LeFevres

LeFevre Biography

Meet the LeFevre Family:

The LeFevre's have been missionaries in Eastern, Romania for almost 7 years. Zachary and Verity, were still newlyweds when they left America to minister among the Turkish people in Romania. They traveled all the way from Bristol, Tennessee to Romania, with their sunny, 9 month old little girl, Katy Jane, in April of 1995.

Hello Friends!

Concerning the ministry here, we are glad to report that the Lord is doing great things. Our little family has had the honor of working with 8 other American families, in the furtherance of the gospel, among the Turkish, Romanians.

As we look back we have seen God's hand leading us every step of the way. It is because of Him, that we are where we are today. From childhood, both of us ( Zachary and Verity ) have had the opportunity to be in Christian homes, and were in churches where the gospel was preached. Where we were able to come to be saved, and experience God's redeeming grace. Even before we had met, both of us had the desire to be used in God's work... wherever He would lead us. So, upon meeting and marriage, we sought the Lord's direction. And the Lord led us here...

Our work is mostly with the Turkish people in Romania. They are the POOREST people in Romania. They are a rough and tumble group of folks, who are outcasts in Romanian society. But they are receiving the gospel, and are being brought to salvation, and the knowledge of Jesus Christ. We are thankful to be a part of the work God is doing here, and look forward to many more years in His service.

Zachary, Verity, Katy, and Polly LeFevre

Below are some of our mission letters.

Had a good day yesterday. We were able to visit with my brother, sister-in-law and nephew at fellow missionary Matt Welch's house. There were eighteen of us in all. We had a wonderful time of good food and fellowship.

Went home last night and got a couple hours of sleep before my wife informed me that it was time to go to the hospital. We made an hour's drive in forty minutes just in time to deliver the baby in the car at the hospital parking lot. The baby came fast. John Levi LeFevre was born at about three forty-five this morning, weighing nine pounds, ten ounces, and twenty-one inches long. He's got some light brown/blond hair and looks like a LeFevre. That's the first baby I delivered. Verity was a big help.

Now I'm on my way home to see the other four children. I'll go back out to the hospital in the morning. Funny how the maternity hospital keeps the doors locked at night. From Bulgaria, Zachary LeFevre

"The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow." Ps 146:9 November 11, 2009

Greetings from the saints in Bulgaria. As the cold weather has come and summer work is ended the churches are filling back up. We’ve had a good summer. Now Isaac is attending a Bulgarian kindergarten in the mornings and doing first grade school work at home in the afternoons, while Maggie has started preschool at home. The older girls study at home and take violin lessons twice a week. .Verity’s due date is January seventeenth. Pray for her as this date approaches.

Once again it is our privilege to thank God for providing us with a new vehicle. Last week I bought a seven passenger Dacia Logan. Not only will it fill the needs of our family’s travel, but we’ll be able to carry more believers with us as we visit the village churches and evangelize. Thank you all for your prayers and financial contributions.

We continue to receive requests for cds and DVDs. The Lord is using these discs to take the gospel into places we cannot go.

The little girl from Brother Nasuf’s meeting that we had prayed for is doing better. The doctor’s don’t have any explanation, but her condition has temporarily stabilized. In the mean time we had a young woman come to the meetings in a nearby village. Several young women were coming to the meeting there, at first out of curiosity, which led to them liking the meeting, which will in turn lead to their faith in Christ. Kiymet knew that she needed some help from God, and seemed more serious than the others. She complained of frequent head aches. When she went to the doctor they found a tumor on her brain. In Varna she was operated on, but not given any hope of recovery. I think they gave her three months to live. Her family took her to a bigger hospital in Sofia, the capitol city, where she was operated on again. Again the doctors predicted she would live only a couple months. Now, two months have gone by. She’s recovered from the surgery, on her feet again, and even able to walk about a mile to the church. Everyone is amazed at her progress, and they say that it is due only to the prayers. Her mother came to church for the first time last week. She said that Kiymet began to recover the night we visited her and prayed for her. Please pray for this family, as we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to them.

