БХСС - лицата се сменят, мисията остава.

BHSS: players change, mission remains unchanged.

A Volunteer's Experience in Student Work

Here is what a friend of mine, Anna, shared about her experience as a volunteer with MEKDSZ Hungary:

The history of my volunteer work with MEKDSZ (Hungarian Fellowship of Evangelical Students) goes back to the 1990s! It lasted six years as my studies were somewhat extended ( I changed subjects after two years of study) and I must say I do not regret it at all. Neither the prolonged years at university, nor volunteering for MEKDSZ, rather, the opposite is true. I can say that together with all the ups and downs I thoroughly enjoyed all those years! People say one’s years at university are the highlights in life as one can do whatever he/she wants without having too much responsibility. The university years give the opportunity for youth to party after party. As for me, I agree with the bit that the years one spends in college education are really special and give much more freedom than the years before or after BUT those years for me were not about ’the freedom for its own sake’. I have never been a party girl but am very social and would not be entirely happy if I had to spend a week alone e.g. in a forest with no people around.

Thus it is not surprising that I ended up becoming one of the leaders in the MEKDSZ group in Janus Pannonius University in Pécs, south-west Hungary. It is a special gift from God that I had a role there and another gift that I was not responsible for the group entirely by myself but always worked in a team with others. Since I like organizing things and going after people these took a major part in my responsibilities; also I enjoyed maintaining a booktable at our university. We set up the booktable on a weekly basis for two or three years!
Tha national organization provided training and support regularly for all groups in the country, these took place both locally and centrally. It was nice that the centrally organized trainings not always took place in Budapest but in other places of the country as well.

The hours I spent with volunteer work are impossible to count, because I haven’t considered the ministry to be any kind of work. I did everything with pleasure and out of the love Christ gave me by saving my life and directing me to take part in leading others to become christians and/or taking being a christian seriously. I mean serving others is part of us being christians and it is not a duty like doing household jobs or the like. As I understood from God, it is a way of life, a very special opportunity to take part in God’s work. Actually, due to all this, my struggle came when after 6 years of ”volunteering” for MEKDSZ I became a full time staff worker. I even felt ashamed for getting payed for doing something as a job very similar to what I used to do for many years in my freetime!

Coming back to the training and support received int he MEKDSZ group, we were helped both in our own spiritual growth and understanding of what the Bible teaches us, and were mentored by travelling secretaries. We were provided with help in leading the group, mentoring group members, organizing special events, arranging outreaches at the university (e.g. 3-day evangelism) and of course with encouragement when things were not going the way we expected and felt blue and disappointed. We were certainly looked after well. Even though speaking of years before the age of e-mailing/facebook.etc. We corresponded by regular mail and used phone boots as neither we nor the staff workers had cell phones and making calls from the student hall of residence was hard too!


It’s pretty difficult to pick one encouraging story as there are many of them BUT perhaps one of the greatest miracles for us was the occasion when we got permission for having our fellowship group meetings held on campus. It turned out that at the time when we asked for permission to use a room regularly at university for Bible studies there was a meeting at the dean’s office that several professors attended. I cannot recall the number of participants, I only know there were more than 6 people and us, the two leaders of the MEKDSZ group with a request for permission and handmade A3-size-poster with the invitation for the Bible study group on it in our hands. We knew a lot of people were praying for us when paying the visit at the dean’s office, that’s how we dared entering the room... When we told the purpose of our visit, the dean took the poster and gave it to the professors who all read it one by one. Some of them were nodding when reading it through and in the end they all agreed this course was worth supporting and wished us success! So we got the permission right on spot!! It is an experience that is hard to forget.


Another highlight that must be shared whenever I recall those years of ’volunteering’ for MEKDSZ is our daily prayer meetings in a central location of the city. We got a room in a Catholic church that we could use every single weekday morning between 7:15 and 7:45. There were only a few catholics among us, bu the priest was really open in the parish and felt being honored by approaching him with our request for a place for morning devotions run by ourselves. Perhaps the maximum number of people can be seated there is 20 and I am glad to say there were days when we filled the chapel room. And there were many days when there were ’only’ three of us BUT we didn’t mind. Of course we prayed others would join us too because those morning praise and prayer time with a short devotion included made such a difference on our days!

