Thanksgiving at the Davises

I realize now that our last post was Thomas' birth and I haven't made a post since then. Needless to say we have been busy and had the privileged of speaking in many new churches and meeting many new people. I am looking forward to building on the relationships that we have made and hopefully seeing some of the faces we met in Macedonia! In the last month we got to spend Thanksgiving with both of our families. On Thursday we spent Thanksgiving with the Davis Family. Here are some pictures:

Here is Kate showing Grandpa how to really make eggs.

Thomas and Grandma (above and below)

Amanda Poe, Kate, and Mandy. The Poes came to our house for Thanksgiving.

Mrs. Poe and Thomas ... he was held a lot and therefore slept a lot :)

Thanksgiving Dinner!

... and all of us eating it! :)

Afterward we played Cranium.

This is me with both the kids, of course Thomas is sleeping.

Of course it was great to be in America for Thanksgiving again and to be with family. It has been good for both sides (ours and theirs) but we also understand and gladly accept why we have not been able to do it the last three years.

Thomas Andrew is here!

He was born October 21, 2009 at 2:40pm weighing 7 pounds 15 ounces! Both mom and he are doing well!

Beach Pics and Schedule

We just got back from a week at the beach with Brian's mom, dad and brother. We had a blast. Brian especially had fun riding the giant waves that a storm brought in off the coast. It is amazing to watch two guys as big as Brian and his brother play in the ocean. On land next to Kate, and even me, they are huge, but throw them in the ocean with crashing 9 foot waves and you begin to see how very small we actually are in this world. And then, it becomes even more amazing our great our God is that He not only created this beautiful world, but that He knows us by name and loves us.

While we were there, we had Brian's dad take some family photos of us and he did a fabulous job!!! There are a few here, some on Kate's blog and even more on facebook.
Brian and I comparing bellies. I've got him beat, but not for long!!! :)



Next week we are off for a massive speaking tour. If we are in your area and you want to get together for a meal, let us know.
Richlands, NC --September 19-20th speaking at First Baptist Richlands, NC
Chatanooga,TN area September 23-28 (leaving 22) at a GIC with Red Bank Baptist Church
Gatlinburg, TN area the 29th-October 9 --Mandy's family vacation WHEE!
Mandy and Kate in Hickory, NC area from the 10th-14th while Brian is in Forney, Texas for the Forney Summit (advertised below)
Hickory area 15-17th for South Mountain Mission Conference
Stanly County -- 18th speaking at Cornerstone Church
Stanly County --20-22 for Stanly County Mission Conference
Back to Raleigh on the 23rd

As you can see, we have a LOT of traveling to do. The doctors are obviously a little apprehensive about me traveling this much in the last four weeks of my pregnancy and so am I. That is why my mom and dad are going to be hanging with me and Kate while Brian is speaking and I will speak and travel as I am able. Pray for us to have endurance and stamina to get through this month of travel. Pray that Baby Thomas will hold off on his arrival until after the 23rd and that little Kate will adapt well to all her new "homes."

We will keep you updated on all that we can as much as we can.

My time in New York

This blog should have been posted a week ago, but it has taken me time to sit down and write it all out. Thanks for your patience!

I was in western part of New York (west of the Appalachian mountains down by Pennsylvania) for 10 days during the middle of August to speak to an association of churches as a part of their On Missions Celebration (OMC). I ended up going by myself because the trip required a lot of travel time and it would have been hard for my pregnant wife and 22 month old daughter to handle. The Association was the Central New York Baptist Association (link here) which comprises 44 church over 16 counties! Obviously you can tell by the numbers that this association is spread out! This is unfortunate because the distance between churches makes fellowship and encouraging very difficult. One thing that did impress me was that most of the pastors are bi-vocational or tri-vocational so their passion for the gospel was obvious. If there was any doubt to the gospel witness in New York, it was laid to rest. Although the churches are rather spread out, if anyone comes in contact with them they will definitely here men and women of God who really understand how to rightly divide the Word of Truth.