One morning about a month ago I received a phone call from one of the believers in nearby village. There was a man there who had committed suicide that morning, and they needed help in the funeral. He had been mentally ill for sometime. They said that because of the economic crisis, which has left many people without work, he wasn't able to support his family, and he was ashamed that his children had to go to school hungry, and without new shoes. His wife had often told us that she wanted to come to church, but her husband strictly forbade it. Their children have been coming to the feedings. At the church in that village we've been feeding the poor children for about a year now. This family is so poor though, that many days the only food the children ate was at the church. I'm glad that we can feed them. Now, his wife has been coming to church. She’s found a heavenly father faithful to meet their needs.

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We hope this letter finds you contending for the faith and praying for the work here. We certainly have much to praise God for. Already this summer we've had sixty-four people baptized, and are planning another baptism this Saturday. There were many wonderful testimonies at the all night meeting after the baptism. New believers from villages all over eastern Bulgaria told of how they came to the Lord, and how God had worked in their lives. Many told of being sick, and how God had healed them. After several doctors’ visits and tests they found no help, but when they came to church the Lord touched them. Others testified about their faith in God in spite of their sicknesses. It seems that God is closer to those that suffer. All of the saints were refreshed, and looking forward to more "camp" meetings. Pray for these meetings. We plan on having at least one each month until the cold weather comes.

This month we were able to help Nasuf make some needed repairs on his car. He's able to drive to his own meetings now. For three weeks he rode a bike to the nearby villages.

I found out that the vehicle we want to buy is on sale right now. God doesn't have to give us the full amount that we were asking for, he can just lower the price! We still lack about six thousand dollars. I need to make a down payment to reserve one at the sales price. Help us to pray in the rest of the money.

There's a child from Brother Nasuf's church that is very sick and in the Varna hospital. The doctors are still doing tests. Please pray for this family. They are a blessing to the church, and they are in the middle of a difficult trial.

We are now able to send out updates on the work via e-mail on a regular basis. If you are able to receive an e-mail update, please write to us at: zacharylefevre@yahoo.com

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Greetings from Bulgaria. We just got back from five days of English church in Romania. What a blessing it was to sing our hymns again and hear preaching in English again. Between all the missionaries and their children we had a crowd of over forty people. Although I somehow couldn't sleep but about three or four hours a night, I came away rested. Three times a year we missionaries get together like that, and our meetings coincide with the campmeetings at Brookside Baptist, our mission board's church in Tennessee. During this meeting the Lord raised the rest of the money that we will need to purchase a new vehicle. We praise God for that. He's heard and answered our prayers. Thank you to those of you who prayed and who gave toward this. May God richly bless you.

During the meeting in Romania one night Brother Nathan preached and testified about the work up in Romania. He told about Brother Memet, a fifty-seven year old man that has only been saved a couple years. Memet and his family live in a town about two hours north of here, but come spend their summers in Constanta. They stay in a little shanty out at the land fill between the dump and the railroad tracks. When the dump trucks come in and dump, Memet and his family run to each new load looking for scrap metal to sell. This is the best way they have of making any money. Every Friday Brother Nathan goes out to the land fill to meet with Memet and his family. Besides them, there are a few other families doing the same work. Nathan said they spread out a large rug under a mulberry tree, the only shade in the whole lot. Sometimes others will come, and bring some cardboard to put down (so as to not sit in the dirt). The people there are so thankful. They praise God for all he's done for them. Although from a human standpoint it looks like they have nothing, they have the glory of God in their hearts.

"He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory".

A couple weeks ago Nathan brought Memet and his wife down to the meeting i Bulgaria. They were thrilled to be able to go, and enjoyed the meeting immensely. The next day they came back to Romania. Nathan said he dropped them off at the land fill and watched Memet and his wife walk back to their little shanty holding hands. It's amazing to see how God can make people who have nothing so happy.

"Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?" James 2:5

One night Brother Matt preached and told of how the Lord has worked in some of his villages.