We took turns in leading the devotions and that was also special. God blessed us soooo much there. I wish from the bottom of my heart that everyone experiences something like that. Continuous fellowship with others in serving the Lord together on a regular basis. That is dear to God for sure and enriching for individuals.
Let me close with some words from the Bible that I can relate to my experiences with the MEKDSZ group in Pécs university and ever since. If we have the right attitude and approach to work we can experience the PEACE OF GOD indeed: ”Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anyhing is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” /Philippians 4,4–9/

Български

Eто какво сподели Анна, една моя позната от MEKDSZ, Унгария, относно своя опит като доброволен сътрудник в унгарското студентскадвижение.

Моята доброволческа работа в MEKDSZ започва още в началото на 90-те. Бях доброволен сътрудник 6 години, тъй като се прехвърлих в друга специалност две години след началото на следването си. Трябва да кажа, че не съжалявам изобщо – нито за по-дългото си следване, нито за работата като доброволец за MEKDSZ, а точно обратното. Мога да кажа, че макар и не винаги всичко да е вървяло по мед и масло, това бяха едни прекрасни години! Казват, че годините в университета са най-хубавото нещо в живота, защото човек може да прави каквото си иска без да има големи отговорности. Следването в университета е един непрекъснат купон. Съгласна съм, че в университета човек има много повече свобода, отколкото след това, НО за мен тези години не бяха свързани с този вид ‘свобода’. Никога не съм била купонджийка, но съм много общителна и нямаше да съм много щастлива, ако трябваше да прекарам цяла седмица сама – например в гората, без хора наоколо.

Затова не е изненадващо, че се оказах един от лидерите в групата на MEKDSZ в университета в Печ, югозападна Унгария. Считам за специален подарък от Бога, че имах тази роля, и за друг подарък, че не се налагаше да отговарям сама за групата, но винаги работех в екип с другите. Понеже съм добър организатор и обичам да се грижа за хората, тези неща бяха моя основна отговорност. Освен това ми харесваше да отговарям за книжния щанд в нашия университет, който поддържахме един ден от седмицата в продължение на 2-3 години!

Националната организация редовно предоставяше обучение и подкрепа за всички групи в страната на местни и национални форуми. Харесваше ми, че последните се провеждаха не само в Будапеща, но и на други места в страната. Не знам колко часа седмично съм работила, защото никога не съм си давала сметка – това за мен не беше работа. Правех всичко с удоволствие и поради любовта, която Христос ми е дал, заедно със спасението и желанието да помагам на другите да стават християни и да гледат на християнството сериозно. Искам да кажа, че да служим на другите е част от това да си християнин, а не задължение, като например да се грижиш за домакинството. Бог ми помогна да осъзная, че това е начин на живот, много специална възможност да участвам в Божието дело. Всъщност, поради всичко това, имах вътрешна борба дали да приема да стана служител на пълно работно време след 6 години на ‘доброволна работа’ за MEKDSZ. Даже се срамувах, че ще получавам пари за нещо много подобно на това, което правех дълги години в свободното си време!

Благодарение на обучението и подкрепата, която получавахме в студентската група, ние можехме да израстваме духовно и да разбираме по-добре Библията. Освен това имахме срещи за ученичество с работниците на движението. Те ни помагаха във воденето на групата, в съветването на членовете на групата, организирането на евангелизации в университета (напр. 3-дневни евангелизационни прояви) и разбира се с насърчение, когато нещата не се развиваха по очаквания начин и ние се чувствахме обезсърчени. Наистина се грижеха добре за нас, макар и тогава все още да нямаше имейл, фейсбук и т.н. Кореспондирахме с обикновени писма и се обаждахме от телефонните будки, тъй като нито ние, нито работниците имаха мобилни телефони, а да се обадиш от общежитието също беше трудно! 

