My name is Bianca Olcoski, originally from southern Brazil, and a senior TESOL major (teaching English to speakers of other languages) at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. As a requirement to complete my studies at Moody, I had to have a cross-cultural experience in teaching oversees. My love for the Lord, the gospel, and for lost people drew me to Skopje, Macedonia, to put into practice what I have been learning at Moody and accomplish the requirements for my internship.
When I got accepted to study at Moody as a TESOL major, I envisioned using English as a tool to build relationships with students. During my internship with SEND International, I was not expecting anyone to get saved because it was such a short trip. But God is at work and is using ordinary people like me to proclaim the most beautiful story ever told: that God incarnate came to die on the cross to save sinners for the ultimate glory of the Father!
My internship consisted of teaching English in camps to kids and teenagers. At night we would have adult classes at Global Connections School. We got to meet a lot of people and share the gospel as we got to know them. We were not allowed to evangelize in the classroom, but we could outside of the classroom when we would spend time with them.
The first day I met 22-year-old Ellen*, our personalities clicked! She had been to Portugal a few times and loves Portuguese! We had a lot of commonalities, which led to a friendship. We laughed together, we spent time together, and we also had serious spiritual conversations.
One of my goals for this trip was to see people as people and not as projects. I wanted to be genuinely interested in the people, not just to accomplish a task, but because they are people, created by God! I specifically prayed for the Spirit to lead me to share the gospel and for the right times to share. Honestly, not every time I spent with Ellen and others I shared the gospel; sometimes we just had a good time together. On the other hand, other times we would talk about God, Jesus, and the cross for hours. Such a paradox, but I feel it was very Spirit-guided.
I shared the gospel with Ellen several times while I was there, gave her a tract in her language, and I could see she was interested and wanted to know more. On my last day in Macedonia, Ellen and I went shopping for souvenirs. We were browsing when she said, “Oh Bia, that is Mother Teresa’s house. Do you want to go see it?” I agreed. I didn’t know Mother Teresa was originally from Skopje; I thought that was cool.
As we walked in, we read the signs of rewards Mother Teresa received for her “good deeds.” Then I thought to myself: “Lord, maybe this will be the last time I will share the gospel with this girl.”
Then I said, “Ellen, Mother Teresa did a lot of good things, didn’t she?”
“Yes, Bia, look at how much she did.”
I replied, “Ellen, if Mother Teresa did not believe in Jesus as her Savior and Lord, believe He died on the cross for her because she is a sinner and repent of her sins, it does not matter of all these things she did. Because it is not about what she did, it is about what HE DID!”
I could see her thinking and thinking. We went on and talked about the gospel one more time. I could see the Spirit was working in her.
That night was Bible Study and I invited her to come, as it would be my last night. She came and SEND missionary Brian Stout shared the gospel again. He broke us up into groups and she was in my group. There I asked questions to see if she really understood the gospel and then I asked if she was ready to make a decision for Christ. She agreed.
I put my arms around her shoulders and asked her if she wanted to pray with me. I also explained that the prayer itself doesn’t save her, but it is the way we talk to God. She replied: “Yes I want to pray. But I want to pray alone and in my language, because it is a personal decision.” I was amazed at her answer.
She then started praying the prayer from the tract and she made her decision for Christ. After she prayed, I hugged her and said: “You are now my sister in Christ!” We started to cry and she said: “It seems we were friends for so much longer!”
I have been following up with her since I got back from Macedonia to see how she is doing and also her sister, who is also a new believer. For again, she is a person, not a project.
I am glad I went there and was part of the most important decision of Ellen’s life. I thank SEND International for allowing me to go with them and represent God and SEND in Macedonia and work with excellence for Him, to share what Jesus did on the cross, through the power of the Holy Spirit, for the ultimately glory of the Father. Praise Him!
There are lots of opportunities to reach people for Christ in Macedonia. Click here to explore them.
*not her real name
