Living in the Shadows

Life in the shadows is not the place that most people want to live in. Humans by nature fight for the spotlight. They long for recognition, praise, and self worth for who they are and what they have done, to live in the spotlight of life. To be noticed by other people. Without this we are living in the shadows. Every one goes through these periods of living in the shadows. Sometimes it feels like you have been living in the shadows for weeks or months. Other times only for a few days. I have been feeling like I am living in the shadows the past couple of days. I don't know why exactly, may be it is a little bit of homesickness or culture shock, but I have been dealing with feels like I am living, also most forgotten in the mix of life happening around me, seen but unseen. Waiting to be seen or remembered.

Then I remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6:1 "Beware of practicing your righteousness (life) before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven." In other words, If you are getting your acceptance, self worth, or spotlight time from others, you better milk it for all it is worth, because that is all you are going to get! By looking for recognitions, praise, and worth in people; we are losing what really matters, God's favor and reward. We should strive to please God and to gain our sense of worth from him and him alone. Man's praise is fleeting and meaning less. God's praise last for ever and is the only thing that true fills is void (longing) in our life for recognition, praise, and self worth. Men are only human and will let us down and disappoint us, but God will never fail, forsake, or forget us. He leads us through the shadows of life to teach us to trust and to find our worth in Him.

Americans on the bus

I was on the bus the other day heading to my language lesson. At one stop a couple got on the bus and I immediately thought that they were Americans. They did not look like any Macedonia I had ever seen. I could not hear them talking until I got off the bus, but I knew for certain that they were American when I saw their socks. Below are some pictures of Macedonia socks and one American sock. See if you can pick out the American.

Publishing Pictures?

I received an e-mail the other day from a man named Gajic. He wrote that he works for a company that produces date books that are themed around one particular country. He had seen some of my pictures on flickr, and asked to possibly use them in a date book he is producing around Macedonia. I looked into it to make sure that it was legitimate, and it appears to be. I told him he could use the pictures he was interested in for his date book. I may have some pictures printed in a date book! I put the pictures below.

Making Friends

Part of ministry on the mission field is building relationships with the nationals. Although I am friendly and talk with people, it seems to take forever to get past that superficial level of "Hi, how are you?" Making friends at any level takes time, but often I feel as thought I am running at an even slower pace than others. This is also compounded by our world of instant everything. Of course, I am always my own hardest critic. After four months of working here I am beginning to see the fruits of this slow relationship building phase of ministry. The past three weeks, I have been invited to do more things than the past four months combined. I have had a wonderful time being able to fellowship with my friends and to see that I am making at least a small difference.