Macedonia Update March 2023

Hi everyone, here is our latest update from Macedonia.

Kisela Voda

There are some small shoots of progress in Kisela Voda with us now having regular(ish) contact with some people outside of the times that we go to the centre. This may seem small but we have not had anything like it before so we are hopeful it is the beginning of something.

A few weeks ago, Ian had an in-depth conversation with a Muslim attendee at the centre. They spoke for a considerable amount of time discussing the Gospel message, the Bible and the Quran. At the same time that this conversation was taking place, Scott was at a prayer meeting with a group who meet weekly to pray for the Muslim population of Macedonia, that they would turn to Jesus! The value of prayer cannot be underestimated – God answers them!

The population in Macedonia can be broadly split into three ethnic and religious groups. Macedonian (Orthodox), Albanian (Muslim) and Roma (Muslim), and typically there is not much integration between these groups. We know that this is a generalisation as there are other smaller groups too. People from each of the ‘big three’ are represented at the Kisela Voda centre. We have been able to speak with other missionaries who already work with these different people groups and are hoping that some of them will be able to regularly join us. We believe that this will allow people who are already established within the different people groups to be able to invest in, and disciple, those who wish to follow Jesus. Of course, the aim is that these different people groups will come to salvation in Christ and recognise that whatever their passport may say, their ‘citizenship is in heaven’ (Philippians 3:20). Our hope is that they will one day join together as God’s people ‘with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone’ (Ephesians 2:20).

Homeless Feeding:

Our weekly homeless feeding work is continuing and we have been able to expand! One of the members of our church has joined us and so has a friend of Kristen & Josiah’s from our local community. We are delighted that this group is growing and hopeful that this practical way of showing the love of Jesus will lead to fruitfulness for the Christ. It is also an effective ‘starter’ for those who are embarking on their first mission work as it is a really simple way of connecting with people.

News in Brief:

• We have a team from Lighthouse Church Formby joining us from the 18th – 22nd April. They will be joining in with our weekly activities and we are looking forward to their contribution.
• This month Katie will begin to work with a team from Young Life Macedonia to run monthly activities in a special educational needs school in Skopje.
• Ian has begun a new Sunday morning class for the pre/early teen age group at Oaza which we hope will provide opportunities for them to engage with God in a way that is appropriate for their age.

Prayer

• For fruit from the work in Kisela Voda and from the work with the homeless.
• That new relationships will be built locally as we come towards spring.
• For an increase in team members for the different evangelistic activities.
• For our annual residency renewal. We renew our residency permits every year and this is now in process and will hopefully be completed by the end of April.
• For the team from Formby. Please pray for the practicalities of their visit and that God will use them to make an impact for the gospel during their visit.
• Thank you for your prayers due to the smog. The smog is a problem, but we are thankful that we have probably had the ‘least worst’ year of smog from the 5 winters we have done so far!

Thank you for reading our latest news. We hope all is well, with you all. Please feel free to let us know some news of your own!

Ian, Katie, Kristen and Josiah.