Bonus Trip

Just as I was thinking I should be getting back to Skopje, I was invited to go to Vienna for 3 days! We went by van, and it involved meeting people, lots of travel (including 6 border crossings), collecting items for orphans, and a sightseeing trip around Vienna itself.

My whole holiday was a lesson in trust for me. I left from Skopje, having been given some money to go on holiday (of which I had about 100 euro available), knowing that the money was not a lot. I had wavered about whether to go (because of the money), but decided to step out, thinking that I would trust God and would find a way!

Well, God certainly did help me. Through the kindness and hospitality of friends, I think I managed to stay more or less within budget, visited 3 countries, 9 towns, had all sorts of adventures, (including spending the night with three others in a van by the side of an Austrian road!), and had three days at the end to learn something valuable.

I hadn't even known what the trip to Vienna was about, I just said yes. And in the waiting, while fitting in with other people's plans, I saw the importance of simply trusting that God will do what He wants to do. It's not about me rushing around, pushing myself forward, but about God being in control and me submitting to that. And His good plans are not always what I expected.

The lesson I learned is that I can trust God.

Hungarian Outback

I've spent the last few days in a couple of villages in Hungary. In the first one I helped filter vegetable oil because the pastor's car runs on it! However, when you stand behind his car, it smells like you are in a chip shop! With this same pastor I went canoeing on lake Velence, trying not to capsize the boat and drench the 3 children who were also with us!


Now I am on a farm in the south of the country. It is great, people come and go, there's lots of food, someone is in the process of making a boat, others are putting manure down on the roses and 6 new piglets arrived today. And I'm glad the wild looking dog is tied up.

Budapest

I like this city. I've been here maybe 6 times and it's so beautiful. I've met up with 3 other people - Phil, Andrew and Katie - who are also sleeping at my friend's place. They are doing a tour with marionette puppets, going across Europe (Poland, Hungary, Romania, Switzerland and Germany), sharing the gospel through their performance, and lots of people have become Christians through it. We've had a good time together, and here's one amazing "coincidence":

Last year I was travelling in Istanbul and I had been wanting to meet some other Christians. There are only about 3000 Christians out of 70 million people in Turkey, but I prayed anyway that I'd meet up with others, and trusted God to do it. A few minutes later I met a whole group doing an outreach (which is very rare in Istanbul). This in itself was amazing, but even more so was the fact that Phil, who I met this week, was with that team last year!

I can recommend coming to Budapest. I've walked the castle and palace, been to 2 museums, and various church buildings, seen the parliament, visited a market, watched live music. Yesterday we went to church in the morning, soaked at the famous baths in Budapest, then watched the Carmen at the Budapest Opera House! And there's still so much more to do.

Kisszállás!

The train pulled in to a station, with one building, a car and two people. The name of the place, Kisszállás, means "little place with not many inhabitants". It kind of sums up travelling for me!

I'd woken up in Belgrade, Serbia, having taken a night bus from Skopje. A short time there and on to Subotica in Voivodina (Serbia), once one of the most beautiful towns in the Hungarian plains. Meeting a Hungarian guy we toured the town and talked about God (he wasn't a Christian). My journey was so last minute (I'd been sitting talking to a friend and then suddenly I got up, packed a bag in 20 minutes and we went to the bus station together where I'd caught the bus!) and I hadn't even sorted out a definite place to stay for the night. So I took a train to Budapest in Hungary, arriving about 22:30.

A friend in Budapest, at short notice took me in and let me stay there, after they got back from a music festival (Sziget) at about 1:30 in the morning. A long and exciting day!

Miscellaneous

The temperature has fluctuated wildly in two weeks between 45C (113F) to 18C (64F).

It seems that about 70% of the people in Skopje were away last week. It becomes very quiet here in August.

And finally, the winner of the Bulgarian (Pop) Idol contest gives an insight into some of the Balkan culture for those unfamiliar with it:-

"Happy Birthday to Me!"

Well, today's my birthday. A bit of a sad tinge to it as I've just said good-bye to one of my best friends - he's gone to England to work for some time.
But I've had some nice things - greetings from various people, and I've been given some presents: a slinky spring, a recorder (musical instrument) and a bobble head picture frame. Maybe they think I'm getting younger :)

Ohrid Mission

Went to Ohrid with the Glasnost guys again. I intended to go for a few days and ended up staying eight. It was a good time, great weather, a bit of beach, swimming, and mission thrown in. I don't know if I should say it on the blog, but it started, as each year, with some friction between us, but by the end we all wanted to stay together and not separate. Now I'm back in Skopje, I miss the community living and friendships of everyone.

We also had a great team of 8 from Texas with us. I miss you guys (if you are reading this, leave me a comment!!)



Me with a couple of the Texas team.


Where we were staying (some of the group anyway)!


Me and an Orthodox Monk! Some heavy metal afficionados came by and started asking questions about God.