Updates from Bulgaria - April/May 2014

Dear Churches and Praying Friends          

 

"In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ," (I Cor. 5:4)

 

One of the greatest blessings in the work here is the camp meeting.  The Lord has helped us to establish house churches all over eastern Bulgaria and Romania.  Many of them are small congregations among small Turkish villages.  Each of the national pastors cares for believers in a different region.  Just as the American camp meeting/revival meeting is a blessing, this large gathering of believers has proven to be a great encouragement for the believers in Bulgaria.  Each summer we try to gather in believers from different regions.  This large gathering together is accompanied by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is like heaven on earth to experience a large crowd of believers singing loudly the praises of the Lord who died for them, rose again for them, sought them, found them, washed their sins away and gave them a new life.  Then the time of testimonies is a great blessing.  They get to encourage one another by telling their own stories of how God has delivered them from various difficulties.  For the new believers this is an eye-opening experience to see so many other people who have endured the same afflictions and can tell of how God always gives the victory through faith and prayer.  At the camp meetings churches are edified, the preachers are strengthened, prayers are answered, and sometimes even souls are saved.  The fellowship is sweet and parting is sorrowful.

 

Just this week we had our first camp meeting of the year.  Later in the summer these meetings will include baptizing down at the river.  Those meetings are special because we get to see the results of a year's worth of preaching in various villages: new believers obeying Christ's command in baptism.  Normally, they enter the water fearful and exit the water with hands lifted to heaven joyfully.

 

Thank you all for your continued prayer and support.  With some more help, we could sow more bountifully, and reap more bountifully.  The Lord is working in Bulgaria. We look forward to the day when we shall come again with rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

 

In Christ, Zachary LeFevre

Updates from Bulgaria - March 2014

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth".  (III John 4)

 

Dear churches and praying friends,

 

First of all, let me say how much we appreciate each and every one of you who have prayed for us these many years.  Next month we will begin our twentieth year on the mission field.  The time has certainly flown.  In 1995 my wife and I packed up six bags, and took our baby girl, Katy, to live and work in Romania.  It was an exciting time for us as a family, and an exciting time to be in the work of God among the Turks here.  Today we can say that God has been faithful to us these many years.  He's never failed us one time.  He's provided our every need.  He's everything he claims to be and more.  He's done so much for us.  We're far behind in praising him. We may never catch up, but we have eternity to try.

 

That baby girl that we brought to the mission field is now almost twenty years old.  She is studying at Pensacola Christian College.  Her younger sister, Polly, just left home this week.  Lord willing, she will be graduating high school in May and then joining her sister at PCC in the fall.  Both of these girls have been wonderful and we truly miss having them in the house.  They love the Lord and honour their parents.  Before you feel sorry for them having to grow up outside of the United States, let me tell you that they speak two foreign languages, know how to cook, clean, sew, and they both play classical violin.  God has been good to us!  I ask that you pray for them as they seek their way in life.  Isaac, Maggie and Levi are still with us here.  Verity teaches them at home.  Pray for us as we endeavor to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

 

It's still an exciting time to be in the work of God among the Turks here.  The day after I dropped Polly off at the airport, I got to preach three times.  Today our little meeting house was full.  Several came for the first time.  Two people actually told us their sins, and asked if they were allowed to come to church.  I preached from the book of 1st Timothy that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.  Every week I drive over a hundred miles to that meeting.  I pass through many villages along the way, and they're all full of sinners.  Pray that the Lord would open doors of opportunity to reach these people. 

 

I thank God for Jesus our Saviour.  I thank God for my family.  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.  To work in the Lord's vineyard we have forsaken father, mother, brothers, sisters, and children.  I thank God for the hundreds of spiritual brothers, sisters, mothers, and children that he has given us in return.  I thank God for each of the dear brethren in America that love us, pray for us and support us in this work.  May God richly bless you all.

