Macedonia Days 4 & 5

Day 4 and 5 Hey friends!  It's Barbara here to update you on two recent days in Macedonia. We are currently on a bus to a new town but I'm so excited to share with you about the days we spent in Struga and Ohrid! T5 of days 4 and 5:  1.  Leading the first ever YL Club in the town of Struga!  2. Eating dinner overlooking Lake Ohrid...nonstop laughter! 3. Exploring an ancient fortress and churches. Left in awe by how long our King Jesus has been worshipped. 4. Walking down a cobblestone street and  our whole team breaking into 'The Brady Bunch' theme song.  5. Sharing sacred ground with a couple hundred NATO troops from 14 different countries. Including an Army Officer from Georgia who has ties to Young Life. Wow... It's hard to know where to begin this blog entry! Friends and family- get your ears ready to hear a whole lot of stories when we return from this adventure, there is SO much to share! These two days (really, the whole week) can be summed up with one simple word- JOY. The past couple of months the Lord has continued to lead me to Psalm 16:11: "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Leading up to this trip my  prayer was that I would experience the presence of God wherever He chose to lead us.  I didn't want to come into this trip with my eyes only half open- I knew we would visit incredible sights and meet a lot of new friends, and I wanted to be intimately aware of the Holy Spirit's presence in every moment. The Lord has been pouring His sweet presence on us abundantly! Fifty years down the road, if I  remember nothing else about this trip- I'll remember tons of laughter! This joy is just a tiny glimpse into the eternal pleasures He has in store for us when we will be made complete in Jesus. We've had the privilege of touring several ancient churches, some of which date back to 800a.d. The Lord is revealing to all of us how BIG His love is. He has been worshipped as Lord for so much longer than my tiny human mind can comprehend. His Word has remained true through all generations and He is so worthy of all our worship! "Your word, O Lord is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures." Psalm 119:89-90 On Monday  we traveled to visit the town of Struga, the  most beautiful place I have ever laid eyes on. Don't worry- we have A LOT of pictures to share :). Our wonderful host, Bob, has connections to a middle school in the town and we were invited to come and host an "English Club". Well to us, that meant the perfect opportunity to introduce these kiddos to Young Life Club! We planned a condensed version of our typical club that began with teaching the kids how to 'Call the Hogs'. It was amazing how the atmosphere in the room changed after we all made fools of ourselves doing our unheard of hog call. The kids joined in the fun and were eager to participate in all the games! Martin, the Macedonian leader we mentioned previously, gave a short Gospel talk after impressing the kids with his magic tricks. The teacher requested that our club last 30 minutes at most...Well... an hour and 45 minutes later we  left the school in AWE of how incredible the experience was! I must admit, it's a bit tempting to stick around and begin YoungLife here! :)  Join us in praying for God to raise up Young Life leaders to carry His name to Struga! My words do no justice to all that we are seeing, learning and experiencing. Thanks for reading and giving me grace as I've only barely begun to process everything the Lord is speaking to me here. I'm praying repeatedly for God to cement on  my heart all that He is revealing to me. I am so thankful to be here, and cannot wait to share more with you soon! There is still much ahead! Thank you for your prayers! All is Grace, Barbara