As for us, there were 10 missionaries in all (5 from NAMB and 5 from IMB) to speak at 20 churches. Because of the way the OMC was laid out every missionary would speak at 10 churches in 8 days. This means that we spoke at 2 churches on each of the two Sundays (morning and night) and then a church every night of the week. We would travel to the church where we were to speak for dinner and dinner was hosted by a member of the church. After dinner we traveled to the church and we were given 45 minutes to an hour to share about our lives and ministry in our respective fields of service. After the presentation it was an open floor for a question and answer time at which point people were free to leave. I spent as much time dialoguing and answering questions after my presentation as I did giving my presentation. I never grew tired of talking to people and encouraged them to "try to annoy me with questions"... which obviously never happened. One evening I started speaking at 7:00 and left at 9:00 and no one left early or complained.

I always enjoyed the dinner where I would ask questions about the area and the history of the church. One of the places that we ate dinner was a partner in a farm and I was fascinated to learn about their farm. It was a milk farm, but they grew all their own crops to feed the cows. It appeared to me that almost 70% of their work went to just make food for their cows. They even made a video for YouTube which gave me a greater appreciation for their work. Here is the video for anyone who is interested.


This is a picture of me speaking at Southport Baptist Church.

I was graciously hosted the first half of my trip by Southport Baptist Church in Elmira, New York. I had a great time with them and would consider the pastor and his son new friends. I was greatly encourage in my time with them and enjoyed our sometimes 2 hour car rides one way to speak at the different churches. One of these churches

The second half of the week I was hosted by Beacon Light Baptist Church in Vernon, New York. I spent my stay with a retired couple, Milt and Helen, who liked watching the Yankees as much as I do and taught me a new card game, pitch. The second half of the trip was as much fun as the first. There was one church at which we spoke that was an hour and a half from any other SBC church. It turns out the pastor has an easier time talking to missionaries than he does most pastors because he tends to be isolated like most missionaries.

Overall, my time in New York was encouraging for me and I hope it was for the churches as well. Please be in prayer for the churches in New York that they would be encouraged in their ministries!

Family and Fun in New Jersey

About 2 weeks ago, we got to spend an awesome 10 days with Brian's cousins in New Jersey, his home state. He is so very proud of the place he was born. In his opinion, it is 'God's Country' cause there are Dunkin Donuts every 1/5 mile and the YES network which shows all Yankees, all the time. I reminded him that they do not have sweetened iced tea or Bojangles, but he said there was no need with donuts, NJ pizza and Yankees TV.

We had a blast spending the first part of our time in Towaco with his woodsman cousin and his family. ;) Mark loves to hunt and will shoot anything that moves and has fur on it. :0) Their little girl is just a few months younger than Kate and they had a blast playing together.


The second part of the week, we moved over to Licoln Park to stay with his oldest cousin and his family. We had a great time hanging out with their two boys, one of which is Brian's godson.


The family took us to the zoo, kept Kate while we went to the 15 inning Yankees, Red Sox game, made late night Dunkin Donut runs with Brian, took us over to Hoboken, NJ (greatest place in NJ), went with us into THE city (NYC), and ate with us at quite possibly the most expensive sandwich shop in the world.
Look at the size of that sandwich!

Brian and I in Time's Square.


We also got to go over to Garfield, NJ, where about 30,000 Macedonians live. Our friends, Marija and Aleksander, live there now. We enjoyed a day with them. Brian was the best man at their wedding about 2 years ago. They showed us where they work, took us to the Macedonian grocery store, and made us a skara (Macedonian cookout). While we still miss them terribly and wish, selfishly, that they would move back to Macedonia, we are so thrilled to see that they are thriving in this new world. Please pray for them, that they will find a church in which to be active and that they will grow in their faith in Christ.

Remember to Sign Up!!

We do not have a lot of people registered as of yet for this Summit! Please, if you know anyone in the Dallas/ Fort Worth region, please let them know about this. A lot of missionaries will be there and talking about opportunities to help in our work in Europe.
Engage Europe Summit.

