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"I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth."
Psalm 121:1

 
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URGENT PRAYER REQUEST

By now, many of you have seen our posts regarding proposed amendments to Bulgaria's Religious Denominations Act. The parliament of Bulgaria are scheduled to vote on Friday, November 16 whether the amendments will pass. These changes will severely affect religious freedom in Bulgaria–as one of our Bulgarian friends said, "They are harsher than what we faced under communism!"

Some of the proposed restrictions include:
  • Only Bulgarian citizens, trained at either the Bulgarian Orthodox or Muslim seminaries, will be allowed to serve as pastors, without special permission from the government to recognize their education from other schools or seminaries. This would virtually render all of the protestant pastors in the country as at least temporarily illegal - if they can go through the lengthy governmental approval process (it is unclear how many, if any, would actually be approved).
  • Only congregations of 300 or more will be recognized as legal churches. This would eliminate a substantial majority of protestant churches.
  • Religious activities (including Bible studies, trainings, etc.) can only be carried out in buildings recognized as 'official' church buildings.
  • Religious donations from outside of Bulgaria will not be allowed, except for buildings or social work, without special permission from the government.
  • It will restrict foreigners from performing religious duties in the country. This includes preaching, teaching, leading, etc.
These amendments are being put forth under the guise of preventing terrorism through radicalism, but they blatantly defy both the Bulgarian constitution and the European Union position on human rights. There are no churches in Bulgaria who agree with the changes, and even Bulgarian academics are speaking out against them.

We don't really know how or why this has gotten as far as it has. What we do know is that religious freedom is being threatened, and that God is bigger. We are asking you to take time to pray seriously for the members of the Bulgarian parliament, and that God would open their eyes and their hearts and cause them to vote down these oppressive measures. In addition, you can contact the Bulgarian embassy in Washington and let them know–in a kind, loving, but firm way–that these amendments cannot be allowed to stand. You can find the contact information here.

If passed, we don't really know exactly how it would affect us. We are in Bulgaria with missionary visas, and no one really knows what will happen with those. While the BigHouse Foundation is not registered as a religious organization, we would no longer be able to serve as leaders in youth ministry, have our home Bible study, preach or teach in churches or at camps, etc. In short,
 

THIS IS A REALLY BIG DEAL. PLEASE PRAY!

 
install heavy restrictions for foreigners to perform religious duties in the country. The only way a foreigner (a missionary, a preacher, a teacher, an evangelist, etc.) could conduct a worship service or preach a sermon would be if he is doing it jointly with a Bulgarian ordained minister.
See more: http://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/3936/Despite_vehement_protests_Bulgarian_state_moves_new_religious_legislation?fbclid=IwAR0Wlk00T-SbKrkFBg_9zBYT_Xu0yd5yrfVEWcLp1LkkzJwn_nFR4n71u-Q
install heavy restrictions for foreigners to perform religious duties in the country. The only way a foreigner (a missionary, a preacher, a teacher, an evangelist, etc.) could conduct a worship service or preach a sermon would be if he is doing it jointly with a Bulgarian ordained minister.
See more: http://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/3936/Despite_vehement_protests_Bulgarian_state_moves_new_religious_legislation?fbclid=IwAR0Wlk00T-SbKrkFBg_9zBYT_Xu0yd5yrfVEWcLp1LkkzJwn_nFR4n71u-Q
install heavy restrictions for foreigners to perform religious duties in the country. The only way a foreigner (a missionary, a preacher, a teacher, an evangelist, etc.) could conduct a worship service or preach a sermon would be if he is doing it jointly with a Bulgarian ordained minister.
See more: http://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/3936/Despite_vehement_protests_Bulgarian_state_moves_new_religious_legislation?fbclid=IwAR0Wlk00T-SbKrkFBg_9zBYT_Xu0yd5yrfVEWcLp1LkkzJwn_nFR4n71u-Q
install heavy restrictions for foreigners to perform religious duties in the country. The only way a foreigner (a missionary, a preacher, a teacher, an evangelist, etc.) could conduct a worship service or preach a sermon would be if he is doing it jointly with a Bulgarian ordained minister.
See more: http://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/3936/Despite_vehement_protests_Bulgarian_state_moves_new_religious_legislation?fbclid=IwAR0Wlk00T-SbKrkFBg_9zBYT_Xu0yd5yrfVEWcLp1LkkzJwn_nFR4n71u-Q
install heavy restrictions for foreigners to perform religious duties in the country. The only way a foreigner (a missionary, a preacher, a teacher, an evangelist, etc.) could conduct a worship service or preach a sermon would be if he is doing it jointly with a Bulgarian ordained minister.
See more: http://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/3936/Despite_vehement_protests_Bulgarian_state_moves_new_religious_legislation?fbclid=IwAR0Wlk00T-SbKrkFBg_9zBYT_Xu0yd5yrfVEWcLp1LkkzJwn_nFR4n71u-Q
Last Sunday, thousands of Christians gathered in cities across Bulgaria to peacefully protest the proposed amendments. These people are gathered in front of the parliament building in Sofia.

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 121

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