They had gone to one of the regular churches in a certain village and a woman from the church asked them to come pray for her son. She has been saved for a long time and everyone that knows her says she has a good spirit on her. Well, they went to pray. When they got there the man was in bed, and couldn't walk. Brother Matt said he could walk maybe inch by inch and not even able to stand up straight. His older brother was there too. Both of them looked like hard men. Matt said he was sure the older he would never see the older brother again anlywhere near church, judging by his stern look. When they began to sing, the man with the bad back turned white as a sheet, they said. After some singing and preaching they prayed for him. Four days later the man and his family came to the meeting in Dabravino. He came walking into the church on his own power without a bit of pain, waving his hands and acting like he knew everybody there. It was obvious the Lord had touched him. He was almost "walking and leaping and praising God". Not only that, but his older brother was there, too. God had changed his heart as well. Both of them got baptized last month and they are thrilled to be saved.

Brother Matt told of another man. Years ago, maybe eighteen or twenty, a woman wanted to have church in her house. She got her son to build a large meeting room in their house so she could host the church. Her son was not saved, but built the room. Today the woman has passed away, but her daughter in law hosts the church in the same house. The man is still as hard as ever. Brother Matt said he would be the last one you would expect to see in church. One day they found out that there was a man there, their son, that was a little bit retarded. He stayed in the room next to the church and apparently listened every week. He knows all the hymns now. Brother Matt always visits with him every week, brings him a little snack, talks with him, and shows him love. Well, before the large meeting in Dabravino Brother Matt invited the old man to come. Even though he was anything but God-fearing he said he would come, probably because of the love that the believers had shown to his retarded son. That touched him. The man came to the meeting. All those that knew him were scared to see him in church. He stood up to testify absolutely full of joy. He said over and over again "This is the very first time I've ever been to church". But he promised he would come back every time. Only God could save the meanest man in town and make him a blessing to everybody.

It's great to be able to fellowship with the other missionaries and hear of how God is blessing. After five days of blessings though we're back in Bulgaria. The ducklings are dead and two chicks are dead, and the car broke down today. That's the way it goes.

Good news: For those of you that don't know, we're expecting another baby. We were at the doctor's office today and the doctor says it is a boy. I guess that means there is at least a fifty percent chance that it will be a boy. Verity's been a little sick, and a little weak, but is doing fine now. Her due date is in January.

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This week we've had several days of one hundred degree weather. Saturday night an electrical storm came in with heavy winds and rain. A store in the village was hit by lightning, leaving the village without power for a while. Sunday the daytime temperature was about seventy-five, though.

We have good reports of the after effects of the baptism meeting. Some of the new believers came to that meeting to be baptized, even though they were scared about going into the water for the first time in their lives. In one of our villages the man and wife that host the church in their house were both baptized along with a grown daughter. Since that time, they said, God has taken good care of them. Normally they could only earn about five dollars a day, but now they're getting close to twenty dollars a day. A happy excitement was present in the church service in their village. The new believers have joy, but don't fully understand why. We can say along with John Baptist when he saw his followers leave him to go to Jesus, This my joy therefore is fulfilled.

I had meant to write more about the meeting we had the night of the baptism. Knowing that I had to drive a couple hundred miles in the morning, I could only stay at the meeting until about four o'clock in the morning. Some of the others continued to sing until breakfast. During the testimony time that evening two men especially gave good testimonies of how they had come to Christ. Their stories were similar. Each was sick, with unbearable pain. After weeks of suffering they came to the church and bowed their knees to the Lord. Both men recovered from their illnesses speedily and left the doctors and nurses asking how it could be. They told about how God had come into their hearts, taken away the desire for alcohol, and the things of this world, and given them a desire to come to church to sing praises to Jesus. The congregation wept tears of joy while listening to these men tell what God had done for them.

Tomorrow we will be traveling, Lord willing, up to Romania for five days of fellowship with the other missionaries. We will be meeting twice a day to have church services in English. Remember to pray for us.

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Hope that you all are doing well, and praying for the work here. Our purpose in writing these regular updates is to give people good news. These days the devil is trying to wear out the saints of the most high. We hope that our weekly updates can be a refreshing and an encouragement to those who are persevering in prayer.