 

In Christ,  Zachary LeFevre 

Bulgaria Update - February 2014

Dear churches and Praying Friends,      

"Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much"  (Luke 7:47)

 

Greetings in the name of the Lord and our redeemer.  We've had a mild winter in Bulgaria; there's only been one snow storm that kept the roads closed for a week or so.  Other than that, we've been able to make it to all of our regular meetings.  In recent weeks there have been a couple of people saved, and others strengthened in the faith. 

 

Recently we saw a wonderful display of love for the Lord.  In a village to the north of us, there is a 60+ year old woman who has been a believer for several years.  Now she is unable to walk.  During the meeting this woman came crawling from her house into the church house (about 100 yards)!  When she got through the door, she had an extra skirt to put on top of her regular clothes, which were by then dirty.  She came into the meeting and requested that we sing number 11 in the hymn book.  That song says, "Jesus saved me that I might go to him.  Jesus saved me that I might see him."  Two weeks ago we had a meeting in Dabravino with believers from several village churches attending.  While he was preaching Brother Cheatwood said, "Some people claim to be saved, but don't even come to church.  I want to ask them, 'If your faith can't even bring you to the local church, what makes you think your faith will take you to all the way to heaven?"  Well, I believe that this sister that crawled through the dirt and mud to be in the Lord's house certainly has a faith that will take her to the Father's house one day.

 

In one of our new meetings a woman testified of how God had answered her first prayer.  She told the story of the prodigal son from Luke 15, but in her case, it was a prodigal daughter.  Not long after this woman started coming to church, her daughter left her husband and two children and ran away with another man.  The family was devastated; it seemed nothing could be done to reach her.  So, as we taught the new believers about prayer she decided that she would pray for her daughter.  Then, in January the girl came home one day.  She said that they had had a big New Year’s Eve party, and after the party was over she sat down and thought about her life.  "What am I doing here?", she said to herself, "I've got a husband and two children."  As soon as she could, she made her way home and begged forgiveness.  The little church was thrilled to hear how God had worked in the girl's life through the prayers. 

 

Please continue to pray for us as we persevere in preaching the gospel and establishing the new believers in the faith.  One by one we see them coming to know the Lord.  We trust that our preaching coupled with your prayers will bring more people to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus.

 

In Christ, Zachary LeFevre

Bulgaria Update - January 7, 2014

I just wanted to pass some information on to you from Brother Ralph.  As you know, it's been on his heart this past year to get back into Turkey.  The Turkish Bible is pretty much finished.  This year he wants to focus on printing as many as we can and getting every church member a New Testament.  (He still wants us to print the Bibles ourselves, not a mass printing.)  Last year we were able to get every church member a hymn book; this year we'll work on printing Bibles. 

 

 In April Brother Ralph made his first trip into Turkey in over twenty years.  The missionaries made several other group trips.  If the Lord opens the door, we plan on making more.  For now, though, let me tell you what Brother Ralph is thinking:

 

The gospel went from Jerusalem up to Antioch (in Turkey) and then westward (through Turkey) into Macedonia, Achaia, Rome, etc. (Europe).  In the last two thousand years the gospel has been preached around the world.  Before the Lord returns, Brother Ralph believes that the gospel will return to Israel, but through Turkey.

 

We want to spread the gospel in Turkey to as many as would receive it.  (In our first visit down there, the Lord led us to a woman who was thrilled to meet Christian missionaries.  Later we returned and gave her a Bible, which she received joyfully).

 

Unbeknownst to Brother Ralph, Turkey has been developing their ancient sites for tourism.  This includes excavations of Biblical sites.  We have seen these sites and believe that American Christians would love to see them, too.  The time is ready to learn about Turkey, the second holy land.

 

Our desire is to show these sites to American pastors and other Christian workers who are able to help us in the mission work.  On a two week trip, we would show them the Biblical sites where the Lord worked mightily in the 1st century, and then show them Bulgaria where the Lord is working in the 21st century.

