Month 6 in Albania was such a great experience. Albania is known as “Shqipëria” or Land of the Eagles. The two heads on the eagle represent the north and the south.
I have a soft spot for Albania. Albania was under the Turkish empire for over 500 years. Then it was under communism for 50 years . 60% of population is predominately Muslim- making Islam the largest religion in the country. Most of my friends I met this month were Muslim yet they willing to have conversation beyond their spiritual beliefs and world view.
This has been one of the realest way of doing ministry. Yes, we label it as ministry yet truly we should live our life with a more relational mindset. I have been more attentive to the people I have met and encountered. Every interaction is for a reason and it can be a divine encounter. The question is-
- “Am I willing to be interruptible?”
- “Am I willing to stop what I am doing and have a conversation with the person next to me?
- “Am I willing to be uncomfortable and follow the voice of God and do something I wouldn’t normally do?”
Our ministry host kept it simple – our goal was to build relationship with youth and young adults, help renovate the old church to the youth center. Ultimately invite them to church or to the new youth center.
Here is a glismpe of how our month looked:
