Our web site: http://kmission.homestead.com
Email: vikkostov@hotmail.com
home phone 359 2 65 28 33
Viktor and Teresa Kostov
Sofia, Bulgaria
Missionary
Newsletter July
2001
Dear
Friends:
Truly
God is good! This past month we have been witnesses to God’s tender mercies and
His great power. About three weeks ago Viktor’s father, Peter, gave his life to
Christ, along with two of his neighbors. We have been praying for Peter for
years, as many of you know, and yet it still came as a shock when he asked,
“How can one become a Christian?” Viktor is meeting with his father and these
two other men once a month (by car it takes 3.5 hours to reach them) for Bible study;
they will do a yearlong study of the book of John. (Side note: After arriving
in Bulgaria God told Viktor to begin this bible study with these three
men. Viktor had hoped that eventually
they would give their lives to Christ by studying the word of God. However, one
week before the first study began, Peter and Dachy prayed for the forgiveness
of their sins and invited Christ into their hearts, and Milcho interrupted the
first study and asked, “When are you going to accept me into your group?” He acknowledged Christ right then and gave
his life to him. Then we finished the
lesson.)
FAMILY
NEWS
Our
family is adjusting well to life in Bulgaria. Of course, some days are easier
than other’s and vice versa. Thank you to those who have been praying for the
arrival of our belongings from the USA. It should arrive in Rotterdam on the
14th of July and from there it will be trucked down to Bulgaria!
Danny
and Matty are currently spending time with their Grandpa and Grandma in the
country. They have a house with a large yard for them to play in from morning
to night. Grandpa Peter recently made a sandbox for the kids and a small pool
for the summer months. They can eat whatever they want and stay up until 10 or
11 p.m. As Viktor’s mom Jenny tells us, “Our job is to spoil the children and
your job is to discipline them.” We may have a lot of work ahead of us after
all that spoiling!
RELIGIOUS
LIBERTY CONFERENCE
The
July 2nd conference, held at the Rila Hotel in Sofia, was a great success.
Seventy people -leaders from the Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox communities
and Muslims; as well as religious non-profits, the media and journalists were
present- were invited to hear expert analysis on the current religious liberty
situation and to propose the working of a better and more democratic law on the
right to religion in Bulgaria. A
working group has resulted from this conference and hopes to meet again in the
fall. The Balkan Center for Law and Freedom thanks you for all your prayers!
This conference was a logistical nightmare and yet God came through for us and
tied all the loose strings right on time - as always!
BELOGRADCHIK
ORPHANAGE “HOPE”
The
Vacation Bible School is planned for the week of July 30-August 3. We will play
games, have a daily bible teaching, do arts n’ crafts, and build relationships
with about 30 youth. We are working with the church Petra (meaning “Rock” in
Bulgarian), Vidin, to organize the event. We will train two youth leaders from
the church to work with the orphans during this VBS and beyond. Our hope is to
establish a weekly bible study/visit time with the orphans at the “Hope” home
and within six months begin a similar ministry at a second orphans’ home. The
two youth leaders currently being trained will work part-time ministering to
the orphans out of Petra. We would like to raise a monthly salary of $75 USD
each for these two workers - if any of you would like to support these workers
with a one-time gift or a monthly offering, please let us know.
“And God is
able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all
sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” 2 Cor.
9:8
PRAYER
CORNER
·
Please pray for
the upcoming Youth Leaders Training Seminar to be held at the end of August or
beginning of September. We are working on the details now: calling church
leaders for names of youth leaders to invite, scheduling the main speaker,
arranging for the facilities on Vitosha mountain, etc.
·
We have spoken with three families about beginning a home
group and the response has been very positive. Please pray that God will unite us under His vision and will show us the
specific next steps to take.
·
Please pray as we
plan for a retreat with several other families: Maria and Mitko (Orthodox-The
Pokrov Foundation), Plamen and Illiana (Orthodox--The Pokrov Foundation),
Alexei and Toni (Protestant), Orlin and Tsveti (Protestant-Campus Crusade for
Christ), and us! We all have a desire
to work together for the glory of God and the furthering of His kingdom in
Bulgaria. We have known one another for years now and God has placed us in very
specific places-churches, work, etc.-in our lives. We would like to find that
common ground and vision to work together. The Pokrov Foundation was one of the
sponsors, along with Door of Hope Int’l., of the Religious Liberty Conference
we recently held. It was a blessing to have them come along side us for this
event.
·
Please pray for
the growth of Teresa’s and the kids’ language ability! And that we would find
the right place/person to teach the kids Bulgarian.
·
Please pray that
we will continue to walk by faith and not by sight.
·
Please continue to pray
for a vehicle for us. It is a great
need for our work and family! ($2,000 will allow us to buy a dependable second
hand car.)
And so
beloved, “We make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to
Him. For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one
may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether
good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:9-10)
Teresa and
Viktor Kostov
and
the boys