On behalf of all of us at The Macedonian Outreach, I want to thank you all for your love, your prayers and for standing by us in so many other ways during the past 27 years in Ministry. Because of you The Lord has helped us, among other things to:
Bring the GOSPEL and THE JESUS film to people in the Balkans in more than 12 languages.
– Stand alongside of our indigenous and mainly village pastors, by providing them spiritual materials and conducting encouraging Pastors’ conferences in the past eleven years.
– Be able to give, a very small financial token of appreciation, to all those heading all of our projects in every country that God has allowed us to bring the Ministry. Every one of them is a Godly person who cares and lovingly overseas our work among them.
– Provide education from the very beginning to over 200 children year after year. Dozens of them finished high school and either went on to college or to trade school. We thank God that many of them are serving the Lord today in many capacities in churches, in teaching and generally by being sound and good members of their communities not depending on the mercy of others any longer but by providing for themselves earning little but honest income.
– Be the helping hand by providing medical and pharmaceutical help to so many over the years. In some situations being the angels of mercy to people on their deathbed.
– Feed the hungry in their time of distress and to clothe thousands by sending beautiful clothing, hand-made sweaters, lap blankets, hats, shoes and bedding brought by hundreds of you.
– Be God’s hands and feet to so many refugees whether in the prior Yugoslavian countries or today to the refugees from the Middle East. We visited many refugee camps where thousands and thousands of people have found refuge and shelter away from the eventual loss of their lives. To these people we brought food, drinks and clothing and reading materials with money provided by many of you. We are praising the Lord for so many Christians, especially in my home town of Katerini, Thessaloniki and generally in all of Greece, who took in and to-date are caring for so many refugee families knowing nothing about them. They just followed Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25:35, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I WAS A STRANGER AND YOU INVITED ME IN, (emphasis mine)…..”
These are just a few areas of service. Of course, we could never have done it without your prayers and support. Because of that I can say with the Apostle of the Nations, Paul:
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”. Philippians 1:3-6
God bless you all during this Thanksgiving season and always.
With gratitude and thanksgiving in our hearts,
Vula Rushdoony on behalf of the Board and all the volunteers of The Macedonian Outreach here in the U.S.A, our Ministry partners abroad, but most importantly and not forgetting, the thankfulness of the thousands that have been helped in the Balkans over the past 27 years.
Today, I want to celebrate and honor my own veteran. Haig, I am so proud of you for serving our country with such dignity and love. Because of you and all the other men and women who served and are serving our country selflessly, the rest of us today can enjoy the freedom that you provided for us. Thank you Haig for being such a wonderful human being, husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, uncle and a friend to so many but especially for being such an incredible man of God. Thank you for teaching me how to love God better and serve Him with all my heart. Thank you for the 29 years that God gave us together but especially for the last 20 years that He allowed us to serve Him together through the Macedonian Outreach. Thank you for loving those in the Balkans by giving your whole being to them! I don’t know if you can see from heaven, but you would be so proud to see how much God has and is blessing The Macedonian Outreach with so many more volunteers and others who pray and support the Ministry. I miss you so much and look forward to the day when I will see my Jesus and you again! With a grateful heart! I love you so much!
On the outskirts of Skopje, the capital of the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, there is a ghetto (SARAJ) of some very, very poor but beautiful people. Many years ago, we had a prayer meeting in one of the homes there and when we finished, the pastor came and poured his heart out to us. He said, “For very little money we can help these children go to school and also take care of them physically. Are you willing to help us?”. And we prayerfully did!
Now, all these years later we are so proud and so thankful to the Lord to have a whole family that dedicates their lives to the welfare of these children and their families. Sokrat and Elena Apostolovski with their daughter Christina dedicate their lives daily to make theirs better.
All the children are in school, food is provided and plenty of clothing is being shipped there from The Macedonian Outreach here in Danville. Women and even younger girls knit sweaters, caps and lap blankets. Others help buy school supplies at the beginning of each school year and yet others make and fill Christmas stockings for our kids. I am overwhelmed with the generosity of so many whose hearts break for those things that break the heart of God!
Thank you to all who made and are making a difference in the lives of others!
This American teenager made all these lap blankets
We spent all last week visiting different camps in N. Greece. My friend Janice from the First Pres Church of Berkeley was with me for almost two weeks and not only she was a great help but also great company. We sent her off this morning to go home and I am following her home this Friday the 30th.
The refugee camps were very sad in many ways but yet very hopeful in other ways. The kids are carefree and happy but the adults mostly discouraged since the borders closed and they feel they are at the end of their rope. A little ray of hope is the fact that a few of them are being processed at a time and are assigned to particular countries. At this rate however, it will take years before they leave Greece. The army brings them food and the churches and many Christian organizations from within and outside supplement with food and clothing.
We continue to pray for them and ask the Lord to have mercy on them! We find a few Christians among them and many families are taken by local Christians to their homes as guests until there is an answer for their future.
The Macedonian Outreach continues to grow support a family in Thessaloniki who is waiting for their papers to be processed so they can join their father who is already in Germany. In the meantime we buy lots of food, hygiene products and things for the kids for six camps in the past five months. Please keep on praying for them!
Thank you all for your support through emails, phone calls, prayers and some visits while I served here this summer for four and a half months. God bless you all in every way.
With love, Vula
I just got the news and thank God that the young family that we supported in Thessaloniki were processed and are on the way to Germany to meet their husband and daddy. We wish them God’s blessings and a peaceful life. It was such a pleasure to have known and love them!