“I will give you beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaveniess.” -Isaiah 61:3
I don’t know how to sum up this month in Albania. It has felt like a roller coaster of emotion and overflow of God’s grace.
God took a lot of broken things and made them beautiful as He is good at doing. Although there are lots of amazing things from the month I want to focus on this one…
For the first time on the race we got to work with women and put on a retreat called beauty for ashes. For five days we invited women to come and hear what God has to say about them. To tell them about Jesus, who He is, and who that makes them. We got to share our own personal testimonies and hear their stories as well and it was incredible!!!
I think sometimes we don’t even realize how much the world tries to tell us who we are. As women, it often tells us we are either too much (too big, too emotional, too opinionated, etc.) or that we are not enough (not successful enough, productive enough, not a good enough mother or friend, etc). During this retreat we told women that no matter what bad OR good things they do or what the world or anyone says about them they are LOVED, CHOSEN, VALUED, SEEN, AND ENOUGH in Christ.
There are so many women in the bible who had less than stellar reputations. There were prostitutes, women who lied, had affairs, and did scandelous things that ended up in the lineage of Jesus!!! And that is no mistake. Throughout the bible Jesus extends so much grace and significance to women. He leads them from lives of sin and shame into purity and goodness. He deals gently with them as I know very well.
The first 2 days were for girls 13 and younger. The last 3 days were 13 and older. During these meetings the presence of the Holy Spirit was so evidently moving in our midst. As we taught and shared on topics like view of God, worth, and forgiveness so much healing happened and so many things were brought into the light in these women’s lives that they may have been carrying for years.
There were many tears shed as women had a safe space to open up and share their hearts. I saw and felt the Lord’s hand working in everyone present. I am honored I got to be a part of it. It also made me smile because it reminded me so much of the women’s meeting I go to back home that is so dear to my heart. I wouldn’t know my own identity in Christ like I do to be able to share with these women if it weren’t for the one’s who first taught me. So that is the beauty in disciplining and the ripple effect it has for God’s Kingdom.
Needless to say, this has been my favorite part of the race and has shown me that I have a passion for women’s ministry and seeing women walk out of enslavement and into freedom.
I am so thankful for this month in the beautiful country of Albania. Although this is the poorest city in the country the people here are so extremelly rich in love and hospitality. Each of our teammates had the opportunity to really connect with different people in the community.
I had the privelage of becoming friends with a beautiful woman of God named Vera. She is a member of the church we partnered with this month. I had the best time spending the afternoon with her and her precious 9 month old daughter. We picked out fresh food from the market, cooked homemade soup, and shared stories and laughter. I even had the honor of meeting her parents and family in the home she grew up in. It was such a special day that I will always cherish, the Lord is so good!
Our next venture is a 4 day debrief in Macedonia. And I have exciting news! Next month is an ask the Lord month for our team. That means were going into the country with no place to live or ministry assigned to us like usual. We will be relying solely on the Spirit’s guiding in where to go and what to do. Please pray the Lord gives us unity as a team to hear what His Spirit is saying. Please also continue to pray the parasite I had/have will be gone completely!
Thanks for reading, be encouraged wherever this finds you that God SEES YOU & is FOR YOU and can make beauty from any of the ashes in your life! Here’s a short video my talented friend Kimmy made, enjoy!
xoxo -Jenna
