Macedonia Update May 2023

Hi everyone, here is our latest update.

Capernaum Club

Katie and Kristen have been working alongside the team from Young Life Skopje to deliver activities in two local special educational needs schools. One of the schools was a specialist school for partially sighted children. The team led different games for the children and delivered a short message.

The feedback from the schools has been positive and there will be further opportunities to go into the schools and hopefully build connections to help to support the families. It was particularly exciting for Kristen to find out that the younger brother of her language helper attends one of the schools so she was able to meet him in person for the first time. His mother even arranged to be there at the end of the session to greet us and talk to us.

We are excited about how God is building these connections, not just in the planned work that we do but as we follow his leading in our daily lives.

Formby Visit

During April we were delighted to be able to host a 5 day visit from Lighthouse Church Formby. Mark, Mark and Tim arrived on a delayed flight late on a wet Tuesday evening, only to experience another wait at the airport as Ian had lost his car park ticket! After that, things went a lot more smoothly. The team joined in with a visit to the Kisela Vida drug clinic, helped with our homeless feeding work, took part in street evangelism, and spent time in our local community, speaking with our neighbours and playing football with the local children.

t was a joy to see this team step out in faith and be willing to give anything a go. They bravely and unashamedly shared the gospel message with people they met, and even requested more challenging opportunities! It was a privilege to have them journey alongside us and to watch them step out of their comfort zone. We are certain that they will have made an impact for the kingdom of God, even if we might not see the outcomes for years to come.

We hope that as they continue to journey with Jesus in their hometown and be a witness to the good news, that something of their Macedonian experience will be of use.

Do not give up

There have been many times over the past few years where we have questioned our work here. We can feel the challenges and frustrations as things do not look as we expected them to look. It can sometimes feel like a lot of hard work for little progress. There have been times when we have tried to be present in our community but it has felt frustrating that we have not had the opportunities that we expected to have. Many an afternoon has been spent sat on a bench by ourselves or we’ve had very limited conversations. Recently, however we have had opportunities to share with some new people and had fresh opportunities to talk about Jesus with people we have known for a while. God has been taking us through a season of refreshed understanding of our purpose here. He has been reminding us that He sees us and He has spoken clearly into some situations that we have been in.

In 1 Thessalonians 1 there is a reminder to work by faith, labour in love and endure in hope and it is important to keep this in mind during the challenging seasons. Galatians 6 challenges us in this also:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

For all of us, whatever country we are in, or whatever circumstances, we can keep going in the knowledge that it is the Father’s work and the Father’s purpose that matters. The One who calls us is faithful.

News in Brief:

• We have been able to renew our residency visas for another 12 months. Thank you to all who prayed for this process. It has been straightforward for us but we know of many for whom this is not the case, and one year it may be our turn!
• The new children’s sessions at the Oaza church have got off to a great start, with an expanded team. This has allowed us to split into two age groups and provide more age-appropriate activities. It may only seem like a small thing but it is the first time in the history of the church that this has been possible!
• Our community bible study has begun in the café downstairs from our apartment. So far no one from the community has been, but we have begun to build up a positive relationship with the staff.

Prayer

• Please give thanks for new relationships and opportunities.
• Please give thanks for Mark, Mark and Tim from Formby and for the impact they have had.
• Please pray for members of the community to take part in the community Bible study.
• We have a team from Elim Aspire visiting from the 10th – 17th of June. Please pray for the planning for their visit and for a fruitful time in Macedonia.

Thank you for taking the time to read our news!

Ian, Katie, Kristen and Josiah.