scbc

southcrest baptist church of lubbock texas is departing tomorrow morning.
they have been a joy to host here in macedonia.
this week we had a series of workshops teaching different classes that give examples of how to use available resources for self provision and possible income...
gardening techniques and using recycled containers.
how to crochet
how to make bracelets of coke can tabs
how to make bags from old t shirts
how to make paper bricks
and basic guitar lessons.
they also got to paint the exterior walls of the roma school. one of the staffers said that the walls were starting to laugh. and they really are great.
there is a rainbow on the main wall that is truly there to be a reminder that the God who keeps His promises is the ONE who will save the Roma people.
also, they organized and contributed a lot of clothes to a close closet that we have going for when there are Roma in need of clothes.
it was a busy week.

trip reports straight from their own mouths are soon to come.

ej

ej was a delight to have. we spent two weeks buzzing around the city. we spent some quality time in roma homes the first week. she got to teach knitting and interact with the school that we work with. also she played a big part in helping with the group that came in from texas.

her bright smile brought the shining glory of Christ to the lives of those God put in her path. She was a major encouragement to be around.
Her go-with-the-flow attitude enabled us to experience the Spirit move in some sweet ways.
I haven't laughed that hard and much for a long time.

around the bend

July holds a myriad of opportunities for experiencing God by so many people.

EJ is showing up July 1 and will stay until July 16. she will do women's ministry and if the Lord wills, children's ministry.

SCBC of Lubbock will arrive July 11 and depart July 19. they will be doing community outreach that has a ton of potential for 'reproducible and sustainable' results that may lead to knowing Christ and creating a better earthly life for the people involved.

IWC is bringing a group of 18 July 20 through July 26. They will be focusing on children's ministry.

Two Roma women are part of a missionary training program out of Romania and will be coming July 15 through August 15 to minister in the heart language to the Roma people here.

We are planning these trips in detail now, and already looking forward to more coming in the fall and winter!

the Lord's work is exciting stuff!

wrap up

the team of ten from Cedar Crest Baptist Church departed this morning at 620. after a fast and full week, i am sure the return to their own cozy beds will be a sweet reunion at the end of their long travel time.
day one:
we walked up the crooked and crumbling steps of the fortress Kale to overlook the city and to pray. "As I stood along that wall, I could really feel the presence of God like never before." - Gaylord.
then we had street vendor burgers and split up to walk through a few of the main Roma communities. it was a lot of walking. the group with me got bombarded with snowballs from some little Roma kids. they were playing - but really persistent, even when we didn't play back. then we walked through a gang of 6 year olds whose hands found their ways into our pockets. fortunately they came out empty. then we had worship and fellowship at my apartment.
day two:
we walked the streets again, praying for hours. in the afternoon we worked on making paper bricks. i am going to go ahead and give kudos to greg for perfecting the art. he came up with a great method of forming the brick with the available materials we had.


day three:
the majority of this day was spent at the two Roma schools. praying. observing. teaching english lessons.
*** funny story***
the team is from Louisiana and with that comes the sweet southern accents.
mary was teaching the word ball.
the students would repeat after her:
'BAAOWL'
hahahah.
****
the rest of the afternoon was prayer walking around the schools. my half of the group got invited to the home of igber. it was her birthday and she wanted to have company. so we got to visit with her for a while. it was sweet.
this night we enjoyed fellowship over a big and delicious traditional macedonian meal:
tavche gravche, village meat, macedonian meat, shopska, lebche... and some had hot figs with ice cream for dessert. we all about had to roll out of there. my my.
day four:
we prayer walked as we went to the market to look around and buy souvenirs. the five that were with me were forced (by me) to try boza. a mystery drink that is really popular here. i was sort of disappointed because it's usually pretty gross, but this one was actually not bad at all. oh well.
after the market we went to Matka for coffee and a debrief.
then it was called a night so that everyone could rise and shine in time to leave the hotel at 4 am.

God moved in some really sweet sweet ways. He was with us every step of the way. I am praising Him for hand picking this team and bringing them here and for their hearts being called into battle in prayer.
please pray for them as they continue to fight along side us on behalf of the Roma.

Cedar Crest Coming

from march 22 march 27 a precious group of people from Louisiana will be here in Skopje. Their main task is to prayer-walk in some key areas where we are ready to watch barriers come down and the Spirit sweep through.
However, they also will be involved with a few of our current projects:

HEADSTART:
the headstart program will be feeding 400 roma kids lunch three times a week. we are working with a school here for the Roma that has two locations. the program provides balanced meals in which the kids will get all the nutrients not found in their typical diet of mostly bread. we will also be taking the opportunity to teach them about nutrition, hiygene and good character.

PAPER BRICKS:
this one is still technically not yet unveiled, but I'll let you in on it.
we are working on a process to make bricks of condensed pulped paper that will essentially serve as a fall back for when the Roma run out of fire wood in the winter.
it will be a simple teachable process and we plan on teaching it a few families to start, and hopefully it will branch from there.
they will have something to burn other than just random assorted trash which usually comprises plastic sacks and foil chip bags...
they will have something to occupy their hands and minds, as a lot of them have nothing to do all day
it will be using up the paper trash that is in abundance along every street
they will possibly have something to sell for a small extra income
they will have resources to share with eachother and with their families
we will get to help them physically, but also use the time for discipleship and evangelism

if these sound like something you would like to be involved in any way you can, let me know.

volunteer trip ideas!

if you go HERE you'll find some trip ideas that we are working on. go ahead. check it out. see if anything screams at you that you must be a part of.
i will be adding to it as frequently as i can come up with ideas. so keep checking. or better yet, let me know if you are inspired of any ways that you might want to help out over here.

i just posted new photos of some roma children here.
i will be trying to add to this site regularly.
also there is a calender on that site that will prove to be useful for trip planning, once i get it rolling.
thanks for the patience. i hope all of it will be full of helpful information soon.