Thankful for the Body

Just as the hand doesn't hear or see from the elbow all that often, they are joined together, working to carry the baby, or wash the dishes, or any other number of things. The Body works together sometimes completely unaware of how it all comes together to support and bear the weight of the rest of the Body. Knit together. Functioning at its best, together. We have seen this very thing play out in front of our eyes many times over the years. And if you are at all familiar with this blog, you have heard me ramble on and on about how much I love the Body of Christ and about how very grateful I am for it. I can't get over it. It's kind of amazing! I am most thankful for the head, who is Christ, who moves in and through the members to cause them to hold up one another, loving one another and bearing with one another for His great Name's sake. This used to be a great mystery to me, but this week, it became even less of a mystery and more of a reality to me. And it is one mystery for which I am so thankful and by which I am overwhelmed with love for my Lord and the members of His body.  

Less than 48 hours ago, we put a volunteer team from our home church, the Summit in RDU, in a taxi to head back to their homes.  We had a phenomenal week with them in which we felt loved on and encouraged.  We partnered with them to love on the people of this town with servant hearts in acts of kindness.  At the beginning of the week, they led a seminar to encourage our small group to have a servant's heart, a heart like Jesus, and to branch out in their community to meet needs around them.  And then they spent the rest of their week living out the words of that seminar, that were basically just words from scripture.  Here's where it gets great (as if that wasn't great enough), the Lord, in His goodness, used the work of four different churches, three of whom weren't even here physically, to meet some needs and partner together with us this week--and none of them know one another or planned these things.... But God did!  

A church in Nevada, full of people we've never met, contacted us and asked what they could send to support us. Praying about it, I requested that they send school supplies to be given to kids here, and they did. 

Yay! School supplies!!! AND American CHOCOLATE!

So with our family and this team from the Summit, we packaged them up to be ready to hand out to kids here. Summit brought more candy and school supplies to add to these bags and along with handmade dolls from another church in NC, we headed to one of the hospitals in town to hand them all out to the kiddos who are there for long periods of time.  

After that we headed to the schools to help teach English and give out pencils, some other school supplies and CANDY!  We had a blast teaching the kids some English songs and helping them all practice the English they already know.  The local news did a story on us in the schools that you can see HERE. (Once in the link, scroll down to see a slideshow of pictures they took of us interacting with the sweet kids.) 

The group also helped hand out the final seed packets.  They loved on some of our closest friends with gifts and time in their homes. They loved on our small group by teaching them about being compelled by the love of Jesus and then modeling it for them. They loved on us, as they brought us awesome gifts from the states!

Gifts included, but were certainly not limited to, Anna (from Frozen) Captain America and one of the coolest bouncy balls ever. The kids were thrilled! So thankful! 

On Friday night, while the guys played chess with some friends and watched the kids, the ladies helped me do a women's event. A lady (again, that I've never met) gave my mom a TON of Mary Kay samples. Mom sent them, and after they sat in Brian's office for a couple of months, the Lord opened up a door for us to use them to have a make-up night as one of the women on the Summit team had an understanding of what to do with all the make-up. Her mom used to sell the stuff! And yes, that is most definitely a God-thing, cause had it been left up to me... those poor women....  

We had a great crowd and lots of fun. The ladies LOVED the make-up, heard the good news of Jesus' love for them and many walked away with their first Bible and the knowledge of how to have a relationship with Him, their Creator--who makes all things beautiful.

Such an amazing week!!!

And two days after the dust settles, I still sit in awe of the goodness of our great God who is sovereign over EVERYthing, even Mary Kay make-up. No one knew how God was going to use those dolls that were sent, or the school supplies, or the make-up. I couldn't have told you even a week ago how it was all going to play out and work together for His glory. But He did. 

He knew about the mom I would meet in the hospital who would give me her phone number and take a Bible, promising to read it, and He led a lady, over 5 years ago, in NC, to sit and make over 100 cloth dolls. 

He knew that those school supplies would be a blessing to little boys and girls sitting in a hospital as well as in the schools here, and He led a church in Nevada to collect them and ship them our way.  

