Magical Mystery Tour

What a trip.  I never thought so much could be packed into the course of nine days, and never realized how much I’d actually enjoy it.  This experience has certainly been a “magical mystery tour” in every sense of the phrase (although not entirely like the context in which the Beatles used it) from the logistics to the Macedonian kids, to the group members’ chemistry and cohesiveness, to the development of my spirit.

Where do I even begin writing a summary of Macedonia 2014?  My face hurt from too much smiling and laughter, I cried tears of joy at the sound of a simple phrase from a child, I slept a total of 7 hours across two consecutive days, nearly sprained an ankle playing basketball, dispensed more hugs over the course of one week than perhaps any week ever, met some wonderful people, got to know others, endured a “hailatious” hail storm in the middle of an outdoor dinner, transferred leadership skills from my huge church in the US to a tiny church across the world with the same mission, enjoyed a Sunday service at this tiny church gathering in a government building meeting space, visited two new countries (the “mystery”) and had the luxury of sharing all of this with my wife.

1 Samuel 3:18 says “ … he is the Lord, let him do what is right in his eyes.”  My mental/spiritual approach to this trip was exactly that.  Although this verse is a “life verse” for me, I felt it had specific application in Macedonia:  I really didn’t know exactly what I was to accomplish during our time there, but I wanted God to do whatever he saw fit for me and my team.  Completely accepting that God’s will is perfect in both its timing and its content is sometimes difficult when the circumstances are negative, and those did exist on this trip, but we experienced an abundance of positive circumstances and impacts, both on a small scale and in the big picture of God’s work in Macedonia as a whole.

To say I loved interacting with these kids would be a gross understatement.  From the minute I saw Nafia and Ramche latch onto Todd for several minutes when we first arrived, I knew that love and attention would be soaked up by them like an industrial-strength sponge.  There were times that the kids would speak to me in Macedonian and expect me to respond.  It was so frustrating not to be able to do that.  Fortunately, for both parties, I learned enough Macedonian to be barely useful and fully dangerous, but regardless, the interactions were wonderful.  Kids asked to play 1-on-1 basketball, to come to America, to play football (soccer) but most of all – to show them love.  There is something palpable that’s missing from their lives, and we are able to feed it when our teams visit.  Knowing that Elizabeth is there full-time to pour this out on a regular basis is a reassuring comfort, and I’m sure it’s even more meaningful to those kids.

Unknown to me, our teams’ first visits 4 years ago were not met with open arms by the staff at the orphanage.  Apparently, Macedonian culture (like other culture of the Balkans) is replete with skepticism, especially when it comes to someone doing something nice.  Ulterior motives are always suspected, so naturally, our first team to the region was asked “Why?” and “What do you want from us?”  Continuing to dismantle that skepticism (if any remains) is actually one of the most enjoyable aspects of the trip.  We arrive, show love to the kids by hanging out with them in their element, purchasing equipment and supplies, performing manual labor beautifying the property – all without asking for anything in return.  It must have been mind-blowing to the Macedonians at first, but I think at this point they are grateful after seeing both our consistency and our impact.

Speaking of impact, it was such a distinct pleasure to be invited to the graduation party for one of the facility’s long-time residents Arief, who completed his high school education and wanted to share the celebration with us.  As a first-timer, I was proud, but can’t imagine how proud other team members must have felt who have seen this kid grow over the last 2-4 years.  In my opinion, Christians in 1^st-world countries have both the largest means and most responsibility to live out John 13:34, which states “ … love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

Macedonia is beautiful and we witnessed this firsthand on Wednesday and Thursday.  Although our itinerary called for a visit to the orphanage that was suddenly impossible given the circumstances that others have written about in previous posts, we had a wonderful day.  I certainly had mixed emotions considering I wanted to see the kids, but our consolation was to visit the Skopje City Center and the mountain of Vodno, the location of the famous “Millennium Cross”, which is the largest Christian cross on the face of the earth.

The journey to the top of the mountain was done via cable car – fun for some, miserable for others.  :-)  There is an irenic stillness abounding on the top of Vodno, and it’s definitely a good choice for solitude and reflection.  While some of our team took a reflective posture, others wandered down to a hill at a lower elevation to make messages out of loose rocks.  We paid our tribute to globalX, but we also took great pride in letting folks know where we are from:  good old ‘Murica!

