The Swap

Every day here, I find myself saying what a great day it has been. I am so happy. I really think I am feeling a sense of fulfillment that comes from following God's will for your life. Each day is more fantastic than the chocolate gelato I ate tonight. Today we had the honor of eating lunch in the mayor's home in Konjare and then spending time in the home of a family in Shutka. We have heard from several different sides about the cultural conflicts in this country. We spent time encouraging and sharing with other believers about the struggles churches go through. We talked a lot today about compromise. Give and take. Which is funny, because my story from today is about a trade. There is a family in Konjare that stole my heart almost immediately on our first day there. The mother and her two daughters have embraced me like family every day. Even with our difficulty speaking to each other, the warmth of these women makes it hard to leave every time. Although the father in this family is a Christian, the mother still holds to the cultural standard of being Muslim. In all reality, she has no religion. She works hard and cares for her family. She lives her life just trying to make things work. I have thought so much about her and wondered how we could make the truth about Christ real and practical to her. I think I tried to do that today. I sat with the woman and her daughters in their living room this morning. Grandma, do you remember the green dress you got the stain out of? I was wearing that and my favorite white flowered shirt. The older daughter told me how much she liked my outfit. I thanked her and we went on talking. When it was time for us to leave, the daughter wanted to ask me a question. She took me to the building off of the house where her bedroom was. Her younger sister helped her to explain that she had a birthday party to go to in Skopje. She wanted a pretty dress to wear to the party. She pulled out one of her own dresses and (after finally getting through the language barrier) asked if we could trade outfits. A helpful note about this trip : the Macedonian people are very poor. Many are unemployed. We have seen people begging for money and children selling things like fans and wet wipes. The problem is, giving people what they ask for is not always best for them. Some of the kids selling fans are being exploited by parents who sit at home. Some of the people begging for money will turn around and buy alcohol. Most of all, giving the impression that we, both as Americans and as Christians, will give handouts is not helping the people here into a better life. That thought was in my mind when I was confronted with this trade. Is this okay? At the same time, it seemed pretty fair to me to trade dress and shirt for dress and shirt. But the real selling point for me, had to do with the mother. How could I express the practical, life altering love of Jesus? Could helping a precious daughter to feel beautiful be an example of Jesus in Konjare? I think it might be a long shot to say the trade was a major event. Still, it is a start. She will have that green dress as a concrete reminder that some Christian girl from America did something for her and her daughter. The dress I got in return will certainly be the best souvenir I could ask for.

Goat Milk and Gratitude

No one ate supper tonight. This evening we went to the service at the church in Shutka. The church there is very proud that God has blessed them with a building of their own. Coming down the narrow streets in Shutka, you see patched up buildings surrounded by trash. Many people sit out on the sidewalks looking like they have been their all day. Just sitting. It is not a very hopeful place. However, we are told that of all the people groups in the world, God has been doing great things among the Roma. The Roma church is very small. There were probably about 40-50 people crammed inside it. I'm not sure what the weather has been like in Texas, but here it feels something like...well maybe the surface of the sun. Seriously. So you can imagine how delightful it was to be smashed into a furnace of sweaty bodies. Still, the people we're so glad to have us. I sat next to my new friend Jessica, who hugged me or held my hand through the whole service. Her little brother grinned at me from across the room like he was up to Np good. Then, the music started. It was something like Baliwood meets mariachi meets worship. I d lidn't know guitars could make those sounds. Despite the tiny space, the choir of 5 had microphones. Clearly this was not enough so the speakers were on full blast while the singers practically shouted into the mics. It was like nothing I have ever seen or heard. Dr Shaw preached mostly in Macedonian. I was able to follow a lot of it. I have been working very hard at language. He spoke about respect. Roma culture places a high value on respect. As Christians, where do we look for respect? The world has lots of ideas, but the truth is that through Christ God has given us honor. We don't need to go searching in worldly things. After the service, we went with the pastor and a few leaders into another room. There, they presented us with a gift. Though they had very little, they had prepared food for us. I knew two things when I saw the milky liquid in cups and strips of bread. 1) I was going to hate that food. 2) I was going to eat that food. You see, some of us have a problem. We find it difficult to give from our heart. Our giving often comes out of our leftovers. The Roma have so little and they were willing to sacrifice for us. For the sole reason that we are brothers and sisters in Christ, they acted. This is a church that takes following God seriously. How do you decline an offer like that. So I ate, and the bread was stuffed (like a lot of the bread here) with goat cheese. The cup was filled with yogurt. Do not be fooled, this is not Yoplait. It is by the grace of God that I and the whole team were able to swallow the indescribable goat milk product that entered our mouths. I am trying not to think about it. As always, so much more happened today. I look forward to getting all my stories down. For now, I have to prepare for a long day tomorrow. There is a lot of work to do. Goodnight.

