To say that God placed us in Stip, Macedonia for a reason is an understatement. He changed our route from Greece to Macedonia for the month of August. At first we were all a little bummed out, but once my team got to our site, I could easily see why we were here.
This month we have been working in a church, but our specific ministry has been working with a lot of men that have been or still are addicted to drugs. There is a NGO in the church called “Choose New Life” which is geared toward these men to help them become filled with the Holy Spirit and lean on God to help them get away form the addiction. They currently have 11 men in the group and can’t wait to have another so they can be like the 12 apostles with the new life they have chosen.
The program was started by a man who is an ex-addict named Robert. We have gotten to work closely with him and a few of the men in the group this month. These are some of the most amazing men I have ever met. I have been so privileged to connect with them through my testimony and the testimony of my dad.
For those who don’t know, my dad was a redeemed drug addict and passed away 14 years ago this month. As I told my testimony to the guys it opened doors for me to build relationships with them and allowed them to see that I have an understanding for the things they were going through and the things they put their families through. I have so much respect for these men and the way they have fallen back on Christ to help them turn away from a story that was not written for them. They are now walking in the light of Christ and going after the path that God has laid out for them and it’s so exciting to watch them and the passion they have for seeing others make it into the Kingdom of God.
I don’t think there are enough words to express how incredible this month has been. We have seen some beautiful things, met some incredible people and learned a lot about what it means to truly worship God in such a way that it brings you to tears.
We worked with these men, teenagers that need some extra encouragement, visited elderly people and went to the top of a mountain to pray over the city. I think these pictures will do a better job of truly showing you the greatness of this month more so than my words can tell you.
We also had the chance to head over to Thessanoliki, Greece and do a little exploring for a day and we had a blast! Walking the same streets the Paul could have walked was so surreal.
This month has been a dream and will definitely go down in the books as one of my favorite months on the race. I love you Macedonia and I look forward to the day I return to you and your beauty!
Love always,
Danielle
