Our time in Albania has come to a close as we have made it to our third and final continent, Africa! As I reflect on our time in Albania I see it as a time of renewal. As we were headed into Albania it marked exactly six months of being on the Race. We had just come off a pretty tough month and we’re definitely experiencing Race fatigue, when some of the excitement starts to fade as the reality of the perseverance and stamina needed to complete this 11 month journey begins to set in. But for me there was something renewing and refreshing about our time in Albania. Maybe it was living by the sea or the flexibility that ATL provided to create opportunities for rest and recovery. But whatever the reasons, I feel like I gained fresh motivation, fresh strength, and fresh faith over those 6 weeks. As a result I feel ready to head into this final stretch of the Race and am eager to step into what the Lord has for us in these last months.
As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, one of the focuses on our team for Albania was to step into deeper healing with the Lord. It was really sweet to create spaces where we could pray, encourage, and seek the Lord for and with each other. There were a lot of things that the Lord brought up during this time that He wanted to process through and as a result give me new perspective, new freedom, and new ways of thinking.
In Durrës we had the amazing privilege of partnering with Grace Life church. They are a small church plant from South Africa and it was such a divine connection. Our time with them was such a win-win as they really poured into and invested in us and we were able to provide more hands to do ministry that they may not have been able to do with less people. One of these things was “church in the park”. Something I didn’t know going into Albania was that it is a majority Muslim country and even though many people would not consider themselves devout Muslims, there is still a big Islamic influence in the Albanian culture. Because of this, many people feel like they cannot come to church because their family is Muslim or they were raised Muslim. Therefore the team at GraceLife had the idea to bring church to them. Another thing I found out about Albanian culture is that it is very communal and relationship oriented. It is common for Albanian families to go out to their local park or neighborhood meeting space to spend time out in the community every night. Therefore church in the park was the perfect way to connect with the neighborhood that GraceLife church is in. Church in the park ended up looking like worshiping, doing kids activities, and just talking and making connections with people. It was such a simple thing and showed me that you don’t have to do anything big to not only tell people that they are loved but to also show them how loved they are. This ministry was so exciting for us to be a part of because GraceLife had never tried something like this before. We were all just showing up and trusting that God would meet us there and He surely did! It was beautiful to be a part of the new thing that God was doing in and through our friends in Albania.
It’s crazy to think that we are already in month 8 now. Even though time is winding down I am still very expectant for how God is going to move in our last two countries. Can’t wait to share about what He has been doing here in Africa. Stay tuned!
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19
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YESSSSSS 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