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"And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.' Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them."
(Acts 16:9-10)
If you are new to our devotions, this week, I have been retracing my recent mission trip to the beautiful country of Macedonia. God blessed our small team of four pastors as we drove throughout the country. God is working in Macedonia. That is no surprise to me, because God has His people everywhere, and what a joy it is to meet these strong and committed men and women of God!
While in Negotino, I got up early and went to a local gym to work out. There was only one other person in the gym, Dime (pronounced "Dima"). He and I spoke briefly, but when I got on the treadmill to run, he wanted to have an extended conversation. The Lord gave me the strength to continue the conversation and share Jesus with Dime while I ran on the treadmill. (Thank You, Lord!) Dime attends the Eastern Orthodox Church but shared with me that he is deeply concerned with how evil the world is today. I shared with him that there is only one power stronger than the powers of darkness, and that is the power of Jesus. I shared my personal testimony with him, how Jesus saved me. I invited him to the local Evangelical Church where Gorin serves as pastor. After I got a shower, I went back to the gym to see if I could find Dime and introduce him to Gorin, who was joining us for breakfast. I caught him on the way out, and he spoke with Gorin in Macedonian. We came to find out, Gorin knows Dime's dad, who owns a 100-car museum in the city of Negotino.
Dime was definitely my "one". He was the one God wanted me to share Jesus with, and I am so glad I had this opportunity. If we are not careful, we can miss the golden opportunities God places before us because we are so incredibly busy.
After breakfast, we traveled to another church where Gorin also preaches on Sundays. We met another man who was also named Dime who serves as a pastor of a Roma Church in Kavadarci. The Roma People are nomadic, and many of them beg for food on the streets. I appreciate Pastor Dime and his heart for these people who have so many needs, chief of which is a knowledge of who Jesus is.
We then traveled to a city called Prilep. Eddie and Jim serve as pastors of an evangelical church in Prelip. Another pastor named Tevek translated for us. Pastor Tevek lives in Prelip and works in a church in Bitola. He is praying about planting another church in Prelip and also going west to the city of Krushevo where there is no evangelical church. Tevek speaks eight languages and is a student of Saso's at the theological school in Kumanovo. (Yes, you read that correctly, EIGHT languages!) Here is a picture of these three pastors and me in the church in Prelip:
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