Ако трябва да споделя за едно насърчително нещо, може би най-голямото чудо за нас беше, когато получихме разрешение нашата група да се среща в университета. Случи се така, че точно когато отидохме да помолим за разрешение да използваме една аудитория за библейско изучаване, в кабинета на ректора имаше ректорски съвет. Присъстваха 6 човека, плюс ние, двамата лидери на групата на MEKDSZ, с молба за разрешение и ръчно изработен А3 постер с покана за библейско изучаване. Знаехме, че много хора се молят за нас в момента, затова се осмелихме да влезем в кабинета... Когато казахме защо сме дошли, ректорът взе постера и го даде на професорите, които го прочетоха един по един. Някои от тях кимаха, докато четяха и накрая всички те се съгласиха, че този курс си заслужава да бъде подкрепен и ни пожелаха успех! Така че, получихме разрешение направо на място!! Никога няма да забравя този момент.

Друго запомнящо се нещо за годините на ‘доброволчество’ за MEKDSZ бяха всекидневните молитвени събирания в центъра на града. Получихме помещение в католическата църква, която можехме да използваме всяка сутрин между 7:15 и 7:45 ч. В групата ни имаше само няколко католици, но свещеникът беше много отворен и дори се почувства поласкан, че сме го помолили за място за сутрешни събития, които да провеждаме. Стаята побираше 20 човека, но имаше дни, когато беше препълнена с хора. Имаше и такива, когато бяхме ‘само’ трима човека, НО това не ни пречеше. Разбира се, молехме се и други да се присъединят, защото това време на поклонение и молитва правеше дните ни различни! Редувахме се във воденето им и това също беше страхотно. Бог ни благославяше тоолкова много там. От цяло сърце искам всеки да може да го преживее. Да има продължително общение с другите в служение на Господа заедно на редовни срещи. Това е благоугодно на Бога и обогатяващо за хората.

Нека завърша с текст от Библията, който свързвам с опитностите си от групата на MEKDSZ в Университета в Печ. Ако имаме правилното отношение и подход към работата, наистина можем да преживеем БОЖИЯ МИР: „Радвайте се всякога в Господа! Пак казвам: Радвайте се! Вашата кротост да бъде позната на всички човеци; Господ е близо. Не се безпокойте за нищо, но във всяко нещо с молитва и молба изказвайте прошенията си на Бога с благодарение; и Божият мир, който никой ум не може да схване, ще пази сърцата ви и мислите ви в Христос Исус. Най-накрая, братя, всичко, което е истинно, което е честно, което е праведно, което е чисто, което е любезно, което е благодатно, ако иманещо добродетелно и ако има нещо похвално - това зачитайте. Това, което сте и научили, и приели, и чули, и видели в мене, него вършете; и Бог на мира ще бъде с вас” (Фил. 4:4-9).

Is Anything Worth Believing In? Lessons from the Eastern Bloc

John Lennox, Jan de Vries
University of California, Berkeley
5 April 2011
Over the course of human history, ideas have come and gone, countless religions into existence, and movements for change have succeeded and failed. Amidst all that is out there, the question remains: what, if anything, is worth believing in? Come find out as professor of mathematics and apologist John Lennox gives his response, drawing from his experiences with atheism and theism in Eastern Europe.

Text an Easter Cake

April 17 (Palm Sunday) 2011
Varna, Bulgaria


After my return from the mission week in England I shared with our students about the UCCF idea to provoke the interest of non-Christian students to Christianity by the ‘text a toastie’ initiative (the CU invited non-Christian students to text a question about God or Christianity to a phone number, and then went to answer and bring a free toasted sandwich).

Some of our students got enthused and we decided to give it a try but contextualising it first: we decided to bring an ivy branch and an Easter cake to students instead. Traditionally Eastern Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria go to church on Palm Sunday bringing ivy branches with them (there are no palm trees in Bulgaria). The Easter cake (kozunak) is eaten on Easter and symbolises the love of God poured on the cross for us. Since students go home for Easter we decided to treat them with Easter cake the Sunday before.