Super Saturday

So sleepy. We are all dragging today, but glad to continue work here in Macedonia. Today we were at a women's conference at a church here in Skopje. The day felt like it ministered to us more than them. We met so many inspiring women that I don't know how I will tell all their stories. The church was a beautiful example of the family of God. Tomorrow morning we will go back there for Sunday morning service. In the evening we will go to the Roma church in Shutka. Every day we have to know which people group we will be with. Today with the Macedonians was a different experience than our time with the Roma and Albanians. The problem is, I love them all. As I got a little too tired and perhaps a bit weepy., I began to think about all the people I care about. Already, it is hard to be there for all the friends, family, and special people in my life at the same time. I cant even pray for all of them without leaving someone out. Every day we spend here, we meet and fall in love with more people. I realized that I feel the same passionate hope for the lives of my new friends in Konjare and Shutka as I do my own family. The same desire for them to know and follow Christ, the same hope for their happiness, and the same desire to spend more time with them. I know that I will always think of Texas when I am here, and of Macedonia when I am home. I'm just not in the zone to process and retell the stories so far. We laughed, we cried, it moved me Bob. I need to go eat a peach, I bought a kilo of them this morning because language is hard.

Dobro!

Today was another great day. We had the same schedule as yesterday, morning in Konjare and afternoon in Shutka. We have already seen God move in this place. What a blessing to be part of it! There were many more children in English class this morning. Almost all of them were girls. Most of the village boys spend their time playing in the polluted river outside of town. We discussed the roles of men and women in Islam and Dr Shaw suggested that education is one of the only ways for Muslim women to get ahead in life. Many do not have the opportunity. We taught the girls English and they taught us a game. We had sp much fun playing that we missed the time our class was supposed to end. When we went downstairs, everyone we met yesterday was gathered to say goodbye. A woman who was my particular favorite asked me why I did not come to her house today. We joked that I should hide and stay there with her. I almost would. The Albanian people are so easy to love. We have visited them only twice, but my heart stays in Konjare when we go to Shutka. It is difficult to explain what makes them so special. I cant wait to see them Monday. Despite that, the village of Konjare has a lot of battles going on. One of our new friends is a new Christian. He has asked us to teach him Bible lessons. Unfortunately, there are a few radical Muslims in the village who would disrupt those lessons if they heard about them. We have to be discreet. There is also a great deal of spiritual warfare. Many of the villagers are only nominal Muslims, it has no meaning for them. The people are very pragmatic and live their lives doing what works for them. There are some of our new friends who don't think it makes a difference whether you follow God or Allah. Others are willing to accept Christianity, but fail to understand how to accept Christ. Ultimately, the lost need Jesus and the found need discipleship. Even though I love the Albanians, today was our first opportunity to meet the Roma children. That was also a great experience. We were late to the church so there were already kids inside. As soon as we arrived they began to cheer. We split up into groups for games and Bible story. I told the story of creation. There was a lot of noise. Most of the Roma are able to speak Macedonian, so Dr Shaw translated for me. But he does not speak Roma, so sometimes the pastor would translate his Macedonian into Roma. It took three voices to take it, but we were able to bring the word of God to the kids. I really felt God use me today. I know that I would not have done the same quality of story without him. Not gonna lie, I felt a little super hero-ish. Then, something great happened. A few older boys sat in the back with Dr Shaw. In the midst of all the distraction, one of the boys talked with him about becoming a Christian. The boy's parents have just recently come to Christ. We all cheered and told him he was our new brother. It made a perfect and unexpected transition for us to share the gospel, even though we had planned to tell it Tuesday. The whole thing was such a surprise and such an encouragement. I want to sleep so bad. I think I'm not supposed to, because it is 6:00 in the evening. My internal clock is probably going to punch me in the face. These blogs do not come close to doing justice to the things going on. You will just have to keep reading and waiting until I get home. The end!

Konjare and Shutka

My feet hurt, my brain hurts, my face hurts. Now before you get jumping to conclusions, let me clear that up. My feet hurt from walking through beautiful, exciting places. My brain hurts from trying to remember the names of the delightful people we met today. Most of all, my face hurts from smiling. I had such a wonderful day. Even though I probably destroyed my blowdryer, the morning was pleasant. The weather was nice and we walked a short way to a bakery to order some burek, which I believe is the term for bread. Mine had meat and goat cheese stuffed in. Not a bad breakfast. After that, the men went to work on building fences and the women travelled the short distance to the village of Konjare. We met the mayor of the village and his family We removed our shoes to enter the porch area that was covered with rugs and cushions to sit on. The mayor's daughter in law served us Turkish coffee (hopefully there was enough distraction to keep the face I made unnoticed). Traditionally, the youngest son in a family remains at home to care for the parents. After the parents die, the son inherits the house. The mayor has an English library above his home where Janice and I went to have English class with the children. There were about 8 girls and a few boys who joined us. That English class was one of the best experiences of my life. We went over numbers and colors and played games. I am not sure how to explain the contentment I felt teaching those kids. I am quickly falling in love with this country. We ate lunch while walking through the bazaar. It was an amazing outdoor market with all sorts of items. We had some delicious produce while we explored. One vendor laughed at me when I explained that I wanted one tomato rather than one kilo of tomatoes. The prices here are very low. Like many eastern European countries, the patterns and worldviews of communism are still affecting Macedonia's economy. Unemployment is over 20%. We are using denars here. About 45 denars is equal to one US dollar. After lunch, we went to Shutka, a Roma village. The name Shutka literally means garbage dump, which just about sums up the way other Macedonians view the Roma. In fact,finding a local church to partner with in ministry to the Roma several years ago was difficult. Even believers were, at the time, unwilling to put aside their prejudices. The church that we are now partnering with is a Congregational church. I had never heard of the denomination until today. At this point, the Roma church is thriving. It was recently able to move out of a rented house into a building of their own. Tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday, we will be using that building for kids club with the Roma children. We have songs and crafts and Bible stories picked out for what may ne 50 or 60 kids. We were warned about the stark contrast between the Albanian culture in Konjare and the Roma in Shutka. Still, I am not sure what to expect. Our team is made up of a great group of people and I am enjoying being part of it. We have had such a wonderful time in the day and a half we have been here. There is much more I would like to include, but I could really use some sleep. Thank you for reading!