He knew make-up would draw 11 new women (+ 9 others) into our coffee house to hear the news of Jesus and He even ordained a girl, from NC, who knew what to do with all that make-up be here to lead that night.

And what's more, He knew my son would be head over heels in love with an apron, yes, an apron, because it has golf clubs on it. So he had a lady make one for him and his daddy. 

Their new aprons that they couldn't be more excited about! Don't they look studly!

He knew the look my kids would make when they got new toys from America. 

He knew the week would be exhausting but full of opportunities and so he called many of you out to pray for the team, for the week, for the work. You prayed for strength and for His word to go forth and your prayers were answered. 

He knew! And He ordained it all! WOW! What a great God we serve!!! 

Y'all, He gives good gifts to His children. Do you see it? He works in and through His Body of Believers to bless, support, encourage and further His work on this earth. Man, I can't wait until heaven when we will all be together around his throne praising Him for letting us, different parts of His Body, be a part of this, His work. Until then, though, I'm gonna praise Him with a grateful heart for how I've seen His hand move in the big and small things this last week and through the years! 

Praise His Name!

Summer Concerts

We get pretty excited around here when we see believers and churches getting all wrapped up in Matthew 28:19-20. And we are thrilled when we see Balkan believers getting fired up about telling people the story of Jesus. Like squealing and shrilling thrilled!!!  It's big, y'all! This week a team of 8 believers from Croatia, who are members of a band called, Adonai, came to Macedonia to use their talents for the glory of God--to make His name famous here and around the Balkans.  

They preformed two concerts in Ohrid, one Friday night and one Saturday night. Between the two concerts, we were able to hand 250 New Testaments and have a lot of gospel-centered conversations with a few of the hundreds of people who stopped in to listen.

The concert was in the center square of our city--exactly where you want to be in the summer. YAY! Thomas hung out at the foot of the statue during set-up. 

Set up and warm up

Pretty cool location, uh?

The concerts were amazing.  They are so very talented and drew a huge crowd. The first night we were able to have a table for New Testaments set up to give out to people. The second night, we were told we couldn't do that, but we were still able to give out lots of New Testaments just by walking around handing them to people.

If you look close, you can see Thomas, Kate, and two of their best friends standing up front.  

The group joined us for church Sunday morning and did a great job of leading us in worship. So good, y'all!!!  It was such a privilege to get to know them and partner with them in reaching this neck of the Balkans with the good news of Jesus. Sunday night, they headed to Struga, the town right next door. They will be in a different city of Macedonia for the next couple of nights this week. I've already heard reports that last night went great with lots more Bibles handed out and lots more gospel-conversations had.  So thankful!!!  God is SO good and SO kind!  Pray for them this week as they boldly proclaim Christ as Savior and Lord through music and personal testimony.

Put Us to Work...

A group of three very energetic and enthusiastic Americans came to see us about a month ago.  They sent an email just a couple of months ago and asked if they could come spend some time loving on us and the people. Our answer was easy, "How soon can you get here?!" :) They booked flights, rounded up prayer support, bought and MADE gifts to give out while they were here, and spent lots of time preparing for Bible studies they would lead. They came with the hearts of a servant, hearts of love, ready to give of their time, their talents and their lives.  The blessing that they were to us and to the people of Ohrid can never be fully expressed.  

A bunch of really sweet and thoughtful ladies from their church sent things to bless us and the people of Ohrid.  One lady even made a beautiful blanket for Isaiah.  Isn't that gorgeous?! And SO very sweet. 

Not only did they come bearing gifts for our kids, but they loved on them with BIG giant hugs and time to sit and play with them.  They kept the kiddos a couple of nights so Brian and I could go out on much needed dates!  I cannot even tell you how good it was, cause y'all if Brian and I aren't working right, then none of this is working. It was so good to just sit and talk with no distractions. To reconnect. To laugh together and walk hand in hand by the lake… not pushing a stroller and not trying to keep Thomas from falling into the lake.  (Volunteers, when you go to serve with people who have kids, give the couple a date night. This is HUGE!)

