Did you know that Albanians LOVE Americans?
The U.S. helped Albania leave communism in the early ’90s (they were the last Communist country in Europe) and for that, they are very Pro-America. I highly recommend visiting Albania and giving back some of the love that Albania unknowingly gives to us! Plus, the Balkans are a very underrated part of the world and SO beautiful!
This month we mainly worked with the Roma community.
The Roma people are more commonly known as gypsies. We do not use this word because it is derogatory. They are spread out all over Europe and originally come from Northern India and Egypt. In much of Europe, the Roma communities are outcasted and seen as aggressive, unclean, and uneducated people. With such labels, most of them are left without a way to get a steady job to climb out of the cycle of poverty. We’ve seen many of these children begging on the streets or collecting recyclables from the garbage to sell for a small income.
Two out of the three weeks we spent in Albania have been filled with loving on these very children that society views as the “untouchables.” While the Roma culture is one very resistant to change, the children respond well to grace and general kindnesses. We have witnessed their hearts soften to the Gospel as we led each group through songs, games, skits, and crafts that tell the story of God’s love for us and the purpose we have in a Christ centered life.
Our first week, we worked in a Roma community in a village outside of Fier. We stayed with a pastor named Latif and his wife, Flora. Their grandchildren, Klea (4) and Alvi (6) were staying with them for the week and we played with them a lot, too!
We ran Vacation Bible School (VBS) for the children in the village. After every session the children would wait outside of our house for piggyback rides or to go on runs with us. They enjoyed their time with us and vice versa. We were sad to leave Latif and the community behind after one week.
We met in a house under construction and played games in the backyard.
For our second and third week, we headed to the capital, Tirana. The Balkan mountains surround the city. The contrast of city and mountain is beautiful and shows you how big the mountains really are.
We ran VBS at a church in a village about 40 minutes outside of the city. The drive to and from the village put me in awe every time. We worked with Albanian children that were a little older and mature than the ones from the previous week. They were so lovable! It was a great week with them.
Misa and her friends gave us all flowers on the second day of VBS!
Kamila was part of my preteen entourage for the week
Our last week in Albania, we were told we would be working with another Roma community doing VBS in Tirana. However, this week was much more laid back than we expected. We went to the beach the first two days with the youth. Since many in the Roma community live in poverty, they often can’t afford to go to the beach. The organization that we were partnered with, every summer rents a bus to take the community to the beach. We got to play with the kids in the Adriatic Sea. They all had a blast. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves as well.
The third day we spent time talking with the women of the community at the church/community center. It was a time of sharing stories, testimonies and seeing that even from different parts of the world, we have similar struggles. Our aim was to encourage these women. For our team, it was one of our favorite days this month.
Our last day we met with the Roma children at the same community center and played some games and told the Gospel message through a couple crafts. They were also very rowdy but because of our previous experience with Roma children, we were able to hand the situation pretty well. I guess you could call us children ministry experts now!
Our adventure days included hiking Mount Dajti, visiting the popular beach city, Vlore, and exploring an ancient ruined Greek city called Apollonia!
Our last excursion was a weekend trip to the neighboring country of Montenegro! It was surprising how many times the Montenegrin people were shocked to hear we had just come from Albania. They asked us what it was like and how the people were. We were very confused why they had these reactions. We reassured them that it was a lovely country with lovely people!
We leave tomorrow for Macedonia where we’ll have month 6 debrief and start ATL (Ask the Lord ministry) for month 7!
