this is my teammates blog. i liked it as a real view of what we did, so i just added a few thoughts of my own and then posted it. if you want to read more by her, go to www.ashleyhuizenga.theworldrace.org
we’re here to help.
we’re no rockstars.
just to help.
really. simple.
really. simple.
help.
and thats perfect.
Macedonia was a month spent in Skopje (pronounced like skopia) with Campus Crusade. Any time we go to a new country, we’re there to help. And help comes in a variety of forms. With Crusade, they had 3 teams to impact Skopje – a strategy and team for the Albanians, the Macedonians and a catalytic team to reach students all around Macedonia. It was our job to spend a week with each one assisting in any way they needed.
One of the strategies crusade will uses in their ministry is handing out student planners is one strategy. They contain a calendar for the year and articles geared toward a people group in their native language. With this small briefing before meeting the teams, we were ready to jump in and help out.
It’s starting to get chilly here in Europe. We’re bundled up to take our 20 minute walk to the office for a short prayer meeting with staff. Upon arrival, we’d fix ourselves a cup of tea to warm back up as the team assembles one by one and each member arrives. We’re working with the Albanian team first. (and I love these people!)
There’s something quite friendly about all the Albanians I’ve met. Firm and forward (reminiscent of other cultures I’ve experienced this year) but kind and gentle at the same time.
We’re having a gathering here at the office tonight. We’re not sure exactly what they’re going to be telling the students as it’s all in Albanian. But they let us know that they want to invite students to hang out and introduce themselves as a resource to university students for academic and spiritual needs. They tell us we can help out by making signs to direct students, plans games and entertainment. We all pick our tasks and get to work. Jake and Lauren with some crayons for signs, Emily and Tanna writing on slips of paper for a game and Caleb and I learning some music for entertainment.
It’s time to leave, we’re going to a University to hand out student planners. Each one has a short survey on the front for students to fill out and give their contact information for
Crusade to follow up with later. Quickly realizing we don’t speak Albanian and most don’t speak English, we become tag-along side kicks to our new friends on staff, but we’re not third wheels in this situation either. Somehow we fit. (Caleb typing—>) When we were passing out flyers, I got uncomfortable and confussed with the project cause I just couldn’t seem to help. So I went over to some Albanian guys and just started talking music. Here in Albania, I am a volunteer, i am not a missionary. Christianity is seen as a cult or ignorant, and so I just talked music. By the time the flyers were done, I had 8 new muslim friends, I was able to explain why I was really there in the country without being seen as an intruder, and the flyers were passed out. (and i hate passing them out) perfect. okay, back to ashley.
We’re in the cafeteria of Fon university having tea with students. Laughing and carrying on, there are limited words of English, but it doesn’t matter. I’m enjoying just being here and that’s more than enough. We hand out planners and flyers for our gathering that evening. After a few hours we head back to the office.
Many students turned out to the gathering and we had a great time. We showed them an American dance and they showed us several Albanian ones. The evening went late and we danced until we couldn’t move out feet anymore.
The next day I was thinking to myself that it may look small what we did – tagged along to hand out flyers, were extra bodies sitting at the table for tea, made simple signs to direct students. But I couldn’t sell short the impact it made. These were simple things our contacts no longer had to worry about, our presence handing out flyers and hanging at the university was something novel to these students. We can’t always measure success or the level of help by our idea of what is big or small. These things were important and I’m so glad I could be there.
Macedonia was a month spent in Skopje (pronounced like skopia) with Campus Crusade. Any time we go to a new country, we’re there to help. And help comes in a variety of forms. With Crusade, they had 3 teams to impact Skopje – a strategy and team for the Albanians, the Macedonians and a catalytic team to reach students all around Macedonia. It was our job to spend a week with each one assisting in any way they needed.
One of the strategies crusade will uses in their ministry is handing out student planners is one strategy. They contain a calendar for the year and articles geared toward a people group in their native language. With this small briefing before meeting the teams, we were ready to jump in and help out.It’s starting to get chilly here in Europe. We’re bundled up to take our 20 minute walk to the office for a short prayer meeting with staff. Upon arrival, we’d fix ourselves a cup of tea to warm back up as the team assembles one by one and each member arrives. We’re working with the Albanian team first. (and I love these people!)
There’s something quite friendly about all the Albanians I’ve met. Firm and forward (reminiscent of other cultures I’ve experienced this year) but kind and gentle at the same time.
We’re having a gathering here at the office tonight. We’re not sure exactly what they’re going to be telling the students as it’s all in Albanian. But they let us know that they want to invite students to hang out and introduce themselves as a resource to university students for academic and spiritual needs. They tell us we can help out by making signs to direct students, plans games and entertainment. We all pick our tasks and get to work. Jake and Lauren with some crayons for signs, Emily and Tanna writing on slips of paper for a game and Caleb and I learning some music for entertainment.It’s time to leave, we’re going to a University to hand out student planners. Each one has a short survey on the front for students to fill out and give their contact information for
Crusade to follow up with later. Quickly realizing we don’t speak Albanian and most don’t speak English, we become tag-along side kicks to our new friends on staff, but we’re not third wheels in this situation either. Somehow we fit. (Caleb typing—>) When we were passing out flyers, I got uncomfortable and confussed with the project cause I just couldn’t seem to help. So I went over to some Albanian guys and just started talking music. Here in Albania, I am a volunteer, i am not a missionary. Christianity is seen as a cult or ignorant, and so I just talked music. By the time the flyers were done, I had 8 new muslim friends, I was able to explain why I was really there in the country without being seen as an intruder, and the flyers were passed out. (and i hate passing them out) perfect. okay, back to ashley.We’re in the cafeteria of Fon university having tea with students. Laughing and carrying on, there are limited words of English, but it doesn’t matter. I’m enjoying just being here and that’s more than enough. We hand out planners and flyers for our gathering that evening. After a few hours we head back to the office.
Many students turned out to the gathering and we had a great time. We showed them an American dance and they showed us several Albanian ones. The evening went late and we danced until we couldn’t move out feet anymore.
The next day I was thinking to myself that it may look small what we did – tagged along to hand out flyers, were extra bodies sitting at the table for tea, made simple signs to direct students. But I couldn’t sell short the impact it made. These were simple things our contacts no longer had to worry about, our presence handing out flyers and hanging at the university was something novel to these students. We can’t always measure success or the level of help by our idea of what is big or small. These things were important and I’m so glad I could be there.
