Macedonia Update January 2023

Hi everyone, thank you for taking the time to read our first update of 2023!

Kisela Voda

In our previous update we asked you to pray for us about our work in Kisela Voda. We were considering starting a Bible reading group outside the drug rehabilitation clinic as we had not yet been invited into anyone’s home to do this. This hasn’t happened yet, but we have since been invited into the home of a man who attends the clinic! He has expressed an openness to the Gospel and recognises a need for Jesus. Vladko and Ian have spent time praying with him and talking to him about the transforming work of Jesus. They have enjoyed meeting together in his home and hope to continue to do this.

When we were praying about the work in Kisela Voda and the potential for starting a Bible study there, some of the scripture we felt were significant was from the Gospel of John (4:13-14, 6:35, 10:7-11) and also from Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour.”
Isaiah 61:1-3

The first day we met this man, Ian had the opportunity to read this scripture from Isaiah to him and speak with him about how God wants to heal and restore him. It is clear that these scriptures have been significant in the work that we are doing even if the Bible study hasn’t yet started.

One of the scriptures above (John 4:13-14) refers to Jesus as ‘living water’. Just in case you are not up to scratch with your Macedonian language you might find it interesting to find that the translation of ‘Kisela Voda’ is ‘Sour Water’. We believe that it is time to change the water from sour to living!

In our Community

Opposite the building we live in there is a café which has been unoccupied for nearly two years. We have been talking for ages about how amazing it would be if this was to be re-opened so that we could use it as a base for some of the work that we do. Much to our excitement we have noticed this week that there have been builders on-site refurbishing the café. We are hopeful that it will become a space we can use to meet and connect with people. Ian is already planning to move his bible study into it when it opens (currently this is in a café further away).

Smog

If you’ve read our newsletters since we first moved to Macedonia, you will be well used to our requests for prayer about air pollution. Every year Skopje, along with other towns in Macedonia, has a problem with smog. Skopje is frequently in the top ten worst cities worldwide for air pollution. This usually begins to set in as the temperatures drop in late October and continues through to March. The winter has been milder so the air pollution has only significantly increased in the last month, much later than in previous years.

We can see the impact of the smog upon our own family and the wider community. There are frequently days when government recommendations are to where possible stay home with the windows closed. This means we need to spend a lot of time indoors apart from when we can get out of the city. We are grateful that we have an air purifier in our home, but many in the city do not have these. It is our understanding that children are the most vulnerable group for health problems as a result of air pollution. We read in the news this week that the hospitals are filling up with children with respiratory problems.

Please pray for our health in this season and that solutions can be found for the air pollution problem. We know that Jesus leads people to proclaim the gospel throughout the world. For some that means speaking to a neighbour, for others they go into war zones or countries where Christians are persecuted. We get air pollution, but the call of God is still the same, and we all must entrust ourselves to Him. We have experienced the many blessings and joy of being called overseas as well as the challenges of learning to live differently in smog season.

Prayer

Thank you for praying for us, please would you keep the following points in your prayers:

• Please give thanks for progress in Kisela Voda and that God will lead Vladko and Ian regarding the next steps. In particular please pray that we follow Jesus’ plan and not our own ideas! As he tells us “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
• Please pray for our health in this polluted season. Also for the government of Macedonia, that they will be able to take action on air quality throughout the country.

Thank you for reading

Ian, Katie, Kristen and Josiah.