Hello Everyone
Hello and welcome to my week 3 and 4 in Albania!
Life Update
I have been good healthwise but I had been feeling kinda weird in the mental and emotional range of things, in week 3, and it had made me a little grumpy/irritable overall and obviously, that wasn’t my favorite thing to be, so I spent time looking into it. I think I have figured out what it was, which is very nice because now I have things to work with, and towards with healing and finding solutions. Besides that, I have been having a great time in the ministry here and with my team. The weather has been lovely overall too which is a big blessing and my team is very sweet people as usual.
What’s God doing in Albania?
Week 3
Wednesday I did the usual morning routine of getting up, dressed/ready, and eating breakfast. Then we went about being tourists and shopped for groceries and other needs. We did lunch and cleaned up, then Alecia came over to do the Engage course with us. We did the next two chapters where we went over the contrasts between Christianity and Islam and How women are viewed in Islamic culture. In chapter 5 we talked about: How they believe everyone is born Muslim, turning away is considered bad, and also you can become Muslim by saying a phrase with no belief behind it at all (If you read a paper with it on or was explaning it to someone and said it, that counts) when and Christianity is a choice and you have to believe or it doesn’t count, How they see man as a slave to a God who is unknowable and can change the rules at any time, vs Christians having a relationship with a loving and reliable God and being His children, They believe man is born good and then his choices can save him or condem him, vs Christianity saying we are born sinners in need of a savior, They believe Jesus was just a prophet and didn’t die and rise again, vs Christianity knowing Jesus is God and he did die and get raised to save us, Their 5 pillars of the Shahada (the phrase that saying in any compacity will make you Muslim), Salat (their mandatory pray times), Sawm (there mandatory fasting such as seen in Ramadan), Zakat (their version of tithing or giving alms to any Muslim cause), and Hajj (which is the trip to Mecca). Then in chapter 6 I got a little mad because this one was about women’s treatment. We talked about: Women being the backbone of Muslims culture by teaching it to their children and upholding it in their families and lives, They can have jobs and be educated but should still be married and raise kids and being unmarried is seen as temporary or shameful, from their sacred writing and founders lifestyle we can see that although women in the culture can be treated well that is not what was promoted as in Islam women are born inferior to men, Mohammed prescribed that women need to be disciplined because of their moral inferiority, sometimes including beatings (Surah 4:34), Women cause men to sin, especially sexual sin, Men are to protect and provide for women, and women are to be obedient, please their husbands, and be grateful, and as for eternity Women get into heaven by being obedient, grateful, and pleasing their husbands (Hadith, Sahih Bukhari volume 1, #304), in heaven, a woman has good health, eternal life, remains young, will never be destitute, and will still be married to her husband and wait on him forever, in heaven, a woman’s identity is still dependent upon her sexuality as a wife, her eternal life is to eternally please her husband, Men’s rewards in heaven are rivers of wine, many virgins for their sexual pleasure, many wives, people waiting on them, fruit, palaces, etc, The majority of the people in hell are women, due to their intellectual and religious
inferiority (Hadith, Sahih Bukhari volume 1, book 6, #301), as for marriages there is permitted abuse as wives are a place of “plowing” for you (Surah 2:223), Men need not offer sexual intimacy to wives but can demand it at any time, Disciplining wives sometimes calls for beating, Marriages are mostly arranged by the family with distant family members, Marrying girls as young as nine years old is permitted but not prevalent, Muslim men are permitted four wives, or more if you can provide for them, Temporary marriages (mut’ah marriages) are allowed for men, Although Islamic law varies, the husband can easily divorce his wife, and women must be provided for financially by their husband. At best the headcoverings are a symbol of devotion and modesty and at worst they are seen as necessary not only to protect women, but also to protect men because women are seen as sexual temptations of Satan to seduce Muslim men from their devotion and duty encouraging them to should stay out of sight. We also talked about the barriers we have to reaching Muslim women and the fact that the truth and reality of Christianity is such good news for them as they are actually valued equals. Then we ate dinner and went on call with a guy called pastor H and his friend F who used to be Muslims and they shared, gave tips and answered questions. Then it was time for feedback and team time and after, we went to bed.
