As we were getting ready to head to our month three debrief, I was under the impression that I was going to be sleeping in my tent and showering out of a bucket in Albania. I was mentally prepared to wear my underwear multiple times in a row, and freeze to sleep.
Before I continue, you should know something about me… I love surprises. Parties, gifts, etc. You name it, I'm all for it (unless of course it's a surprise prank– let's not go there).
We landed in Tirana, Albania… Unloaded the plane… Made it through customs… Jumped on a bus… Sat on the bus… Sat on the bus some more… And then we were on our way to where we would be staying. We pulled up to a cute little cottage looking building and loaded our packs, a few at a time, and some of the squad into a smaller bus. I was in the second group. We pulled into a yard with a beautiful house!
Can you guess what happened next? If not, I'm going to tell you in the next sentance– don't worry! We got out of the little bus, unloaded our bags, and were informed that we would all have a BED to sleep in… every night!! Those three little letters had never sounded so beautiful together before.
You're probably curious, by now, why this blog is called what it is. Well, let me tell you! It all has to do with our ministry. No, we are not evangelizing to people with drug problems. No, we are not doing drugs. We were placed into work groups, and those we just the names that we came up with for the projects we were assigned. The first day we moved planting pots into a nice fashion around the small pool area. The next four days we spent hauling a pile of cement chunks (stones) into a trailor and off the property. Sure, we aren't going out into the community and telling people about Jesus… But that's okay! What we are doing is preparing the property for summer camp! And who doesn't like summer camp? (Candi, you don't count. We all know you hated summer camp).
Anyways, it was hard to find the fruit of what we are doing, but I realized something… We are in a time of planting seeds. Once a seed is planted, it needs time to grow before it is harvested. And this is also a time for our squad to pour into each other… And so far, we have been taking FULL advantage of this oportunity!
Peace and love to you all back in the states, and wherever you are if you're reading this!