Check it out and let all your Texas buddies know so they can come out and learn more.

Gatlinburg and Camp Mundo Vista

Hello Everyone,
We just finished of our week 3 tour. Our first week we were in Virginia, the second week we were in Gatlinburg, TN with Mandy's family for family vacation. Although it was vacation, there was no relaxing, it was go, go, go! Here are some pictures! After Gatlinburg we got to speak at Mandy's father's church. And then last week we arrived at Camp Mundo Vista in Asheboro, NC. We were the resident missionaries there and we tried to explain to the campers what it means to be a missionary and tell them about what we do in Macedonia. The three weeks were enjoyable and helped us to reflect on what we had been doing in Macedonia, but we didn't get much rest.

Here is a 6 month shot of Mandy as she was filming Kate and I throwing rocks in the river!

Here is Kate carrying Papa because he was tired on the nature trail.

Here is Kate throwing rocks into the river in Smokey Mountain National Park.

Here is Mandy addressing a group of campers during our presentation time at Camp Mundo Vista.

In America

Greetings from Virginia!

The Davis family returned to the States for a 6 month stateside assignment on June 27th. I realize that it is now 2 weeks later, but we have had a pretty packed schedule. The last week of June we were in Greece for a Annual General Meeting (AGM) of all Ms from Poland to Far East Russia and from Norway to Greece. Needless to say we packed the hotel where we were staying. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures at AGM so I have none to post.

We flew straight from AGM back to RDU. The 28th was my brother's birthday and so we were able to spend that day with him. Since the 28th until today, we have visited with all of my family and all of Mandy's family. We also were able to visit with some close friends. Although lots of pictures were taken at these encounters, they were taken by family and friends so once again we do not have any pictures. We are now at Stateside Conference in Virginia and this is our first opportunity to update the blog. Here are the only pictures we have since we have gotten back.
Kate and Grandma Davis

Kate and my friend, Matt Creech

Kate and Mom at the pool with our friends, the Broglis

A picture of me making a video for my dad.

And Matt, Kenna, Kate, and me just after we got into the pool.

Temporary Goodbyes

Just before we came to America we had one last big team meeting in Ohrid. The purpose of this meeting was just to hang out and greet our new teammates, the Dover's, and a chance for Mandy and I to say "goodbye" to K and M. It was bitter-sweet, of course. We are really looking forward to working with our new teammates and Kate is really looking forward to playing with Josiah and Judah. We hit it off really well with them and we are excited about how God is going to move in the town. They had been in Ohrid 3 weeks and about the time they got settled, we left! Fortunately the girls will be there and we have a friend from the church in Skopje down to help us out as well.
On the other hand, we had to say goodbye to K and M. They came the same week Kate was born and have been with us every step of the way. Together we took a coffeehouse from being open 3 nights a week and built it up into a great place for ministry. The girls have worked long and hard at their relationships and the coffeehouse will not be the same without them. I wonder sometimes what it will be like when we go back and they are not there. However, I do pray that God will guide them and give them wisdom as they seek to follow Him at the end of their terms. Although M will be there until August and K until October, we will not get to see them again in the near future. As a reminder of their time in Ohrid and the coffeehouse they help run, we had a local artist grave the name of the coffeehouse in copper. Below are some pictures from our final big Team Ohrid party.

Here is K and M with their gifts:

This is a picture of Team Ohrid Squad (the name we gave the four of us)

Here are the ladies playing Apples to Apples

Here is the a picture of Team Ohrid at its biggest!

The last week with the Dovers

The Dovers arrived one week from yesterday and we have had a blast getting to know them and helping them get settled. I think we have seen them in some way every single day for the last week. I have been able to help Jennifer find her way to and around the grocery store, Brian has taken them furniture shopping. He has been to the police station and the telephone company with them several times. He has helped them move their new stuff in and get it set up. We have enjoyed lunches with them and coffee at their landlords. We have both loved every minute of it. Jennifer is so great, and Brian is especially loving having a guy, Charlie, around. He has been the only male American presence in Ohrid since we have been here and he is enjoying the fellowship with a 'dude.'

