Matka Canyon

My first Monday in Macedonia took me to a canyon known as Matka with two of my fellow outdoor loving friends, Alojz and Kiko, along with a friend of Alojz. Matka is a canyon near Skopje the beauty of which is positively breathtaking.



Our adventure started with a trek beside the river which led us to a restaurant by the lake nestled in among the cliffs. From there we began our ascent up the mountain. Up, and up we climbed. The higher we got, the more we had to be careful of our grip to prevent slipping down the steep sides of the mountain, or starting an avalanche with the loose rocks. Every so often we stopped to look below us. The higher we ascended, the more incredible the beauty. From one spot, the lake far below formed the shape of a heart. We climbed to an outcropping of rocks to get a different perspective of the view. The sights and sounds that met our eyes were more incredible than words can describe. Down below were the lake and the quaint restaurant. Towering above and to the side were cliffs of jagged rock. Across the canyon was an old monastery, perched on the edge of the canyon, far from civilization, conjuring images of a more peaceful bygone era. On our left in the distance was a majestic snow covered mountain range. To top off the beauty meeting our eyes, the peaceful, almost ethereal, chanting of the music from the monastery floated across the canyon to meet us.

We reached the top and a wonderful surprise greeted us. As we climbed across a hollow, and into a meadow, we found an enclosed garden. With all the wonder of children exploring a new and mysterious place we ducked through a hole in the fence and looked around us in awe. The view I just described had only magnified and broadened. There were inviting picnic tables surrounded by beautiful bushes, and old stone ruins. Tunnels of greenery invited exploration. I almost expected a hobbit to emerge, or to find one sitting reading a book, enjoying his fifth meal of the day. Towards the back of the garden was the little church.


We rested there in the garden for several hours before completing our adventure on the way back by getting lost on the side of the mountain in the dark. Eventually we found our way by bushwhacking down until we got to a road. The darkness
brought out a different type of beauty. The moon was out, and the silhouette it created of the jagged mountains was incredible.
It is on days like those that I am reminded of what an awesome Creator made me. As I looked around me, at all this beauty I felt as though His presence was saturating every part of it. The mountains shouted of His strength, the lake, and trees of His beauty, and the breeze seemed to wrap me in His loving arms. As I gazed on His creation I spoke with Him, my Creator my Father, my closest friend. He reminded me of how He had called me to this beautiful country, that He had planned these days and moments of my life from the very beginning of creation. He deepened my understanding of how great His love is for the people here. And looking out at the beauty and awesomeness of it all, I realized with a very deep surety, that there is no question that if the God who imagined and created all of these things has ordered my steps and is watching over me, then I have nothing to be afraid of. Just as my heart felt incapable of even comprehending the awesomeness of what was around me, so I realized that the goodness of my God is beyond finding out, his faithfulness towards me never ending, more than my human mind can fathom.

She Makes me Smile

Across the hall from me lives a delightful little girl who is three years of age. Her name is Naomi. About one and a half years ago when I first came to Macedonia, I had the privilege of staying with her family during my three week visit, and then again a year later. I had a wonderful time with them, and enjoyed the three children very much. Never in my wildest imagination did I think that I would one day be living across the hall from them.
Before Naomi and her family knew that I had made the decision to move here, Naomi picked up the telephone one day and was pretending to talk with someone. Her mother asked her who, and Naomi said, "Remember that girl who stayed with us, I'm talking to her." Naomi was referring to me, and her mother quickly got the camera and taped Naomi's phone conversation with me. I am sharing the youtube video here. Naomi says, "Bethany you will come, and we will drink hot chocolate together. I love you, good bye." Though they didn't know it at the time, Naomi was right, that I would come and we would drink hot chocolate together, I have photographic evidence that it happened.



And here is the proof that what Naomi said came to pass. :-)





Sometimes the "little" things mean the most. I thank God for the joy children bring into my life.

Monday in Skopje

I plan on making a series of posts describing what each day of the week is typically like for us here in Macedonia. Since I am in Macedonia, I will do things their way and start the week off with Monday instead of Sunday.

We take Monday off to rest and get things done around the apartment. We do our grocery shopping, which is a very different experience than in America. You don’t take the car, get your groceries and drive home. You walk to the store, and carry home everything you buy. Our weekly grocery shopping includes a trip to the green market where we purchase fresh vegetables, fruit and eggs, which proves to be a wonderful cultural experience. Early on we decided to stick with buying our vegetables from the same two older women in order to build relationships with them. Dressed in quite typical garb for the older generation of Macedonian women; skirts, sweaters and headscarves, they greet us from behind their tables of fresh vegetables with broad smiles. They discovered that I am eager to learn Macedonian, and have been very patient and helpful teachers, pleased that I want to speak their language. I point to the tomatoes and show how many I want. My friend says the sentence slowly and clearly in Macedonian, and I repeat it to her, “Сакам две патлиџани, те молам.” She smiles with glee and congratulates me on my success. Maybe next time I will surprise her and use a whole sentence that she hasn’t taught me. And one day I will know enough to tell her why I am so drawn to her country, and why I want to learn her language, because I have felt the love that Jesus has for her country, for her people, and ultimately for her. Until that day, I am pleased to receive her gift of a few extra carrots and a hug and pray that my smile will speak to her what my words cannot.





