Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Today I got up and cleaned up as we were headed to the central mountain in Skopje from which you can see all of Skopje and on which is located the Millennial Cross (check my videos). The ascent was exceptionally smooth for such a lift and the sights were magnificent. While Stef, Nicky, and Marino tested some interviews with the equipment on the top of the mountain, Stole schooled me on Macedonian geography and history. To express it in a word: Wow. The country is landlocked and not everyone is friendly. Intense ethnic hostilities run deep in the cultural consciousness of the Macedonian society, and the surrounding countries are not much different, but I stress the landlocked nature of Macedonia which emphasizes its position in the midst of its friendly foes. It’s not in the EU, and such status hinders it economically. There are many more aspects of the history and culture which are profoundly influential in the dealings of the people and the mentality which governs the decision-making process. Nevertheless, I’m not surprised, as one sociologist has pointed out, your culture can be your prison. I think this is sometimes true, and just as the rest of the world harps on the ethnocentrism of the United States (which sometimes is a caricature and other times is the reality), other regions and nationalities evidence their own ethnocentrism or societal pride – often to their detriment and mutual misunderstandings and long-lasting feuds. The essence of the question of Macedonia resides with what happened with the Balkan Wars and the land divisions that occurred afterward. France, Germany, and the British gave parts of Macedonia to Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia. This land was forcibly given, and currently, if the EU were to recognize Macedonia, then it would also have to recognize this history and because of international human rights laws, the EU would have to recognize the right to repatriation of these former lands by Macedonians, which would certainly create problems with EU countries that are presently in control of these lands. Could this conflict generate another war? This situation inculcates the Macedonian people with a mindset of uncertainty and attitude which Solomon rebuked in Ecclesiastes that “the former days were better.” Thus, the church planters and organization here not only have to deal with the Eastern Orthodox dilemma (I’m a Christian because I was born in an EOC country and am not a Muslim, and anything other is a dangerous cult-like gathering), but they also face the historical undertones which shape the general attitude of the people. This outlook is one of suspicion. I found out the next day that this suspicion makes its presence known in how the church seems to able to operate. According to some, the suspicious nature of people prohibits the effectiveness of house churches and cell group ministry. People are not afraid or wary of attending a public service at a recognized church building, however, as its visibility and public openness makes it less likely to be a “trick” or a deceitful enterprise. I should probably also mention here about the humor. As I said previously, humor is important in developing relationships that last. Here in the Balkans that is no different. But, the humor that is most prevalent is toxic to greater cross-border relations. The jokes, for the most part, harbor a seed of discontent or are the only way to voice a frustration or relay the way the different ethnicities feel about one another or how the nationalities relate to each other’s independence and cultural distance. So what you find is a people who are fearful that war will erupt tomorrow, that today is unfair and too hard, but if you’ve survived yesterday you can be proud even though yesterdays were better days. Ultimately, people don’t seem to want to hope for the future, because pride is attached to surviving the past, thus to accept a new outlook on life which is positive one would effectively diminish the value and importance and significance which the past offers his life – at least this is the view that seems to be showing itself. If I don’t suffer today and won’t suffer tomorrow, then my surviving the suffering from yesterday is my attachment to strength. If I don’t succeed in the efforts of today and am not a success by the world’s standards tomorrow, then my hold on glory is the past, and to let go is to have no glory. I’m not saying this is the dominant frame of mind among the church, and I’m not saying that it’s relegated to this part of the world alone. It’s everywhere, especially among the warring generations. Those who suffer much are sometimes bitter when the generations for which they suffered don’t suffer themselves. It’s strange thinking, but it’s not uncommon. Anyway, after coming down from the mountain because the coffee shop on the top was closed, we headed back to the café from the previous night for some coffee and discussion. We met up with a local missionary who works with the AoG and not only in Macedonia, but also in Croatia and Albania as well. His name was Gary. After finishing that conversation and time of discussion, Nicky, Stef, Stole, Marino, and I went a block or two away and grabbed some lunch (inside so that we wouldn’t spend much time there). We had some pretty intense discussion about western and Balkan mindsets and approaches to ministry, funding, administration, and more. The differences between the Balkan countries are very distinct even though the nations are similar in some major ways (former communist oppression, people groups, defeatism, geography, reliance on the West, threat from the East, etc). After that lunch and some more discussion about my purpose for being there, we headed back to the BL office for some rest. I took time to write notes and read the Bible. I have a little spiral-bound notebook which Hari gave me that I’m taking around jotting down ideas and historical facts and such. It’s proving most useful. From the office we headed to a conference around 5 or 6:00pm which was a kind of ecumenical discussion between Muslims, Jews, and different streams of Christianity. I was given a translation headset and took notes, but they aren’t worth writing down here. We went outside to a café near the hotel in which the conference was held for dinner and had some good food and coffees. One conversation we had dealt with the mission organizations’ difficulties in financial matters, especially in understanding the way budgets are developed and used – and what causes tension in this process across cultures. After dinner we dropped Marino off at a hospital for a pastoral visit before heading to the BL office ourselves. He’s got a full plate of responsibilities. Please keep him in prayer. He’s very self-sacrificing for the good of others and exceptionally kind and humble. Back in the room Nicky, Stef, and I joked around and had a bit of a theological discussion before calling it a night.