GOD IS FAITHFUL!
Once again this year, God has blessed The Macedonian Outreach and for this I am grateful. Through the prayers, love and giving of His people, the Lord has showered us again in 2017 with many special blessings:
–FROM FEEDING AND CLOTHING THE POOR AND REFUGEES, TO CONTINUING WITH THE EDUCATION OF OVER 200 STUDENTS, TO HEATING THE FREEZING ROOMS OF ELDERLY, TO PROVIDING MEDICAL HELP TO YOUNG AND OLD, TO HELPING FLOOD VICTIMS, TO PROVIDING PASTORAL CONFERENCES, TO FIXING AND BUILDING ONE-ROOM LITTLE CHAPELS, TO BUILDING AN EXTENSION TO A CHURCH FOR ANOTHER 100 PEOPLE BUT ABOVE ALL TO PROVIDING OUR INDIGENOUS PASTORS AND CHRISTIAN WORKERS WITH BIBLES AND OTHER CHRISTIAN MATERIALS IN ORDER FOR THEM TO TEACH THE PEOPLE AND SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL TO EVERYONE WHO WOULD LISTEN! THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED IN ANY PART OF THIS MINISTRY. GOD BLESS YOU AND GIVE YOU YOUR HEART’S DESIRE ACCORDING TO HIS WILL.
I am overwhelmed with God’s love through His people and promise you that, as long as He keeps me strong, I will continue to serve Him until the day He calls me home. Oh, I love Him so much!
MERRY CHRISTMAS
My love to every one of you,
Vula
On Saturday, Sept. the second, five of us, Elias and Elpida Aigiptiades, Lyn Kern, Darlene Rushdoony and I, in two cars packed with clothes and food, went to Saraj, Skopje (Former Republic of Macedonia) to see the children sponsored by the Macedonian Outreach. In addition, we visited the suburb of Volkovo where Sokrat is the pastor and where we sponsor many children. Everyone but especially the children welcomed us with great joy and excitement.
I praise God for His love for these children and their community! God has blessed them and continues to bless them daily. I am grateful for all the sponsors that the Lord provided for these kids that not only provide education to them but also the means for them to learn how they can give their lives to Jesus. God bless you one and all. It thrills my heart to see that many children have already met Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord.
Sokrat, on the left, is Aleksander’s father. Alex, as we call him, is the young man that we support in seminary in Aberdeen, Scotland. Even though Alex is legally blind, he is a wonderful Christian man who with determination finished all his schooling including higher education and today he is working on his doctorate in a very difficult area of study, OLD TESTAMENT STUDIES WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH. We are very proud of him as he is finishing this year doing four years in three. Pray for Alex for the Lord to use him to His glory!
Alex preached on Sunday the 3rd in Volkovo, his father’s church. It was very sweet to watch the proud father translating for his congregation in Macedonian as Alex spoke in English so we could also understand. Praise God for the joy He gives us as we reap some of the fruit of our labor on this side of heaven!
The young people of the church in Volkovo. Please be praying for this church. The building is half finished but they cannot continue building because they are still waiting for the permit to operate as a church. They filed their papers five years ago.
This is the fourth year that Lyn has fundraised to buy school supplies for our children in Saraj. And this year again with joy she gave out forty backpacks full with school supplies. Sunday afternoon, Sept. the 3rd, was a day of celebration! Thank you from all of us as well at The Macedonian Outreach for supporting Lyn to once again bring joy in this extremely poor ghetto!
Dear family and friends: You have not heard from me for a while but I thought of sharing a great report that brings glory to God from our dear people in the village of Yastrebovo, Bulgaria.
An amazing summer in Yastrebovo
For us, like the kids, summer is our favorite season. Children are happy because they have a summer vacation and we are happy because we can share with friends the fruit we have labored for the past year. Our joy is full when we see the smiles on the faces of our guests who had seen many pictures but now they can see with their own eyes what God is doing in the village of Yastrebovo.
A long-awaited event has started a new beginning for God’s church and ministry in our village. A few years ago, God put in the heart of Gopi Kolev the desire to extend the place where Christians met. Years of prayer and expectation of what God will do for us. We are sothankful to The Macedonian Outreach for the tremendous confidence and support to build asanctuary where the local believers can have their services.
