Hello, and Goodbye, Month 3! It’s been real…real great 🙂
I apologize for not having taken more time this month to blog – I thought about it a lot, but never fully felt like I had the words, never felt fully ready. So instead of a gradual, “Hey there, how’s it going?” this may be more like a “Hi there, let me verbal-vomit all over you.” Hope you’re feeling up for the ride!
Last month, my team was chosen to serve in Tirana, Albania, while the rest of our squad remained in Bulgaria. We were supposed to have been serving in prison ministry in Tirana, which we were all very excited for. Instead, we ended up only spending a few hours serving in the prison the whole month, not even getting to make contact with anyone inside its walls. We did get to leave our mark there though, by helping to paint and prepare a room for family visitors, located in the prison courtyard. The pictures they asked us to paint seemed pretty random, but kids don’t seem to mind those kinds of things.
Funny how God likes to keep us on our toes like that 😉 He was gifting us a miniature ATL (ask the Lord) month, where we had to trust Him to provide for ways He wanted to use us, since prison ministry was no longer going to be our reality or fill much space in our schedule.
Even from the very start of this month, it’s so clear to see that the Lord had already gone before us and laid out each person we were to meet, each ministry we were to partner with and each seed we were to plant, water or harvest – it was such a beautifully fruitful month, y’all!
My team had a blast with our ministry host, Erion, from Church of God, Tirana. He and his family took us out for dinner on the last night at my favorite restaurant – one that serves traditional Albanian food and makes you feel like you’re in the middle of a forest!!
As soon as we arrived and met Erion, I knew the Lord was going to use him to speak to me about humility; he embodied it so well. Through his soft voice and gentle demeanor, he carried a quiet confidence that spoke much more loudly to my heart than words ever could. It’s not about pleasing man for him, nor about being seen or heard, but about living to please the heart of One. He didn’t need affirmation, he didn’t care what we, ‘the missionaries’, thought about him or about his ministry. He knew what the Lord thought about him, and he had a clear conscience that he was giving himself fully to fulfill the mission God had called him to.
I could say the same for the other ministries we partnered with this month as well – each displaying the beauty of humility in their own unique ways…
First, there was the Roma (Gypsie) Ministry, where we partnered with 2 powerhouse women of God who remained faithful to continue running the church after their pastor moved away. We served alongside them to share the love of God with children and women in the community through songs, teachings, and prayer. We also had the honor of hosting a Beauty for Ashes retreat for the women, where we spoke to them about their worth. Another evening, I got to share with them about the importance of pouring our hearts out before the Lord, like Hannah did in scripture and we got the opportunity to wash the women’s feet as a symbol of God’s servant-hearted Love for them – what an unforgettable experience! I will dearly miss these women and their fire for God and His people! One observation remains in my spirit from time spent with them – incredible perseverance!
Next, there was a children’s ministry run by missionaries from Germany and the Netherlands – all hillarious, incredibly kind and such a joy to spend time with. I know it sounds ludicrous, but the joy always outweighed the exhaustion of waking up early on a Saturday morning to do ministry with them. At the end of our month, they invited us all over to their apartment to enjoy a delicious meal and a refreshing time of exchanging laughter, love and testimonies of God’s faithfulness in our lives. Time spent with them made me want to be more like Jesus and to live with deeper abandoned trust in Him!
And of course, the month would not have been nearly as fulfilling without our time partnering with the beautiful souls at the Jonathan Center. This organization opened about 10 years ago to answer the needs of individuals in the community with Down’s Syndrome. Albania does not have the health care system or financial infrastructure in place to provide services like therapy, education and life skills needed by this community. The Jonathan Center is a non-profit organization, built and sustained by an incredible team that joins together offering their skills, open hearts and joyful countenance to love on and walk alongside those they serve. I even got the privilege of sitting in on an OT session with a child (I’m an Occupational Therapist by trade). The OT asked me to provide any insight and recommendations I had, which was humbling for me, since I typically work in a hospital setting, so very different than this one! She was so gracious and teachable in receiving what I shared (though she’s already an incredible therapist!). The best part about them, is – they love Jesus! On our last day with them, they hosted a small gathering where we got to share our hearts and stories of God’s faithfulness. This team of people displayed such perseverance, just as I had seen in the women I mentioned above who ran the Roma ministry. It’s so obvious that the Lord is the One leading them, sustaining them and keeping their fire burning for Him and for those He’s entrusted to them.
Here’s Ela, the director, holding up some of the artwork done by the kiddos to help raise support for the Center! <B
Art Therapy
Music Therapy
Sweet Ela
Diana, the OT! 🙂
We also served Erion’s church by helping with pre-youth ministry, building relationships and loving on those kiddos – they were a blast – and by leaving our own mark on a wall in his church 🙂
Of course, I can’t leave out the sweet relationships we made with others along the way…
Marialena, who we met on our bus from Bulgaria to Albania at the start of our month^
Kamila, Ola, and ASLAN, our incredible neighbors who displayed such love and hospitality^
Eri, my favorite coffee shop friend who took my song request “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran at the start of the month, and played that song faithfully for me every time I went to Bliss Cafe – you’re the best Eri!
Michel and Ani, our amazing pizza/sandwhich shop friends, who took us on a picnic in the park where we talked about life, God, the Bible and the Quran^
Sheldon, who quickly became our family pet. I gifted him to our ministry host when we left, since he has little kids who will enjoy him..I’m gonna miss that little guy :,(
And last but certainly not least, little Chub Chub, the puppy who gave us hours (probably in total) of entertainment, giggles and warm feelies^
I’ve got so much more to share – more depth, more genuine heart-work that the Lord has been doing this past month – but I’m still so very much in the middle of it. Maybe we always are.
Do you ever feel like a pot of tea that isn’t quite done steeping yet? If I were to pour out my tea (heart) out to you right now (bear with me, I love analogies), I’m afraid what you would receive in your cup is simply a watered down version of the real deal, not nearly as potently satisfying or accurate in flavor compared to what the Lord has been preparing inside of me. I’ll do my best to sum up what I have thus far and post it in another pretty little blog with a cherry on top…I’m just not there yet.
Also! Reminder: my team and I are headed to Vietnam, and soon! We fly out from Bulgaria tomorrow and won’t arrive to our final destination until the 11th. Since Vietnam is a closed country, our blogs will be password protected.
The password for all I-squad blogs is: ISQUAD2018 (all-caps!)
Grace and Peace to you! 🙂