Thursday was an absolutely amazing experience, and I don’t use the word “amazing” lightly.  We were hoping to return to the orphanage to make up for the loss of Wednesday, but we were not allowed to do so and with Nikola, we proceeded with our original plan to visit the village of Galičnik and the town of Ohrid.  These places were absolutely breathtaking, as you can tell from the photos.  We had a mini snowball fight in the middle of May, what else do you need to know?  :-)

Having a delicious lunch in this setting was just surreal, and our entire group spent a lot of time just taking it all in.  Galičnik almost seems like a fairy tale, since it has very few full-time residents (imagine how impossible winter travel on a narrow mountain road

with no snowplows would be) and a feeling of being surrounded by complete antiquity.  At times I felt like we were the only people around for miles.

Ohrid is a true gem that most Americans may not know exists, and most Europeans don’t know the town’s tourist value.  There are 365 churches here, and the town has been referred to as the “Jerusalem of the Balkans”.  We toured a fortress dating back to the 8^th and 9^th centuries AD, a recently-excavated basilica dating back to the 4^th century AD and a more modern Eastern Orthodox basilica, which became the focal point for many photos during what one of my closest friends refers to as “magic hour” in photography:  the time of day when the sun is at just the right angle to provide exceptionally good lighting.  Check it out:

Dinner that night, lakeside in Ohrid, was just wonderful, completed by a few songs performed by the equivalent to a Mexican mariachi band, which I got on video.  We had a 3-hour drive to get back to Skopje, and the long hours spent in the van that day allowed us to tell our individual stories.  Hearing these reminded me of how we are all broken people that don’t need any qualifications to be reconciled to our Creator, and it made me so appreciative of the people on my team. The way home from Ohrid to Skopje was perhaps the best part.  Unbeknownst to us, it was near 1am while we were playing a form of Catchphrase with our phones, howling and screaming almost the entire time.  My face and jaw hurt from so much laughter yet again.

We were lucky enough to get an appointment on Friday morning with the US Ambassador to Macedonia at the Embassy in Skopje.  I had never been to an Embassy, and it was interesting to see the security in place and the facility itself.  Our conversation with the Ambassador was very enjoyable, and when he moves on from his post, the people of Macedonia will be losing an excellent representation of the United States.  I hope the next Ambassador will be just as effective.

By now, most people reading this blog have probably heard about the hail storm that passed through Skopje on Sunday night.  The team was enjoying a dinner at an outdoor restaurant very close to the dinner site from the previous evening and had already ordered our meals when it struck.  Ironically, just before leaving the hotel, I told my wife that the forecast called for a 20% chance of rain and there was no need for a rain jacket.  She, in turn, donned some flip-flops and we were sure of the pleasant weather that awaited us that night.  Big mistake.  Huge.

Although we were under a large, plexiglass structure that was supported with steel- reinforced columns, the small building right next to us was covered only by an awning supported by a few thin poles.  When the rain first started, we were all laughing.  The first ice marbles came down and Jeff started dancing and cheering under this lightweight structure next to us, almost mocking the storm like Lt. Dan had done in Forrest Gump.  The hail started coming down like God had decided to dump his celestial cooler full of ice, and we basically had nowhere to go.  The area under our feet started to flood, so we had to stand up on benches while we watched a river of snow flow through the street.  It was almost like witnessing one of those foam parties that was popular at dance clubs in the 90s, or perhaps watching a massive washing machine overflow during the soap cycle.  The feebly supported awnings around us started to collapse, and we were forced to evacuate to the main restaurant building across the street.  Anyone wearing long pants or flip-flops (ahem, my poor wife) was totally screwed – they received either freezing, wet pant legs or toes, or both.  As if things weren’t bad enough, we finally learned that we wouldn’t be getting our meals after all, and we ventured somewhere else for dinner, finally eating around 2300 local.  The storm itself and the aftermath was truly like nothing I’ve ever witnessed.

All of this would have been manageable had we not been scheduled for a 0530 departure the next morning, which meant leaving the hotel at 0330.  Finally getting to bed at 0100, we actually decided to sleep.  Others in the group did not, and regardless, it made for a tough day, especially when we had a full-day tour of Rome scheduled starting at 0800 local.

The “Tour” part of my title is devoted to Rome.  Although we technically toured much of Skopje, Ohrid and Galičnik, the excursions in Rome were led by a guide and seemed more like an official tour.  This city is certainly one that you should visit if you have any interest in history, and especially if you are interested in hallmark civilizations.  The Romans were known for their brutality and thirst for conquest, but they were also known for innovation and marvel, which warrants the trip.  Seeing Vatican City and all it has to offer, both visually and historically, is just remarkable.  Most Americans have seen pictures, video and television broadcasts of places like the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica, but it’s so much more impressive to see it in person.  The creativity, intricacy and attention to detail in these buildings is absolutely mind-blowing, and St. Peter’s is, in my opinion, the most ornate and beautiful building on the planet.

