I can’t believe that we are officially done with our time serving in Asia! Thailand was full to the brim with prayer ministry, teaching English, sharing the Gospel, riding in the backs of pickup trucks, getting stuck in the rain, and laughing with team over any and everything. Homesickness hit a lot of R1:16 hard while we were in Thailand, and we were thankful for occasional afternoons where we could get Wi-Fi and connect with our loved ones back in the States. We are so thankful for the time we got to spend with Pastor TJ of New Jerusalem Church, and with our friends Sampean (a lady who works with New Jerusalem) and Manat (a young boy who lived at our house and became like a younger brother for all of us).
We left the YWAM base in Bangkok, Thailand at 4:00 am on June 2nd and arrived at our ministry site in Pogradec (pronounced Poe-kra-dets), Albania at about 4:00 pm on June 3rd. All in all, we were traveling for about 43 hours thanks to time zone changes. However, we did get to spend about 10 of those hours in the incredible city of Rome, Italy while on a layover. I went out into the city with a group of friends and we walked to the Coliseum, the Trevi Fountain, and got some much-needed pizza and pasta. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a meal that much in a long time. I’ve been to Rome once before, but it was incredible to see the city by moonlight, and to actually be a bit chilly for the first time in about 4 months.
As you pray, please continue to pray for New Jerusalem Church to increase in membership,for financial support for the church in the midst of building a new campus that they want to use as both a church and a future Bible school, for fellowship and partnership amongst the churches in Central Thailand and that they would be united for the common goal of spreading the Gospel throughout the country, and for continued unity, vulnerability, and increased connection throughout Team R1:16.
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Throughout Month 6 of our Race, we will be working with Christ for the Nations Albania. Christ for the Nations Albania is centered on education and helping build disciples to ultimately send to other Muslim countries. The organization focuses on church planning, community development, conferences, and missions. Christ for the Nations Albania has many parts, including a 3-year Bible School program. The Bible school is involved with the community, and hosts Bible studies in addition to community evangelism. Some of the things we have begun and will continue to do this month include:
-Helping host, sharing testimonies and messages, and organizing games and activities at meetings for young children, teenagers, and women within the church
-Helping with children and youth VBS and Bible camps
-Practical ministry (like cleaning, cooking, painting, maintenance, etc.)
-Organizing a community service project which would involve our team and the church body
-Spending time pouring into interns and staff at the Bible school
On our second day in Pogradec, our incredible hosts sat down with us to give us an overview of Albania and why Christ for the Nations is so needed here. Albania has almost always been controlled by an outsider or outside force. The Ottoman Empire brought Islam to Albania in the 15th century, and controlled the country until the 19th century. The Germans controlled the nation during World War II (super doper fun fact: Albania was the only country that refused to surrender their Jews during WWII; the Jews living in Albania at the time were hidden in the mountainous regions, and some Jews from Macedonia even fled to Albania to seek refuge). A dictator named Enver Hoxha eventually rose up to free Albania from the Germans, but in doing so, brought intensive communism to the forefront of the country. Hoxha was so radically communist that he eventually cut ties with both China and Russia because they weren’t communist enough. Finally, the country declared its independence in 1991 (a little less than 30 years ago). Albania is a country with a rich Biblical history, and has been evangelized since the time of Paul; Albania is called Illyria in Paul’s letter to the Romans (15:19). Today, the Albanian people are hungry. The Albanian people are deeply relational, and there is a need for understanding about a Father who was willing to give everything, including His most loved Son, in order to have relationship with His children.
Deborah Hamilton of CharismaNews reported that, as “One of Europe’s poorest nations, Albania has a population of just over 3 million, with more than 55 percent being Muslim, 10 percent Roman Catholic, approximately 7 percent Orthodox, 2.5 percent atheist, and more than 20 percent either another religion or unspecified.” She notes that Albania is “an unlikely mission field, [having] emerged in the former atheist nation… For nearly 25 years, from 1967 to 1990, all religious observations throughout the nation were prohibited, and all churches and mosques were closed. But today, [many different ministries are] expanding [their] programs into Albania to reach people with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ” (1).
Please pray for us as we prepare to enter this country full of people who need a relationship with a loving, present Father as opposed to a religion full of rules, regulations, and fear. Pray that, in everything we do, we would work for the glory of the Father and not for the glory of men, and that we would give our all to each and every opportunity presented to us this month.
For more information about Christianity and the church in Albania, please see the articles I quoted from below:
(1) http://www.charismanews.com/world/45312-once-illegal-christianity-now-spreading-in-albania
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As we prepare to travel to begin serving here in Pogradec, there are a few final things I would like to share with you:
-PRAISE THE LORD that I have been fully funded since the middle of Month 3! I know that this was by no feat of my own, but that God truly orchestrated the details in getting me to that place. I still (yes, still) thank the Lord for all of you who supported me financially and in prayer throughout my time fundraising. This is not a fundraising request, but rather a more practical request that I have prayed about sharing with you all. Because of our location in Eastern Europe, my team has the opportunity to make a trip into Greece next month, which is how I am planning on celebrating my birthday (which will be about one month before my actual birth date). Our World Race food budget allots us about $4/day total, so trips like this fall entirely on personal budget (which is small for all of us because none of us are working or making any sort of money this year). If I am financially able, I would love to be able to take all of R1:16 out for a nice dinner while we are in Greece, but I don’t have the personal funds to do so at this point. If you feel called to contribute anything to this dinner celebration, I am on Venmo (@Joanna-Sorensen-008) and PayPal ([email protected]). Thank you so much to those who feel called to practically bless R1:16!
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