Baptism in Bitola

We know of a church in Bitola and this weekend they were going to a nearby lake to perform a baptism and we were invited. Here (or at least with this church) is more of a celebration where you go and have your service at the lake, perform the baptism, and then go and have lunch and spend the afternoon hanging out or in my case playing football (soccer). Anyway it was a extraordinary service and although I understood 10% of what he said, someone later walked me through what he said and his testimony was fantastic. It was very encouraging not to only see a baptism, but to see everyone else so excited...genuinely.

This picture to the left occured at the party. I was able to stimulate an interest in playing soccer but the field next to the house was grown over ... big time. Someone asked me if I wanted to help cut the grass and of course I said yes. This lead to a lesson in cutting grass with a Scythe. This is actually how the majority of Macedonians cut their grass. Most have lawnmowers, but for those who can't afford it, this is the alternative. It was fun but it took me a row to get the motion down ... it isn't as easy as it first looks.
On Saturday, we got to spend the day with some good friends, Ethan and Jan. It was a good day of walking around Bitola and conversation. While we were there I also got to hang out with my good friend the World Cup mascot ... he is cool.