I walk through the hotel door and wave to the concierge, Mario. We greet each other and asks if I’m going to go for a swim to which I reply “maybe.” Then I walk through the doors to the restaurants where I wave to the cook, housekeepers and waiters. From there I walk outside and go see my bartender friends. Oh and also I wave to all the other bosses/ security/friends along the way.
How do I know literally everyone that works at a hotel in Golem, Albania ya might ask? Well it started day one in Albania on my 25th birthday. We had just moved into our apartment across the street from the beach.
Once we got settled in we went out to grab lunch then tanned a bit and went for a beach walk. It was just Elle and I when this man approached the two of us on the beach. This is very common, people can usually tell right away we are foreign and want to talk to us (I’m really going to miss it actually).
He clearly didn’t speak any more english than what he had said and waved at his friend to come over and talk with us. His friend, Samir, told us that he had lived in the U.S for like 11 years and that he was Muslim and practicing Ramadan, oh and that he owned the hotel right in front of us.
Our team had prayed a few months ago and felt a desire to speak with Muslims and learn more about their faith and beliefs. So ya God clearly heard our prayers and was answering them in His timing.
We sat down and ordered a drink. After we were done with our drinks he came over and sat down to talk some more. He shared how he was fasting from sunrise to sunset (Ramadan) and that’s why he didn’t join us. Right away he was pretty open with us and shared parts of his life, family, etc.
Then he said to come back for dinner, & that they had incredible food. So of course we went home and shared the news with our team. We rejoiced. We all felt super pumped that literally across the street we made friends with the owner of the hotel who’s entire staff is practically Muslim. We knew God had big plans.
We had the privilege of breaking fast with his family and friends during Ramadan. Breaking fast basically means that at sunset we ate with them, they would fast from food and water, impure thoughts, etc during the day and pray throughout the day. I have sat and talked with his parents, daughter, sisters, nephews and nieces. This place has felt like home. Everyone has been so kind and hospitable towards us.
His daughter took us into town to get ice cream and showed us some cool spots. Also we have hung out with his friends, (Tiri & Alban) which usually includes talking/singing and/ or worship. My friend, Vic, is a very talented singer so her and Tiri would sing worship songs together which was super cool. I will put the link of their songs on the bottom so that you can check them out, they are incredible.
Tiri sings the song, Zemer, Samir wrote the song himself and the music video is filmed at the hotel I’ve spent the majority of the month at. Tiri won the voice of Albania a couple of years ago, he’s incredible. Alban is a talented DJ/ producer and has become a good friend of ours. He did a remix of the song they wrote, I’ll put the link to that too!
A big lesson that God is teaching me this month is that God doesn’t always require works from us like we think He does. We think oh if I am accomplishing, building, cleaning, etc then I am “doing God’s work.” But that’s not true. All that He requires from us is faith and trust in Him. He just wants us to sit in His presence & spend time with Him.
We have been building friendships with everyone here and I’ve continued to ask if there’s anything we can do to help serve them but I am constantly told that they just want to talk with us. So that’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve sat & listened to people’s stories & I can honestly say that this month has felt normal & real. I cannot wait to meet new people in Jax & hear their stories and tell them about God!
Just be praying for continuing conversations about God and that His spirit would just be at work here. 🙂 I’m already dreading all the goodbyes that will have to be made!