This week we have more good news. Saturday we had another big meeting and baptized forty-three new converts. These people came from probably twenty different villages all over southeastern Bulgaria. Each year we have a baptizing in the summer months for those who have been saved throughout the year in the various villages. This year we were not able to bring in all of those that wanted to be baptized so we had a second meeting. So far this summer we've had over a hundred baptized. There may be a few more. We'll meet with the pastors again next month to see about having another meeting.

Last week I worked with Brother Mitko proofreading the Turkish New Testament. In three days we read from Matthew through I Timothy. Today we should go through Revelation. Ever read the Bible eight hours a day?

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We had another good week here. I was able to preach nine times this week, mostly go groups of five and ten people. In the village’s people stay busy most of the summer, then are at home for the winter. We've got some new believers that want to get baptized this Saturday.

We were able to help Nasuf make some needed repairs on his car. He's able to drive to his own meetings now. For three weeks he rode a bike to the nearby villages.

I found out that the vehicle we want to buy is on sale right now. We lack about six thousand dollars. I may make a down payment to reserve one at the sales price. Help us to pray in the rest of the money.

There's a child from Brother Nasuf's church that is very sick and in the Varna hospital. The doctors are still doing tests. Please pray for this family.

I forgot to mention in last week's update that one of the ladies pictured is paralyzed, but still wanted to be baptized, so they carried her into the water.

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Trust you all had a good Independence day celebration. Here we met with other missionaries for a meal, singing, and fellowship. It rained harder than any other day of the year. On the way to Brother Welch's house we saw one car turned upside down. Most of the cars on the highway had pulled to the side of the road because of the heavy rain. That was the first real rain we've had this year. In the evening, though, it cleared up and the children were able to play outside.

I was able to attend the regular meetings with Brother Alish this week. These village meetings need prayer. We are no longer facing opposition from unbelievers, but attendance is down due to the work opportunities of the summer months. We were able to meet with one family that had not been to church in a month or more. They had been sick, but promised to come back and bring several more people with them.

There were sixty-four new believers baptized. Later in the month we'll have another meeting and baptize any who missed the first meeting. Normally we start the meeting around noon, and preach about the meaning of baptism, then go down to the river. In the evening we'll have a meal and then meet for church until about midnight when we take a break. Usually most of the believers stay and have church all night after that. At five or six in the morning we serve breakfast and take the people back to their villages.

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We had a good week here. I was able to preach again in Brother Nasuf's new village. Those new believers are a blessing to preach to. They're so ignorant of spiritual things, yet eager to hear. Thursday I went to our regular villages. The family that hosts the church in their house is moving. Pray that the Lord will open a door for us to meet in that village.

Saturday we had a baptism. There were two vans full of people from Brother Ahmet's villages. Then, the other preachers each brought in a car load. Others came on their own. Over fifty new believers were baptized. Many of them had never been in the water before, and were scared to death. Today I was talking with some of them and they told me how peacefully they slept that evening, and how happy they are today. There are still some others that could not come to this meeting, so we're planning on baptizing them later, probably next month.

This month we were able to help Brother Nasuf make some much needed repairs on his vehicle. Your prayers for the purchase of a new vehicle are not in vain. This month again we received some more money. Please continue to pray.

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I took a bus to the capitol city today to get a new passport. My old passport is still valid, but all the pages are filled with visa stamps. I even had new pages added a couple years ago.

We had a good week here, preaching in the usual villages. One lady testified that her daughter that we've been praying for is doing better. Her daughter has some kind of thyroid problems, but her mother is now a believer in Jesus as a result of our answered prayers. In another village where we've been disappointed week after week things were different. We had a good church service without any problems. In spite of our doubts, the Lord may establish a church in that village. Pray for them.

I've been able to recover at least one of the video files that we thought were of no use. We may be able to use that recording for distribution, as the whole church service was evangelistic. We're preparing some other recordings to distribute this summer. Continue to pray for us as we persevere.