We put up posters a few days ahead but since some of them were taken down (it happens often with our posters), we decided to go and invite students in person to text us. On Friday and Saturday we visited 3 dorms, knocking on the doors and handing out colourful flyers with the phone number they could text to their questions, and promised to come back, answer and treat them on the occasion of Palm Sunday and Easter. We met many students and even had some interesting chats about faith with some of them. They were astonished that we had made the effort to invite them in person to participate and that we would come again to answer their questions!

On Sunday we presented our initiative at the church most of our students come from and asked the people to pray for us. After the service a lady came to us and gave us money for the Easter cakes – there was more than enough to cover all the expenses.

After church on Palm Sunday 13 students got together in one of the rooms of the student hostel where some Christian students live. We had got 4 questions from 6 students already: “What do we celebrate on Palm Sunday?”, “Is there life after death?”, “Who crucified Christ on the cross?”, “Why do we use ivy branches on Palm Sunday?” After we talked about how we could answer them and everyone shared their insight, we prayed for more texts and for God’s presence with us while we are giving the answers. Then we split into groups of two and each picked a question to answer. Then we got two more texts: “Does Christianity forbid us to eat meat?” and “Is Katya the girl who tends the flock of ducks in front of the gates of heaven?” By the room and hostel number we knew this was a joke since one of us knew her. Nevertheless we decided to answer the question!

Some conversations were pretty short – after we answered the question and saw there was no further interest we would finish the conversation within 5 minutes. But more often the case was that the first question provoked others and some chats continued for an hour! We talked about the meaning of Palm Sunday and Easter, about heaven and hell, about the meaning of life, is there reincarnation, the person of Jesus Christ and God, about Dunovism (a Bulgarian syncretistic cult founded by Petar Dunov), sin and repentance, etc.

The students would thank us for coming. We also gave most of them the BHSS Breakthrough gospels of John and invited them to come to the student group. A student asked us whether this was a charity campaign and whether we would collect more money provided we got more text messages.  Altogether about 150 students were provoked to think about the meaning of Palm Sunday and Easter.
On the next day we texted them a ‘thank-you’ message for having taken part in our initiative and left a phone number for future contact. One of them texted back: “Thanks, it was a pleasure for me to take part in it”.

Besides the fact that many students heard the good news of Jesus Christ, the second important result was that we contributed for a more positive attitude among students towards the Christian community in Varna. Often our evangelistic campaigns repel people and make them suppress even the slightest interest they might have to Christianity. Just before we went to the dorms they were visited by some Mormons and maybe this made some students never open their door when we knocked. But those who opened the door were pleasantly surprised and will remember this encounter all their lives!

Another result was that now our students are more confident to share their faith. We offered some ‘on the move’ training in answering difficult questions about Christianity. They got some experience in having conversations with strangers and now want to do something similar next semester. They saw that sharing the faith can be a natural and cool experience, without putting people off. They realised that when they come together they can achieve more for God. One of the non-Christian students, after she heard about the idea, said: “Finally someone showed attention to students!” From her perspective we, just a few students from the BHSS group in Varna, were almost like representatives of the state which finally considered them. Our small group had a great impact because we serve a great God!

And finally, the initiative was a striking example of interaction between 1) two student movements and 2) BHSS and a local church. We thought of it after we interacted with UCCF and then were supported by a local church with prayer and giving for running it. Such an cross-cultural and local partnership, realised in a single project, births new ideas, provides more resources, and witnesses of the big potential of local Christian communities to reach out to unbelievers when they are united by a single goal – the cause of the good news in the city.

Please, pray for:
- God to continue working in the hearts of these students and bring them to saving faith
- Our students to keep in touch with their new friends and invite them to the student group meetings
- More initiatives of the kind in the future, contributing to the positive image of Christians in our society

BHSS Leadership Conference Liaskovets 2010

The annual Leadership Conference took place from 5 to 7 March 2010 in Manastira Hotel in Liaskovets. Besides the leaders from Sofia, V. Turnovo, Varna, Pazardzhik and Russe there was a representative of Burgas where there isn’t a group at present, and two Indian students from the Internationals group in Sofia. Unfortunately, the groups in Shumen, Svishtov and Blagoevgrad were not represented at the conference.

