A Family Mission Trip
Richard Hesketh, along with his wife Julie and their two sons Rob and Alex set off for Macedonia on the 21st August for a 12 day family mission, this is what they have said.
“We have made ourselves available to serve in Macedonia amongst the Gypsies not really knowing what is required of us apart from we will be working mainly with disadvantaged children and young people. The work will take place in Shutka, a district of Skopje, the capital. Shutka has a population of around 40,000 of which 75% are Gypsies. It is one of the most deprived and inhospitable regions in Europe. It is a very volatile region where Islam and Eastern Orthodoxy meet and evangelical Christianity is not welcome.
“Gypsies are a strong contender for being the most despised and rejected people on the earth today and it is with these that we will identify. Their history is very painful and similar to that of the Jews culminating in the atrocities committed during holocaust where it is estimated that up to one million Gypsies were murdered purely on the grounds of race. Today the Jews have their own land but the Gypsies are still a people without a land of their own and continue to be despised and rejected by their host nations.
“These are the outcasts that Jesus talked about. These are the ones that He came to save. We hope that by responding to the invitation extended to us we are able to offer support and encouragement to the Christians currently involved in this work and hopefully, to reach others to whom God is calling.
“It is the first mission abroad for me, Julie and Alex. It will be Rob’s second mission having served previously in Uganda. I believe that by making ourselves available to do whatever is required of us and with the support of the church in prayer, we will see God moving in ways that we never imagined.”
We look forward to hearing from them upon their return.