July in Skopje

We are sweating it out here in Skopje in the middle of July, however, we are refreshed as we look back at some pictures of the last month.
At the end of June, we went to Greece for our annual mission meeting. We got together with colleagues from a dozen other countries and with volunteers from the states who came to lead the children's program. All told, there were more than 300 of us at the hotel.
We had a great time hanging out with good friends whom we rarely see, learning a few new things in seminars and especially enjoyed some great teaching from Colossians. The kids had a VBS type program all week long and they loved it. They ended the week with a great presentation. All three of our kids had some part in the program and they all did very well, made us proud.

When we got back to Skopje just in time to celebrate Angela's 13th birthday! We had a big party at our house with folks from church. The icing on the cake was that Angela's mom, Riki, and brother, Trajche, were able to come for a week-long visit! Riki is doing very well in her rehab for alchohol. You can see a huge change in her and we are so thankful that God has provided that ministry to bring healing to the family.
After their brief visit, Riki and Trajche headed back to Croatia and Angela was able to go with them! She will spend the whole summer there. This is a real blessing both for her family and for ours! Please pray with us that God will use these two months for Angela and her mom to get to know each other again and that her mom's healing would continue at a steady pace.

Other prayer items:
1) Pray for discipleship of key individuals in the local church.
2) Pray for the baptism in the city of Ohrid (see the link to Brian and Mandy Davis). This is the start of a new church in that city!!!
3) Pray for our family. This summer will have busy spurts and some downtime. Pray that we will make the most of every opportunity!

Enjoy the pics below. Most are from our mission meeting, a few are from Angela's birthday party.