For those that haven’t seen the Roman Coliseum in person, it may remind you of a modern football stadium once you set foot inside.  A building that was constructed 1900 years ago probably shouldn’t look very good, and if not for the Romans’ ingenuity with architecture, it may not even be standing today.  Our guide
Francesca shared some great information about this place with us, such as the fact that the Coliseum looked MUCH different in 80 AD than it does today, and the stress of centuries and degradation are only partially to blame.

Once the empire started to fall, and especially when Catholicism took hold of the city’s religious helm, most of the marble and ornamentation was stripped from the building as fast as people could get their hands on it.  This continued into the Middle Ages when iron and metal was so precious that people began to dig into the walls themselves to retrieve the iron support structure the Romans so intelligently included when the Coliseum was built.  This sort of “looting” is evident all over the place once you know what to look for and was truly fascinating.

Touring the rest of the immediate area (The Forum and Palatine Hill) was just as interesting, especially when walking around the former site of the Imperial Palaces, where only a few sections of marble flooring remain.  It’s hard to imagine that several acres of land were previously covered in precious and rare marble which served as the base structure for unimaginable opulence and luxury for the Roman Emperor.  Seeing this and hearing the facts about it made me wonder exactly how much wealth was so grossly misappropriated during the time that the Roman Empire was in its glory days.

Perhaps the best part of the tour of Rome for me was the live, visual reminder of Andy Stanley’s “Invitation” message during the 2013 Starting Point series.  In this message, Andy asks the audience to imagine they were able to accompany Paul from his prison cell in Rome to the site of his execution, taking him through the Forum and the rest of the city.  During this walk, we would tell Paul “One day, this city that is now adorned with pagan icons to Roman and Greek gods will be adorned with icons that represent Jesus, your Savior.  All over this city will be crosses, which won’t remind people of many crucifixions, but a single crucifixion – that of Jesus.  Nero’s circus, where Nero fed Christians to lions and crucified Peter, will one day be the site of St. Peter’s church, perhaps the most beautiful building on earth.”

“Paul, all those letters that you wrote, all the hardship you endured … it worked.”

I loved having those reminders that the once mighty and seemingly invincible Roman Empire fell, and scattered around the heart of its majesty are symbols of the very thing it was trying to stamp out.

We closed our day in Rome with a wonderful meal in the center of the city on exactly the type of street I
pictured when I thought of a meal in this Italian icon city, where our group enjoyed so much of the allure of Italian food.  It was the perfect ending to a long, exhausting and marvelous day.

I can’t end this way-too-wordy blog without talking about this team one last time.  Full of multiple different personality types, with completely separate paths in life outside of the trip, this team came together with a remarkable synergy.  We were able to both accomplish a lot and have a blast doing it.  This is where the “Magical” part of the title comes in – there was just something about this group that was magical, from the way we interacted with the kids to the way we interacted with each other.  We endured sleep deprivation, physical exhaustion, injuries, spontaneous changes to plans, and a freak hailstorm to partner with missionaries from the US and local members of SoulCraft church to weave an amazing experience for everyone involved.  List of accomplishments for the week:  completely rebuilt the park benches which had rotted beyond repair, took down all of the grass and weeds which consumed most of the children’s play area with a brand new weed eater that we purchased, provided the facility with fuel to run the power equipment, repainted the playground equipment and soccer court’s goalposts, and created rubber band bracelets and other crafts with the kids.  Mission donation dollars hard at work!

On our last day at 25^th of May, a child at the orphanage named Marco, who was actually the first child to interact directly with me on our first day, asked me to give him my Nike hat.  Another child named Juliana, who spent most of the week asking me to pick her up and spin her around (then thanked me for it), gave me a big hug and told me, through an interpreter, that I was a good man and that she loved it when I picked her up and embraced her.  I couldn’t help but be choked up, thankful that our Heavenly Father provided a glimpse of his love to these children through us.

Before and After!



I made several new friends on this trip, both American and Macedonian, and I can’t wait to see what God does next in each of their lives.  He is truly wondrous in the way he works all things for the good of those that love him, and I’m excited to be part of what’s next.

 Skopje at Night:

God Bless this globalX team, and God Bless the people of Macedonia!

I'm In Awe of You...

Have you ever witnessed or heard something that just completely blew your mind and everything in the world just seemed to stop in awe? Well that's exactly what happened to me tonight. My team and I stopped to get coffee at a restaurant and did our nightly tradition of "highs and lows" for the day. I was sitting there trying to rack my brain about what mine would be. The day was awesome and there were a lot of highs but for some reason they just didn't seem that spectacular to me. Thankfully, I was next to last to go so I got to listen to the majority of what everyone else's were. When we got to Elizabeth, a woman from my 1st mission trip who is now a full time missionary here, and my teammate Rebecca, their "high" of the day is what blew my mind.

