Shutka

Today was a very fun day. I went to Shutka and Goce, Bethany, and Elisabeth all came. We separated between the two kitchens. It was cool because I got to play some soccer. It was fun. I’m a pretty good goalie when the kids are like thirteen and under. Also, there is an advantage of the guys didn’t want to hit me to hard with the ball. I think they were taking it easy on me. There were like seventy – seventy –five kids there. They just kept on coming. It was awesome. Thank God there was enough food for all of them.
I wasn’t really sure how Elisabeth was going to be getting back, and I waited for like an hour after the kids had left. So I was like I guess I will go home. Maybe she just went home. I called Bethany, and she did not answer the phone. I helped walk the cute like pre-schools back to their school, because they were playing in the yard at the soup kitchen. They are sooooo cute! They yelled”Macedonia! Macedonia! Macedonia” for a while. So then I go home hoping she made it there, and she was not there. I went to Maria’s and was like can you call Tony to see where Elizabeth is. He had no idea. So Then I called Brain, and was like do you have Chris’s number. He gave it to me. And then I called Chris and he said he put her on a bus fifteen minutes ago. I was like oh Thank God! I was a little freaked out. She was completely fine when she came home; I was totally more freaked out then her. She like now we can “you left me there.” I was so thankful she was ok. It was funny yesterday we walked by some venders and they started singing “lalalalalalaala Kiss the Girl” from the Little Mermaid.

Who Knew a Since of Fashion Could Help Someone

We had a friend come from Serbia this weekend. Yesterday we took everyone to Matka. On our way to leave there was a lady who had Vera Bradley on. Well I was thinking in my head Oh Americans. Then I said out loud “Oh Vera Bradley.” Well the lady was like do you know where the Queen Hotel is. I said no, but someone else might. So no one knew. So we called our roommate. She didn’t know. We then told them about the youth hostel. Then our Macedonian friend got them in a cab to take them there. Who knew having a since of fashion could save someone’s day.
We went to Velles, the day before, to visit friends. We went to climb on the Mountain with them near their house. Well then we were being followed by a group of kids. They finally came up to say hello. Well I tried to talk to them, and they were like where are you going? And I told them up there. Then they followed us to the mountains. It was funny. They all want to talk to us, and touch us. Bojan told them about the kids church there on Saturday.

Vote for Shea

Hey everyone! Shea is in a contest. It is an awesome video! Vote for him!
You can vote once a day everyday.

http://wildfireapp.com/website/302/contests/22529/voteable_entries/4127555


Have a great day!!!!!

Thanks blog readers!

New Things

Today we took a trip to Kale and checked out the castle. We took lots of pictures. It was fun! Tonight I started a cell group from church and Elisabeth came also. There were three women who are going to be coming. One is a new Christian, and she is really hungry for God. She is actually going to be going to America this summer for a work exchange program. She keeps asking what is different between America and Macedonia. We told her that America is faster pace. Also, cars will not come on to a sidewalk. They will stay on the streets. I am so excited, and cannot wait to see what God is going to be doing in this group. We prayed together, and shared about how we all came to know Christ. The girl who was a new Christian was like you all have known God so long. She was like I have done lots of stuff in my past, and now I’m a Christian. She has such a sweet spirit about her. She is a true jewel. I think of that verse in Luke 7:47 “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little." You can really see the love she has for the Lord because she was forgiven much!

Growth

Today was a very interesting day. We went to Shutka this morning. On major difference was that the police closed most of the Shops there this week because they were open illegally. So there was a riot there last week. We walked by a sign today in Shutka that said that Macedonia was trying to improve the look of the place. So I guess shutting down the bazaar was a part of that. When we walked up to the soup kitchen the kids picked up rocks and said happy birthday. They started throwing rocks, at us and at the building across the street at a building. So we told them to stopped, and showed them to stop. Then I talked to the one who knows English, and told him the following. I asked him if he would like it if I throw rocks at his house, and he said no. Then I said stop throwing them at other people. Two things out of all of this. One is that these kids can be so easily influenced. We just need to pray that they will be influenced to do the things of God. Two is that a part of God is discipline. There are many times in the Bible where God disciplines His children. Well I’m learning that a big part of being over others is discipline and correction. I never really liked doing it before. But being in the internship I learned that this is a good thing. It is a part of people’s growth in being a Son or Daughter of God. Tomorrow I will start a new cell group meeting at a coffee shop. I’m excited! We will see what God is going to do with this.

