Romania to complete the construction on the
children's home; funds have been sent to help feed the poor this winter; and,
best of all, the village churches are prospering.
These winter months are truly a time of harvest for us. Some of the village
churches are filled to capacity. Some have grown to fifty, some have grown to
one hundred. Newer churches are growing more slowly, but, thank the Lord, they
are growing! The believers are growing in grace. Recently, Pastor Nasuf and
Brother Kenan, visitted the entire Turkish neighborhood inviting people to
church. Afterwards Kenan's sister-in-law (a long time unbeliever) asked them,
"Is anyone going to invite me to church? I still don't know what it means to
be saved."
Pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified,
even as it is with you:
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 5,
2011
This
week I've been working with Brother Ralph on the Turkish hymnbook. We met with
three of the Turkish pastors and went over every hymn in the book, correcting
minor mistakes. It took us four days, working sixteen hours a day, but we
finally finished. After singing over two hundred hymns we just about lost our
voices. Sometime this in the next week or two we'll be singing them again, this
time for a recording.
We
appreciate your prayers for this work. As always, we have many needs, and the
Lord knows them. Pray for us.
From
Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Brethren, July 3, 2011
We just
returned home from a quick trip to Romania. While there we enjoyed the weekly
Turkish meeting. I was very pleased to watch two young men stand and preach. It
was a blessing to see this because they have come a long way since we lived
there several years ago. It blessed my heart to see these brothers standing and
preaching about the love of Jesus Christ!
Also
while we were there, we celebrated Hannah's birthday. We now have another
teenager in the house. It's hard to believe she's 13 already. She had a nice
party there with her friends and is still smiling from it.
Tomorrow
we plan on going to a 4th of July celebration at another missionary's home.
We're all looking forward to it, especially my Dad because he will have a chance
to meet the rest of the missionaries. He will be leaving here and heading back
to Michigan on Wednesday. His time with us has flown by.
The
family is doing well. The children have been riding bikes and annoying their
grandfather and Carrie has been washing endless amounts of laundry and making
cherry jelly from our own cherries. Life is very busy, but we are very blessed.
I have a
few requests to ask everyone to pray about. 1) Our support level has just
dropped significantly due to the economy. Though there is never a good time for
something like this to happen, now is particularly bad timing. Please pray with
us that more supporters will step forward. 2) School books and supplies for the
kids' next school year. And 3) Please keep praying about our visas.
Thank
you all for your faithful prayers!
Because
He First Loved Me, Brother Larry Leach, Jr.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Brethren,
Jun 4, 2011
There
have been some ups and downs in the ministry this week. One such instance was
the passing of Mustafa, an old believer in one of the churches. He had been with
our group for many years and went with me often to the meetings. He will be
missed, but we know that he is much better now that he is in the arms of his
savior. Also, I got a call that Ismael's oldest boy was in a car accident in
Hungary. I will find out more later today.
The people are hard at work gathering various items to sell. They call this "bilka".
They collect mushrooms, tea leaves, flowers, and more. You can see them out in
the fields hunting for valuable items growing wild. They get very little per
kilogram, but it's work, and they're glad to have it.
The family is doing fine. We're anticipating the arrival of my father for a
visit. I'll pick him up on Wednesday. This will be his first international trip
and he's excited. I gave him one piece of advice, though. I said, "Dad, when you
get off the plane and you start to look around, just remember you're not in
America anymore." He'll understand what I mean in time.
Not long ago we went to the capital for our passports. They should be ready any
day now. As soon as we get them, we will have to email copies to the lawyer so
he can gather all necessary documents from the courts in preparation for our
visa extension applications. We will have to stand before the local chief of
police (at the Department of Migration) in mid July. By the end of June we will
need $3,000 for our six-month visa extension and the final 1/2 of the lawyer's
fees (we already paid the first half of his fees). This six-month extension is
required in order to give the courts time to process our five-year applications,
which we will apply for in a couple months. Perhaps ten churches/individuals
could give $300, or twenty churches/individuals give $150. Please pray with us
about this.
Thank you all for your faithful prayers!
Because He First Loved Me, Brother Larry Leach, Jr.
P.S. If anyone would like to give toward the visa need, please designate any
contribution to "Leach Visa"
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"For
it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for
the poor saints which are at Jerusalem." (Rom. 15:26)
Dear
Saints and Faithful Brethen in Christ Jesus,
All
of the believers from the churches in Bulgaria send their greetings. They wish
to extend their thanksgiving for your liberality in providing them the
necessities of this life, namely the flour. Bread is the basis of every meal
here and without it they do not eat. This winter you were able to feed over one
thousand eight hundred families in Bulgaria, a land distressed by the economic
crisis. Yet God's love is shown through his provisions sent by his dear
children, even in economic difficulties - over one hundred tons or two
hundred thousand pounds of flour! To God be the Glory! In addition to
that, over thirty-six hundred bottles of oil were given.
"And
I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts;" (Gen 18:5)
The
churches send their prayers to God for you all, and give thanks to God for you.
He has comforted their hearts.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 27, 2011
This
week I met with pastor Alish from Varna. He told me of a testimony from one of
the believers at his church in Varna.
She
is a young mother of three. She first came to the church to pray for her oldest
child who was born with heart problems. The Lord had answered her prayers and
the child has been healthy for several years. Recently her husband left her.
With three small children and no work she has really struggled. Three weeks
ago we distributed flour to the believers in Varna. She sincerely thanks the
Lord and the believers in America who provided her with the one hundred pound of
flour, just when they needed it the most.
Well,
one day she left the house to go to the neighborhood store to buy some diapers.
She had found some loose change and was going to buy maybe one or two diapers
(they sell them individually like that here, sometimes.) On the way to the
store she prayed, Lord, I thank you for the flour, but you know my children want
more to eat than just bread. I’d like to buy some candy or fresh fruit, but
I’ve only got money for a couple diapers. She also said, Lord, no matter what
happens, I want you to keep my faith strong and keep me in the church. In my
struggles, don’t ever let me forget you. When she got to the store, an older
woman met her outside. The woman had a grocery bag and asked her to hold it for
a minute. She took the bag in one hand, then in her other hand the older woman
placed some money. She started crying and told the woman she couldn’t possibly
accept it. The older woman said to her, you can’t refuse this. It was God that
told me to give it to you. She thanked her and walked back home, crying the
whole way. When she got home she opened up the bag and it was full of
groceries, including candy. The children hadn’t had any candy in a long time
and they all began to climb on her and kiss her. She told them the candy wasn’t
from her; it was from their heavenly father.
From
Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 19, 2011
This week Pastor Alish told me about how the Lord
has been working in some of his churches. Today I'll just pass on the one
testimony.
From his church in Varna an older believer testified of how her son-in-law got
saved. She has been a believer for several years, but no one else from her
family had ever believed. She started telling her grandson about the Lord.
She told about how she had been a Muslim for years, but never had one prayer
answered; but after she believed in Jesus she began to pray every day and has
seen many, many answers to prayer. Her grandson believes in Jesus, but his
parents did not. One day her grandson found one of the DVDs from our church
services and brought it home and watched it. His dad watched it for a while,
and then began to make fun of the church and the believers and their Jesus. The
next day the man had a serious accident. He is a taxi driver. He sat in his
taxi in the Turkish neighborhood for a long time waiting for any customers.
Finally a lady came and got in the taxi. As he began to drive away he heard a
noise under the car. He stopped and found that there was a small child who was
playing near the car, and he had run over the child. When they pulled the child
from under the car he recognized it. It was his own nephew. They quickly took
the child, unconscious and covered in blood, to the hospital. That night the
man went to his mother-in-law’s house. He ran in and hugged her, and told her
that he was sorry for ever making fun of her religion. He asked what he needed
to do to get right with God. She told him to repent of his sins and believe in
Jesus who loved him, died and rose again for him. Right then and there he fell
to his knees and said, Jesus, I believe in you. I’m sorry that I didn’t come
sooner. He cried and prayed along with the rest of the family, they said, for
what seemed like hours. After they finally finished praying someone called the
parents of the child at the hospital. They said that the boy had come out of
the coma and was doing better. They doctor told them the boy had narrowly
escaped the jaws of death. The whole family is coming to church next Sunday.
Continue to pray for us. From Bulgaria,
Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 12, 2011
We've had a busy week here, and productive. I've
spent a couple of days in Varna looking for a decent used car for Brother Nasuf.
Yesterday we were finally able to buy one. Today it's getting a tune-up and
other maintenance, then later we'll get the title transferred to Nasuf. Many of
the believers send their thanks to those of you who prayed and helped purchase
the vehicle. Keep praying, though, the car will need fuel every day. The Lord
will supply that need as well.
Also this week we were able to distribute the
flour to the last of our village churches. Again the saints here thank you all
for ministering to their carnal needs.
Today I need to try to find a house for a widow
woman. It was she who called us to come start a church in a nearby village.
Now her children have all gone to Western Europe to work, and she herself is
left with nothing but a pension of about sixty dollars a month. Unable to pay
the rent she has been put out of her house. Indeed it is the poor that have the
gospel preached unto them.
Continue to pray for us. From Bulgaria, Zachary
LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Last week we had a wonderful time up
in Romania. Along with the other missionary families we enjoyed five days of
singing and preaching in English. We were blessed and refreshed. Also in that
week was the campmeeting at our mission board's church, Brookside Baptist of
Bristol, TN. At that meeting they raised the funds to buy some much needed
vehicles for the national pastors here.
It was a joy to see again some of the
believers up in Romania. The pastors there are preaching better than ever. The
Turkish meeting there lasted over four hours.
On a sadder note, Brother Ali passed
away two weeks ago. Right in the middle of the largest Turkish neighborhood in
Constanta Brother Ali had a church in his home for several years. Now Ali is
with his wife again, and with other saints from his church that have gone on
ahead.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
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Dear Brethren, Monday,
April 4, 2011
We are back in Bulgaria after a wonderful camp meeting in Romania. What a great
time we all had! All the services were good, but Friday's was great. The Holy
Spirit moved through and touched the hearts of the young people, most of whom
were crying on the altar. Seeds were sown in hearts, including our own children.
Please remember them in your prayers.
While there, we also had an all-day Turkish meeting. And when I say all day, I
mean all day. When we woke in the morning, we were greeted with hugs and
handshakes. And around ten at night, we said goodbye to the last van load. It
was great to see old friends, and to meet new believers. Romanian isn't in the
forefront of our minds these days, but after a little time surrounded by it, a
lot of it comes back. Switching back and forth between languages can be tricky
sometimes, and it's easy to say a word from the wrong language, but the people
are patient and have learned to laugh with us when we make mistakes.
Speaking of languages, Turkish studies are going well. I showed the Rosetta
Stone program to a fellow missionary (fluent in Turkish) and a couple national
Pastors, and they all agreed that it is a good program. Everyone is praying that
I will learn quickly so I can preach in the language of the Gypsies in this part
of the world, in addition to the Bulgarian which I am preaching with now. I need
and appreciate all the prayers!
I mentioned in one of my latest updates about the needs of our residency visas
(and wrote about it in my prayer letter as well). Next month will begin the
first big part of the visa process--the passports. It's hard to believe that
mine is about to expire; time has gone by so quickly. I got it in 2002. I had
just surrendered to go to the foreign field and preach the gospel. Not long
after, I went with my friend Ricky Bolick on a survey trip in Romania and
Bulgaria, where the Lord showed me clearly the work I was to be involved in. We
got the children their passports shortly after and have already renewed them
once.
Now it's time to renew passports for all of us (there is a little time left on
each one, but the Bulgarian government requires a specific amount of time before
expiration, or they won't approve the visa). I got on the Embassy website
tonight and between the cost of the passport renewals and the travel to and from
the Embassy in the capital, we're looking at a need of $1,000, by the end of
April (so I can do them in May). Please pray with us about this.
Thank you all for your faithful prayers. It is your prayers that keep us going.
Because He First Loved Me, Brother Larry Leach, Jr.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Brethren,
Mar 23, 2011
This past
Sunday was a little different. Usually I pick Ismael up at his house around 11
a.m. and we go to four churches before returning home around 9 p.m. But the
night before in Kaspichan, a couple there asked us to go pray with a man who has
cancer. They said it was on the way to our usual Sunday meetings. So, we left
early and picked up the couple and headed up the mountain. We went first thing
to pray with the man.
At his house,
we sang a few hymns and prayed. Nearly everyone in the room was in tears; there
was such a sweet spirit. We ask that you all remember this man in your prayers.
After a
tiring week of meetings, I planned on coming home last night and relaxing a
little with the family. Instead I came home to a large fire in my backyard. The
neighbor was trying to burn the old weeds in his field (it seems that everyone
in Bulgaria is burning fields), but it was a windy day, so the fire spread
through the fence into my backyard. The younger children were scared because of
the large fire a couple summers ago that caused us to evacuate our house. But it
ended up fine. When I told the neighbor that I didn't really want my yard on
fire, he laughed. He told me that now it was nice and clean for me. It's just
another reminder that languages are easier to adapt to than cultures.
After one
more round of meetings, I will be taking the family to the American camp meeting
in Romania. We are all looking forward to what God will do. We don't want to
miss what He has for us. I will be unable to write any updates until I return.
Please pray for all of us as we gather together. Pray for the salvation of the
children.
Because He First Loved Me, Brother Larry Leach
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 8, 2011
We've had snow flurries here about every day, but with little
accumulation. The weather prophets tell us that this is the last we'll see of
winter. I'm hoping they're right.
Again I've been with Brother Nasuf this week. It's a blessing to
be in his churches. Sunday we had an especially good meeting in his second
village. Each member there testified in thanksgiving for the Lord's many
blessings, and expressed a desire to follow the Lord closer. There is a real
spirit of renewal in that meeting, as well as in the church at Tirgovishte. I
believe this is in answer to the prayers of the saints of that church. The
people there fast three or four days a week. During the fast, they say that
they don't really feel any hunger, but have a desire all day long to pray.
As an answer to those prayers, just this week they heard from a
former church member who left the country for work ten years ago. In Germany
she hadn't been attending church anywhere. But one day she called pastor Nasuf
and said, "For the past week something inside me has been telling me to call
you. I need to get right with God."
It seems that the time has come for us to start a website
featuring the Turkish church services. Many of the people here now have
internet. Most of the Turkish believers that leave Bulgaria to work in Western
Europe cannot find a church that ministers in Turkish. We've been distributing
DVDs of our services here, but from a website, one could download the weekly
service. We're praying about how to proceed.
Last month our washing machine quit working. The repairman told
us that it might be cheaper to buy a new one than to fix it. Thank God, we were
able to get a new one this month. Verity and the girls had to hand-wash the
laundry for a couple of weeks.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. From Bulgaria,
Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 1, 2011
We've enjoyed another week of
preaching the word in the village churches. Last week and this week I am with
Brother Nasuf, as he is without a vehicle. The people in his churches are all so
happy. One of the happiest is a woman who is paralyzed. She can't get out of
bed, but she has a continual smile on her face.
In a few days we will be joined by
my brother and his family. They're coming to Bulgaria on the eleventh of this
month to live and work in the ministry here. Please remember them in your
prayers.
This week the Lord protected us on
the roads. Even in snow storms we try to get out and get the work done. Both
Pastor Alish and myself came close to sliding off the road, but the Lord
protected us. I normally drive about five hundred miles a week, as do many of
the national pastors. It's the good grace of God that keeps us safe. We
appreciate your prayers.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February
22, 2011 - Update from Zach LeFevre in Bulgaria
This week
we are thanking the Lord for helping Sarah Welch. She's been in the hospital
for nine days, but is slowly recovering. So far she's been able to sit up on
her own, stand up, and she's even started eating a little. The doctors still
aren't sure what is wrong with her, but if her condition continues to improve,
she may be able to go home this week. Thank you all for your prayers.
Our
regular village meetings continue to be well attended. Those from the new
church come to the meeting in our village, and during the week they gather to
sing the hymns, as well.
Brother
Nasuf's car has finally given up the ghost. This week I'll be taking him to his
meetings, until we can figure out a way to get him another vehicle. Please make
this a matter of prayer. His son-in-law is also a fine preacher. Last week he
got his driver's license. If they had the transportation, Brother Nasuf's
son-in-law could preach in the regular meetings, freeing up Nasuf to start new
meetings.
As an
answer to prayer, fellow missionary Robert Shrader is recovering from his foot
injury. He's able to walk without his crutches now. After being in the house
for nearly a month he plans on going to the church service in Varna tomorrow.
Sunday I
met with Brother Cheatwood and Pastor Alish, and they told me how Brother
Alish's father-in-law got saved. He had been an alcoholic and a gambler for
forty years. His wife and children suffered many things as a result of his
sins.
One day
his youngest daughter met with a friend at school who was crying. This friend
of hers told about her mother (I believe it was) who was sick and needed
surgery. She told her friend about the church and all the testimonies her older
sister and brother-in-law had told her about. So, the two of them decided to
try for themselves to pray to the same God, whose son is Jesus. Behind the
school building they prayed and poured their hearts out before the Lord on
behalf of the suffering one. A few days later the girl came to school crying.
But they were tears of joy. Her mother had gone to the hospital for surgery,
but the doctors decided that she didn't need it, after all. The two girls were
amazed. They decided to go out behind the school building to pray and thank God
for answering their prayer.
These two
girls were so thrilled at what the Lord had done for them that they decided they
needed a church in their village. There was an old, abandoned house on the edge
of the village which they cleaned up and began to use as a place to meet. They
would got here every night to sing and pray. One night Pastor Alish and his
wife went to the village to visit his in-laws. When he asked about the sister,
his mother-in-law said, "She's at church." This, of course, was a shock to him,
so they drove around the village until they found the old house. Then he
promised that since they were having "church" on their own, he would come and
preach to them twice a week.
Brother
Alish's mother-in-law (still unsaved) asked them to pray that they would be able
to buy a new house. Not far from where they lived a house went up for sale. It
was larger and better than their own. She promised that if God would help them
get the house, she would give one room of it for a meeting house for the new
church. Sure enough, the new believers got a hold of the Lord and they were
meeting in the new house after a week, and the unsaved family members in the
next room were hearing the hymns being sung and the word of God being preached
twice a week.
Before
long, both Alish's father-in-law and mother-in-law were attending the services.
His father-in-law, the town drunk, became more and more interested. After a few
weeks he bought a pair of glasses so he could read the hymn book. After another
few weeks Alish's mother-in-law said that she had seen her husband drink every
day for forty years until now. For the last two months he's been sober, shaved,
and cleaned up. He no longer drinks or plays cards. This week he even brought
two new people to church. Brother Alish's wife has prayed for her (large)
family for five years. Now, at least two of them are saved, and several others
are on their way.
We thank
you again for your prayers. They really do work. From Bulgaria, Zachary
LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February 19, 2011
Dear Brethren,
Flour distribution has begun
and is keeping us very busy. We are praising the Lord for supplying the need and
feeding the people. The people are thankful to God and the believers in America
for the flour and oil they have received.
We just read through Matthew
as a family and many of the accounts of Jesus feeding the poor came alive to us.
The hungry crowds followed Him and He gave them bread. Because of the love of
Jesus, we can do the same. What a blessing!
I have a prayer request to
bring before you: A fellow missionary's child has been in the hospital for
several days with a frightening illness and an awful amount of pain. The doctors
have ruled out several things, but as of yet do not have a cause or prognosis.
Please pray for her!
Thank you all for your
faithful prayers for our family, mission family and ministry. Your prayers are
precious to us!
Because He First Loved Me,
Brother Larry Leach in Bulgaria
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February 16, 2011
The Lord has been good to us
this winter. The weather has been mild, and we haven't missed but one or two
meetings due to the road closings. During these winter months most people are
home with nothing to do, so they come to church. We've seen many people come to
our meetings for the first time.
One was a religious, Turkish
woman. For some time she has known about the believers in her area, but had no
interest in changing her religions until one day she found her self in our
company. She had been visitting her friends, who host the church in her house.
When we came for church she decided to stay for a few minutes. During the
singing of the first hymn the tears started rolling down her cheeks. After
church she told us how much she enjoyed the service and promised to come back.
Since then she's attended two more services. Now we're waiting for her to
confess faith in Christ.
In another village a woman
came to the church for the first time. She said she didn't really know much
about the believers, and never had any interest in coming. Then one night she
had a dream. In her dream the Lord told her that there true life was in the
church, and that she needed to go and get saved. The next morning she came. She
didn't even know what day of the week or what time the believers meet, but came
at exactly the right time. At the close of the service she prayed for the first
time in her life.
We ask you all to pray for
Sarah. She is the sixteen year old daughter of fellow missionaries, the Welches.
Sunday night she was taken to the emergency room with what the doctors thought
may have been meningitis. After some tests they ruled that out, but she is still
in extreme pain. The Bulgarian hospital staff and doctors are doing what they
can, but still have no certain diagnosis. Please pray for her.
From Bulgaria Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Brethren,
February 5, 2011
Winter has been mild, for the
most part, and we are thankful for that. Generally in January and February, we
get quite a bit of snow and ice, making it impossible to get to the churches in
the mountains. But the churches are thankful that we have been able to get to
them. One would think that the mild winter would mean that the people's
financial burdens would be lighter, but not so this year. The economy is in
terrible condition and there is no work (especially for Gypsies). It's harder
than last winter. Though there is no work, the cost of living continues to rise.
Fuel is currently around $6.50 per gallon. The Pastors are needing help
with fuel money to get to the villages. Please pray with us about this.
I have a praise to share: a
couple days ago, Carrie and I were in the nearby city, paying bills when we were
nearly struck by another car. I hit the brakes, and though we were jarred, we
were safe. I am thankful to the Lord for delivering us.
We're getting ready to start
passing out this year's flour and oil. The people have been asking for a while
and are very thankful to hear that they will receive this help soon.
Thank you for your faithful
prayers for our family and for this ministry.
Because He First Loved Me,
Brother Larry Leach, Jr.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-26-11
We just got back from a trip to Sofia, Bulgaria,
where we needed some passport work done at the consulate. Although the weather
was disagreeable, we made it home safe and sound.
At the meeting here in our village we've had
several first time visitors recently. This Sunday a young woman came and
listened intently. After the service I noticed tears in her eyes, but she didn't
say anything to me. She told one of the other believers, "He preached that
verse, He that believeth on me shall not be ashamed...just for me. I've believed
on the Lord several years ago, but have not followed him faithfully." Please
pray for her, and the others that have visited.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 17, 2011
We've had a couple of uneventful weeks here. We continue to preach in the
village churches. Some of the churches are flourishing, and some are
struggling. So, we ask for your prayers. Prayer does change things.