In Transit Adventures

I still have no wi-fi, so several posts may get clumped together. I want to mention some of the first adventures I have had so far. Although it seems like an eternity ago, we landed safely in London. Our next flight was with Croatia Airlines. Jason (pastor at FBC Tulia) and I sat on either side of a woman from Bosnia. She had lived in London for many years after fleeing war in her country. She was on her way to visit family. Her accent was heavy and I was unable to remember her name, but we managed to carry on nice conversation. When I left my plane food untouched, she nudged me and said, "Eat! ". I couldn't bring myself to do it. The second time she insisted that I eat, she told me I was too skinny and gave me a piece of candy. That's right, I took candy from a stranger. Well, I didn't really want to. It was practically the size of a walnut and I knew I would be sucking on it for the next 7 years. Still, under the circumstances it was the polite thing to do. Wasn't so bad. Minty on the outside, caramel inside. Our plane landed in Rajek (pronounces something like rrrah-yeckuh), but we went on to Zagreb. That only took about 20 minutes. To my surprise, Dr Shaw took us into the city. We ate at a small cafe. I tasted a shopke salad, which has lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and goat cheese. I tried really hard, but it wasn't my favorite thing I ever ate. We walked around a bit and saw a ton of graffiti. There was not much time before we had to get back to the airport, but I had the unexpected chance to add another stamp to my passport. I'm chowing down on crackers and trying to stay awake. We will land in just a little while in Skopje and go to our hotel. These shoes did not do the job walking those streets and I am looking forward to changing them. Hopefully, after we get our luggage settled and into the hotel we can get a good night's rest. I know that tomorrow has big things in store. As we prepare, pray for receptiveness to the gospel. The community we begin teaching English in is heavily Muslim and has even been under some Al Quida influences. We are not sure if we will be allowed to teach the children Bible stories. Don't be worried, we are quite safe. I only want to be as effective as possible. Now I am cozying up in my very canvas-like sheets at our hotel. This place delights me already. Everybody is safe and sound. I took a very refreshing shower and I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Fun fact, I already have four different currencies with me at the mmoment. Goodnight!!

Ready, Set, Go!!!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! This is the day our team heads out for Macedonia. There are 12 members of our team. Right this second we are sitting on the runway in Lubbock preparing for takeoff. I am so glad you are reading along with us! We will go from here to Dallas, then London, Croatia, and finally to Macedonia. Then, the real work begins. We will be serving in Macedonia, Greece, and Kosovo. The men will be doing building projects and the women will work with children and other women. We will be teaching English with the kids. Language classes are a great platform for exposing children to the gospel. We will also hold a women's conference. I am looking forward to sharing with these women how valued they are by the Lord. We will do fingernails and facials, as well as talking about Jesus. Dr. Shaw has been taking a group to this area for many years. Much of what we do will be ongoing ministry. I do not anticipate baptising a thousand people every day. Many of the people in those areas have already heard the gospel. For the believers already in Macedonia, we hope to encourage and disciple. For those who have not yet believed, we are a consistent example of Christ. We will not change our minds or give up. Even if they are unwilling to accept Christ today, we will earn their trust and respect for tomorrow. So far, our travels are smooth. No grand stories to tell. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. Later... I haven't had any Internet so far so the last bit is waiting to be posted. I just woke up somewhere over the Atlantic. In true London spirit I'm having a spot of tea. I'm feeling pretty cozy. What's more, my feelings about the trip are in much better shape. I spent most of the day in a slight panic, to be honest. What will happen when we get there? Will I be able to do a good job? I forgot to learn my Albanian testimony and my carry -on was two pounds over. Eek!! I told Brostuff this morning that I was nervous and he turned up the radio...Despite all that, I awoke (at what I suppose is 2am) to some serious relief. I feel confident that God has called me to go on this trip. I believe that he will give me the strength to do whatever it takes to make him famous. I know that both my family and my church family are proudly waiting for me at home. Lots of people have made sacrifices to make this trip possible for me. I want that to be worth it. Suppose I have so much fun that the last day comes as a surprise? That is my hope. I have the opportunity these two weeks to pursue a call to missions that God placed in my heart years ago. How wonderful is that? Let's do this.