God always surprises me. On the race, it’s always the countries I’m least excited about that I end up loving the most.
Coming into this month, I honestly wasn’t too excited about this country. I had heard from former racers that Albania was never really a favorite. But of course, God is blowing my mind once again. So far, it has been an incredible month.
Additionally, at the beginning of this month, our squad had team changes! & Now I have an entirely new team of lovely ladies that I’m doing life and ministry with! They are teaching me to love harder, they are showing me more of what community living looks like, & they’re bringing joy to my life!
This month, we are working with an awesome organization called Hope for the World – Albania. It’s located just outside of Albania’s capital – Tirana, in a small village called Marikaj. The organization is involved with many different things, but their main focus is on orphan care and children. They work with several different orphanages around the country, and also support and house a group of 10 wonderful teenagers. All the teens live at the same compound where we are living, so we get to spend time with them whenever they’re free. They have already accepted us and love us so well. It’s pretty much like having 10 little brothers and sisters for the month. There is a bit of a language barrier, but I’ve learned that you can always get around that (I had a conversation with one of the girls using bits of English, Albanian, Italian, and Spanish… whatever works right?).
As far as ministry goes, we have been doing all kinds of things! Our schedule has been busy with gardening, cleaning churches, door-to-door ministry, orphanage visits, children’s programming, and more. We go into the city a few days each week for some of these ministries, and sometimes stay in Marikaj and work at the center.
A few highlights from the month so far:
- During door to door ministry one day, we met a sweet older Muslim couple that graciously invited us in their home. We got to share the gospel with them & hear about their lives. The man, Joy, has arthritis and his wife takes such good care of him. Such a sweet picture of love! We got to pray for them and share stories (via a translator & charades). They were wonderful.
- Ledina, the secretary for the organization, has been such a blessing to us! She does ministry with us and afterward takes us to all kinds of places to see/eat at/etc. She took us to the ballet, the top of a mountain, and a soccer game…what a gem!
- Celebrating Easter with the church in Tirana!
- Everyone on staff at Hope for the World. Their lives are so dedicated to serving these teens that have been through so much. Jesus shines through them in such a beautiful way.
- Joking, hiking, and attempting to learn the Albanian language (impossible) with the teens here
- Playing with Luani, the cutest (& craziest) 5 year old dude, at one of the orphanages.
pretty flowers we planted at the center!
Luani!
Ledina, our lovely contact
beautiful Tirana!
This month has been full of so much joy already, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of my time in Albania will hold!
Also, the Lord has been teaching me SO MUCH in these past few weeks – another blog about that to come!