Last week we were able to give some winter coats to the poor children in some of
our villages. When Paul was sent out to minister to the Gentiles, he was
charged to "remember the poor". This, we also do. Although our main ministry
is preaching the word of God and establishing churches, we occasionally help
people physically. Zach LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings Brethren,
January 11, 2011
I hope this letter finds you well! God has blessed exceedingly abundantly. This
year has been far greater than all of our expectations for Coats for Kids.
Around 350 coats and socks, as well as the Gospel on DVD have been given out in
the villages. We have seen needy children warmed by the coats and socks. Because
of all of this, time has gotten away from me and it has been a while since I've
written. I'm sorry it has been so long.
I would like to share my heart with you for just a few moments: While reading
through the book of Genesis with the family, the Lord touched my heart several
times through certain passages. Three in particular. The first one is Gen. 35:11
where God tells Jacob, "I am God." The second one is Gen. 47:9 where Jacob looks
at his own life and says, "Few and evil are the days of my life." The third one
is Gen. 48:15 where Jacob gives testimony of the Lord and says, "The God which
fed me all my life long unto this day." I was thinking that when you see that
He is God and that He is enough, you will see yourself the way Jacob did and you
will see God the same way he did. I'm so glad that He's God!
I have a matter of prayer that I thought I would bring before you. The National
Pastor fund has been down for quite some time. The missionaries are having to
supplement where we can, but this is becoming increasingly difficult for us. We
are in need of help. Please help us pray in the necessary funds.
Because He First Loved Me, Brother Larry Leach
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was a cold, snowy day in December of 2008
and we were driving through a nearby city when I saw them. It was a mother with
a couple children, the youngest of which, a toddler, she was lowering into a
dumpster to fish out items outside her reach. The whole scene broke my heart,
but my focus went to the child in the dumpster. This child had barely any
clothes on. I wanted to stop and give the mother something, anything, to help
keep her child warm, but I didn’t stop. Thoughts of that child haunted me,
breaking my heart a little more with each passing day.
It was then that I decided to go purchase a van
load of coats from a nearby second-hand store to keep on hand for such
occasions. That first year, 50 coats were given.
In the fall of 2009, the Lord spoke to my heart
again, reminding me of the coats. I wrote to friends, family, and a couple
supporting churches, telling them what I wanted to do. Enough money was received
to pass out 200 coats, 300 pair of socks, and 300 DVDs of Turkish church
services.
Then in September of 2010, I wrote again,
asking for prayers and support to get coats to the needy children of our area—to
help keep them warm. The response was overwhelming! One church in middle
Tennessee heard of the efforts and bought 200 coats to be shipped to Romania.
Others gathered money and sent it to Charity Baptist Mission for “Coats for
Kids”.
As of today, January 6, 2011, the 200 coats
have arrived in Romania and 280 coats, socks, and DVDs have been given here in
Bulgaria, as well as several bags of stocking hats. From here we hope to get to
fellow missionary Zachary LeFevre’s villages and then move on to National Pastor
Mitko Stefanov’s villages. There is much work yet to be done.
I want to thank each and every one of you for your support in
the form of prayers, financial contribution, and/or letters of encouragement. It
is my prayer that Coats for Kids will continue to grow and that many little
lives will be touched by the love of Jesus Christ.
With Sincerest Thanks, Carrie M. Leach
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 17, 2011
We've had a couple of uneventful weeks here. We continue to preach in the
village churches. Some of the churches are flourishing, and some are
struggling. So, we ask for your prayers. Prayer does change things.
Last week we were able to give some winter coats to the poor children in some of
our villages. When Paul was sent out to minister to the Gentiles, he was
charged to "remember the poor". This, we also do. Although our main ministry
is preaching the word of God and establishing churches, we occasionally help
people physically. Zach LeFevre
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Greetings Brethren,
January 11, 2011
I hope this letter finds you well! God has blessed exceedingly abundantly. This
year has been far greater than all of our expectations for Coats for Kids.
Around 350 coats and socks, as well as the Gospel on DVD have been given out in
the villages. We have seen needy children warmed by the coats and socks. Because
of all of this, time has gotten away from me and it has been a while since I've
written. I'm sorry it has been so long.
I would like to share my heart with you for just a few moments: While reading
through the book of Genesis with the family, the Lord touched my heart several
times through certain passages. Three in particular. The first one is Gen. 35:11
where God tells Jacob, "I am God." The second one is Gen. 47:9 where Jacob looks
at his own life and says, "Few and evil are the days of my life." The third one
is Gen. 48:15 where Jacob gives testimony of the Lord and says, "The God which
fed me all my life long unto this day." I was thinking that when you see that
He is God and that He is enough, you will see yourself the way Jacob did and you
will see God the same way he did. I'm so glad that He's God!
I have a matter of prayer that I thought I would bring before you. The National
Pastor fund has been down for quite some time. The missionaries are having to
supplement where we can, but this is becoming increasingly difficult for us. We
are in need of help. Please help us pray in the necessary funds.
Because He First Loved Me, Brother Larry Leach
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week we had a snow storm that closed
the roads to our regular meetings on Thursday, but Friday we made it out with no
problems. On Fridays we go to the new village. The owner of the house came to
the meeting and told us we would have to find a new house to meet in. Several
people have offered the use of their house as a place for the prayer meetings.
Even on days when we don't have church they still get together and sing the
hymns and pray. They only know a few hymns, so they just make up melodies for
the hymns they don't know. There's been a young man come each week there. At the
first meeting he only stayed in the house for five minutes. At the next meeting
he stayed a little longer, but still only stood in the doorway. This week he
came in the room and sat down for most of the meeting. It looks like the Lord is
drawing him in.
Last year we had prayed for a girl, Kiymet.
She had had brain surgery, and was not expected to survive, but eventually made
a full recovery. While she was in the village she was the most faithful church
member. (She knew that if it weren't for the Lord's mercy she wouldn't be
alive.) Now she is back living with her husband, who had separated from her when
it looked like she would not live. God has put her life back together again. Not
long after that we learned of another young lady in the same village that had
had brain surgery. She's been in and out of the hospital for the past several
months. Her mother and grandmother are both strong believers. They've seen God
raise her up from what seemed to be her death bed several times. Now, the girl
is not doing well. She's at home, and the family is trying to raise money for
her very expensive medicine. We had special prayer for her, and ask that you all
would pray, as well. Her mother sat before us and cried and cried telling about
the situation. Only the Lord can help. We thank you all so much for praying for
our visa situation. It's really too early to know exactly, but it looks like all
the money that we needed has come in. Praise the Lord.
From Bulgaria,Zachary LeFevre
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December
6, 2010
This week
we had a special blessing. Two of the men from our mission board's church,
Brookside Baptist, came to Bulgaria for a visit. They stayed with us for a
night. Now they're visiting other missionaries, but said they'd come back and
see us again. Enjoying fellowship with old friends is refreshing.
Our new
meeting is going well. The believers there have met with their first opposition.
The woman in whose house we meet does not own the house, she only rents it.
Someone in the village went and told the manger of the property that she turned
the house into a church, and he came and told us we couldn't meet there anymore.
The little crowd, almost in unison, told me how mean the man was. I told them
not to be angry at him, but just to pray. This week we went back and talked to
the man, but after our week of prayer he spoke very kindly to us. It turns out
that the owner of the house has been in Spain, but he's returning soon. So,
we'll be able to meet with the owner to see if he will allow us to continue to
meet in the house.
Last week
I mentioned our need to pay for the permanent residency visas. It looks like
more than half of the money has come in or has been promised. We still need two
thousand dollars, but I'm sure the Lord will take care of it.
We
appreciate all of your prayers and your help.
From
Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings from Bulgaria,
The plan was to have already passed out most if not
all of this year's coats by now, but, as plans go, ours was changed. As a
family, our focus shifted as we grieved the loss of Mother/Grandmother.
But, though we will be grieving for some time, we
have settled back into our routine. Larry is back at the meetings and we have
begun to buy coats and socks. At the moment there are about 175 coats, each with
a pair of socks, upstairs at our house, waiting to be given out on Sunday.
Larry talked with Ismael, a National Pastor, about
getting to the poorest sections of the villages in which they minister, and they
made a list from greatest need to least. The two neediest are the fist two
churches on their typical Sunday schedule, so we will be able to take care of
both of those together. These two villages are also two of the roughest, so we
request your prayers that all will go smoothly.
When Larry was talking with Ismael about the needs,
Ismael told him about a family in the second village who is having to feed their
children in shifts----as in, one child eats one day and the other child eats the
next. This story has me in knots. This family, we may be able to help. But,
knowing there are other children out there just like these makes my heart hurt.
Then today when we were in the big city at a
second-hand store (which, may end up being the contact I asked y'all to pray I'd
find in my last update letter, Larry was telling me about many of the children Ismael was telling him about. In one shack, there are 12 children. In another,
7. In yet another village, the children barely have clothing, let alone coats
and socks. I tried hard to focus on picking out the coats we had come to buy,
but I found myself distracted at the thought of these kids. How could I help
them all? I fought back the tears.
I feel heavy of heart tonight. I can't get to them
all, but I sure want to try!
I want to thank you all for your involvement in
praying for this ministry! I look forward to sharing many wonderful testimonies
and pictures with you very soon!
With Love to all, Carrie Leach
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 16, 2010
Wednesday on the way to the regular meetings I got a phone
call from a woman in our church. There was a woman from a nearby village that
had come to her house to ask the believers come to her village to start a
church. Even though it would be late, I told her we'd be there that evening.
After the regular meetings we went, and she was so happy to see us that she
cried. She had been saved some years before, but just recently moved to that
village where there was no church. She had missed church so much that she rode
the school bus to our village to see if we would come. (She had to walk back
home). That night there were about five of the neighbors that came and listened
as we sang, and then preached about the prodigal son. They all said they wanted
to be believers. We agreed to come back Friday afternoon.
Friday there were about ten people gathered. They all said
they wanted to be believers; that's why they came. I preached from Romans
chapter ten about how a man can be saved. Before I could finish there was one
woman that interrupted me three times saying, "Tell us, how can I be saved". She
thought she couldn't be saved because she couldn't read or write, and didn't
know any prayers. After I preached the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus,
I told her just to call on the Lord. "That much I CAN do!", she said. We had
prayer, and each adult prayed with a loud voice, asking God to save them. Pray
for this little group. Lord willing, we'll go back every Friday.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 9, 2010
This week Brother Larry Leach traveled back to the states.
His mother passed away just a few days ago. Remember the family in prayers.
While he is away, we're short-handed again. Brother Ismail
is currently taking a taxi to his nearby village churches. Sunday I saw Brother
Nasuf. His family and church are well. The village churches in his area are
full. But, his vehicle is now more of a financial liability than anything else.
Please pray that the Lord would supply the need for this preacher to travel to
the villages and preach the gospel.
Saturday we had a special meeting in one of our village
churches. Brother Shayim has had a church meeting in his house for ten years.
Now he is a grandfather. For the baby's dedication service they prepared a meal
to feed one hundred people. Believers from several villages came. It was a time
of great joy.
We thank each of you that prays for us, and ask that you
would continue, and especially for our visas.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To:
Brookside Baptist Church and Pastor Mike Nixon
4th of Nov. 2010
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ.
This week we just came back from our English campmeeting in Romania. The Lord
blessed the English services and everybody was blessed. This Monday we had a 3
hour regular Turkish meeting in Romania and a lot of them shouted out the glory
of God. Some of them got so full that they exploded with the joy of the Lord.
One brother said that the devil told him not to get up and praise the Lord, but
shortly after another one testified he was on his feet giving all the glory to
God for what the Lord has done for him and his family. Praise God.
I
just finished our regular Turkish meeting in the city of Shumen. One lady got up
to testify how she went to a wedding in Belgium. She said that the whole crowd
were rich Muslims. When the day for the wedding came the bride's folks paid a
hoja to come from Germany and put a blessing. When the sister heard that she
prayed with another believer that the Lord will mess up the hoja's trip. When
everybody found out that there were two believers at the wedding everybody went
against them. The guests waited in vain for the hoja to come and the Lord
stopped him from coming. The Muslims said: Your prayers stopped the hoja from
coming. Then one of sisters got full of the Holy Ghost and started telling them
about the Son of God. Then the two sisters started singing Turkish hymns. The
guests kept on coming and the Lord was touching their hearts. After the singing
those Muslims said: This way is a lot better than ours. Now those people request
that we send them DVDs with the church services. Praise the Lord. For sure He
knows how to open the hearts. Today I handed the sister 20 DVDs to send to those
people in Belgium.
I
thank the Lord for what He is doing over here. It is so fresh and blessing and
it is not dry at all. In the meetings the Lord keeps sending new souls to hear
the gospel preached.
Thank you all for your prayers and financial support. That means a lot for
everybody over here.
May
the Lord bless you all richly in Christ Jesus our Lord. Bro. Mitko,
Bulgaria.
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Update October 26, 2010
This week we saw the Lord move as an answer to prayer, as he always does. In the
normal village meetings we saw little progress, then Sunday we heard several
good testimonies at our "home" church here in the village.
One lady has been coming for three weeks now. She told about how the Lord has
worked in her life. She had felt the Lord calling her years ago, but did not
respond. Now she has had health problems and asked one of our church members to
pray for her. Well, the Lord answered the prayers, and she was thankful. So,
Gulbush, the one that prayed for her told her she had to come to church to
publicly thank the Lord for helping her. That was three weeks ago. Thankfully,
the Lord's given her enough problems to keep her coming and keep praying.
Sunday, a young woman that has been in the church for most of her life for the
first time stood to give a testimony. She said she had wanted the Lord to do
something especially for her that she could testify about. Her husband's cousin
had been sick, and needed a cancerous tumor removed. This young woman prayed for
her, and on the day of her surgery the doctors proclaimed that the tumor was
gone. The entire family said that could only be the hand of God. What a joy it
was to see this young woman cry and tell of how God had heard her prayers.
Pray for us as we continue to labour to establish young converts in the faith.
Also continue to pray about our visas.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 2, 2010
We just got back from a wonderful week of English church in Romania. The
singing was great and the preaching was better. The children always enjoy
visiting with other American missionary children. The other missionaries told
about how the Lord is blessing in their areas.
In the church in Varna there is a girl who started coming to church with other
family members a couple of months ago. She was born blind. One day she said
that she could see light. They took her to the eye doctor who confirmed that
she responded to bright light in her eyes. Now the family is in Germany, where
the doctors say that they might be able to help her see. The family and the
church is giving God the glory.
One day at that church there were two men that came. The one man was crippled
and had been to the doctor in the city. They didn't have any money, though, for
the bus back to their village. So, they looked for and found the church. There
they enjoyed the service and gave testimonies of how God had worked in their
lives. After church Brother Alish learned that they needed thirty leva for the
bus tickets home. He gave them all the money he had, which was twelve leva.
Other church members gave what little they had, and the final amount was
twenty-eight leva. Then, a four year old boy walked in carrying a two-leva
bill, which he joyfully gave. God had provided the men a way home.
Brother Nathan Reed told about how the believers up in Romania are struggling.
Many of them do not own houses. One family had been living in a shanty on the
beach for five years. That man stood in church and read from II Corinthians 5,
"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we
have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
He, along with the others in the church, is thanking God that they have a house
in heaven. It's not just something they sing about or talk about. It's real.
During our meeting Thursday morning Brother Dave Turner walked into church
carrying a little girl. Three year old Kelebek is the newest addition to the
children's home. She had been abandoned by her mother and father, and was being
cared for by a grandparent who lives in a little shack by the dump. At night
they had to tie a cat to the bed to keep the rats away. We thank God for
providing a good home for her. As she grows, she'll learn about the heavenly
father and the home in heaven.
Pray for the children's home in Romania. Pray for us. From Bulgaria,
Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update
October 26, 2010
This week we saw the Lord move
as an answer to prayer, as he always does. In the normal village meetings we saw
little progress, then Sunday we heard several good testimonies at our "home"
church here in the village.
One lady has been coming for
three weeks now. She told about how the Lord has worked in her life. She had
felt the Lord calling her years ago, but did not respond. Now she has had health
problems and asked one of our church members to pray for her. Well, the Lord
answered the prayers, and she was thankful. So, Gulbush, the one that prayed for
her told her she had to come to church to publicly thank the Lord for helping
her. That was three weeks ago. Thankfully, the Lord's given her enough problems
to keep her coming and keep praying.
Sunday, a young woman that has
been in the church for most of her life for the first time stood to give a
testimony. She said she had wanted the Lord to do something especially for her
that she could testify about. Her husband's cousin had been sick, and needed a
cancerous tumor removed. This young woman prayed for her, and on the day of her
surgery the doctors proclaimed that the tumor was gone. The entire family said
that could only be the hand of God. What a joy it was to see this young woman
cry and tell of how God had heard her prayers.
Pray for us as we continue to
labour to establish young converts in the faith. Also continue to pray about our
visas.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 18, 2010
It's turned cold here in
Bulgaria. Most days are rainy and the thermometer never reaches sixty degrees.
This week some of us got sick with cold/flu and strep throat. Hope we don't have
to go through that again anytime soon.
Thursday morning a man and
woman came to my house from one of Ismail's villages. They didn't have anything
to eat or give to their five children. So, they had walked and hitch-hiked
nearly twenty miles to our village. I took them to the church where we feed the
poor children, and got some groceries from the pantry, including a fifty pound
sack of flour. Please pray for this family and many others like them.
Last night after the evening
service here in our village we went to a nearby village to pray for a woman. She
has been a believer for several years. She has several ailments. Today she goes
to the hospital to see if she'll need surgery or not. Before prayer we sang
several hymns and briefly testified. There were some neighbors that gathered to
listen. Some of them heard the gospel for the first time.
From Bulgaria, Zachary
LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday we got the sad news that
Brother Ahmed had passed away. I went out to the wake that evening, then he was
buried Sunday morning. He was 65.
Ahmed got saved in 1993, along
with his wife. Their village is one of the poorest in the area, but, seemingly
overnight, the richest church grew out of it. When God moved on that village
they began to have church services day and night. At one point the police were
alarmed at the sudden stop of crime, so they came to investigate. They asked
what had happened and found out that the criminals had become believers in
Jesus. At the church house they asked how many people in the village had become
believers. The reply was, "All but two." "Well, take us to those last two and
we'll make sure they get religion, too", the police replied.
In the next two years Brother
Ahmed traveled with Brother Ralph and Brother Yashar along with other believers
all over Bulgaria. He was a natural evangelist. I don't know how many times I've
seen him approach a man on the street, and within minutes was talking about the
Lord. Only heaven knows how many people he has brought to the faith.
In 1996 he came up to Romania to
preach to the Turks up there. Many of the believers up there still consider him
to be their spiritual father.
Although he could not read, he
could preach better than most preachers who can. He listened intently to the
American missionaries preach, and could recall, almost word for word, their
texts. He had a tender heart, and could not preach about Jesus without crying.
His physical condition grew worse, and the last few years of his life he was not
able to travel to the villages. Saturday night his body was laid out on the
floor of the little church house, and he was surrounded by those that loved him.
I am sure that in heaven he is surrounded by others who love him, many, from
Bulgaria.
Remember his family and his church
in your prayers.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 8, 2010
There's just a couple more weeks
of work left in the fields, then our people will be settled down for the winter.
That means more people will be coming back to church. This week there's two
families that are leaving to work in Turkey.
I got to visit with Brother Nasuf
this week. He told about having outdoor meetings in one village. It had been so
hot that they didn't want to crowd into the house, so they spread out some rugs
and sat down outside. Last week, he said, it had cooled off and the people
wanted to meet inside, but he wanted to continue meeting outside. Two people
wandered by and stopped to listen to the singing and preaching. He said that he
could just sense that they wanted something so he asked if anybody wanted to
become a believer and they both responded. Afterwards he said, "Now I know it
was the Lord that wanted me to keep the meeting outside, in spite of the cooler
weather. He had two people he wanted to save that might not have come inside the
house."
Saturday we had a special meeting
in one of Brother Ismail's churches. A woman from the church had heart surgery
earlier in the year and made a full recovery. So she wanted to feed the church
as a token of her thankfulness for their prayers. Before the meal we sang
several hymns and I preached. Since the meeting was in her house instead of the
church, there were several family members there that got to hear the gospel.
Fourteen years ago today Polly was
born. So, on her first day of school we got to eat cake and ice-cream.
Remember to pray for our visas.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 30, 2010
For the third week in a row we
took believers from several villages to the church in Dabravino, and then down
to the river for a baptismal service. I believe there were eight that got
baptized yesterday. That takes care of all the churches for this year
- 100 people baptized from 80 churches.
In a few days the children will
begin their home schooling. In addition to his home school, Isaac will also be
attending first grade in the local Bulgarian primary school.
Pray for our daughter, Katy. She's had swelling in her right eye for three days
now.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 24, 2010
Yesterday we had another baptism.
This time there were 37 people that got baptized. Close to three
hundred people came. That's about more than the church building can hold. It's a
blessing to see the believers from all of these different villages where I have
preached in the past. Some of them are getting older. Sister Kadriye is in poor
health. She has had a stroke, and lost control of one side of her body and face.
She can't hardly talk, but when I asked how she was doing she raised her hand
up, as if to say, Praise God.
Now that Brother Larry's back
after their furlough, I'll again be going to Brother Alish's churches.
This week I went to buy a
hole-punching/binding machine to make hymn books with. It normally costs about
$200. I asked the woman there if I get a special discount (for no
apparent reason). So, she went and checked with her boss then came back and gave
me a thirty dollars discount. I paid the money, thanked God and brought it home.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
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August 16, 2010
Yesterday was our first baptism of
the year. There was a bus full of people from Brother Nasuf's churches that
came, as well as several vans from other villages. There were 55 new
believers that got baptized. After a light meal, we started the church service
which went until midnight!
One of the blessings in the
meeting was a teenage girl who testified. Her father had been sick, and had been
told that he would not live. She had just got saved and prayed for her father.
