Home Sweet Home

On Saturday as I walked through the city with a friend, we passed a little ice cream shop and saw an enormous hairy creature inside the door. It had a leash around its neck with a man standing beside it, probably ordering his ice cream. Then, its head turned – wait, what?! Yes, it was alive. It was a huge brown bear, sitting on its haunches in front of the ice cream counter. That’s not something you see every day. Unfortunately I did not have my camera handy and have no official proof, but apparently this man and his pet are a summertime fixture at the beach. You can ask most anyone in Durres if you don’t believe me! I imagine that he probably makes quite a bit of money by charging tourists a few dollars to get a picture with his giant brown bear. I’m pretty bummed that I don’t have a picture with him myself.

My time in Albania is now over, and I’m back in America again! I said all my goodbyes to the teens on Friday night, to the Bishops on Saturday night, and to my host family Sunday morning. I had printed a large photo of the family and me and put it in a picture frame. I presented it to the family on Sunday morning, and when I did, Arti, the father, fought back tears. Arti’s response moved me… he is a man toughened by a childhood in a closed Communist country, about 35 years of hard work, most of that lived out in a village. But in him I saw a heart softened by God. The family seemed very reluctant to let me go, Mariana especially. I felt like I was breaking her heart by leaving her household. A few nights ago she came into my room and just held me for a while, telling me over and over how much she was going to miss me and that she didn’t want me to leave. Later as I reflected on it, I realized that what she had been holding onto was not really me, but it was Jesus in me. Incarnational ministry like what the Bishops are doing is about taking Jesus into a community and living among the people. That’s what Jesus did, and every single one of us can make a difference in the lives of those with whom we interact on a daily basis. If we have Jesus in us, we have something beautiful that others can see in us. Arti and Mariana now own a Bible for the first time, and I’m praying that the seeds which were planted during my stay will be watered and that others will come into their lives to further bring them to Christ.

My time in Albania is quickly running short! There are so many things I still want to do and people I still want to see, but I suppose I could stay here for the rest of my life and pretty much feel the same way. I’ve begun mentally preparing for re-entry into my home culture. Returning from the field is hard for most people. I began reading a book about how to handle it, and Ken and Dawn are helping me know what to expect. So far, what I predict to be the most difficult point of adjustment is the feeling of purpose I have had throughout my stay here. The goal of my job seems simple – work as a development practitioner to meet physical needs within the community while developing relationships that open opportunities to share the gospel. Because the ministry field is so fresh

At the moment, I’m thinking about how my back and shoulders feel pretty rough and warm from being in the sun a bit too long today. They look ripe. It would probably help me feel cooler if I would be more careful about getting burnt. It’s just too much to remember! I can’t complain too much, though, because Stephen Bishop got a terrible burn on his face from being at the pool all day for his friend’s birthday. It’s blistered and requires a constant application of cream to help it heal. Then there’s Josh, who sprained his wrist yesterday during youth night (after breaking the opposite one a month ago). That family constantly has something going wrong! It’s a miracle if they can get through one week without going to the doctor or needing some sort of medical treatment, but they find plenty other stuff to be joyful about.

Week Six

It is the beginning of week six! What an amazing week we had last week. The teens said over and over how much they enjoyed it and hated that the week had to end. This was the first time many of these teens had heard the truth of the gospel. Some were curious about it, many came for the social benefits of being there, and two of the boys accepted Christ! It was an energetic, encouraging week for the teens, especially for the two new Christians, but now discipleship is a must.  The long-term team plans to continue meeting with the teens on Friday nights for worship, Bible study, and fellowship so that they can continue learning about scripture and have a positive place to hang out on the weekend.

In addition to the new Christians, it was also very exciting on Thursday evening when the team did cardboard testimonies. (If you’ve never heard of it, you can look it up on YouTube; it’s a powerful way of depicting how God changes individuals by putting their stories into a short phrase.) About five of the teens were already Christians, and we asked them if they would like to participate with us in the cardboard testimony presentation. They wholeheartedly agreed to stand in front of their non-Christian peers and publicly declare how God had changed them! What an awesome step for these five teens, to make a public declaration of faith for the first time. God is definitely moving among these young people, and I can’t stand the thought of leaving them in two weeks and no longer being able to watch it!!

Coming Back, Full-Circle

Two days of English camp have come and gone. The week has been significantly different than the previous four weeks in pace and tasks, and in many ways it’s like I’m back at the beginning, arriving here for the first time. The team from the States is eight people, including Danika and myself. We spend mornings planning for classes and activities. Then camp lasts from 2 p.m. to about 8 p.m. We do English classes, games, crafts, and a closing rally with worship, some drama, and a message. Yesterday our team learned a powerful drama about Satan’s attempts to control our lives and performed it during the evening rally. It matched well with the message about how we “miss the mark” of God’s plan for us due to sin. Several of these teens have been exposed to the gospel, but very few are Christians. David, our short-term team leader, spoke for a long time with one of the older teen boys called Mosi, who says he believes in God and really wants to know the truth. It’s so exciting to see God working in teens’ hearts! We are hoping and praying to continue seeing the Holy Spirit move in them this week.

Advanced English class

It rained yesterday morning and night and cooled things off quite a bit. This is the third time I’ve seen rain here, which is highly unusual for this time of year when it’s normally very hot. However, it made for a very pleasant day outside with the youth yesterday. We are extremely thankful for any relief from the heated summer afternoons.

Thoughts and Other Things

It’s been a very busy week! I spent very little time at the office this week. On Wednesday I went to Tirana with Ken to meet with an organization called Save the Children. Throughout my interviews with schools, I discovered that they have done a significant amount of work in Albania to improve the well-being of children. Since we are searching for partners to help out in the Kënet, we really wanted to discover what type of work they do. We had a very helpful meeting with two of their program coordinators. Save the Children has a good relationship with the national education department and the municipalities in which they work, including Durrës. Save the Children works with one of the schools I interviewed to train staff and students on dealing with violence against children. 

Ethnic tension between northern Albanians and southern Albanians is a big problem. It prevents cooperation within the community of the Kënet, making infrastructural, economic, and social development even more difficult. This problem is heavy upon Dawn’s heart, because she has friends from both groups who refuse to be in the same house with one another. Conflict like that seems to be an insurmountable problem, and most everyone in Albania seems to believe it can’t ever change. That’s hopelessness – to have nothing to hold on to for a better future, believing nothing can change. As I’ve observed this sense of hopelessness, it makes me realize how powerful Christ is and how blessed I am to have him. In a sense, the people are right – they can’t change. BUT with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27). Such truths from the scriptures are coming alive for me, as I observe the hopelessness that exists, and indeed it stretches the faith of even the most committed Christians here.

The superstitious beliefs and lack of morality throughout Albania in many cases are one of the sources of their poverty, particularly among those from the villages. For example, I met a 19-year-old girl last week who use to live in a village. She had worts covering one of her hands. When she was a child, she was told that counting stars would cause breakouts of worts; this was a common belief among the people of her village, so she has accepted it as her fate and never received treatment. She believes it is her fault and that it can’t be changed. I was quick to judge her for being naïve, but the Holy Spirit quickly reminded me of the plank in my eye. I am challenged by this thought – how many times have I fatalistically accepted things in my own life that I don’t believe can change? How many times have I thought, “That person can’t possibly change. He or she is too far-gone for God to be able to do anything good with them him/her”? Hopelessness creeps into my own life in subtle ways. Do I believe that God is who He says He is? Do I believe that all things are possible with God? There are still many facets of my life where He is challenging me to believe Him. I thank God for grace and the fact that sanctification is a process, because if it were supposed to happen all at once, there would be no point in me even trying.

The Global Partners team from America are on their way here! They will be here all next week putting on an English camp for teens here at the mission center. I just finished a good clean on the second floor. Knowing people are coming to use the facility was a good excuse to clean everything, which I’ve been wanting to do for a while anyway, because it’s terribly dusty. Since all the roads except the one immediately in front of us are not paved and because it hardly ever rains in the summer, everything gets very, very dusty. Albanians seem to be much better at cleaning, and they do it often. We haven’t mastered that skill quite yet.