Moores in Macedonia: September 2020

Hi everyone, welcome to our latest update from Macedonia.

The city of Skopje normally empties out in August as businesses take a break and many people get away for a week or two. But as September arrives things start to pick up again and this year is no different, it’s just the break has been a lot longer!

A gentle restart

Restrictions here have been eased significantly, although cases are still quite high so we have made the decision to proceed with caution to begin with, however over the next month we hope to be able to restart the following:

• Begin to meet again in our home, with just one other family at a time to begin with.
• Begin street evangelism in Stip. Ian will be travelling there most weeks to work with Goran from one of our partner churches in Stip. This work began earlier this year but we only got about 3 sessions before restrictions began. Please pray that we can engage the local community, especially the young people, many of whom seem really open to the gospel. We are hoping that people will see the power of Christ in action as we meet with them on the streets.
• Begin to work with members of the local church here to support them in the mission God has called them to do.

Additionally, Katie has been working hard over the summer preparing the home education curriculum for both of the children as both of them will now be home schooled full time from this September.

In one of our previous newsletters we wrote that it seemed like God was using the lockdown time to help us refocus our priorities and how we use our time. In this season we feel a call to focus more on our local community and we are excited for what God will do over the next few months. In many ways it feels more like a fresh start than a restart and our aim is to try and stay as close to his word as possible and see what he does!

We believe it is important to remember that it is God’s mission, not ours and we have the privilege of joining in. One of the things we have felt quite convicted of is the importance of being obedient to his commands, and that we remain obedient regardless of results. We would really appreciate your prayers in this time as we believe this next season will be a significant one and we really want to see the kingdom of God advance.

Our own Staycation

This has been the first time we have remained in Macedonia for the whole month of August as we normally visit the UK in this time. It has been good to get out into the local community and make up for some of the lost time we have had during the curfew. We have had the blessing of meeting new people and God has really used this opportunity.

We also managed to have our own Macedonian ‘staycation’ where we were able to have a few days in the mountains and by Lake Ohrid to get away from city life for a bit. It was refreshing for us to spend some time in the peace and quiet, getting a bit of rest and family time.

Prayer

Thank you for praying for us. Last month we asked if people would pray that we could use our home again and that we would be able to build some new relationships in the community. We are delighted that we are seeing the beginnings of this taking place and are thankful to God for what he has done in and through us over the summer. We are hopeful that there is more to come!

Please would you pray about the following in this coming season:

• Please give thanks for some new relationships and a restful August.
• Our friend Scott has had some delays getting his visa arranged due to the pandemic. He is currently in the UK waiting for it to be ready. Please pray there would be no further complications with this process.
• Please pray that as things get moving again, that we would be wise in how we use our time and what we commit to, but also that we would operate in God’s strength and not our own. Also that we would make the most of the autumn season before the quieter winter.
• Please pray for fruitful responses to the gospel.
• Pray for our language learning as we are all trying to make this a priority so that we can honour the culture we live in.
• For Kristen and Josiah as they are both learning at home full time and for Katie as she plans, prepares and delivers the curriculum.
• Please pray for Macedonia, that the number of virus cases would reduce and that the healthcare system would be able to manage.

Thank you so much for reading our news. We love hearing updates and news from our friends from around the world, so please feel free to contact us and let us know some of the exciting things that are going on for you.

We are very grateful to all of you who support us financially as we need to raise 100% of our family and ministry costs. If you would be interested in supporting financially please get in touch with us.

Love
Ian, Katie, Kristen and Josiah.