This is part 1 of an 11 post series dedicated to each country we are going to for the World Race. In my last post I wrote about how excited I am, and I’m looking to sustain my excitement with some head-knowledge and intentional prayer. The 11 countries we’re heading to (leaving in July!) are Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana, India, Nepal, China and Mongolia.
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Albanian Flag |
Albania is a small eastern European country of approximately 3 million people; Tirana is the capital city. Mother Teresa was born here, and Paul visited here in his missionary travels (Romans 15:19). Albania is right next to Greece and Macedonia, and just a hop across the Adriatic Sea from Italy.
Albania was under independent Soviet communism from 1944 to 1991, claiming to be the first atheist state in the world in 1967. It is one of the poorest and youngest countries in Europe, heavily supported by money sent home from Albanians abroad (over half of all Albanians live outside Albania). Today Albania is roughly 70% Muslim, 20% Orthodox and 10% Roman Catholic. In the 15 years since religious freedom was declared for Albania, religious groups vying for influence send out many kinds of religious literature.
Past World Race teams in Albania have gone visiting and sharing in prisons and helped put on summer camps for kids (partnering with World Vision). I’m praying that through relationship our actions would speak louder than the words on paper that many Albanians have already seen. Pray with me that the young people of Albania would be radically changed by God’s perfect Gospel in Jesus, and that they would be empowered to lead their country towards a legacy of justice and freedom.
“Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right.” 2 Chronicles 34:1-2
Note: The majority of my info for this series is coming from the book Operation World (2004), the World Race website, and blogs of past racers.
