Macedonia 2019: Day 5 & 6
We kicked off the weekend with a high energy Kinetic English class and a center FULL of kids! English class consist of song and dance to the tune of familiar American songs such as “The Hokey Pokey” and “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” We ended the class with face painting.
In the afternoon, we were invited to Dajana’s friend’s home for coffee. This was an honor and we were excited to visit. She lavished us with food, tea and coffee while we spent several hours sharing stories and laughing together.
The men graciously planned, shopped and cooked an entire meal for all 24 of us – the Mengas, Javiers and Wheatons who joined us that evening from Tirana. Nancy helped to make sure the entire meal was gluten free!
After dinner, the Shift team came together to worship. The team invites their local friends to join them for the service. Several locals attended this week. The service opened with Albanian worship songs then Pastor Stan provided a sermon translated by Gregor.
The next evening marked our final event at the Shift Center. Susan and Nancy put on a parenting seminar over the 5 Love Languages. The event was well attended by families—men, women and kids. Afterwards, we faced the worst part of the trip—saying goodbye to our friends both local Albanians and the Shift Center team.
We write this from our hotel in Skopje hours before we head to the airport. As we reflect on the week, we have a greater appreciation of the importance of spending time on the ground with our mission partners. This week has provided us with a powerful perspective and given us clarity of the obstacles they face in Tetovo and the progress they’ve made. Finally, this week has been an embodiment of Romans 1:12 – “That is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.”
