If I could describe my experience in Albania so far in two words I would say:
Hard work and weeds.
Before you go and try and think of why I chose those two words, I’ll elaborate.
Hard work:
Each morning we are up and ready for the day at 7:30 am. We eat breakfast then promptly start work at 8:00 am. Currently, my entire squad (Y Squad) and I are working with Lightforce Ministries in Lahze, Albania. We work and stay at a summer camp/farm/Lightforce ministries headquarters. Lightforce is a ministry that is self-sustaining, meaning, they run an active farm that produces the money and resources they need in order to maintain and support their ministries.
SO, our job this month is to help keep that farm running.
Our squad is divided each day into different groups that take on different jobs.
So far these jobs have been: working with pigs, working with goats, breaking down and smashing walls, and gardening.
We work all day in these areas with a break for lunch then finish our day around 5.
These days are filled with hard work but are so rewarding when we see the literal progress we made and how it is effecting the ministry we are working for.
So far, we have ended the day with a bible study in the book of Proverbs and time set aside to spend with our individual teams (#naninuns4lyfe). ?? This has been a great way to end the day processing and soaking in the word with a great community of like-minded Christ followers!
Weeds:
Weeds. Lots and lots of weeds.
During our work days, I have taken the job of gardening. This job entails cleaning up the areas of the camp that have beautiful plants and flowers in them.
The first full day of work, I started work on one particular area and took ownership over it. I started out trying to go as fast as I possibly could in order to just get the job done. But then, I encountered one weed that changed my perspective for the rest of that day. This particular weed was unlike the rest. This one was the largest weed I had seen that day. It’s head was spikey and had multiple large leaves attached. I grabbed the top of the weed and pulled, only ripping just the head off. I contemplated leaving it as it was and moving on, but instead decided to make sure I pulled the root as well. I reached with my hands and tried to grasp the thin stick-like root with my fingers; no luck. I realized that I would need a tool in order to do this job correctly, so I grabbed a gardening tool that resembled a small spatula and proceeded to dig up around the root. I grabbed a piece of the root and pulled, instead of pulling it all up, it would rip off. About the third time this happened, I got overly frustrated and thought to give up and move on to the next weed, leaving this one unfinished.
Then, I was reminded of something that happened just a few days before at all squad debrief.
For about a week or so before our weekend “vacation” that is debrief in Tirana, Albania, The Lord started working on my heart.
I could tell that He was about to do something big in my life.
After we arrived to debrief and got all settled into our hostel and got explore the city a little, The Lord reminded me of what He wanted to do in my life. The thing is, I knew what that thing was, and I was avoiding it hardcore.
After some resistance, I finally gave in and let the Lord reach in and pull out the final roots that were dug deep down inside of me.
I realized I had been living so long with this hidden-version of Bethany and only allowed people to see an external version of myself. I had built so many walls around this one particular portion of me and there was no way I was going to let anyone in.
But when I let go, and let God “weed” that one area of my life, those walls came crashing down.
This “weeding” is a process, just like when I was gardening at the farm, each area takes a good amount of time to fully clear out all of the roots. Opening the door and letting The Gardener do His work in my life was just the first step, but it was the largest leap I’ve ever taken.
So when I wanted to give up on that one particular weed, I chose not too. I chose to slow down and take the necessary time and put in the necessary effort to pull out the deep root of that weed. It may have not been the fastest process, but I can assure you that each and every root was pulled completely out that day, and nothing was more satisfying than knowing I did the work completely, leaving nothing unfinished.
