Kostov Prayer Letter – October 2006

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Dear Friends,

I am reading a book by Martin Scott on spiritual warfare. Though I am a picky reader, I find the book to provide the most thoughtful and clear understanding on the subject. I like it also because I can relate our ministry with the things that Martin talks about:

At the most basic level spiritual warfare is simply living for Christ in the context of a hostile environment…It does not begin with discerning some demonic presence, but in following Jesus by taking up one’s cross daily (Sowing Seeds for Revival, p. 28).

We face the demonic influence on individuals and the whole society here almost daily. But living a life for Christ is the most secure and the most fundamental opposition to the enemy’s efforts.

In this issue

Vacation time – Prophetic School 4 – Freedom for All 8^th issue is online – Rock mission: Blue Stone concerts – Welsh Women ministry visit – Return to the US – Prayer Requests – Photo Links

Reports

-- Vacation time. We were able to go to the Greek island of Thassos for a weeks vacation in the beginning of September. It was a good family time with the boys and the still warm sun and clear Aegean sea. Noah and the boys had a blast on the sand and in the water.

-- Working Along Youth Workers Nationwide. Our first year of the youth leadership training has finished. Unfortunately, not all of the teams we trained and worked with will continue in this work. The team in Silistra simply disintegrated – the lady that was quite enthusiastic about her ministry simply sent someone else to tell us that this is not a work for her. The second person decided that he will go into agriculture—thus, no time for orphan work. Yavor, Teresa and myself were quite flustered since we had made it quite clear that we would like all trainees to commit to at least 24 visits in the orphanages for the next year. The Burgas team had to move since their orphan home was shut down and their involvement with orphans is now unclear. The good news is that the teams in Plovdiv and Assenovgrad are going strong.

-- Prophetic School 4 (Sept. 15-17). Stuart’s partnership continued with the organizing of another Prophetic Bible school. The theme this time was God’s missionary calling. For three days and nine sessions, Stuart and I taught on themes of God’s call to His people to enter into their heavenly destiny by obeying the missionary call He has for each one. There were 10 attendants from Sofia and other parts of the country. After the school, the team visited Vidin for time with the group of saints there. We also looked at properties which we could use for the Youth Club we envision. It will be a place where youth can congregate and it will be a place of training. We did like a property, but the owners did not want to rent but sell only … for 100,000 euro! This is a ridiculously inflated price. If priced fairly it would be a great advantage to our youth and orphan work to own something similar so we can have a ministry/training center. Pray for this need as God leads you.

-- Rock mission: Blue Stone concerts in Bulgaria. Blue Stone is a contemporary Celtic pop-rock band. They are all Christian and actually are a family. The O’Hares are from the Llanelli, Wales, church we partner with. They were in Bulgaria for a national concert tour we set up for them. The idea was to go into secular music clubs and perform music by Christians and even some worship music! It was rather a prayer and prophetic claim on the unsaved souls in the nation. We had gigs lined up in 6 major cities, starting -- of course -- with Vidin. Then the O’Hares sang in Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas, Silistra and Varna. I was the organizer and road manager and Yavor was the driver. This was quite a work to put a national tour together for the band in secular places but somehow, by God’s grace, it came through. We did connect with local Christians to help with finding places and other logistical issues.

Please check out the special web site I put together for this event. God’s favor was with us and we were able to connect with some precious souls who come out of the meat grinder of the rock-musician’s lifestyle. One such man was Ivan from Silistra, who was the soundman for the gig. We spent time with him and talked about music and about family as well. Before we parted he said: “I don’t know why this is so, but you give me positive energy…I feel so peaceful with you.” Obviously, he longs for the peace that comes when one gets right with God.

-- Freedom for All, issue 8 (October 16). This issue of our religious freedom web site addressed the need for an alternative to the tight government control on education. Freedom of religion includes the right of parents to give their children a Bible-oriented and Christian education. This is a brand new thesis in Bulgaria. We had three Christian authors and myself write in defense of this freedom. The government education department declined our offer to join the dialogue.

-- Welsh Women’s Team Visit (Oct. 12-20). Liz Watkins led a team of five women from two church in Weales (from Cardiff and Llanelli). They came with the goal to join forces with us in “walking the land” – a form of door-to-door evangelism in poor areas, and a time for ministry in the orphanage. We visited two poor areas for “walking the land” – the village of Bukovets and the “Builder” neighborhood in Vidin.

The ladies from the Welsh churches paired up with women from the church in Vidin. The teams spoke to random people, gave them a small gift and shared the Gospel and prayer with those who were willing. In the orphan homes again it was a time for arts and crafts, worship music, game and fellowship. Julia Harris, an emerging pop-star on the UK scene, was part of the group. She did a gig in Vidin in the same club where Blue Stone sang about a week earlier. It was a good week of work and fellowship together for the King and His Kingdom.

Prayer points

Thank you for your prayers for the continuation of our program and ministry in the state-run home in Novo Selo. Our presence there goes on. The regional inspectors who insisted on a immediate submission of a contract back in August still have not responded to our proposal. One is left to wonder – What was the big rush then? Yet another fact in support of the bureaucratic minds that rule the state-run orphan home system in Bulgaria.

We will be traveling back to the US in December. It’s been five and a half years of ministry in Bulgaria. We need to connect with friends, supporters, and family in America. Viktor will finish his Ph.D. at Fuller which he’s been quietly working on in the background while doing the ministry in Bulgaria. Many things and details must fall into place for this move to happen on a tight budget. We feel that the Lord will provide as He leads us into His ways, but your faithful prayers for us are much needed and much appreciated. Here are some specific logistical needs to pray for:

that our travel to the US will be easy and uneventful;

that we will find someone to stay in our rented place in Sofia while we’re gone;

that we find a cheap car in the US to buy so we can get around;

that we will find grace to continue encouraging our partners in Bulgaria and continue the work while we’re in the US;

that we connect with friends and supporters so we can share about what we’re doing in Bulgaria;

that God will continue to reveal to us what the next step of our ministry will look like.

Photo Links

Thassos, Greece
Prophetic School 4
Blue Stone gigs in Bulgaria
Welsh Women in Vidin - “Walking the Land” & orphan work

Yet again: Thank you for your love and prayers. God’s love and truth are so great to have!

Visit our website: www.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, make checks payable and mail 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 the Support Us web page on our web site. To subscribe to, or unsubscribe from, our e-mail newsletter, write to vikkostov@hotmail.com