Sweet Bob and Larry!!! They got on the floor and played with my babies even though Bob wasn't real sure he was going to be able to get back up. :)  It did this momma's heart good.  

They were so willing to do anything and everything for the sake of the gospel.  They didn't come to rest or be lazy. They came to work.  

They visited old friends.

Marilyn helped make doughnuts for the men. 

And the men devoured them.

More old friends and good Bible-centered conversations.

Marilyn was also able to lead in a women's Bible study with some of the believers here, and she also shared a craft with them. The ladies loved it! It was a great time of fellowship and fun.

Bob and Larry pulled out the Bible at every turn. They made every minute with nationals count, and it was such blessing to see their hearts and hear them share of God's great love!

They reinforced a lot of what we have been saying to our friends here, which is huge!!! It gives us and our words credibility. It starts to solidify things for those who are doubting.  It is so very beneficial.

We are so very thankful that they gave of their time, money and whole selves to come and love on us and the people here.  We can't wait to see what God will do with the relationships they made and the words they shared.  After all, His word does not return void.  

Tis the Season for... VOLUNTEERS

Volunteer season is upon us once again.  We love volunteers.  They are always such a precious gift and end up ministering in ways they probably never even imagined.  

We just finished up with our first team, of sorts. One lady from the Church at Brook Hills felt led to come all this way, all by herself, to give out free reading glasses.  This was such an answer to prayer as we regularly hear the excuse "I can't read the Bible because I can't see."  Well, sweet Darleen came to help remedy that situation.  She gave out almost 250 pairs of reading glasses.... in 7 hours.  Whoa! 

We figured since we had the glasses, we would offer a free eye exam for the people coming in too.  We just asked a local doctor to come in and help us out for the day.  She did great and I think the community was touched by this ministry.  Every one left with a pair of reading glasses and a new book explaining who Jesus Christ is.  Pray that they read it and come to know the truth.  Thanks again Darleen!

Other volunteer teams have done anything from prayer walking and handing out literature to handing out school supplies to helping at the Red Cross.  

As a volunteer, you can take fun rides in crazy old vehicles.  

And rides on... other things

You can lose miserably at chess. But always with a smile. ;0)

You can teach American football to a bunch of clueless Macedonians who think they are getting ready to play rugby

You can teach English to 5 years olds in the preschool.

You can teach American dances and end up doing the Macedonian Oro.

You can learn to cook traditional Macedonian food with nationals.

You can take fun pictures with a million people and feel really really famous.

You can love on our babies (one of my personal favorites).  

You can teach kids about Jesus and do fun crafts with them.

You can drink coffee with tons of people in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

You can do a seminar on parenting or marriage (or anything) and tell people about Christ being your strength.  

You can hand out school supplies to kids in need. You can pick up trash around town. You can come to help disciple our new believers. You can come just to love on our team. You can come do just about anything. We love volunteers. We always see fruit from our teams, and we are so thankful for those of you with a willing and obedient heart ready to serve and ready to show the love of our Savior.  If the Lord is leading you to come, shoot us an email. We will put you to work. 

Love this Song and LOVE Mandi Mapes!

"My heart is here but it's time to go. These feet of mine were made for foreign shores."




Thank you Mandi!

Mandi "Mop-es"

Mandi Mapes, from The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, AL has been here hanging with us for the last 2 weeks.  Mandi, whose name is often pronounced by the Macedonian locals as Mandi Mop-es (a literal reading of her name in Macedonian), is an incredibly talented singer/songwriter, and her album is one that is often providing background music for our less-than-mundane-life in the Davis household.  It has been such a joy, not only to have Mandi here, but also to get to hear the story behind the songs she wrote.  She has been gracious to do a couple of concerts for us these last few weeks.  She was able to play in Prilep when we headed over there for our American Thanksgiving, and she has played at three different spots here in Ohrid including our coffee house which was packed out for her performance.  

Brian acted as her manager for the week. ;)  --Tuning the guitar, setting her concert schedule and making flyers for advertising.

