Two Birthdays and a Parade

So, here we go again, jumping in with both feet (after having been "out" a bit too long!). We're going to try real hard to go with shorter and more frequently!

At the end of January, Kyle turned 40 years old!!! We celebrated with pancakes in the morning and cheesecake in the evening. A double recipe of cheesecake was required to be able to handle all the candles. No, he couldn't blow them all out at once!

February 14 was Proska, or Day of Forgivness. You are supposed to go to friends and relatives to ask them to forgive you for any offenses over the past year. Tradition is for children to dress up and go to friends and relatives – kind of like trick-or-treating, except they are given money instead of candy! In Skopje, Proska was mentioned as a holiday but few „celebrated“ it and children do not dress up (or collect money!).


This is something new for us here in Prilep – there is a huge celebration in town center Saturday night and tradition is for the town butcher society to dress up in animal skins with cowbells and goat heads and dance around to scare off the evil spirits. The festival can be fun though the goat-head guys were a little too pagan for our taste!

Rebekah dressed up as the popular new country/pop star Taylor Swift, Daniel was Zoro, and Joshua was chosen to be Papa Smurf for his fourth grade class in the town parade on Sunday!


Josh even made a head-and-shoulders shot on national news – unfortunately he was so well disguised, no one would be able to recognize him unless they knew he was the Smurf in red. He said of his friends in Skopje, „Maybe they recognized my eyes!“


On Monday Daniel celebrated his ninth birthday! Because the children go to school in shifts, and because all of us have responsibilities (be them sports clubs, English classes or Bible studies) in the evenings, we are seldom home all at once for long during the week. So we decided to celebrate on Sunday; we ate Spiderman cake (excuse me, I mean: SpiderDAN cake!) and were merry all day long! What a blessing to be family!!

They came from Arkansas

Three couples from Arkansas came to help with English classes, prayerwalk and make home visits and then finish the week by leading a two-night seminar on parenting.

Five people from our singles' Bible study group were our waiters (we were so sorry they had to wear Razorback aprons but we Tigers were polite for the sake of Christ!). It was great to have their help the first night so we could visit with guests while they served dinner to those attending – about twenty-four people. The next evening most returned and we even had a few who weren't able to come the first night. The response was fantastic and it was obvious that our Macedonian friends really connected with those on the team. Many people commented that they enjoyed the opportunity to talk about parenting issues and hoped that we would do it again soon.

We handed out copies of Shepherding a Child's Heart (in Macedonian) by Ted Tripp and invited them to join us once-a-month to discuss the book. We will host the first discussion group this Sunday night (November 15). Please pray that many will come and that the discussions will lead us to God for His wisdom in raising our children and building our families. Pray also that our friendships with these parents will deepen as we spend more time together.














The last night we invited everyone (even non-parents!) and had small group discussions about the Bible. God really blessed our times together and continues to bring new people to study the Bible with us!

Update on Rebekah, Joshua and Daniel

We all froze this past week – including our computer!!! Temperatures dropped suddenly and I was NOT ready for it! I had forgotten how cold this house gets! Thankfully the sun's back out and we've thawed nicely so we are now enjoying fall AND a friend cleaned all the viruses off our computer so it should be working smoothly again (I'm still looking for a few folders but they're bound to be here somewhere!). The pic above is from our bedroom and the one below is from Rebekah's. God certainly knows how to do Fall!!!

We spent the weekend in Skopje where we lived until last year. The kids had a blast being there. We drove past our old house and Josh said mournfully, ''That was the best house. And the street's so nice too – not too busy and so close to school. This was a good place to live.'' They all enjoy certain aspects of living in Prilep but still often mention Skopje; they've made plenty of friends in Prilep but it's not the same as being with those with whom they ''grew up'' – I mean, those with whom they went to preschool, then the first few years of school. I'm glad they have such good memories of Skopje but I also hope it doesn't become some sort of Shangri La for them! (Afterall, Skopje has McDonald's and Prilep doesn't – what could be more harmonious and ethereal than going to McDonald's?!) This weekend we visited many friends and the boys in particular were extremely worn out by the time we loaded up to head home!

This time last year Rebekah, Joshua and Daniel were the newbies in school. This year things are dramatically different as they all feel at home with the school, classmates and teachers. Rebekah especially seems to be flourishing this year (the boys had less of a struggle and settled in nicely last year) and she seems to be studying more, making some wise decisions on friends and overall she seems to be happier. She's been enjoying making posters for her classes and in history they studied America's beginnings so she was excited to do a poster for that lesson. It turned out great as you can see below – ''CAD'' is Macedonian for ''USA'' – literally translated it would be ''United American States.''

