Children in Bulgaria receiving the Book of Hope
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.
