abbey abroad :)

I heart Bitola, Macedonia.

Skopje is great. Like everywhere in Macedonia, the people are so nice. Since it's a bigger city, it's easy to find everything you need. (Minus a few essentials, like Rotel and Reese's cups, but that's another story...)

But Bitola! I love it! I went there for the third time last week. This was the longest I've stayed there, and I must say, so far, it's my favorite city in Macedonia.

But enough about the place. More about the people. :)

I was in Bitola last Monday through Saturday because some volunteers came to Macedonia to work with another Christian group. They decided to have a VBS in Bitola, and since they were including Roma and Macedonians, I was able to go to help.

The first three days were spent with children. The first day, we had five. The last day, we had twenty-four! Every day included the same things a VBS in the States would have: opening assembly, singing, Bible story, crafts, and snacks. The kids loved it. They just don't do things like that here.

On that last night, as I watched 24 rambunctious (but still adorable) children running around, I was reminded of Arizona, where I've spent a week of my summer every year for the last 11 years. This was my first year to miss it. In that respect, it was bittersweet... but I knew that God had been using my trips to the Navajo reservation all those years not only to reach them, but also to prepare me for work with the Roma. The two people groups are really similar.

Beautiful mountains in Arizona

Beautiful mountains in Bitola

Adorable Navajo kids

Adorable Roma kids

Baby Navajo mullet

Baby Roma mullet

The last three days were spent doing home visits and having youth events. Brenda, the woman leading the group, had the great idea of having a photo scavenger hunt! The youth really enjoyed it. They also liked playing "The Human Knot."

Scavenger Hunt--Picture with someone wearing traditional Macedonian clothes

Scavenger Hunt--Picture with a "baba" (grandmother)

Scavenger Hunt--Picture in a tree

Scavenger Hunt--Picture with Justin Timberlake

The youth here really don't ever get to be teenagers like we do in the States. They go straight from childhood to adulthood, with really no in-between. I'd love to do more work with Roma youth here in Macedonia. Would you pray that I have the opportunity to?