Just to fill you in, last May Rebecca met this sweet little girl, Jagoda, at the orphanage we serve at each year.  Well, just a few months ago this girl was transferred to a new (and better maintained) orphanage. Since they had such a great connection, Elizabeth and another staff member at the orphanage arranged for Rebecca to be able to visit Jagoda. While visiting this new orphanage Elizabeth was able to meet one of the social workers who is very involved there. Elizabeth has such a passion for our kids at the "25th of May" and has so many great ideas for improvements for their lives. It seemed like going to this new orphanage and getting to connect with the social worker gave her even more confirmation of God's vision for her life and purpose. Long story short, the whole day and trip seemed to be in divine order. The way it all played out just let me know there is no way any of these events were a coincidence or happenstance.

I remember asking God before I left for this trip to do what He had done in previous years, which is to show me his presence and do/ show me something amazing to grow my faith. Honestly I was beginning to think that it wasn't going to happen. I've been gone for 6 days now, the trip is almost over and I didn't feel like my prayer was going to be answered. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that. I feel like God was looking at me like "Seriously Kristina? Have you forgotten who I am and what I am capable of?" 1 John 5:14&15 says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." Wow. It's crazy how quick we are to turn to unbelief when we don't see things happening for us in the time we think they should be happening.

I was literally in tears at the table when I started to tell about my new "high" for the day.  God had answered my prayer in the form of somebody else's experience. My mind was completely blown at how God strategically positioned each and every one of these people to fulfill his purpose. Being able to look at the story from an outside perspective, I saw how God started LAST YEAR, and even before that really, making all of this happen. Im telling you, this was a life changing story and I hope I get to tell you it in person because I feel like my description didn't do it justice. God is always working and he has let me know through this trip just how much. It's crazy to think about the fact that the God of the universe is so invested in our life that he would reach down into what seems like a small, obscure city to do somehing MAJOR in the lives of those who have been "forgotten". My heart is overflowing with thankfulness and hope for the future of these children and Macedonia as a whole. In the words of Elizabeth "God is fixin' to do something BIG here y'all!" :)

Here are some pictures from the past couple of days

Elizabeth and me

Yep, this was real life

Do you wanna build a snowmaaaan?? Lol

Visited the U.S Embassy today and met the ambassador 

Part of our project is to rebuild all of the benches and picnic table

Team hard at work

Dustin giving mowing lessons to the kids 

Beljo helping out

My heart <3 Beljo

Dennis (one of the older kids) working hard and setting a great example

Cute pic of Rebecca and Jusuf 

“Thomas be all doubtin’ til he sees that Jesus has holes in his hands!”

When I came to Macedonia in May 2013, I bonded with a ten year old girl named Jagoda, who had just arrived at The 25^th of May (the orphanage where we volunteer) a few weeks prior. She was shy, withdrawn, and it took me a couple of days to break the ice with her, but when I finally did, we were inseparable. We both cried our eyes out when I left, and I promised her that I would come back again next year.

It turns out that last July, Jagoda was moved to a different orphanage in Macedonia due to a logistical mistake in her original placement. Selfishly, I was disappointed when I learned about her transfer several months ago, but I was also extremely happy when I learned that she was moved to a much nicer facility. Thankfully, former Georgia girl Elizabeth Burton is now a full time Macedonian and was able to pull some strings to get me a couple of hours with Jagoda today.

The first twenty minutes or so of our reunion was lackluster. I guess I expected her to run straight to me and hug and kiss me and say “Te Cakam” (I love you) over and over again just like last year. Well, that was hardly the case. Although she said she remembered me, shy little Jagoda was back. We awkwardly talked with the help of Jagoda’s social worker for a few minutes, but I felt no connection between us. I forced a smile and continued to ask her questions although my heart was breaking on the inside. I came back to Macedonia because I made a promise to this little girl and now this? I felt so disappointed and seriously started to doubt why I came on this trip again. The social worker suggested Jagoda show me her bedroom, so we went upstairs. She showed me her bag with colored pencils and paper, and I asked if she wanted to color. We went back downstairs, and the fun began. As soon as we started coloring, it was as if we hadn’t missed a beat. We laughed, took pictures, played outside, giggled, acted silly, and just had the best time. My heart was overflowing.