 

Our goal is to raise support for the work in Bulgaria/Romania.  We're ready for any pastor willing to help us in the mission work (as well as paying his own personal expenses on the trip).  The national pastors preaching in Bulgaria/Romania are doing a great work, and they are in dire need of support.  This would be a great opportunity for American pastors to meet and work with our national pastors. 

 

Our work has always been through Brookside, and we want you to be the first to experience such a missionary journey.  Please pray about this work.  We love you all and look forward to seeing the Lord work again in 2014.

 

Zach LeFevre

Bulgaria Update

December 2013 

The following excerpts are from some recent letters of our missionaries in Bulgaria.

 

"And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready." Luke14:17              

 

Greetings the name above every name.  We pray this letter finds you rejoicing in the Savior: born in Bethlehem, returning to Jerusalem.

 

Our recent months have been productive.  Although we don't always see immediate reward for our labour, looking back, the Lord's blessings are evident everywhere.  There have been several saved recently.  One woman has been attending church for five years.  She always enjoyed the meetings, but her heart never had been opened.  Although she had a form of godliness for five years, it wasn't until this month that she discovered the power thereof.  When faced with throat cancer she got serious about God.  In the operating room, she prayed and gave her life to Jesus.  The doctors had told her she would never speak again after surgery.  God delivers again.  When she started talking, the doctors were amazed.  Now she's testifying in church and said that wherever she goes, she's going to use her voice to tell people what the Lord has done for her.

 

Over here, many times when people have a great blessing like surviving a car crash, or surgery etc. they will give a supper for their family and friends in the community to celebrate.  The Lord actually gave instructions for this type of meal:

 "Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."

 

This practice is also carried out in the churches, with the difference being that now they give glory to God in the name of Jesus for his blessings.  This summer when the lady in our church regained her sight after being blind in one eye for six months, she made a supper and fed over fifty people in the village.  At that gathering we sang hymns and preached the gospel to several people that would not normally come to a church service.  Last week the pastor in the village made a supper.  The occasion was the completion of a meeting house for the church.  Alish is 72 years old and lives off of about three hundred dollars a month.  Yet, he was able to build a room on the end of his house for the church to meet.  He did the work himself and paid for all the materials himself.  The only thing he asked help for was the door and the window, which I was able to get for them.  Very quickly, the new meeting room for the church was full of people, and once they started singing, the spirit filled the room.  The unbelievers that attended heard good spirit-filled singing, many good testimonies of salvation, and at the end a sermon about the resurrection.  At the end, the meal, too, was excellent.  These community suppers have proven to be a tremendous opportunity for evangelism.

 

In the summer we had started a prayer meeting in Ruse, a town about a hundred miles away.  It's a long drive, but we believed that if the Lord opened the door, we should go.  Now, after six months of weekly meetings we've had six good testimonies of salvation.  Four people have been baptized (some will wait until next summer to get baptized in the Danube river.)  Two people have given testimonies that the Lord answered our prayers in such a way that amazed the doctors.  The little group of believers is beginning to love the hymns.  We've seen a pattern among the new believers here.  First, they love to sing the hymns, later they love to pray, and as they mature in the Lord they love the Bible.  We thank God for each and every one that has given their heart to the Lord Jesus. 

 

This month three vehicles have been purchased for the national pastors.  We've been able to get these used (7 passenger) vehicles that are in great shape for a very reasonable price: between five and six thousand dollars.  There are two more pastors that are in dire need of new vehicles.  We're spending a couple hundred dollars every month in repairs.  Please help us and pray for this situation.  God bless you all.

 

In Christ,  Zachary LeFevre and family

December 18 Update

We've had a wonderful December so far.  There's not been much snow; we've been able to attend most of our village meetings.  In the last couple of weeks we've seen three good professions of faith in the name of Jesus.  

In my last update I wrote about a girl who had just started church.  That was supposed to be work that she just started.  She's been in church for several years.  When she entered the work place on the first day some of the unbelievers said, "Here comes the Christian".  Later that day, during their lunch break she took out a hymn book and sang them a song that apparently softened their hearts.  This week one of her co-workers came to church for the first time.  

