Bulgaria (MNN) — Partnership. That's the key word in the
outreach philosophy of Book of Hope International's work in Bulgaria.
The Bulgaria Director of the Book of Hope Dimitrie Todoroff
says because Bulgaria is a part of the European Union that's the only way
they're able to access school children. "We use the access local churches
have, because of their charitable work, to access the different orphanages,
school and rural areas in the cities. We're accessing the schools and the
orphanages without actually having a permit."
Todoroff says it's all perfectly legal and done with the
permission of the local government. Through partnerships with Campus Crusade
for Christ, the JESUS Film Project and others, much was accomplished in 2006.
"We distributed almost all of our books through partnerships with
parachurch organizations — working closely and directly with the local
churches. In numbers, we distributed almost 260,000 books."
This country is diverse in culture. "We have
Bulgarians. We have Turks, who are predominately Muslim. And, we have Gypsies
(or Roma people), who are either Christians or Muslims," Todoroff adds.
Involvement by 700 local churches, says Todoroff, has had an
obvious side benefit. "We had more than 20,000 new (people) in the
churches. They have not joined the church, but they have visited the local
churches. We're not sure how many
quality decisions for Christ have been made," Todoroff says.
This year, Todoroff is expecting more great things. He says
the 3D animated film on the life of Christ called Godman is part of that excitement.
"We anticipate to have the Godman dubbed in Bulgarian with viewing units
provided for the showings by May this year. And, we'll have the new Books of
Hope printed by this time as well."
Showings have already been scheduled for the Godman in areas
of Bulgaria where they've seen success.
Financial support is needed to cover the costs for the
dubbing of the Bulgarian Godman translation. They also need help purchasing
Books of Hope. $10 provides a copy to 30 children, which is a perfect project
for your small group, Sunday school class or church.
