North Macedonia: Completely Exhausted

I was utterly spent.

Slouched against the inner door of the crowded ministry van, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

But sleep wasn’t coming.

We rounded a corner on the winding mountain highway at nearly 100 mph, pressing me against the window.  I watched numbly as dusty farmland sped past outside the glass.

We had arrived in Macedonia late the night before after nearly 30 hours of travel.  I had fallen into bed immediately, only to be jolted awake at 3 AM with jet-lag.  We had stumbled to the van shortly after 7 AM and crammed inside with the rest of the team…. so I was physically tired.

But it was more than that.  I was just… spent.

It had been an unusual and difficult season for our family - over the last two months we had experienced significant personal loss, up-ended plans, and some unexpected challenges.

We were okay, but we were still healing.

And we were currently hurtling at high speed towards a series of ministry events that were going to require everything I had to give - it definitely felt to me like I had less “in the tank” than I was going to need

In just a few minutes I knew that we were going to pull into a remote, impoverished Macedonian village - we were going to set up our sound system in the dirt street, start grilling some food, play a little music (in a country where almost nobody understands English) and do our best to draw a crowd.  Then we were going to share the love and message of Jesus with the help of a translator. People who chose to say “yes” to Jesus would be connected with a local church plant in the area.

It was actually a good plan - we’ve done many events like this over the years, and I’m always surprised by the way that friendly faces, live music, and good food seem to draw people, especially in more remote areas.

And the villages where we were headed were REMOTE - most of them had never even really heard the message of Jesus.

It was exciting, for sure, but I was feeling real pressure - the USA-based team that had been scheduled to do this series of events with us had all contracted COVID-19 en-route from a stop-over in Africa and were currently under quarantine at our hotel.

Which meant that it was up to us - our sound engineer, Pierre, would run sound (including the unique job of knocking on the doors of nearby homes to ask if we could borrow their power), I would play music and speak to the crowds, our friend, Mike would connect with people in the streets, and the local team would handle logistics and follow-up.

It felt like a lot was riding on my ability to draw and engage a crowd, and I really wanted to do it well.

But I was feeling so…. WEAK.  I was so drained that I felt like I was to the point of physically shaking - which isn’t usually a good look if you’re trying to project confidence.

I hunched my shoulders and turned my face away from the rest of the team.

“God, I just… need your help,” it was a real prayer, raw and unedited, “I don’t know if I can do this.”

I slumped down further in my seat, weak and drained.

And then, so faintly that it was like a whisper, two words echoed in my heart:

“Be strong.”

I knew what those words meant - in the Bible, God challenged Joshua with these words: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” [Joshua 1:9]

It was an encouragement… and also a challenge;  if God had called me here, He would give me the strength I needed.

But I would need to embrace it - to choose obedience despite the struggle.

And so I did my best; half-a-dozen times over the next few days, I stumbled out of the van, helped set up our gear, performed some music, and shared the love of Jesus.

In half-a-dozen villages throughout Macedonia - often impoverished and unreached, we watched more than 100 people say “yes” to Jesus - we saw eyes filled with tears, and smiles break out on the hardest-looking faces.

And every day, God challenged me to “be strong.”

Because the truth is, as Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”  [John 6:44]

It’s my job to be faithful — to share the love and message of Jesus, and it’s GOD’s job to draw people to His son, who alone paid the price for their freedom, forgiveness, and reconnection with God.

It’s a privilege to watch God move, and it’s why we do what we do.

Over the last ten years, we’ve watched God impact tens of thousands of lives in nearly 40 countries and we can’t wait to watch what He’s going to do next.  Over the next few months, we're scheduled to perform and share Jesus at events around the United States and then in Thailand, Zambia, Kenya and beyond.

If you'd like to pray for us, please pray for a huge RESPONSE to the message of Jesus wherever we go, for EXCELLENCE and FAVOR in our music and speaking, and for SAFETY and PROVISION as we travel.

We’d also ask you to consider praying for the new Macedonian believers and for the fledgling churches that are being planted in each area by our friends on the ground.  Pray for courage for the new converts, and grace to follow Jesus and grow strong in Him!

If you'd like to join our monthly support team or help with a one time donation, you can do it HERE:

Thank you for joining with us to reach the world with the message of Jesus - God bless you, friends!

-Zach and the WRD Team