This past week I went to the STINT Mid-Year conference in Málaga, Spain. It was a lot of fun to hang out with a bunch of Americans! I didn’t know anyone when I got there, but by the end I had made several friends. The beachfront was beautiful, especially the late sunrise over the Mediterranean. I was excited to play a bunch of Ultimate Frisbee, since I hadn’t played for several months. ...
I want to spend some time in this blog post unpacking what I’ve felt, what I’ve learned, and what I’ve found here in the past almost 3 months since I came to Albania. I really can’t believe time has gone by so fast. There’s so much to do, and so many new friends that it’s never boring. Is this what I want to do with the rest of my life? I can’t answer that yet. But I have met so many people here who have devoted their lives to missions. Is it worth it to do so? They would answer unequivocally yes. ...
What a great weekend! This weekend we had some visitors from Dallas. Rick Howard, the missions pastor for Watermark, and Cheryl Boyd came to visit. It was great to see them, to be encouraged by some friends from home. I’ve been looking forward to this for a while! Cheryl has been in Eastern Europe with CRU for 12+ years, and so she knew a lot of CRU staff here in Albania. She and Alma Elliot are great friends, and were super excited to see eachother. In all those years somehow she never made it to Albania, so this was a great chance for her to catch up with some of her old friends. ...
This week we had our first young-professionals meeting! We had 17 people come to hear Dennis Beck speak on worldview. He did a great job telling stories which got the participants to think. He has a talent for conveying these high concepts in story form. The discussion went well also. I sat at a table with a few young professionals. Two of them are believers from Fabi’s church. The other was Dejvis, with whom I’ve been building a relationship. He’s the manager of the Cinnabon franchise next to the American embassy. He really enjoys coming to our seminars when he’s not working, and often brings friends. ...
I’ve been in Albania now almost 3 weeks. Prior to now, the longest I’d ever been outside the US was 10 days. It definitely feels strange, knowing I’ll be here probably 6 or 7 more months before I make a trip back to Dallas. There’s a lot of things I’ve been missing - including having a clothes dryer and a dishwasher. I saw some pictures of friends going to the State Fair, and I felt a bit homesick. ...
I’m here! It’s just as I remember it. All the buildings, streets, people. It almost feels like a 2nd home. I arrived at 2:30pm, and was picked up by my team leader Illir Stavro. He dropped me off at my apartment, which I’m sharing with two new members of the high-school ministry team: Gedis and Pal. It’s a nice, small apartment. I have my own room, and there’s a living area with a couch and a small bathroom and kitchen. It’s different from what I’m used to but not too different. ...
Thanks to a good friend hosting an event last weekend, I have now reached my monthly goal! And I have some room to spare! I’m really thankful for everyone who’s contributed to help me. I’m excited to finalize my plans to begin this journey! Speaking of which, I bought my plane tickets today! First time I’ve ever bought a one-way flight. But it’s locked in now. I fly from Dallas to Washington D.C. on September 23, and I’ll fly from DC to Tirana on Sunday the 27th. ...