It is important to hope for God's help. But this hope must not replace active love. The employees of the "Miss Stone Center" in Strumica (North Macedonia) have been living this for more than two decades.

In her latest newsletter, which was published just in time for the new year and the Macedonian Christmas on January 7, Christina Cekov quotes the great Russian writer Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy: "If you can feel pain, you are alive. If you can feel the pain of others, you are human."

Many people living in rural and sometimes very remote villages in Albania see no other way for themselves than to migrate and start anew in another place where the prospects for the future are better. The United Methodist Church (UMC) in Albania has open doors for these people in several cities of the country. But the Church also tries to reach out to those who want to stay in the places they call their home.

Many people living in rural and sometimes very remote villages in Albania see no other way for themselves than to migrate and start anew in another place where the prospects for the future are better. The United Methodist Church (UMC) in Albania has open doors for these people in several cities of the country. But the Church also tries to reach out to those who want to stay in the places they call their home.

In North Macedonia, Christians are celebrating Christmas these days. But there is not only the grateful remembrance that Jesus came to this earth as the light of the world. There is also the encouragement to pass on the light and illuminate the darkness of these challenging times.

Reports from local churches in Albania are characterized by gratitude and hope about what can be done despite sometimes difficult conditions.

In many European countries, the media focus is on the rising numbers of infections caused by the Omicron mutation and the measures prescribed to combat them. However, a report from North Macedonia shows that other numbers are also rising.

Many young people in North Macedonia see no future in their country and leave their home because they hope for better prospects elsewhere. Despite this – or perhaps precisely because of it – Dejan Vasilev is committed to helping young people and young adults with a big heart.

When Bishop Heinrich Bolleter, then in charge of the United Methodist Church in Central and Southern Europe, conducted an opening ceremony of the "Miss Stone Center" in 2001, it marked the official beginning of a trail of blessings that has since run through the lives of many hundreds of men and women.

It all begins with an idea.