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Hi all,
Just wanted to let you know that we made it home yesterday, June 23. It was a day late due to some travel issues but we'll update the blog again with a summary of our trip. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. It was a great trip!

Hi everyone,

We’re sorry for the posting delay everyone.  Here’s what we’ve been up to.

 

6/18/09

We spent this day touring much of Macedonia.  Nikola wanted to broaden our scope of understanding and awareness to locations beyond Skopje.

Mavrovo had a church half-way underwater.

Galichnik is on top of a serene mountain with wild horses.

St. John the Baptist Monastery had a giant hand-carved wooden backdrop.

Ohrid is the main tourist and vacation hotspot in Macedonia.  We walked through the city, hiked up to St Sophia Church, Canae, and St. Clemens Panteleimon.

 

6/19/09

We had lunch with Bojan, one of the leaders of the student ministry in Macedonia.  We enjoyed hearing about the encouraging movement he has seen.

We then ventured to the old bazaar and city center.  It was a great way to take a closer look at the everyday lives of the people.

We attended a get together at Nikola and Anet’s beautiful home later that evening to connect with more of our Macedonian friends.  It was a great time for stories, food, music, and laughs.

 

6/20/09

We headed east into New Skopje and spent some quiet time in a 14^th century female monastery.

Although our scheduled prayer retreat was postponed due to heavy storms, we were still able to meet up with the hosts, Viktor and Betti.  We were looking forward to the prayer retreat so we are hoping for nice weather tomorrow morning.

More to come!

-Jarrod

Photos

Skopje tour

Hey everybody!  Today was another beautiful day here in Skopje!  We started out the day in a little restaurant just outside of Skopje.  We enjoyed some traditional Macedonian food which was delicious!  (Shopska salads, lots of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, and a boar dish)  From there Nikola took us on a driving tour of Skopje.  We visited several different villages to get a better understanding of the demographics in this area.  There are 3 distinct ethnic groups here in Skopje: Macedonians, Albanians, and Gypsies.  And each group has their own religion. The Macedonians are primarily Christian (Eastern Orthodox), the Albanians (Muslim), and Gypsies (a mixture of different religions).  It was very interesting to see the differences just in driving through these little communities that are all part of the larger community of Skopje.  We stopped by a carpentry business run by a member of Soulcraft who employs workers that are hearing impaired.  This was really neat to see and to hear the stories of how Elia (that's the owner of the business) is helping these handicapped folks earn a living all the while building relationships with them to point them to Christ.  From there were visited the Museum of Skopje where we continued to learn more of the history of Macedonia.  We ended the afternoon up at the Fort of Skopje which overlooks the city.  We had an extended prayer time which was absolutely amazing.  There was a bit of a strong breeze that was constantly blowing and for me it just felt like the Holy Spirit moving through as we prayed.

On a personal note, I have to say that I completely admire the love and passion that Nikola (our NP partner) has for the people in this city.  He desires to see everyone in this community come to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  He desperately wants to find ways to bridge the gap between all of the ethnic groups so that they can be united under God through Christ. As we were driving around today I couldn't help but think "Lord, how do we start when there are so many people who don't know You?"  The task seems so overwhelming.  So that becomes my prayer.  And I ask you to join us in that prayer.  Please pray that God will pour out His wisdom to Nikola and the members of Soulcraft as they seek ways to build relationships with those in the community.  Pray that God will grant them influence in the community.  Pray that people will be drawn to services and outreach activities sponsored by Soulcraft so that ultimately they can hear about the love that God has for them.  There is so much to be done but as in the words of one of my favorite worship songs "greater things have yet to come and greater things are still to be done in this city".

Pictures from Skopje

Day one

Greetings from Hotel Kapistec in Skopje! After more than 24 hours of travel, we finally arrived at our destination around 11:30 Monday night. Tuesday morning we all awoke physically refreshed and ready to be spiritually refreshed. Nikola picked us up at 10 and drove us immediately up the mountainside to the St. Panteleimon Monastery and its gorgeous orthodox church which can be seen in the photo Jarrod posted at the very beginning of the blog. Built in 1164, it is certainly a beacon of church and art history. Lining the walls and ceiling were ancient murals of monastic monks, saints, Biblical characters, and several stories from Jesus' life.  With some palestrina-like music playing in the background, this was quite a setting.

While beholding this incredible place, Nikola began to tell us a little bit about the Christian community in Skopje and Macedonia as a whole.  This was quite fascinating as the community is quite unique. Nikola explained that, unlike many western civilizations, there has never been a true struggle between a liberal and fundamentalist view of liturgy. Therefore, there has never been any diversification of beliefs or convictions within the Christian community. While this may sound ideal on the surface, this lack of diversification has placed the orthodox church as the near sole option in Macedonia, and, overtime, made tradition its largest pillar. Further emphasizing this one mindedness, Nikola estimated that there are probably only 1,000 or so Catholics in Macedonia - a staggering number for the largest denomination in the world. Bringing the point home, Nikola also estimated that less than 1/8th of 1% of Skopje (less than 1,000) would call themselves evangelical, born-again Christians.

