May - June 2026
Dear Pastors, Churches, and Fellow Saints,
In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. John 5:3
Unfortunately, I find myself sometimes just standing around, "waiting for the moving of the water." I, along with the other blind, halt, and withered ones, am part of that great multitude. We have gotten good at just lying around. Our excuse is that we are waiting on something or someone to come by and get things moving. Some of us have been reminiscing and waiting so long for a change that years have passed.
In this passage, the man had been there for some 38 years, or 13,870 days. He had been there for so long that his own desire to be healed was even questioned, for our Lord asked him straight out, "Wilt thou be made whole?" Then we see he is not only waiting for an angel to get things moving, but also in need of someone to put him into the pool. And when he had finally found someone to help him, someone else got into the pool before he did. Some excuses sound pretty good—that is, until the Lord shows up and makes it clear to you that all you need to get the task at hand done is Him.
It was over two years ago when someone approached me and gave testimony of how God was moving through a medical missions ministry. Brother Mike Ellis, missions director at Charity Baptist Church in Cantonment, Florida, told me about a mission group from his church that teams up with Dr. Greg Waller of Truth for Today Medical Missions. He said they could come and set up temporary eyeglass clinics where everyone who came would receive free eye exams and eyeglasses. Before leaving the clinic, each patient would also be presented with the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In June, this medical team arrived in Bulgaria for nine days. We held five clinics in Targovishte, Suvorovo, Novi Pazar, Dolen Chiflik, and Dabravino. There were 14 volunteers from Charity Baptist Church, along with Dr. Waller and his wife, Linda. My fellow missionaries, Brother Zach LeFevre, Brother William LeFevre, our wives, the national pastors, and many of our church members came to help and witnessed "the moving of the water."
When it was all said and done, more than 600 people received eyeglasses, and all were presented with the gospel. More than 280 of those received the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.
We would like to thank God for everyone who had a part in the clinics. It was a blessing to see how God can use even an infirmity as an inroad for the gospel of Christ. Through this kind of work, people will not only be able to see better physically, but also spiritually, having had the gospel preached to them and their spiritual eyes opened.
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:4, 6
In closing, I would like to give a testimony about our son, John. John is an Airman and is currently based in Germany. He has been able to make frequent trips to our home in Bulgaria. He was able to come here in June to help with the clinics and work as a translator. One evening, during a worship service at our home, John announced his calling and surrender to the mission field of Bulgaria. What a blessing! Please pray for him and his future plans.
All Because of Calvary,
Matthew and Jane Welch
In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. John 5:3
Unfortunately, I find myself sometimes just standing around, "waiting for the moving of the water." I, along with the other blind, halt, and withered ones, am part of that great multitude. We have gotten good at just lying around. Our excuse is that we are waiting on something or someone to come by and get things moving. Some of us have been reminiscing and waiting so long for a change that years have passed.
In this passage, the man had been there for some 38 years, or 13,870 days. He had been there for so long that his own desire to be healed was even questioned, for our Lord asked him straight out, "Wilt thou be made whole?" Then we see he is not only waiting for an angel to get things moving, but also in need of someone to put him into the pool. And when he had finally found someone to help him, someone else got into the pool before he did. Some excuses sound pretty good—that is, until the Lord shows up and makes it clear to you that all you need to get the task at hand done is Him.
It was over two years ago when someone approached me and gave testimony of how God was moving through a medical missions ministry. Brother Mike Ellis, missions director at Charity Baptist Church in Cantonment, Florida, told me about a mission group from his church that teams up with Dr. Greg Waller of Truth for Today Medical Missions. He said they could come and set up temporary eyeglass clinics where everyone who came would receive free eye exams and eyeglasses. Before leaving the clinic, each patient would also be presented with the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In June, this medical team arrived in Bulgaria for nine days. We held five clinics in Targovishte, Suvorovo, Novi Pazar, Dolen Chiflik, and Dabravino. There were 14 volunteers from Charity Baptist Church, along with Dr. Waller and his wife, Linda. My fellow missionaries, Brother Zach LeFevre, Brother William LeFevre, our wives, the national pastors, and many of our church members came to help and witnessed "the moving of the water."
When it was all said and done, more than 600 people received eyeglasses, and all were presented with the gospel. More than 280 of those received the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.
We would like to thank God for everyone who had a part in the clinics. It was a blessing to see how God can use even an infirmity as an inroad for the gospel of Christ. Through this kind of work, people will not only be able to see better physically, but also spiritually, having had the gospel preached to them and their spiritual eyes opened.
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:4, 6
In closing, I would like to give a testimony about our son, John. John is an Airman and is currently based in Germany. He has been able to make frequent trips to our home in Bulgaria. He was able to come here in June to help with the clinics and work as a translator. One evening, during a worship service at our home, John announced his calling and surrender to the mission field of Bulgaria. What a blessing! Please pray for him and his future plans.
All Because of Calvary,
Matthew and Jane Welch
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