When it came time to leave, Elizabeth explained to Jagoda that the two of them could visit each other and keep in touch and that Jagoda and I could send messages, gifts, etc. to each other through Elizabeth. Because of this, our departure was nothing like the crying mess of last year. Instead it was joyful and happy because we know we can be in touch now. I do not know if I’ll have the chance to see Jagoda again on this trip (and I didn’t make that promise to her), but my heart is full knowing that she is so happy, is in a much better place, and that I will be able to keep in touch with her now.

Without going into too much detail, I found out that during my time with Jagoda, Elizabeth was able to have an in-depth conversation with the social worker, Irena, as well. Elizabeth has a vision for how she wants to help the orphans at the 25^th of May, and Irena is a great connection to have. Coincidence? I think not. Looking back, I had doubts about whether or not I would even get to see Jagoda on this trip, and then I had doubts as to if it was a mistake even meeting up with her. Silly me. Romans 8:28 says “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” This verse rings true on so many levels now. God has a plan for the kids of Macedonia, and He made it clear today by using a chain of events that started last year with Jagoda and me to a new connection between Elizabeth and Irena. God also has a plan for me, and He made it clear today that I need to stop doubting Him and instead put my trust in Him. Proverbs 3:5 says “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not into your own understanding.” Today absolutely affirms that I need to trust God’s will, power, and love over anything else. He has a plan for me, for Jagoda, and for all the children at the 25^th of May, and I can’t wait for it to unfold.

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1

A Curve

Tuesday was a great first day with the kids at the 25th of May. Loved seeing their faces as we pulled up that morning. The day was full of fun! We played basketball, football (soccer), made bracelets, and even sat in on one of their classes. That night we got to celebrate a high school graduation. There were lots of laughs and we were so honored to be invited.

Unfortunately on Wednesday we were not able to see the kids due to a local tragedy. I cannot go into details, but the kids and team are okay. We made the most of our time together though and got to venture up to the Millennium Cross.  I've been praying for our team to unite even closer and yesterday we experienced it! I was also able to go sit by myself for a little while and just take in the beauty of the mountains around us and spend some quiet time with God. I really needed that. I know every detail about Wednesday was laid out according to Gods plan, and so it was another amazing day! Here's a photo from my view during my time with God.

The Best Laid Plans...

Do you have a plan for your day? Do you think it's a pretty good plan? Maybe you planned to do something really great, something you think would actually benefit someone else. What if despite your best efforts, and by no fault of your own, it didn't happen? Well, that pretty much sums up our day today.

Today was our second day in Macedonia. The first day was great! We got to go see the kids at the 25th of May and had an amazing time reconnecting with old friends as well as making new ones. I'm still amazed at the amount of genuine love I receive from these kids. The fact that they still greet us with the same enthusiasm and sincerity they had when we first met continues to blow my mind. Today, however, was a different story. 

As soon as we pulled up to the orphanage today and started to get out of the van we were told that we had to leave and couldn't be there that day. What?? You mean we don't get to see the kids or start on the project we had planned to do? We soon learned that a tragedy had occurred (not involving any of the kids or anyone at the orphanage) and that we wouldn't be able to stay that day . I can't lie, I was very disappointed and even a little frustrated. We had plans! We only have a short time here and I wanted to redeem every bit of it the way we had mapped it out. After getting back in the van I had to quickly remind myself of what our team has said many times in our meetings, "Be flexible". I also had to remember that this is God's trip that He has called each one of us to go on and that "In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28). It's funny how God works our situations out for good even when we don't see how he can. 

Today turned out to be an awesome day of bonding with my team! I've laughed more today than I probably have in the last month! We took time to go to a nice lunch and then decided to go up to the "Cross on the hill", which was a great experience we would not have had had the day gone as planned. We ended up having an amazing day and I can't begin to describe how proud I am of my team for adapting and making lemonade out of what we thought were lemons. I think we realized that it's not all about getting projects or other task done and sticking to a plan, but allowing God to use us for His will and as a result growing our faith and relationship with Christ through the process. Today also taught me that in the midst of a tragedy I have to choose to trust in The Lord. Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding". I certainly didn't understand why some things happened today but I did have a choice about how I responded to the situation. Even when my plans are thwarted I choose to put my trust in Jesus and He's never failed me yet. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8, 9). I want to encourage those reading this to let go of whatever plans you have. This does not mean don't make plans for your life but to make sure you are prepared to be flexible should things not go as planned and allow God to show you the marvelous plan He has for you which I garauntee is way better than any one you could ever imagine. God bless :) 

My amazing team!

1st day at the orphanage

Reenacting our famous jump picture 

"The cross on the hill"

Me looking at the beautiful Macedonian countryside 

"Murica!" and "global x" sign perfectionist lol