Unsung Heroes. This is what our ministry month is called.
Our job: To research and find potential ministry partners for the future. We are representatives for Adventures in Missions.
This is a unique ministry month on the race. We are not living with or doing ministry with a host. Instead, we find Christian organizations/missionaries who would be interested in meeting and then we meet with them.
So what does a typical day look like? Well, there is no typical for starters. Some days are spent in pajamas with a hot drink researching, emailing and calling people. Some days we spend a good chunk of the day in worship and prayer and asking God what city He wants us to go to next or how long we should stay in a certain place. Some days are packed with scheduled meetings. And others are spent hanging out with people we have met.
“So you’re just researching ministries and meeting people this month?”
Yes, exactly. And it might just be my favorite month so far. How many people can say they have traveled all over a country making connections and fellowshipping with believers as they meet them?
Here are some snippets of what God has allowed us to be a part of and the things I am learning:
We had the opportunity to meet with and stay at a church in Sauk (Dove House), right outside the capital of Albania. They have a big teens ministry so we got involved with the youth playing sports and had a girls night which consisted of dancing, dancing and more dancing.
In the capital, Tirana, we met with an organization (IFES) that works with and reaches out to university students. We clicked with the students we met with, ended up going to their weekly Bible study and spent additional time hanging out with them.
In Pogradec, our next city, we got connected with a Bible school (Christ for the Nations). We spent one night there getting to know the students, eating meals with them, playing soccer, and worshiping. I am blown away by their passion for the Lord-most of them have only been believers for a few years.
In Korce we saw how the elderly and children from poorer families are loved and served through different service projects. Emanuel Mission Foundation has children’s and elderly centers where children have a safe place to be themselves, get a meal, and get help with school work while the elderly also have a safe place to be with friends, play games and receive attention.
We have gotten to visit and be a part of multiple churches. God really is building His kingdom here in Albania, and I LOVE getting to experience Jesus in other cultures.
On a different note, here are some personal things God is showing/revealing to me this month.
- Scripture ALONE has the power to change lives.
- There is some unbelief in my heart that I have the power of God IN me.
- I needed freedom from shame I didn’t even know I was carrying (and got it!)
- One of my gifts is intentionality- with teammates, ministries, people in general
- I’m learning to discern Holy Spirits voice and His prompting to say or act on something.
I told my teammates today that I feel so in my element being on the race. My heart is so alive, and I feel like my heart can truly beat. I’m discovering things about myself and community more than I ever have. God is so so good!
