This is just a quick post to keep this site active. Lilian and I are producing a photo album of the Sabbatical and I want to be able to cut and past some of this text into it, so I don't want the blog disappearing until I do!

26,370
According to my rough reckoning that's the number of miles we've flown on this Sabbatical.

Well, I'm back home again after a flight from Skopje to Budapest to London to Belfast. In fact I had been in so many places and airports that when I landed in London I was tired and hungry and looking for somewhere to eat. But building work was going on and I couldn't find "Gatwick Village", where all the shops and restaurants were. There was one restaurant nearby but it looked to pricey for me. However it had an attractive young woman standing outside, presumably in an attempt to drum up a bit of business! So I asked her for directions to Gatwick Village. "I'm sorry I don't know" she said in a strange accent. (Stranger than Belfast!) "Where are you from I asked her." "Poland", she says. And I thought to myself, "That's typical, you employ people from Poland as cheap labour and they don't even know anything about the place. "So you're working here and you don't know where Gatwick Village is?" I asked her. No she said, "I've never heard of it." You've never heard of it, and you work here!" "Yes", she said, "this is Heathrow!" I was so brain dead and confused that I didn't even know what airport I was in!

However as I say, I'm back and the Report Back is in church this Sunday night 18th. I'm putting the PowerPoint together at the moment. You're welcome to come along. 7.00pm. If you need directions go to http://www.carrickfergusbaptist.com/about_us/where_are_we/ and you'll find them.

My last day, in real terms, in Macedonia and the end of the Sabbatical. Mirco takes me out to a Drug and Alcohol rehabilitation programme which they fund, run by "Teen Challenge". There I met a group of young men who are recovering alcoholics and drug addicts.

I notice that a couple of them are reading, "The Purpose Driven Life" in Albanian and I tell their leader about Saddleback's "Celebrate Recovery" Programme for addiction. I am asked to "share" with them rather than preach and so for 15 minutes or so I share Galatians, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free". We sing and pray together, drink tea and coffee, (not a choice, both!) and then leave.

On the way back, Mirco brings me to another church, which appears to me on the edge of a dump where Gypsy children are sorting through the garbage and loading the best bits onto a cart. This is how they make a living. Luckily we were in a 4 wheel drive Toyota Landcruiser as not only did we have to drive through the dump but we then ran out of road and had to take to the fields, driving up and down some pretty steep banks! Eventually we found our way back onto the road and back to the office. After a quick lunch of "Veal soup" I thought he said "Whale soup!" I had a couple of hours to go through some sermon material as I was preaching again that evening in a church in a town called Negotino an hour or so South West of Skopje.

Arrived in Negotino in the dark, found where we were looking for and had coffee with the pastor and his family who live above the church.

Then we went downstairs where 30 or 40 people were gathered for a Midweek meeting. We sang a few hymns in Macedonian, (I don't sing Macedonian but I hum it a bit!) and then I was on, with a translator. After I preached they sang another hymn and then Mirco preached! Afterwards we went back to the pastor's house for a short visit and then left.

It was sometime after 8pm and I was looking forward to an early night because I needed to be up at 3.15am to catch a flight from Skopje to Budapest. I could then catch a plane in Budapest to take me to Heathrow and from there to Belfast! However when I got into the car I was told we were going to a birthday party!

Arrived at the party sometime after 9.00 and there were a number of people from the church whom I knew and some that I didn't. Had some pizza and chips as I had had nothing since the "Whale soup" at lunchtime, and some birthday cake and eventually we got away. Mirco left me back to the room in the church where I was staying, set both my alarms for 3.15 and crashed into bed!

On Tuesday I was taken by Mirco who leads the work here in Macedonia to a town called Kumanovo about an hour's drive away. He had an important meeting with a young man called Pastor Saso and he wanted me to meet him too.

Pastor Saso has a church in the town and a congregation of about 40 - 50 people (the first pictures are of them inside and outside the church).




However they have embarked on a building project to build a new church, which will hold up to 250 people, in another part of the town where new houses are being built. Some of the building is being done by voluntary labour. In September a trench collapsed and two men were killed. The police arrived and arrested Pastor Saso and another Christian who was the site engineer and imprisoned them Pastor Saso has been released on bail but both men are charged with manslaughter. We visited the building site and saw what had happened. As well as the deaths of two men and the criminal charges hanging over the other two, relatives of the deceased are claiming compensation from the church, the builder now says the site is "cursed" and has stopped work and the local residents are demanding that the church pays extra to get another builder in to repair damage done to the site during the rescue.


When the three of us arrived at the site a small group of people gathered around us and there was a fairly excited conversation in Macedonian which I didn't understand. Eventually Mirco appeared to have placated them and we went into their houses for more (Turkish) coffee. He told me afterwards that he had offered them another 1500 euros as compensation for the damage. he doesn't want bad feeling between the residents and the church before it's even built! Of course, now he has to find 1500 euros! Such is Christian work in Macedonia.