On June 30 and July 1 we had a seminar, with main speakers Jim Krouscas and Pantelis Sidiropoulos. The topics encouraged the believers and enriched their knowledge about God’s Word. The subsequent discussions showed the importance and timeliness of the eternal truths that we have in the Scripture.
On July 2,2017 we had the official opening of the church building. The dedication of the church was carried out at a special worship service and of couse there were many special friends from the USA – Rachel Kennett, Kerri Perdew, Kelly Maclean, Ilene Ferguson, Mike Mullery, Jim Krouscas, Elaina Krouscas, Don Meyer, Michelle Meyer, Pantelis Sidiropoulos, Vula Rushdoony. Gopi Kolev shared with the whole church the vision God had given him years ago, and now he saw this realization. Vula read the verses of prophet Isaiah, who now became real in front of her eyes – the desert became an oasis. (On 9/14/14 I had underscored in my Bible Is. 32:15-18 and had written next to it Yastrebovo). The children enjoyed the dances that they prepared especially for the occasion. The tears of joy were great and no one stopped them. And the Spirit of God poured without measure.
The church of Pamukchii also attended the seminar and the dedication of the new church building. They always rejoice when we all gather together to serve God. Regardless of the difficult life and daily struggle for daily bread, our brothers and sisters from Pamukchii are a great encouragement to us. Every week, our services are very emotional. They sing, weep and laugh before the Lord sincerely. And God hears their prayers. Thank you, Elaina Krouscas for making food bags for those wonderful people and show them God’s love.
We sent our guests back to their homes but our work on the construction continued. The four houses that are being built to accommodate families whose homes were destroyed by the flood still require a lot of work. The inside and outside insulation took us a long time, but we are now at the stage of placing windows and doors. Pray with us to be able to finish the houses before the winter comes because for the third year the families live in containers.
Summer is the time when all children expect their Vacation Bible School. We spent a whole week with games, lessons, and various entertainment. This year the Biblical lessons were written on the Ten Commandments of God. We looked at each one of them and thought with the children about their practical performance in our lives. The children understood that we daily violate these commandments and we have to ask for forgiveness and power from God to fight against sin. We learned a lot, we laughed a lot, and believe that the seed sown in the hearts of the children will bear fruit.
And here is the well-deserved award – one day at the Sea. An astounding experience is to see the eyes of children who for the first time in their life saw the sea. All excitement is written in their faces. About 30 children (5 to 17 years old) spent an unforgettable day on the Black Sea. For more than 6 hours the only time they came out of the water was to eat a sandwich and ice cream. And our prize – their tales; to this day they talk about the unforgettable day at the sea.
The ministry before God is a constant challenge. Everyday we learn how to be good stewards of what He has entrusted to us. Thank you, The Macedonian Outreach, for the enormous support – financial and spiritual! Without you, the oasis of Yastrebovo would still be a desert full of thirsty people. Let God bless you abundantly.
Gratefully!
Gopi and Reni Kolev
On Sunday morning, July 9th, a team of ten of us headed to Albania for our annual summer camp. Most of the team had been there before so there was much joy when old friends saw each other again. Ten of us, Kerri, Rachel, Kelly, Christine, Kendall, Jim, Elaina, Benny, Elias and myself joined another 80+ for a week of eating, playing, swimming but most of all of singing praises to our God and learning from the daily teaching on the greatness of our God.
We thank God for another wonderful time at camp where we met God and He met us in a big way. Thank you to all of you who prayed and gave. May our Lord bless you abundantly! A huge “THANK YOU” to Focused Living Bible Study women. These ladies come from eleven churches of San Ramon Valley and meet at Community Presbyterian church in Danville, CA and have supported this camp for over 20 years.
Happy times of eating! When the camp first started over twenty years ago, there was hardly any food. Now, thanks to the generosity of the Focused Living Bible Study women, there are three delicious and healthy meals a day!
Daily teaching by Jim Krouscas!
More teaching!
Kitchen crew joined by niece Christine Aardema of Long Beach, CA
Craft time with granddaughter Elaina Krouscas!
Game time!
Leadership team at morning devotional!
We praise God for the eleven who gave their hearts to the Lord this summer. Pray that with continued discipleship they will stay firm in faith all the days of their lives!