A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

August 2026

We have just returned home after two meaningful weeks spent at The Macedonian Outreach’s Greece ministry house.  Our first trip to Greece and Bulgaria was about 25 years ago, and we have been privileged to return about 20 times since then.  Each trip has been unique.  About half of the trips were with teams providing various ministry programs, while the other half were with just the two of us doing whatever we could to help support the ongoing ministry of Vula and The Macedonian Outreach.  

Over the years we have seen so much.  We have seen the poverty of those the world would consider “the least”, we have seen joy on the faces of children being loved on by teens from the U.S., we have seen homeless people housed for the first time, new churches bursting at the seams, disadvantaged children graduating from high school and attending university, lonely elderly forgotten by many but loved by Vula and various ministry partners.   

Our lives were changed forever by the first trip we took with our eyes opened to needs and opportunities beyond anything we had ever seen.  Each time we returned to the Balkans, God surprised us in new ways.  This trip was no different.   But probably what surprised us the most was just witnessing something that we have always seen but took for granted.  It is the faithfulness of Vula (and of course Haig as well, as he is always with us) across the decades.  There is a book by Eugene Peterson with a title that sums up what we have witnessed: “A long obedience in the same direction”.   

This trip was calmer than some, with some sweet moments of helping Vula care for missionaries from North Macedonia, with two families back-to-back in the house next door taking a respite from their long days of service and having us care for them.  Also several visits to a sick widow friend who has also become our friend over the years. We also had a sweet visit from Gopi and Reni where we caught up on their family as well as their ministry in Yastrebovo and Pamukchii.  Timing was also perfect as a shipment of boxes arrived from the U.S. and we could help unpack and sort the items.  And last but not least, it’s fig season!  Which means the stove was always on with several pots of simmering figs as Vula tirelessly stirred and bottled the sweet golden cooked fruit in preparation for gifting and selling back home.

The two weeks went fast and were over too soon.  But we returned home grateful once again for the opportunity to witness God in action through Vula and The Macedonian Outreach.

Paul and Barb VanMaanen