Joshua and Daniel are doing great too. They are both very much into Star Wars and/or anything spy-related. They both play twice a week in a basketball club. We just recently got some baseball equipment that we hope to use for ministry but I know the boys (well, and Rebekah) are looking forward to ''helping'' in that ministry!! In the picture below Daniel (L) and Joshua (R) are with a friend from Greece at the fortress above our city.

Joshua is doing great in school but he goes to school on a different shift from Rebekah & Daniel so he is home alone (with Mom!) every day. He's fine until I remind him of homework or chores; I have nicknamed him Puddleglum (from C.S. Lewis' Silver Chair)! We recently discovered Life Talk Kids radio and I am noticing a big difference in his attitude when he listens to that before getting to work.

Daniel says that all the kids in his class fight – including the girls – and he and one other boy, Hari, are the only ones who try to stop them. He likes school – he likes learning, but he does not like all the fighting.

Thank you so much for praying for our children. Please continue to pray that they would grow in love for Jesus and in His wisdom.

**We have a team here from Arkansas. They will be visiting people's homes and helping with English classes at the beginning of the week and then Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights they'll be leading a parenting seminar and sharing about the Bible's relevance in today' world. Please pray for their time here!

Rebel Gunfire (It was a re-enactment!)

Sunday was a big holiday here, celebrating the first shots in Macedonia's revolt against the facist occupiers in 1941. Prilep may be a small town but her people are brave and led the country in the rebellion! The first shots were fired in our town center, with the Macedonian rebels hiding behind the wall you see in the picture below. Every year on the evening of the 10^th of October they have a huge celebration including a re-enactment of the fighting followed by fireworks.

The town square and main street were packed, and I have to say that we were very impressed with the fireworks! They were spectacular!

On Sunday we picnicked with a small group from our Bible study in a nearby village. We cooked out, played American football, played soccer, and just hung out and ate a lot!


Early in the day, the guys sat around discussing a passage of scripture and then after lunch Kyle told the whole group about when Jesus fed the 5000 on the mountainside. The group was small as many were either sick or had prior commitments but we had a great time together and our bonds as a group continue to grow.

Hang on for a BLITZ catch-up!

Hmmmm. Obviously A LOT has happened since that last post! Where on earth should I begin and how detailed should I get?! There is really so very much to tell of how God is working here in Prilep -- lives He is touching, hearts He is growing, characters He is refining and personal faiths He is perfecting! I am seeing the fruits of His work in those around me, but I am also tasting His fruit in my own life as well!

Well, I've decided just to jump in and not try to catch you up on everything – I'll just give you some highlights. Otherwise you'd be overwhelmed with this post (and I may get overwhelmed too and not post again for another zillion months!). We will have eternity to sing His praises – then I'll give the detailed version, no holds barred!

So, here are some highlights:

• In February Kyle started meeting weekly with two young guys for Bible study. These young men had come to know and love Christ as their Savior while they were students in Skopje. After returning to Prilep they had not found anyone with whom to study the Bible.

• In March, our teammate Amy and Jackie invited 24 ladies to a party honoring women (March 8 is Women's Day). Twenty women showed up! A woman from our church in Skopje gave her testimony and we gave the women a copy of Linda Dillow's Calm my Anxious Heart and invited them to join a book study group to begin two days later.

• Two days later seven of us began studying the book and 12 weeks later, those same seven women finished it!

• We started offering English conversation classes in our club every Tuesday and Thursday evening. These provide a great opportunity to meet new people and give them the chance to join a Bible study. The class were offered all spring and we started again in September. The club is absolutely packed on those nights!

• In the meantime the group of two guys grew to about seven or eight coming regularly. It was not intentionally just for guys, but it turned out that all were in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties and single. When our ladies' book study finished, we decided to blend the girls from the ladies' group with the guys' group.
  
  
  

• We began hosting seminars in the late spring with such topics as "What Happens When You Die," "God's Grace: Finding New Life in Christ," and another one on repentance and God's forgiveness (but I can't remember the title); we also had a church group from Louisiana come help us and they ended with a Gospel Concert.
  Some of these events were led by American guests and some by Macedonian believers. For our first seminar, we were pleased to have 19, but as the summer went on, our numbers continued to grow!! The concert had over 45 guests, and many of these were new contacts! Several people have commented that, although they've heard scripture before, these seminars are the first time they've had the Bible explained to them and the first time to be able to ask questions.

• In July, students from our church in Skopje came to Prilep to talk with young people on the town square and invite them to a coffee discussion at our club that night. The students shared music and testimonies to a packed house!

