Month 8 is already here and our entire squad of 39 has just arrived in Albania. Montenegro seemed to fly by faster than any other month yet. We started the month by packaging 20,000 lettuce and cucumber seed packages. (exciting right) In all seriousness it was actually a fun break for the team to do some more monotinous work that didn’t require to much physical of mental exertion. We did a mix of talking, listening to music, listening to sermons, or watching Home Improvement episodes while we worked. Most importantly, the work was greatly appreciated by the church that we were partnering with this month as it would have taken a LOT of man hours for the church to complete it, and would have been tough to get done before planting season. The seed packages themselves will go to rural farmers/villagers in Montenegro (almost every villager has their own large garden there). Each seed package also includes a bible verse and contact information for anyone looking to learn more about the church we were helping.
Right after completing the seeds we started passing out flyers for an evangelist that was coming to Podgorica, which is the city we were in. We helped to pass out over 10,000 flyers (a common form of advertisement in Montenegro) in about 5 days time. The evangelist was Rabi Maharaj, a former Hindu guru turned Christian. Rabi is best known for his book which is called “the death of a guru”.
Link to book: http://www.amazon.com/Death-Guru-Remarkable-Story-Search/dp/0890814341
The last 1/3 of the month was much more relaxed. Marin and I took a date weekend to the coastal city of Kotor. It is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been, combining striking mountain peaks with the Mediterranean coast.
Pics here: https://www.facebook.com/brady.maciver/media_set?set=a.700574058165.1073741829.135401878&type=3
Our team was also able to take a 1 night road trip over to Croatia. In between this we did some random things such as delivering Samaritan purse Christmas boxes (a few months late), visiting a refugee camp for the Roma people, and meeting friends we had made throughout the month.
Other highlights of the month include:
1. Getting to join a real gym and lift for about 3 weeks.
2. Bowling!
3. Playing basketball with some REALLY good players
4. Talking to our friend from church, Nedelco, for a long time without really understanding the actual words.
5. Meeting a few people throughout the month randomly and being able to share with them and pour into their lives as best we could.
We are still not exactly sure what our ministry in Albania will be. We are currently at a debrief and should know on Friday. We do know that it is what is called “Manistry month” so all the men will be together and then the ladies will split into all girl teams. Marin and I will be apart for about 2 weeks, we will come back together in the middle of the month, and then we will be apart again for the last week and a half.
Ways you can pray:
1. Pray for a great month in Albania and pray that our marriage actually grows from a little time apart.
2. For the people of Albania and Montenegro. This is an area greatly affected by war less than 20 years ago. It has a dark atmosphere and a very different kind of poverty than we have seen in other countries. It has a mix of a European and Russian feel and despite being very modern, many people only make about $300 – $500 a month.
Thank you to all of you for reading our blog and for all of your support!
-Brady
