I am extremely excited to tell you about this week because in the last month or so things have leaped forward. As I get ready to write this, I realize it might not sound like momentous steps, but if are you are familiar with our work and the people of Ohrid, then you will rejoice.
I am sitting in front of my computer because I need to prepare for two Bible Studies and these are not normal circumstances.
I have been studying the Bible with "Steve and Samantha" for a while now and they have just recently started asking questions about church. They have also been asking a lot of questions to the nearby priest and people at the church about studying the Bible. We have had long discussions about people in Orthodoxy who start following the Bible. We have also talked about the strengths and weaknesses of the church meeting in a house or in a building. I am surprised at how fast our discussions are moving forward. Steve took a Bible with him to work and is already halfway through Matthew. We have covered the Gospel in more ways than one and although I am sure that they know the Gospel, I am not so sure they understand it. My goal at the moment is to continue to work with them through spiritual growth to the point that they grow (i.e. they are saved) or they realize that can't do and get saved. I would not be surprised if in about a year we have a church in Ohrid! Please pray for this couple that God would protect them as well as help them grow!
The second person is an old acquaintance, "Tim" who is becoming a friend. For no discernible reason with my human eyes he told me he did want to start studying the Bible one day after I asked him, again, if he wanted to. About a month ago I got to talk to a police officer in his store and ended up giving the police officer a Bible to read and Tim wanted one as well. Since then he hadn't mentioned it, but from that point Tim has been asking a couple of questions. Just last week he said he wanted to start doing our Chronological Bible Study. We did the first lesson, Creation, yesterday and I told him that before we did the second, he had to re-read the chapter (Genesis 1). I called him today to see what he was doing and he had re-read the chapter and then some. That made me very excited because vary rarely does stuff like this happen. On a personal note, when I was meeting with him yesterday and we opened to the beginning and read those famous words, "In the beginning..." I stopped and asked him if he had ever read the first verse of the Bible before. His response was that it was his first time ever to read the Bible! At the end of the lesson, I always ask if there is something that the person has learned from the lesson that he did not know before. His response was, "ahh, from the beginning to the end" and smiled.
So both Tim and Steve are reading on their own and joyously! I thank God that He has allowed me to share in this experience and I pray that it continues to grow. Please be in prayer for Steve and Tim (God knows the real names). And also be in prayer for us that we will be ready and equipped for whatever questions and challenges come ahead!
