The creation of the Bulgaria Sofia Mission, which will be Europe's 37th and the Church's 268th, has been announced by the First Presidency.

The new mission is the second to be created in eastern Europe this year. The other one is the Germany Berlin Mission. Both missions will be operative July 1. Four new missions in eastern Europe were created in 1990, the Finland Helsinki East Mission, Czechoslovakia Prague Mission, Hungary Budapest Missinon and Poland Warsaw Mission. Called as president of the Bulgaria mission is Kiril P. Kiriakov, 68, of the Manassas 1st Ward, Fairfax Virginia Stake, and a native of Bulgaria. (Please see page 4 for biography.)

The Bulgaria Sofia Mission will be created from a division of the Austria Vienna East Mission. The new mission has a total population of 9 million, with some 50 members, primarily in Sofia.

The people of Bulgaria are receptive to religion, and the missionaries in that land are making a significant impact, said Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander, president of the Austria Vienna East Mission, who was sustained a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy on April 6. (Please see profile of Elder Neuenschwander on page 6.)

The first missionaries to Bulgaria in recent times were two couples and two sisters, who arrived Sept. 10, 1990. The first missionary couples were Elder Delbert and Sister Marilyn Fowler who taught English in the town of Pravets until recently, and Elder Morris and Sister Annetta Mower who are serving in Sofia. Sisters Judy Gubler and Rose Marie Daigle were the first sister missionaries and are teaching English in the city of Smolyan.

The example to the school by the sister missionaries was such that the "moral level of our students, faculty and whole town has measurably increased since your sisters arrived," the school director told Pres. Neuenschwander.

The impact of the couples is similar, Pres. Neuenschwander related.

Presently serving in Bulgaria are 10 elders, four sisters and two couples. The first elders arrived Nov. 13, 1990.

"They are having a tremendous effect there," he said. "Missionaries are well-accepted."

Missionaries now are teaching German as well as English to Bulgarian students. Those who teach German were transferred from German missions. Other missionaries were transferred from Yugoslavia. Those from Yugoslavia speak Serbo-Croatian, a language similar to Bulgarian, which helped them overcome the language barrier. The missionaries communicate well with the people, and their message is appreciated, said Elder Neuenschwander. He described the people of Bulgaria as "forward-looking" and "with very sensitive spirits."

"Over the last four or five decades, religious instruction was not accepted and atheism was the official doctrine in Bulgaria," he explained. "People didn't have an alternate expression. Now we find that atheism did not - indeed, could not - destroy the light, a very sure and deep part of our souls, that desires to believe, and have some sort of spiritual expression.

"The emptiness of materialism has created tremendous problems in Bulgaria, as it has in many parts of Europe," he observed. "People are really without a moral and ethical basis to their lives. Life for them is simply quite empty. It has no purpose. Now, everyone struggles to reverse that [emptinessT, to return to their lives the principles of human dignity and purity, self-respect, and respect for other people.

"There are tremendous changes going on the lives of people. Many people don't have Bibles or religious literature. This creates a tremendous curiosity about religious matters.

"Of course, to the more spiritually sensitive, this freedom gives an opportunity to find expressions of life that were up to now closed or practiced very privately."

Elder Neuenschwander said officials in government ministries understand what has happened and are trying very hard to correct the situation.

"The government ministers are happy for an organization that represents honesty, morality, integrity - the kinds of things Bulgarians are searching for."

He said members are sharing the gospel with their friends and the Church is growing, and is expected to continue to grow in an orderly fashion.

Although the Tabernacle Choir is not scheduled to visit Bulgaria during its planned tour of eastern Europe in June, BYU's Lamanite Generation is going, and leaders expect that highly entertaining group to be well-received.