Although the father's health continued to worsen, she told her family that he
wouldn't die, because she had prayed. The family even began to make funeral
arrangements. Sure enough, the man slowly recovered from his illness. She is now
rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
Finally, my permanent residency
visa came through. The visas for the rest of the family are still being
processed, and will take at least a couple of more months. Join me in praying
that they will come through properly.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 16, 2010
We just got back from a week in Romania. What a blessing it was to be able to
sing and preach in our own language again. The children enjoy being able to
spend time with other missionary children, as well.
Last week there was a man from one of our meetings that passed away
unexpectedly. In church the previous week he had asked about the meaning of one
of the hymns. He was eager to learn, and wanted to understand everything. Now he
does. He was sixty years old.
The
younger Alish told me about a man from one of his churches that got saved. He
had a taxi-type business, but with a van. His wife has been saved for a while
and always asked prayer for him. He promised that he would come to church some
day and give his life to the Lord. Just recently he was able to buy a new van,
but before he got the insurance on it, he had an accident and it was "totaled".
Now he's thankful to be alive, and decided the time is right to get saved. With
his old van he now drives people to church every Sunday.
My
permanent visa came through, finally. Now we begin the same process for Verity
and the children.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings from sunny Bulgaria.
So far it's only rained twice this week.
July
20, 2010
Sunday I was able to take a van load of believers into the larger meeting in
Dabravino. This year instead of having large, all-night meetings, we're bringing
the villages in two and three at a time on Sunday mornings. There were over a
hundred people in the meeting. We heard great testimonies of answered prayers,
and not only from older believers. There's plenty of new ones that are excited
about the Lord, as well. Several told about how they came to the church looking
for help in their sickness, and the Lord healed them. Now they are thanking God
for the sicknesses, because, as they say, "If I hadn't fallen sick, I might have
never known Jesus."
Yesterday was Katy's sixteenth birthday. To celebrate, the whole family went to
Varna and met with the Welch family for an afternoon of fun and fellowship, and
pizza.
We're still waiting for word on my visa. Pray for us. From Bulgaria, Zachary
LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 5, 2010
What a good day. Once or twice a year we American missionaries will get together
for a meal and fellowship. Today the weather was perfect, food was irresistible,
children were happy, music was good, and now we're wore out. We have a lot to be
thankful for. He's been good to us.
I checked on my visa this morning,
but it still isn't ready. It was supposed to be ready a week ago. They told me
to apply for my children this week whether or not my visa comes in, which is
good news.
Brother Alish (the younger) was in
a car accident yesterday with his family. At the time of the accident no one was
hurt, but today they are all feeling sore. The other driver was at fault and his
insurance will pay for the damages, but it will be a couple weeks before that
happens. In the mean time they're without a car, and unable to go to their
meetings.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 21, 2010
We start another week of preaching
in the villages. Last week we heard good testimonies of answered prayer. Almost
every day we hear people tell that they can't wait for church. That's not always
Sunday. It's not possible to do nineteen meetings in nineteen different villages
all on Sunday; so each village has it's own church day.
Yesterday we had a baby dedication
in the church in Shumen. Six preachers came for the special service and enjoyed
a time of fellowship afterwards. It rained hard before the service, and rained
lightly during the service. The little house couldn't hold everybody, and there
were about a dozen people that stood outside the whole time.
The believers in the newest
meeting said that their daughter's family really wants us to come have church in
her village. We'll try and go this week if it works out, but don't know if we'll
be able to go back every week, should they want us.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 16, 2010
We're now in the heat of summer,
when at the end of every meeting we're covered in perspiration; and most days we
do two meetings.
Last week I was able to get out to
the village where they had requested prayer for a girl. She's sixteen years old
and has had four operations on her head. Now the doctors say they need to put a
plate in her head within the next month. Her mother said that she turned to the
Lord and began to pray when the doctors gave her only three days to live. That
was back in November. Please pray for this girl, and her family.
We've had good meetings all week,
and heard many testimonies of answered prayers.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Praying
Friends,
June 8th 2010
This Sunday we were able to
bring a bus full of believers into Dabravino for the meeting. Believers from
two of Brother Ismail's villages came. To my surprise the family from the new
meeting came. Maksut testified there before a hundred people that he was now a
believer and will remain a believer until he dies. His testimony was just one
of many which encouraged our hearts.
Sister Melek has been a
believer and hosted a church in her house for over fifteen years. Recently her
son passed away in a construction accident in Germany. At the funeral the
unbelievers cursed God for allowing such a tragedy, but Sister Melek, with her
dead son lying before her praised God for his goodness and faithfulness. All
those present saw the sharp contrast between the sinners and saints. Pray for
her and family.
From Bulgaria,
Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Praying Friends,
June 1, 2010
Today Isaac graduated from
kindergarten. I believe there were three children in the village that graduated
with him. Katy and Polly finished the year at the music school with a concert.
Brother Alish made it to his regular
meetings on Saturday and Sunday, but he's still a little sore from the
operation.
This week we've had people from two
different villages ask us to come start churches. I'm not sure when we'll be
able to get to them, though.
Brother Ismail's churches were full
this week. It's a joy to preach to them. One woman testified about her daughter
having a heart problem. The family doctor had been monitoring it for some time,
and finally sent them to a specialist in Shumen. Upon reviewing the test results
the specialist proclaimed the child's heart perfectly healthy. Later, the family
doctor, looked at the results and astonished, said, "Well, Praise God"
Sometime ago we prayed for a girl
named Kiymet who had had a tumor removed from her brain. The Lord graciously
answered our prayers and has given her over seven months of good health. Now in
the same village there is another girl with a similar problem, a tumor on her
head. I don't know all the details, but the doctors had tried treating it a
couple of different ways unsuccessfully and finally told her mother, "We've done
all we can do. You need to pray". So they brought her to our church Saturday and
prayed.
When you pray, remember these needs,
and also our visas. From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 24, 2010
I'm at home this morning. We
found an internet company that came out to the village, and put a square,
plastic antenna on the side of our chimney; so now we are on-line at home.
While there's work to be found, most of our people are out working in the
fields. So, we've moved the church services back a couple hours. Still, only
about half of the people are able to come. Wednesday night, though, a lady came
for the first time. After hearing one hymn she told us that she had found one
of our Gospel of John/Hymn Books on the side of the road years ago. She picked
it up, took it home, read it, and kept it, all these years. She heard her first
gospel sermon that night, and was moved to tears.
Brother Alish is recovering from his surgery at home. He's wanting to get back
to the meetings, but still too weak.
The other Brother Alish has been helping me cover some of the nineteen meetings
in this area. We've got too many churches and too few preachers. There's been
a couple days when I couldn't drive Brother Ismail to his villages, so he rode
his bike. There came up a rain storm on his way home the other night and
drenched him. He just laughed about it, though.
Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that he would send forth labourers into his
harvest.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May, 17 2010
We had another good week here.
Brother Ismail and his churches are doing well. His wife, Naziye is also
recovering well from her most recent stroke. The meetings all went well this
week. Brother Ismail's churches are older, and it's easier to preach to them.
Friday morning Brother Alish had his surgery. It went well, but he's still in
the hospital. He should be able to come home shortly. Saturday I went to
Alish's two meetings for him. The second church was about full. That's
encouraging to see, after being empty for so long. Prayer really does work.
The people there are happy and excited about church.
Yesterday I was in a new village. It's not really a new village for us, but the
meeting is in a different house now. The former host of church had moved, so
now we're meeting with a new family. They love to hear the preaching; say
they've never heard anything like it. Pray for them. We're trying to gather up
more people to come, even though at this time of year most people are busy
working.
Remember to pray for us.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apr 19, 2010
This is our third day of drizzling
rain this week. That'll help the grass seed I planted, and other things. It's
been nice here, though, and not too cold.
Brother Cheatwood came with us
this week to the newer meetings to the north of us. He enjoyed the meetings, and
the people sure enjoyed his preaching. He said that we had done a good work in a
difficult area. In one of his messages he mentioned Bilent. I had forgotten his
testimony.
Bilent was a young man that had
been kicked out of his home. Although he was sixteen, his body hadn't grown, and
he still looked like a child. The doctors told him that not only was there no
hope for him to live, but his death would be excruciatingly painful. So, what
family he had kicked him out. One of the believers in Constanta took him in when
Brother Nathan found out about it. From then on Brother Nathan and the other
missionaries tended to Bilent's needs until his death. Many nights Brother
Nathan stayed with him. As his condition grew worse, he was bed-ridden most of
the time, but one day he got up and made his way to the meeting. He wanted to
give a testimony. He said, "I know I'm going to die; I know I'm going to see
Jesus. And when I get there I'm going to tell Jesus how well you all have taken
care of me." Our labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Brother Larry Leach is trying to
make it back to the states for a short furlough. Let's pray for his flight
Thursday. Anyone interested in learning more of the mission work from Brother
Larry can contact the mission board at (423) 878-8131
Our attorney said that the
documents for our permanent visa application are ready. We appreciate your
prayers
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 12th 2010
We've had another good week here,
preaching in the villages. I was able to go to three different villages with
Brother Ahmet this week. The first two were regular Turkish meetings, but the
third was a Gypsy meeting. The 10x15 room was full of about thirty people, not
counting children. They sang as loud as they could, every one of them. Ahmet
said that in the summer they open the windows and the singing can be heard all
down the valley.
Brother Nasuf gave a good
testimony yesterday. He said that a few weeks ago he was driving though one of
his villages on the way from one meeting to the next, when he saw an older woman
walking down the street leaning on crutches. He somehow got turned around and
drove past her again, so he figured maybe the Lord wanted him to stop and give
her a ride. While in the car he told her that he was the pastor of the church
there and asked her if she wanted prayer. He prayed for her and she said that
the pain of her migraine headache went away immediately. The next week she was
in the church, and had walked there without the crutches, thanking God for
answered prayer.
There's a couple of people in our
meetings that need prayer. They have no work and no income whatsoever.
Remember to pray for our visas.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Praying Friends,
April 7th 2010
What a wonderful time of year! The
fruit trees are beginning to flower and the tulips are nearly ready to bloom.
Gardens are being worked up and people are beginning to emerge from their homes
after a long, hard winter and are visiting with one another.
We just got back from English camp
meeting in Romania. We had a wonderful time with the other missionaries, and the
children played all day with the missionary children, but the best part of the
week was the singing and preaching. As always, the preaching was encouraging and
challenging. It was a wonderful time of refreshing in the Lord. Thank you all
for praying for the meetings.
This week I'd like to talk about
the church in Nevsha (nef-shah). Ismael and I go to that church on the same day
as Kaspichan. Nevsha is a small village in a valley--30 kilometers from the
nearest city. It's in a beautiful area, surrounded by mountains. The village
itself looks like any other in this country, but the quiet and the scenery makes
it different.
Driving through the village (one
of the worst for pot holes) one day when Carrie was with me, we saw an
interesting "vehicle". It was a typical horse cart with a sort of motorcycle in
the front, and a clear tarp covering the whole thing. I jokingly told the Turks
in the van with us that I wanted to buy that car for Carrie. They laughed hard.
It became a running joke. It became known as "Carrie's Car" to the Turks. They
particularly like to joke about her car's "air conditioning".
Just past the house with "Carrie's
Car" is an average little village house. But what makes this house special is
the little room in the back where the believers meet together for church. This
is a well-established church with many faithful members. Though they don't have
much, materially speaking, they are hospitable. Every week they insist on
feeding us after church. They have a lot of love, joy, and faith. I cannot think
of any specific prayer requests of this church, but if you would remember to
pray for them, I know they would appreciate it.
Thank you for all your prayers for
us, for the churches, and for evangelistic efforts. Your prayers are valuable to
us.
Because He First Loved Me, Brother
Larry Leach, Jr
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Pastor Mike and Brookside
Baptist Church,
April 1, 2010
...the LORD had
visited his people in giving them bread. (Ruth 1:6)
We send you greetings from all the
believers in Christ Jesus that are in Bulgaria and Romania. Near the end of
February we started to distribute the flour and oil from you all to the families
that come to our church services. It has been a very long and hard winter here
with many people hungry and out of work. We are thankful how God has "visited
His people in giving them bread" through you.
We have seen literally thousands
blessed and rejoicing from God's act of kindness. Someone testified in one of
the church services that they were very poor and had no money or work but said,
"Praise God, I have flour and oil!" Each family received an 110 pound sack of
flour and over a gallon of oil. Many times I saw a believer rejoice because it
was more than they could pick up and walk away with.
They came with wheelbarrows,
horse-carts, and baby buggies to carry away what God had blessed them with. Oh,
how the Lord has made them happy not only through this bread but also through
the Bread of Life, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
We finished distributing this week
and in all over 215,000 pounds of flour and 2,500 gallons of oil were given to
the believers. We all count it a privilege to be involved in the Lord's work
here; whether it be preaching the gospel or in distributing His provisions to
His people. We have truly seen that God can provide a table in the wilderness.
We want you all to know that you are in our hearts and prayers. In Christ, The
Missionary Families In Romania and Bulgaria
“And now abideth
faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” 1 Cor
13:13
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Brookside Church,
March
28, 2010
It's to my joy once again to be able
to write to you. I had really good meetings Friday. For the first meeting the
women prepared bread from the flour and oil you sent them. I was told to tell
the Americans thanks for the bread. I would think that when people don't have
much they would hoard what ever they can. These people do the opposite. They
make a banquet for everyone and celebrate for what they have. During the second
meeting, the singing had great power and joy. It's the most I've experienced in
the 3 months after returning. Some of the women that travel with me told me in
the car of the power and joy they experienced. There was one girl who stood up
during the time of testifying. She raised her hands up, and I could see the
tears continually drop from her eyes while she talked. I was uncertain as to
whether it was for joy or sorrow. The women later told me to pray for her
because she was sick. She came forward, and we prayed for her. During these
times I think of their physical needs, but I try to earnestly pray for the need
of salvation. I Know that's their most important need, but God can show them his
love taking care of these smaller needs and that they not forget there is power
in the church.
Again, I have been trying to preach
one to two times a month in the Churches. I am amazed how God helps me with the
messages and the language. Of course, my messages are short and limited, but I
try to help them see that God loves them and will take care of there needs as we
suffer in this life.
We will be praying for your camp
meeting as we gather together in Romania for ours. May God continue to richly
bless you.
Love Robert Shrader
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Friends,
March 28, 2010
The past couple of weeks have been
busy ones. First, it was all the trouble with the van (car troubles, a
missionary's curse). Then it was flour distribution. Then it was the van again.
But God is faithful to supply all the needs and I'm thankful for that. I'm
thankful that even when life around us is changing and reeling to and fro, God
never changes. His mercies are new every morning. Thank God!
The flour distribution has been such
a blessing to so many people. Last week Ismael and I, along with a couple other
missionary brethren, distributed flour to the remaining seven churches of the
nine we go to. I was able to get a few pictures. If any of you would like to see
them, please email me and let me know.
In keeping with the last few emails
I've sent, I'd like to tell you this week about the church in Kaspichan (kah-spee-chahn).
Kaspichan is a rough area. One of the roughest I go to, as a matter of fact. The
city itself is the municipal center of the area. It has a few small general
stores, and many nicer houses. However, the Gypsy section is much different than
the center of town. It is up and out from the rest---across the tracks, if you
will. Once you get up in that part of town, things get rough. The roads aren't
as nice. The houses are much worse. Poverty lives there.
Among all the physical ugliness of
this town, there is a house where the believers meet together and worship the
Lamb of God. The lady who owned the house and opened her home for us to use,
recently went on to be with the Lord. In her life, she touched many people. But
even in her death, her testimony lives on.
Three years ago when I first started
going to the church in Kaspichan, the lady of the house was taking care of her
teenage grandsons. They were rough. I was afraid to leave my van parked out
front because they would vandalize it. They mocked the believers. But their
Grandmother prayed for them day and night. In time they began to respect the
church, the believers, and my van. Today they are kind young men. How wonderful
for them that they had a praying Grandmother!
Her death was unexpected. She was in
her fifties and seemed healthy. When she died, her children came to bury her and
attend to her legal matters. One son (the father of the teenage boys I
mentioned) and his wife came from Greece where they had been working. None of
them were believers, but out of respect for their Mother, wanted us to continue
having church in her house until other arrangements could be made.
Last week the son told us that he
would be going back to Greece and that the church would need to be moved, but
during the service, the Holy Spirit was working in hia wife's heart. Now, not
only does she not want the church to leave, she doesn't want to leave the
church. She testified that she wanted to talk to her husband and sons about it.
Please pray for this family and for
the church in Kaspichan. They are a precious group of people (about 40).
Thank you for your faithful prayers
for this ministry and for our family. We are planning a short trip to Romania
next week for English camp meeting. The children are excited to go and see their
American friends. Carrie and I are excited to go and see what God has for us
there. We hope to feast on the Word, the fellowship, and good old American food.
Please remember our trip in your prayers, but especially pray for the salvation
of the missionary children.
Because He First Loved Me,
Brother Larry Leach, Jr
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Praying
Friends,
March 15, 2010
Once again we're thankful
to be able to give a good report. Today is a beautiful spring day here, but
snow and freezing rain kept us off the roads two days last week. Hopefully
we'll make it to every weekly meeting in the northern villages from now until
next winter. On days when we have to stay home, the believers call us just to
let us know that they'll have church without us.
This weekend I was able to
go to Brother Ismail's meetings with him. Missionary Larry Leach's van is in
the shop being repaired, so he asked me to drive to these meetings. Those
churches are older, and established in the faith, so it's a blessing to see
them. They appreciate the fellowship and the preaching. Saturday in the
meeting one woman wanted to say something after I preached, and before the
closing prayer. Brother Ismail, unsure of what she might say, tried to get her
to wait until after the service. She was insistent, and stood to her feet,
paying no attention to the pastor, so we watched to see what she would say. She
started crying and told us that the Lord had filled her heart while I preached.
That day before we even made it to church, the police had pulled us over, gave
me a ticket, and delayed us for close to an hour, even taking me to the police
station; it was nothing serious, though. This sister had come with us, and
waited in the car that whole time, mad at the police. Then, in church I
preached the sixth chapter of Luke, about loving your enemies. She testified
that while she listened to the words of Jesus, the Lord had taken all the
meanness out of her heart and replaced it with love.
At the second meeting that
day we saw the Lord touch another heart. Sister Urkush that had hosted the
church in her house for years passed away a couple of months ago. Her son and
daughter-in-law came back from Greece, where they work and live, for the
funeral. Now they are preparing to return to Greece, and let us know that the
church would no longer meet in her house. This son and daughter-in-law had been
enemies of the church for years, but when Urkush passed away, their heart
softened. During the last song of the meeting, the daughter-in-law said that
the Lord had filled her heart with love, and that she wanted the church to
continue meeting in the house. She said she would talk to the other children
and try to convince them. Afterwards, she insisted on feeding us. Although I
wasn't hungry, I realized that she wanted to do something for the Lord, so we
stayed and waited while she cooked. She told us she was ashamed of her behavior
in the past, and now she loved the Lord and loved the church. Pray for her and
her family. The don't want to go back to Greece, but like so many others,
cannot find any work in Bulgaria. More importantly, though, pray that the Lord
will provide them with a place to worship, wherever they are.
In the first meeting
yesterday the lady of the house gave me some money, about ten dollars. She was
adamant that I accept it, so I couldn't refuse her. (I'll use the money to buy
some candy or something and take it to the meeting next week.) When I asked why
she wanted to give, she replied, "It was y'all's prayers that kept me alive this
winter."
Please continue to pray for
our visas. From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Friends,
March 13, 2010
Baba Marta (Grandmother
March) is being blamed for her moodiness once again. The weather, which felt
like spring, has turned to winter again. A few days ago we got quite a bit of
snow with wind. But things are beginning to thaw once again.
In this letter I'd like to
tell you about the morning prayer meeting in our village. Every morning at 8am,
some of the believers meet at the church to pray. I usually drive there (about
1/2 mile), but since my van has been in the shop for nearly a week, I've been
walking. When I leave my front gate and walk down the dirt road, I wave to the
people either driving or walking to the meat factory for work. Going on, I pass
by several houses (some abandoned and falling down), a flour mill/bakery/general
store, the community spring, and another general store.
I'll try to explain how the
community spring works: At the source, which is three pipes coming out the side
of a brick wall, there is a small fence. Only people are to go in this fence to
get water. The water then goes through a trough where the cattle drink.
Continuing to the right, the trough empties into a small concrete pool where
women/girls wash laundry and the rugs that are so commonly used in this area.
The pool drains through another trough, which drains into a ditch that wraps
around the other side of the village. This ditch is used by ducks and geese.
This community spring is a great help to the people of the village. They can get
water, wash laundry, and water their cattle at no expense.
When I arrive at the church
(in a house), the people are there waiting for me. The Pastor, Alish (Ah-leesh),
and his wife, Safet (Sah-feht), and their great-granddaughter, Darya (Dehr-yah)
are there every morning. Sometimes their daughter Gulbush (Gyool-byoosh) and her
husband Nejmadin (Nej-mah-deen) come. They are the couple who take care of the
feeding center.
When we meet together for
prayer meeting, we sing a few songs, take prayer requests, and then spend some
time praying together. They testify that this daily prayer meeting gives them
such strength. Such faith.
After prayer, Safet
generally serves coffee or tea and maybe a banitsa (oily bread with goat
cheese). We sit and fellowship. They enjoy telling their salvation testimonies.
Gulbush was saved first and
witnessed to her father and mother. They were devout Muslims and didn't want any
part of the church. She stayed strong and prayed for them. One day Safet went to
church with her. She had never felt so much peace. She loved it and kept going.
She was saved and prayed that Alish would be saved also. Alish was mean. He was
known for being a gambler and a drunk. He said he would never become a believer
and was angry that his wife had. Then he got very sick and the Dr gave him
little hope of recovery. He went home and asked his wife to pray for him. He
went to another Dr who told him that only God could heal him. He prayed that
night for the first time. Not only did Alish get saved, he was also healed. His
whole life changed in that one night. Today he is a Pastor and tells his
testimony everywhere he can. Praise the Lord!
Alish and Safet are not in
good health these days and could use your prayers. He has kidney problems and a
bronchitis he can't quite kick. She has heart problems and takes a lot of
medication.
These people are precious.
They don't have much in this world, but they have everything in Christ!
Thank you all for your
prayers for us and for this ministry.
