I remember when I was back in college, almost a year and a half ago now for the last time. It was one of the best times of my life; I met my best friends in college, I spent a semester abroad in Australia and New Zealand, I was involved in a fraternity, I loved my international affairs classes for my major, and I lived for Bulldawgs football and gameday on Saturdays in the fall. It was four years full of memories that I will never forget.
This month in Albania I am back at college working with Campus Crusade for Christ here in Korce, located in the mountains of southeast Albania near the border to Greece. We are working on campus at Fan. S Noli University, building relationships with the students here and sharing Christ with them. The campus, Albania as a whole, is about 70% Muslim, so this presents a challenge at times with the differing cultural backgrounds.
This Greek Orthodox cathedral located in central Korce is the largest church in Albania.
Our day typically starts out with passing out a magazine called “Student Life” that talks about the Campus Crusade organization, and then inviting the students to different events that they have planned. Today we took a group of about 40 freshman students to a historical village about half an hour away from Korce and just hung out, talked, played volleyball, and got to know the kids. In the evenings we go hang out at the dorms and talk with the students, or in Nick and I’s case, beat two guys in a gamie of 8-ball pool while all 30 of their friends watched in focused silence (it was pretty intimidating, not gonna lie).
Nick and I passing out magazines. Creepy looks are the norm.
This is what I love to do, just hanging out and talking with people and sharing a bit of myself with them. I referred to this in a previous blog (What is Evangelism?) and now I get to do it for a whole month here in Albania. So awesome! The students are incredibly receptive to talking with us, whether it is just to practice English or to find out why the heck we are in Korce, Albania, a world away from America.
As much as I love being back on a college campus, I can’t help but recall my reaction to the people who were doing then at UGA what I am doing now here in Albania. When I spotted a Christian group on campus, I was quick to pull out my cell phone to read an “urgent” text, or I would realize my class was actually in the opposite direction. These people were radical, opinionated, and judgmental, and I wanted nothing to do with them. Why would people waste their time trying to push the gospel on me when I clearly have better things to do? The sentiment I felt then is completely absent here with these people. Campus Crusade is one of the only groups on campus here (the only one that has a stand passing out magazines, at least) and nearly everyone stops by to see what we are all about. There is no competition from 100 other tables like there was for me at school, and no one looks at us like we are just a big nuisance. The curiosity is genuine, and we are able to feed off that.
Me hanging out with the freshman at the picnic earlier today.
I am excited to continue working with the students I have already met and eager to find every last English speaker on campus. This is the type of ministry I love; just talking to people, getting to know them, and just being real with them. This ultimately leads to questions of why I am here, and in turn, I tell them that there is a personal relationship that I have with a real God, not some impersonal force that exists simply to judge my actions from a far, but a personal God. This is a foreign concept to them, but in time I that through spending time with them and allowing them to see the joy I have, that they will desire it as well.
The team at the picnic with the Crusade workers and the freshman. Such a great afternoon!
More blogs to come soon about my experiences here on campus over the next three weeks!
Cheers.
