Month 3: Albania
Reflecting back on my month in Albania.
I would like to start off by saying this past month has been one of the greatest months of my life.
Now that’s a statement to back up right?
Well, this past month I slept on floors, spent Thanksgiving away from family, got sick from drinking tap water and may have sang “Diarrhea Cha Cha Cha” a few times.
I also met and lived with some of the most hospitable, generous people in the world. I had my breath taken away from the beauty of Albania’s countrysides, seas, and mountain tops. I danced till my feet hurt. I laughed until I couldn’t breath and I experienced some of the most joy I ever have.
This month my team was assigned the task of what is called UNSUNG HEROES month. Unsung Heroes month is essentially a team within the country of interest (Albania) with one mission: find more contacts and ministries for future World Race teams to partner with and serve.
In a nutshell it was a lot of online research, administration, phone calls, coffee dates, and spontaneous bible studies or church services. I was appointed the Unsung Hero Point Person. U-H- P-P for short. It was my job to keep our team on task, and act as the liaison between our work and the UH Coordinator.
Our team would research potential partners (existing ministries or churches within Albania), contact these potential partners to set up meetings, hold meetings usually over coffee, and if the meetings went well our team would submit the potential partner to Adventures in Missions headquarters for future partnership.
There was a catch however. It was was our job to provide our own housing for six women, food, and transportation with a strict small budget. We had $5 for housing, $4 for food, and $2 for transportation a day per person. To be honest, most UH teams have trouble sticking to the budget or finding housing. A lot of teams end up staying at motels or hostels, and by the end they run out of contacts and go over budget.
This month I learned so much about the power of prayer, faith, and God’s provision. Not one night did my team stay in a hostel or a motel, have trouble finding food or contacts, and we were way under budget. How in the world?
This month, my team and I lived with a few missionary families, in a preschool, and in a Bible School. Most of the time our team would call the contact and just bluntly ask if they could meet with us and if they had a place we could stay. These ministries, people, and churches didn’t even know us and they welcomed us into their homes and lives. I was very touched this month by the Albanian hospitality. It was crazy how many people openly welcomed six women to live with them by the sole fact that we came in the name of Lord.
This past month was pretty amazing. The people, friendships, laughs, hospitality and did I mention the scenery?
On off days this month some of my teammates and I had a chance to travel to Rome, play volleyball, go hiking, and learn traditional Albanian dances and songs. One of my favorite days was running across the border into Macedonia and back.
Albania is a beautiful country full of people who are so rich in joy and so eager to love. I am excited to see the organizations and ministries we lived and met with come even more to life throughout the next years as they partner with more World Race teams!
“They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum —(present day Albania)” Romans 15:19
