Pray for Bulgaria

Week of June 23-29, 2014

In the News: Bulgaria floods: At least 12 killed in Varna and Dobrich

At least 12 people have died and several are missing after torrential rain and heavy floods hit eastern Bulgaria, officials say.

Floodwaters in the Black Sea port city of Varna surged up to 1m (3.2ft).

Many residents had to be rescued as cars were swept away. Hundreds have been left without electricity or food.
"The tragedy is enormous. I am here on a street in the suburb of Asparuhovo. The street is not here, the houses are not here, there are cars on top of each other," Varna mayor Ivan Portnih was quoted by the Reuters new agency as saying. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27935436

Prayer Points:
1. More floods in the Balkan Peninsula. Let us pray for the victims of these floods in northeast Bulgaria. May they be comforted during this time of hardship.
2. EI Balkans was in Serbia last week distributing much needed aid. We partnered with local church ministries that are reaching out to the flood victims there. Let us pray that similarly in Bulgaria, churches will be motivated to reach out with help for these flood victims.
3. Tragedies that disrupt our normal life experiences, force us to take another direction. This has happened to the flood victims in the Balkans. Let us pray for humility (accepting human weakness), peace (reversing anger), hope and strength. Being a lover of history and an intercessor, I like to seek out the root causes of grounds won and grounds lost. So I was reading up on how the Christian Bulgarian kingdom fell to the Muslim Ottoman Turks. The conclusion was that the Bulgarian nobles were in disunity and could not maintain a united front against the Turks.
The situation in the Balkans on the eve of the Ottoman invasion (Wikipedia)From the 13th century, the two main Balkan powers Byzantium and Bulgaria fell victims to a process of decentralization, as local feudal lords grew stronger and more independent from the emperors in Constantinople and Tarnovo. This weakened the military and economic power of the central rulers. The process deteriorated central authority to an even larger extent in the 14th century, when numerous nobles came to be only nominally subordinated to the government. [They were not able unify their armies against the invading Turks] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian%E2%80%93Ottoman_wars

4. Satan is clever. Sowing seeds of disunity helps him divide and conquer. Let us pray that the churches will unite in Bulgaria so they can stand against the enemy.
5. May the curse of disunity that was not able to stand against the Ottoman armies be broken in this generation.
6. I do not know what the spiritual condition of Bulgaria was in the 14th century but there was political disunity. May the churches stand strong in their relationship with God’s purposes as they stand against Satan’s present attacks.
7. It was not until the early 20th century that the Muslim influence over the Bulgarian nation was fully broken. Then communist atheism replaced it. Bulgaria needs a Spiritual revival. Let us pray for revival in Bulgaria to secure it as a sheep nation for the return of the Lord.
8. Let us pray for events that gather Christians of different faiths. May the single purpose of these events be to lift up Jesus, knowing that when He is lifted up and the churches are standing as one united front, the enemy will have to flee. Just want to give a shout-out for Ballet Magnificat and how they performed for Jesus in the main square in Zagreb, Croatia. Take a look this 3 minute video just released: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt1g5EwFJvk&list=UU7XcSP0N1IM_rT32JfDTjyg

We visited Obrenovac, Serbia where some of the worst flooding occurred. We worked alongside Daniel and Vera Kuranji and the ministry they work with, http://www.transformeuropenow.org/serbia/daniel-and-vera-kuranji

Other events that we close to my heart that need prayer:  European Initiative in conducting an evangelism outreach on the streets of Zagreb, Croatia and visiting Roma (Gypsy) villages this week and weekend. www.europeaninitiative.com  Operations European Capitals is conducting a meeting of intercessors in Podgorica, Montenegro June 23-24 and then in Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina June 26-28. June is an important date in that it is the 100year anniversary of the start of World War I, the war that re-mapped and forever changed Europe. The war started because a Serb nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. http://oceprayer.com
Please leave a Comment or Reaction so we will know you Prayed. 

Pray for Bosnia Herzegovina

Week of June 16-22, 2014

In the News: Emirates Red Crescent distributes more than Dh5m in Bosnia
The Emirates Red Crescent, through its office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has distributed Dh5,142,200 (about $1,400,000). The amount covers sponsorship of 4,274 orphans and 52 children with disabilities in 25 areas belonging to the municipalities of Sarajevo, Tuzla, and Bihac.

The Emirates Red Crescent office in Sarajevo is overseeing the orphan care programs, communicating with them and their supervisors to highlight ERC's keenness to follow up on their health conditions and educational and social development.

The authority also continues providing humanitarian assistance to those affected by the floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina, having reinforced its humanitarian and relief operations to provide greater care to those affected and to protect them from repercussions of the flood disaster. – Emirates News Agency, WAM


Report: American Red Cross Provides Assistance for Balkans Flooding
Posted June 06, 2014
The American Red Cross is contributing a total of $400,000 to support flood relief efforts in the Balkans, including shelter supplies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and distribution of food, relief items and water and sanitation activities in Serbia.

The following are Reports from UNICEF and other agencies.

