A Very Merry North Macedonian Christmas

Merry Christmas from North Macedonia!

Celebrating Christmas in a tiny hostel in a country you’ve spent less than 48 hours in is a truly hilarious experience. There are waves of homesickness and guilt for not being in the States, but even greater waves of joy to be experiencing such a radical adventure with the Lord. I know this will be a Christmas I think back on for the rest of my life. Remembering how our team put sticky notes on the wall in the shape of a Christmas tree and ate homemade sausage for Christmas Eve dinner in a Turkish restaurant.

Our five weeks in Albania truly flew by, and what a gift they were. Albania was marked with friendship and the joy of the Lord. The church we partnered with poured community out onto our team of four, and we felt right at home in the city of Tirana. We served with college Bible Studies, youth groups, children’s ministry, and a special needs facility closely connected with the church. Our team grew together through laughter, seeking the voice of the Lord together, adventuring in Tirana, reading scripture, and celebrating Christmas. We said a lot of hard goodbyes before taking a seven-hour bus ride to Skopje, North Macedonia.

We will be in Macedonina for the next three weeks. The first two weeks, we will be participating in Ask The Lord (ATL) ministry, and the third week, we will be reunited with our whole squad and leadership team for a five-day debrief. We have spent weeks praying and seeking the face of the Lord for our time of ATL. The Lord led us to a connection with a prayer house in the city that we are all thrilled to invest in. We felt like God invited us to stay in a hostel and evangelize with the individuals we meet in our shared room and living space. We also felt God placing a banner of “presence” over our time and inviting us to receive more of His Word. As a team, we are so excited to listen to God’s voice for this time and be obedient to it. Be praying as our team has already begun having gospel conversations in our hostel. Pray that each of us would be in tune with the Holy Spirit as we listen and share. Last night, we invited a girl staying in our room, from Taiwan, out to dinner with us. We shared a meal and asked questions about her life. Afterwards, half of our team decided to go to a coffee shop to read our Bibles while the other half went back to the hostel. We told our new friend our plan and that she was welcome to join either group. She chose to come with us to the coffee shop and sat at our table for hours while we poured over the word. What a gift to share that time with her.

I have been deeply reminded of my love for feasting on the Word of God. We have been given the gift of time in this season, and so I have set out to read through the Bible in 60 days. Believing that God’s word is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). Last spring, I read through the Bible in 90 days. Through it, God drew me into a deeper understanding of his character and the whole counsel of his word. That experience grew my love for the word and stretched my spiritual discipline and obedience. Partner with me in praying that God would grow my knowledge and revelation of Himself through spending so much time a day in Scripture.

Keep praying, God is working!

Grace