The event was opened by the BHSS volunteer in V. Turnovo, Mimi, who encouraged the participants to serve with deeper commitment to their groups by reading grads’ testimonies about their time in BHSS. After the inspiring praise and worship, led by Toshko, every morning Joro and Megi would offer a passage for Bible study in small groups. Afterwards the students were able to get practical skills on leading by giving their feedback to the Bible study leader. In two seminars Trif and Vanya challenged the participants to grow as servants and shepherds for their groups by committing to serve with insight and foresight, and to immitate the Good Shepherd in leading their groups. The Training by Experience Session, led by Peter helped the students to learn to take a risk and work as a team. The Panel-discussion with Masks” showed what kind of difficulties lie behind the job of the staff-worker. Peter led another session on “Planning the Semester” and through case studies stressed the importance of Christian students being acquainted with their universities and small groups if they want to be effective messangers of the good news in them. At the end Vanya and Mimi encourated the participants to model thanksgiving and encouragement in the members of their groups. Finally, before leaving, some of the leaders managed to organise mutual exchange of visits with other groups.

A Helping Hand for Moldovian Bulgarians

From 1 to 8 May 2010 a BHSS student team is going to visit a few Bulgarian cities and villages in Moldova in order to bring literature and share the gospel with the people. They will also give an evangelistic talk at the Bulgarian Taraklia University.

Bulgarian expatriates have lived there since the middle ages. More recently, big groups of Bulgarians migrated after the Russia - Turkey wars in 1806 and 1832, escaping Turkish genocide. They couldn't avoid Stalin's genocide, though. Together with 8 millions of Ukrainians, 100 000 Bulgarians have been killed by the Bolsheviks through starvation in the 30s and 40s of the 20th century. These people love Bulgaria but are virtually forgotten by our authorities. It is a privilege and joy for us to be able to undertake this mission.

Here is a link to the video clip I made:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw49YGJNljE

Those who are interested in helping:

Gifts can be sent to

The Bulgarian Christian Student Union, UniCredit Bulbank Ltd., Kaloyan Branch, BIC: UNCRBGSF, IBAN: BG39UNCR76301139276954 (USD)

If you have questions, let me know at: trifvanya@mbox.contact.bg

europe: publicly communicating the gospel in universities

Earlier this month, 80 people from 30 countries gathered to attend the IFES Europe Evangelists Conference in Austria. They were mostly from Europe but a few people came from as far as Central Asia, South Pacific and North America to observe. This is the second conference of its kind and aims to develop public evangelism in the different countries.

Immediately following the conference, teams were partnering with different IFES movements in publicly communicating the gospel in universities in six cities of Europe: Budapest University in Hungary, Prague University in the Czech Republic, Ljubljana University in Slovenia, Vienna University in Austria, Belgrade University in Serbia, and Skopje University in Macedonia.

Some friends from Slovenia wrote after the event: 'A highlight of the trip was the lecture at the philosophical department for 30 students and three professors at the university. The theme was "The New Atheism" and the response was very positive - the professors actually asked if we could come back! A team member prayed with one girl who became a Christian. Praise the Lord!

'The second highlight was the public debate at the university in Ljubljana. It was held in a small room, with about 50 chairs, but became packed with 80 students. The debate went well; the Christian students were encouraged and a number of non-Christians challenged.'

Over the last couple of years, a total of 130 people have attended the Evangelists Conferences. Pray that 50 of them will become public evangelists for universities in Europe, strengthening the ministry of the 25 people who are already working in that area. Pray too for God's direction and blessings on the plans to develop similar programs for Eurasia, and possibly for the South Pacific and Canada too.

