This month in Albania has been so different from past months, but SO SO good! We are all together as a squad, 41 of us. (We are a squad of 42, but our dear brother, Daniel from Mexico, could not enter the country, so he is serving in Romania). Our squad has been doing various kinds of manual labor on the grounds of a summer camp, Lightforce Camp in Lezha, Albania.
There are many things we have learned, such as: poop stinks, rocks may be moved 100 times till they are in an appropriate place and they are heavy, painting fences takes forever, white washing can make one a mess, sheep are dumb, sorting pigs is scary, smelly and dirty and killing snakes sometimes must be done,and…we are having a blast. We have been gaining a lot of experience physically in learning new tasks and learning perseverance and diligence. Our contact is wonderful and does not settle for anything that is not done perfectly. We keep reminding each other that as Colossians 3:23 says, we are to do everything as if we are doing it for the Lord!
holding sheep (sorry my eyes are closed!) poop pile in the back!
Another thing I have been reminded of and witnessing is the truth of God being with us in every moment. For many years I have held a skewed idea that I must go be doing intentional work for the Kingdom to be with the Lord, but that is false. God's presence is with us in every moment. While shoveling 8 months' worth of animal poop, God is with me and delights being with me even in the muck. With this lesson I am learning more and more that my focus should not be on what I do, but who I am. What is my character? And that is a influential question.
Those are some things I have learned this month and am learning this month. But I surely believe God is up to something even greater. I mentioned our entire squad is together this month. This is our 2nd month of all being together. This is really uncommon. And on top of that, we have seen each other a lot during the past 4 months. It is exciting in the fact that at training camp it was even prophesied that our squad would be an example by our love and unity for each other. And we are taking advantage of our squad being together. We are studying Proverbs together every morning, Matthew in the evenings and having times of worship during the week as well. We are really being poured into this month spiritually. This excites me for the moment but also for what will come of it. Bulgaria is our next country and we were never supposed to go to Bulgaria, but India. We are learning about wisdom, fearing the Lord, and how Jesus has called us to live with His authority and His power. I know that my squad is ready to walk in that authority and power in a new way like never before and I am excited to have 7 more months and a life to live in front of us all! T
hank you all for your prayers and support! If you are able, I am still in need of $1,600 to stay on the field! Let me know if you have questions of how you can support me!
