Many churches were planted and much seed was scattered. The initial enthusiasm soon waned, however. While countries like Bulgaria and Romania still seem more receptive to the gospel than their Western European counterparts, they are much less open than they were 6 years ago. Old values and systems have fallen, and they have not yet been replaced. The processes of political and economic change have left people disillusioned and cynical.
Hope is as rare a find as a wheatback penny.
The people of Eastern Europe need a new ideology. More than political, social or economic reform, they need the gospel. As missionaries in such rapidly changing and troubled cultures, we have sometimes found ourselves frustrated. Any change of cultures is difficult, but the chaos of the former communist countries provides its own unique challenges. For the past five years, a group of missionaries from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Russia have been gathering together to seek answers, encouragement, equipping and renewal.