Albania. Who knew it was so far away? I can hardly believe it’s been nearly a week since I arrived in this beautiful country. Just one week ago today I boarded a plane in Atlanta to head to Frankfurt, Germany. Once arriving there, I got on another place to Istanbul, Turkey. After eleven hours of flight, I finally put my feet on solid ground. At this point, I was still in shock that I had even done it! I am on the World Race…holy cow! After collecting my luggage – let me take a moment here and say I am the world’s heaviest packer and regretted it once I had to carry this pack on my back. HELLO DOWNSIZING (Jennifer and my family were right…go ahead and say it J) anyway – I hopped on a bus heading to Lezhe, Albania. It was that bus that would carry me through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia and eventually (after 28 hours of riding) to Albania! It was a long, but exciting experience. With our whole squad being together, we all kept good attitudes and made it fun; I am so proud of everyone. It is absolutely a time I will look back on and cherish.
Once we arrived in Albania, we had our squad “debrief” which consisted of sessions, worship, training and opportunities for our amazing leaders, coaches and logistics people to pour into us for the next few days. I am so thankful for the wonderful staff of people that have committed to loving us, praying for us, teaching us and making this race possible – I love each of you so much and appreciate all you do!
After debrief, we have been working with at a youth camp. Honestly, you prolly couldn’t have picked something more thrilling for me. I love young people so much! Now although the language barrier has been a bit of a challenge, it’s funny how love translates to every culture, language and people – you just have to learn how to speak love. These kids are delighted each day to see us and as I am to see them. I fell in love quickly with these precious little girls – Ana and Maggie. They are sisters. One is 13 and the other is 9. Although, they are so small they look like they could be 9 and 6. They didn’t require me to validate my education, explain where I am from or even know my name before they accepted me. How beautiful it is when you just extend love without any conditions. If only us adults could learn from these children who seem to have a much better understanding of love and acceptance than we do. Smiles, hugs, holding my hand and playing games with me – how did I land on such a sweet set up! Getting to love kids and share Jesus with them is my new profession! How blessed I am. It’s only been a few days, but I am already adjusting and falling in love with this lovely city and the most wonderful people who inhabit it.
Thank you to everyone who made this possible. I cannot express my gratefulness in it’s true depth but I hope you can hear my heart from these words and know that your gifts, support and prayers are making a difference for the kingdom of God. Without you, I wouldn’t be here, these kids wouldn’t be hearing about Jesus and my life wouldn’t be changing as a rapid wild fire. God has done so much in my already and it’s only been 10 days.
Stay tuned for more stories of how your seeds are taking root in the lives of people across the world. I love you all.