It actually wasn't a real church service that she came to, but a church supper.  Over here, many times when people have a great blessing like surviving a car crash, or surgery etc. they will give a supper for their family and friends in the community to celebrate.  The Lord actually gave instructions for this type of meal:

 

"Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."

 

This practice is also carried out in the churches, with the difference being that now they give glory to God in the name of Jesus for his blessings.  This summer when the lady in our church regained her sight after being blind in one eye for six months, she made a supper and fed over fifty people in the village.  At that gathering we sang hymns and preached the gospel to several people that would not normally come to a church service.  Last week the pastor in the village made a supper.  The occasion was the completion of a meeting house for the church.  Alish is 72 years old and lives off of about three hundred dollars a month.  Yet, he was able to build a room on the end of his house for the church to meet.  He did the work himself and paid for all the materials himself.  The only thing he asked help for was the door and the window, which I was able to get for them.  Very quickly, the new meeting room for the church was full of people, and once they started singing, the spirit filled the room.  The unbelievers that attended heard good spirit-filled singing, many good testimonies of salvation, and at the end a sermon about the resurrection.  At the end, the meal, too, was excellent.  These community suppers have proven to be a tremendous opportunity for evangelism.

 

In the summer we had started a prayer meeting in Ruse, a town about a hundred miles away.  It's along drive, but we believed that if the Lord opened the door, we should go.  Now, after six months of weekly meetings we've had six good testimonies of salvation.  Four people have been baptized (some will wait until next summer to get baptized in the Danube river.)  Two people have given testimonies that the Lord answered our prayers in such a way that amazed the doctors.  The little group of believers is beginning to love the hymns.  We've seen a pattern among the new believers here.  First, they love to sing the hymns, later they love to pray, and as they mature in the Lord they love the Bible.  We thank God for each and every one that has given their heart to the Lord Jesus.  

 

Our daughter, Katy, has come to Bulgaria on her Christmas break.  She's been gone for a year and a half (but hasn't forgotten the language).  We're thankful for the time we have together.  

 

Pray for us. From Bulgaria,  Zachary LeFevre

Bulgaria Update

Bulgaria Update

 

November 29, 2013

We've had another good week here in Bulgaria.  Here in our village church we meet three nights a week, and there's always good testimonies of answered prayers and opportunities to witness.  One girl started church this week.  During her first day, on the lunch break, she took our her hymn book and sang a hymn to a room full of women.  In five minutes the hard hearts were softened and she earned the respect of the unbelievers.  Now, we're praying that the Lord will use her to bring those others to Christ.

 

Tonight there was a lady that testified about her children getting saved this week.  She was the first one in her family to be saved, and one by one, her three daughters and their husbands have been saved and baptized, and two of the grand children, in one year's time. 

 

We were able to make another trip into Turkey.  The Lord directed us to one soul that was thrilled to receive a New Testament.  The weather has turned cold, and we got six inches of snow here.  Lord willing, next year we'll be going back into Turkey.  Here in Bulgaria we're busy printing New Testaments for each of our church members, and Verity is sewing Bible covers for them.  It is a constant joy to be able to preach the word to those who love to hear it.

 

Pray for us.  From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre

October 6, 2013 Update

I know it's been a long time since I've last written.  Shame on me for getting out of the habit of communicating.  Sometimes it seems like over here we just get used to seeing the Lord's blessings, and think that no one would find these things all that interesting.  The Lord has certainly been doing good things here.

 

This summer we were able to have at least three large Turkish weekend meetings at the facilities up in Romania; we also had three over-night meetings at the church in Dabravino, and one five day English meeting in Romania.  There were also various special meetings in believer's houses (rather than the church house) where we were able to preach to some unbelievers.  We've continued to distribute evangelistic DVDs, and now we make our church services available on youtube; we have nearly two hundred videos that have been viewed thousands of times.