The boys, Josiah and Judah, are adjusting good as well. They are learning a little Macedonian every day and I am sure will have the language mastered in no time. Ah, to have the mind of a child....

Thanks so much for praying for this family. The Lord answered your prayers and then some. They have already ministered to us so much! We feel very blessed to have them on our team. Please continue to pray for them as they start full-time language study the first of July and as they continue to adjust to life in Ohrid.

(I will try to get a picture soon.)

The Dovers are coming. The Dovers are coming!

We couldn't be more excited as we just got word that the Dovers were approved for their visa and will be on the plane coming to live in Ohrid in one week from today. YAY! Please pray that they will have safe travel and that their two young boys, Josiah and Judah, will do well on the long trip. Pray that they will adjust quickly to their new home and that they will find peace and rest in the Lord on the good and bad days. Thanks to God for sending us this new family to work with.

We will be stateside one month from today. We are getting pretty excited, but are totally overwhelmed at all that has to be done before we take our place on the airplane. Please pray that we will prioritize, listening to the Holy Spirit for every step, that we won't be anxious or stay awake worrying over what didn't get done the day before, and that we will bear fruits of the Spirit in all that we say and do.

We hope to see all of you while we are stateside but are realizing that six months really isn't that long, especially when you are having a baby right in the middle of it. Let us know if you want to meet one day and we will do our best to work it out to see everyone of you who we so dearly love.

Sayonara Ya'll

Logan, Stella and Sacchio at the fort


Japan and Alabama came to Ohrid. Our volunteer team from Jacksonville State University Baptist Campus Ministries just left on Friday morning. It was comprised of a Japanese exchange student, a "non-traditional" student and a sophmore who, like most, isn't sure what God wants him to do long term. All of them had a refreshing passion to see the nations worship. They did a fabulous job and we had a blast working with them and getting to know them. They were able to help us with a cookout with our Sunday night Bible study group. They were able to share with the whole group how Christ had changed their lives. The group was especially interested in the Japanese student who had come with the team. He shared how he was the only Christian in his family and he had come to know the Lord through IMB workers in Tokyo.

God also used the group to distribute 2000 tracks throughout a part of the town that we hadn't gotten to yet. They prayer walked, helped with English classes and just spent time sharing their time and lives with Macedonians. It was a fabulous group and we are so grateful for their faithfulness in coming.

Sacchio with two Macedonians at the cookout.

The team getting ready to share their testimony with the Bible study group.

Brian manning the grill. He is a grill master.

Another Day in Another Village

We recently went with our friends, to her home village about 3 hours away from Ohrid. We had a good time, and boy was it interesting. The time with this family was great and our relationship is continuing to grow. We were their for the villages Saint George Day celebration. They had a concert until about 3:00am and Kate was trying to sleep 100 yards from the speakers. It didn't go over that well :). Anyway, here are some pictures:
Her family is a family of farmers. They grow LOADS of cucumbers, tomatoes, and watermelons and sell them throughout all of Macedonia. Here is one of the ginormous green houses, it was about 120 yards by 80 yards. This is the biggest one, but by far only a small percentage of the crop.

We were there on a holiday and the music literally never stopped. They played ALL night long.

This is a picture of their cucumber plants.

I ate a lot of cucumbers. I guess, even though I am through my first trimester, some food aversions just aren't going away--like, for instance, the lamb we ate after they 'sacrificed' it in their front yard and then said, "Oh, don't worry. He was sick." Um, can we say lamb flu? I did try a bite, but couldn't bear to eat it. It was ok, cause I ate their cucumbers like bananas the whole day. Brian did eat quite a bit of the sacrificed lamb and I am happy to say we have seen no signs of the lamb flu. PTL!