CRITICAL ISSUES FOR CHILDREN: Bosnia and Herzegovina Floods: Humanitarian Situation Report - 12 June 2014

Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing its most challenging flood recovery due to the heaviest rains seen in the region for more than a century.

Based on the available assessments, 74 municipalities have been affected by the floods (42 in FBiH, 31 in RS, and BD). Amongst these, 9 have been ‘severely affected’ (Samac, Odzak, Orasje, Brcko, Bijeljina, Doboj, Maglaj, Zepce, Domaljevac-Samac), where more than 50% of the affected population and children lives. In these 74 municipalities, more than 320,000 people have been affected including:
• 60,000 children aged 0-18
• 16,000 children aged 0-5.

According to information from Roma NGOs, more than 800 Roma families have been affected by floods. They were identified as one of the most vulnerable groups even before the floods. UNICEF team visited: Samac, Odzak, Brcko, Bjeljina, Doboj, Maglaj, Domaljevac-Samac, Olovo, Tuzla, Sapna, Prijedor, Gradiska, Zivinice and Vogosca.
According to the latest IOM information, 1,560 persons are placed in 39 collective centres (963 in FBiH in 22 centers and 532 in RS in 14 centers) including 276 children (56 aged 0-4 and 220 aged 5-17) but this number is decreasing every day..


Preliminary UN estimation shows that it will cost about USD 210 million to cover immediate priority needs for the next six months in Bosnia Herzegovina, alone, after devastating floods hit the region.
FLOODS  BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Humanitarian Situation Report 12 June 2014


C. HEALTH AND NUTRITION:

According to the International Medical Corps ‘Rapid Assessment’ of the flood affected areas, 18 health care facilities (both rural and urban) have been damaged. This will impact health services for about 170,000 people. The needs for each health facilities vary greatly from minor damage to total destruction of supplies and equipment. 

At European Initiative, we have received generous donations to help with the floods. We  partnered with an organization called Churches in Action to deliver much needed food and water supplies through Christian churches in Serbia, but the need is just as great in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well. We are currently arranging the delivery of urgently needed supplies, and we are positioning ourselves now, in order to assist long term by mobilizing teams who can help with clean up and rebuilding. We see many Christians showing a desire to go help.


Prayer Points

1)    Regardless of what we believe about God’s involvement in this flood, God has a greater purpose. Lord, we pray for a complete restoration for the families and the economy of Bosnia Herzegovina (B&H).
2)    We see these and other relief organizations and of course the European Union coming in to bring immediate relief. Of course they don’t provide God’s love and the human touch is only felt briefly.
3)    It is disappointing to see that the Muslim world is “all in” and supplying millions of Dollars (there are many others not mentioned above) in aid, yet the Christian community has been slow to get involved. The Balkans is the least evangelized part of the world today. This is our time to be the hands and feet of Christ in word and deed. Lord, wake up the Christian community worldwide, may we unite to bring the gospel and the love of Jesus to the hurting in the Balkans.
4)    The UNICEF report above shows the effect the flood has on children and the medical facilities. Let us pray that the effected hospitals and clinics would quickly get repaired, cleaned up and adequate donations of medical equipment. May the bureaucracy of the government not stand in the way of any aid reaching its destination.
5)    Pray that churches and Christians in B&H will be strengthened physically and spiritually as they focus on helping their fellow countrymen.
6)    The evangelical churches in B&H are small and very few. Let us pray for massive help from Christians throughout the world.
7)    Pray that European Initiative – Balkans will have open doors to organize sources of relief, delivery and follow-up. Pray for adequate funds to come in to meet these immediate needs and secure long term follow-up.
8)    Most of all we want the people to see Jesus as the Restorer of all things and especially may they receive Him as Lord of their lives.
9)    The time is now to evangelize Bosnia and Herzegovina. Lord, please stir up a passion to help the people of B&H.

Here at European Initiative we believe not only is immediate help imperative, but through long-term help, the Church can have a lasting impact. EI-Balkans, with our ability to organize teams for outreach, we look forward to mobilizing such teams to these devastated areas of Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia. If you would like to be a part of a team, contact us at humanitarianaidbalkans@yahoo.com

Please leave a Comment or Reaction so we will know you Prayed.

Pray for Serbia

Week of May 19-25, 2014

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST FOR SERBIA!
(Protestant Evangelical Alliance of Serbia asks for your prayers. Pray for the people of Serbia, Bosnia, and all who were affected by the floods.)

Dear friends,

We would like to ask you for your urgent and fervent prayers for Serbia. We have had heavy rainfalls for 3 days now, with the amount of rain equaling 3 month quantities (the samesituation is in Bosnia and Herzegovina). It caused local rivers overflowing (rising even to 4 meters in just 1 day) in majority of Serbian towns and cities, leaving thousands of citizens' homes and land flooded, their livestock and domestic animals drowned:-(. People were completely unprepared for this and in shock. So far, there are 5 casualties, but the numbers are not complete unfortunately. A massive storm churned river waters and triggered landslides across the country, leaving roads and railways underwater. Some motorways and roads are blocked, bridges torn down, and some towns in Serbia are still cut off from the civilization. This is the worst flooding ever in the history of Serbia.The Serbian government declared a state of emergency and natural disaster yesterday..

