Thought it was about time I updated on the last few months. I was trying to be clever and put a video or some pictures on here of out time in the UK, but I failed. You can see them on facebook if you like. It was a great trip full of big events: 24-7 gathering in Amsterdam, Ally and Amy’s wedding, Chloe’s graduation, Nat and Pete’s wedding and the birth of our beautiful niece, Isabel Joy Evans.
Since being back we have been still testing the waters about what it is we are going to be doing; wading just a little bit deeper in…
We are still learning the language, learning how to go slow and not assert our foreigness or our own selves onto what God is doing here. Our ‘barometer’ asks us “are we asserting ourselves in this or are we getting underneath and equipping the saints in Macedonia?” This is really helpful as we try to work out what our days and weeks will look like. Most of what I will be involved in to begin with may be quite simple and not very time consuming, so I am looking into the possibility of volunteering for a charity that works with people with special needs and also flirting with the idea of working in the local international school. These would give me some context and structure to my week, which would enable me to just ‘live’ and do simple things such as meet up with people to encourage and equip them, encourage prayer in the community and in the Balkans, help build community, and work on developing Patchwork Kids (our child sponsorship charity), and of course learn the language. We are realising that the language is such a key to feeling settled and being valuable here. Although most of our friends speak English so well that you forget they are Macedonian at times, there are times I am acutely aware that as outsiders we must learn the language in order to be truly rooted here, in order to agree in prayer, in order to be independent, to be ‘one of them’! In the mean time, please pray for us that we will quickly feel settled into our roles and relationships here as this is key to us feeling that this is home.
This last week we have begun to put the patchwork Kids website together and have also started meeting to pray as the Glasnost community at our house. I am excited about the beginning of these two ventures and asking God for more ventures that will enable and equip his body to see God’s Kingdom come here in Skopje and Macedonia.
For those who have been following and praying for my back – I felt that there was some breakthrough after praying with some friends in the UK and getting some better medication. In the last week, however, things feel back to how they were and we need to make a decision about surgery – which would mean a few flights home for Drs appointments and being on a long waiting list. We really felt that it was right for me to be here and so we are still hoping and praying that God will heal it soon, and we won’t have to go down the surgery route.
The weather here in Skopje feels much like the UK at this time of year – trying to make it’s mind up – rainy, cold, mild, sunny, windy etc. Skopje looks and feels very different in the autumn/winter – less heat means people are bustling about more, and it’s funny what buildings, trees, signs, you notice that you didn’t see before.
Answers on a Postcard 