The title of this weeks blog comes from the time I spent at the youth camp getting to know a bunch of the teens better and some for the first time. The main reason I went on this trip was to go to the Tora camp and be able to make a stronger connection with my church and the church in Strumica through the youth group. Now for our last week...
Sunday, we went to both of the church services and then we went over to Filip's house for another wonderful lunch. Other than the people I've become so close to here, I'm really gonna miss the food! We went back home after lunch to do laundry, pack, and rest a bit.
Monday, we left home at 6:30am to meet everyone so we could all go together on a charter bus to Bulgaria for the camp. We had some problems at the border (one guy's passport was expired and the minors had to have a certain paper) but other than that, it was an easy drive. After we got to the hotel, we dropped our bags off in our room and went down for lunch. Then we had free time, dinner, and the opening program.
Every day after that until Saturday, we would have breakfast, devotional time, the morning program and small group, lunch, a "mission", free time, dinner, a team game, and the night program. My small group was Bethany, Lindsey, and the girls from the church in Skopje. Our leaders were Gloria and Stephanie. They were so sweet and welcoming from the moment we met them all. I can definitely say that it was God's plan to put us together. They always included us three girls and we got to know them really well. Again, I love that everyone I met there has already become so important to me and I know we'll stay great friends!
Tuesday night, Bethany shared and sang a song with Stephanie. Wednesday night, it was my turn to share and then Stephanie and I sang the song "Brokenness Aside" together. The youth were so sweet with their comments afterwords! Thursday night, one of the leaders shared about his trip to Africa and then we had lots of worship. It was a very emotional and moving night because we had been praying to feel the Holy Spirit. Friday night, Lindsey shared and 5 of us girls sang Amazing Grace. Saturday, we left the hotel around noon and traveled back to Macedonia. Before we left though, the leaders announced which team won and our all girls group did! We were so surprised and excited! Later that night, we met some of our friends in the center of Strumica for the Open Festival. Anastasia from Skopje was in a dance battle so we watched her and hung out for a while.
Sunday, we went to both church services and they prayed over us girls. After church , we went to lunch with our little family (Bethany, Lindsey, Stephanie, Zivko, Dorotea, Hana, and I) and then he youth group threw a going away party for us that night. It was a great night, but saying goodbye was really hard. I know that won't be the last time I'll see them! Right now, I'm sitting at home typing the rest of this post and I already miss being there so much! Of course I missed my family and friends here and some of the comforts of America, but I got so used to every day life and being with some of the best people I've ever met! It was an experience that I will remember forever and I want to thank everyone who prayed, gave money, and supported me throughout this whole journey. Also, thank you to everyone in Macedonia who made this trip so amazing! God changed my heart through all of you!
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Macedonia Adventures - Week 3
It's crazy how fast time goes! At the beginning of this week, we were halfway through our month of being here and now as I write this, we only have one week left! So here's what's been going on this past week! Sunday, I went to the first church service and rested in between that and going to Zivko's parents house for lunch. After we ate, we just talked and looked at old pictures of their family. Then we hung out and waited until it was time for us to meet some of the youth at church. When we all got there, we walked to the park near the center of Strumica. We found a nice spot under some trees and we sang a few worship songs together. It's really cool hearing people sing in two languages and both worshipping God at the same time. After that, we walked through the park to one of the restaurants. We hung out there for a while and I tried the Macedonian version of pizza, which was pretty good!
Monday, we just hung out at home and watched movies. Stephanie and Zivko went to the spa to relax for most of the day so us 3 girls spent time together. Tuesday, we went to lunch with Stephanie's sister, her husband, and their daughter. Then for the rest of the day we hung out around here again.
Wednesday, we left early and drove to Thessaloniki, Greece! There wasn't much to see from what you read about in the Bible, but we did get to go in the White Tower, which is the only thing still left from the old city. There was a small museum inside and at the top, you could look out over part of the Mediterranean Sea. Then we sat down and relaxed at a coffee shop near the water. After that, we drove to a beach on the way to Philippi. Even though the water wasn't as clear as usual, it was still so pretty and we actually got to swim for a while. Then we ate lunch by the water and tried real gyros. After a tasty meal, we drove to Philippi to see ruins from the old city. It was really cool, especially seeing the spot where they believe Paul's prison was. We spent a good amount of time there just taking it all in and walking around the ruins. When we left, we headed home and planned to go through part of Bulgaria. We missed the road we wanted, which added an extra 2 hours to our trip back, but it was definitely a God thing because we had a really great conversation that probably wouldn't have happened otherwise. It was one of the best days I've had here so far.
Thursday, we met some of the youth at the church in Strumica to watch the movie, "God's Not Dead." Before we left the church, it started storming so bad that the streets were flooding. Friday, we were going to go to a waterfall, but it was still rainy so we stayed at home until it was time to go to youth group. We went to the city first and got dinner with Filip. Then we practiced our skit and we all hung out and played games together for the rest of the night.
Saturday, we went to see the waterfall in the afternoon. We took a taxi to the city and then we all walked up the mountain to where all the waterfalls were. There was the biggest one that everyone comes to see and then there were 9 more smaller ones that you have to climb up to. Four of us decided to climb up to at least the fourth waterfall, which was a lot of work but worth it! After that, we went back home before church and then we went to youth group. It was Lindsey's night to share and it went really well! My favorite part about being here are the people I've met and the new great friends I've made. The youth have been so welcoming from the beginning and I already know that some of these friendships will last a lifetime!
And by the way, shoutout to my Macedonian brother, Kiko!
Monday, we just hung out at home and watched movies. Stephanie and Zivko went to the spa to relax for most of the day so us 3 girls spent time together. Tuesday, we went to lunch with Stephanie's sister, her husband, and their daughter. Then for the rest of the day we hung out around here again.
Wednesday, we left early and drove to Thessaloniki, Greece! There wasn't much to see from what you read about in the Bible, but we did get to go in the White Tower, which is the only thing still left from the old city. There was a small museum inside and at the top, you could look out over part of the Mediterranean Sea. Then we sat down and relaxed at a coffee shop near the water. After that, we drove to a beach on the way to Philippi. Even though the water wasn't as clear as usual, it was still so pretty and we actually got to swim for a while. Then we ate lunch by the water and tried real gyros. After a tasty meal, we drove to Philippi to see ruins from the old city. It was really cool, especially seeing the spot where they believe Paul's prison was. We spent a good amount of time there just taking it all in and walking around the ruins. When we left, we headed home and planned to go through part of Bulgaria. We missed the road we wanted, which added an extra 2 hours to our trip back, but it was definitely a God thing because we had a really great conversation that probably wouldn't have happened otherwise. It was one of the best days I've had here so far.
Thursday, we met some of the youth at the church in Strumica to watch the movie, "God's Not Dead." Before we left the church, it started storming so bad that the streets were flooding. Friday, we were going to go to a waterfall, but it was still rainy so we stayed at home until it was time to go to youth group. We went to the city first and got dinner with Filip. Then we practiced our skit and we all hung out and played games together for the rest of the night.
Saturday, we went to see the waterfall in the afternoon. We took a taxi to the city and then we all walked up the mountain to where all the waterfalls were. There was the biggest one that everyone comes to see and then there were 9 more smaller ones that you have to climb up to. Four of us decided to climb up to at least the fourth waterfall, which was a lot of work but worth it! After that, we went back home before church and then we went to youth group. It was Lindsey's night to share and it went really well! My favorite part about being here are the people I've met and the new great friends I've made. The youth have been so welcoming from the beginning and I already know that some of these friendships will last a lifetime!
And by the way, shoutout to my Macedonian brother, Kiko!
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