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Revds Robin & Katharine King

EPIC

EPIC is a charity linking churches in the UK with churches in Eastern Europe to share and exchange the gifts they have.  Bures Parish Church is linked to the Friendship Church in Russe, a large town on the Danube in northern Bulgaria.  The pastor and his wife are Daniel and Emilia Nalbantsky.  Daniel and Emilia also have a ministry together translating, writing and printing Christian literature. They produce daily Bible Study notes called 'Spiritual Manna', which has a huge circulation across the country and amongst Bulgarian Christians abroad.  

After a wonderful Harvest collection in October 2003, we raised the money needed for the Nalbantskys and their church to buy a plot of land and build a new church. The building has facilities for health and education projects - an important part of the ministry of the church there, with so little being provided by the state.  

Chris Fox of EPIC visited our link church at the end of October.  She was there as Daniel Nalbantsky the pastor was launching the publication of his first book, a novel on the subject of four Roman soldiers who were present at Christ’s crucifixion.  He has presented us with a copy – now we must wait for a translation! 

The church has its meals programme for the elderly in full operation.  During most of the year 30 elderly and poor gather daily for a time of prayer and bible study and then take home a hot meal.  During the winter they eat the meal in the upstairs room of the church to save their heating costs.  Those who are housebound are not left out – church members take the meals to them.  The  meals are paid for by the church and distributed by them, but actually come from a nearby restaurant, giving it much needed custom.  Sunday lunch for about thirty including about ten orphans is also provided.

The orphans have got to know the church through the work done in their school and come to the regular Wednesday evening and Sunday morning services.  At present the total congregation numbers approximately 80 and is growing.

The church continues to support the unit for children with learning difficulties and this year the numbers have increased to 60.  Money from Bures funds the cookery class which provides the ingredients and the wages of two teachers.    Daniel and Emilia are delighted that these teachers and several others have joined the church.  The contact with local schools has given them the opportunity to distribute children’s bibles which are written in English and Bulgarian and are therefore welcomed by the head teachers.     

There is now a clinic which opened in November and provides basic health care and first aid free of charge to church members and neighbours.

We were able to send out with Chris four computers to be used for a computer class for young church members and other young people on Saturday mornings.   The upper floor of the church building now consists of the kitchen, the dining room (with the computers at the other end), the clinic and a good sized room for children and a crèche.  

It is wonderful to see how God is using our gifts so effectively, reaching a very spiritually and materially impoverished community.    Do continue to support and pray for EPIC and Daniel and Emilia.  

Latest news from Russe:

The renovation of the flat for orphans that will become a protected home for 6 children was finished in early March. Once they are established more children should be allowed to join them – up to about 12 in number. A pictures of the flat can be seen to the right.  Before the children can move in, there is a lot of paperwork to be done – there is a huge amount of bureaucracy which is preventing the children being moved in immediately.

The Nalbantskys were very grateful to the Bures benefice for all the money sent which enabled them to do this work. They had had a visit from a British woman who was involved with the establishing of protected homes and with the Mogilino case (a documentary shown on the BBC last December about the appalling state of Bulgarian orphanages which said that Bulgaria had more institutionalized mentally and physically disabled children than anywhere else in Europe – see www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/bulgarias-children).  She came to see the flat and was truly impressed with the work. She was accompanied by Mr. Ivan Stanchov, a former Bulgarian ambassador to the UK who is now living there.

The Nalbantskys said that there was no other church in their town as actively involved in so many social activities and supporting the children from the orphanages as theirs and it was all thanks to our generous support. However, they were not forgetting that the church was primarily responsible for spiritual growth and people coming to know Christ. At the end of March they organized a special celebration of the Annunciation and invited teachers from all the schools and homes that they’re in touch with. They had a very nice time sharing their faith and communicating with them.

The Nalbantskys also said that they finally had an operational medical room. They have a doctor who comes in twice a week to conduct checkups and people are very happy that they can receive quality medical care that is free too. It is getting more and more difficult for the people to spend money on medical care and medical care becomes more and more of a ‘luxury’ for them.  See right for a photograph of the clinic in action.

      Chris Fox, Founder of EPIC            which links churches in the UK with churches in Eastern Europe

 

 

 

 Click here to reach the EPIC web site

 

 

 

Daniel & Emilia Nalbantsky Pastors of Friendship Church

Friendship Church, Russe

Church Meeting

Interior view of half-way house for orphans

Bedroom

Kitchen

Patient and doctor in Friendship Church clinic