The Fourth of July is easily one of my favorite holidays! This year, at midnight, with sparklers in hand, we (seven Americans & a handful of new found local friends) scaled the side of the pyramid of Tirana to celebrate.
Designed to be a monument to communism, the pyramid sits in the heart of Tirana. The fall of communism came in 1992 and new freedoms were granted to the people of Albania.
As we sat on top of the pyramid we had a celebration of all celebrations!! Music blasting. Laughter ringing through the air. But more important that the happenings of our rooftop celebration is the celebration of what God has done for us. I sat there gazing at the city lights, and couldn’t help but pray for the city that hasn’t found true freedom and transformation :: the freedom comes only from the Name above all Names. I know that God is on the move in Albania.
During our first few days here God has spoken very clearly to me that is He chasing after the soul of every single person here. He loves them abundantly. He sees each and every one of them. Individual. Specific. He longs for the hearts of the Albanian people.
And they long for Him too. Only they don’t know it. Their words say “I don’t believe”, but their hearts are searching and long for something more.
As I sit in the hostel, the smell of booze and weed constantly permeate the air. Rap music bumps from the balcony day and night. (Secretly [or not so secretly] I love it because it truly feels like they type of people Jesus would surround himself with) My new friend Damian, who believes in fairies and wears a dreamcatcher around his neck (in hopes of finding true love), swoops in every time he sees me reading my giant bible. He stops, picks out an underlined passage wants to know all about what I’m learning. He doesn’t “believe in believing in anything”, yet the questions he asks, reveals his heart and I know He is looking for something more. God is chasing after him.
As our team got separated on the side streets of Albania looking for a church, Arsen, the bartender at Beirut, smiles sheepishly as he watches our team miss each other several times. We chat with him on the side of the street. He craves more time with us so he pulls us into his bar and stirs up a concoction that was the best drink I’ve ever had. He can’t believe we care about his life and story (and we truly do). He says with his lips he doesn’t believe in anything yet in our conversation, tidbits reveal He knows of God and acknowledges He is the only perfect one. He dreams of adventure and wants more of God in his life when he has a child someday. God is chasing after him.
Jesus came to break off chains. He came to set the captives free. The bible says, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Today I’m declaring those truths over the city and people of Tirana.
His Spirit is here. The time is now. Let freedom ring.
