Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Prayer Letter February 2015

"There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God,

the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High." Psalms 46:4


Our praying friends and family in the Lord,

The Kamchia River starts high in the Balkan mountains, flowing eastward, eventually emptying into the Black Sea just south of Varna. It flows near many of the villages where we hold meetings and, in some instances, directly through the village. In fact, every summer for the past several years, we have baptized in the Kamchia where it flows nearest our central church in the village of Dabravino. Recently, due to a mild winter and prodigious rains, the Kamchia river basin has flooded. At one point, many houses adjacent to the river had to be evacuated, and many of the surrounding fields, planted in cold-weather crops, resembled vast lakes. Driving by the flooded areas with a car load of believers headed to a meeting, we couldn't help but marvel at the scope and the effects of the flooding. I was reminded of the river Ezekiel notes in chapter 47, proceeding from the sanctuary, growing ever deeper the farther it travels. Unlike the Kamchia, this "River of God" brought healing and life wherever it flowed. While Ezekiel's river is physical, I couldn't help but draw certain spiritual parallels between it and the rivers our Lord mentions in John 7:38: "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." This "river of the Spirit" proceeds from God out of the sanctuary, through believers, to bring life and healing to a world devastated by Satan and sin. Just as we witnessed the damage and loss the Kamchia's overflowing wrought, at the meeting we marveled at the scope and effects, equally as literal, the River of God has produced here among the Gypsy-Turks. While we pray for those effected by the weather, and thank God for the Kamchia's subsiding, we rejoice we have another river and pray it floods often. Like Daniel Whittle wrote, "Mercy drops round us are falling, But for the showers we plead." Pray for another heavenly deluge here in Bulgaria.

For the last two years, as many of you know, we have resided in a small apartment in Varna. We don't take for granted the Lord providing this place for us. It was what we needed and where we needed to be. With the addition of Dixie Joy and all the accoutrements a new baby requires, not to mention the increasing energy growing boys need to expend, our apartment has shrunk. We have been praying the Lord would open up something a little more suited to our expanding family for some time, but all searches and inquiries led nowhere. Just recently, however, in answer to many prayers, we found a house for rent. It is located in the village of Levski, 30 minutes to the east of where we live now. It has everything we had been looking for: a walled in yard for the boys, another bedroom for the baby, and more than double the space we have now. The icing on the cake? It's only 50 leva more a month than what we're paying now. You can't tell me our God isn't interested in details. He knows our needs better than we do. So, by the next prayer letter, Lord willing, we will be country folks again, living in a new village in a new place. Please pray for us as we make this transition.

ince late September of last year, I have been attending my brother Zachary's meetings. I welcomed the opportunity to return to these meetings. It has been good seeing his people again, especially since my ability to communicate has improved since the last time I had been in their homes. In the village of Sekulovo, the man of the house fell desperately ill. His wife, distraught by thoughts of life without him, was the very definition of importunity. She pursued us by every means at her disposal, at one point offering to come to Varna to get me; she would not be denied. When finally we returned to the village, we found the man unable to rise from his bed. We prayed for him, committing his recovery to God, and paid his way to the hospital. At the hospital, he was denied admittance due to his lack of insurance. He returned home, where we prayed for him again the following week. Returning this week, a crowd had gathered. We found him up and about, in good health and spirits. His wife testified that whatever his illness was, it was gone, and that the Lord had done what the doctors refused to do.

The Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting. His blessings are ever new and exceeding abundant. He not only knows us, he loves us and delights to help us. We thank God for every one of you. You are often in our prayers, that the Lord who has blessed us bless you more. We miss you all. Please keep us on your hearts and in your prayers. Our needs and the needs of this work are many, and every one known to God, and we rest in the promise that He will meet them all for His glory. We love you all.


Because of a living Saviour,


The William LeFevre Family

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