Tales from the Macedonian Mission Field - August/ October 2025 Update

Scott Jackson

What a time it has been over these last few months.  From the business of the wedding preparation, to the wedding itself and afterwards settling into a new life, all of which has been exciting, but admittedly at times also being a little stressful.  Alongside the normal activities of life.  I'm reminded that there are two types of transition in life. Either the jolt where life unexpectedly changes in some way, or the gradual change from one season to another.  Our truest and strongest anchor through whichever transition is always the Lord.  Where we keep our hearts centred on Him, knowing that He is the immovable and secure rock upon whom we are called to build our lives.  For myself and Hristina, now having the joy of beginning our married life together, leaning into the Lord and seeking to follow His lead.

Wedding...

All of the preparation led to a beautiful and an amazing day.  The stress of all of the preparations, and on the day, everything went so smoothly, and all we had to focus on was enjoying each other and ourselves.  I could not thank our wedding party enough for all that they did for us.  The Moore family, with whom I am missional team mates with and who are like family to me, helped out so much.  Ian, being one of my best men (I was greedy, I had two.  Igor being my other one), along with the rest of the team, the groomsmen, the maid of honour and bridesmaids, family members and friends.  To celebrate with most of those closest to us around us was so amazing.  Unfortunately a number of people weren't able to make it, which was completely understandable with it being an international wedding, but a good thing about modern technology is that we were able to stream the wedding service, so people could still watch.

One of my main joys afterwards was hearing from people that they especially liked the wedding service. We wanted God to be right at the centre of it all, as we were dedicating our marriage to Him. And so to hear from people, especially from some non-Christians that they took something from it that they had not experienced before was wonderful. <.p>

Hristina and I are so thankful for all of your prayers and support. It means so much to know that we have other brothers and sisters cheering us on as we start this journey of a lifetime.

Below are a couple of photos of the day.

Bible Studies....

It's been wonderful to see how people are growing deeper in their faith during the Bible Studies.  To see how the kids are engaging and asking questions during the family one to the adults discussing the Scriptures and thinking about how to apply it in their lives in the Macedonian language one.  Always we would like them to continue to grow in number, as we know the Lord would.  But to know that people are growing in depth in their relationships with Him is most important.

Clean (Cheest) Aerodrom....

Since August I have been partnering with a pastor at a local church in Novo Lisiche to clean and litter pick around the church building, the park and surrounding areas.  We have been doing this every Friday morning between 8-10am, starting with a shared short breakfast and prayers.  Ian has also been able to join in, and Katie and the kids are also hoping to come along every now and again in-between home schooling, which has been fantastic.  Another member of the church has also started to join us, and we are hoping that it will continue to grow.  We are wanting to be a practical and persistent demonstration of the goodness of God in the local area, and so plan to keep this going.  But cleaning in and of itself is not the aim.  It is a tool.  The aim is to be able to engage with people about the Gospel whilst we are doing it.  It is a form of evangelism.  We have had a few small conversations to begin with, along with an opportunity to pray for someone.

Thanksgiving

• The wedding.  Everything went beautifully.  We could not thank God or our family and friends enough for all that they have done for us.
• The growing depth and faith of those attending the Bible studies.
• The new Cheest Aerodrom initiative.

Prayer Requests

• For Hristina and I as we set off on this life journey together.  Please pray that we will always keep Christ at the centre, and seek to pursue His Kingdom in all things.
• That there will be an increasing hunger amongst the people of Novo Lisiche to the Gospel, and the opportunities to engage with them through the Cheest Aerodrom initiative and during our other times in the community.  That there will be opportunity to connect them in with the Bible studies.
• For Young Life.  We have restarted in October with our first club and Bible studies of the season.  But we have had a drop in team numbers since the summer.  So please pray for more workers, and that more kids will be able to hear the message of the Gospel.

Thank you so much for reading my latest newsletter and for your prayers and support.  Let us know how things are going where you're at.  We would love to stay in contact.

Much love and every blessing in Christ,
Scott and Hristina