On Monday I woke up early. There was a kitchen in the church but I couldn't find anything for breakfast. Had a shower and got dressed and went out. Very cold outside and wasn't sure which way to go but headed in towards what I assumed was the town centre. Most of the shops were still closed but close to this huge Greek Orthodox church I found a supermarket. Bought A yogurt, a Twix, a can of coke and a sort of pastry and had that for my breakfast. Healthy or what!
The rest of the guys weighed into the office about a quarter to nine. I had a quick update on the work in Macedonia which seems to be going at its usual speed of flat out with a zillion things happening at once! They are running professional training courses for nurses as a pre- evangelism event, a group of Americans are over and doing a whole "Thanksgiving" event as an outreach including turkeys and pumpkin pie, the whole deal. There are English classes running and an Alpha course. That's on top of the regular church and pastoral work, looking after 20 churches and about 15 "church plants" in homes etc.
I went for lunch to Joan's house, (Joan is a guy, Johannes we might say!) I was served a beautiful risotto and salad. After lunch we headed out to meet a local pastor who is co-ordinating work among the gypsies. It was about an hour's drive and gave me a chance to see the Macedonian countryside in daylight!
We met him in what was described to me as, "the most polluted town in Macedonia!" His name was Dragon and we picked him up in the town square. He took us out of the town and up the side of a hill where there was a small village of (increasingly) narrow streets and (increasingly) ramshackle houses!
He had a Christian worker who was fixing up a house here so that he could live among the Gypsies and evangelise them. The house was a two room affair about the size of a garden shed and he was living here with his wife and baby. He was in the middle of "decorating" when we arrived.
Eventually we were driving down streets with the wing mirrors rubbing against the houses on both sides and at that point we stopped, reversed until we came to a spot wide enough to allow us to open the car doors, and got out.
From there we went on foot climbing higher all the time. By this stage the houses had become shacks patched up with cardboard and plastic sheeting and the paved pathway had petered out.

Amazingly, no matter how bad the shack was, it had a satellite dish on the side, (see photo)! As far as the gypsies are concerned you gotta get your priorities right! We were now on a mud track still climbing upwards. Apparently he had a family
in one of these houses that he was pastoring. Some of the children came to his Sunday school.
We went in and spent a little time with the family and then had to move on as it was starting to get dark and we had another family to visit.
This involved climbing back down the hill and a short car journey to a few more shacks avoiding a pony and cart on the road. Everything out here on the hillside is pitch black!

When we arrived we couldn't get into the house and the man of the house was having a bath. He had got a day's work loading pigskins onto a truck. For a full day's work he had been paid 5 euros.

We had coffee with him (coffee in Macedonia usually means Turkish Coffee especially when with gypsies) I was asked to share something from the Bible using a translator of course and spoke from John 14 about Jesus' great love for us. His daughter was 14 and he was looking for a husband for her as she was now of marriageable age. We prayed with them and left as we had a church meeting to take, at which I was the preacher, (of course!) Found the church and took the meeting and afterwards drove back to Skopje getting in about 10.00pm. Got a chance to do some work on the computer and fell into bed.

Well, the original plan was that my friends from Macedonia would come to Tirana and pick me up. I then got an email that things had gone a bit belly up in Macedonia and could I catch the bus instead. (Come over to Macedonia and help us and could you take the bus!) It would leave Tirana at 9.00pm and drop me in Skopje in Macedonia at 4.00am! I was preaching later that day but they reckoned that if I got to bed by about 5.00am I could get a few hours sleep!
After some discussion I arranged a lift from Tirana to the Macedonian border on the understanding that someone would pick me up. Our translator who speaks both Albanian and Macedonian, made the arrangements. (That is significant!)
So on Sunday after church I left the guys to the airport and started the three hour journey by car over the mountains to the Macedonian border.
Some beautiful countryside but as we climbed higher it got decidedly colder and then we found ourselves among the clouds and barely able to see in front of us.
The road became increasingly narrow and winding and in some places pretty steep with no crash barriers and big drops on one side but my Albanian driver seemed to take it in his stride.

Eventually we reached the Macedonian border where I was to be met by someone. At that point I wondered whether I needed a visa! (A little late in the day to be thinking about that) But I also realised as I handed over my passport that I didn't know the language, where I was staying in Macedonia or who was meeting me. I had no Macedonian currency and my cell phone didn't work! I just hoped that I didn't need to pay to enter Macedonia as was the case in Albania and that the grim looking guy in Passport Control didn't ask me any questions. However thank God he didn't, and I passed through pulling my suitcase behind me! I then realised that I was only out of Albania, and after walking the 50 yards or so of no man's land I had to get through passport control in Macedonia! Same problem, would he require money, or information because I had neither!
However the old British Passport worked its magic again and he stamped it and let me through. So trailing my suitcase I walked through into Macedonia where I was due to be picked up. The only problem was that there was nobody there!