In the evening we go to a prayer meeting with Glasnost church, the young people’s church we are a part of. This is one of my favorite parts of the week, walking across Skopje with friends, praying together for the city, for our church, and for God to move in the lives of the people around us. I love it when God shows up and meets with us. The best part is knowing without a doubt that God will answer every prayer that we pray, and therefore these times have the power to bring great change.

Urgent Prayer Request

I am sorry for the recent lack of posts. Over the holidays I have had more limited access to internet, and have not found the time to make blog posts. I have several in process at the moment which will tell more about what I am doing here. In the mean time, an urgent prayer request has come up. One of the things we do here is to go to Veles, a nearby city, on a weekly basis and spend time with the four women in the church there. One of them has recently been having problems with her head. We found out today that she has a tumor and they will be operating tomorrow to remove it. We don't know many more specifics at the moment. She has a small son who was recently in the hospital for other health problems. Please pray for Daki, and her husband Mace, and their son Martin.

Shutka

About an hour long journey by bus and foot from our apartment is an area of Skopje known as Shutka. It is home to the largest settlement of gypsies in the world. It is full of great poverty, spiritual darkness, dirt and garbage. It is not an attractive place from a physical perspective, but I know that the heart of God yearns over it. And God has imparted to our hearts some of the same perspective that makes Him love this place so. I believe that in going to the least of these, I get closer to Jesus than anywhere else. So, Tuesday and Friday mornings find us making the trek to the church in Shutka.



The church we attend has a church plant in Shutka. Part of their ministry is a soup kitchen for children that operates five days a week, feeding usually 50-70 children, with the capability of feeding up to 100. We try to arrive at around 11:00 to help Toni (the Macedonian pastor) and Chris (a missionary from California) who are usually preparing the soup, and supervising the gypsy children who have come to help with set up. We help with preparing bread and apples, and with set up. While we are waiting on the food to be ready we often get a chance to play with the children, a highlight of the day.



I love these children. Behind their dirty faces and sometimes rough behavior I see Jesus. I see character being shaped, destinies forming, and little hearts open to receive seeds that will grow and produce fruit of eternal worth. I love to hold them and let them teach me their games. I also take the opportunity to learn some of the language. They sometimes take advantage of this by telling me to say something and then laughing uproariously when I do. At least I can make them laugh.
:-)



When the soup is ready, the crowd of children waiting at the door are let in, and then ensues a time of loud singing followed by a prayer. We begin serving the soup, bread, juice and apples. Their faces are priceless, the little girls who smile shyly up at us, the boys with faces full of mischief, waiting to pull a prank on the new foreigners (we're catching on though). They eat eagerly, and around the room arms start to wave and requests are shouted, сакам леб (I want bread), сакам супа (I want soup), сакам сол (I want salt). In short order they have finished and begin filing out, leaving tables covered with a mess of soup, mushy napkins, half eaten apples and pieces of bread.



Some of the children stay to help clean up, and they are excellent workers. We wash dishes while they wipe tables and put them away, sweep and mop the floor. Fifty plus bowls, spoons and cups later, we dump the dirty dish water, and wrap things up. Leaving the church compound we pass Dusty the climbing cat and Spike the dog who deals with leftovers. We have been coming long enough that as we make the ten minute walk back to the bus stop, children often see us and call out hello, or follow us back, laughing and chatting. It is a good feeling to recognize faces, and be recognized. I often fall asleep on the bus on the way home. Shutka is an exhausting environment.



If you think of it, pray for us on Tuesdays and Fridays. We need wisdom to be able to interact with the children in a loving way, but at the same time enforce discipline to prevent being completely run over. Pray for open doors to sow into their hearts. And pray for our protection as we work in this place full of spiritual darkness.

Coming Home

Almost two and a half weeks ago, my plane landed in Thessaloniki, Greece, and friends drove us from there to Skopje, Macedonia. I had expected to feel that sense of being in a foreign country as we drove, but on the contrary, I felt like I was coming home. That sense has not left since then, and I am enjoying my new home immensely.