Because He First Loved Me,
Brother Larry Leach, Jr.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Friends, March 3, 2010
It's hard to believe that it's March already. It is
Bulgarian tradition to give a gift to your loved ones on March 1st. It is red
and white and is usually a bracelet. These are called Martenitsas. These are
traditionally worn until the storks return for the summer. When one sees a
stork, they take off the Martenitsa and hang it from a tree or plant. This
brings good luck to the tree.
March is referred to as "Baba Marta", which means
Grandmother March. Baba Marta is known for being moody. Sometimes she gets mad
and turns you over to Grandmother Winter. Other times she is nice and lets the
sun shine. The people believe these things because they are very superstitious.
We have just begun the yearly flour distribution, and the
people are encouraged and thankful for it. As always, there has been some
difficulty (people yelling and shoving to make sure they don't miss out), but it
has been a wonderful thing, too. Two days ago we gave out 11,000lbs of flour and
about 125gallons of oil to two of the nine churches I go to. Praise the Lord.
In the next several weeks, I will have many testimonies to
share from the flour distribution, but I would also like to begin a series in my
emails, highlighting each church I go to, and the prayer needs of each.
This week I'd like to talk about the church in Novi Pazar
(pronounced No-Vee Puh-Zahr). It is a house church, in a room attached to the
house of Ismael (Ees-mah-yel), the National Pastor. Novi Pazar is a small city
with many Turkish speaking Gypsies residing there. They have a many small
stores, a Post Office, a nice hardware store, a couple restaurants (though you
wouldn't want to eat there), a mosque, and even a hotel (though you might not
want to stay there).
Every Monday evening, 30-40 believers meet in a large
room, some sitting on couches and many on the floor. The little old lady who
lives there is always lying by the woodstove. Every time they meet together,
they sing hymns for about an hour, followed by a season of prayer, testimonies,
and preaching. After a final prayer, they sing a song and then fellowship a
while. Each of these people are poor, but they have love and joy in their
hearts, which makes them very rich indeed.
Last night was a particularly good service. During the
singing, Ismael's oldest son, Sezgin (Sez-gheen), and his wife, came in and sat
down across the room on the floor. After a few minutes she got up and came over
to sit on the floor near Ismael. Sezgin got up next and came and sat by me. I
shared my hymn book with him and he sang every song loudly from his heart. Tears
were running down his face. When the service was over and most had gone home,
Ismael told me that this was the first time Sezgin ever came to the church. He
was so happy that his son had come. The Lord is working in Sezgin's heart.
Please pray for him. He and his wife and children live in an adjoining house.
His three children range in age from 5-14.
Ismael's other son lives in an adjoining house on the
other side. They have three children as well. Sinem (See-nem), only five years
old, had a lung tumor last year that was successfully removed. Her prognosis is
good, but right now she's in the hospital with bronchitis. Please keep her in
your prayers, as well as the rest of her family.
The little old lady (we all call her "Baba", which means
Grandmother) is about the same as previous emails. When we were giving out flour
a few days ago, she somehow got out of the house without anyone noticing. She
was wearing no shoes or socks and was trying to walk to the road. Sometimes she
tries to pull up on the hot woodstove to stand up. Sometimes her mind is sharp
and she thinks of her son, who resides in Germany, and she cries for him. Please
remember her in your prayers.
Ismael's wife is Nazie (Nah-zee-ay). She has diabetes, but
even in her poor health, she cares for her aunt (the lady we call Baba) and
feeds around 30 kids every day. She could use your prayers for health and
strength.
From this church, there are 5-6 who faithfully go with me
to all the other churches. They would go to church all day, every day, if they
could. They are a blessing to the other churches as well as their own.
In closing I want to thank you all for your faithful
prayers for us and for this ministry. It is my hope and prayer that these
updates will bring you closer to this work. I hope you can see what is going on
through my eyes and pray for all the needs we face. Thank you.
Because He First Loved Me, Brother Larry Leach, Jr.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 1, 2010
In Bulgaria March first is something of a holiday; they
celebrate the coming of spring. Things certainly look springy here. We've had
nice weather for a week or more.
We're praising God that once again we received our visas
without any problems. This time we only applied for a six month visa. Within
those six months, though, we should apply for and receive our permanent visas.
Please pray with us about this. It will be a major expense.
We were able to get out to the regular meetings this week.
It's always a blessing to see how the Lord blesses the new churches. It seems
like there's usually one meeting that is about empty, but another one is packed.
There's been some new people coming in the church that is furthest from us.
Saturday we visited several people from the "empty" meeting, and they all
promised to come. There may be some other problems there that we need to pray
about.
In the first of our two Thursday meetings there were some
people visiting in the house where we have church. The man told us that several
different groups of believers had been to his village over the years, but they
ran them all off. He tried to get us to leave, but Brother Alish got him to calm
down and at least listen during the meeting. In the meeting Alish gave his
testimony of how he came to be a believer.
Brother Alish had been working away from home, in the city
of Sofia when his wife got saved. At that time there was great opposition to the
gospel, which produced strong believers. Although he threatened his wife every
way he could, she stood firm in her faith. In the end, he told her that he was
going back to Sofia to work (for six months or so) and that when he came home he
didn't want her there. After a week of working in Sofia, Alish got sick. He went
to the doctor, and the doctor gave him bad news. So, he came back home to ask
his wife to pray for him. She was scared to see him come home so soon, but after
he explained things to her, they both went to the doctor. The doctor turned out
to be a Christian. The doctor gave him a prescription, but made it clear that
the medicine would not guarantee his recovery. "Only God can make you healthy
again," the doctor said. That night Alish got on his knees and prayed for the
first time in his life, alongside his wife. Early the next morning he awoke,
completely healthy. Everyone in the village had said that Alish would be the
last one to ever become a believer. He had had a reputation of being the biggest
drunk and gambler around, but God changed him overnight.
After hearing this testimony in the meeting Thursday, the
visitors said that they had never heard of such a thing, and they believed that
we really were sent by God. Then they invited us to their village to preach.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Praying Friends,
2-22-10
We're glad to be able to report again. After several weeks
of snow and bad weather, we're finally able to get out and get to the meetings
again (and to an internet connection in town). Last week we were busy applying
for visas, and traveling to Sofia to get little Levi's application for a
passport. Thankfully, it's all gone well, so far. We should receive our visas
this week, as well as the new passport. Then, we'll have to get Levi a visa.
They say that a baby born in Bulgaria gets an automatic temporary visa;
otherwise we would have to go to Washington DC.
The churches seem to be doing well. We've had some prayers
answered, but still so many more that need to be answered. People continue to
leave Bulgaria for work in Western Europe. We're sad to see them go, but know
that they take the gospel with them. It also reminds us that we only have a
certain amount of time to reach people.
In the first meeting Saturday we saw one of the believers
get a special blessing. She happily testified that day that her daughter was
expecting a baby. After the closing prayer she cried and struggled to find words
to say that she just knew that the Lord was in the room during the prayer.
Brother Nasuf recently had surgery. He's in recovery, but
in a lot of pain. Pray for him. We had a good meeting with his church yesterday.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Praying Saints,
2-20-10
Winter has given us a break for a few days and we are all
enjoying the sun. The kids have been excited to get outside and run a while.
This morning they hurried through their chores so they could play "Army"
outside.
This has been a rough winter. So rough, in fact, that the
news said the Varna region was in a state of emergency for the amount of snow.
Snow plows were out in large numbers (unusual for this area). They kept on top
of it, but, unfortunately, they destroyed the roads. Deep pot holes are
everywhere, especially on the autobahn where cars fly at 90mph. It's dangerous.
For every 400 holes I miss, I usually hit one or two. It's unavoidable.
The churches are doing fine. The one in Kaspichan was in
the home of the lady I wrote about recently who passed away. For now her
daughter is gladly letting the church stay in the same home and the believers
are still coming in large numbers there. They are still hurting over the loss of
their dear friend. Please pray for them.
On Sunday, Ismael and I plan on going to the village of
Hirsavo to pass out DVDs. This village is in between Tsirkvitsa and Nikola
Kozlavo, both of which have churches. Ismael tells me that Hirsavo has a large
population of Milet, so we want to pass out DVDs there for them. These DVDs are
a powerful evangelistic tool because many (if not most) of the Milet cannot
read. These DVDs contain preaching, singing of hymns, and testimonies of other
believers. If we give one to someone without a TV at home, they go where there
is one and play it there. We have heard testimonies of villages where several
families gather in one home everyday to watch the DVDs. Praise the Lord for the
fruit!
The coat and sock distribution is finished for this year
and it was such a blessing to so many! It helped so many people get through the
worst winter in recent history. Praise the Lord! Already we are encouraged that
next year will be just as good if not better. Our home church has begun a sock
drive in the Sunday School classes. Already the kids have bought a few hundred
pair of socks, with plans of gathering many more, to be sent over this fall.
What a blessing it is to sit back and watch God work among His people.
Please keep us and all the missionaries in your prayers.
This time of year is difficult and so many are struggling. But the effectual,
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much! Your prayers hold eternal
value. Thank you for your faithful prayers!
Because He First Loved Me, Brother Larry Leach, Jr
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings in
the Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
February 11, 2010
Praise God for
being good to us all. The Lord has blessed us greatly this last year in the work
of God.
The 8 churches
that I am pastoring are doing well. The Lord has put of His Spirit there and He
is working. It is a blessing to see the Lord work. A lot of people are getting
help through the local church. The church attendance in 4 of my meetings has
doubled this last year. Also I have given out thousands of DVDs and a lot of
these people get there folks together and they keep on watching the services on
these DVDs. Please, keep on praying that these new souls get saved.
I am continuing
to work day and night on the Bulgarian Bible Translation. Once again thank you
all for buying me that lap top computer. It has been a great help for me for
the Bible work.
The churches
over here are praying for you all. We all thank you a lot for the flour money
that you have sent. For the last month the winter has been rough on us. It
snowed a lot and I could not go to meetings on regular basis, because of the
snow most of the time being 3-4 feet. In the village of Kamenar the snow
covered the church housetop, which is 13 feet high. Most of the time
temperatures have been minus 10 to minus 20 Celsius. 50 km from where I live
the temperatures have dropped to minus 29 Celsius. My car died also. Most of
our church folks are out of electricity, food and wood, and no money, but debts,
so this flour and oil will be a great blessing for them. But most of them are
happy in the Lord and thankful to Him for being good to them.
A lot of times
people invite us to go to their houses for prayer. Most of the time they will
get 20-30 people and we would go there and have a 2 hour service. We would see
tears rolling down their eyes. We went to this one family after our third
service for the day and there were about15 women that waited on us. We started
singing and we sang for two hours till we lost our voices. Those ladies cried
the whole time and wanted us not to stop singing. What a blessing. All of them
were from a very rich family too. They got a taste of the real riches.
As soon as the
spring comes we will get out and give out some more DVDs. A month ago we
moved out of Varna and now we are living in a village and we thank God for this.
May the Lord bless you all richly in the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Brother Mitko,
Bulgaria.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Praying Saints,
February 4, 2010
After
being snowed in for a couple weeks, things have thawed enough to be able to
drive again. However, another winter storm is expected this week. Fortunately,
they're not predicting more frigid temperatures and we're all glad for that.
On
Saturday I was able to get to Kaspichan to pass out the last of the coats. This
was the best distribution yet. The people were so grateful that we had come. The
small room filled with people who came in shifts so we wouldn't have too many at
once. And in the end, there were enough coats and socks for all who came. It
couldn't have gone more smoothly. I tried to attach a few pictures, but my
computer is acting up and won't upload them. I'll try again another time. The
pictures are not good quality because I took them with my cell phone (my help
meet was not with me to take pictures with the camera. She and the children
stayed home because of the bad roads). Nearly a hundred people were given a
coat, a pair of socks, and the gospel on DVD that day. Praise the Lord!
This was
the final coat distribution (unless the Lord changes things), but I will be
taking a trash bag full of socks to Stoiyan Mihailovski as soon as I can. They
are one of the poorer villages that I go to, but they are also one of the more
rowdy ones. I anticipate a crowd of grabby but appreciative people. The socks
will be such a blessing!
We didn't
keep an exact count, but our closest estimate is that when all is said and done,
this winter we will have given out 200 coats, 300 pair of socks, and 25 pair of
shoes (our local feeding center kids). There has been much rejoicing over these
items and the people are praising God that they were there for them.
Soon we
will be a part of the winter flour distribution for the whole Bulgarian work.
This is always a blessing and comes right on time for so many who have nothing.
I will try to take some pictures of this distribution as well. Pray that the
weather clears up so the missionaries and national Pastors can get the flour to
all the people, even up in the mountains where the roads are so bad this time of
year.
The widow
I asked you to pray for is still holding on. Please continue to pray for her.
Thank you
all for your prayers for this work and for our family. It's not always easy to
live on the mission field, but I am thankful to God that I get to be here. And
I'm thankful to God for you and the help you are to me and this ministry. You
are a blessing.
Because He
First Loved Me, Brother Larry Leach, Jr.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Praying Friends,
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Rule
number one for a missionary: Be flexible! This has rang especially true in the
last couple of weeks.
About a
week ago, a winter storm hit, leaving a nice, even layer of snow on the ground.
It was beautiful. The children and I went out and played in it for a while.
Then a cold front moved through, bringing wind and frigid temperatures. The
roads were drifted to a meter and a half in some places, with patches of ice in
between. The temperatures dropped to around minus 10-13F. We stayed indoors as
much as we could.
Thursday night was particularly bad. Friday morning I couldn't get my van
through the village to get to morning prayer meeting, so I walked. Carrie asked
that I pick up some bread at the center store (which is about the size of an
American convenience store) on my way home, but there was none. The delivery
trucks had not made it through. So I stopped at another store (much smaller
than the other one) where bread is made fresh daily. As I got closer, I saw
many of the older people walking to get bread. They were leaning on their canes
and wearing thin rubber shoes on their feet. I was cold with my winter coat,
hat, and boots. I couldn't imagine how cold they were.
Saturday was no better. In fact, it was colder. I called Ismael and told
him that we would not be able to get out to go to the meetings and he agreed.
But later into the evening Ismael called to tell me about a death in Kaspichan.
He needed to get there, but we weren't sure how we would be able to. We decided
that we would wait until morning and try to get there.
Kaspichan
is hilly in and of itself, but the area where the Turks are is in the back and
up a large hill, which is one of the last to be scraped and salted. I wasn't
sure we would make it up the hill to the funeral, IF I was even able to get out
of my own village.
Sunday
morning the roads were still not plowed. But we had to get to the funeral. We
made it there, praying all the way. When we got to the church, I was surprised
to see that it was the lady of the house where the church is. She was in her
mid-60s and had a lovely spirit. I saw her just last week and she was in good
health.
At her
home, people gathered. I would estimate that around eighty people were there.
Final respects were paid and then it was time for a ceremony. For this, the
Hoja came. I'm not sure if it was her Muslim family's wishes or if it is
standard procedure in order for her to be buried in the Gypsy cemetery. The
Hoja was Turkish and well groomed. He had on nice clothes and a coat under a
white robe. On his head was a tall white and red hat.
He
gathered everyone into the street where the body, in a green casket was put in
the back of a horse cart. He then chanted over the casket and on cue, people
from the crowd shouted. This went on for about ten minutes and then the horse
cart began to move (pulled by men and not a horse) to head to the cemetery. The
wail that went up from the women in the crowd was chilling.
I stood
there in the crowd, deeply saddened. First that this kind lady was no longer
with us. Her presence will be missed. And second that she was not receiving
the funeral she would have wanted. But knowing that she was with Jesus gave me
comfort, and not just me, but the believers that were with me. I knew that in
her life, she had been touched by the love and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise the Lord for His great salvation!
I took
the believers home and then headed back to our village in time to make it to the
afternoon church service. A few blocks from the church, my van got stuck in the
snow. The water meter man walked up just then and wanted me to pay my water
bill. I told him that I would get it to him tomorrow and could he help me get
my van unstuck. He tried, but after a couple minutes, walked away. Finally a
couple of the believers came along and helped me. Between there and the church,
the van got stuck two more times. After going all day to a funeral and back and
not getting stuck, I got stuck three times in my own village. But we had a good
church service and the Lord moved in our hearts.
The
temperatures are supposed to go up a bit in the next few days and the Turks are
relieved. Many of them have no firewood and the ones that do are running low.
Thank you for praying for them!
In
closing I want to thank you all for your prayers for us and for this ministry.
Many lives are being touched by the love of Jesus and you have a part in that.
Thank you!
Because He
First Loved Me, Brother Larry Leach, Jr.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Friends,
1-22-10
The
temperatures are frigid. It is supposed to dip down to minus 11 Fahrenheit for
the next three nights, plus wind. Many of the Gypsies don't have firewood.
Please, please pray for their safety during this time!
Because He
First Loved Me, Brother Larry Leach
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-18-10
The Lord
has sent more snow. Not a lot, just enough to hinder driving. Most of our
meetings are in villages at a higher elevation, so we probably won't make it out
this week. Yesterday Brother Alish narrowly escaped an accident driving in the
snow to the meeting. Only the Lord prevented it, like He usually does. We
always have something to be thankful for.
My computer that had burnt up is now fixed. Well, the critical part is fixed.
The repair man failed to check the DVD drive. It's not working, but can be
replaced. At least the information on the hard drive is not lost.
Verity and little Levi are both home, healthy and content. The other children
continue their schooling, and I the proof-reading. Pray for us. We always
need it.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Praying Friends,
1-16-10
Things are
back to normal after the holidays. The past couple of weeks have been
unseasonably warm, though it looks like winter will reintroduced itself this
weekend.
The children are doing fine. They are starting to get cabin fever and look
forward to spring. But they are doing fine with their studies and music lessons.
The older four can play the piano and mandolin. Jonathan spends his time drawing
and writing stories. Hannah writes letters and makes up recipes. Joshua acts
like a clown, making us all laugh. Esther writes stories and clowns around with
Joshua. Cherith is sweet and funny and likes to hug everyone. Carrie stays busy
with home school and house chores as well as working with the coat distribution.
I enjoy them all so much.
Today we
set out to pass out the last of the coats from this year's coat drive. On the
way we realized that we had forgotten the bag of DVDs. Then when we got there,
no one was expecting us. I told the Pastor last week, but as language
difficulties can cause mix-ups, the message wasn't conveyed to the people. It
all worked out and the people are expecting us next weekend and will bring their
children and grandchildren.
The widow
I asked you to pray for a few weeks ago has declined. She lays on the floor by
the woodstove all day. Some days her mind is sharp. Others, she doesn't talk and
can't do anything for herself. The other day she was sharp and the things she
said to me were precious. She told me how much she appreciated me coming to the
church. She said that I was like a son to her. Since then, each time I've seen
her, she's been worse. Today she didn't even wake up. She's eighty-six. Please
pray for her as she prepares to cross over. And pray for her niece as she cares
for her; it's getting more difficult.
Thank you
all for your faithful prayers. We need them.
Because He
First Loved Me, Brother Larry
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
December 28, 2009
This week we saw a sharp change in
the temperature. The sun came out and melted all the snow. Saturday the
thermometer read fifty-eight degrees. This week, though it looks like things are
getting back to normal, as it snowed hard for about an hour today.
As Verity's due date draws near
I'm staying home more. We'll have an hour's drive to the hospital in Varna,
maybe more, depending on the city traffic. For her last delivery we had an
hour's drive to the hospital, then the baby was born thirty minutes later. So,
I'm staying close to home these days, and proof-reading the Turkish Old
Testament.
Saturday we went to two nearby
villages and had good meetings. It's odd the way the Lord works sometimes. I
hadn't really studied or prepared a sermon to preach that day, but in both
meetings I was able to preach for forty-five minutes with great liberty. I'm
preaching through the book of John. The people were attentive and receptive. In
the first meeting I could have preached much longer, but we had another meeting
to get to. Then, in the second meeting I could have preached a lot longer, but
Lazarus got out of the tomb, so I figured it was time to quit.
Remember to pray for us.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Bulgaria.
December 21, 2009
A week of bad weather.
That's what we've had here. It started with rain, then freezing
temperatures made driving all but impossible. After that we got more snow,
more freezing rain, and then more snow, and strong winds. Today the roads
have been scraped, so there is a smooth layer of snow packed on top of the ice.
At least they have been salting the more hazardous places on the roads - hills
and curves.
I was able to make it to three meetings this week. When we left our
village I though for sure we would have to turn around, but we just kept going
and made it. I'm glad we did. In the one village about a dozen people had
gathered. We're oft tempted to complain until we see what other people
suffer. The family that hosts this little church doesn't have any
electricity or running water, yet they never complain. Even giving us a
cup of coffee must be a financial difficulty, but they insist on doing it
whenever they're able. Pray for them.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Friends,
December 12, 2009
Greetings from snowy Bulgaria.
Today we were able to pass out coats, socks, and the Gospel on DVD in the small
city of Novi Pazar. We were told to expect around 40 kids there, but at the end
of the day, around 70 coats were given out. What a blessing! Most of the coats
went to kids, ranging in age from 3 to 13, but some went to the Pastor's family
and a couple widows. The Pastor's wife told us that these kids have been excited
for days, often asking when we were coming. They worried that the icy roads
would keep us from coming. It was about 20 degrees today and many children were
wearing only sweaters.They were so happy to get a coat! I have attached a few
pictures. Esther and Hannah worked the camera, so of the many they took, these
are some of the nicer ones. I hope they are a blessing to you!
When all of the kids had gone and
we sat down for a few minutes to rest, Esther told us that she was going out to
the outhouse. But when she went to put her boots on (it's customary to take
one's shoes off before entering a house), they were gone. We looked all over for
them before deciding that they had been taken by one of the kids that came.
Esther was a good sport about it, laughing and telling us she had been "robbed".
And when I carried her to the van to go buy her a pair of shoes, she said, "Oh
boy! If I had known that losing my shoes would mean that Daddy would carry me,
I'd lose them everyday!" And later when we got her the only pair of shoes in her
size, which happened to be bright, shiny red, she said, "Somewhere out there a
Gypsy looks American and now I look like a Gypsy." She has a great sense of
humor. It has been great for our kids to get involved with helping others.
Thank you all for your prayers!
Knowing that you are praying means so much to us! In closing I'd like to ask you
all to pray for a widow at the Novi Pazar church. She is 86 and is quite ill.
Her health is fading fast and the family is just waiting. Please pray for her
and for the family. And please pray for future coat distributions, as well as
for those who have already received. Thank you so much!
