Ticket Please

Recently, I finished reading "The Hidding Place" by Corrie ten Boom. In it she tells a story about her father and her when she was a young girl. Corrie was worried about how will she be able to do something in the future. He said "Corrie, when do I give you your ticket for the train to Amserdam?" Corrie replied "Right before I board the train." Her wise father then tells her, "It is the same way with God. He will give you what you need at the moment you need it and not before. Don't worry about what will happen, God will provide for what you need when you need it."

Last night during the ladies Bible study, we read from Max Lucado about the burden of worry. In the book "Traveling Light" he tells the story of his family traveling by plane. He holds all the tickets for the family and right before they board the plane, he hands the tickets to his girls. Just like Corrie's father, Max tells us that God will provide what we need at the right time.

Waiting is not a strong suit for most people, and I am no exception. My term in Macedonia is coming to an end in about 2 months, and I am searching for direction in the future. I am searching for a teach position in America as well as looking into classes that I need to take care of in order to renew my teaching license. This always makes me anxious and troubled. Will I find a job? What if I don't? I need to teach in order to renew my teachers license. Will this delay my returning to Macedonia? What, Why, How? I am not sure of what my future holds, but I take strenght in what Corrie ten Boom and Max Lucado have written. I know that God will give me my "ticket" before I get on my "train". I just need to trust and wait for the train to arrive.

Ozymandias

I met a traveler from an antique land, Who said - "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lips, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal these words appear:

"My name is Ozymandia, King of kings, Look on my Works ye Mighty, and dispair!"

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away."

Team from America

What a week and half I have had. A team of Americans from South Carolina came to Macedonia to minister to the people here. They were broken into two groups. The first group worked on construction the new church in Strumitca. They arrived with only the flooring and pillars poured. In a week and a half, they have built most of the walls of the church. It is such a blessing to have their help building this new church.

The second group travelled all around Macedonia to different villages providing medical care. We had lines of people waiting to register and receive their examination. We saw over 600 people during the six days and visited seven villages. One was a small Turkish village in the middle of a valley about a two hour drive from Negotino. No one has been to this village to evangelise it and it has a very large radical Muslim influence. Because of this, we were not able to share the gospel in the Turkish village, but we were able to open the doors to future evangelism opportunities. There were many twisting and turning mountain roads to these villages, but it was worth all the trouble getting to the villages to minister to the people in the villages. We even got lost once and had to ask for directions from a shepherd.

The team took one day off in Greece. We visited some ruins, shopped, and went to the Mediterranean Sea. The team returned to America on Friday. It was a lot of work, but it was all worth it.

Fieldtrip to Mavrovo

A group of friends and co-workers when to a ski trip to the town of Mavrovo. This was the first time for two people in the group and only the second or third time for most of the rest of us. I have only been ski one other time before, and that was thirteen years ago! We rode up the ski lifts to the top of the mountain. It took about 5 minutes, but I enjoyed the ride. It was beautiful with all the new snow. We were literally skiing in the the clouds. My hair and Daniella's hair froze with all the moisture in the air. You can see the frost on Daniella's hair better, because her hair is so much darker than mine. It continued to snow during the morning. I fell down the mountain the first time down and lost my ski. I had to try and put it back on while on the slope. I did much better the rest of the day, but I did fall a few more times. It was so cloudy/foggy all day, that I went slowly down the mountain. I was afraid that I would run into someone because I couldn't see them. We were the only ones there that day besides the people who work there. We had the whole mountain to ourselves. I had a great time and enjoyed the fellowship time with everyone.