Albania.
Not at all what I expected but exactly what my heart needed.
Flying in, over snow capped mountains and land surrounded by glowing green Mediterranean waters, I couldn’t help be awakened to the fact that God makes such beautiful things. I knew I loved Asia, but my heart wasn’t ready for what Europe had to bring.
Stepping out of the airport I saw the dirty side of today’s world. Sparce farms, spread between half-built concrete homes, graffiti on every surface, broken lamp-posts, pot holes the size of Texas and a lot of trash. I was overwhelmed by it, not realizing the beauty that lay just past my sight, in the background.
Albania, though one of the poorest economies in Eastern Europe (and unfortunately you can tell), it also is painted across the most beautiful backdrop. The mountains, the gorgeous sunrise & sunsets over the Adriatic Ocean, the greenest waters, the bluest skies, the goats and sheep climbing through the olive groves across the rocky cliffs and the people…
Such beautiful people.
I didn’t see it at first. I chose to see their unkempt, less than “European” fashion, their seeming abrasive posture on the streets, they way people stared at us and never smiled and didn’t greet me with a typical Asian welcome. I didn’t know how to see past it all.
Then I lived with a family, a sweet Albanian family with a mom who kissed both of my cheeks every night, a dad who tried to tell me about Albanian history in his limited english & watched my favorite movie, and three sweet sisters who danced and laughed and worked their way right into the depths of my heart.
I felt like I was home.
Somewhere, hidden in the midst of the most beautiful scenery, covered by a facade of harsh European culture, amidst what some would consider less than favorable city conditions, I found home. I found a family who chose to love each other daily, who welcomed us into their home, went out of their way to feed us 5 GIANT meals a day, taught me card games, legends and Albanian traditional dances while showing me what Jesus meant by loving people like ourselves.
Jesus rocked me through this family. He opened my eyes to the way I choose to see things. On the surface I may not understand, but there is beauty hidden if I open my eyes wide enough to see the things HE sees.
There is beauty.
There is life.
There is love.
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Though I didn’t get to stay with them the whole month as I traveled with a different team searching for uncovered ministry contacts, I did carry the memory of my Albanian family with me.
Thank you Jesus for internet so they’re never more than a skype date away!