Because He First Loved Me, Larry
Leach, Jr.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Prayer Warriors,
December 9, 2009
Today was cold and rainy----a good
time to begin the coat distribution among the needy children. We planned to give
today to the kids at the feeding center in our village. But first we needed to
organize everything. So we worked as a family to get everything separated and in
individual bags. Then we headed to the center. Gulbush had a nice meal prepared
for us when we arrived. But while we were eating, kids came. Many, many kids.
They ran from the school to the center and ate hurriedly so they could open
their gift. These were the smaller children who attend school right in our
village. The older children attend school in the next village over, so they
would come later.
But in the short amount of time
between crowds, Rocko came by himself. He wasn't ill, so we weren't sure why he
skipped school. It didn't take long for us to find out. He wanted to come by
himself because he had something on his heart to say to us but didn't want to
say it in front of his peers. Gulbush told us he had something to say, so we
waited for him to talk. He couldn't. So he followed her into the kitchen and
asked her to speak for him. She returned and said, "Rocko wanted to tell you
thank you very much for his coat and the one for his Grandma. And thanks to
Jesus for sending them. But he couldn't say it. He also said that he wanted to
give Larry a hug but couldn't make himself do it. He is very thankful." We
rejoiced in this. And when Rocko tried on the shoes we gave him and they fit
perfectly, he lifted his head to say something but choked up. So he turned away.
God is working on him, softening his heart more and more all the time. This is
not the Rocko of a few months back.
Just then, the older children
arrived on the bus. They ran through the gate, nearly knocking down anyone or
anything that was in their way. They pulled up a chair and slurped down their
soup faster than anything we had ever seen. Then they were ready for their
coats. This crowd was rowdy and difficult to keep enough in order to get
everything to the right person. After a half-hour of that, we were exhausted,
but thrilled to have been able to help these kids and give them a small
Christmas.
When it was all over and Gulbush
invited us in for coffee, she told us that the kids were also thrilled to have
received a DVD. One boy didn't see his in his bag and ran and asked her why he
didn't get one. She dug through his bag and found it. He was so happy. 25 kids
went home with the Gospel today. Praise the Lord!
Tired, we left and headed for
home, thinking we were finished for the day. Not so. Our doorbell rang for an
hour afterward. Older boys from the center came to ask for coats for their
little brothers. Fortunately, we had just enough to give to them to take home.
The coat distribution is coming at
a perfect time. Snow is expected this week. We thank God for his faithful
provision.
Please pray for these kids. Pray
for their families (many are Muslim). Pray for their salvation. And please pray
for all future distribution. We expect to be quite busy with the coats for the
whole month of December. Pray for all those who will receive. Thank you all for
your faithful prayers!
Larry and Carrie Leach
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
December 7, 2009
Greetings from Bulgaria. We're
enjoying an unusually warm December here. Brother Alish said that the Lord's
having mercy on all the poor people that don't have firewood.
Today we're recovering of two days
and a night of ministering. Saturday morning I got a call about a funeral. We
went to our regular meetings that day, then drove out to be with Brother Nasuf
that night at the wake of sister Anife. She was only forty-eight years old. For
years the believers in that village met in her house. She left behind her
husband, three daughters and three sons in law, and a couple grand children. All
that night we sang and testified to the small crowd there, then the next morning
Brother Alish preached to a crowd of over one hundred gathered on the street at
the funeral. Pray for her family, some of them are not saved, but close.
After the burial we drove back to
one of our normal meetings, but with a van full of believers from the funeral.
Although it is a small meeting, there were some visitors there that day that got
to hear testimonies from six preachers. The church was greatly blessed. After
the meeting they fed us a meal - four bowls of lamb stew, but with no forks. We
took turns sopping with the bread, the way Jesus ate with his disciples.
Another recent blessing is the
delivery of some coats and socks. Fellow missionary Larry Leach got burdened
about the condition of the poor children here during the winter months. After
relaying this need to some churches they sent him a thousand dollars to buy
coats and socks. Along with the clothes, he's giving out DVDs, so even the ones
that don't come to church can see a man preach the gospel. One widow woman,
after receiving her coat said with tears in her eyes, "This isn't the Muslim
way." Pray for her and others like her who will see the love of God through this
ministry.
From Bulgaria,
Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Fellow Laborers,
December 5,
2009
I hope you all had a nice
Thanksgiving gathered around the table, thanking God for all His goodness!
Life here, in all its
busyness, just got a little busier. Yesterday Carrie and I went to Shumen and
picked up a van load of coats. We also got a big bag of socks to go with it. I
asked Gulbush (the village Pastor's daughter who runs the feeding center) to get
the sizes of all the kids at the feeding center so we could get the right size
of coat and socks for them. Then this morning we took a big bag of coats to the
Pastor's family. Attached is a picture of Carrie and the Pastors wife and
another of Carrie and the Pastor's great-granddaughter, Darya. 7 coats were
given among the Pastor's family. After we were finished there, we went with
Gulbush to the home of Rocko's grandmother (I mentioned her a week or two ago).
We met her yesterday and asked her if she had a coat. She said that she didn't
and told us that she was all alone, raising this one boy. We guessed at her size
when we picked up the coats. And this morning when we gave it to her, if fit
perfectly. With tears she reached out and took my hand. Then she kissed my
cheeks. But what really struck me was her words. She said, "This is not the
Muslim way!" She has been so helped by the charity of the believers and she
clearly sees that the love of Jesus is so much better than Islam. We invited her
to the church. Please pray that the seeds of love sown in her heart will bring
forth fruit to salvation. Attached is a picture of her with Carrie and Gulbush.
On Wednesday we hope to have
everything ready to distribute coats and socks to the kids at the feeding center
in our village. Please pray that all goes well as we pass them out along with
the Gospel on DVD. Please pray for these kids and for their
parents/grandparents. Pray for Gulbush as she not only feeds them, but teaches
them about Jesus. These kids count on her.
Please pray for us as we do
what we can to reach the lost and feed and clothe the poor and widows. I
appreciate all your prayers and support!
Because He First Loved Me,
Larry Leach, Jr.
Dear Friends,
What a whirlwind of activity
the last few days have been. Between all our regular stuff----homeschooling,
chores, wood cutting, etc----we have begun the coat distribution! My heart is
leaping for joy to be able to help these kids.
Yesterday we did the shopping.
It took quite a while to find a store with as many coats as we needed to buy.
There were looks of shock and more than a few laughs, but in the end, we ended
up with a van full of nice coats! Socks were a little more money than I
expected, but then again, I did buy the thickest I could find. In the beginning
I didn't think to pass out socks, but when I talked with our senior missionary,
he said to be sure to hand out at least a pair of socks with each coat. And
after seeing the looks on everyone's faces this morning, the socks were a much
appreciated addition!
If this morning was any
indication as to how this coat drive will go, we are in for a huge blessing! The
experience with Rocko's grandmother touched my heart more than she will ever
know. She hobbled out to the gate to greet us, wheezing as she came. Then when I
held out the coat, she was speechless. I helped put it on her, holding my breath
because at first it looked a little small. But when she got her other arm in and
it was a perfect fit, I let out a laugh of joy. Overjoyed, and with tears, she
grabbed me and pulled my face to hers. She kissed my cheeks and thanked me over
and over. I told her that it was from Jesus. I buttoned it for her and asked if
I could get my picture taken with her. She fixed her head scarf for the picture.
This is a picture I will treasure! As we walked away, I couldn't help but cry.
I'm excited about the coat
distribution at the feeding center on Wednesday. I want these kids to know that
Jesus truly cares about what they are going through. Please, please pray for
them. Maybe the village's next Pastor is among them...
A special thanks to all those
who gave and all who prayed for the coat drive! And if the people could thank
you themselves, they would. But since they can't, I'll say it for them. Thank
you! Thank you! Thank you!
With Love to All, Carrie M.
Leach
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings from sunny
Bulgaria.
November 24, 2009
We've had another good week
here. Wednesday I preached again to a room full of people in the new village.
Again they were receptive. This week they are planning on feeding everyone that
comes to the meeting. We've seen this many times over the years - when someone
comes to the Lord, or when the Lord comes to that person, the natural response
is joy, and a desire to spread that joy to others.
Saturday was a blessed day
in both meetings. The little group in the first village sang the hymns for an
hour at least. Then, each one had a good testimony. Kiymet continues to improve,
and she credits our prayers to God as the reason. Another woman told about an
incident at the baptism we held in the summer. While she was waiting in line to
get baptized there was man and woman watching. They were new to the meetings,
but wanted to believe. She encouraged them, and the man decided to get baptized.
The preachers talked to him, and a few minutes later he waded out into the water
and professed publicly faith in Jesus Christ. Now, two months have passed. The
woman from that village said that she had run into them man somewhere this week,
and the man said, "I wish I'd a become a believer years ago. My life's different
now." His wife said that she also believed, and was sorry that she had not got
baptized with him that day.
Last week we prayed for a
dying woman. She was lying on her side in bed, gasping for breath. The doctors
in the hospital had sent her home without treatment. That night we prayed for
her. The next night we went to see her. She was breathing better. She got out of
bed and sat up while I preached from psalm 90 about the number of our days. This
week we went to her village again, and the woman had further improved. Please
pray for her salvation.
In our village we had a man
come to the meeting for the first time. A few years ago he had a small business,
and was considered one of the wealthier men in the community. Now he's lost his
family and his business, and his hearing. He started coming to the children's
feeding, asking if he could eat the leftover food. The night he came to church
he told us that he hadn't eaten anything in three days but the apples from his
tree. Gulbush, the woman that feeds the children, gives him any leftovers and
witnesses to him on a regular basis now. Although he doesn't understand any
Turkish, he came to the meeting. He couldn't participate in any way, except for
the prayer. After church he was too emotional to talk about it. The next day he
told us that he had never had a better night's sleep in all his life. We expect
the seed sown in his heart to blossom into eternal life before long.
From Bulgaria Zachary
LeFevre
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Greetings from cool, sunny Bulgaria!
November 21, 2009
Fall began with rain and mud
and it looked like the rain was going to carry us right through to the snow, but
the last couple weeks have been rather nice. We've been able to buy, cut, and
stack wood for winter. We were also able to do some insulating of the house. The
kids were able to take some walks and play at the new little park in our
village. We appreciate the good weather. We still have roses in bloom.
The work is going strong.
The churches are praising God for salvation through Jesus Christ. They testify
about their life while serving Mohammed and how Jesus changed everything so
completely. He gave them love. He gave them peace. He gave them grace. Slava Na
Boga!
One part of the ministry
that gives the people strength is the morning prayer meeting. In our village, we
meet together each morning. We sing a few songs, pray, and fellowship. On one
recent morning, the Pastor's daughter told us of some of the people she has told
about Jesus. One lady, a "clean Turk" from Shumen, asked her one day why she
prayed to Jesus. She told her all about Christ, salvation, and unconditional
love. The lady said she would think about it. Well, one day the lady got sick.
The Dr said her condition was grave. She called the Pastor's daughter and said,
"Pray to Jesus for me. I need to know that He hears prayers." God heard the
prayers and answered. Now the lady is a believer.
Another story is of a man in
our village. He used to have wealth, but lost it all. He lost his wife, his
children, his cars---everything. Today he has no job, no wood or woodstove, and
no family. He is an alcoholic. The Pastor's son-in-law is a friend to him. He
invited him to church. The man, Miglen, said that an alcoholic couldn't go to
church. He said that he was ashamed and thought that the people would tell him
to leave. The son-in-law kept after him that he would find love in the church.
He promised he would come. That was last week. He didn't come. But they are
still inviting. Still reaching out. Still showing him kindness. It is our prayer
that he will come to know the Lord as his personal Saviour. Pray for Miglen.
The last story was about
Rocko's grandmother. Perhaps I've not mentioned Rocko before. He is a young
teen, born in prison to parents who are inmates. At birth he was taken from
prison to live with his paternal grandmother. She is a poor widow in our village
with barely enough to care for herself, let alone a child. As Rocko grew, he
became an angry, bitter young man. He hated everyone and every thing. He caused
many problems in the village. By the time he was ten, he had a small gang. Many
were afraid of him.
Then he started going to the
church's feeding center. At first he was angry and treated everyone at the
center badly. If he was having a bad day, he would throw his food and yell at
everyone. When hymns would be sung, he would mock. Then one day things changed.
As he was yelling at the lady who was feeding him, she answered him softly. She
remained kind. He saw something in her that day that he wanted. He went away
that day and didn't come back for a while. When he did return, he was different.
He showed kindness to all and wouldn't allow his friends to be mean, either.
That was a few months ago.
Now he waves to us as we pass. When we are at the park, he comes over and talks
to us and wants to play with our kids. He has volunteered at the center to help
with any work that may come up. It's night and day difference.
A couple weeks ago, Rocko
got the flu. He was very sick. The Dr told him to stay home and not go to the
center because he could spread the illness to the other kids. But, if he didn't
go to the center, how would he eat? His main source of daily nutrition comes
from the center. So he went early one day and asked for food. The lady gave him
a jar of soup to take home. She also sent a jar for his grandmother. Day after
day for a week she sent a jar of soup to their home. Finally the grandmother
came to the center (hunched over, walking with a cane) to thank them for feeding
her. She'd never been treated so kindly. The cook asked if she wanted to come to
the center daily and eat with the kids. She said no. She said that it should be
for the kids. But when the cook insisted she take home some soup, she didn't
turn it away.
The feeding center is
feeding the poor, the widows, and the fatherless. What a blessing! Thank you all
for your prayers and support to reach these people for Christ. You have been
more of a help than you know! Glory to God!
I hope these testimonies
have been a blessing to you! Because He First Loved Me,
Brother Larry Leach, Jr.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nov 16, 2009
We're still enjoying warm weather
here. We haven't had to heat the house this fall.
Good news from the villages. This week I was able to preach in a new
village. In a strong Muslim area. About fifteen people came to the
meeting, all friendly and apparently open to the gospel. As I preached
from Acts chapter sixteen they all nodded their heads "yes" and even said
"Amen". Pray for the people in this village. The opposition will be
strong in that area.
In other places we see the meetings filling up again as their summer work has
ended. Many of the people are glad to be in church again.
Brother Nasuf has started a new meeting in one of his villages. At the new
meeting there was a woman that had been to church years ago. He said that
they had been evangelizing in another village and, of course, preached then
prayed for any who wanted special prayer. This woman had
requested prayer for her physical ailments, and made a complete recovery.
Now years later she has moved to this village where they're starting a church.
Although we may lose contact with people, the Lord never does, and he gathers
his children in.
Also this week we learned that the Lord is providing three new DVD duplicators
for the work through the saints at Brookside Baptist (Charity Baptist Mission)
in Bristol, TN. And, some funds have come in for shipping the duplicators.
Prayer works.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Brethren,
November 15 2009
Today was like none other in my
history as a missionary. On my way to prayer meeting I got a call from Ismael
that one of the believers had died. The "Baba", they called her (which means old
lady or Grandmother).
I went on to prayer meeting where
I received the full details on what would need to be done to conduct a funeral
and go to the graveside.
First, we needed to find a white
sheet material for grave clothes. Then we needed to go to the Dr's office and
get a death certificate. From there we would go back to the Baba's house where
the cloth would be sewn and last respects would be paid.
Of course the usual stores did not
have the white cloth, so we walked around Novi Pazar looking for it. As we
walked around Novi Pazar, we met up with other believers, who all wanted to pay
their respects. It was quite a van full.
Then, because it is Saturday, the
Dr was not at his office. We called him and he said he would come to the office
right away. He wanted to examine the body himself, so he joined my van full and
we headed to the village. By the time the van had completely unloaded, the Dr
was ready to go back to his office to write up the death certificate.
After waiting a while outside the
Dr's office, the certificate was finally ready. Ismael and I headed back to the
village to have the funeral. We sang and prayed.
At that time a makeshift room was
built outside where the women would wash and dress the body. They took a lot of
time making sure everything was done properly. It reminded me of the women who
looked after Jesus' tomb.
Then it was time to go to the
cemetery. The wrapped body was put in the back of a horse cart and taken to the
cemetery. Only the men went.
When we got there, the hole was
already dug. It was about 4ft deep and at the bottom, the hole was inset. In
that inset, the body was laid. A mud brick wall was built to enclose the body in
the inset. Then the dirt was put back, leaving a mound. From death to end of
burial was 14 hours.
One blessing that comes from days
such as these is that any lost who gathered got to hear the Gospel. They heard
one Pastor at the grave announce, "She's not here! She's in Heaven with Jesus!"
Also, while we were gathered in
the house, singing about Heaven and about Jesus' resurrection and Amazing Grace,
it set in strongly that as a missionary, all ministry to this one lady was over.
But as I looked around the room, my heart was challenged once again to reach as
many as I could. Please pray.
Thank you all for your faithful
prayers. It is because of your prayers that missionaries stay on the field,
telling the world about salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Because He First Loved Me, Brother
Larry Leach, Jr.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The LORD
preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow." Ps 146:9
November 11,
2009
Greetings from the
saints in Bulgaria. As the cold weather has come and summer work is ended the
churches are filling back up. We’ve had a good summer. Now Isaac is attending
a Bulgarian kindergarten in the mornings and doing first grade school work at
home in the afternoons, while Maggie has started preschool at home. The older
girls study at home and take violin lessons twice a week. .Verity’s due date is
January seventeenth. Pray for her as this date approaches.
Once again it is our privilege to thank God for providing us with a new
vehicle. Last week I bought a seven passenger Dacia Logan. Not only will it
fill the needs of our family’s travel, but we’ll be able to carry more believers
with us as we visit the village churches and evangelize. Thank you all for your
prayers and financial contributions.
I drove my new car
to the cafe in Shumen to write this message. The van surely is a blessing,
especially for the children. It's not easy to fit four children and two adults
into a five passenger car. Saturday I was able to drive the new car to the
meetings. On the way to the second meeting we were stopped at a barrier in the
road and told to take a detour. That detour started out as a dirt road and
ended up as a mud path through the fields to the next town. Good way to break
the new vehicle into the work. We made it to church safe and sound, an hour
late. There were a dozen believers there waiting on us, including Kiymet.
The little girl
from Brother Nasuf’s meeting that we had prayed for is doing better. The
doctor’s don’t have any explanation, but her condition has temporarily
stabilized. In the mean time we had a young woman come to the meetings in a
nearby village. Several young women were coming to the meeting there, at first
out of curiosity, which led to them liking the meeting, which will in turn lead
to their faith in Christ. Kiymet knew that she needed some help from God, and
seemed more serious than the others. She complained of frequent head aches.
When she went to the doctor they found a tumor on her brain. She was operated
on in Varna, but not given any hope of recovery. The doctors told her there was
no hope to live, but now she's still alive. I think they gave her three months
to live. Her family took her to a bigger hospital in Sofia, the capitol city,
where she was operated on again. Again the doctors predicted she would live
only a couple months. Now, two months have gone by. She’s recovered from the
surgery, on her feet again, and even able to walk about a mile to the church.
Everyone is amazed at her progress, and they say that it is due only to the
prayers. Her mother came to church for the first time last week. She said that
Kiymet began to recover the night we visited her and prayed for her. Lord
willing, it's only a matter of time before her mother comes to know the Lord.
She's already seen what he can do. Please pray for this family, as we preach
the gospel of Jesus Christ to them.
One morning about
a month ago I received a phone call from one of the believers in nearby
village. There was a man there who had committed suicide that morning, and they
needed help in the funeral. He had been mentally ill for sometime. They said
that because of the economic crisis, which has left many people without work, he
wasn't able to support his family, and he was ashamed that his children had to
go to school hungry, and without new shoes. His wife had often told us that she
wanted to come to church, but her husband strictly forbade it. Their children
have been coming to the feedings. At the church in that village we've been
feeding the poor children for about a year now. This family is so poor though,
that many days the only food the children ate was at the church. I'm glad that
we can feed them. Now, his wife has been coming to church. She’s found a
heavenly father faithful to meet their needs.
We
continue to receive requests for cds and DVDs. The Lord is using these discs to
take the gospel into places we cannot go.
From Bulgaria,
Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November
11, 2009
Greetings from sunny
Bulgaria. I drove my new car to the cafe in Shumen to write this message. The
seven passenger Dacia Logan surely is a blessing, especially for the children.
It's not easy to fit four children and two adults into a five passenger car.
Saturday I was able to drive the new car to the meetings. On the way to the
second meeting we were stopped at a barrier in the road and told to take a
detour. That detour started out as a dirt road and ended up as a mud path
through the fields to the next town. Good way to break the new vehicle into the
work. We made it to church safe and sound, an hour late. There were a dozen
believers there waiting on us, including Kiymet. The doctors told her there was
no hope to live, but now she's still alive and walking to church (about a mile).
Her mother came with her. Lord willing, it's only a matter of time before her
mother comes to know the Lord. She's already seen what he can do.
While I was busy in Sofia
with the car Brother Alish was in the new villages. He had good testimonies
about some people there wanting to come to church. Before writing more, I'll go
meet with them this week. We've prayed a lot for these new villages this year,
but so far haven't seen much improvement, but the one meeting in that area that
we weren't worried about has continued to grow (without our prayers). I guess
the Lord of the harvest decides how and where to work.
More good news. The wife of
the man who had committed suicide has begun to attend the church services in her
village. She testified that while her husband was alive they struggled just to
survive, but since starting to come to the church God's taken better care of
her. She said that in some respects her life as a widow is actually better than
when her husband was alive.
"The LORD preserveth the
strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow." Ps 146:9
From Bulgaria, Zachary
LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Faithful Brethren,
November 7, 2009
The weather has turned nice once
again, so people all around our area are taking the opportunity to prepare a
little more for winter.
A man down the road is gathering
fallen limbs and sticks for firewood. I saw a man in Shumen gathering plastic
bottles from dumpsters to burn for warmth. A missionary brother is putting on
new roof tiles and hoping to be moved in before Christmas. As a family we have
been cutting wood and doing some winterizing on the upstairs of the house. The
upstairs is still not being used because it's unfinished. So it must be closed
off for winter. We appreciate each little project because it gets us that much
closer to a finished house. Having lived for a while with gravel floors, holes
in the walls, and showering in the barn, we are very thankful to have a warm
house. We appreciate everything our supporters have given to help us get where
we are.
