Tales from the Macedonian Mission Field - April - May 2026 Update

Scott Jackson

Over this month, the Lord has been highlighting to me the vision that He gave to the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 47 of the river flowing from the Temple.  He has highlighted to me in particular the importance of when the river flows into the Dead Sea.  It was precisely as it was named, dead.  Because it was so salty that life could not exist there.  But when the river flowed into it, it says...

"When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh.  Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows.  There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live." (verses 8-9).

Even though this is a prophecy, describing a physical place, allegorically, it can also be seen as an indication of what happens when the Holy Spirit comes into an area that is dead spiritually.  There will be life.  There will be an awakening to Him.  There will be salvation.  And we get to partner with Him in that.  On both sides of this vision, we get to both come deeper into the river, to draw closer to the Holy Spirit, and also we get to be like the fishermen who get to spread the nets and collect the fish.  The problem often can be though when we try to be the fishermen when it is still the dead sea, when we are trying to do things in our own strength.  We need the Holy Spirit.  We will not be successful in our calling when we try to do it on our own, and we were never meant to.  We are called to do it in partnership with Him.  So wherever we are today, may we pause and meditate upon Him.  And may we grow in our intimacy and in our partnership with Him in the good works that He has prepared in advance for us to do.

Young Life....

April and May saw us continuing the clubs, with various themes such as outdoor club games, and a sports club, where we were able to facilitate various sports on a school play ground, involving many new kids from the neighbourhood that one of our team members has been building a relationship with.  The Bible Studies have been continuing, as well as the theatre movie evenings. 

The highlight though from the last two months would have to be our Discipleship Retreat (pictures below).  From a Friday evening to Sunday lunch time at the end of April, we as a team of 11 took 53 kids, who are connected in with the Bible Studies and want to go deeper in their walk with Jesus, on a retreat in the south of the country.  It was a very fun and special time where we discussed the life of David from Psalm 27, and having our relationship with the Lord as our number one focus.  We discussed the storms of life, how Jesus had complete peace in the midst of them, and how He invites us to trust in Him through them.  And we invited the kids to think about how they could live missionally, praying for and inviting their friends to things about Jesus.  We had multiple solo times with the Lord for each of the kids and dedicated prayer times, which they fully engaged with.  It was fantastic, and we praise the Lord for the growth that we see taking place in the lives of the kids in their walk with Him.

Hristina's baptism....

May saw Hristina taking the plunge and getting baptised in one of the local rivers.  She has been a believer since a child and was raised in a Christian family, who christened her as a baby, but now she sensed that the next thing for her to do from the Lord was to have a full immersion baptism.  It was a wonderful and blessed time, and thankfully the rain held off.  A number of family and church members came to support, as well as a couple of non-Christian friends, who listened to a short message given by the church pastor. 

Visits....

These last two months has seen three teams visiting from the UK, from Brentwood just outside of London (who arrived at the end of March), to Caerphilly in Wales, and up to Ryedale in Yorkshire.  It has been wonderful to work with these guys and invite them to see some of the work we are involved in.  We were able to do more evangelism in the city centre, partnering with the Albanian ministry, and having some amazing opportunities to share the Gospel with people, as well as in other areas, and having them join in with some of our Bible studies as well.  They were a wonderful blessing to the church here.  If you would ever like to visit us here in Skopje or to bring a team here, please do get in touch.

Thanksgiving

• For the three teams that have visited and how they were able to join in and help with the Lord's work here in Skopje.
• For a fantastic Discipleship Retreat in Young Life.  For the kids who are wanting to press in, in their relationship with Jesus and how they engaged on the camp.
• For Hristina's baptism and her steadfast desire to keep moving forward in Jesus.

Prayer Requests

• For the upcoming WyldLife Camp in Krani in July.  That we are able to reach and invite more kids who don't yet know Jesus.
• For the kids who are connected in with WyldLife and Young Life and who haven't yet taken steps of faith towards Jesus.  Please pray for the move of the Holy Spirit upon their hearts, and for us on team that we would be in step with the Lord in how we engage with them.  Please also pray that we would keep a good momentum over the Summer holidays.
• For the times of evangelism in Novo Lisiche, that we would connect with more people who are open to the Gospel, and want to go on that journey with Jesus.

Thank you for reading my latest newsletter.  May the peace of the Lord be always with you.  May His Word be a light unto your feet and a lamp unto your path.

Much love and every blessing in Christ,
Scott and Hristina