The Zoo

Today we went to the zoo in Skopje and hungout with a bunch of cool people for our friend Sara's birthday. It was really fun getting to know more of the missionaries here. It is really cool to see what God is doing in different people's lives here. We played invisable baseball, football, and volleyball as well as seeing hippos, Cheetas, and wolfs. It was awesome hangout with people.

Back in Action

We are official. We have our paperwork worked out praise God! Apparently just in time, because they are passing a new law of how to do missionary money. They want to tax it next time. There will be no more volunteers for the churches in Macedonia after this visa. They will only allow church workers.
Today we went to Shutka. This was Elizabeth’s first time in Shutka. The kids were super excited to see us. They all asked where we were. We told them we had to go America for paperwork. They were all excited that we were back. One kid I promise grew like three inches since we had been gone. He is almost as tall as me. There were about thirty kids today. They all were eating the soup today! One kid had three bowls of soup. He is so hungry!
It really is neat because one more of the eight children in Bram’s family is coming to Shutka. He is so sweet and loving. He is not closed off at all. He just has a huge smile on his face all the time! I know this is the effect that the soup kitchen has had on this family. They said when some of the other children in his family started coming they were very closed off and they would not be hugged! I can testify today that when we were walking down the street they came and gave us a hug! God moves in many different ways. Even in hugs!
Tony played ping pong with them after most everything was put away and cleaned. They loved playing ping pong. I gave it a shot, however I was not up to par. I am going to have to work on my ping pong skills. Hahaha!
God Bless! Thanks for all your prayers and support! They are truly changing lives/destinies here in Macedonia!

River

So Elisabeth is here from camp. It is really good to have here her. Her and Bethany have conected really well! Appartently there are homeschool bonds when you homeschool. I'm so glad they are getting along! Yesterday we went to the River near our house. Bethany told us where it was, and we went to find it.It was cool, because God was telling me in this whole adventure that there were still treasures here that I still don't know about or have not seen yet. To just keep looking for those special treasures.
Today, we are going to the police station to do the last step for our paperwork. Also, I am going to do Macdonian lessons. Then going to Velles to hangout with a friend. Then we will do the women's Bible study:) Pray for favor with all of this. Thanks!

Daki

Please pray for Daki who has brain cancer. The doctors did another surgery on her this past weekend when we got back. The report from it was that they could not get all of it out again. Also, more had grown in her head. Please pray for their family. She has a husband and a really small son. Please pray that God will give them peace while they are going through all of this!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Bethany and I made it back to Macedonia. We made it through the two flights to get here. We met the sweetest older lady who had traveled many places and was on her way to Germany. We talked to her and found out we were taking the same plane to Paris. She stuck with us like glue, until we got on the plane. We swapped traveling stories, and really enjoyed listening to her talk. She was very wise.
After, we got to the Paris airport I went to the bathroom, and lade my boarding pass down. I totally forgot about it, because of lack of sleep. Well, I ran back when I realized, and it was still there. Praise God. We went on to Bulgaria. I was out the whole flight, until the stewardess woke me up to ask ham or cheese. I was so out of it I just grabbed the one and placed it next to me and went back to sleep. When we arrived in Bulgaria, two men picked us up thanks to Sashe. We did not get the message that we were not going to have the taxi drivers as before. So they picked us up, and we could not figure out who they were. We asked to call Sashe to meet us at the Macedonian Border. They were like oh we are going to take you the whole way. Then, I freaked out on the inside, and was thinking I do not have enough Euros for that. Then I felt Lord saying to me that He was going to take care of it. Well, I was like ok God. So went on and they wanted to get lunch. We were thinking that it was weird that our taxi drivers wanted to get us lunch. So eventually it came out that they were with our church in Skopje. They are the venders for Viva Tap in the Balkans. All we had was Euros. So they bought us lunch, and would not let us give them money for gas. It was such a blessing! They were really nice! The Lord really took care of it!
It was funny also because he was a really fast driver, but I was like Sashe trust him, therefore I trust him. Because, I knew Sashe would only send people who would take good care of us. Plus, the Lord said He would take care of everything. So I figured that meant everything!
Please pray tomorrow I'm going to get Elisabeth in Greece. Pray for favor at the border! That will be the train part :)

Heading Back

Wednesday Bethany and I will be heading back to Macedonia. We have all the paperwork we need to stay for a year. I am very excited! God has done some really cool things here in the states! Please be praying for us as we travel back to Macedonia. We have a lot to jump back into. We are excited!