Ladies' Night and Dog Days

Friday Night is for Ladies (and one son)!
There are several women who came occasionally to Bible studies in the spring, but with the start of homeschooling and without my teammate Amy Williams here, I haven't been in contact with them recently. So Friday I called them all and invited them to a Ladies' Night at our club. 
Talking to them on the phone they were all very friendly and eager to get together and only four of about 20 said they couldn't come.  Unfortunately though, they didn't all show up.  (I found out that night that an NGO was also hosting a seminar on abuse among families and several of our women had gone to that.)  Still, we were able to reconnect with some and since the group was smaller, it was more intimate.  We also had three who had never been to one of our seminars before.

Biljana, a believer from a nearby town, came and shared her testimony.  It is so good for our friends to hear from another Macedonian who has taken that step of faith; it is important for them to know that this is not a foreigner-thing, but rather Biblical, directly from God!  I am so thankful for those who came and for all Biljana had to share with them.  Pray for God to continue to use her words to work in their hearts.
No one responded when invited to join a new Bible study, so the time I had set aside for the weekly Bible study I will use instead to get together one-on-one with some of these women.  Please pray for my time with these women.  Time spent together over coffee is extremely important in Macedonian culture, so pray that it would be fruitful for God's glory in their hearts and mine!

Saturday in the Park at the Dog Show!
Kyle was in Serbia for the weekend, but the kids and I headed down the street for a REAL dog show here in Prilep, a town of only 70,000!  I spoke with people who had come from Russia and France and was told there were people from several other countries!  I was very impressed! 
Our friend who helped organize the show said that the show was part of the European Circuit and that often people choose to come to a small show (like in Prilep) because there are fewer people and they are more likely to place higher!
 If you know me, you know I had a blast -- I met many more dogs than people!  And the kids enjoyed it too.  Here are some pics.

Miss Fancy Schmancy graces Prilep with her presence!

Some of us were so relaxed with the  judge, we just laid down on the job!

Such character.  I just love him!

And in this corner: three St. Bernards!

 Here's the BEST part: The dog most frequently seen was probably the Sarplaninec, which is our (Macedonia's) national dog.  They are HUGE and are used for shepherding.  You can also see one below on our one-denar coin.

Rebekah with Macedonia's National Dog: the Regal Sarplaninec!