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I came up here Monday morning to spend about a couple days and preach in some of the meetings. However, an evil stomach virus has prevented me from my goal. After a day of rest I'm able to get out. Today I'll preach at a meeting in Constanta, then head on home from there. Another reason for coming was to see sister Ayshe. She's been faithful to the Lord for several years and is now fighting her final battle. I'm glad I got to see her one last time.

Recently Brother Ralph printed about fifty new testaments for all the preachers and other men in the churches that wanted them. Many of these men are happy to have a Bible for the first time. Pray for them as they begin to read the word of God. The Turkish dialect spoken in Bulgaria is different, so it's difficult for the beginner.

At this time of year many of the people have begun to work out in the fields and in the mountains. We're preparing some DVDs to distribute this summer with hymns and preaching. We are also planning a baptizing in June.

I want to thank those of you who have prayed for our vehicle situation. Last month we had a couple thousand dollars extra come in. It's exciting to see God work. Continue to pray for the remainder to come in quickly.

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This week in Bulgaria things are warming up. It won’t be long until many of the people in the villages will find summer work, and the meetings may slow down some. Although we feared the possibility of the enemy closing certain meetings, we are still meeting in those villages. Things have calmed down some, and now there are new problems. I suppose there always will be. At least the door is still open.

This week we had a woman touched during the preaching. I had preached from the first fourteen verses of John chapter one. It was the most truth she had ever heard about God. She asked for special prayer for her daughter. Next week we expect good news from her. In another village it looked like there might only be two people come, but this week the woman had invited her neighbors, and they came. They seemed excited to come to church and promised to come again next week. In our northernmost village the people are very anxious to travel with us to other villages and open new churches. Pray that the Lord would open the doors up there.

Our daughter Katy is doing well after a bout with pneumonia. The other children have also made a good recovery. Thanks for your prayers.

Whenever there’s a computer involved, it seems there’s bound to be some problem in the job. We’ve worked on some new DVDs, but can’t seem to get them to record properly please keep this part of the work in your prayers as well. These recordings of our church services are our best evangelistic tool at the moment.

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We would like to thank all of you who prayed for us during the illness and passing of my father, Clyde LeFevre. The Lord has been gracious to us in these difficult times. We sorrow not as others that have no hope.

I was able to fly back and make it for the funeral. My family stayed here in Bulgaria. After a two week visit I'm back home now.

Although the time change has my days and nights mixed up, I've been in two meetings since I've been back. Sunday we had a good meeting here in our village. Brother Alish gave a good testimony from one of our new villages. We had prayed for a sick person, though I don't recall what the specific need was. Apparently that person got better and is praising the Lord now. This type of testimony shows the new people that we are of God and that the Lord answers our prayers.

Yesterday we went to a new village about thirty miles from here. They had never heard the gospel before, and they are slow to believe. The one that had invited us to come changed her mind and said she doesn't want a church now. We left some of the evangelistic DVDs and some hymnbooks. Some people outside said they would come if we had a meeting there.

Tomorrow we are going up to Romania for a week of fellowship with the other missionaries and English church.

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Spring has just about come to Bulgaria. The sun is shining and daffodils are blooming. Before too long people will begin work in the fields, so we're going to as many meetings as we can while the people are still home.

In the northern region where things have been more difficult we have seen a little progress. One lady told us she would come to church if we had one in the village, but she was not willing to host the meeting in her house. Another family had claimed to be believers but did not want to host the meeting, either, because of the opposition. In another village we heard how the man of the house stood up to the unbelievers who were against him. He told them the local Islamic religious leaders were all hypocrites that did nothing but wait for people to die so they could perform funerals and make some money, and that what he did in his own house was none of their business. Thank God for giving this man the strength to stand.

In another village the family told us not to come back, because they couldn't stand the pressure from the unbelievers, the day before church they called us on the phone and asked us to come. Several people came and met with us, and agreed to have us come back next week, although they admit to being fearful. We're praying that God would fill their souls with joy to outweigh their fears of persecution.

In two other villages, both new for us, we had short meetings with only two people present. There may be a few more Turkish gypsies in these villages, but not very many. Pray for these individuals and their villages this week.