Inductive Bible Study Sets

After (and a result of) our team leader training in Prague in February, God inspired the idea of using Bible Study sets in Ohrid. As a team, we have a lot of friends, but they did not want to seem to commit to a Bible Study. The idea of a set of Bible Studies was a perfect solution on both ends. When I say set, I mean a course that meets once a week for 8 weeks, 10 weeks, or 12 weeks. On their end this works because they do not need to commit to anything longer than the course. On our end if someone is not really serious at this moment in time we have an excuse to move on temporarily. We of course never close the door on anyone, we just focus our time on better soil. Currently we are working on a 12 week Chronological Bible Study that covers 12 key Bible Stories. When we asked our friends if they wanted to do a 12 week course, many of them said yes. Until now they were skeptical in some ways, but this offers both of us a chance to discuss the Bible.

Not only are we doing sets, but we are doing them inductively. The model of church we have in America is built off a tradition of mainstream Christianity. We preach the way we preach in churches on Sunday morning because we think most people in the congregation have a Biblical understanding on which they can understand the material ... well until the last couple of years. In America, this is changing because the younger generations are not being raised in a Bible teaching church and many of them can not tell you the difference between the Old and New Testament. In Macedonia, people have very little Biblical knowledge so before we can even preach, we need them to read and understand basic principles of the Bible. An inductive approach is the best way for THEM to learn. It is the easiest for ME to tell them (preach), but it is best for THEM to interact with the text and see it for themselves. What we do is read a text of Scripture as a group (for example Genesis 1 - Creation) and I (the facilitator) ask a set of questions that gets the group to read the text and process it. In the end, the points that I would preach on end up coming out in the form of questions.

There are many different types of inductive approaches, and I am using an approach of Observation, Interpretation, and Application that I learned from Kyle. (We may not be Baptists here yet, but we can teach them early about 3 points that all end the same ... golf analogies come later :) ). Actually, we have to get a golf course in Macedonia first!

Observation: Observation questions are questions where the answers come from only the text. For example, what did God create on the 5th day? or What did God ask Abraham to do? The answers to these questions are non-debatable because we are only getting our answers from the text. If you are good facilitator you know what points you want to bring out and then you ask the appropriate questions. It is also good because I cannot bring out a point that is not found in the text so it keeps me honest as well.

Interpretation: Interpretation questions are usually always the same, and we only have three. "What does the text teach us about God?"; "What does the text teach us about man?"; and "What is the main point of the text?." The questions are obviously less grounded in the text but they come from the things we learned in Observation. For example, since we saw that God created X on day X, Y on day Y ... in Observation, we learn that God is the Creator of all things. Or from Observation with Abraham and Isaac, we learn that God wants us to be obedient to what he asks of us not matter what it looks like will happen.

Application: What does this text mean for me in my life? or How does it apply to me? Please note that we did NOT say "What do I think the text says?" The truth of the text is not debatable, but the application of it can vary from person to person and situation to situation. For example, from Abraham and Isaac we learned that God wants us to be obedient in all areas of our life and I know that he hates a lying tongue (Proverbs 6:16-19) so I will be honest in all my conversations at work no matter what I THINK might be the result.

So in a nut shell we are using this inductive approach throughout the whole Bible in order to lay a solid Biblical foundation. This way people are reading what the text says instead of me telling them. People who have been in our earlier Bible Studies like this approach much better. One guy, Igor, who I have been friends with since the beginning told me he is glad we are using this approach because "we get to see for ourselves what God is trying to say." One day I hope that we will be able to have more in depth preaching, but we have to have a foundation before that can take place.

I want to close with a comment that this approach might be used effectively in America. There are many people who sit in the pews and really do not know basic principles of the Bible nor do some of them know how to read and interact with it. We are assuming that people are on the 3rd and 4th floors when they might be on the ground level or 1st floor. A lot of our material that we use for Sunday School and small groups makes the same assumptions. It might be the best thing for some Sunday School classes to put the material in the closet for a while and open up the Word and start interacting with it and see what God has to say for Himself. Once that foundation is laid, bring the material back out and go deeper!

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I just uploaded the inductive Bible Study for creation (translated into English :)) here for you to look at. Creation is pretty straight forward, but if want to see another example from a harder text, please let me know.