Tales from the Macedonian Mission Field - November - January 2026 Update

Scott Jackson

I hope this newsletter finds you well and that you were able to have some good time to rest and celebrate over the Christmas and New Year holidays.  A couple of weeks ago, Hristina and I were at a conference in Serbia on the 5-fold ministry, and one of the talks (though not directly related, but which was very good) was about taking a hold of God's perspective.  The speaker was talking through the story of Joseph, and how after everything that had happened to Joseph, he could have allowed that to become a real pit of bitterness within him.  How he could have had all his brothers imprisoned or executed for what they had done to him.  But how instead he was able to see God's perspective and that He was wanting to use all that he had gone through to actually bring life, as Joseph said in Genesis 50:20...

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

The speaker was talking about how God can work through all of the aspects of our lives, the good and the bad, to have a positive impact in the lives of those around us, if we will take a hold of God's perspective.  We may be going through good times at the moment, but the reality is that life can have many challenges, and how we choose to process those moments can either help us to grow or hold us back.  Within that he shared that there is nothing wrong to grieve or cry about things that have happened to us, as indeed Joseph did.  But not to live in that.  From a seasonal point of view, he said it doesn't matter if it's a new year.  If we still have old perspectives, there's nothing new about it.

This year as we move further into 2026, however life looks, good, bad, a mixture of both, may the peace of Christ guard your hearts and minds in Him, and His grace help you to see and take a hold of His perspective on your lives and circumstances, that it may also bless and benefit those around us.

Christmas....

It was wonderful to be able to see many of you over the Christmas and New Year period.  We were able to pop over to the UK for a few weeks, and Hristina was able to experience her first British style Christmas, full of turkey, crackers, lights and of course a Christingle service.  It was wonderful to welcome in 2026 with friends over a BBQ, games, thanksgivings and worship.

Below are a couple of photos from our time together in the UK.

New Season....

January sees the restart of many things after the holiday period (although Macedonian Christmas is at the start of January).  It's been great to continue to see people growing deeper in their relationship with the Lord, which we can see in the Bible studies.  As a part of this, a rotation has begun of different people leading the Macedonian language Bible study, which we are so pleased about in seeing how they are all participating and getting involved.

In Young Life, we have just had our annual team weekend retreat, where we can have more fellowship with each other and plan for the next season ahead.  This was a great time, and brings with it fresh expectation as we look to restart some things that we had to pause, and also have a new team member who is just starting his training.  This is an answer to prayer.  As a part of this, we have also been planning how we do more outreach as a team to the youth.

January is also seeing the start of a few international visits to us here in Macedonia, which are wonderful.  It changes our weekly schedule slightly but also allows for more opportunities to coordinate with other leaders and missionaries on shared activities.

Hristina and I are continuing to pray and process about how God wants ministry to look for us both together now, which we are also able to process with our church leaders in how we get more involved.

Thanksgiving

• We were able to visit friends and family in the UK over the Christmas/New Year period.
• The weekend retreat for the Young Life team.
• The continued growth in relationship.
• Our friend visiting from abroad with another due soon.

Prayer Requests

• For more openness within the local community to the Gospel.
• For Hristina and I as we are able to do more things in ministry together.
• For the Bible studies, with one of them potentially moving closer towards multiplying into two later this year due to growth.
• For Young Life as we move into this new season and look to restart the group for older kids, and also as we seek to do more 'detatched' work, which is to go out as teams into the local community and seek to build relationships with kids and their parents.
• For my visa process.  The next few months brings my visa up for renewal, but as Hristina is Macedonian, it's looking preferable to transition onto a different type of visa.  Please pray for grace over this process.

Thank you for reading my latest newsletter.  I always love hearing back.  If you have anything you would like me to pray about for you, please also feel free to get in contact.

Much love and every blessing in Christ,
Scott and Hristina