Thursday I did the usual morning routine then me and Kiley went to meet up with S to go thrift shopping! It was so fun and we went to a bridal shop and has S try on dresses before deciding to chill at a café. It was a very fun morning and we planned to hang out again on Tuesday. We grabbed a cheap and yummy lunch (I had a 4 cheese pizza) then stopped at a Crepe shop for dessert before meeting up with Emily, Libby and B from church. We all hung out till sunset then we parted ways. We walked home, did feedback and teamtime and then went to bed.
Friday had the usual morning routine then walked over to Alecias for Silence Breakers. Session one was about overcoming the lies that come with thinking about the “What ifs”. We talked about: An eternal perspective being the remedy for the worry, Us having the mind of Christ, us being seated together in heavenly places with Jesus Christ, US surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, pleasing God and not people, We don’t need someone to be “highlighted” for us to speak to them and there being no condemnation in Christ. Then Emily, Vitas and me went out and shared the 3 circles with people. I had a cool thing happen after sharing with a nervous girl who was waiting to meet up with a friend. After I showed her the diagram, her friend showed up and without prompting she shared the diagram with her friend, who I learned was a catholic. The next session was about Everyone being equipped to share the Gospel. We talked about: How Christ in us can change someone’s eternal destiny because He is the way, truth and life, We have been anointed and Holy Spirit will show you what to say and we get these through God’s grace, Being strong and courageous to share the Gospel unashamed and we did a 15 second testimony. Then me and Libby went out and shared the 3 circles with the lady who own the pet shop. We all ate lunch together then we did some shopping before heading home for dinner, feedback, teamtime and going to bed.
Saturday was School of Believers with Carol and we talked about: What is keeping us from sharing the gospel, Our first and foremost identity being a child of God, If we love God more than reputation and if we love the things in our life more than we love the people of the world, spiritual conversations are normal, being motivated by love, starting conversations, offering prayer, encouraging in Christ, and sharing the Gospel. We had eaten halfway through and afterwards we had our weekly meeting with Alecia to plan, this time to plan for a game nightand a Valentine’s day event. We brained stormed and came up with a few ideas. Then we all went to the youth group again after. We did the usual with them, went home made and ate dinner and went to bed.
Sunday was church in the morning and so we walked to church, had our prayer time before church, then we had worship with Vitas and the message was by Alecia and it was a really really good one. It was about: Prayer is relationship but it is more than relationship, things happen when we pray because we put our focus and faith on God and He releases His power, authority and Grace, What we believe determines everything, Opening your ears and heart, letting God lead you, being born again of water and Spirit, how we can relate to God spirit to spirit, We are NEW creations, You get eternal life through the spirit, It’s God’s spirit that makes you a new creation and He seals you and covers you, how all Believers have the Fullness of God, became complete and passed from death to life, to pray “Give me a revelation of the power that is in me”, how we are one spirit with God when we believe and He has not withheld anything from you. I loved it. After we had church lunch and chatted. I helped watch the kids with Vitas. After church some people shopped and some went home. I took a VERY needed nap. Our dinner out was canceled so we made dinner on our own and Kiley made Gnocchi. For team time we did feedback then I had us do a journaling time where we talked to God about our identity and asked Him questions then wrote what he said. Then it was off to bed.
Monday was Adventure day we left 8:30 to catch the earliest bus to Plepa so we could go to Valorë. It took 3 buses and about 2 hours to get there. We walked around, found a place to eat lunch, looked at a cool old street then went to the beach by bus. It was to cold to swim so we collected rocks and dipped our feet in the Ionian sea. Then we took the bus back to the city part and found a bus back to Durrës, but it dropped us on the outskirts of the city in the middle of the night. God sent us a bus that went right by our house so we we able to get home. We purchased the worst pizza I have ever had for dinner then Me, Kelsey and Kiley watched 1 movie and me and Kiley watched another before going to bed.
Tuesday was Sabbath and I slept in, took a nice shower with Christian music playing then made French toast with fresh fruit, and shared it. It was my best friends birthday so I made a post for her, then ate leftovers for dinner and played on my phone and journaled before bed.