• Also in July, at the initiative of one in our Bible study, we had a three-day retreat in a nearby mountain-hotel. The theme was Jesus' claims about himself (the “I Ams“) in John. We had fourteen people attend, most of whom attend our weekly Bible study and all of whom are students from our English classes.
  

• The new (co-ed) young people's group met every Thursday evening through the summer. (We also added a married couple and a single mom!) By September we had grown to 16 people one week and 18 the next, and some regulars were even missing!

• Because God continues to bring people who are hungry to study the Bible, we have decided to „multiply“ our Wednesday night group into two smaller groups so it's easier for discussion. October 7 will be our first evening to meet in two smaller groups. (We will continue to hang out together -- we will go hiking together on October 11.) The second group will be led by our teammate Jeff and one of the young Macedonians that Kyle started meeting with at the beginning!
  

• Out of the concert and seminars, we started a four-week evangelistic Bible study for older women. More than three months later, the women are still enjoying meeting together to study the Bible. We have a pool of about 10 women who come but usually end up with 6 or 7 on a given Wednesday; all are in their late 40s or older. Most of these women had never held a Bible in their hands to read it with their own eyes before joining our group. They have learned what chapters and verses are, and have begun underlining special verses. It is so exciting to see their eyes light up as they read and understand a spiritual truth! One 63-year-old woman, who didn't have a Bible until we gave her one in June, shared that she can't get enough of God – she reads her Bible every morning from 5 am until 7 am!

• Two of the young girls in the original book study, and who then became a part of the Wednesday young people's group, are so hungry to know God better! Jackie meets with them for deeper discipleship every week. We are working our way through some major stories of the Old Testament and tying them in with New Testament passages. They seem to be enjoying the homework and intense study times. I sure am too!!!

• In a few weeks, a group from an Arkansas church will be leading a small conference on parenting and the Bible's relevance in today's family. We currently have Bible studies for young singles and for older women, but we're hoping this will help us make more contacts with young families.

Well, THAT was the summary! There is SO much more to tell, but I hope that is enough to inspire awe at how He loves the people of Prilep and how He is drawing them personally into a loving relationship with Himself.

It is a very exciting time for us here in Prilep! Thank you SO MUCH, Lord, for calling us here – and for waiting patiently for my heart to submit fully to your plan.

"Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare." Psalm 40:5

AMEN!!

Our Ministry Center is Open!!!

We've had a great start for our ministry center. Last Thursday we had our grand opening that doubled as registration for English conversation classes. Teammates from Ohrid and Skopje came to play guitar, and Nikola, a very close friend whom Kyle discipled in Skopje, came to play the bongo.

We were thrilled with the turn-out! I think we had at least thirty people come, and seventeen signed up for English classes.

Thank you so much to Indian Springs Baptist Church near Little Rock, and for all you individuals (you know who you are!), for all you did helping get the ministry center up and running -- and for helping to keep it running!! We have English classes scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday nights and Kyle hopes to offer a Bible study there too soon. Our bookshelves are supplied with Christian literature like Bibles, Purpose Driven Life, Peace with God, Jesus Our Destiny – all in Macedonian and available for free -- and also many books in English that may be borrowed.

On Thursday I was talking with Magdalena and Maria, two students who were in our classes at the local university last semester. Magdalena asked me about the book, Peace with God (Billy Graham), that we had given the students on the last day of class. She and her husband hadn't been able to come but Maria had told her about it and she wanted to know if she could still get one. As we walked over to the shelves to get one, Maria followed us and eagerly commented, “I'm already on page 336!”



We continued talking and I mentioned an old copy of Marriage Partnership magazine (thanks to you, JLK WMU group at UBC, Baton Rouge!!) that I was reading at my house and Magdalena was very interested in reading about marriage from a biblical perspective. I promised to bring it up to the center for her to read. I think we'll try to keep a supply of some Christian magazines for light reading at the center; they should provide easy ways to get into some spiritual conversations.

Please pray for our English classes. We have a lot of fun in them, but fun is not the reason for them! Please pray that they will be a means to our goal of reaching the people of Prilep for their salvation and for Jesus' glory! I am so excited thinking of the possibilities – God has already proven so faithful by bringing out the number of people he did just for the opening! (I'm ashamed to say I was not expecting so many!)

Last night we had our first classes. We had ten students there all together; I had four students in my class: Gabriel, Monika, Ace (pronounced Aht-se) and Johan (pr: Yo-hahn). There are still others who have signed up but weren't able to come last night – there are two in particular that I know will come, they just couldn't last night. Please pray for Jeff and Amy and Kyle and me as we spend time with our new friends. Pray for opportunities and for boldness! Pray for open hearts!