 

Perhaps the most encouraging event of the summer has been the start of a new meeting in the city of Ruse.  Being a large city, there have been several churches started there by various mission groups. Our work is normally in the villages (where most missionaries don't want to go).  But there were some people in the Turkish neighborhood that met our national pastor, Brother Nasuf one day and told him how blessed his people were to have a church in their town, because they didn't have anyone to come to them or their neighborhood.  Although it is over a hundred miles away, I still felt like we needed to go to those people and preach the gospel to them.  At first we didn't have much hope of seeing a church started, but thought we would go preach and see what happened.  We found that indeed there had been several meetings there started by various mission groups, but none of them had stayed.  It's been nearly three months now and we've been there every week.  The people are glad to have us. Several have been saved and three of them were baptized last week.  It was probably the coldest day of the year, felt like about forty degrees, and there was a blistering wind and rain.  I told the people that if they wanted to wait until next summer and warmer weather that would be alright, but they said that the weather was just a test of their faith to see how much they really loved God, so they insisted on being baptized in the Danube river on that cold, rainy day.

 

Continue to pray for us.   

From Bulgaria, Zachary Lefevre

Updates from Bulgaria - 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

Bulgarian update

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

2013 Bulgarian updates - 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

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

Update from Bulgaria

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

 

Updates from Bulgaria

Dear brethren,   

First, let me thank those of you that prayed for our trip.  We arrived safe and sound at our home in Bulgaria after thirty hours of travelling.  This was probably the best trip that we ever had.  The children did well, and no luggage was.  Although it was a long trip, the time seemed to pass quickly.  Meeting us in Sofia were my brother William and pastor Ahmet to drive us home.  Brother Ahmet told me many testimonies of good things that happened in his churches here during our furlough.  Unfortunately, I was only half awake at the time and can't remember one of them.  I'll see him later and get the testimonies for future letters.

This week I've been out to several meetings and met a few of the new ones who got saved while we were gone.  There was actually one place where we had tried to start a meeting a few years ago, but the struggles in starting a church in a new village almost overwhelmed them.  Last summer my brother and pastor Alish went back to this village and it seems that the time was right for their harvest.  Thirty people from the village ended up getting saved and baptized.  

There were also two notable funerals here during our time in the states.  One was the funeral of a man here in our own village.  He had been saved for several years and was always faithful to attend the meetings.  He was never ashamed of the Lord.  Many times he would argue with the local Islamic religious leaders and the older men (his peers) in the community about his faith.  The believers here all have peace about seeing him again some day.  In another village there was a woman who came to church several times.  She had been some kind of a fortune teller for most of her life and mixed Islamic prayers with tarot cards.  In the meetings I preached to her many times, and individually I talked with her several times.  Each time she professed to believe in Jesus, but also hung on to her life long faith in Islam and her fortune telling "powers".  I fear that her mind was blinded and she never could see the light of the gospel.  Upon hearing of her passing, not one person even mentioned seeing her again in heaven some day.  Two different people with two different testimonies:  "To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life".  The one bright spot in the woman's story is that her granddaughter has been saved and coming to church for a couple of years, and now her daughter has started coming.

In another village we met a woman, just recently saved, and her story shows the value of being faithful to the work.  Not long ago her husband passed away.  After that she started coming.  She said that she has wanted to come to church for a long time, but her husband never would allow it.  Now that he is gone, though, she comes every week.  I'm glad that we continued going to that village for years, even though at times there were only one or two people in the meeting.  Had we given up and closed the meeting, this woman would not have had a church to come to and might not be saved today.  My father used to close his letters to me with the one word, "Persevere."  I'm glad we persevered in that village.

 

From Bulgaria,

Zachary LeFevre

Feb 11 2013 Update

January 24 Update

This week I've been rather puny, suffering from a touch of the flu.  Some of the children have also been ill.  I tried to get out to the meetings on Saturday, but pastor Alish insisted that I stay home.  As it turns out, the snow was so bad that they didn't make it to the third village, anyway.  