As attention is turned to the
needs of winter, I ask that you pray and give as the Lord leads. Of priority is
the yearly flour distribution. During this distribution, around 1,500 families
will each receive a 110lb bag of flour and 5 liters of cooking oil. $25 will
help one family survive the harshest winter months.
Also, the feeding centers will
have greater needs during the winter. Because of the lack of work, more children
are coming to be fed. The feeding center in our village is one of the newer ones
and is lacking in monthly support. It needs a little more money monthly for
potatoes, noodles, rice, beans, and bread. Over 20 children eat at this center
daily.
And lastly, for the missionaries.
Winter is especially hard because the needs are so great. Also, the dollar is
low and gas is on the rise. Hopefully it will stay under the $8 mark it hit last
winter. Some of our missionaries spend $1,000 each month on fuel to get to the
meetings and distribute food among the feeding centers. Additionally, car
repairs are common because of the number of miles traveled and the bad roads.
As Thanksgiving approaches, we
think even more about you all. You have been such a blessing to us in so many
ways. Your faithful prayers have given us the strength to go on when we were
sure we couldn't take another step. Please know that as we sit around the table
on that traditional Thursday, we will be saying a thanks to God for you. Thank
you for everything you have done for us and for this ministry.
Because He First Loved Me, Brother
Larry Leach, Jr.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 2, 2009
It looks like the Gypsy summer
(warm weather in the fall) is over. There's ice in the watering buckets
every morning now. We're so thankful for the work done by Brother Toby and
friends - they carried the firewood into the house.
With the cold weather here the churches are filled.
Work in the fields has ceased. God was good enough to send the financial
crisis to Bulgaria. People here NEED to pray. Many are without
firewood yet or other necessary winter provisions. At the campmeeting at
Brookside over five thousand dollars was raised to help buy flour for the
churches here this winter. Please pray about this, we will need at least
thirty thousand more. God is able. It's always exciting to see him do big
things.
Last week I was able to help Brother Frank Cornelius a couple
days to finish the work on his roof. It reminded me of all the work we did
on our house, and how thankful I am for fellow missionary Matt Welch that did
all the carpentry work free of charge. May the Lord richly bless all those
that have helped us!
This week I'll be traveling to Sofia, Lord willing, to pick
up our new vehicle. After praying and waiting for two years we're excited
at seeing the realization of our prayers. There will be some extra costs for
registration and insurance, but my God will supply the need.
Another need to pray about is the DVD ministry. We
can't make them fast enough. Each of the pastors want to distribute them
in the towns and villages where they have church, not counting new villages.
Many people have commented that they loved watching the DVDs and want to come to
church. It costs less than twenty cents to make a DVD, but we could use at
least two more multi-burning machines.
I hope you'll pray about all these things. In the weeks
ahead, by faith we'll give a good report of answered prayer.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 28-09
Dear Preachers, Pastors, and
Brookside,
We greet you in the blessed name
of the great God and our saviour Jesus Christ. Mercy unto you, and peace and
love be multiplied. Last Sunday we had a church service in a new village called
Kamaravo. It was a blessing how we came to be there, but may it suffice to say
we could tell that God had opened the door and it was a blessing to enter into a
home where God was already in attendance.
Hassan, the national Pastor, was
so excited to start the new meeting that he didn’t sleep the night before. He
started the church service with many gospel songs, which touched the peoples
hearts, and many cried as God’s Spirit started to deal with them at the point of
their needs. After the singing, Hassan began to preach from Mark chapter 1 on
the gospel of Jesus Christ and how it had changed his life, giving him a new
life. What joy was expressed as he went over what Jesus had done to save him
from his sins and place him in the family of God! He preached for about twenty
minutes with joy unspeakable and full of glory, all the time accrediting God for
his goodness. Suddenly he stopped and asked for the believers to give
testimonies how they had been saved and had come to know the Lord. Something
was wrong as it was evident Hassan was becoming ill, and by the end of the
service it appeared it might be the onset of a stroke. We prayed and excused
ourselves and drove to the hospital. The doctors said Hassan was indeed having
a stroke and admitted him. Today we are thankful that he is doing much better.
We ask for your continued prayers, and covet them, that God would bless his work
here and the preaching of the gospel of Christ, for which we are not only
ambassadors, but your servants to make known the riches of Christ in the regions
beyond. Please pray for us, your missionaries, and the national pastors, that
God would strengthen us for the work he has called us to.
May God continue to bless your
camp meeting and may his face shine upon you and draw us all closer to him.
Your missionaries in Bulgaria.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Fellowlaborers, Greetings from Bulgaria! Oct 28, 2009
Yesterday I was able to email an
update on the work. Today I wanted to take a minute to update you all on the
Leach Family.
Carrie and the children are
doing fine. They stay busy with home school and chores. Hannah's foot that had a
bad cut that wouldn't heal, has healed and is doing fine. We are thankful for
that, as it took over a year to finally be well.
Our visas came through this fall
with no troubles. Praise the Lord. We have another year of residency.
The van has been through a major
overhaul since summer but it looks like we're seeing light at the end of the
tunnel. After over $3,000 in repairs since the beginning of summer, I only have
a couple repairs, to the tune of $400, to take care of for it to be in good
shape. Having a good vehicle is so important in this ministry. It was such a
blessing to have for all the baptisms this past summer. At times it was so full
of people that it looked like a clown car.
Further progress on the house
has been slow because of the vehicle repairs, but we're doing fine with it. We
know that it will all come together in time.
I want to take a minute and say
to you all that God has been good to us! He has been faithful to take care of
our needs and give us the encouragement we need when we felt we couldn't take
another step.
Thank you all for playing a part
in this ministry with both prayer and financial support. Without you, we could
not be here. We thank God for you. You are in our prayers. Hope you have a good
camp meeting.
Because He First Loved Me, Brother Larry Leach, Jr.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Fellowlaborers, Oct 28, 2009
I hope this letter finds you all well and having a good camp meeting. I wish I
could be there to listen to the preaching and singing and to fellowship with you
all again. But the needs of the work are great and I am honored to be a part of
it all.
Bulgaria has felt the effects of a world-wide recession and many are leaving to
other parts of Europe to find work. While we miss them, we know that God is at
work because they are taking the DVDs with them and distributing them among the
Turks in other countries. The DVDs have been a wonderful evangelistic tool. More
than we may ever know.
The churches are doing well. They are still singing, praying, testifying, and
preaching. One widow who goes with me is in her 80s. She gets up and testifies
in all the churches, often jumping up and down with joy as she tells of all God
has done for her. Another widow who goes is 85 and she has the sweetest spirit.
Sometimes she doesn't know where she is, but she just wants to be around God's
people.
Please keep Brother Hassan in your prayers as he had a stroke this past week.
From what I hear, he is getting better, but could still use prayers. Please
remember the churches, national pastors, and missionaries in your prayers. The
opposition in this Christian life gets heavy and we need the prayers of the
saints to lift us up.
And lastly, pray for the new villages that are opening up. Pray that their
hearts will be open to the Gospel and that many souls will be saved.
Because He First Loved Me, Brother Larry Leach, Jr.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 26 Update
We hope this report finds you all
earnestly contending for the faith and rejoicing in hope of eternal life.
Over here we've been busy this week preaching in the churches, working on
videos, dvds, and doctor's visits. Verity had some blood work done this
week, but won't get the results until her next doctor's visit. She
sometimes feels faint of a morning, but not alarmingly so. Continue to
pray for her.
This week I was able to travel up to Romania for the Sunday morning meeting with
the two other missionary families up there. Also, Brother Frank Cornelius
came from Bulgaria, bringing his family. It was an unplanned day of
fellowship and blessing. While there we learned that Brother Nathan Reed
is returning to the states for a short furlough. He will be trying to
raise money for the work. Last week, he said, they didn't have money to
pay for fuel to get to the villages. There's twenty-five village meetings
up in Romania right now, and fuel costs close to six dollars a gallon.
Pray that God would bless Brother Nathan in his travels, representing the work.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 20, 2009
Greetings from cold, rainy Bulgaria.
We've had a good week here, with our visitors from Columbus, Ohio. During their
eight day stay we were able to visit Northern Greece. Not only did we learn
about the Turkish population there, but we were able to enjoy the warm climate.
Then, a few days later we traveled up to the Romanian mountains where it was
snowing. In between these two trips we were able to visit eight of the churches
here, and that turned out to be the biggest thrill.
The brethren here were thrilled to see the
American believers that had prayed for them and supported this work for years.
It was like Timothy bringing greetings from the Apostle Paul. They loved hearing
the testimonies of the Pastor Cambron, Brother Scott Lincke, and fifteen year
old Joshua Cambron. They resolved to pray more for their church, hoping these
men will come visit again next year.
Not only were the believers here edified, but the
American believers were touched by seeing the love and joy in the churches
despite their poverty. Brother Toby said he could have stayed another week and
done nothing but visit the churches. We're thankful for the time we had
together, and the fellowship. Brother Toby and his church paid for all of our
expenses during the trip, and gave us a love offering.
While I was busy traveling and visiting other
churches Brother Alish stayed faithful to our weekly meetings. The young lady we
have been praying for has recovered from her surgery. She's now up on her feet
and able to do some housework. I'm not sure about the cancer tumor in her head,
but at least she's doing better, and her family is thankful for the prayers.
Brother Alish's car is in need of some repairs that will cost him a couple
hundred dollars. He's sixty-five years old, skinny as a rail, and not able to
work outdoors in cold weather. When his car broke down last week it was the
first time in a couple years that he's missed a village meeting (he goes to
eight a week). He's very faithful. Pray for him. They also need some firewood
for the winter, and his roof is in need of repair. We are able to pay for his
fuel, but he and his wife live off of their pension, which is about a hundred
and fifty dollars a month.
Verity's doctor continues to insist she is
carrying a baby boy. This baby will be here in three months. Verity goes this
week for blood testing.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 5 Update
After a nice September we got our first day of autumn weather. It rained here
all night Saturday and then all day yesterday. The temperature had dropped and
Saturday there were strong winds.
We
had a good day yesterday preaching in three villages. This week we found out
that a man from one of the villages passed away right after church the previous
week. He had been to our meetings several times and heard the gospel preached.
He was fifty-two years old.
The young woman we've been praying for is back home in her village. She had been
operated on in Varna and in Sofia, but both times the surgeons said there was no
hope. There is some type of tumor on her brain. They've given her just a couple
months to live. For the time being she is not in much pain, but sleeps a lot.
She's in good spirits, though, they said, and wants us to visit her. Lord
willing we'll get out to see her today or tomorrow. She's twenty-nine years old.
A week after our battle with the local imam there's no sign that anyone in that
church has been intimidated. Continue to pray for that church.
We
continue to make and distribute at least one hundred of the evangelistic dvds a
week. At least once a week we hear about people going to work in Western Europe
and taking the dvds with them for church. From Bulgaria,
Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 29, 2009
Praying Friends,
Wednesday morning I got a phone call from one of the villages. A man there had
hung himself, leaving a wife and four small children. They said that because of
the economic crisis, which has left many people without work, he wasn't able to
support his family, and he was ashamed that his children had to go to school
hungry, and without new shoes. His wife had often told us that she wanted to
come to church, but her husband strictly forbade it. Their children have been
coming to the feedings. At the church in that village we've been feeding the
poor children for about a year now. This family is so poor though, that many
days the only food the children ate was at the church. I'm glad that we feed
them. Pray for this widow and the fatherless.
One evening this week we had some visitors come to the meeting in one of the new
villages north of us. It was the local imam, the Islamic minister that came to
try and close the meeting. After Brother Alish preached and we prayed, closing
the meeting, we let him ask any questions he wanted. We argued there for two or
three hours. I thank the Lord for Brother Alish and his family that are strong
in the faith, and didn't fear any of his threats. He said that anyone who
professed that Jesus was the son of God would no longer be considered a Muslim,
and would be ostracized from the community, including the Muslim funeral in the
cemetery. Brother Alish asked him, "Why are you so concerned with the body,
anyway? It turns back to dust. We're concerned with the souls of men that will
live in heaven of hell."
In
the end, the man was friendly and asked for some literature about the Bible.
None of our new believers seemed to be moved by his arguments. We're only in
this village once a week. Please pray for them the other six days.
Yesterday I went to Brother Ismail's regular Sunday meetings. There's three
right now, and we're trying to organize a fourth one. The first meeting of the
day is with a small group here referred to as the Kopenars. They are ethnic
Romanians, and still speak the language, but seem to speak Bulgarian better.
Imagine their surprise when I stood and preached to them in Romanian, their
mother tongue. They were thrilled.
Brethren, pray for us. From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings in the Name of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ. September 25, 2009
I thank God for the living God we
are trusting in and serving. As the days are going the Lord keeps on blessing.
The meetings are doing well. There are new souls coming to the house of God
looking for help. We appreciate your prayers for us and for the churches over
here. We for sure see the Lord working in the lives of the believers.
One sister testified that there
are 13 people in her house and nobody is employed. She said that she has 6
grandchildren living with her and every morning when they get up they are
looking for food. She said that despite their poverty the Lord is providing for
them. She praises the Lord for providing for them.
Another sister that is a widow
testified in church that a few months ago the church prayed for her. She could
not hear with her ears. Now the Lord opened her ears and she can hear. Her
daughter asked her which doctor she visited and she said that she did not go to
any doctor, but the church prayed for her and her ears got opened. She praises
the good Lord for hearing her prayer.
We thank you for feeding the
children over here. It is a great blessing to see hungry children and even
adults get fed. As it is hard to find work and the economic situation getting
real hard and the government not helping much a majority of families do not have
food for their children on regular basis. There is this little child that used
to come to one of the feeding places. He was an orphan and one time the sister
that feeds the children heard him pray: God give me strength to work and feed my
granny that takes care of me. As the boy grew up he started lifting weights and
last year he went to a weights lifting championship in Japan and won a few
medals. Now he is able to take care of his granny that raised him up. The Lord
really hears prayer.
We have been giving out a lot of
DVDs and the Lord has blessed greatly. We give them out quickly. Recently we
gave some to a brother that works in Serbia. Also these DVDs are going all over
villages, towns and cities not only in Bulgaria but all over Europe. A few
weeks ago I gave a ride to a lady in Romania. As we started talking it turned
out that she was a Turk. I gave her several DVDs to give out to her neighbors
and relatives.
There is this one sister that is
really poor but she can give away all the DVDs that we can give her. Recently I
took her to a market and gave her 200 DVDs. When she got off the car she said:
I am going to faint. And I asked her why. She said that she did not have any
money for food. As soon as she got some food she brightened up and for 5 hours
she gave discs away and testified the gospel to the people.
Please, pray for my wife and
children because they are sick. May the Lord bless you all.
In Christ, Brother Mitko.
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Greeting From Bulgaria, September 18, 2009
I wanted to tell you all about a man I met in our
village yesterday. As is my routine, I was in my van on the outskirts of the
village, reading my Bible and praying, when a new shepherd came up and tapped on
my van window. He just wanted to talk. We talked about the weather and family.
Eventually he asked what I was doing here and I began to talk to him about the
Lord. He is Muslim and said that when he prays, he feels clean. I told him that
salvation could only come through Jesus Christ. He wanted to know more. I didn't
have one of the ministry DVDs on me (gave them all away at a big meeting in Novi
Pazar the other night), so I told him to come by my house in the evening and I
would give him a DVD. Then he asked me if I could hold on to his big bag of corn
so he wouldn't have to carry it around with him all day. Last night after he
took his herd home, he came by to pick up his corn and the DVD. He then told me
that he didn't have a TV or DVD player, so he would take it to his son's house
and watch it there.
Please pray for this man and for all those who
would see the DVD at his son's house.
Because of the busyness of missionary life, I
have been remiss at keeping in touch with you all on what is going on over here.
But I have made a resolve to get better at communicating with you all as to what
God is doing here in Bulgaria. I thank you all for your faithfulness for souls
here.
Slava Na Boga (Glory to God), Brother Larry Leach
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 7, 2009
What a difference! Saturday we started
transporting people early, about nine o'clock, from their villages into town,
where the bus was waiting. Two fifty-five passenger buses carried about a
hundred and thirty people to the large church house for our last baptism of the
season. While we were driving it felt like the hottest day of the year, then
Sunday morning rain clouds moved in and put an end to summer. It's rained all
night, with strong winds. We have no picnics scheduled today, to say the least.
There were close to two hundred and fifty people at the meeting Saturday night.
Twenty-four new believers got baptized. If I counted right, that makes about one
hundred and forty-eight baptized this year. The meeting ended at daybreak Sunday
morning when we ate breakfast. I preached at about two o'clock that morning, but
had to lay down at four to get a little rest before driving people back home. We
heard a lot of good testimonies, but also have some serious prayer requests.
One young lady has a brain tumor and the doctor said she doesn't have long to
live. Just this summer she started coming to church. Another one of the
believers has a child that is very sick, and the doctors don't really know the
cause.
Today the children started school, all four of them. They older girls are
studying at home this year, but will be going to a Bulgarian school for music
lessons twice a week. Isaac will be going to Bulgarian kindergarten again,
but maybe not every day.
Verity went to the doctor again last week. They're still claiming the baby is a
boy, but as we can't agree on a boy's name, I'm thinking it might be a girl.
From Bulgaria,
Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings from Bulgaria.
August 31 2009
We had a good week here. Wednesday and
Thursday we went to our regular meetings. Although most of the people are out
working now, the ones that did come are doing well. Thursday night especially we
had a good meeting in one village. Brother Alish's son and daughter-in-law were
there. It was their last meeting before returning to Holland where they live and
work. Both of them gave clear testimonies of salvation and requested prayer that
God would provide them work in Bulgaria so they could stay in the church. The
daughter-in-law requested prayer for her side of the family. None of them are
saved. Also in the meeting there was a young lady that used to come to church,
but hadn't been in a long time, ever since she's been married. She cried during
the hymns, cried during the preaching and cried during the prayer, and even
after church was over she sat with her head bowed down and cried. It's good to
see God touch people.
One day we went to a nearby town where
there's been a church for several years. I had prepared over two hundred of or
evangelistic dvds and we gave every last one out. Ninety-nine percent of the
dvds will be watched (if not one hundred percent). Some of the people there said
they didn't even know we had a meeting there, and they would be happy to come.
Right now I've got about a hundred and fifty more dvds ready. We'll canvas
another town this week.
Fellow missionary Larry Leach is having
problems with his vehicle right now. He's praying about whether to sell it or
keep on repairing it every other month. Pray for his needs. While he is not able
to drive, I'm taking Brother Ismail to his regular meetings. There's nine
villages that he goes to, including the church that meets in his house.
Saturday we're planning another large
meeting. There may be a few that will want to be baptized. This time we're
bringing in the villages that Alish, Ismail and Nasuf pastor. Brother Ismail's
got a fifty-five passenger bus reserved. We could fill another one.
Pray for my brother, William, as he has
just started deputation.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings from Bulgaria. August 24, 2009
We've had another good week in the regular
meetings. I preached eight times this week. One day I went with Brother Ahmet
to three of his villages.
Yesterday there was a man at Brother Nasuf's
church that had just returned from Spain. He, like many others, had gone to
Western Europe for work. He testified that it was a blessing to be back in his
home church again and hear hymns and preaching in his own language. He said he
goes to a church in Spain, but due to the language barrier has no fellowship
with any other Christians. He asked for special prayer for his wife. She's had
mental problems for fifteen years, and the police wanted to lock her up, but he
says he still loves her and will never give up on her.
In one of Brother Ahmet's village churches the
woman that hosts the church in her house told her entire testimony. She and her
husband were traveling on the highway one day in their horse-drawn wagon when a
truck hit them from behind. They were taken to the hospital. In the ambulance
she was with her husband. His mouth was full of blood, and her arm was broken.
Neither of them was able to speak. At the hospital she was taken to one room
and her husband another, where he died. Her family chose not to tell her about
his death at that time, fearing it might harm her own recovery. After a week
she came home where several friends and relatives were waiting. The whole room
of people was crying, she though, for her. Eventually someone told her that her
husband had died and had been buried. She fell out in the floor crying. Then
someone came to the house. The children went to meet them. It was Brother
Hasan and his wife, out evangelizing in that region that day. They came in the
house and told everyone that the Lord had sent them to that village to start a
church. The woman said they definitely needed God to help them, so she invited
the preacher to come back every week. That was three years ago, I believe. She
got saved and got her life straightened out in one sense, but still had many
difficulties. Without her husband, and no other income, she was unable to pay
her utilities and had the lights and water cut off. They were terribly poor and
suffered greatly, but God always took care of them. This year an attorney
contacted her and told her that she is entitled to a settlement from her
accident. They've given her close to twenty-thousand dollars! Her family
started to rebuild their house, which was falling down. She actually didn't
seem any happier about the money than she was the Lord's continual blessing over
the last few years. She's learned to be content no matter the circumstances.
We would like to ask you all to pray for the
family of our dear friend, former missionary Ricky Bolick, who passed away this
week. When I first came to visit the mission field I stayed with Brother Bolick.
He was a blessing and an inspiration to all that knew him.
The believers here are terribly sorrowful, but
not without hope.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 28, 2009
Greetings from sunny Bulgaria.
This week we've had several days of
one hundred degree weather. Saturday night an electrical storm came in with
heavy winds and rain. A store in the village was hit by lightning, leaving the
village without power for a while. Sunday the daytime temperature was about
seventy-five, though.
We have good reports of the after
effects of the baptism meeting. Some of the new believers came to that meeting
to be baptized, even though they were scared about going into the water for the
first time in their lives. In one of our villages the man and wife that host
the church in their house were both baptized along with a grown daughter. Since
that time, they said, God has taken good care of them. Normally they could only
earn about five dollars a day, but now they're getting close to twenty dollars a
day. A happy excitement was present in the church service in their village.
The new believers have joy, but don't fully understand why. We can say along
with John Baptist when he saw his followers leave him to go to Jesus, This my
joy therefore is fulfilled.
I had meant to write more about the
meeting we had the night of the baptism. Knowing that I had to drive a couple
hundred miles in the morning, I could only stay at the meeting until about four
o'clock in the morning. Some of the others continued to sing until breakfast.