Jeff & Amy will be gone to Prague for training for three weeks in February so Kyle and I will be trying to balance all the classes. Pray for Jeff & Amy, that the training will be fruitful, and for Kyle and me, that our efforts at the center AND at home will be fruitful as well!!!

Back from Christmas in Africa

We had a wonderful trip to Tanzania to visit Kyle's sister Cara and family, and to Kenya to visit Kyle's parents (and Cara's family joined us there too!). It was so wonderful to finally see Cara's home after years of imagining it! They live in Morogoro, Tanzania, and when she warned us that it was, "hot, hot, hot," she was putting it mildly!!! We could have roasted chestnuts over an open sidewalk! We traded in our winter coats for sleeveless shirts and shorts (though Rebekah and I had to wear skirts to fit the culture). We had a great time at Mikumi Park where the kids saw elephants, lions and crocodiles in the wild for the first time! (It was my first time to see crocs too – they're kind of spooky, the way they just watch you silently!) [Josh just commented that they weren't spooky for him!]





























After a week in Tanzania, we drove two days to Kyle's parents' home just outside of Naivasha, Kenya. We drove on December 28, which was Rebekah's 12th birthday! We celebrated in a hotel and then sent her off the next day to her very first Missionary Kids Retreat -- you had to be 12 years old to go! It was a very exciting time! She had a blast with all those African MKs and they were so sweet to welcome a European MK!

You have to drive through a small game park to get to their home – it's great because they live on a lake and many animals stroll right past their home as they head to the lake for a drink. We had the chance to watch giraffe, eland, buffalo, hippo and monkeys as we relaxed on their porch! The giraffe, eland, buffalo, hippo and monkeys all watched us too, though we weren't all that impressive! We took hikes and game drives and found more animals, like impala, hyena, zebra, Thompson's gazelles, dik-dik, springhares, and jackals nearby. It is a beautiful place and we felt blessed to be there for the view and for time with family. God is incredibly creative and he is so kind to let us enjoy his handiwork!



We saw leopard tracks but didn't get to see one. This tree is on "Leopard Hill" -- you can be sure I checked the tree well before letting the kids climb up!

We left Kenya and came back to lots of snow here in Macedonia. The house took several days to warm up, but now we're cozy! The kids started school Tuesday and they are doing well.

Tonight we had our grand opening for our ministry center. We had a GREAT turn-out. Our opening was paired with registration for English classes for adults, so many people came just for English, but at least we have the chance to meet them and we'll see where God takes it from there! Some friends just came to check out the center and one guy Kyle met said that if we are serious about starting a Bible study, he'd get some friends together to do it! God is so good! Our teammate Amy took pics so I'll post them as soon as I get them!

For now, I'll leave you with a pic of us with Kyle's family!

Gettin' Chilly and Headin' South

Michelin Mama Longs for a Wood Stove

It's starting to get cold here and I'm wearing so many layers, I'm starting to look like the Michelin Man! I know you're glad I don't have a picture to share!! Even as I sit here writing, I am wearing four layers!

The houses in Prilep have no heat built in; most homes heat with wood stoves. Even at the kids' school, each schoolroom has a little wood stove and throughout the day they throw in logs to keep the room toasty.

If you look behind Daniel you can see the stove in the corner.

We bought electric heaters (convection) for our house. Since Kyle has been travelling so much we thought it'd be better if I didn't have to worry about chopping wood and starting the fire each day. However, after our last electric bill, we are now reconsidering! Even wearing my four layers, I'm still cool and as I said, it's only STARTING to get cold!! As it is, we keep all doors to all rooms shut, hoping to keep in what warm air we have while trying to shut out the cold air. Walking out into the hallway or stairwell is pretty chilly! Many Macedonian families all sleep in one room (usually the living room) in the winter, so only one room has to be heated; we're considering that option too!

Last night we were visiting some new friends and their living room was so cozy that we are now very tempted to get a wood stove. I may have become a master wood-chopper and fire-starter by the next time you see me!

Christmas Party

Wednesday nights we hold conversational English classes as a way to meet the people of Prilep. As a result, our Arkansas volunteers were invited to visit some students' homes, some students joined the guys for football on Thanksgiving day, and some have come to our house for coffee. This Wednesday night will be the last class for the semester – except it will be a party instead of class and it will be at our ministry center. You may remember that our Arkansas volunteers helped paint it. We now have carpets, couches and curtains – and a Christmas tree! We'll have some of our Macedonian Christian books to give some away to our guests.

We will have another grand opening in January, when things get going again after the holidays, and we'll have regular gatherings in the ministry center (or cafe or reading room!).

