Mission 2006 Macedonia Team Blog

We concluded our trip with a great look at the past with a walk through Christian history in Philippi. We saw where Lydia was baptized that now has a Greek church near the river. It was a wonderful look at an area that Paul spent some time in as we saw the ruins of a city where he was put into jail and the surrounding community where he lived for a time while he was preaching to the people there. It is sad to see how the city is not excited about the gospel that Paul preached and has fallen into icon and church worship instead of Christ worship. We prayed for the people of that city and how God will ignite a spark of revival that will carry through the area so they will return to the love that only Christ can give. Gary, Beth and Charles caught a flight to

Athens and then India which will allow them to continue with the mission journey on another continent. We went out on a flight from Skopje, Macedonia the next morning and made a long flight back to Austin. The flights were uneventful and our luggage made it with us the whole way which was a true blessing as God made the trip a very memorable one for the whole group. The team will be showing pictures and giving their story of what God showed them on April 1st in the evening service at 6:00 p.m. so you will not want to miss the evening. Thanks for each person who prayed for our trip and safety as we felt your prayers each and every day. God worked in our hearts and I hope that He is working in your heart as well. I will be speaking to our Awana children on Wednesday and to the men at breakfast on Thursday morning at 6:00 a.m. if you would like to attend either of these events. We will be having an interest meeting on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. in room 270/271 for this summer's upcoming mission trips. I hope God is impressing you to be a part of one of those trips.

From: Troy George [mailto:tkgeorge1209@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2007 5:20 PM
To: Barb Swetman
Subject: RE: Tuesday in Macedonia

This is a day that has provided some final opportunities to show Christ's love to the people in different villages. Gary was with Marjean as they went north to the mountains and he was able to preach to the gypsies while he was there which was a great experience as there were many children in the church and they were great fun to talk to about Christ. He was able to share the gospel in a gypsy household and the whole family came to know God through Jesus in that encounter. It truly was an inspiring moment for him and the family and made the day quite an incredible experience.

The rest of the team gave out food packages in two villages that had very little if any believers in them. The people were very grateful and invited several of the team into their homes for coffee (very thick and interesting to drink) or for juice drinks and cookies. The people have very little, but give so much to people they don't even know. We truly felt God's presence in these places and prayed for their salvation. We did a little shopping earlier in the day and are exhausted from the activities of the week.

We will be going down to Thessalonica and Philipi to see some Biblical sites in that area tomorrow. We ask for a safe journey and an ability to really see how God worked in those areas as we read daily about how this part of the world truly was a big part of our Bible history. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers during this amazing week. You will enjoy the many photos that are coming and stories to hear about that God allowed us to experience. Philip and Griffin had a great time today fishing with a local man and actually caught a couple of fish, but the time spent was even better with this man who doesn't know Christ yet.

I saw the blogs on the website which is great. It has been an incredible day of mixing with 4 different types of people in the three places we visited today. We gave away about 50 packages of humanitarian aid in one medium sized village to some Macedonians and Turks who really enjoyed the food and were very appreciative. The kazoos were a big hit with the children and some of the adults too. They keep asking when we can come back and get to know them better. We smile, hug them and tell them about Jesus' love and show it as much as possible.

The last village was very high in the mountains with incredible views of the surrounding mountains. The roads were very steep and curvy so that we even got stuck trying to make it up one stretch of road and the guys had to push the van up the road to get it going. Carol Baker had Griffin doing the shifting to keep her going in the right gear and the team made it to the destination. The village was one of Turkish Muslims who had never had a believer in Christ come there and we were able to give out some Christmas shoe boxes to the children and candy as well as about 25 packages of food. The truck that hauled the food broke down and kept the team there for an extra couple of hours which allowed the Reeders and Alisha to drink some coffee with the people there and have a great time of talking with a guy from Italy who spoke some English who was visiting a friend who lived in the village. It was a day of making new friends and showing God's love to people who need a touch from the Lord. We will do one last day of giving out food if the truck is able to be repaired and if not, we will praywalk for three other villages as we look for more opportunities to touch lives and be touched by the people that we meet here. They are a loving people who love Americans and have a great need for salvation. Keep us in prayer as we look to see God guide our steps on Thursday!

