Friday, August 20, 2010

You Never know What you Might be Able to be Apart of!

I guess last week was not my last time in Shutka for a while! Bethany and I were worried that we would be bored this week, because we would not be going to the soup kitchen. It turned out that the preschool workers needed help painting the new location of the preschool. We were so excited to help! We went and painted there on Monday and Tuesday. I was posted on painting them door frames red first. When I finished, I looked like I had slaughtered a pig. It was so much fun! I had to run home to get ready to meet someone later.
I came back on Tuesday. We sanded and painted the iron door first. I found out one of the worker likes Sci-Fi movies. She actually knew what Serenity was. The inner geek within me got really excited! The rest of the day Dijana and I worked on the entrance doors. The men worked really hard on doing the construction parts. The other ladies worked on cleaning the large windows and other things. Dijana and I had these different color plastics that peeled off. We cut them off into different shapes and placed them on the glass doors. I am sooooo not the creative person, but I tried really hard. It really ended up looking really good. It was a lot of fun too! Bethany and I had a good time helping, and getting to know the preschool workers more. They are a bunch of hard working people! I really hope the kids will enjoy their new location when they start their new year. The works put a lot of work into making it really nice for the kids.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Going out with a Slide Instead of a Bang

My last day helping the kitchen in Shutka for a while was a good and funny one. I played with the kids for a while. We played hand games like Ms. Mary Mack. One girl I twirled around a lot. She kept on asking me to do it again, again. It was neat. One girl was sitting with her brother and she came over and sat next to me. I usually would help her pull her sandwich apart so she could eat it. She would be so funny because it was always too big for her to hold and eat. So I would try to help her, and then she would be say no. Then she would always not be able to pull it. So then she would want me to help her. It was always funny sitting by her. I will really miss seeing these kids every week. They really are great kids! I pray that God will move in all their lives and direct there steps. I pray that they would all have a personal relationship with Jesus.
I went out with a slide instead of a bang. Sable asked if I wanted to eat with them (he and his wife). I stayed and ate with them. While we were eating, Sable got out some yogurt. The yogurt exploded all over the floor when he opened it. He was like I will just clean it up later, after we finish eating. I finished eating, and I stood up. He went I guess to go get the mop. I completely forgot it had happened and slid on the floor like sliding on a banana peel. Then somehow I landed in a split! Sable’s wife came running to help. I started laughing! What can I say it was funny! Then Sable came back to mop it up. He started laughing as well! I really will miss see them every week! I really enjoyed the kids and the people working there! I am very excited that the Pre-school and the church are now all in one building! I love to see God’s children all working together toward the same goals! Unity is a cool thing! I pray that God will bring more works to help there!

Monday, August 9, 2010

The Last Few Weeks

So much has happened in the past few weeks. We spent the last weeks of July in Ohrid which is located southwest of the capitol Skopje where we live. There were about twenty to twenty-five people there throughout the two weeks. People would stop by from all over Macedonia. Everyone seemed to get along most of the time. In the mornings there was a time for pray and worship with each other. In the afternoons a crew of people would make lunch. After lunch we would go to the beach.
It was really neat because Billur came. She is a college student living in Istanbul, Turkey. Bethany and Goce met her on a train they were coming back on from Velles. She is really awesome and open. One day she asked what I was doing. I was going to go out to read my Bible and write in my journal. I told her that, and I said I went to go and hear what God is saying to me. To hear him either in the Bible or whatever He is telling me, and I will write it down. She was like ok. Her birthday was a day after Bethany’s. We went out for drinks near Kalea. When we came back we had snacks and stuff with everyone. We also had lots of music. She said that the last day was the best day she ever had in a long time. She said she really felt accepted! She also said that she will definitely come back. It was really an awesome experience of getting to know her.
It was also neat because Nina came with us. We also got to spent time with her sister and her boyfriend. They are really amazing! We even had some fun and went on a boat with them and a few others of our friends. It was so much fun! You will have to check out the pictures on facebook. It was really neat because Nina knew Boshco from Gevgelija . She spent her first two weeks there. She and Bethany took the invited him to come. It was really exciting because when he found out he was coming he got so excited! He really had a good time.
The day that I was on the kitchen crew I helped with Marjan, Vicky, and Angelina (Vicky’s mom). It was a privileged working with them. They all three are very special to me. Angelina and Vicky are from Bulgaria. They were so precious. Angelina was like a little kid just soooooo excited to be there. She is so sweet. She climbed out the window while we were cooking. I thinking what is she doing. Then she came back with apples for all of us. She was just such a servant. Like in Mark whoever wants to be first must be slave of all" Mark 10:44. She would just come every day to give me a hug. Sometimes I would go to give her a hug, and she would get so excited again! They were both new Christians. Vicky became a Christian after she met Marjan who is dating now. Then Angelina became a Christian.
We spent a day fasting while we were there for certain things. It was really a cool experience. I had a chance to pray with Vicky and her mom. It was so cool! They are soooooo on fire for God! They love to pray! At the end they were like come to Bulgaria! Come and see us! Angelina really wants me to come. I think I will definitely pray about it and try. They were awesome women of God! I was privilege to get to know them! I still can’t believe sometimes the people I get to meet and know. I feel so honored to meet God’s kids throughout the Balkans.
It was really good just getting to know people better that we have known all throughout the year. Alpin even stepped as an older brother to a guy who trying to be too friendly with the girls. It was cool example of Jesus and protection through authority. Dijana was just a jewel. She doesn’t have any kids (except for the ones at the preschool in Shutka), but she has such a huge mother’s heart! She spent most of the time cleaning and making sure that people felt welcomed. I feel like I can really learn so much from her and everyone there!
Of course it was fun spending time with people on the lake as well. There were some awesome conversations I had on the lake or the way to the lake. It was really an amazing time! It was really cool God was showing me like in Johnathan David Helser's song the He is an "Endless Ocean, and bottom less sea."