From Our Team in the Field

June, 07.2008 Sofia, Bulgaria

Dear elders, brothers and sisters in Christ!

Greetings from Sofia, Bulgaria and Hristo and Vania Arnaudov - servants of God!
May God's grace and peace be upon you!
We thank God for His power and endless love, for His constant presence in our life and ministry.
We thank all of your for your encouragement, prayers and financial support.

After we had returned to our native Bulgaria, our goal was to quickly readapt to the new environment and life style. It turns out that it is not that easy, quick or as unproblematic as we had thought. We are facing difficulties with the bureaucracy and all the requirements for residence and auto registration, communication, taxes, and insurance which are all new to us. Thus, we continue to learn and work hard towards adapting to our new life in our homeland after almost 14 years as immigrants in another country.

Upon our return we contacted our brothers and sisters who were members of the church in Athens and who had returned to Bulgaria before us. Plamen Alexandrov, Annie Georgieva, Lily Stoyanova, and Stefka Ivanova have all responded to the idea for us to meet as a home group and begin a new ministry. This was our first step towards our goal of serving the Lord in Sofia.

We also met with another small group of 10-12 brothers and sisters who became Christians about 3-4 years ago but do not have a preacher. Currently we are getting to know each other personally and our faith in the Lord so we would be able to clarify our goals and visions about a possible ministry together. We gather in a small apartment which can hold about 20 people. I am teaching them some spiritual songs and hymns to praise the Lord, and preaching on subjects like "The New Testament Worship," "The Unity in the Church of Christ" (Ephes. 4:4-6), and "The Vision for Growth" (Ephes. 4:7-16).

Our goal is to unite those who seek and serve the Lord and lead them towards active sharing of the Gospel. Along with this goal, my desire is to begin an active singing group. I realize this will not be easy, and it will require a lot of hard work and patience. However, Vania and I have devoted ourselves to God and believe that He will help us, and we will be successful in these efforts for His Name's Glory!
Our studies continue successfully. Last month I completed the "Homiletics" course in accordance with the syllabus at UBI in Sofia. Vania has returned to Athens to complete her last semester at Sunset International Bible School and will be graduating on June 14.

My plan is to travel to Athens for 2-3 days and have the opportunity to preach to the Bulgarian congregation at Omonia on June 15.
Our plea to you dear brothers, sisters and friends in Christ is to pray for us and our ministry. Once again, we thank you for everything you do for us, and we pray that God will bless you richly!

In His Grace,

Hristo and Vania Arnaudov
Ministers of the Lord