We had a great day today traveling and holding services in three different villages. We first went to the mission house which future mission teams may stay at and saw the setup for the teams to sleep and how the accommodations may fit our team coming back. We then ate some lunch that we brought with us as we prepared for the first service. There were about 60 children, women and men at the first location and we enjoyed singing and preaching in that location. Gary preached the first service as he spoke from 1 John 3 about the love that we should have for one another and also gave a children's sermon there as well. The team sang about three songs and met many people as we handed out fun stuff to the children in this location. Most of those in this village already knew Christ so we enjoyed the fellowship with the believers in this place.

The second location was out in a more gypsy type setting with few believers and more people from different backgrounds coming to the new building that was recently built by a church in Florida. Troy preached about the love that God gives us through Christ from 1 Corinthians 13 and offered an opportunity to make a decision for Christ which hopefully planted a seed among a difficult group. The team sang a few songs and Janis and Beth gave their testimonies to that group as well. It was an interesting group with a lot of children there and several adults who need to know Christ. We will continue to pray for this church and those who are ready to accept the Lord.

Our last stop was in a more city setting and a smaller space to meet. We sang songs that the people knew and had them sing along which was uplifting and bound us together. The rest of the team members were able to give their testimonies (Alisha, Griffin, Mary, Philip, Charles) before Gary preached on what it means to be a family member and especially one of God's family. One man recommitted his life to Christ and other seeds were planted. It was a very fulfilling day to see how Jimmy has started a great work among these villages and how God is blessing the work that God is leading him to do here.

From: Troy George [mailto:tkgeorge1209@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, March 12, 2007 5:30 PM
To: Barb Swetman
Subject: Monday Report

Barb,

Our first full day was a lot of great experiences in several places here in Macedonia. We started out by going to a local warehouse and buying some food to go in the 250 aid packages that we will be giving out on Wednesday. While Charles and I paid for the 8-9 items (flour, rice, beans, different spreads, and pasta) the rest of the group milled around in the local stores making friends and talking to the store owners. Griffin has an offer to go fishing with some of the men on Wednesday which he may do to get to know them and share his testimony with them.

We saw the new training center and the needs for the construction efforts as the foundation is done, but the walls and second floor needs work. This will be a great opportunity for our summer group to spend some time doing. The lunch was really good with the tomato-celery-cheese salad and chicken/pork fries entree gave us energy for the afternoon. We did some prayer walking in the village and met the mayor who allowed the training center to be built. It was an incredible time of watching God move in how our team ministered to the people through smiles and love (mainly Alisha, Carol, Beth, Janis and Mary) and giving out of candy by Charles A.

Griffin helped do some work on the training center by helping to load up wheelbarrows of rock and dirt and hauling it up a ramp to the area where it was needed. The workers there appreciated his help. We got to see the many people that Jimmy has got to know over the years and see where many families have been won through his efforts. We went up in the mountains to see a village that has no real influence for God in it and met some people that we will be helping later in the week. Keep us in prayer as Philip was not feeling well and everyone was a little tired still.

We celebrated Carol B. and Mary H. birthdays that are occurring this week by singing to them and eating some local cake. Gary and I are prepping for the services tomorrow so keep us in your prayers as we share God's Word with those who will hear in three different villages. God is continuing to work and shape us as we seek to do His work in this interesting culture. The people are friendly and seeking God's ways in many places, but many have never heard about Christ so we pray that this will change. Thanks for your prayers!

Serving the Lord around the world,

Troy

This is our first chance to let everyone know that we arrived safely here in Macedonia. We started off with our plane being an hour and fifteen minutes late due to some delay so we moved quickly through Washington Dulles airport and then through Vienna to Macedonia. The only piece of luggage that was lost was Beth Avery's, and it was just delayed so Charles A. (Avery) and Charles B. (Baker) went back to Skopje to retrieve it. We are tired due to the difficulty of sleeping on the plane and will go to bed early tonight. We met with Jimmy tonight and look forward to picking up the humanatarian aid materials tomorrow and then meeting with local village leaders for possible interaction. Keep us in your prayers as we do what God is leading us to do. Thanks for your support and encouragement!