My heart is so full and thankful and I can't get over the fact that God has placed me in the beautiful country of Albania. My days are full of loving and playing with children and learning the Albanian language so I can have as much conversation as I can with the staff.
Above: Climbed A Mountain Overlooking Albania with Squadmates Owen and Angela
At night until 9p.m. our job is to control the chaos as the kids have volleyball tournaments, soccer tournaments, and run around crazy! I AM LOVING EVERY SECOND OF IT!
Above: Albanian Campers
In the evenings after our time with the children is done I have a nightly ritual of sitting out on a patio on the top floor of one of the buildings that overlooks the beautiful countryside of Albania! The view is unexplainably beautiful and takes my breath away every time I see it! Sometimes I will spend my time reading the Word, other times I have convo time with God, still other times I will have one-on-one time getting to know my squad mates more in-depth.
Above: R Squad in Albania Month 1
Above: View From The Patio
Last night it was one of those convo times with God (my favorite!). I sat up there for a long time just listening more than talking. God was sharing His heart with me about my team, my squad, and most importantly about His heart for Albania.
Oh what a time we had! Let me tell ya, God had me laughing so hard at one point! At the risk of sounding crazy or just plain weird let me explain why I was laughing. For the past five nights at night there has been an Albanian wedding feast going on. One of the girls on staff was trying to tell me about their wedding traditions and all I got is that they are very long, loud, and crazy fun! She explained that its a great celebration of joy and happiness. In American terms: they keep the party bumpin!
Out of nowhere God nudged me and said, "You know here in Heaven we love to party!"
I chuckled.
"No for real! There is no party like the parties we have in heaven! You can bank on that!"
If anyone else had been on the patio with me, no joke, they would have thought I was crazy because I was laughing so hard!
"Ok God, well then I can't wait to party with you in heaven."
"No see Marie that's why I have you here on earth. It's because of your obedience and boldness that we party on!"
"What? God you're going to have to explain that one to me."
"Well when My light is revealed and another soul accepts My mercy and grace and walks out of darkness it gives us reason to celebrate! All of heaven rejoices! We party!"
"Oh no God you did not!!!!!" At this point I was dying of laughter!
Sidenote: In my experience God likes it when we laugh at His jokes. He created us with a sense of humor…why do you think He did that?
I could feel His smile and joy at the sight of me enjoying His company. Man there is no greater thing than being in the presence of God!
"Yeah Marie you were wondering why I placed you on the World Race? I want you to keep the party bumpin here in Heaven! You follow my lead. Plant the seed where it needs to be planted! Water the seed where it needs to be watered! And at times, I will give you the opportunity to harvest it when it is ready to be harvested! Here in heaven we will be rejoicing! It will be hard! It will be fun! It will be full of adventure! It will be full of uncomfortable moments but ultimately it will be rewarding! So your job as a missionary is to keep the party bumpin!"
So there it is! If you are thinking about joining the World Race, are on the World Race and wondering why, or are just randomly reading this blog and you are needing a purpose in life….Yo homie! Keep the party bumpin! There is nothing more rewarding or more adventurous than being in Gods will and furthering His kingdom!
