Kostov Prayer Letter – August 2006

Dear Friends,

August seems to be a vacation month but for us it was as busy as usual. Here is a quick update.

In this issue

A Wedding ministry (pics)

YWTS trip 2, Aug. 21-24 – visiting orphan workers nationwide (pics)

Tes teaches a small Women’s conference in Vidin—(pics)

Prayer Requests

Photo Links

Reports

-- Wedding Ministry. Two members of our ministry team in Sofia got married this month. Teresa was the wedding coordinator and made sure all was alright. I was the DJ! Bulgarian weddings are laden with tradition and superstition. A lot of pagan rituals are incorporated into the allegedly “Eastern Orthodox” wedding ceremony. This was a completely counter-cultural, Protestant and evangelical wedding. Yavor preached the gospel and Viktor administered the Lord’s supper. Teresa was the producer behind the scenes and it was a great production. We read from the Bible and the initially skeptical guests and relatives opened up as the proceedings went on. Some even commented that they want this kind of wedding for their children. Ministry, obviously, has many facets. Including some tame dancing to disco-hits of the 1980s.

 -- Working Along Youth Workers Nationwide. This was our second follow-up trip around the nation to visit the six teams we had trained in two Youth Worker Training Seminars earlier in the  year. We did a joint ministry time at an orphan home in Plovdiv. Representatives of the two Plovdiv teams from within our network took part. It was a wonderful time with kids and youth with special needs. There was a strong presence of the Holy Spirit during singing and then, after the testimony, a lady of the local team led the youth in prayer. During the rest of the meetings we spoke to the youth workers. Some were going strong and we felt they were committed to the vision we shared with them. Others seemed to waiver and were not so sure how they would continue the work. Some had found other more interesting things to devote their time to. Overall we felt that God wants us to move in this direction—train youth workers and orphan workers on a national level and help them maintain a vision and stay connected. Please, pray that this will become a successful new way of ministering to ministers that will bless the orphans and the youth in Bulgaria. In Silistra Viktor delivered the message during the Wednesday service and Yavor led the congregation in praise and worship.

-- Catch the Fire with Christian women in Vidin. Tes spoke about her experience of the women’s fellowship and fellowship with God in Wales, last month. She also taught 7 ladies who joined the mini-conference from the old testament prophets Elijah, Elisha, Zechariah, and Malachi. The theme was: God is on the move but we must leave the security of our selfishness in order to be part of His plan. There were some typically female fun activities like putting red highlights in the participants hair! Vik shared a message from the Word on Sunday. It was a great time of seeing the few saints grow in strength and commitment to Jesus.

Prayer points

Sadly, a girl of 10, from the Novo Selo orphan home was lured and raped by a local village man. Pray that our volunteers will have wisdom how to counsel the girl after the trauma and that they will minister God’s love to her. I (Vik) need wisdom if I should push the legal proceedings so that the man gets justice (something hard to get from the corrupt Bulgarian government and courts).

Pray for the continuation of our program and ministry in the state-run home in Novo Selo. We have an excellent relationship with the director, staff and kids, but regional office seems anxious about our religious work with the kids. We are to sign a contract in the next few weeks for our work there.

We’ll have a 10 day break at the start of September and then 15-17 of Sept. we will hold our fourth Prophetic School: God’s Missionary Calling. Please, pray that the right people will come to this training.

Our eighth issue (due Oct. 15, 2006) of the online magazine on freedom of religion and freedom of speech will tackle the issue of complete government control over education in Bulgaria. Even private schools are subject to approval by the authorities and the curriculum must comply with state-imposed regulations. This usually means that Christian families have no alternative to state education. Homeschooling is largely unknown yet there are about 100 families that homeschool - which is basically illegal. Pray that the discussion will raise the issue of Christian households being a lighthouse and a standard of raising children in a godly fashion.

Photo Links

Protestant wedding in “Orthodox Bulgaria”

http://www.kmission.org/pics/2006-08_wedding/page_01.htm

Moments from the YWTS national trip

http://www.kmission.org/pics/2006-08_ywts2nd_ntrip/page_01.htm

Catch the Fire
http://www.kmission.org/pics/2006-08_wom_conf/page_01.htm

Thank you for your love and prayers.

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