As we are writing this, we know for sure that 7.520 people were evacuated until this morning,135,000 homes are without electricity, 19 towns are flooded. The critical is the town of Obrenovac (suburb of Belgrade) which is being evacuated in total as it is 90% flooded. It has around 18 000 people in addition to be evacuated.

Another critical municipality is Sabac, in western Serbia (around 120 thousand people). It is close to the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the great danger is that the river Sava overflows during the night and tomorrow and endangers a huge population. At this point, over 3000 volunteers are traveling towards Sabac from all over Serbia to help the exhausted police forces, the army, the firemen fill the sand bags and try to stop the river overflowing.

Very difficult situation is in other towns like Lazarevac, Valjevo, Paraćin, Smederevska Palanka, Svilajnac, Petrovac na Mlavi. Majority of these towns don't have water or electricity or both. For a small and financially struggling country like Serbia, this sort of thing has a Katrina-like impact:
We would be thankful to you to pray for the following:

1.That God prevents rivers from more overflowing and the rainfall stops (especially it is critical for the town of Sabac and Obrenovac tonight), but also others.
2. That all the people are safely evacuated, with no more casualties.
3. That enough funds are raised in near future to make up for the losses people faced and these are huge (some are left without everything as their houses are lost in landslides and land, as their only source of income, is flooded).
4. For enough food, clothes, blankets and other needed items for thousands who are placed in schools, hospitals, hotels and other premises until the crisis is over.
5. For enough technical equipment to help pump the water from the flooded houses all over Serbia (EU, Russia, Israel already sent some help).
6. That God protects us from infections (in water and in food) due to animal decomposition which is currently underway.
7. All the crops in the flooded areas are completely devastated, which will hugely impact fragile Serbian economy. Pray for God's miracle and grace in this area and for complete restoration.
8. The flooding of bigger rivers is to be expected, so pray for the protection of rivers Sava and Danube.
9. It will take months for people to be able to start living normally, pray for God's mercy and protection and wisdom of the government officials in how to help and what to do. The damage is probably millions of euros.
Following are some links showing a dramatic situation:

This one is with Serbian comments from the Serbian national broadcaster Prva TV: http://www.prva.rs/web-tv/info/exploziv/12005/exploziv---16052014/34911/potop.html
This one is from the foreign media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlY8UbF99tI

Feel free to share this email with your churches, home groups, forward to your friends and cover us in prayers. Thank you so much for your support. It is priceless.

God bless you

Pray for Serbia 5-19-14

In the News: 2 Drown in Serbia as Floods Hit Across Balkans
BELGRADE, Serbia May 15, 2014 (AP)

Two people drowned in Serbia and the country declared a national emergency Thursday as rain-swollen rivers across the Balkans flooded roads and bridges, shut down schools and cut off power. Hundreds of people had to be evacuated.

In Serbia and neighboring Bosnia, meteorologists said the rainfall was the most since measuring started 120 years ago. Belgrade authorities say the average rainfall of a two-month period hit the city in just 40 hours.
"What we are facing is the biggest water catastrophe in Serbia's history," Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said as his government appealed for help from the European Union, Russia and neighboring countries.
Surging water coursed through towns and villages, overflowing across streets and into homes, sweeping bridges off their moorings. Sodden hills crumbled into landslides. Dozens of buses and cars were stranded on flooded roads and two main north-south railway lines in Serbia were impassable. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/woman-drowns-serbia-floods-23726450

I received the following email from Greg and Jelena Sivulka, faithful prayer partners in Serbia:

The past few days, we have had a cyclone over this country that has brought more rain than there has ever been since they started recording rainfall levels 120 years ago!  Some cities and towns have been completely flooded.  There have been electrical shortages and there's a possibility that the main power plant may have to shut down most of its operations due to the flooding.  Just about an hour ago we just received word from a reliable source that the tap water has become contaminated.  I went to the store and joined the crowds of people buying bottled water.  What a catastrophe! 

Fortunately, in our city, Novi Sad, no areas have had to be evacuated yet, although several houses have been flooded.  A state of emergency has been declared in the country and thousands of community service workers and volunteers have been working round the clock to reinforce riverbanks with sandbags.  The rain just continues to fall, but they say it should be calming down sometime this weekend.

Please keep us in prayer!

P.S.  Here's an article with photos that will give you a better idea of what's going on:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27439139

Prayer Points:
1.    Let us pray for those suffering from this flooding in Serbia and Bosnia.
2.    Pray for the families of those that lost their lives due to the flooding.
3.    Pray for those that have had property damage, being overwhelmed by water.
4.    In the long run, pray that the Churches would take a lead in rescuing, caring for and over the months ahead, restoring families back to a normal existence.
5.    Truly it is a time upon the earth when we are seeing unnatural things happening in nature. Lord, help the Serbian people to look beyond the present tragedies and have hope for the future.
6.    This flooding tragedy will compound the already financial problems in Serbia. Let us pray for hope to supernaturally spring forth and a real “roll up our sleeves and go to work” attitude.

Ecclesiastes 3:10-12 (NLT)  I have seen the burden God has placed on us all.  Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

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