It's shortly after 4.00pm and starting to get dusk. I'm about 3000 feet up in the mountains in November and its cold. The only thing passing me are large articulated lorries roaring down the mountain. I'm beginning to wonder what I ought to do. That's easy, there's nothing I can do. After 15 minutes pass I begin to wonder if I'm at the right border crossing because presumably there are several. Occasionally car lights come up the hill but they turn off or go past.
In the dark I open my case and put on a waterproof coat. Half an hour has gone and nobody is coming to pick me up! I'm on a mountain in a country where I don't speak (or even recognise) the language. I have no money nor any address as to where I am staying as the arrangements had been made by the translator. (Of course I hadn't bothered to get the details off him, don't be stupid!)
By this time three quarters of an hour had gone and I was beginning to think I would die on this mountain pass. I then remembered that I had a cellphone number of a guy in Macedonia and he might be the one who was coming for me (I hope!)
I opened the case again and got out a sheaf of papers and emails I had with me and found his number. Of course I had forgotten the phone didn't work! I thought I might try texting him. So I texted, "I am at the border crossing" and I got the message, "Message sent". Nothing!
Then the phone beeped and I opened the text. "So am I. Which side are you on"
I texted back "Macedonia" He texted "I'm waiting for you on the Albanian side. I'm in a red car. I'll come for you now." We had somehow passed each other and had been waiting for each other for 45 minutes on opposite sides of the border! He was with me in about 5 minutes and as I got into the car he says, "We're late, you're preaching in a church two hours away and the service starts in an hour and a half!" That was the first I had heard of it but we were off flying low through Macedonia to a small town called Bitola.

Found the church, (about 20 people and they had waited for us) and we sang a few songs in Macedonian and then I was on with an interpreter for a half hour preach! When church was over I was informed that we had a 3 hour drive ahead of us to Skopje. Of course it was dark and late and there were no shops or restaurants open so there was no chance of getting anything to eat. I had last eaten at about 12.30 and by the time we got to where I was staying, (a room in the church) it was about 11.30. Although I was starving I was even more exhausted and collapsed into the settee bed and fell fast asleep!

Sorry about that! You must have thought I had vanished from the face of the earth!
All that happened was that the laptop crashed and I was unable to use it! I am using a PC in a church office in Skopje, Macedonia at the moment and I'll try and bring you up to speed.
So here's the story so far.
After Canada I left for Albania on a study visit organized by the Bible Society of Northern Ireland. The group comprises of John Docherty from the Bible Society, John Finlay, who is the Presbyterian Moderator this year, Roy Cooper who is the President of the Methodist Conference this year, Stephen Lowry who is the Dean of Dromore Cathedral and little me!

We are staying in the Stephen Centre (the orange building in the picture) in the middle of Tirana, the capital of Albania. Our visit has been timed to coincide with the launch of a New Testament in Albanian by the Bible Society of Albania and we have been having long meetings with the translators and church leaders as well as seminary students and others who will be using it. It has been a very educational experience!

Albania is still emerging from many years of a very oppressive Communist regime which virtually persecuted the church out of existence.
Today Islam is strong followed by Greek Orthodox, then Catholic then Protestant and of course, following many years of Communism, Atheism is very strong!
We have been doing quite a bit of travelling around and it has given us an opportunity to see a little of the country.

Tirana is a fascinating city with ultra modern buildings and ugly run down buildings from the Communist era mixed in among beautiful buildings from the 1920's and 1930's. Compare these beautiful buildings with the view out of my bedroom window!
The exciting thing is that this new Translation in Albanian gives the Bible Society the opportunity to introduce it to both the Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches. In fact we visited a Greek Orthodox Seminary and presented copies to the students. It was thrilling to hear the Bishop who leads the Seminary, Bishop Nicholas, recommend this New Testament to the students and quote the Apostle Paul, that "What is important is that Christ is preached!"
He also invited us to lunch with the students and afterwards they sang to us in Albanian. We responded by singing to them the 23rd Psalm (in English!)

The evidence of the former Communist regime is everywhere including thousands of army pillboxes. These three were on the beach between the deckchairs!

Another fact of life in Tirana is that the electricity keeps going on and off. Everybody has generators but you can find yourself suddenly plunged into the dark at any moment. However this picture from the top of "Sky Tower" is Tirana at night with the lights on!

Albanians love to eat, drink coffee and talk. (In a former life I must have been an Albanian!) You can really put on weight here. Just as you think the meal is over you discover that those were just the starters and the main courses are starting to arrive! I have probably put on a stone!

Obviously with a Presbyterian, a Methodist, an Anglican and a Baptist all living and eating together for a week every theological subject has been discussed to the point of exhaustion! Throw into that mixture, conversations we have had with the Catholic Archbishop of Albania and the Orthodox Bishop of the Seminary and you really have plenty to talk about!

On Sunday we attended an evangelical Church in Tirana where I was the preacher. (All my Christian colleagues had stitched me up and voted me as the preacher, as I was in California when they held the meeting in Belfast!) Flushed with our success in the seminary we sang again, this time, "Amazing Grace". The congregation displayed amazing grace by staying for all four verses! Afterwards we had lunch together and then they left for the airport while I set off for Macedonia. That's a story for another day!