Four generations of Bulgarian family now members of Church
E-mail story
It's easy. Send a link to the story you were just reading to a friend. Just fill out the form on this page and we'll send it along.
Your name and e-mail address are transmitted to the recipient. Otherwise, it is considered private information; see Privacy policy.
PAZARDJIK, Bulgaria — Kristeo and Stoyanka Penov, both 80, are
preparing to go to the temple. That, in itself, is not unusual, but the
fact that their conversion is, which completed the first known
four-generation member Bulgarian family.
When Brother and Sister Penov joined the Church a year ago in Pazardjik, they completed the circle of four living generations to be baptized members of the Church in a country where the gospel has been preached less than a decade since the fall of communism.
Brother and Sister Penov have long believed in God. As children, they were reared in large, devoted Bulgarian families where they were taught the teachings, authority and power of a Heavenly Father. They grew up with a desire to please God, developing a faith during their lives that prepared them to receive the gospel when they heard it.
Brother and Sister Penov celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last Feb. 12. Their fingers are still adept with needles and thread after many years of working as tailors.
They first learned of the Church in 1992 when a grandson, Elissavet H. Gangov, and a granddaughter, Christina Graham, were baptized in Salzburg, Austria. Elissavet was working for a transportation company at the time when he and his sister, Christina, met August Schubert who was proselyting with missionaries that day. Pres. Schubert is currently president of the Germany Berlin Mission.
Elissavet and Christina were baptized Oct. 13, 1992. They soon shared their testimony with their mother, Dora Krusteva Gangova, who came to Salzburg. She was baptized Dec. 24, 1993. A year later, Elissavet's wife, Pavlina, joined the Church, along with their oldest child, Christo. Since then, Elissavet, Pavlina and Christo have been sealed with the two other children, Svetlana and Nikolai, in the Freiburg Germany Temple. Thirteen members of the immediate and extended family are now members the Church.
Elissavet serves as president of the Pazardjik Branch that is composed of 56 members. His mother, Dora, has served as Relief Society president and counselor, and Sunday School teacher.
Following her baptism, Christina served a mission in Novosibirsk, Russia. She now lives in Manchester, England, with her family.