Jenn and I

Perhaps I should begin with introductions. I am living in Skopje, Macedonia with two room mates, Jennifer Collop and Biljana Petroska. Jenn completed the same internship program I did with Dwelling Place Christian Fellowship in Christiansburg, Virginia. We both heard God's call to move to Macedonia, and so we came together. Biljana is from Macedonia, and we met her on our first visit here in May of 2008. We are incredibly blessed to have her as our room mate. She is easing our transition by helping us Americans catch onto Macedonian ways. Lately she has been teaching us how to practice Macedonian hospitality, how to go grocery shopping, to be sure to walk to the door with guests when they leave, and other such useful information for foreigners. She also happens to be our language teacher. We live in a two bedroom apartment across the hall from our pastor, Sashe, and his wonderful family; Marija, Tamara, Luka and Naomi. They have welcomed us warmly. Marija informed us that Naomi, who is three years old, was counting her family on her fingers, "Daddy, Mommy, Tamara, Luka, Me, oh, I don't have two fingers for Bethany and Jennifer." God has provided for us beyond what I ever dreamed. We are surrounded by loving, caring people on every side.


Luka was seized with a desire to wash our dishes for us.


Tamara and Naomi.

For a country girl whose house in Virginia didn't even have a lock on the door there have been many adjustments to city life, but the grace God has given has made it all easier than I ever imagined it would be. We are learning our way around the city, and how to use the bus system. The lessons have not always been easy, but they stick with us better that way. We know how not to use bus # 5, after staying on it for about 30 minutes beyond the stop we should have gotten off at and confusing our poor bus driver. I learned that God has given me courage I never dreamed I would have to fight back when one of the many street dogs decided to make a lunge for my leg and bite me. I kicked that dog, and he ran away, having inflicted no damage to my leg. On the contrary, the experience gave me a certain confidence in the reality that God protects me even when I am physically alone. Things that used to intimidate me no longer do. This is the beauty of God's love chasing away fear.

A local shopkeeper eager to make friends with the Americans has given us numerous laughs. I went to buy water one day and he detained me, indicating he had something to tell me. In very broken English he managed to say that my face looked like a picture on the wall of a church, and that I look like Saint Maria. I had a hearty laugh over that one, but I wasn't sure whether to take this as a complement. Sashe and Marija later informed me that in this culture heavily influenced by the Orthodox church when someone wishes to pay a big complement they tell a person that they look like an icon from the church.


A view from our apartment.

These have been weeks of great joy; long awaited promises fulfilled, old friendships renewed and deepened, new ones made, soaking in the reality that I am finally living in what I have dreamed of and prepared for for so long. It is so worth all the prayers, tears, training, waiting, paperwork, perseverance, and downright hard work it took to get here. I feel that I am living in what I was created for.

The Puzzle is Solved

At long last the pieces of the puzzle have been placed together, and it all makes sense. I went back to the doctor on Monday to hear my test results and was given a diagnosis of Lyme disease. Thankfully in my case it is treatable, I have been put on a three week round of anti-biotics. I could have avoided much confusion if I had known what to look for from the start, because looking back I can be almost sure I know when I was infected. In hopes that I can help others avoid having to walk the road I did, I'm going to share a little more about the signs and symptoms as they appeared in my case.

Once I got over the initial shock of diagnosis and did some research about it, I was able to look back and piece together many things that happened in the past few months that I never understood. Back in the late Spring or early Summer I had gotten a bug bite on my foot that became red and swollen. It concerned me for a while but when it disappeared within a week or so I dismissed my worries. I never saw a tick on my foot, the deer ticks that carry the disease can be so small you never see them. If I had known that a rash around the site of the bite is often the initial indicator that you have picked up this disease I could have avoided a lot of confusion. In the next months I had many, many symptoms. Several of them only lasted for one or two weeks, and then disappeared, so I didn't pay much attention to most of them. I experienced jaw pain and stiffness, upset stomach, muscle twitching, flu like fatigue, rashes, loss of appetite, dizziness, and most notably joint pain. It was the joint pain that made me finally realize something was wrong.

As I look back I see the hand of God so clearly through it all. I am so thankful for my doctor, and that he had the wisdom to order the Lyme test, so that I was diagnosed before I move and while it was still in the early stages. I felt very strongly that God was going to bring resolution before I moved. I just find His sense of timing very amusing. The diagnosis was given exactly one week before my departure date. As one of our elders once said, "God is never late, but He sure misses a lot of opportunities to be early!" So many times in the middle of it all, I became so discouraged, feeling like this struggle would never be over. And God would remind me that I could just trust Him, He had it all taken care of. As usual, He has proven Himself completely faithful, and I look back wondering why I ever doubted. He is always faithful and He always will be, that is simply who He is.