On Wednesday we took a family with us to visit a church pastored by Brother Alish (the younger). There were about thirty people there that sang and testified for about two hours before I preached. Alish had prepared twenty hymn books for our village churches which will be put to good use.

Again, we appreciate your prayers for my dad. He is growing weaker. The hospice nurses are amazed that he is still living. I spoke with him briefly last night. He wasn't breathing well, but sounded happy.

We write this letter from Constanta Romania, where we have met with our other missionary brethren for a week of English church. We are all excited about all the testimonies that each of the missionaries bring in from their respective villages. We're all anxious to see what the Lord will do in the days ahead. Right now we're planning on recording some more DVDs. Perhaps this month we'll have three or four meetings in Dabravino and bring in people from different villages each time for recording the testimonies and preaching. The DVDs are going out everywhere including to the Moslem Turks (not just the gypsy Turks). One such Turkish man watched the DVD several times and requested a New Testament to read (which is a miracle). In other villages the real Turks are beginning to come to our meetings and ask for prayer. The miracle is two-fold. Not only are Moslems coming to a Christian meeting, but "higher class" Turks are coming to a gypsy meeting. Brother Ralph also wants to begin printing some New Testaments for distribution in the future. Right now we need to make several hundred hymn books. They cost a dollar a piece. I'm not sure what the New Testaments would cost.

In some areas the police and authorities are beginning to question our work. Thankfully we have all the legal documents we need to justify our meetings. In one village the police came to question what was going on, and Brother Robert could not communicate with him in Bulgarian very well. One of the sisters explained what they were doing. When the man threatened to arrest her she put her hands together and told him, "Get out the handcuffs." They had been preached to that it is easy to have faith and boldness in the church and in the company of other believers, but what would they do when the trials come? She responded full of joy.

In other areas the villages are harder Moslems and haven't even heard of us believers. In those places there is stronger opposition. In one village the family believes, but no one else does. They told us it might be better if we would come after dark so that no one else in the village would see us. In another village the men gathered to ask the family what we were doing there. We had only had two meetings there. After much talk and many accusations they saw that the one or two believers would not back down so they threatened that the believers could come back to the village again, but "they had better think about how they're going to make it out of here". Please pray that God would shine the light in these dark places.

In other areas people are eager to come to church. They come to the meetings, and invite the believers to their houses for prayer. People who had never heard the gospel are now believing God. Churches are opening up almost every week. One family had a child that was afflicted with a certain sickness that caused him much pain. We began praying for the boy and he got better. The father was off working in another city for a month or more and didn't believe it when his wife told him on the phone that the boy was healed. He came home and spent a day with the boy and saw how well he was, then told his wife to have the believers pray for him. In another village there were some deaf people that started coming to the meetings. Deafness ran in their family. They can talk fairly well, and can read lips, but can't hear.

After a few weeks of praying in the church the one girl began to hear in one ear. She's able to speak to people on the phone now. The entire village was amazed at this. No one can deny that God has performed a miracle. Many new people came to the church after this. Needless to say the church is packed. There's not even room to sit comfortably.

Brother Alish now has over twenty villages that he goes to a week. He cannot reach that many himself, so we have separated some of the churches for Robert to take over, and some others Brother Frank will take over. Alish will continue traveling, doing the work of an evangelist in the region where God is moving.

Here in Romania the DVDs are going out and everyone loves them. I suppose you heard the testimony about the woman who took a CD of the hymns and listened to it on the bus ride to Istanbul. When she got there she realized she didn't have the address of her sister in her purse, so she remembered what she heard on the CD about praying to God. She said a quick prayer then walked from the bus station to the nearest market. At the market someone called out her name, and it was her sister. In one of the largest cities in the world, that has over ten million people in it, God brought the two sisters together in answer to prayer. They both believed through the CD and then took it to the sister's place of work where the boss played our hymns over the intercom to 250 Moslem employees. I personally sang with the Turks on some of those recordings. I never thought my voice would reach that many people that far away. What a blessing. One of the believers here in Romania has a business selling music cassettes and CDs. She is saved and gives our gospel CDs and DVDs free of charge to everyone she meets. Recently business has been poor here in the city, so she travels to several villages now selling. God has opened the door for the gospel to go all over Romania, and we don't have to pay a dime to send it out.