During the testimony time that evening two men especially gave good testimonies
of how they had come to Christ. Their stories were similar. Each was sick,
with unbearable pain. After weeks of suffering they came to the church and
bowed their knees to the Lord. Both men recovered from their illnesses speedily
and left the doctors and nurses asking how it could be. They told about how God
had come into their hearts, taken away the desire for alcohol, and the things of
this world, and given them a desire to come to church to sing praises to Jesus.
The congregation wept tears of joy while listening to these men tell what God
had done for them.
Tomorrow we will be traveling, Lord
willing, up to Romania for five days of fellowship with the other missionaries.
We will be meeting twice a day to have church services in English. Remember to
pray for us.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings from Bulgaria.
July 21, 2009
Hope that you
all are doing well, and praying for the work here. Our purpose in writing these
regular updates is to give people good news. These days the devil is trying to
wear out the saints of the most high. We hope that our weekly updates can be a
refreshing and an encouragement to those who are persevering in prayer.
This week we
have more good news. Saturday we had another big meeting and baptized
forty-three new converts. These people came from probably twenty different
villages all over southeastern Bulgaria. Each year we have a baptizing in the
summer months for those who have been saved throughout the year in the various
villages. This year we were not able to bring in all of those that wanted to be
baptized so we had a second meeting. So far this summer we've had over a
hundred baptized. There may be a few more. We'll meet with the pastors again
next month to see about having another meeting.
Last week I
worked with Brother Mitko proofreading the Turkish New Testament. In three days
we read from Matthew through I Timothy. Today we should go through Revelation.
Ever read the Bible eight hours a day?
Thank you all for your prayers and support.
From Bulgaria, Zachary
LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 13 2009 update
Had another
good week here. I was able to preach nine times this week, mostly go groups of
five and ten people. In the village’s people stay busy most of the summer, then
are at home for the winter. We've got some new believers that want to get
baptized this Saturday.
We were able to
help Nasuf make some needed repairs on his car. He's able to drive to his own
meetings now. For three weeks he rode a bike to the nearby villages. I found out
that the vehicle we want to buy is on sale right now. We lack about six
thousand dollars. I may make a down payment to reserve one at the sales price.
Help us to pray in the rest of the money. There's a child
from Brother Nasuf's church that is very sick and in the Varna hospital. The
doctors are still doing tests. Please pray for this family. I forgot to mention in last
week's update that one of the ladies pictured is paralyzed, but still wanted to
be baptized, so they carried her into the water.
From Bulgaria, Zachary
LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings from Bulgaria.
July 3, 2009
Trust you all
had a good Independence day celebration. Here we met with other missionaries
for a meal, singing, and fellowship. It rained harder than any other day of the
year. On the way to Brother Welch's house we saw one car turned upside down.
Most of the cars on the highway had pulled to the side of the road because of
the heavy rain. That was the first real rain we've had this year. In the
evening, though, it cleared up and the children were able to play outside.
I was able to
attend the regular meetings with Brother Alish this week. These village
meetings need prayer. We are no longer facing opposition from unbelievers, but
attendance is down due to the work opportunities of the summer months. We were
able to meet with one family that had not been to church in a month or more.
They had been sick, but promised to come back and bring several more people with
them.
I have attached
some pictures from last week's baptism. There were sixty-four new believers
baptized. Later in the month we'll have another meeting and baptize any who
missed the first meeting. Normally we start the meeting around noon, and preach
about the meaning of baptism, then go down to the river. In the evening we'll
have a meal and then meet for church until about midnight when we take a break.
Usually most of the believers stay and have church all night after that. At
five or six in the morning we serve breakfast and take the people back to their
villages.
Hope you enjoy
the pictures. Pass this message on to your friends. Thank you for your
prayers.
From Bulgaria, Zachary
LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 1, 2009
We had a good
week here. I was able to preach again in Brother Nasuf's new village. Those
new believers are a blessing to preach to. They're so ignorant of spiritual
things, yet eager to hear. Thursday I went to our regular villages. The family
that hosts the church in their house is moving. Pray that the Lord will open a
door for us to meet in that village.
Saturday we had
a baptism. There were two vans full of people from Brother Ahmet's villages.
Then, the other preachers each brought in a car load. Others came on their
own. Over fifty new believers were baptized. Many of them had never been in
the water before, and were scared to death. Today I was talking with some of
them and they told me how peacefully they slept that evening, and how happy they
are today. There are still some others that could not come to this meeting, so
we're planning on baptizing them later, probably next month.
This month we
were able to help Brother Nasuf make some much needed repairs on his vehicle.
Your prayers for the purchase of a new vehicle are not in vain. This month
again we received some more money. Please continue to pray.
From Bulgaria, Zachary
LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello from Sofia.
May 25, 2009
I took a bus to
the capitol city today to get a new passport. My old passport is still valid,
but all the pages are filled with visa stamps. I even had new pages added a
couple years ago.
We had a good
week here, preaching in the usual villages. One lady testified that her
daughter that we've been praying for is doing better. Her daughter has some
kind of thyroid problems, but her mother is now a believer in Jesus as a result
of our answered prayers. In another village where we've been disappointed week
after week things were different. We had a good church service without any
problems. In spite of our doubts, the Lord may establish a church in that
village. Pray for them.
I've been able
to recover at least one of the video files that we thought were of no use. We
may be able to use that recording for distribution, as the whole church service
was evangelistic. We're preparing some other recordings to distribute this
summer. Continue to pray for us as we persevere.
From Bulgaria, Zachary
LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings from Romania.
I came up here
Monday morning to spend about a couple days and preach in some of the meetings.
However, an evil stomach virus has prevented me from my goal. After a day of
rest I'm able to get out. Today I'll preach at a meeting in Constanta, then
head on home from there. Another reason for coming was to see sister Ayshe.
She's been faithful to the Lord for several years and is now fighting her final
battle. I'm glad I got to see her one last time.
Recently
Brother Ralph printed about fifty new testaments for all the preachers and other
men in the churches that wanted them. Many of these men are happy to have a
Bible for the first time. Pray for them as they begin to read the word of God.
The Turkish dialect spoken in Bulgaria is different, so it's difficult for the
beginner.
At this time of
year many of the people have begun to work out in the fields and in the
mountains. We're preparing some DVDs to distribute this summer with hymns and
preaching. We are also planning a baptizing in June.
I want to thank
those of you who have prayed for our vehicle situation. Last month we had a
couple thousand dollars extra come in. It's exciting to see God work. Continue
to pray for the remainder to come in quickly.
From Romania, Zachary
LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 21, 2009
This week in Bulgaria things are
warming up. It won’t be long until many of the people in the villages will find
summer work, and the meetings may slow down some. Although we feared the
possibility of the enemy closing certain meetings, we are still meeting in those
villages. Things have calmed down some, and now there are new problems. I
suppose there always will be. At least the door is still open.
This week we had a woman touched
during the preaching. I had preached from the first fourteen verses of John
chapter one. It was the most truth she had ever heard about God. She asked for
special prayer for her daughter. Next week we expect good news from her. In
another village it looked like there might only be two people come, but this
week the woman had invited her neighbors, and they came. They seemed excited to
come to church and promised to come again next week. In our northernmost
village the people are very anxious to travel with us to other villages and open
new churches. Pray that the Lord would open the doors up there.
Our daughter Katy is doing well
after a bout with pneumonia. The other children have also made a good
recovery. Thanks for your prayers.
Whenever there’s a computer
involved, it seems there’s bound to be some problem in the job. We’ve worked on
some new DVDs, but can’t seem to get them to record properly please keep this
part of the work in your prayers as well. These recordings of our church
services are our best evangelistic tool at the moment.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 31, 2009
We would like to thank all
of you who prayed for us during the illness and passing of my father, Clyde
LeFevre. The Lord has been gracious to us in these difficult times. We sorrow
not as others that have no hope.
I was able to
fly back and make it for the funeral. My family stayed here in Bulgaria. After
a two week visit I'm back home now.
Although the
time change has my days and nights mixed up, I've been in two meetings since
I've been back. Sunday we had a good meeting here in our village. Brother Alish gave a good testimony from one of our new villages. We had prayed for a
sick person, though I don't recall what the specific need was. Apparently that
person got better and is praising the Lord now. This type of testimony shows
the new people that we are of God and that the Lord answers our prayers.
Yesterday we
went to a new village about thirty miles from here. They had never heard the
gospel before, and they are slow to believe. The one that had invited us to
come changed her mind and said she doesn't want a church now. We left some of
the evangelistic DVDs and some hymnbooks. Some people outside said they would
come if we had a meeting there.
Tomorrow we are
going up to Romania for a week of fellowship with the other missionaries and
English church.
From Bulgaria, Zachary
LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, March 10, 2009
Spring has just about come
to Bulgaria. The sun is shining and daffodils are blooming. Before too long
people will begin work in the fields, so we're going to as many meetings as we
can while the people are still home.
In the northern
region where things have been more difficult we have seen a little progress.
One lady told us she would come to church if we had one in the village, but she
was not willing to host the meeting in her house. Another family had claimed to
be believers but did not want to host the meeting, either, because of the
opposition. In another village we heard how the man of the house stood up to
the unbelievers who were against him. He told them the local Islamic religious
leaders were all hypocrites that did nothing but wait for people to die so they
could perform funerals and make some money, and that what he did in his own
house was none of their business. Thank God for giving this man the strength to
stand.
In another
village the family told us not to come back, because they couldn't stand the
pressure from the unbelievers, the day before church they called us on the phone
and asked us to come. Several people came and met with us, and agreed to have
us come back next week, although they admit to being fearful. We're praying
that God would fill their souls with joy to outweigh their fears of
persecution.
In two other
villages, both new for us, we had short meetings with only two people present.
There may be a few more Turkish gypsies in these villages, but not very many.
Pray for these individuals and their villages this week.
On Wednesday we
took a family with us to visit a church pastored by Brother Alish (the
younger). There were about thirty people there that sang and testified for
about two hours before I preached. Alish had prepared twenty hymn books for our
village churches which will be put to good use.
Again, we
appreciate your prayers for my dad. He is growing weaker. The hospice nurses
are amazed that he is still living. I spoke with him briefly last night. He
wasn't breathing well, but sounded happy.
From Bulgaria, Zachary
LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 18, 2009
Dear Brookside,
I was riding down the
road today and the Lord really touched my heart strong about writing a letter to
the church. I hope this letter will be a blessing and an encouragement to all of
you. It is a few testimonies of how the Lord is blessing over here in Bulgaria.
Monday night we had a
service in the town called Novi Pazar. A young lady came into church for the
first time. This young lady was well known in the town as a prostitute and a
drug addict. She would stand out on the highway with other prostitutes picking
up men. She came into church Monday night for the first time, heard the gospel,
fell on her knees and the Lord saved her. God sure is good!
Tuesday night in our
service in a village called Zlatina, an elderly lady (full of joy) stood up and
testified. She said that she lives all alone. She said that she has buried her
mother, father, all her sisters and brothers and her son. She said she has been
to ten funerals over the years for her family. She said she lives all alone and
has nobody. But she said that she has joy from the Lord. She said that sometimes
she will wake up during the middle of the night and pray, and that Jesus comes
to her and fills her full of His joy and everything is alright. I am glad Jesus
said that He would not leave us alone, but that He would come to us.
I hear these Turk
gypsies testify a lot about how they have all kinds of problems in this world,
but when they pray, sometimes in the middle of the night, Jesus comes to them
and fills their heart with joy. What a wonderful, loving Saviour we have!!
Also, I hear them
testify about how much joy they get when we come and have church with them. I
have seen them testifying with tears thanking the Lord for sending us every week
to come and have church with them. I have one young man in one of my villages I
go to every week who is crippled. His feet are turned all the way out to the
side. He has to walk with two sticks and lives in a shack. But he is faithful to
come to church. Most the time, he shows up early for church and is waiting on us
when we get there.
I just want you all
to know at Brookside that I hear these people pray for you all when we have
church. I hear them pray for preacher Potter and some of the rest of you by
name. They really do appreciate your faith and your labour of love for them. I
hope this letter will encourage you all at Brookside to keep on. (Hebrews 6:10-
For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have
shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do
minister).
I really love and
appreciate each and everyone of you in the Lord! May our Lord Jesus Christ bless
you all!
In Christ, Frank Cornelius
Bulgaria
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 9, 2009
Spring has just about come
to Bulgaria. The sun is shining and daffodils are blooming. Before too long
people will begin work in the fields, so we're going to as many meetings as we
can while the people are still home.
In the northern region
where things have been more difficult we have seen a little progress. One lady
told us she would come to church if we had one in the village, but she was not
willing to host the meeting in her house. Another family had claimed to be
believers but did not want to host the meeting, either, because of the
opposition. In another village we heard how the man of the house stood up to
the unbelievers who were against him. He told them the local Islamic religious
leaders were all hypocrites that did nothing but wait for people to die so they
could perform funerals and make some money, and that what he did in his own
house was none of their business. Thank God for giving this man the strength to
stand.
In another village the
family told us not to come back, because they couldn't stand the pressure from
the unbelievers, the day before church they called us on the phone and asked us
to come. Several people came and met with us, and agreed to have us come back
next week, although they admit to being fearful. We're praying that God would
fill their souls with joy to outweigh their fears of persecution.
In two other villages,
both new for us, we had short meetings with only two people present. There may
be a few more Turkish gypsies in these villages, but not very many. Pray for
these individuals and their villages this week.
On Wednesday we took a
family with us to visit a church pastored by Brother Alish (the younger). There
were about thirty people there that sang and testified for about two hours
before I preached. Alish had prepared twenty hymn books for our village
churches which will be put to good use.
Again, we appreciate your
prayers for my dad. He is growing weaker. The hospice nurses are amazed that
he is still living. I spoke with him briefly last night. He wasn't breathing
well, but sounded happy.
From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-2-09
It's
been a good week here. The snow has melted away. Even after a few days of
nicer weather, some of the roads had three feet of snow that had been plowed
aside.
The
family that is in danger of losing their house is still there, thankfully. They
got their electricity turned on, but the (rightful) owner had it turned off
within a week. They're just thankful that they've not been thrown out in the
cold, especially with a new baby.
In
some of the new villages the people have gladly accepted us, but are fearful of
the local religious leaders. There is a possibility that another family in the
village might agree to have church in their house. If there were one family
that would stand firm, in time the others would follow.
Here
in our own village we had a good service this week. The pastor's son-in-law had
been against the church and the believers for a long time. Over time, though,
he's seen God work in different circumstances and seen his own family praise God
for answered prayer. He just recently started sitting in the meeting. They
told me that last night he sat through about half of the meeting then got up and
went in the other room where he could cry in private. The Lord has a way of
softening hard hearts.
Brother Nasuf is once again in need of a vehicle. His car was fourteen years
old when we bought it, and that was four years ago. All of the preachers here
travel a lot, and the Bulgarian roads are hard on vehicles. We're proud that he
has just about worn out another car for the Lord, but we now have to pray about
getting him another one.
From
Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-22-09
Dear Preacher and Brookside Church,
Greetings from Bulgaria and in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I
am reminded how Paul told the Philippians about how their care for him was shown
several times. He also mentioned he desired that fruit would abound to their
account. I sure didn't want to worry anyone about my support, but I had seen
that for one month some didn't come in and made a inquiry to see if the economic
conditions in America might require me to try and raise more support. My faith
isn't always what it should be. I thank God on your behalf for how you supply
my needs from month to month. Without all of your prayers and support we
couldn't be here doing what the Lord has put in our hearts. I do hope to
encourage all of you of all of the things the Lord is doing over here. He has
blessed the believers once and again with flour and oil, and they are very happy
at how the Lord's grace abounds in the believers in America. They also only
have one place to look as do we, and they learn that they can trust the Lord to
be faithful as the rest of us are trying to learn. May God continue to richly
bless you with his grace and presence.
Love Robert Shrader
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Testimonies
Jan 17, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Dear Brother Fred and
Brotherokside,
We continue to give out the
flour. The mill we buy from delivers for free, so right now we are giving out
only flour. We will come behind later and give out the oil. We couldn’t put
both on the truck. The people are thrilled to get the flour. The crisis has hit
Bulgaria and work is hard to find, so the flour and oil was right on time. The
men are out again today giving out in five villages, one of them is new.
We should be able to
complete the distribution within the next two weeks. Thanks again and greet
everyone for us. Brother Ralph
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan 24, 2009 at 11:02 AM
The distribution of flour
and oil is going well; the weather is fine for now. We hope to finish soon. We
have seventy six (76) churches here in Bulgaria that we are giving out flour and
oil through. We are in more villages, but the churches have not been
established yet. We will be sending you some of the testimonies when they
received the flour and oil. We give each family a fifty (50) kilo bag of flour
and a five (5) liter bottle of cooking oil. They are amazed that we give them
so much.
Brother Ralph
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan 24, 2009 at 3:36 PM
This testimony is from the
village Velichkovo. Brother Ahmet is the pastor of the church in this village.
We arrived in the village
with the truck loaded with flour and oil. One of our believers, a lady named
Kiymet was coming from the local store with a loaf of bread and a piece of
cheese. When she saw the truck with the flour and oil she began to cry. I am
coming from the store and have just bought this loaf of bread and piece of
cheese on credit. The man did not want to give me bread on credit because there
is no profit in bread, but I begged him and he finally gave it to me. We have
nothing in the house to eat. Thank God for the flour and oil you have brought
to us. She went home rejoicing and thanking God for his goodness.
Brother Ralph for Ahmet
and Alish
Jan 24, 2009 at 3:56 PM
This testimony is from the
village of Dolni Chiftlik. Brother Robert and Brother Alish pastor this church.
This lady’s name is Abibe.
This lady lives on a small pension. She had to buy wood with the money she
receives, and had no money left to buy flour. She borrowed a small amount of
flour to make her some bread. Another of her neighbors was also without food,
and saw here with the borrowed flour. She asked her for part of the flour she
had borrowed. The lady replied. Ok we will make a piece of bread together and
share it. So they did. At this time she heard that we were bringing flour and
oil. This lady Abibe said to the other lady she had shared the flour with.
Don’t worry, God is sending us flour and oil, enough to get us through the
winter. This other lady is not a believer, but she has now seen the goodness of
God.
Brother Ralph
Jan 24, 2009 at 4:11 PM
This testimony is from the
village Venelin.
This lady`s name is Elif.
This lady was operated on a month ago. She had been taking care of her daughter
in law and three children, her husband was dead, and her son was mentally ill
and could not work. After the operation she was in the hospital for a month.
They were without money because she could not work. The believers in the village
had been taking care of her and her family. When she came from the hospital, and
we gave her the flour and oil, she testified that the believers had taken care
of them for the last month, but now God had helped them with the flour and oil.
Bro Ralph for Bro Ahmet.
Jan 24, 2009 at 4:27 PM
In general we have heard
many testimonies of what a blessing this flour and oil has been. Many of these
people work for 2 dollars a day. It is hard for them to feed their families
with so little income. And now with the crisis there is very little work to be
found. They are overwhelmed when we bring them the flour and oil. They
continually thank God that we came and preached the gospel to them, and that
they believed. Since we believed, God has blessed us above measure.
Jan 24, 2009 at 4:42 PM
There are two women, the
one is blind and the other one is deaf. They share with each other what one
sees and the other hears. When we gave them a DVD the one that could see was
crying out what she saw. The one that was blind was telling what she heard.
The one that is deaf can hear just a little, so if you yell loudly she can
understand a little.
Though we are poor, we are
rich in faith. Similar testimonies come from all the villages we go to. They
cry and thank God that the gospel has come to them.
Brother Ralph
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have an important need for the work
in Bulgaria: October 2008
This December we plan on feeding 1,500 families in Bulgaria.
A 110 pound bag of flour along with 2 liters of oil will help supplement a
family’s food needs through the hardest months of the cold winter, when work is
scarce in the villages. Now is the time to begin preparations.
Presently the dollar has gained value overseas, gas prices are
lower, and food prices are down! We don’t know how long this will last,
especially if the winter is as hard as it was last year. In 2007 because of the
harsh winter, the falling dollar, and rising gas costs, we were not able to buy
cooking oil for distribution, but this year Brother Mitko tells us that oil is
the cheapest he’s seen in a long time! Please pray with us about this need.
The total cost will be about $43,500. Even with buying the oil, that’s still
cheaper than last year.
1 bag of flour (110 lbs.) costs $25
1 bottle of oil (2 liters) costs $4
How
many families will you help us feed for only $29 a piece?
“He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and
that which he hath given will he pay him again.”
(Pro 19:17)
This is the surest
investment you will make this year. Please pass this information on. We
have 1,500 families to feed. Thank you for your giving.
In His service,
Rev. Fred Potter
Founder and
Director
Charity Baptist Mission Inc.
News letter update from
Bulgaria
“And David recovered all
that the Amalekites had carried away:
And there was nothing
lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters,
neither spoil, nor any thing
that they had taken to them: David recovered all.”
(1Sa 30:18, 19)
September 2008
Dear
Churches and Praying Friends,
Greetings in the name of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Once again with
joy we write to you of the Lord’s blessings in the fields of Bulgaria and
Romania. As summer draws to a close we count the blessings that He has bestowed
upon us and upon His work in the past weeks. Souls have been saved and
baptized. The price of gasoline is down to about six and a half dollars a
gallon. It’s a good day to drive to the villages and preach.
In
August and September we’ve been having meetings every other weekend in Dabravino.
People from the nearby villages come as they’re able, but from villages that are
farther away we rent a large bus to carry them in. Usually the meetings start
at about two in the afternoon and last til the next morning. This is our
harvest time. The new believers get baptized in a nearby river. Older
believers relate what all the Lord has done for them in the past year. Some
people have new hymns that God has given them. The Turkish preachers seem to
preach better every year. It is a great time of reunion and rejoicing. I
believe there were about sixty people baptized this year. From these camp
meetings, believers return to their villages full of joy, and the churches are
further edified.
Aside
from preaching in villages five days a week we continue to produce and
distribute DVDs. These are made from recordings of church services. They
include singing, testimonies, and a sermon preached from the Bible. We’ve heard
many reports of people believing on Jesus through these discs. Most of them
would not or could not come to a church service themselves, but are able to view
the discs at home. As the young people in Bulgaria travel into Western Europe
to work they take these discs with them to give to the other pockets of the
Turkish gypsies scattered abroad. Only the Lord knows how many people have come
to the faith through this ministry. We’ve heard of people meeting together to
watch these videos and later continue to meet regularly for church in Holland,
France, Greece, and Spain.
