Bulgaria

Bulgaria is a beautiful country located in southeastern Europe.  It borders the Black Sea, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, and Serbia.  Sofia, located in the central-western part of the country, is the capital.  This would be where our ministry will be based, if this is where God calls us to serve.  Bulgaria has a Parliamentary democracy and has good relations with the U.S.A.  There is religious freedom, but many Bulgarians don't practice religion.  If they do, it is often empty.  There is a lot of skepticism and mistrust regarding religion or even accepting friendships there because of the influences of the communistic state the Bulgarians came out of.  Despite all of this, MTW's work over there is being blessed by the Lord, and the ministry is growing.  Right now, the team over there is in the process of trying to purchase a large building to be used as a ministry center.  The team works with two local churches to help strengthen the believers and share the Gospel with the unsaved in the area.  A new work, Daughters of Bulgaria is a ministry that reaches out to the many prostitutes in Sofia.

Here are some demographic facts about the country taken from the U.S. Department of State website

Geography

Area: 110,910 sq. km. (slightly larger than Tennessee).
Major cities: Capital--Sofia 1.3 million.
Others: Plovdiv--379,493, Varna--352,674.
Terrain: Bulgaria is located in South Central Europe. The terrain is varied, containing large mountainous areas, fertile valleys, plains and a coastline along the Black Sea.
Climate: Continental--mild summers and cold, snowy winters.

People
Population (July 2009 est.): 7,204,687.
Population growth rate (2009 est.): -0.79%.
Ethnic groups (2001): Bulgarian 83.94%, Turkish 9.42%, Roma 4.68%, and other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar).
Religions (2001): Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, Roman Catholic 0.6%, Protestant 0.5%, others.
Language: Bulgarian 84.5%, other 15.5%.
Health: Life expectancy (2009 est.)--male: 69.48 years; female: 76.91 years. Infant mortality rate (2009 est.)--17.87 deaths/1,000 live births.
Work force: 2.67 million (2008 est.). Agriculture--7.5%; industry--35.5%, services--57% (2007 est.).

Black Sea

One of many mountain ranges

Sofia