Outreach in Macedonia

Right after coming back from Austria I headed for Skopje, Macedonia, where together with a group of InterVarsity Canada and Peter from BHSS we were involved in an outreach at the state university St. Cyril and Methodius. I had the time just to go to the BHSS office and have some food, before Peter came and we both went to the bus station.

Just before the getting on the bus I saw a familiar face among the passengers. I had never seen this man but I knew who he was. So, I approached him and asked: "Excuse me, are you Mr Lyubcho Kurtelov?" He nodded and then we started chatting and finished only half an hour before getting to Skopje at 11 p.m., in order to get a short nap.

Lyubcho Kurtelov is one of the most prominent people working for the cause of promoting the Bulgarian cause in Macedonia. He is a great-grand son of Dimitar Miladinov, a great writer of the Macedonian Renaissance. He spoke with big love for Macedonia and gave me a lot of information about his initiatives and the present state of the affairs between our countries. He is not only very intelligent but speaks with humility and wisdom that many Christians in our churches can learn from. He invited me to visit him in Ohrid and since I had never been there we made arrangements that I would go after the mission in Skopje.

In Skopje we had great time. Two days we would go to advertise the events in the evenings and invite students at the dorms and uni. We had great conversations, especially the second day. The first evening Nicola gave a speach on "How We Can Get a Better Citizenship". There were about 10 non-Christians, which was great. The second evening we had a Canadian culture night, and again there were about 10-15 non-Christians.

I also met with Mariyan Rizinski and another guy called Deyan, members of the Bulgarian Culture Club in Skopje, which works for promoting the connections between our countries. They gave me some ideas about possible future cooperation between our organisations. Peter and I also visited the Bulgaria Culture Information Center and made a small donation of BHSS books. We plan to bring more books in the future and even hold a presentation for the local students who want to apply for studying in Bulgaria.

The last night in Skopje we visited a couple for a dinner. We met with them the first night at a billiards club - he was from Skopje, and she from Kenia. It was fun as his descent was even more mixed - his mother was Polish and she met with his father while taking a holiday in ... Varna. We had a great time, speaking about their lives, about what we do, Christianity, etc.

Then, yesterday morning I left very early for Ohrid. I had been quite tired since I didn't sleep a lot. But most of the time I just couldn't sleep since the scenery was so beautiful - mountain ranges with trees of all colors, as if it is still September (Ohrid is quite south-ward). I got there at about 9:30 and from the bus station Lyubcho, I and a couple of other old gentlemen went to the Memorial Service for the Bulgarian soldiers who died in a First World War battle that has taken place in a village nearby. I met interesting guys there, mostly old ones, from the people with Bulgarian identity in Macedonia. Was even able to speak a lot about Christianity with some of them.

Then went back and met with Lyubcho's wife Snejana and their 10 year old daughter Katerina. We spoke a lot and they asked quite many questions about Christianity. Both are very intelligent and friendly. Today is my last day in Ohrid. So, we will go to see the king Samuil fortress and the old town of Ohrid. Tonight I am leaving for Sofia and from there hope to get the train to Varna.

Identity Revolution

Under this heading the National conference of BCSU took place in The Lesoparka hotel near Lyaskovets from 23rd to 25th October. More than 60 students from Bulgaria, 2 students from Bosnia and Herzegovina аnd 2 from India and 1 from Germany attended the event. As a kind of support several graduates from Sofia and Varna also attended the conference.

The main expositions on The Epistle to the Galatians were delivered by Nikola Galevski, General Secretary of Exodus, Macedonia. In an appropriately decorated for the event hall, in five consecutive sessions he managed to provoke the students to think about those aspects of their national identity that could be a stumbling stone for spreading the good news and to prioritize their belonging to the crucified and risen Christ (Galatians 2:20). As the law in the past made the Galatians compromise the truth, we - the people on the Balkans - carry a big historical baggage that prevents us from being a good testimony to our colleagues. If we want God to use us for transforming their lives, we should be really a part of their lives, getting to know them better, loving them and taking care about them.

