From our team of girls visiting Brook Hill's Mid-Term Missionaries in Macedonia.

здраво! (Hello in Macedonian)

If you read the title, you may be confused as to why this post would be referring to a mission trip. Well, sometimes we try to fit our thoughts about what missions look like under a single umbrella that will never be sufficient to withstand the flood that God provides. A phrase that really helps to sum up evangelism here in Ohrid is earning the right to be heard, and the team here does that by building relationships in any way possible. The team leader's wife, Mandy, refers to sharing the Gospel here as giving the people "Gospel chips." This is basically referring to speaking bits of truth into daily conversation whenever possible. This does not mean that you refrain from sharing the whole Gospel because we must be relying on the Holy Spirit for His guidance, but it simply encourages us to be intentional in every conversation and on every subject matter to look for ways to speak Truth.

The coffee house here that Hannah and Ginna run is a great location that provides opportunities to get to know people of the community. During the summer, events are held regularly in order to draw in more people to share the Gospel with. On Tuesday night, there was an event to teach the Macedonians how to cook American pancakes. While cooking pancakes and in conversation, we began to understand the necessity to earn the right to be heard. There are huge barriers up and even mentioning God's name causes many of the people to steer the conversation in a different direction. However, it was also obvious that God is working in many of their hearts, but it simply takes time.

On Wednesday, we had the opportunity to hike with one of our Macedonian friends to visit two monasteries. Seeing the beauty that God created and also knowing the vast darkness in the hearts of many people in this city was breathtaking and humbling. Only He can tear down the walls between the traditions and the false concepts in order to open the eyes and hearts of the people here.



Today we had the amazing opportunity of meeting with one of the very few families of believers here. Mandy spent time discipling them and we had the opportunity to share our favorite Bible verses and teach about their importance in our lives. It was a very sweet moment for the whole team. Then, 0ur precious friend wanted to show her love for us by dressing us in the traditional Macedonian wedding dress. It was sweet fellowship, and proof that the Spirit and love tear down the barriers that a language can put up.



I know these activities may not seem much like a mission trip that even I would have described before, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the work being done through situations like these is producing fruit. Our God works in mysterious ways, praise His name!