We arrived just before tea time on Friday evening and without any sleep we got stuck straight into evangelising. Our group separated and us 4 interns went to the university slumbs while the others went onto the streets. It was incredible. There are 12 buildings of flats at the uni with 10 of those taken over by the poor and 2 buildings used for students. The conditions they live in are awful. Maybe 5-7 people per room and a whole flat sharing one toilet and one shower. I was extremely blessed as to how they just welcomed us into their home to have a wee chat. We shared our stories and prayed with them. You have to see the conditions to believe it, it's horrible.
On Saturday we ventured to the beach. It was fun!! Got quite burnt! Valerie, Laura, Drew and I hired a wee pedal boat and floated out to sea. It was a nice relaxing day. That evening we had a ladies meeting in the house. Gerry spoke which was great..JPG)
Sunday we went to the museum to learn the history of Albania. It's quite the story. I had no idea about the stuff that went on and how up until 10 years ago they were locked in the country. 
After that we went to the church for the service at 3am. It was really good. Laura, Drew and I performed a wee song but it was hard to compete with the singers there, they are amazing.
Monday was probably the day that impacted me the most. We went to visit some homes and go to the Gypsy camp. One of the houses we went to was two rooms. One a kitchen which had no windows or lights so you couldn't see anything and the other a room you sleep in, this room slept 6 people, 4 cows and a few hens. We couldn't believe that people actually live in these conditions. We gave them food and clothes, most of which were from hope. I don't think you realise the benefit of giving to charity shops until you actually are there seeing the clothes being passed out. We went to the camp after that and watched them fight over the numerous boxes of clothes being passed out. A life like that isn't imaginable. We don't know how lucky we are.
The team were fantastic. We had a great team spirit the whole time and all got on really well, we laughed, cried and served God together so we definately bonded. Akil, Lindita and church family were amazing hosts and really made us feel welcome. Gerry and Al were great. Not only did Valerie keep us all laughing but she kept us up alnight talking, i love her, and Libby and Paul were a comedy show themselves. I loved, loved, loved getting to know them and definately won't forget this trip. It was a priviledge to be a part of it.
Please pray for Albania and the church in Tirana.
4 comments:
Glad you had a great time...looks amazing.Its excitin to see what God has been doing in your life this year....keep her lit!
Hi Ellen, I promised I'd leave a comment! Good to talk to you last night! :-)
So glad you enjoyed your trip to Albania. That country has an amazing history. I worked on a team for 2 years in the 80's that smuggled bibles into Eastern Europe. You couldn't get into Albania, it was so closed, so the team used to throw Scriptures wrapped in plastic in the sea off Italy, praying they would reach Albania. And many of them did - we have since heard the stories. How things have changed! Also I loved working there in the refugee camps in 1999. The Albanian people are special.
What's your next adventure??
Nina
does that mean you will be cleaning out your wardrobe and dropping them down to hope? Maybe you could lend Valerie a top or something?
Post a Comment