Macedonian Adventure
Patrice Lewis shares about her experiences on her recent international mission trip.
This summer my daughter Katie and I, along with Allison Furniss, traveled to Skopje, Macedonia, a beautiful country on Greece’s northern border. The people have very strong Orthodox and Muslim beliefs, but few Macedonians profess a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
We spent most of our time there learning about and ministering among the Roma people, a group that has existed for centuries and can be found in many areas of the world.
A very special encounter we had was with a man named Sheney (pronounced Shay-nee) and his family in the Topana community. He and his wife have two young sons and live with Sheney's parents. Extended family living is very common in this area of the world.
Sheney has a college education, but recently lost his job, and for the time being he and his dad are working at an archaeological dig. They have worked several weeks and have yet to see a paycheck, another very common situation there.
He shared his deep concern for the children in his community and their need to stay in school as long as possible. Unfortunately, many of their parents are uneducated, and they don't understand that more education means more possibilities for their children.
Sheney’s concern led him and his father to convert their house’s very small basement into a classroom, so that Sheney could tutor any child that needed help with school work. He was tutoring over 40 kids by the end of the 2011 school year!
With the fall school term approaching, Sheney had no money for school supplies. That’s when God confirmed that our encounter with this family was His doing. Many people in the States had provided us with school supplies to give away wherever we found a need. We prayed, and we knew what God wanted us to do. We returned to Sheney's house, gave him the supplies, and explained why.
Sheney and his family have heard the gospel many times, but God provided one more opportunity. We shared how Jesus was a teacher and how important children are to Him; that Jesus was using Sheney to teach children; but that he could be more effective with Jesus in his heart. “Seeds” were planted. Pray that God will “give the increase.”