It’s a European country to the Northwest of Greece, just across the Adriatic from Italy. Albania was the first nation to be declared an Atheist state (besides the Soviet Union, debatably), though it no longer is one.
Where and What
The four of us on team RICO (Rooted in Christ Only/Obviously), plus two squad leaders who recently left town for a week of training, have now lived in Korçä, Albania for over a month. We are serving at the Korçä Student Center. At the Center, we help operate and maintain a café, build relationships with and witness to the people who spend time there, and aid in planning, promoting, and hosting programs. The programs include Bible studies, game nights, karaoke, art night, and more! Occasionally we have also helped local churches with services they provide, such as a soup kitchen, children’s ministry, village outreach, and a communion service. We love our hosts (Natalie and Freeman), the people of Korçä, and the mountains that completely surround the city!
My favorite things I’ve done for the ministry here include co-leading a public discussion on reconciliation, hosting a role playing game (with a turnout of twice as many players as the game is designed for), teaching board games to our guests, and running the café by myself while everyone else was busy with other forms of ministry.
For those who aren’t too familiar with Adventures in Missions, here’s an important paragraph about how this whole thing works… We’re traveling the world so that we can help longterm missionaries be more effective at the good work they are doing—to help them not grow weary in doing good (vis a vis Galatians 6:9, 2 Thessalonians 3:13). With that in mind, some of the most important work we’re doing in Albania is helping our hosts close the Center in the evenings so they can have a little bit more evening time and sleep on a regular basis. They will be here in this country pouring into the relationships they are building (and the ones we are building) long after we are gone, so it is important that we use the time we have with them to help them stay healthy and effective at their valuable work.
What is it really like out there?
Albania is gorgeous! Every time we go out for an adventure day, the scenery is incredibly beautiful at not only our destination, but every minute of the journey. There are so many mountains, and the occasional lake. The streets of Korçä are cobblestone, and the buildings typically have tile roofs and non-wooden structures. We’re in perhaps the coldest city this country offers, and we had a couple of January snowfalls.
Speaking of the cold and snow, I often stay bundled up while inside our apartment, like many Albanians who have a need to save as much on heating costs as they can. Some people in the city are without work or homes, and we’ve helped a local church serve them hot lunches. As for other material needs, the wages are generally quite low here, and it is said that more than half of Albanians desire to move out of their beautiful home country. The locals seem generally to be socially and emotionally healthy here, though; the culture is very human centered, not profit or image focused. Also, the food doesn’t really have preservatives or taste manipulating chemicals, which I’ve recently learned can have a big impact on focus and mental health. (I joined a book club here and we’re reading Stolen Focus.) Spiritually, Albania seems quite young. It was only a few decades ago, after a communist era, that the borders opened and religion was allowed again. Because of this, the Albanian people seem to not put a lot of emphasis on the religious identities of their peers.
Albanians show interest in meeting Americans, and much of the city’s youth and young adults know English. The people are kind and like to spend time out with their friends, so we have been able to really get to know and befriend some of the regulars at the Center.
Feel encouraged to comment questions asking what it is like if you want to learn more!
What am I spending on?
For financial accountability to donors who contributed personal spending money, and so you can all delight with me in the adventures I’m enjoying in the field, here’s everything I’ve paid for with donated personal money since my Christmas blog:
$85.87: train and bus tickets to/in Braşov, Romania for a New Year’s Day adventure, including a lift ride up the mountainside and two meals out
$28: two chocolates in Greece and a month long gym membership
500 Lekë, or $5.19: a very fun and affordable ski trip
400 Lekë, or $4.15: a unicorn onesie I wore while skiing, because I thought it would be fun for my next Survivor audition tape, which then became a gift to a friend for her birthday
1350 Lekë, or $14.01: a day out with my Albanian friend Dario; Korçä observation tower, museum of education, Gjon Mili photography museum, medieval art museum, two crêpes
Everything else (lodging, airfare, local transport, 3 meals a day, professional mentorship, etc.) is covered by the donations you all made before launch. Thank you so much!
What’s Next?
On Friday we’ll go to Tirana, the capital of Albania, to meet up with the three other World Race teams, and to say goodbye to the threes squad leaders who have been with us since training camp and are now returning to the US. After that, our team of four will be participating in “Ask the Lord” ministry for two weeks. We don’t know where we will be going, what our ministry will look like, or where we’ll sleep at night, but we trust the Lord will tell us what to do and will provide!
Questions and comments are always appreciated, and they help me know you have read this or are praying for me. If there is anything you want to know, please ask so I have the opportunity to share more!
