“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia.” – 2 Corinthians 8:1
Though these words are taken from the apostle Paul, I have the same message for you today. I want to share with you about the grace of God in modern-day Macedonia! I am in the land that is mentioned 24 times in the New Testament! Walking around the cobblestone streets of Skopje, Jenny and I frequently joke that these are the very stones Paul walked across. Of course this isn’t true – the region that is now called Macedonia wasn’t the Macedonia of the 1st century, but we like to pretend this is exactly where he was.
We did however visit Thessaloniki, Greece this past weekend which was the capital of Roman Macedonia back in 50 A.D. when Paul wrote his letters to the church of the Thessalonians. Paul visited Thessaloniki on his second missionary journey, and similarly, this was my second time in Greece, having been to Athens on my “first missionary journey” last March. We had a great time enjoying rest on the beautiful beaches and exploring the ancient city.
But back to the grace of God in Macedonia. For the month of June, we are working with Albanian missionaries in Skopje (the capital) of Macedonia. They run a free coffee shop for the 40% Albanian population who live on the north side of the famous Stone Bridge. The Qiriazi Center coffee shop is a means to attract students in the area by hosting free English lessons, guitar lessons, and frequent cultural exchanges as teams come in from all over the world. While building relationships, we share the love of Christ with them.
This week, the Qiriazi Center is a melting pot of cultures as we have missionaries from Italy here as well who will be joining us for our final week in Macedonia. We had a beautiful moment of prayer and worship this morning as we communed with God in Albanian, Italian, Macedonian, and English, reveling in knowing our shared Father hears and accepts our cries even when we don’t understand each other.
Our biggest weapon this month has been prayer. The church is small but it’s alive, and I’ve encountered a handful of sold-out believers who have a passion and vision to see their nation transformed for the kingdom of Jesus. My heart breaks every time I hear the call to prayer outside my bedroom window reminding me of all of my lost Muslim brothers and sisters who are in bondage to a religion that will never bring them life like Jesus does. As they enter into Ramadan this week, I pray the Lord reveals Himself in new ways to them and that we go forth in greater boldness as light bearers in this city.
May we be Daniel’s of our generation, going to God on our knees daily (Dan. 6:10) and the effects of our prayerfulness a witness to those around us, like it was to King Darius (Dan. 6:26-27).
Forever His,
Grace