We are so excited to get things started with the center. Our teammates Jeff & Amy Williams have really put a lot of time and effort into it! Thank you to all of you who have contributed to our center! We'd love to have you stop in for some coffee!!!

Christmas in Kenya

Kyle's parents, Cherry & Vance, have graciously invited us to Kenya for Christmas. We will be leaving Friday and will go first to visit Kyle's sister, Cara, and her family who are serving in Tanzania. We have never been to Cara's home so this will be special treat for all of us. Cara says it is “hot, hot, hot!“ there so I'll be shedding some layers before we leave!

Rebekah will turn 12 years old while we're there and is going to her very first MK (missionary kid) retreat and even though she's a European MK who'll stand out among African MKs, she is so excited to be going with her cousins Caitlynn and Laurynn!

We'll be in Tanzania for a week and then go to Kenya for the rest of our visit. We'll actually celebrate Christmas after the New Year when we're all together.

I'll do my best to update the blog from Kenya. Email seems to work well enough but we'll see how reliable the internet service is; I promise to write it all up offline and at least try to upload it!

Thanksgiving comes to Prilep

Thanksgiving Thursday
We had a great Thanksgiving – we celebrated twice: on Thanksgiving Day with eight Macedonian guests and again on Saturday with our team. Our Macedonian guests only knew of Thanksgiving from movies, so we enjoyed introducing them to dressing, green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole. (I know the pic looks like we didn't feed them, but we forgot to take the pic until after we had cleared everything!!) They seemed to like it all but especially liked the sweet potato casserole – which, truth be known, I make with pumpkin since sweet potatoes aren't grown here. Anyway, they loved the faux sweet potato casserole but they all took a bite or two, then saved it for dessert with their coffee!! But they liked it enough to have seconds, thirds and maybe even fourths (we sat around talking a while!).

We also carried on our tradition of giving everyone a slip of paper with „I am thankful to God for ...“ and asking them to finish it. Then between the meal and dessert, we draw them from a basket, read them aloud and try to guess who wrote what. It's a lot of fun and they seemed to enjoy it too.

Thanksgiving Saturday
On Saturday our friends from the town of Ohrid: Brian & Mandy and Baby Kate Davis, and of course, Jeff & Amy Williams from here in Prilep came too. At the last minute, Lee Bradley and teammate Brandon (sorry, can't remember his last name) from Albania were passing through town and came to the celebration too!

Prilep's First Football Game
In the morning while the ladies shuffled around the kitchen making ourselves busy, the guys and kids went out to play football. Four Macedonians played: Borce (from English classes), Gabriel (from the Sunday Bible study) and another Borce (the landlord for our ministry center) and his 10-year old son Ivan. Borce and his wife and Ivan had been to our house for Thanksgiving dinner.


They played on a field where teams often practice soccer and Saturday morning they had quite an audience as you can see in the picture above. It was very muddy and there was lots of slipping and sliding, followed by lots of sore muscles!! It was great fun and a tradition that can't be left out!



Our Team Thanksgiving in Prilep

After football, the muddy guys returned to clean themselves up before the meal. Then the feast began – and went on and on and on! I must admit that there was at least one advantage to Kyle's many travels this past month: he was able to buy a Butterball turkey and bring it home! Macedonian turkeys are typically about 9 lbs. max; this one was a good 20 lbs!!!




The food was fantastic and the company was as close to family as we could possibly get, so it was a special time for all of us! Unfortunately, if we harp on the „family“ analogy, Kyle and I are the grandparents, so we'll just move on now!


Pin the Beak
After dinner we played „Pin the Beak on the Turkey“ which Rebekah had graciously designed for us. Brian from Ohrid won, but Josh and Mandy tied for an extremely close second place. And as you can see, Kate did pretty well too, but she didn't wear the blindfold!






Thanksgiving Sunday
Our Macedonian friends really enjoyed trying out football so Sunday night we invited them over to watch a REAL football game on TV (it was Giants vs. Redskins), giving us the chance to explain the rules better. By half-time, Borce (#1) began planning out how we can start an American football league here in Prilep! Though there is currently nothing that we know of here in Macedonia, there are two leagues in Serbia, and I'm reading John Grisham's book right now about football in Italy, so who knows?! Of course, though it'd take a lot of organizing, football would be fun -- but if it does happen, we're hoping it will be key to reaching a whole segment of men and their families for Christ. Pray that if this is part of God's plan for Prilep, we would know how to pursue it.

All in all it was a fabulous holiday weekend. It seems that we have made huge bounds in deepening some friendships with a few here in Prilep, and that is beginning to feel nice!