The seminars were equally challenging. According to Tim Awtrey, holiness is the thing that God wants us to be and it is measured by our relationships with God and people, whereas our workoholism is its enemy. With his intrinsic humbleness and erudition, Veniamin Peev challenged us to disarm the opponents of the Gospel by means of Christ's love. Doniy Donev acquainted the students with the ways they cоuld use Google Wave for the Lord as well as other similar means of online communication and information exchange. After considering the reasons for sharing the good news and the obstacles for doing it, Petar Valkov and Trif Trifonov encouraged the students to use unconventional, creative methods for spreading the good news at university, sharing their personal experience and that of other student movements.

Quite memorable will remain the games in groups, prepared by Vanya. Devided into 4 teams, the students were to overcome a lot of obstacles and challenges like running down a steep slope, searching for hidden objects, finding the missing words in verses from Galatians, walking blindfold, staying propped only by hands, skipping the rope simultaneously in threes and so on. Eventually, every one was tired but extremely happy because they had managed to do the things as a team.

Certainly the conference offered a lot of other memorable things such as morning prayer led by Niki, small discussion groups, praise and worship (led by a group from Varna and a Bosnia student), informal time, cultural presentations, etc. We believe that everything in the program has contributed to the building up of the students God making a real revolution in our identity and relationships.

BHSS National Conference

THEME AND PROGRAM

This year the BHSS National Conference starts with lunch on 23 October (Friday) and ends up by 4 p.m. on 25 October (Sunday). Main speaker will be Nikola Galevski (Gen Sec of Exodus Macedonia). He will speak on the Letter to the Galatians. There will be tracks on ‘Holiness’, ‘What the Full Good News Include’, ‘Choices We Make in a Pluralist World’, and ‘Ethnic/Racial Reconciliation’. Other than that, there will be small groups, a seminar on ‘What Is a Student Movement’, cultural evening, sports, etc. There will be groups of students from both Exodus Macedonia and BSKSh Albania, and possibly, other IFES movements.


FEE

The fee is 35 euro for participants from Eastern Europe and 80 euro for Western Europe. It covers two nights plus full boarding. It does not include travel to the venue. If you come from Romania, a return bus ticket from Russe to Veliko Turnovo (about 100 kms away from Russe) would cost about 10 euro. If you come from Macedonia, Greece or Serbia, a return bus ticket from Sofia to Veliko Turnovo (about 240 kms away from Sofia) would cost about 18 Euro.


TRAVEL

From Veliko Turnovo we can help with the transportation to the venue in Liaskovets (Liaskovets is 6 kms away from Veliko Tarnovo). The participants will be accommodated in a nice hotel, so you don’t need to bring sleeping bags or bed sheets. Things you will need: Bible, pen and textbook, comfortable clothes and shoes, items to present your culture with and openness to meet with people from other IFES movements. Main expositions will be given in English. There will be English interpreters provided for the seminars and the small groups.


HOW TO APPLY

Your application can be send via email and should include your first and family name, university name, year at university, name of your organization (IFES movement), city address, country of residence, email address, and telephone number. Please, send your questions and applications to Trif & Vanya Trifonovs, trifvanya@mbox.contact.bg . In case you need visa for Bulgaria, contact your National Movement or email the BHSS National Office (office@bhss-org.com ) in Sofia so we might send a letter of invitation.

Summer Project 2009

Summer Project 2009

Before the New Wave we joined the students at SP2009 for the second week in Liaskovets. It was as great as ever! This time there were more new believers rather than non-believers on Bulgarian part. So, the small groups were more for building people up rather than evangelism. Again the most powerful experience for me was the social action day when we went to an elderly people's house, a kindergarten and a school. Vanya, I and the kids came with us to the elderly people's house and we had the opportunity to hold a mini church service, share about our faith and sing Christian songs before about 40 people. Afterwards we chatted with many of them in the court yard. Other than that the program was again very interesting and full of events. Vanya and I helped with the Bulgarian culture event, and with the translation. Next year it will be us who will be in charge of the project as Tania and Craig are leaving for the States. Haven't done that for 4 years so we are looking forward to it!