Week 4
Wednesday was a normal morning then my team went to play a strange game with a church member and I went to the beach to be a tourist and see who I could talk to. I stopped at a dessert shop and got the best dessert of my life and then sat at a local coffee shop on the beach called Sophie’s and ordered a Strawberry lemonade which was also delicious. I sat, journaled, did homework and blogged till lunch. As I was about to leave an little beggar girl asked for my drink it was just melted ice water at that point, but I let her have it and helped her reach it, then I gave her the lemon slice she asked for from it and she happily ran off. Then I met up with my team for lunch and we ate pizza and sandwiches while we talked about our mornings. They were able to bless that member greatly by going but if I am honest I am very glad I did not go. Then we walked home. We met up with Alecia for Engage and read through chapter 7. We talked about: How Jesus wanted us to follow His example and make disciples, He focused lots of energy on 3, most on 12 and some on the rest, then sent out the 3/12 to do the same, we will be persecuted, Jesus is counter-cultural so we should be too, being bold, Jesus training His disciples, if you want to reach a people group then go where that people group actually is (not country focused), give money to the global church, Love as Jesus loved/be right in the moment with the people where they are at, Holy Spirit in us knows what to say we just have to step out, Jesus is building His church through the obedience of Christians, we continue His ministry on earth. We then made and ate dinner, had feedback and then went to bed.
Thursday was a normal morning. Then me Kiley and Emily met up with a girl from the youth group I know to go on a hike up the highest peak in the local area of Durrës. It was soooo beautiful and very fun. We stopped and explored old communist bunkers before walking back. We stopped at the dessert shop for me to get that dessert again and we met up with her parents by our house. They gave us lots of sweet treats to try and thanked us for going with their daughter. It was a blessing both ways. We made and ate lunch then hung out together till dinner (as far as I can remember lol) then the typical dinner, teamtime, feedback, bed.
Friday was a normal morning, then we went to Alecias to meet up with Vitas for Silence Breakers as usual. For the first video #7 we talked about: How a “person of peace” is someone who recieve the messenger, message and mission (ie Zachius from Luke 19), how sharing is not about performance, how we need to walk in our identity, that even with tainted motives doing good can bless people, how like Jonah you don’t need overwhelming love to step out, and we are all called to go so unless God specifically said not to, then you should. Then we went out and shared. And I went solo and stopped a pair of girls to ask them the question from those videos “If you died tonight, fo you think you would go to heaven or hell?” And the girl said she was a Christian but also said probably hell because of her bad deeds in her life and it was very odd to me to see how prevent works based Islamic world view has even affected “Christians” here, so I reassured her that if Jesus is lord of your life then eternal life in heaven with Him awaits you. I stopped one other girl at a bus stop and asked and she said she did not know because she has done good and bad. But this girl wanted to talk further, so we chatted a bit before exchanging numbers and going our separate ways. I was very happy to have made another connection. Then we went back for session 8 where we talked about: evangelism being an organic and normal part of Christian life and how fear, shame and pride lie to us and stop us from talking, how abiding with Jesus and having Him centered in your life makes Him the center of your stories too, how we can use our gifts, skills and resources to help reach people and bring them to the love of Jesus. Then me Vitas and Kelsey went out and bout coffee for construction workers, and coca cola for strangers to give of our resources to bless people and make connections. No new connections were made but many people were blessed. We ate pizza for lunch then walked home. Then we had free time till dinner. Then we did dinner, teamtime and feedback before bed.
Saturday was typical again, then we went to Alecias to meet up with Carol for School of Believers. We learned about: God changing hearts and minds, being led by love, spending time with Jesus before sharing and asking for guidance and direction, being ready for every opportunity, the mission is right where you are, and what’s important when sharing our faith with Muslims. There also was a section where a lady gave her testimony about going and living in Nepal on mission and I took notes because we are going there. Then it was our weekly meeting with Alecia and we picked out 4 games and wrote both a schedule and shopping list for it, so we would be ready for the games the next day. After we all went to see a Basketball game of one of the members of our church and it was really cool. I have not ever attended one before, so I didn’t know what to expect, but it was good. Afterwards we ate dinner, did team time and feedback and went to bed.
