Feliz Navidad and Merry Christmas!

We wrapped up our English and Spanish semesters with a celebration Christmas party and certificate ceremony last Thursday. 74 Certificates were earned this semester from English and Spanish classes--Spencer and I also earned our Macedonian Certificates..and we celebrated in stlye...traditional Macedonian style!

Our good friend Irena arranged for students to each bring some sort of Macedonian food, and several came in traditional Macedonian costume and preformed the Oro, a traditional Macedonian dance. There was so much food, and it was all delicious!
I am continuously encouraged by the friends who have come alongside us to help us and support us for His purpose, and I thank the Father for these dear friends: Irena, Boro, Mario, Tomas, Aneta, Hristina, Alexander and Vale. Your help and support throughout this last semester at Izgrev has been such a blessing to us!
Only two semesters left for Spencer and I to teach. Three if you count the summer. Time is running short. But, a lot can happen in one year. A LOT.

Macedonian Charades

Since Spencer and I have finished our formal language classes, we have determined to speak more and more Macedonian and less and less English.

In attempt to answer a challenge from some of our new friends, we hosted a game night last friday night during which Spencer and I could only speak Macedonian.

It was quite comical, but also challenging at times. Some of the words used were English cognates, like "altar" and "bazooka" but others referred to Macedonian movies or Turkish words.

Needless to say we were clueless most of the time, but did have lots of fun trying. Because both of us being on the same team would prove to be a pretty big handicap, we were on separate teams...in the end, I'm not sure who won.

We did have lots of laughs and enjoyed the challenge.

Enchiladas + Salsa + Karaoke + PlayStation = Fiesta!

We hosted an outreach at our house this last Thursday to try to get to know some of the students in the Spanish class a little better. It was a "Girls ONLY" event, and was announced only to the girls who had been coming to both Summer and Fall Spanish classes. Out of the 20 or so girls who had been coming to class, we were expecting 8 at the most, but we weren't sure because we hadn't done anything like this before.

I prepared some enchiladas, hot and mild salsa, rice and beans, as well as some Crystal Light Lemonade. The tortilla chips came from a local grocery store which imports them from Spain; so, we just waited on the 7pm hour to roll around.
It turned out we had 14 guests and we were so excited to be able to have more than what we initially thought. We started the evening off with a round of Crystal Light Lemonade (who would have known Crystal Light could be such a ministry) and EVERYONE wanted to try the lemonade from America.

Next was the unveiling of the enchiladas and tortillas, hot and mild salsa as well as the rice and bean mix. Then the explanations began of what was in what and how to make it and so on...It was the first time for most of these girls to try Mexican style food. One of the girls remarked, "I'm in love with enchiladas!" It made me laugh!

The HOT salsa was more popular than the mild, the enchiladas, tortillas, and chips were gone before the night was over.

Cue dessert, a spread of NO-Bake Cookies and Chocolate Chip Cookies. The NO-Bakes went in a flash...as we all enjoyed the company and sheer silliness of watching friends Karaoke to English songs as if there wasn't a care in the world.

Everyone has asked for the recipes, so I look forward to sharing those in the near future. It was suggested to have another party but next time to invite people over before the cooking starts so they can learn the art of Mexican food too. Others suggested a "Girls ONLY" movie night...so I look forward to future events as I get to know this group of girls even better.

The Great American Pastime in...Macedonia?

YUP.
That's right. The Great American Sport has been transplanted to the soccer fields of Prilep, Macedonia where it was welcomed warmly.

Participants of all ages gathered to learn the basics of this "new" game and actually got the hang of it pretty quickly!

There was basic discussion about how to hold a bat, where the strike zone is, what a foul ball, ball and strike look like...

what happens when there is a pop fly and when it is caught in the air...

what it means when there is a full count, and what it means to be "out"...

and occasional reminders to RUN, RUN, RUN when the batter hits the ball.

Over all, it was a great first time trial, and here's hoping that the people who came will bring a friend to the next "game". Right now American football is taught on Fridays and baseball on Sundays in accordance with the time the field was available for renting. The end goal is to be able to gather enough people to be able to conduct a game or even a tournament, while providing the rules of the game, applications to life, all the while developing relationships and friendships. Please remember the people who attend and will attend, even if it is just to watch.

Once more, we'd like to thank Tree of Life Church in New Braunfels, Tx who provided us the equipment to be able to conduct events like this!

Greece: Living out Acts 16

The remaining summer months have been our busiest, preparing for the fall, meeting new people and getting to know friends a bit better. Before September's English and Spanish classes as well as Spencer's sports began, we headed south to Greece.

We played the role as tourist, viewed the ancient ruins of Philippi and walked where Paul and Silas and Luke walked.

We first came to the amphitheater of Philippi. It was HUGE.

We stood in the same river where Lydia was baptized (Acts 16:11-15) and if the water was as cold then as it was now, wow.

We walked up the same steps Paul and Silas walked up before they were imprisoned for casting the demon out of the fortune telling slave girl

and looked into the prison where Paul and Silas sang praises to God just before the earthquake occurred.

