The past week has been spent with the ministry Lightforce International in Lezhë, Albania. Adventures in Missions has been very clear about the dangers of having expectations for our ministry, but of course, I did. We were told that Lightforce International was a children’s camp focused on sharing Jesus with local children, so I knew this was a ministry I would do very well at. I have worked at camp before, I have worked with children, and I am here to share Jesus with people. Clearly, I am very well qualified. I was very wrong. There were two very big shocks in this ministry that did not go along with what I had planned.
There was a language barrier (obviously, I do not speak Albanian) and we were not allowed to share the Gospel with them. I was expecting a translator to be following me around everywhere as if they had nothing else to do. Of course this was not the case. We do have translators with us, but they are extremely busy and cannot be with all of us all the time. This makes communicating with the kids very difficult, but God taught me several things through this trial.
As for sharing the Gospel, our host asked us not to. Because Albania is still rebuilding itself after the fall of their dictator, the people are not very trusting. They are weary of everyone! So, Lightforce has been attempting to build their trust and create a relationship with them. So for now, our job was to help Lightforce work on the long-term relationship they are hoping to have with the community. To say I was not majorly confused would be an understatement. Hadn’t God called me on the Race to tell others about Jesus? Then I remembered the quote saying, “Always share the Gospel, use words if needed” and God revealed some pretty important things to me.
- Actions speak louder than words. I quickly noticed that the words I did know how to speak to these children were all focused on safety. Safety is a very wonderful thing, but when I really want to be sharing about Jesus it left me feeling discouraged. How can I tell them I love them? How can I tell them Jesus loves them? How can I tell them Who Jesus is? These are all questions that went through me head immediately, and left me feeling defeated. I can’t tell them these things, but God showed me that I can show them. After a week of playing with them, fixing their hair, hugging them, and being selfless so they could have the time of their lives, I realized that I was telling them each of those things through my actions. Each time I chose playing with them instead of just supervising I showed them I loved them. Each time I chose to be selfless, or find joy despite the difficult circumstances I showed them a little bit how Jesus loves them. Just being there showed them a little bit of who Jesus is, because He chose to bring me to these children; to love them and care for them.
- Love is love, no matter where you are or who you’re with. I feared that because I am American and in Albania, the kids would not trust me enough to let me every try to love them. But kids are kids, and all kids crave love and give it freely. I didn’t have to do or be anyone special to have these kids love me. And they certainly didn’t need to do or be anything special for me to love them. I just did. Love works the same everywhere because it comes from the loving Father who created everything. He is love and He is everywhere. Trusting this truth is key to doing ministry. God shows up and He loves with the same intensity no matter where He is. The fear I had was not from God, and that is why I was doubting. I was not focusing on the character qualities I knew He possessed, instead I focused on the qualities I did not possess.
God hasn’t wasted any time in teaching me lessons, showing me alternate methods to sharing the Gospel than those I am used to, and teaching me, again, about how unconditional His love is. It’s hard to believe that I have only been gone for about half a month and He is already hard at work. I am so excited for what He is planning on teaching me for the remaining 3 weeks with Lightforce International.
Prayer requests: Please pray for unity in my team, in Team Galene (who we are serving with right now), and our teams together! Pray for great relationships to be built with us and children, and families with Lightforce. Pray for selflessness, easy transitions, and reliance on God.
Financial Update: I am currently at $7,849. By October 1, I need to have $11,000 raised in order to continue ministry, a little over $3,000 more. If you feel led to give, you can do so by clicking the “Support Me” tab on this blog. If you know anyone that might be interested, I would love to email them and explain a bit about what my team and I are doing for the Kingdom.