Rejoice
with us in the Lord’s great provisions and spiritual harvest. Pray for us that
the Word of God would continue to have free course. Night is coming when no man
can work. Help us to do all that we can in the time that the Lord allows us.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and financial support. Thanks especially
for helping us in our recent flood disaster. God bless you all.
In Christ, Zachary
LeFevre
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April
4, 2008
Dear Preacher Potter and Brookside,
Greetings from Bulgaria/Romania in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The
Lord is really blessing us as we have campmeeting this week.
I believe this is the best campmeeting we have ever had.
We love and appreciate you and are truly thankful for your prayers and
support for us all.
I just wanted to write and share a couple
testimonies with you all. Last week
I went with Mitko to one of his meetings. This
village is called Kamenar where we started our very first Turkish church years
ago. We also feed the children in
this village. This village is about
the poorest village we go to. This
little church is literally surrounded by a garbage dump.
Before the meeting started the believer's were sitting around talking
about how they knew different people who had found some food in the garbage
dump. They were hungry and needed
something to eat. One woman found
some cake in the dump and was going to feed it to her children, but the
believer's told her not to. The
people who get food out of the dump end up getting very sick.
Thank the Lord we are able to feed the children here.
Remember, this church is literally
surrounded by a large garbage dump. In
the meeting last week a young lady who is a faithful believer stood up and
testified. This woman lives in a
small run down shack on the edge of the dump.
She is about as poor as you could possibly be. During the hymns I noticed she had tears running down her
cheeks. When she testified she
stood up and said I just want to thank God for being so good to me.
She said the Lord will never leave us, He loves us and has forgiven us of
all our sins. This really touched
my heart. The Lord said in 1 Samuel
2:8- He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the
dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of
glory. What a blessing that the
Lord put a church right in the middle of a garbage dump and feeds the little
children from the church.
Also, here in Romania we have a believer
named Ati. Her daughter is also a
believer and had a baby boy 7 years ago and named him Frank.
Well, here recently she had another baby girl and named her Barbara.
As soon as the baby was born they told her the baby was dead. They actually threw the baby away. They put her into a small container to throw her away.
Then they heard her start to cry and pulled her out of the container.
The Lord hears the cry of his little children.
The Lord sure is good!
I just wanted to write a couple of
testimonies and tell all of you at Brookside how much we appreciate your love
and prayers. Make no mistake about
it, the Lord does hear and answer your prayers.
I want you all to know that we all over here are praying for you.
We pray that the Lord would abundantly bless you all, especially during
campmeeting.
May the Lord bless you all.
In Christ, Frank Cornelius
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update
from Bulgaria
April 2, 2008
Distribution of flour
in Bulgaria
Dear
Brother Fred and Brookside
Greetings in the wonderful name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
He is still doing wonderful things.
We give Him all the glory.
First of all I want to thank you and everyone who helped to send the
money for the flour. It has been such a blessing to everyone who received it.
We were able to buy and distribute one hundred and fifty four thousand
(154,000) pounds of the best flour that Bulgaria has.
The timing of the Lord was perfect.
All the people had been snowed in for a month.
During this time they had not been able to go to work as all the roads
were closed. As soon as the roads opened up in February, we were able to
deliver the flour. The people were
really hungry. We reached them
right on time. This past month,
everywhere we have been, the people can't stop thanking us for the flour.
“You helped us get through the
winter”, they said, “without this flour we would not have had anything to eat.
Besides that this flour was the best we have ever seen.
Thanks!” Many others
testified of how this flour came at the time when their cupboards were bare. We did not give it out sparingly; every family received a one
hundred and ten (110) pound bag. This
flour filled up the churches with people thanking and praising God.
Hundreds of new people are now coming to church to hear the gospel
because of this kindness which was shown them.
Distribution of CD's
and DVD's
For many years, as you know, we have given out cassettes of hymns,
testimonies, and preaching in Turkish. These
have all born fruit. A few months
ago we started putting the singing and preaching on CD's, and recently we made a
couple of DVD's of our church services. These
are going like wildfire, we have given them out by the hundreds. They are begging for them everywhere we go.
We watch the church service everyday, they said, we go to bed in the
evening watching this DVD. We get our strength from this church service.
It is like we are there. As
many as we can give them, they give out to their neighbors, their relatives in
other villages, and also in Turkey and many countries in Europe.
We can't get to every village, but these DVD’s are going out to
hundreds of towns and villages. One
testimony in particular shows how these are helping to spread the Gospel, not
just in Bulgaria and Romania, but much farther.
A young lady who has been a believer in our church for several years,
works at her brother's stand at the market near the bus station selling music
CD's. She also testifies about
Jesus every chance she gets and gives away Gospel cassette tapes and CD's that
we have given to her. A few weeks
ago, she was talking to a lady customer at her stand.
The lady was getting ready to board the bus for Istanbul, Turkey.
This girl offered to give her a Gospel CD to listen to on the bus.
The woman said, "No, I don't believe in that stuff".
But the girl insisted and the lady took it. After a couple of weeks, the lady returned from Istanbul and
found the girl and told her the following.
The woman decided to listen to the CD on the long bus ride to Istanbul.
She said she really enjoyed the hymns.
When she arrived in Istanbul, she realized she did not have the telephone
number or address of her sister who she was going to stay with.
She also didn't have any money. She
was so upset because she didn't have anywhere to stay and no way to get in touch
with her sister. Then she
remembered one of the hymns she had listened to that said if we pray, Jesus will
hear us and He will help us. She
prayed right then and asked Jesus to help her out of her desperate situation.
She said she left the bus station and entered into a nearby market.
While walking through the market, someone shouted her name.
It was her sister. Istanbul
has well over 10 million people, so this was quite a miracle.
She told her sister about the CD and how she had prayed for Jesus to help
her and He had. The sister was so
impressed that she took the CD to work the next day.
She asked her boss to play the CD over the loudspeaker in the clothing
factory where she worked. There were about 200 Turkish women working in the factory who
listened to these Gospel hymns all day.
Sometimes we think we are limited in what we can do to share the Gospel.
We serve a God who is not limited and desires that everyone should hear
the Gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ, and believe.
In His Service, Brother Ralph
(For all the missionaries, national
pastors and believers)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ralph Cheatwood Update
June 2006
As many of you may have heard, Brother Ralph
Cheatwood recently had a heart attack. He is doing much better, and gives God
all the glory for bringing him through this trouble. Friday, May 12th,
about noon, he felt a
pain in his chest.
They called the local doctor who took his blood pressure and
found it to be high. They decided he should be taken to a clinic in the next
village where they did an EKG, confirmed he had a heart attack, and referred him
to
Varna.
He was hospitalized in Varna Bulgaria for well over a week. Upon being
discharged, he was taken to stay in Constant Romania. Again on Wednesday the 24th
he had another attack and was taken to the emergency room at the hospital in
Constanta.
Upon hearing of Brother Ralph’s heart attack, Pastor Bill Schneider of
Maranantha Baptist Church in Dothan, AL, and friends of the Cheatwoods, Gregg
and Marcie Turnbull, made arrangements to have Brother Ralph flown to the states
and treated at Southeast Alabama Medical Center, all free of charge. After a
heart catherization the doctor reported that Brother Ralph had lost use of 15%
of his heart, but that the remaining 85% was in very good condition. There was
no surgery needed, no stints or angioplasty.
Further the doctor said all Ralph needs to do is take his
medication, alter his diet and exercise daily. Brother Ralph has been
discharged from the hospital and is resting and recouperating in Dothan. We
praise the Lord for his intervention and for his watch care over the Cheatwoods.
I visited with Brother Cheatwood in Dothan,
Memorial day, the day before he was discharged. He was in excellent spirits. I
walked in on him testifying to Brother Schneider of the work. After Brother
Schneider left I talked with Brother Ralph of all that had transpired, and was
amazed at how the Lord worked everything out. It wasn’t long before our
conversation turned to the work. This last year the devil has fought the work
tooth and nail, yet the Lord continues to bless exceeding abundantly. It seems
that for everything our adversary does contrary, the Lord blesses twice as much:
the campmeetings in Romania and Bulgaria abound in love and power; new villages
are being reached; the tapes and cd’s filled with preaching and singing are
being distributed; and the poor are having the gospel preached to them. Brother
Ralph was thrilled to report all the Lord was doing; but was anxious to see more
done. He told of the great opportunities yet ahead for the work in Bulgaria.
He said when he was having the chest pains, he asked the Lord to leave him
around a while longer, that he had a few things left he’d like to see done. He
felt the peace of God, and never worried about dying. However, his heart attack
weighed upon him the need to ‘redeem the time’. Brother Ralph said he needs
three vans to get the Turkish teams out to the villages evangelizing. He said
he could find good used vans for $7,000 apiece, and would get them on the road
as soon as possible. When I visited Brother Ralph, the only personal effects I
saw in his room were his King James Bible, and his Turkish Bible. For Brother
Ralph this really is his life, a labor of love, and the desire of his heart, to
see the Turks saved and established in the faith. Pray with us about those
vans, and pray the money comes quickly. They are $7,000 apiece, but the more
money we receive the better quality we can get. What we do, we must do quickly,
or the harvest will pass, the summer will end, and they’ll not be saved! Help
us to ‘redeem the time’.
Brother William LeFevre
Brother Fred Potter
“Therefore said he unto them,
The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few:
pray ye therefore the Lord of the
harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.”
Luke 10:2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE ON THE WORK
IN ROMANIA AND BULGARIA 1991-2005
October 2005
Dear Brother Fred,
We are still
excited about Bulgaria opening up and allowing us to register churches. It is
more than we could ever have hoped for, God is so good. Now 4 of us have
registered churches in Bulgaria, Brother Matt, Brother Zach, Brother Frank and
Brother Ralph. According to the lawyer Brohter Joe's church should be
registered by the end of this year. Brother Larry is still waiting on his papers
from the States. We are expecting even greater things from the Lord this coming
year in Bulgaria. Soon with 6 families living there, and with the national
pastors and dedicated believers, we should be able to reach many new towns and
villages.
Here is a summary
of the work.
We started in May of 1991 in Bulgaria with 1 missionary family, after having
talked with you from Istanbul earlier the same year. We now have: 8
missionary families: 2 families will be working in Romania, and 6 families
in Bulgaria; 18 national pastors: 12 in Bulgaria, and 6 in Romania. We
also have several young men starting to preach, but are not as yet pastoring
churches.
90 churches:
72 in Bulgaria, and 18 in Romania. Most of these are Turkish
house-churches, but we also have some Romanian and Bulgarian. Several of the
churches now have their own self-standing buildings. 33 feeding-centers:
We feed between 1,300-1,500 children daily in homes. 22 in Bulgaria, and
11 in Romania. These feeding centers are done through the local churches we
have established. The ones who do the cooking are all volunteers. We give them
a small love offering each month. We also invite the older widows and others,
who are destitute, to eat with the children each day. Through these
feeding-centers and morning prayer meetings bread is also distributed to the
poor. Over 14,000 loaves of bread are given out each month in Romania.
Most of these children are very young, but some of them can pray like adults.
They sing hymns, testify and pray before they eat. They all thank the Lord for
the food and pray for the Lord to bless you folks who provide it. We have heard
many testimonies from the neighbors of what a blessing the children's singing
is to them. Many of them have told us that their husbands won't let them come
to church, but that they worship the Lord as the children sing. Since we have
been doing this work now for several years, many of these children have grown up
and gotten saved and are now in one of our churches. Many of them have now
gotten married and have moved to other villages. Recently we have started
meetings in some of these villages.
1 children's home
in Romania with 9 children.
We are currently in the process of taking in a 2 year old boy. We also have 3
churches meeting in the children's home complex, English, Turkish, and
Romanian. In August we had our first camp meeting. We all were blessed. We
know one thing for sure: The Lord is with us!
2 Bible
Translations:
Turkish and Bulgarian. The preparation for the Turkish translation was
begun in 1980. We have been using the newly translated Turkish New Testament
among ourselves (missionaries and national pastors and churches) since 1998.
We duplicate them on a copy machine and bind them by hand, about 20 copies at a
time. We are now ready to start producing them in larger quantities and
giving them out to everyone who wants one. The Turkish Old Testament is also
now ready, and was put into use among ourselves in early 2005. The translation
of the Bulgarian Bible was begun in 1994 and is nearing completion. We will
begin using it among ourselves within the next few months. We hope to have both
translations of the entire Bible, Turkish and Bulgarian, perfected and ready to
be published in 2007.
Everywhere we go
they ask us for tapes of singing and preaching, and also for hymnbooks and
bibles. May the Lord help us to reach everyone who has a desire to know Him.
All For His Glory, Brother Ralph
Cheatwood
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Received February 16, 2006
Dear Preacher and church,
It’s good to be able to write again and rehearse what God has done
with us and how he has opened the door of faith to the Turkish gypsies here in
Bulgaria. We rejoiced to hear that your meetings at Brookside have been going
so well. I believe you all had a meeting, and we got revived.
The Turks in Dobravino started meeting on Sunday mornings, this
makes three meetings a week for them. They also meet every morning for prayer.
Sometimes they have two prayer meetings a morning. Each meeting there is filled
with joy and with testimonies of the Lord’s blessings. Some of the believers
there told that they had such joy they felt like they had got saved all over
again. The pastor there, Ahmet, has a hard time testifying for smiling so
much. From this meeting, there are three preachers that travel to surrounding
villages throughout the week, and they are taking this joy and grace with them.
Brother Ralph has been getting out again and preaching in the villages. One
week he preached in nine different meetings (I think he’s sixty-seven).
Then there was the camp meeting. It was hard to get a good count,
but there were at least four hundred people there. That’s more than double what
we were expecting. Now, the believers remember that in days past they had
prayed that God would fill the whole church, and the upper floor of the church,
too – and now He has done it. Many, many others wanted to come to the meeting,
but were not able to. I believe that God is still working among these people.
From that meeting we see what a hunger there is here for God.
The singing in that meeting was glorious, with all those voices, and
all the joy, but the main meeting started at about two in the morning. At that
time some people had left, and things calmed down some. Brother Nathan had
brought down a van full of the believers from Romania, and it was they who
started out the testimonies. After them, each testimony got stronger. Heaven
must have an awful big bottle, if it is to hold all of the tears shed that
night. We cried and rejoiced until daybreak. There were Turks that night
praising God who never had praised God before. Needless to say, everyone is
asking when the next meeting is. The good thing is, we can put on a meeting
like this for about five hundred dollars!
There are too many testimonies to remember. Most of them are just
about how good God is. Last night in a meeting here in Varna, a woman testified
that they had been praying for nine years for a grandchild. Then this
week they found out that both daughters in law are expecting.
Last week we bought a car for Nasuf. His old Lada was about gone.
He about drove the wheels off it, going to the villages preaching the gospel;
and that’s what we want him to do with this one.
Brother Mitko has started going to a new village up near Dobrich.
The people of the village have received him with great joy and eagerness. Pray
that God will move on these people, and they too will come to the knowledge of
eternal life.
There are still other villages who want churches. Pray ye the Lord
of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.
Zachary LeFevre
Received:
March 30, 2006
Dear Preacher and church,
Hope you all are having a good camp meeting. Over here in Bulgaria we've been
in the camp meeting spirit for several weeks. It seems like every meeting that
we go to has a new blessing for us. Each believer has a new testimony of how
God has worked in their lives recently. New villages are opening up for us, and
with the Lord's help we're going to them. Last week in Dobravino Brother Ralph
preached from Isaiah 6 that we need a coal from off of God's altar, or our
preaching and testifying will be empty. The believers in that village
definitely have the ring of God in their voice and are anxious to get out to new
villages this summer. (Including the American missionaries that live there)
there are five preachers in that village, but I believe the whole church is
ready to go and preach. Some of them that never have testified before are
testifying now - and praising God.
Sunday we had a meeting in Varna, at Yashar's church. We brought in the
believers from their six villages, and invited the other pastors to come. Over
a hundred people came. The meeting started at three in the afternoon and went
til four in the morning. The best way to describe the joy in that meeting is -
"unspeakable". Since then, in every meeting that we go to, the believers can't
stop talking about how good the meeting was, and what joy they have.
The testimonies are amazing. One lady testified that her lost family members
hated each other and fought with axes every day. In church she poured her heart
out to God, and the next day the feuding family apologized and forgave each
other and now love one another. Several women testified of how God took away
the drinking habit from their husbands as a result of their prayers. One
testified that her grandchild was sick with an infection in her gums.
Without a dime in her pocket they caught a taxi into Varna, which is
about thirty miles away. When the taxi driver saw how much pain the child was
in, he didn't charge them anything. They went to the doctor (dentist?) who
offered to clean the child's teeth for seventy leva (around $45). She told him
she didn't have any money, and then he did it for free. He then gave her a
prescription for medicine. She said that she couldn't afford the prescription,
then the doctor paid for it himself! Many, many people testified of how a
family member was sick, and they just cried out to God, who heard their prayers
and healed the sick.
The Bulgarian winter was long, but spring is finally here, and many of the
preachers and believers are dying to get out to some new villages. Mitko's been
going to some new villages up in the northern part towards Romania. Frank's
been taking Ismail to some new villages in the central northern region. We've
been making cds and cassette tapes, but can't get them made fast enough - they
go fast. Pray, as the Lord sends his labourers into the harvest.
Tonight in Suvorovo I realized how important it is to have God on you in the
meetings. One lady told of how she makes her living by rummaging through the
dump. She was so glad to see me, and said she was looking forward to hearing me
preach. I prayed, Lord you'd better give me something, these people need
something from you. They're coming from the dump to the church, only God can
give them reason to rejoice. But he is faithful. Please pray that God would
continue to work here. You all pray, and we reap the blessings of it.
Zachary
Received: March 27, 2006
Dear Preacher and Brookside,
Greetings from Bulgaria! I just wanted to write and tell you all
some of the things the Lord has been doing over here in
Bulgaria. Also, I would like to
thank you all for praying!! In the last two months I have noticed and felt a big
difference in the work here in Bulgaria. I really believe because you all are
praying the Lord is moving strong over here.
This past Thursday I took one of our believers to a town two hours
drive north from Varna. Her grandson is mentally handicapped and his father put
him in a state run home and now lives in Spain. Anyway, along with one of our
national pastors and his wife we went to see the 10 year old boy. When we got
there he recognized his grandmother and they both began crying. She gave him
some food and he ate so fast I thought he would choke. You could tell that they
had not been feeding him much. Anyway, it was a blessing to be able to take the
grandmother to see him. We have a weekly meeting in her house and she is a
widow. She is getting old and may never get the chance to see this boy again.
On the way up to see this boy we stopped in a town called Deve
Mogili. We saw a big Moslem mosque and knew there were Turks there. We found
the Turk gypsy section and began to give out cassette tapes of Turkish hymns and
Brother Ralph preaching along with hymn books with the gospel of John in
Turkish. Within minutes we gave out well over 200 tapes. The people wanted
them faster than we could give them out. As we were getting ready to leave we
met some believers. They invited us to their house and told us they would like
to have meetings, but they have no one to come to them. Please pray! This town
is at least a two hour drive one way from the area we are working in. There are
other Turkish villages along the way to this town. There are so many places to
get to where people are hungry to here the gospel.
We are all excited over here about the door the Lord has opened for
us. We all want to really hit it hard this spring and summer and get to as many
villages as possible with the gospel. We all have regular weekly meetings we
must be at, but on the other days we want to go to villages that have not heard
the gospel yet. Last week we started meetings in two more villages. This makes
six regular weekly meetings in six different villages that I am going to right
now. All of the missionaries and national pastors are going to meetings
everyday.
Brother Mitko and I are going to some villages tomorrow and give out
cassette tapes. Please pray for us!!
It seems like within the past two months that the Lord has really
been moving even stronger at our meetings. It seems like almost every meeting I
have been to recently people are crying and testifying about how good the Lord
is to them. They say that they may be poor in this world but they are rich in
the Lord!!
Well, the Lord is doing so much over here it is hard to write about
it all. I just wanted to tell you a few things that are going on here. Please
don't stop praying. I really believe the Lord is blessing like this because
Brookside is praying! We love you all and pray you will have a good campmeeting.
In Christ, Frank Cornelius
Received March 16, 2006
To Preacher Potter and Brookside:
Dear Brethren,
I would first like to thank you all for your faithful prayers for us
over here in Bulgaria and Romania. I would like to encourage you all to keep
praying. In the past month I have noticed how much more the Lord seems to be
blessing in the meetings over here. Your prayers for us are making a noticeable
difference. Please keep praying!!
This past Saturday I went to three different meetings in two
villages. We go to these villages every week. We had good meetings in the
first village and then we went to our third meeting in a village called Kaspichan. We began singing the hymns and then the Lord just showed up.
Everyone in the meeting started crying and worshipping God. The Lord just moved
in and touched everyone’s heart.
Then on Sunday I went to two more different villages we go to every
week. In the second meeting the Lord showed up again in power. Everyone began
to cry and it was like heaven came down. I am just so thankful the Lord Jesus
is touching these Turkish gypsies. It is such a blessing to see them getting
touched by the real spirit of God.
I was in a meeting a couple of weeks ago and a young man about 18
years old came in. Both of this man's feet were cut in half. I don't know if
he was born like this or if they took his feet of by surgery. Anyway, the other
believers told me that this boy does not really have a home, but he just wanders
around. They said sometimes he just sleeps at bus stops along the roads. As we
began singing hymns about Jesus I noticed tears running down this boy's face.
The Lord was really touching his heart. He came to church again last week and
cried during the service. We sing hymns, pray, preach and let the Lord do the
saving.
A couple of weeks ago we went to two villages up north and had
services. Then we stopped at a third village just to pray for a relative of one
of the believers. We stopped there to pray for her 14 year old grand daughter
who has cancer. The girl was not there, but soon the whole room was full of
Turks wanting to hear the gospel. So we had a meeting. The Lord moved in and
everyone started crying. These people are very poor. I really felt impressed
to preach from John 14:1-3, Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God,
believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions.
The only program we need over here is the gospel and your prayers!!
Well, I just wanted to write and tell you all a little bit of what
the Lord is doing over here. I hope it will be a blessing to you! We love and appreciate each and every one of you at Brookside and
once again we really appreciate your prayers for us and the ministry here in
Bulgaria\Romania.
May the Lord bless you! In Christ, Frank Cornelius
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