We saw the forum market where Paul and Silas were publically beaten before their imprisonment despite the fact that Paul was a Roman Citizen (Acts 16:16-24),

and saw the buildings which once housed the magistrate who ordered their beating and eventual release (Acts 16:35-40). Notice only the doorframe stands.

We walked through rows and rows of houses, one of which could have belonged to the Philippian Jailer who pleaded with Paul “What must I do to be saved?” after the earthquake (Acts 16:30).

We then headed back to Thessalonica (Thessaloniki) by way of newly built intersate rather than the Egnatian Way as Paul, Silas, and Luke would have (Acts 17:1) The Egnatian Way runs parallel to the Forum (market place) through Philippi. It was one of the only structures which still remained pretty well intact after the city fell victim to several earthquakes and the Turkish rule. It was still mostly flat, paved with large white marble stones, and was wide enough for a wagon or two horses to pass side by side.

Spanish, Español, Шпански!

As many of you know, I (Janae) am an ESL teacher. But, before ESL, I taught Spanish. When we first found we were coming to Macedonia, it was bittersweet for me to pack up my Spanish books knowing there is a chance of not needing them again. I came here to teach English. But, the Father had something else in mind.
I was approached by several people about teaching a Spanish class, but had written it off as just "several people wanting to learn something other than English." But, when the desire spread, I asked our team leader if this could be a possibility. After being given the "green light"--here's what happened:
We have almost finished the 6-week introductory Spanish course through Izgrev. Although this was a trial run to test the water, we were very pleased to see the response from the local community. 6 weeks ago we had registration complete with 26 names on the list (after the classes were advertised in the local newspaper and through flyer distribution) which soon grew to 35 by the first class. Because of this number and a lack of space, the class was split and offered at two different times twice a week. Each class continued to grow as friends told friends and family told family...
In the end there were 71 students on the roster! It was a blast as I was able to meet many new friends and get to know others who aren't in the already existing circle of friends.
I was especially appreciative of several of my close Macedonian friends who came along side of me in support, staying for both classes, serving drinks, washing dishes between and after classes (which is no small chore) and being willing to explain in Macedonian any grammatical concepts that I couldn't show with a picture or with actions. This would not have been successful without them! (Thank you Irena, Aneta, and Boro!)
So, many would wonder how such a class is taught if I am not yet fluent in Macedonian? Well, I taught completely in Spanish, using photocards, drawings and actions to relate the meaning. The biggest challenge was on the part of the student as the Macedonian language is in Cyrillic, and Spanish is not. So, if one didn't have a knowledge of the Roman Alphabet (such as we use in English), one had to learn pretty quickly! This way of teaching isn't traditional--textbook, pen, worksheets, etc--and I think it worked to my advantage!
The main group of people drawn to these classes are 20-somethings, single, in-and-graduated-from college students. There was some roll-over from students of the English classes, and some Americans!!! (NY, CA, FL)
Spanish classes will resume again the 3rd week in September, and I am so excited as Tree of Life Church in New Braunfels, Texas has partnered in ministry with us to provide the curriculum needed to be able to present Beginner and Intermediate Courses! Praise the Father for such a gift to us, and we are excited to see how He will use it for His glory!

Letters from Texas

We received such a surprise in the mail this past week. 55 letters from fellow Brothers and Sisters at First Baptist Church Andrews, Texas arrived in a small flat-rate Priority Mail box. What an encouragement they were to us as we read each one, and each one reminding us that we truly are one body in Christ. Now, even though I (Janae) am from Texas, I haven't been to this church nor do I know any of its members. However, this effort of love is testimony of a church without walls, a bond that stretches across the ocean from Texas to Prilep, Macedonia. Praise the Lord He does not leave us in this battle alone!
One of the letters came from Pastor Clayton, who had found our blog and emailed us to introduce himself and ask for our address. Here is what he wrote in his letter we have just received:
"Dear Spencer, Janae, and Kate,
Our church is praying individually and corporately that your ministry in macedonia will be richly blessed by the Lord. I am the youth minister here at our church and I have traveled to many foreign countries on short-term mission trips. Each one of our youth are reading about your story and you are an inspiration to us all. Love the Lord with all your heart and live it out!
In Christ,
Clayton"
What a blessing, to have a youth minister that is instilling in the hearts of our youth the importance of missions and of prayer! For those of you who know us, you know that Spencer and I have such a big heart for youth...now instead of ministering to them, they are ministering to us. What a joy!
One of the letters which really stood out was printed in black ink and not signed. This is what it stated:
"Thank you for everything you're doing in your service to the Lord. Know that we are praying for you and that you are not alone in your missions. You have God and a whole church behind. So again thank you."
These letters couldn't have arrived at a better time, as I had been in and out of the doctors' offices, had blood work done, and had to travel to the capital city to see a specialist. The doctor has diagnosed me with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, for which I will be treated a year and a half. As a part of this disease, I literally feel as if I am running marathons back to back, no matter the level of difficulty of activity, be it walking down the street or sleeping at night. Feeling kind of down about this news, we were really in need of encouragement. Isn't God good? He knew exactly what we needed! We give thanks to God for our Brothers and Sisters in Andrews, Texas. We hope that one day we will be able to meet you and thank you in person for your letters. May God bless you all.