I first met Hari and Penka two years ago when they came through Kansas City. My heart was wrecked by their humility, their stories and I feel like I have pieces of them with me all the time because we happen to have 3 pieces of their artwork in our home.
I am so excited for more of my friends here in Kansas City to meet them this coming week! These folks walk the talk and all are blessed who know them! Below is a recent letter about their ministry. Read and be blessed!
Dear Praying Friends of Hari and Penka,
Since you last saw Hari and Penka, their ministry has taken off, and, because of your prayers and gifts,
continues to expand.
Thank you for loving them and standing with them.
Using an evangelism-training method called T4T (you can read about it at www.t4tonline.org), Hari and
Penka have launched new small groups in eight Muslim villages.
Using T4T, new believers
are immediately taught how to share their faith. Two of these small groups have exploded,
which is great, but where do they meet if there are too many for a small village house or a
small apartment? The solution is “temporary” (which in Bulgaria means “made of wood”)
meeting rooms. So now one congregation meets in its own building, and another is completing
its structure. More of these will be needed as the other house groups expand in their villages.
George Ainsworth
ANM’s Desk Director for Eastern Europe and Russia
Here is the story of what’s happening in their ministry now, in Hari’s words:
According to God’s plan this is the first small church building among 500 Turkish and Bulgarian
Moslem villages in all of the Kardjali region. On April 17th Penka and I visited the group and met some of the
parents and children there. We had a prayer with them for God’s blessings, for a good start, finishing, and for
Salvation of many souls there. After 17th of April with some help of local people and three paid specialist
builders we started and later, next week April on 23th we visited the village again and already the foundation of
the building had appeared. People were happy seeing this small progress.
Now they are meeting in their building! But we need a similar building for another village, where
people are turning to Christ and being baptized. The materials for one of these simple wooden buildings cost
only about $1000. God originally opened the door to this village several years ago with a miracle. The people
here depend heavily on tobacco as a cash crop. When we first visited this village, we told them the Lord sent
us, so they asked us to pray blessing on their crop. They had their best harvest ever! So now, when we come
evangelizing, they are mostly very open.
Advvvaaanccciiinggg
Naaatttiiivvveee Miiissssssiiiooonsss
When the Gospel of the Kingdom
is preached throughout the
September 2012 world… (Matt.24:14)
A view of the
Rhodope Mountains
in the Kirdjali Region
where Hari and
Penka minister
CHRIST RESURRECTION MINISTRIES
New church buildings in the Kirdjali Region of Bulgaria
New believers in the Kirdjali Region of Bulgaria
‘In addition to these things, we did three 3-day seminars on “T4T” evangelism in different cities in Bulgaria. And now, as this letter goes to you, we are doing child evangelism through art camps for children in the mountain villages. This year we are working in a new area close to the Greek border among Bulgarian Muslim villages. We have to go village by village and to be with the people and children very close to their houses. Penka and I will do two art workshops each day over about one month visiting different villages. We expect to work in 7 villages in August. One art workshop we plan in the morning and one in the evening. We will sleep in a small local hotel there. In some places we will work together with the local authorities who are happy someone is trying to help their children. The Lord has provided about half the cost of this through Bulgarian Christians, and we are trusting Him for the rest.
There is one problem where we need your help and prayers. Our old van, which we need to visit these small congregations and also to teach seminars, is costing us a lot of money in repairs. We really need a new one, but that probably means $8000 to $10,000 that we don’t have. If you can help, God bless you! If you can pray for this, God bless you also!
There’s one more area to share with you. Many of you know that our church building in Kardjali has been “under siege” because of the unfair demands of the contractor who built it. In June the Supreme Court reviewed the case behind closed doors, but they have not yet released their findings. If they determine the appellate court did not follow proper procedures then they will send it back to the appellate court and three new judges will be assigned. The new judges should then send it back to the court in Kardjali for clarifications. After the clarifications the builder will once again be allowed to appeal and it will go back to the appellate court, where the judges will hear arguments from both sides. This process could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
Before the builder sued for over double his contract amount, the church had paid him about $50,000, which is about half what we owed. Since then, thanks to the generosity of both American and Bulgarian friends, the church has most of the balance sitting in a bank account, IF the court decision comes out in our favor. We only lack about $4000 of what is owed, but once a decision is issued, we only have two weeks to pay the balance, so we really need to have it on hand!
Pray that the Supreme Court would agree with the church. Pray the court will issue a ruling shortly after returning from recess. Pray that all the money needed for settlement will be on hand when the decision is reached. Most importantly, pray that the builder will come to know the Lord!
Dear friends, we hope these few lines convey some of the joy and excitement we have here as God breaks through with His light and love in the Rhodope mountains of southern Bulgaria. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light!” (Isaiah 9:2). THANK YOU for your gifts and prayers so that the true Light can shine among the Bulgarian and Turkish Muslims and the Turkish gypsy people of southern Bulgaria.
God bless you!
Hari and Penka
Hari and Penka minister in the area of and around the red dot which is called the Kirdjali region of Bulgaria.
Gifts for Christ Resurrection Ministries are tax-deductible and should be made payable to Advancing Native Missions.
P.O. Box 5303
Charlottesville, VA 22905
Tel: (540) 456-7111
Fax: (540) 456-7222
Anm@adnamis.org
www.advancingnativemissions.com
ADVANCING NATIVE MISSIONS is a U.S. based agency called to seek out, evaluate, and send support to indigenous mission groups throughout the world. 10 % of all gifts is reserved for administration purposes. This, and the amounts raised by the staff for their support; and gifts especially designated for defraying administration expenses (including portions of gifts designated ‘where most needed’) are utilized to cover the total administrative and operational expenses of Advancing Native Missions. A financial statement is available upon request from the State Division of Consumer Affairs of the Commonwealth of Virginia. ANM is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA). Overseas letters may be edited for space and clarity.
344 CRM U04312
Editor: Dee Brookshire
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