During the course of the week, we all got to meet some new people and share our stories and Mandi's story with them.  We had a blast hanging out at concerts listening to Mandi bring glory to our Father in song while we attempted to make the most of every opportunity with every individual with whom we came in contact.

Mandi at our coffee house. 

I think she is famous in Ohrid now.  She brought about 50 cds to give out, and everyone wanted her autograph.  Plus, yesterday, Mandi, Hannah and Ginna went back to one of the coffee bars that she played in on Tuesday night and they were playing her album in there. When not playing at coffeehouses, Mandi has been hanging out with Hannah and Ginna visiting with people all around Ohrid. God is faithful!

One of my favorite parts of the week was listening to Mandi play in a local coffee bar after 10 P.M.  The room was filled with cigarette smoke. There were SO many people in there, it was standing room only which meant all the guys at the bar were crowding into the place where I sat, and Mandi was singing songs about "Sweet Sweet Grace" and "This little light of mine, oh, I'm gonna let it shine." and "Hollywood keeps singing about love, If they really had love, they'd be singing songs about Jesus."  and "Jesus paid it all. It is well with my soul." 

SO. STINKIN'. AWESOME!!!

Here are a few of her groupies.

This is one of the songs she did at our coffee house.  She had taught the crowd the chorus and had them sing along with her. Love it. So fun!

Our time with Mandi has been incredible.  I think her main purpose in coming was just to encourage Hannah and Ginna, but she ended up encouraging all of us, loving on us, and loving on our precious people of Ohrid.  We are so grateful for her willingness to be here and serve our Lord in a foreign land.  You can check out her website here.  Her music is available on iTunes.  Check her out!  And praise God for all the many opportunities we have had to share these last two weeks. Pray that the seeds will take root and bear fruit. 

A Former Volunteer

One of the volunteers we had from William Carey University (check out their work here) is now getting ready to head to England to share the Good News.  Her name is Jaime Smyth. She is a singer/songwriter and now she will be a minister of the Gospel among the nations.



Pray for her today and why not go on over to itunes and check out her album.  I just bought it, and it's good stuff!!!

Still Alive

We are here. We are alive. We are well. We are busy!!!!

The past few months have been unbelievable! Amazing! Incredible! Mind-blowing!.... Exhausting!

I have been sick off and on since the first week of March and have been treated for three ear infections, strep throat (iv antibiotics), an allergic reaction to the sun caused by one antibiotic, a sinus infection and I still don't feel 100%, and while I am pretty tired of not feeling good, I am amazed at what God is doing around me and for how He continues to daily pour out His abundant love on me in most obvious ways!

Some highlights:
Seeing new biblical believers grow, get baptized and become witnesses for Christ! Ane, Lade and Vlado all got baptized along with one new believer from Prilep! Praise the Lord!

A visit from my amazing sister and nephew! So fun. So precious!

An awesome volunteer team from Red Bank Baptist Church in Tennesee

Children's English Bible Story Hour bringing in kiddos from around town

Another volunteer team coming to love on us from Brook Hills Church.

Great time with our team/family here

There are so many more things I could put on here to brag on God. So whether I'm sick or not, He is good. He is faithful. He has done great things and I am in awe!

Summit RDU Brought Hope

I know this is awfully late, but I wanted to brag on the team from our home church that was here in June. God totally did some awesome things through them. Some highlights:
Working with the local Red Cross--handing out bottles of water and cleaning up a nearby beach.
Building relationships with those people from the Red Cross and having coffee with some of them A LOT!
Watching Ashlee break it down to some Michael Jackson at a local coffee house. She was a hit.
Making brownies and cookies with the girls for our party on Friday night.
Doing the LIMBO with Macedonians. Man, I wish I had pics of that!!!
Watching the World Cup with people who actually care about it.
The girls going to ORO class to learn some of the traditional dances.
Handing out copies of New Testaments and "More Than a Carpenter" to all the people they met.

It was great. They also loved on us and our babies and SHOWERED us with gifts from the states!!!

Thanks Summit RDU for sending hope our way. The seeds that were sown will surely bring forth fruit!!!!