P.S. I’m still here

So as y’all probably can tell trying to keep up with a blog is not my strong suit. I think my last blog was about Romania, yikes, I’m sorry. Since then I have been to Albania, Kosovo, Ukraine, Jordan, Turkey, Georgia and I am currently in Armenia. So you can imagine a lot has happened. I mean we went through team changes, twice! Without further ado here is what went down in Albania and Kosovo.

 Albania was ATL ,ask the LORD; my team B.S.R.L.J+D thought we were staying in the city of Kukës but were surprised to find the Airbnb we booked was actually 30 minutes away from Kukës in a small, enchanting village tucked away in the mountains. It had only one, tiny, smoked filled market that sold a few snack items and espresso. There was no way to leave really, so our ministry looked like prayer walks and spending time with the young, muslim woman who cooked for us. We would sit outside in the sun listening to music, peeling vegetables and talking about Jesus. We also would spend time praying with her, which was amazing; she was very open to prayer and even loved my sticker that said “y’all need Jesus”. We eventually, after a few days, convinced her to let us help her family by picking apples in their orchard.

One moment that stuck out the most that month was when we were downstairs hanging out, she came in and sat down. She asked about how we worshiped God, and we told her it can look many different ways and that it was more about connecting with God then it was about how. We said we liked to sing as a way to worship and Reynaldo suggested to sing “Amazing Grace”. She loved it and said it was very sweet. That song led us into a deeper conversation about God and how her god is not the same as our God. She left pretty quickly in the middle of it though; we said a prayer for her and then went to our rooms. As I was walking up the stairs I noticed out the window she was walking towards the mosque with a qur’an. She had told us at the beginning she never really went into the mosque. The fact that she was going right after we sang “Amazing Grace” and talked more about the differences, gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, we had sparked something even if it was only a tiny bit of curiosity. By the end of our time, she had stopped correcting us when we would end our prayers with “…in Jesus name” and just let it happen; in my book that is a win.

It was a very sweet time of slowing down our pace, being patient in that slowness and letting God guide things. Now, don’t get me wrong, there were moments after that where I was like “we didn’t do enough; we missed this” or “why didn’t we do more?” Looking back now, yea, I can see times and things we could have done something more or different, but I also am at peace and am choosing to not focus on what could have been and am choosing to focus in on the “Wow God, you were all over the place there!” I see that He already was working, that we just went in and shared His love. I am now seeing a time of leaning into God, as well as His plan for His daughter, whom He had let us pour into. 

Kosovo again was ATL with team B.S.R.L.J+D on one of the easiest travel days ever, we made our way to Prizren, Kosovo. We planned on staying just a couple days until we figured out somewhere else to go. We met so many people though in the few days that we stayed. We started by praying for the city and going to a coffee shop where we talked a lot with the owner and his friend. We cooked them dinner one night and brought it to the cafe; another night, we hosted a game night and invited them. On another prayer walk, Sav, John and I found a gem called Noja. We went down a way we hadn’t gone before and saw a sign for….. (pause for dramatic effect) DRIP COFFEE! Thank you Jesus! If you have ever been overseas, you will find drip coffee is not easy to come by. John literally jumped up and down in excitement. It was a very welcoming and cozy place; the owner and staff were so friendly. The staff and even some of the customers became quick friends of ours; we went there everyday and talked with them. One man we spoke with quite often would tell us so many fun stories about his life and adventures. We talked about the Muslim faith and Christian faith (which y’all, if you heard him talk about Jesus, you would think he was a Christian). Our team mate, Lee, had been talking with a guy and on our last two weeks there found out he was Christian. