First Day in Albania

     So, for the ministry this month in Albania it is a little different than in Romania. It is called ATL or Ask the Lord. This is the squad’s opportunity to pray everyday and ask the Lord what we should do for ministry. It is a unique experience that shows us all how important it is to rely entirely on the Lord for everything. Without a ministry partner directing us and our ministry we are focussing more on listening to where the Lord is directing us. 

(The beachfront view just down the street from our apartment)

     This month we were only with our teams. My team is made up of 5 strong women (including myself) Kaitlynn L, Tiffany, Kaitlynn H, and Renee. We had to pray as a team and listen to what city the Lord had instore for us with our remaining time in this country. We ended up in the city of Vlora. It is a beach city that attracts a lot of European tourists. It is also a city that was the epicentre of the Albanian civil war just a few decades earlier. Now, it is flourishing and is attracting people from all over the world. 

     The day my team and I arrived in Vlora, we could already see how the Lord was moving. We woke up before the crack of dawn and loaded up our backpacks and walked to the bus station to catch our first bus. We managed to get there on time and got onto a van headed to a city named Berat. Once we got to Berat we stopped for a bathroom break and then got onto to our second van ride to the city of Vlora. Once we arrived in Vlora our next hurdle was finding enough taxis to get all five of us plus our large bags to our Airbnb. However, we were blessed by the driver of our van who offered to drive us directly to where we needed. After being very patient and talking with our Airbnb host on the phone our lovely van driver dropped us off just down the street at a local restaurant. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and were later greeted by our Airbnb host Lucas. Lucas gave us a tour of the apartment and handed over the keys. He also offered to take us on a tour of the city that very evening. 

(The view of the city from atop of a hill)

     Later that evening Lucas picked us up in his car with his cute puppy and the 5 of us piled in his car (literally) and we headed off. He drove us throughout the city and told us a brief history of this city we are calling home. Throughout the night we got to know more about his background. He is a loosely practicing muslim and he expressed that he hadn’t had the best experiences with Christians in the past. We got to talk with him and apologize for those experiences. He told us that he respected our beliefs and that he appreciated how much respect we were showing him. We also had the amazing opportunity to explain why we were in Albania to begin with. We told him our mission and vision for Vlora and how we simply wanted to show the love of Jesus. 

Photo taken by: Kaitlynn Little

(My team and I piled into our Airbnb host’s car)

     Later that night Lucas told us all about the village his parents come from. It is a village an hour outside of Vlora and is widely known for the olive tree groves there. These olive trees need to be harvested every year and there is a shortage of people willing to be those harvesters. Unfortunately, the harvesting time was after we were meant to leave Albania but he did offer us to spend some time in this village. 

Photo taken by: Renee DePhillips

(My team and our Airbnb host after our tour of the city)

     My team and I were blown away by this man’s generosity. He not only took 3 hours out of his day to take us on a tour of the city but, we also found out that he was working on his master’s thesis. He wants to become a judge and he continued to answer our questions of not only the city but questions about him and his family. The Lord clearly pointed us towards this man and this village. There is more to come about our time in the village I promise! I can’t wait to tell you more stories about my time in Albania! 

*Name changed for privacy