Sunday was a normal moring and walk to church. Our team did the kids worship song and Kiley played the Ukulele and Kelsey did they hand motions while they both sang the “Our God is an Awesome God” song. They did really good. Then we had our worship, and the message was about “Building the house” and she talked about: Psalms 121:1 and Matthew 16:18, Jesus Builds the Church, We just come, building a local family, God’s house is a house of prayer, it is us, Christians are a permanent dwelling place for God, God built His house through Jesus’ death burial and resurrection, We are collectively the house, We bring people to God, Ephesians 4:11 with leaders helping lead people to maturity, God’s will for all to be saved, Our part being to draw in the lost, then they meet the Shepard and we help to guide them in righteousness, chasing and following after truth, building a house but better building the family, eople should be able to see my faith, We should always be building relationships and community, growing together as a family around the word to go into the world, discipleship, Identity with God neededing to be established first. Then it was time for our game day. No extra people came but the members had fun. I watched the kids for the first half hour and did not enjoy the dynamic between them all and their strong, unique personalities, so I was very happy for lunch and switching to games for the last half hour. It was fun and we played spoons together. Our team lost lol. Then we went home to rest before heading to Alecias to help with dinner, eat, and do a movie night. There were lots of delicious foods and treats and the movie was good. The movie counted as team time for that day, so we did feedback and went to bed once we were back.
Me trying Borek
Monday was our adventure day and we were very excited because Alecia was going to drive us to a beautiful place. We got to her house and 9, got in the car with the kids and drove for about 2 hours to Boville lake. We drove up to a restaurant to park but ate lunch on the grass out a ways. The kids were hyped and so were we. We paid the $1 fee to access the stairs and walked up to the most beautiful place I had seen in months. We climbed around and took pictures of us with the views. We were there for hours and it was very lovely. Then we took the stairs down, got in the car and drove back. We said a big thank you and a goodbye and went home, stopping for pizza for dinner. It was the best adventure since zip lining for sure. We watched a movie together then went to bed.
Tuesday was Sabbath but I was struggling to because I was afraid to hear what future God was going to ask of me because if He says something, I will do it even if I didn’t like it, but I want to like it, but there is no guarantee. So I spend my day talking to Him but truthfully not listening. I drew in the morning, shopped in the afternoon and watched a movie in the evening and all the while wrestled with my feelings.
Fundraising Update
I am still fully funded lol. I am thankful for any extra people donate as I am getting to the halfway point on the trip and having to replenish the things I brought initially, such as new tooth brush, tooth paste, deodorant, etc. If you want to give to help me replenish my supplies you can give via Venmo. My Venmo is @AnahbelleGregg
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Spiritual Update
Week 3 thoughts: I have been a little bit off feeling lately and it’s probably because I am not processing the things that are stressing me out, with Jesus. I talk to Him and tell Him about it but don’t let Him say anything back. Also, emotional healing feels like it has too much time is needed so I feel I don’t have time to deal with it, and it makes me not want to start. I have to face the grief of the life I lived and all the ones I haven’t at some point and what better time to do it then now and with it in Jesus’ hands.
Week 4 thoughts: I was a little mad that my prophetic word, someone gave me for this time, was “bloom” because in my mind, blooming is the easy, beautiful part where everything turns out great. But as I watch time lapse videos of flowers blooming, I finally understand why “bloom” was my word. I watch as the flower unfolds, bends, spreads, streaches, opens and unviels in a synchronicity that allows all parts to end in their perfect positions. The plant gives a lot of energy to move all the petals in just the right order and line them up in just the right way so that the flower can do what it was created to do. Blooming is hard work. It’s about opening up, moving things around and changing everything to live your purpose. I thought it was going to be easy and had been getting mad about all the emotional work I was putting in, because it felt like too much for something “easy”, until I realized that its still growth and change requires work. It is hard and it is beautiful but it is exhausting, so I will take a lesson from the flowers and move slowly.
Flower blooming video (youtube)
Prayers
Pray God helps me to sort through and heal all the internal stuggles im working on.
Pray for our ministry here, for us to meet open hearted people who want to learn about Jesus and for the boldness to share when the time comes, and that the ones we have met are open to the gospel and it changes their lives.
Pray specifically for the two girls I have been meeting up with, that the gospel becomes real to them, that God reveals himself to them, and they experience the love of Jesus through me. Also pray I am able to pass them off well to the people at the church here, so the can stay connected to local Christians too.
Pray for our church here to reach people for Christ long after we are gone.
Pray for health for people on our squad in different locations.
I pray for each of you to have revelations of the immeasurable gift that God is/could be for you through Jesus Christ and then that you live it out.
Answered Prayers
Me and my team specifically are healthy and well, so thank you for your prayers!
Thank you
Thank you for your support as I am nearing the halfway mark. It is moving so fast and I have cherished the time behind me while looking forward to what God has for me now and in the future. I couldn’t have don’t it without you all and I am happy to have you all join with me in reaching the world for Jesus. You gave given me a great gift, so I pray that these updates bless you.