Everything is exciting here. God is moving, and we recognize it. Have everyone to pray and help us get in on this "wave" to get the gospel out in Bulgaria now more than ever. Since Bulgaria and Romania have joined the European Union big things have happened. One, the cost of living here has doubled. Our American dollars aren’t worth half of what they used to be. The other thing is that the poor people here are going into every country in Europe looking for work. And they're taking the gospel with them. Help us to send it to them. We need more CDs, DVDs, gas money, and men to preach the gospel. Pray the Lord of the harvest!

"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"

“And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.” (Mark 1:38)

Again with joy we write unto you of the Lord’s work in Bulgaria and Romania. This month we were able to travel up to Constanta and enjoy a week of fellowship with the believers up there. While there, we were able to preach the gospel in three languages. Only the Lord could give us this grace.

Down in Bulgaria, we’ve enjoyed the spring time and warmer weather, using the opportunity to reach new villages. Last month we were able to preach in twenty different villages. Although in most of these villages we have had churches meeting for several years, five of them are new to us, and have no regular church. They asked us to come back. In one village, they said, “We believe in Jesus, we just don’t have anyone to come preach to us. We want a church.” In another one of the new villages they told us they’d like to become believers, but there are fifteen Moslem there, and the persecution would be too great. Please pray for the people in that village.

This week we went to a new village. While talking to a family there about starting a church, we offered some tapes and cds of the hymns and preaching, only to find that they already had some! Praise the Lord, He prepares the way for his workers! Also, we learned that some fifteen years earlier, Brother Ralph and some of the other Turkish preachers had visited that village and held a meeting. Although a church was not started at that time, there was a sick lady that they prayed for. The people of the village said that after the believers left, the lady recovered from her illness and her family has professed faith in Jesus all these years. It’s amazing to see the way that God works.

Many thanks to all of you who pray and support this work. We continue to reap the fruit of seed sown years ago, and this encourages us to sew more seed. Lord willing, we will continue going to new villages, visiting the existing churches, ministering to the saints, both here and in Romania. May God richly bless each of you.

Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor. (Ps. 68:10)

We trust this letter finds you all rejoicing in the Lord and continuing in the faith. It's turned cold here, and rainy. Sunday night there was such a thick fog that came in, we could only drive about twenty miles an hour. Sunday nights we bring the pastors and young men in for a meeting to teach them the Bible and pray for the meetings. They really enjoy that. Also, on Tuesdays we bring a couple of carloads of Turks from town out to the village, and have a bigger meeting. There's more power that way, and several people have testified how they got strength from that meeting. The name of that village in Romanian is "******", but the Turks call it "Believer's Village".

Ahmet and his family are doing well. They are gypsies and do a gypsy meeting in the village of ***. That meeting is going very well. They also have the meeting in their house. Although their house only has three rooms, they gave the biggest room for the church, and they all sleep in the two smaller rooms.

In ***** the Lord's been blessing. There is not a large crowd, but the ones that come are serious about God. Every week there's a new testimony of how God has blessed them. This week one lady testified about how someone had set her house on fire, and everything she had burnt. She said that she used to be the meanest woman in town, and would have killed them, but now she's a believer and doesn't have any anger. She forgave them. Those believers are terribly poor. They don't have wood to burn, so they burn plastic, or whatever garbage they find. Their husbands are all drunks, and don't work. Sometimes their children go hungry, but the believers don't complain, they just pray.

This weekend we should be taking some of the Turks down to Bulgaria. In ****, Brother Ralph's been having meetings every weekend, bringing in the preachers and believers from all the villages. A week or two ago they had heard down there that I was coming down, and might be bringing some of the believers from here, and they gathered up and waited for us until midnight. Sometimes they have meetings down there all day, then stay up all night singing the hymns. We're looking forward to a good time.

We thank you all for your faithful prayers and support, and hope that the Lord blesses you richly this holiday season.

"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"