Saturday, December 20, 2008
Candy Canes
We had our last English classes for the year this week. I incorporated some Christmas songs and the candy cane story. Everyone loved it! No one had ever heard that story before. We had lots of fun. Thank you to all who sent candy canes :) We are also giving one small candy cane to every one with their coffee and offering "Peppermint Mochas". One candy cane+hot chocolate mix+milk+espresso=goodness in a mug!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
A Sleepless Night
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 (NRSV)
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord
has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to
bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the
prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour, and the day of
vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion -- to give them a
garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of
praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of
the Lord, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up
the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of
many generations.
For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and
wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will
make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and
their offspring among the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people
whom the Lord has blessed.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall
exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he
has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a
bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to
spring up before all the nations.
I woke up this morning at 4:30 am and immediately God said "You need to open your Bible right now and read". Not in a voice, but more in a knowing. I don't know how to explain it. So I read Psalm 91 over and over and then 92. And then I checked my e-mail for my "daily devotional" i get from Goshen college and this was the scripture of the day. It was such an encouragement because as of late, specifically yesterday I've been struggling with "Why am I here?" "Is 2 years here even effective at all"? But I KNOW I am called here. And this is why!!! Praise God. THE LORD GOD WILL CAUSE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND PRAISE TO SPRING UP BEFORE ALL THE NATIONS! Which is the same verse Melanie pointed me to yesterday, which is confirmation of God's plan for Ohrid and for all nations!! My sister also reminded me to prayer walk more and just pray more! If anything happens here it will be THE PLANTING OF THE LORD. Not of my great words or good deeds or even because of my love for the people. If any place has been devastated on the inside and outside, it's Ohrid. Even in the architecture, so much renovation needs to be done. This is a reminder to me of the people. They need restoration from the "devastation of many generations". Praise God for a fresh word. And for sleepless nights!
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord
has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to
bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the
prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour, and the day of
vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion -- to give them a
garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of
praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of
the Lord, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up
the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of
many generations.
For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and
wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will
make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and
their offspring among the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people
whom the Lord has blessed.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall
exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he
has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a
bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to
spring up before all the nations.
I woke up this morning at 4:30 am and immediately God said "You need to open your Bible right now and read". Not in a voice, but more in a knowing. I don't know how to explain it. So I read Psalm 91 over and over and then 92. And then I checked my e-mail for my "daily devotional" i get from Goshen college and this was the scripture of the day. It was such an encouragement because as of late, specifically yesterday I've been struggling with "Why am I here?" "Is 2 years here even effective at all"? But I KNOW I am called here. And this is why!!! Praise God. THE LORD GOD WILL CAUSE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND PRAISE TO SPRING UP BEFORE ALL THE NATIONS! Which is the same verse Melanie pointed me to yesterday, which is confirmation of God's plan for Ohrid and for all nations!! My sister also reminded me to prayer walk more and just pray more! If anything happens here it will be THE PLANTING OF THE LORD. Not of my great words or good deeds or even because of my love for the people. If any place has been devastated on the inside and outside, it's Ohrid. Even in the architecture, so much renovation needs to be done. This is a reminder to me of the people. They need restoration from the "devastation of many generations". Praise God for a fresh word. And for sleepless nights!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Lichna Karta!
Yay! We finally finished getting our visa! And we got our "lichna karta". It's like an identification card for Macedonians. I know it's a backwards picture. But if you look closely, you'll see they TOTALLY misspelled my last name haha. They don't have a "w" in their alphabet. So they just used 2 "v"s and then forget the "L". Hahahahaha. That's just how it is sometimes!!! Oh and the first time they took my picture I smiled. And they told me I wasn't allowed to do that. So I took another one and you can see I"m trying REALLY hard not to smile. I'm just a smiley person!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Bikin' with Fetiyeh
Ok so I know this is a little late. But this is some photos of Fetiyeh and I the day we biked to Struga. And just a side note: trying to take a picture of yourself while riding a bicycle isn't a good idea ;) But it was fun and the view was beautiful. I caught a dad and his 2 little kids feeding the birds too.
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