Hi readers! I am back and I am in Albania now!! C’kemi (hello). I arrived in Tirana one week ago (10/8). We traveled by bus from Sofia, Bulgaria overnight for 12 hours. We made it safe and sound into Tirana at 6:30 am last Monday. I would love to share a little more about what I am doing here!
Where am I?
Tirana, Albania (surprise! I am not in Bulgaria which I thought I would be!) Tirana is the capital city of Albania. The city is very central to the country. It is the most populous city in the country and it is known to be lively and colorful! I am back with my team of 7 in this city. 
What do I do?
This month we are paired with Church of God.
The church started in 2006 and has grown and grown. It has split into several churches today. We are working with one particular branch. Overall, this month of ministry is quite laid back in structure. We have a lot of flexibility for how we want to structure our time here. What we have helped with so far has been painting some cheerful pictures in the Tirana prison, assisting with the Friday night youth group, assisting and leading a kids ministry on Saturday mornings, and we have assisted with a partner church in their kids program and Sunday service. Other than our required things, we have been encouraged to make this month our own. So we have just begun getting involved with a center for down syndrome called The Jonathan Center. At least once a day, we usually go to coffee shops to get some wifi and space to ourselves and we have scheduled a morning meeting/ prayer time with our team each day. We have been encouraged to organically meet people in the city and invite people to church if we can. These are the assignments for the month and we are praying for ways to meet some friends here 🙂
Who is hosting us?
Erion Cuni and his family are hosting us this month. Erion and his wife have two kids. Erion is the lead pastor. Erion has helped to plant several churches in the area. Although I have not known him for long yet, he is an incredibly humble, gentle and grace filled man! Very low key and he does not put pressure on us. He has encouraged us to just be ourselves here and follow God!
Where do I live?
Our team lives in a two bedroom, one bathroom apartment in the suburb area of Tirana. I am on the couch this month. We are surrounded by so so many coffee shops and cafes. Right under our apartment complex is a pizza and sandwich shop. We have Olympian gym just 5 minutes away that some of my teammates have attended and that I plan to attend Zumba classes. We live right next to a high school as well!
What do I eat?
We are mostly eating and cooking in our apartment for dinner with some lunches in and some out. We shop at a very close grocery store about 5 min walk from us with a fresh market for veggies and fruits! We have had some yummy sandwiches for lunches and we went out to dinner this past Saturday! Thanks to our organized cooking schedule, we now have a system for who cooks when. For my first night of cooking we made a yummy and healthy Greek salad!
Currency?
The money here is the Albanian lek. 1 USD= 108 Lek
Transportation?
We walk to most places, but the city is much much larger than last month. We have figured out the bus system and we have taken the short 15 minute ride into the city center several times!
Tourism?
Because I have gotten really into lonely planet and trip advisor, I now know to do some good research about the cities we are in. Since being here (and with a little more free time), I have discovered a nice park with a large artificial lake and walking paths, I’ve explored the Tirana pyramid, a great traditional Albanian food restaurant, the beautiful city center with museums and an Opera house surrounding, and a museum called BunkArt2 dedicated to the history of Albanian Ministry of Internal Affairs from 1912-1991. The museum really highlights the victims of communist terror. I can thank my new friend Lena for showing us some of these fun spots in Tirana!
I can confidently say that this city is the most exciting place we have been placed so far. I am very excited to explore this cool and culturally rich city! Yay!
