From Randal Dick
Superintendent of missions
Earlier in the summer I received a routine report from Santiago Lange, our national leader in Germany.
The German-speaking churches (including the congregations in Austria and German-speaking Switzerland) have, for years, maintained a consistent and open-hearted outreach to their Eastern European neighbors.
Members have sent tons of supplies to refugees during the conflict between the Serbs and Bosnians. They have quietly but consistently shared their own resources with groups in Ukraine. They continue to assist in projects in Estonia.
One of the most interesting relationships that has developed over the last few years is in Bulgaria, with a group of dedicated Christians led by Nikolay Nikolov.
Mr. Lange spent a couple of weeks in Bulgaria with Mr. Nikolov, getting more acquainted with the brethren there, going from place to place with him.
While this story is interesting in its own right, it becomes even more so because during this journey, God made his love known in a powerful way. We never know when God will use ordinary people in ordinary situations to show his power and love.
Let's pick up the story from Mr. Lange's initial report:
Greetings from Germany!
I just returned from a most encouraging visit to Bulgaria. A main reason for this trip was to help us evaluate our relationship with Christian groups in the Balkan region.
I am excited to report that my positive expectations were not disappointed, quite the contrary.
I arrived in Sofia April 29. From the capital we drove east to the city of Jambol, home of Nikolay Nikolov.
Two weeks ago Nikolay went to Skopje, Macedonia, to deliver humanitarian aid to the Kosovo refugees. He delivered 240 bed covers, 5,000 bars of soap, 200 children's Bibles (the ones we had sponsored for print) and 200 copies of the Bulgarian magazine. The picture pages of the children's Bibles were removed from the binding and distributed to the children in the camp.
On the evening of April 30, I visited a charismatic congregation in Aitos with Nikolay. These 70 believers regularly read the magazine. In fact, as in the other congregations we visited, this has become their magazine.
Pastor Stojan Petrov surprisingly asked me to deliver the sermon (originally a prayer service had been scheduled). My message was titled Grace and Discipline. After the service we headed back to Jambol.
I feel strongly we ought to support the printing of a Gospel with parallel Bulgarian and Turk texts (no such translation is available in Bulgaria ).
Nikolay would like to begin with John. I asked him to send me an estimate of the costs involved to print 1,000 such Gospels. On May 1 we visited the Ravda widows, and Nikolay gave them several copies of the Bulgarian PT.
After an adventurous drive through the Balkan range, two flat tires, a dysfunctional starter and a broken headlight, we made it back to Jambol.
The halls were packed with 650 people. I was told by several people that the church has 1,000 members but not all could come because of a lack of space. I noticed that many were reading the magazine.
Pastor Tzonio Atanassov asked me to address the church. Seizing the chance, my message focused on the centrality of Jesus Christ. We partook of the Lord's Supper.
I pledged some modest help to the church in Jambol. Some orphan teenagers would like to study but do not have the means to do so. The WCG will donate a monthly sum for special needs.
Later we drove to Kotel, where once again I was invited to preach. Pastor Nikolov mentioned that I should try to make my message relevant to newcomers, as a few first-time visitors would be in the audience. I spoke on being born again and on becoming Christlike.
After the service, pastor Nikolov asked me to pray for a seven-year- old child with a cancerous affliction that had affected one leg. The doctors did not give little Dimitri a chance to live.
I laid hands on Dimitri and asked God to intervene on behalf of the child and his family. The boy's parents were in church for the first time. I think they came to God in a last desperate attempt to seek help for their child. I hope and pray that God will intervene mightily in this situation to his glory.
The visit to Bulgaria made clear once again, the tremendous need this Balkan region has for the liberating and comforting gospel message. The country suffers grave poverty and has a thirst for the spiritual.
The Bulgarian magazine has become an integral element in the lives of thousands of Christians. I feel, as does Nikolay, that the WCG-sponsored magazine provides a desperately needed counterweight and anchor against charismatic extremism.
While not negating the importance of the Holy Spirit, sound doctrine must center on the foundation of God's Word and not on emotional experiences, as enticing and wonderful as these might be.
I am sure that the WCG will be able to make further contributions to Bulgaria's Christian landscape. Nikolay's work is remarkable, and we must continue to do our best to support his efforts.
This morning I received a most encouraging call from Nikolay Nikolov.
It appears that God has heard our prayers. Nikolay told me that the boy has been miraculously healed and that because of the miracle even Dimitri's grandparents have accepted Christ in their lives. A final medical confirmation from the Sophia specialists is still pending.
Warm regards,
Santiago
I just received a letter from the boy's mother (apparently translated by Nikolay into German).
The English translation follows:
Dear Brethren of the WCG in Germany,
The person writing is the mother of the healed child in Kotel. His name is Dimitri. We want to give thanks for the wonderful service of Mr. Santiago Lange in our Kotel congregation.
We give thanks for the PT. It is a witness for the truth and God. As Mr. Santiago Lange prayed for our child I told myself that I would serve God if the child was healed. We were for the first time at the Kotel congregation.
The healing of our child has changed the lives of our family. We thank God, and we thank our brother Santiago for being able to experience this healing and for being able to find the truth in our lives.
The distribution of the PT is a wonderful thing, and we have found out much about God. We have felt that God loves us and that he can cure every disease.
The doctor's prognosis that our son would never walk again is not true. The Lord has acted through the hands of Santiago. We are feeling a never before experienced internal joy and peace in our family.
We have seen that God acts where there is repentance. We have the X rays as proof. Whether people want to believe us or not, is not important, since the healing of our son is a fact. We thank God for his grace and we praise his name.
S. Ivanka
Kotel, Bulgaria
I didn't relate this story to "wow" you, although I hope you are somewhat in awe at the love of God. Nor did I latch on to the only example of a recent miracle. I could relate half a dozen equally inspiring, documentable miracles right now.
I can look in my own life and realize that were it not for a loving Jesus who did much the same for me as he did for Dimitri, I would not be writing this to you right now.
My firstborn son, Chris, who was also dramatically healed, is a witness to my wife, Susie, and me every time we look into his face.
I would like to leave you with the thought that God is and has always been active in the lives of his people. He walks among his children and shows them mercy as he has since the beginning.
The miracles that change the most lives the most deeply, tend to happen within the fabric of people's everyday lives. When we, ordinary people, respond in humble service to our Lord, we become instruments of his extraordinary love in the lives of those we serve.
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 1999