Last week pastor Ismail's wife had a tumour removed.  Now she's at home resting.  We would appreciate your prayers for her.

From Bulgaria,

Zachary LeFevre

November 21 Update

It's turned cold here.  As we drove back home yesterday from Romania the fog had frozen like frosty crystals on every twig of every tree and every blade of grass.  Our thermometer read -5 this morning (Celsius).

Last week it was my privilege to show the work in Romania to a group of saints from New Manna Baptist Church, Marion, NC.  Although we spent passed out gospel tracts and they sang as a choir in downtown Constanta, the main focus of their visit was to see the children we feed in the Turkish villages.  Thanks be to God, there are many children that receive a hot meal every day through our churches.  These children were tickled to see new people that loved them.  (They also loved the candy they brought.)  I am sure that the Lord used these poor believers, rich in faith, to actually be a greater blessing to the Americans.  As their hearts were broken for these people praising God in great poverty, my own heart was revived.  Our Turkish believers here were thrilled to see how many brothers and sisters they have in Christ.  As we worshipped the Lord in different languages, His spirit knit our hearts together in love.  The week ended with one of the girls here in the children's home getting saved!   Later we received word that a man dying of cancer whom we had prayed for got saved!  Along with our Turkish brethren here, we were truly saddened to see our new friends and Christian family leave, but we look forward to meeting again one day in that land where shades of love lie deep.  

I would like to thank you all for your prayers for my older brother.  He is still in great pain.  His recovery will be long and difficult, but he reports small improvements every day.  

From Bulgaria,

Zachary LeFevre

September 6 Update

Last Wednesday my brother and  I were able to travel up to Romania to assist in the baptizing up there.  From my village we drove about an hour and a half north, then crossed the Danube river on a ferry in Romania.  On one branch of the river there was a beautiful sandy spot with shallow water, perfect for baptizing.  Years ago we baptized a young woman named La-le.  This year her twelve year old son got baptized.  It's a blessing to see how her and the others have stayed faithful, and now their children are following the Lord.  Also, pastor Alish baptized his fifteen year old son this year.  Aside from the converts from his village churches each year pastor Alish has had the privilege to baptize some of his family members.  His sister was recently saved, along with many of is wife's relatives.  Since his father-in-law got saved this year he's been sober for the longest stretch of his adult life.  Altogether this year there have been forty-eight new believers baptized.

"And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room"  (Luke 14:22)

From Bulgaria,

Zachary LeFevre

August 15 Update

Thank you all for your prayers for our children.  Polly is home from the hospital and feeling better.  (Saturday she butchered three chickens for us.)   She's developed a rash from the antibiotics.  Today she goes back to the doctor. Now my brother William is in the same hospital with pneumonia.  Please keep him in your prayers. Pastor Nasuf reported two people saved in his villages this week. The children start school this week.  They're all home-schooled.  Next month Maggie should start Bulgarian kindergarten. From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre

August 9 Update

It's certainly been a slow week here.  I only preached twice this week.  Most of our time has been spent in resting, caring for the children, and visitting Polly at the hospital.   Today Katy and Isaac are about ninety percent recovered from their illness.  Polly is doing better.  Yesterday she had another x-ray which showed improvement.  Today she is having blood work done.  The doctor should tell us today when she can come home.   Our missionary friends and family have been very helpful to us this week.  We also want to thank you all for your concern and prayers.   From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre

August 3 Update

All of last week I was in Romania.  We spent three days working with the national pastors on the new hymns.  They were thrilled with the new hymn book.  Helping us were pastors and their families from Bulgaria.  Then my family came up, along with the other missionaries from Bulgaria for four days of English church.  In those four days we heard some excellent preaching!   This week has been much more difficult.  Three of our children are sick with pneumonia.  Polly was so bad that the doctor sent her straight to the hospital.  She is now in the intensive care unit.  Her room is clean and the nurses so far have been very helpful, and we thank the Lord for that.   Pray for us. From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre