Another Day in Topanna

Open Highways and Heavens

Today was another day full of unexpected events. We started by eating a breakfast that is traditionally a lunch or dinner, so it had about the same amount of grease to make it worthy of an evening meal. Then we went back to the center in Topaana and took some time to worship and hear from the word of God. After, some of the group went prayer walking while the others went and saw some of the poorer conditions of the Roma in a different part of Skopje. The prayer walking was just in between nooks and crannies of the Roma's housing and felt as though we reached more understanding of the Roma's living. After the walking and touring for a couple hours, and since we had no teenagers for "coffee discussions" or ESL programs, We returned to the playground that resembled a cage more than anything. Everyone was exhausted, and when the word "playground" floated back into our lives, there was unanimous displeasure. We were all discouraged and not the happiest of campers, but to hear those kids cheer when they found out we were coming back just warmed our hearts. Their enthusiasm made the trek back to the dreaded playground much easier. We spent the hottest parts of the day jumping rope and letting some little [volatile] children attach themselves to us.
But it was fun.
We spent the rest of the day going to five separate homes, learning more about the culture and about individual customs of the Roma families. There were some good conversations and interesting facts we learned about each family and their day to day lives. A tasty supper was served after we got back from the houses. The meal was made by one of our missionary's friend who is a strong believer. The meal was delish. and we were stuffed full of goodness. Then we headed back to thee hotel for a good night's sleeeep.

Topaana

A New Chance To Touch Others

Tuesday brought us to a new neighborhood, Topaana. The plan had us playing with the Roma children of this area for about 5 hours at their park. When we arrived, we had time in worship of our Lord to prepare. Prepare we did by blowing up balloons, making jump ropes and creating activities with whatever supplies we found. When we walked onto the blacktop that is their park, we encountered an area that was really unsafe to play. So, we spent some of our time cleaning up the area. We saw the Lord's hand in even this work because when we returned for our afternoon session, some of the older teens wanted us to join them in the court area for soccer. Since we had spent some of the morning cleaning the other section of the park, we were able to accommodate the teens and play with the younger children in an area free of trash and glass. After our play time, we returned to our new "center" for some coffee and discussion time with some of the Roma youth. While some of us shared with these children, others got to tour another Roma area of Skopje. When these activities were done, we had a less than traditional Macedonian meal, spaghetti, macaroni & cheese and salad. During our dinner conversation, we all shared that while our activities were similar to earlier in the week, the new neighborhood and individuals made it very different. Please pray for us to be able to overcome these new challenges, create a welcome environment with this new group and touch them with the hope and love of Christ.

Play, Eat and Dance with the Roma

Are we human, or are we dancers?

What a beautiful, clear day in Skopje! We could actually see the snow capped mountains in the distance as we walked to the center once again. We were stopped every couple hundred meters by people who wanted to ask a question or say hi. Once we reached our destination we met with the team for some worship time and extended prayer which helped us get on track before we ministered to the Roma people. When we had finished our time of worship, we were met outside by a mob of children who had just gotten out of school and wanted to play. We gave numerous piggy-back rides, hugs, kisses, and learned many new Roma/Macedonian words. After repeated goodbyes we split up into three groups to eat lunch at a Roma home. We all had great experiences with the food, conversation and hospitality. After we walked back to the center, some people went to play sports with the teens and some of us went prayer walking all around the city. We were all very tired at this point and were happy to find out that we could just chill for the next hour or so before the dancing started. We sat around talking, playing games and we even watched a bird fall from the sky and die before our eyes (we gave the bird a proper burial and funeral). At around 7:30 the dancing started and we learned their one step circle dance fairly quickly. It was becoming fairly monotonous when it suddenly got exciting as two Roma girls "fell in love" with one of our BFA guys (parents you will have to ask who it was when we get back). We arrived back at the hotel around 10pm. If that doesn't sound like a tiring day, I don't know what will! Falla (thank you) for all your prayers and support and may God bless you until we see you again!
Ciao!

Sharing Our God

Into the Hood

Today started with many panic attacks over what time it was and whether we were late for something or not, but once it was settled we jumped into action. After breakfast we walked to the center again to get briefed on the day ahead. With a bit of nervousness we divided into groups to hang out with some Roma teens. We all ended up getting to visit at least one home where some of us danced, drank Turkish coffee (mixed reaction) and learned about many traditions, one of which included spearing your body with large needles. No matter the topic of discussion we found that all of them were very hospitable, willing to share and kind. After a few hours of this cultural exchange, we headed back to the center where the kids could come and discuss different questions and topics with us. That was very interesting to say the least and we all learned some things about how they view the future, God, the after-life, and family relationships. After, Brian shared the gospel and left them with the question, "Who is gonna pay for YOUR sins?" We closed the center and took the bus to Brian's house. There we ate great food, had great fellowship and fun! Now we are all sitting playing games, watching mens' volleyball and relaxing after a fun but tiring day. Until tomorrow, thank you for your prayers, as we feel we are seeing them answered before our eyes!

A Day of Play, Yet So Much More

Out on the blacktop

Today started with a traditional Macedonian breakfast: bread, orange juice, fresh tomatoes and many packages of unidentifiable cheeses. We had a small personal worship session with the Macedonian team here and then began to prepare for our day of... how do we say this... playing, jumping, running, loving, dancing over a rundown blacktop packed with Roma children. It's amazing how much a smile, pat on the back, high-five or a hug can jump over culture and language barriers. From eleven in the morning until four in the evening we played soccer, freeze-tag, jumped rope and all games imaginable. And if we stopped to rest, it was only long enough to find a seat before another precious Gypsy child came running up with a smile and another sort of game to try, or an old one to continue. These kids were so hungry for love and attention, it was a blessing to be able bless them with some of what they craved, some of what God has given us so freely. It was weird to see how this culture interacted with each other. They're incredibly physical, both aggressively in showing a negative reaction and lovingly in a positive one. Shocked to see them beating on each other and surprised when they leaped into our arms for hugs and kisses. We eventually began to retreat and clean up. A few hundred more pictures were taken and we turned to leave. We were escorted back to the center by an entourage of Roma kids of all ages. If we weren't gonna stay to play, then they were going to walk us home: hand in hand, arms linked, smiles shining all around. We had Macedonian pizza for dinner and then braced ourselves for meeting the hoard of Roma teens we will be hanging out with and sharing with tomorrow. We greeted each other with the aid of a few translators and then settled down for a movie. After the movie, we cleaned up and some of us were given a 101 course in traditional Roma dancing. It was a rather awkward interaction, please be praying that things can be casual and relaxed tomorrow so that we can share and relate with them. Catching a bus home, we laughed and chattered over the events of the day. With the time change we'll be extra thrown off, so please also pray for energy and patience. It would also be cool if you could keep praying for health, safety, unity, courage to share when the spirit prompts us.

Lord, we are here. Please use us.

Mostly a travel day...

So, we said good-bye at the school entrance and headed out. We arrived at the airport safe and sound and got our luggage checked in... then we found lunch. A rather exciting ordeal, as it ate up our time even as we ate it... half of us made it past the passport check with twenty-five minutes until take-off. For some reason the checker-guy was not swayed by our teenage charm and was not happy with a member's lack of visa. Only half of us made it to the bus that would take us out to the plane. And as we found our seats we feverishly prayed that the others would show up. Miraculously they did. We all settled in for our first flight of the day. The plane started up, propellers whirred, light flicked on, then... it stalled. Much like a car does- our little plane just stalled. Eventually they fixed the issue and we taxied out in the rain. An hour and fifteen minutes later we arrived in Zagreb... with twenty-five minutes to make it to the gate boarding for our next flight... again, only part of us made it to the bus, miraculously we all were strapped in by take off. Another hour and fifteen minutes and we were all too glad to be on Macedonian soil. We found a cheery driver and a young lady named Emily waiting for us with a fifteen passenger van... good thing the seventeen of us like each other... We enjoyed touring or clambering over and old fort as the sun set before we headed out to find our hotel and dinner. With funny Macedonian toast in our bellies we're all ready to head to bed. Please pray that we will be rested and ready for all those we encounter tomorrow. Please continue to pray for our safety, health, unity, strength and boldness as we minister to the Roma children.

Departure

Our Walk Begins

Our Mission

We are leaving Kandern, Germany and heading to Skopje, Macedonia over spring break. We will be working with the Roma or gypsy children of the area. We hope to minister to these youth and their families as we organize games, run ESL programs, visit their homes and spend time with them.