After explaining the Christian community, he explained what Soulcraft (the Church here) is trying to do. He clarified from his comments that bridging the gap between the orthodox church and the evangelical church is only one of many goals. The primary mission of Soulcraft is leading non-believers to a relationship with Jesus Christ.

After this discussion of the Macedonia Christian community, we ate some lunch atop the mountain (some chicken, pork, "hamburger", boar sausage, and potatoes). We then drove to a park for some group prayer time. After this we made our way down the mountain to a music hall where Soulcraft has held free public concerts in the past, and will continue to do so 10 or so times a year. This music hall was quite fascinating. It is owned by the Macedonian Army and was a venue for showing Communist propaganda films before the wall fell. It is now a hall where the Macedonian Philharmonic plays and Soulcraft will be holding events. We then drove onward to Nikola's office which is set up for strategic planning, prayer, and administrative duties.

After returning to the hotel for some rest, we went back out for an Italian dinner with attenders of Soulcraft, about half of whom spoke fluent english. Though it was rather late for us Americans (we got our food around 9), we had a nice time dining and meeting folk (or renewing friendships for Jarrod & Sara). It will be interesting learn more about everyone throughout the week. Jarrod took a couple of pics at dinner. No doubt he will post them later.

Thanks for your continuing support in prayer!

Church in Zurich and a street in Zurich

Sunday to Monday but we still think it's Sunday...

So our flight left Atlanta on time. Yay! There was plenty of turbulence on our 8 hour flight to Zurich, Switzerland...always fun! Jarrod slept the whole time on the flight. Melissa, Sara, and Peter tried to sleep, but our attempts were futile since we tried to go to sleep at 8 pm. Our flight landed in Zurich at 7:20 am Zurich time (1:20 am Atlanta time). Then we decided to take the Bahn (a train) to Zurich HB city center! We met a very nice Swiss chap on the train who was kind enough to explain how to get around the train station because everything was written in German. Then he told us the best way to explore the city. It was lovely weather...raining. So we decided to stop by the COOP and buy umbrellas since our rain jackets were packed nicely in our suitcase which had already been checked! Then, we managed to find a Starbucks where we had some yummy breakfast. The rain started to slack off a bit, so we hit the streets of Zurich. The old town was very picturesque with cobblestone streets, small alleys, and shops galore! We also managed to get a far away view of the Swiss alps! By 1 pm Zurich time (7 am Atlanta time), we were starting to get a little tired, so we headed back to the airport to find some chairs to nap. Now, we just finished eating Burger King and we will be boarding our plane to Belgrade at 5:05 pm Zurich time (11 am Atlanta time). After Belgrade, we will fly into Macedonia arriving at 10:30 pm Macedonian time (4:30 pm Atlanta time)! So far all in all, our travels haven't been too bad, but we are anxious to get to Macedonia to meet and see our new friends! Thank you for all of your prayers for safe travels! 

Is God playing a joke on me?

I can't believe that we leave tomorrow for Macedonia. The time has flown by so quickly since the first time our team got together. But more than that, I can't believe that our flight from Zurich to Skopje got cancelled today! I've had trouble with this in the past - flights into or out of Macedonia getting cancelled. Now, I'm beginning to wonder if it's me and God is playing a little joke. The reason I say this is because there have been a few trips to Macedonia within the last year - none of which I have been a part. And the travel has been smoothe. I've even asked the folks from those teams, "So, were there any traveling issues?" Of course they say, "Nope, it was great!" Now, I'm back on for another trip and what do you know - cancelled flight. I'm starting to think I'm the common denominator. Definitely makes for a more interesting trip.

Anywho, if you wouldn't mind just praying for safe travel for us as we depart tomorrow. And that there wouldn't be any more traveling difficulties. Thanks! We'll talk again soon.

Sara

Departure Approaching

Hi all,

Thank you to Kasey, Liz, Melissa, and Terry for praying with our team at the meeting last Sunday. As our departure date quickly approaches, it was a much needed moment of peace and encouragement. It will also serve as a launching pad for intense group prayers in Macedonia.

Trips always become real for me when I start to pack. As such, the gravity of the upcoming week really hit home as I began collecting my neutral-colored t-shirts and floral-print boardshorts. My mind flashed to images of the faces of our Macedonian friends. I don't know what to expect or how He'll use me but I enjoy that test of trust. I can't wait!

God bless,
Jarrod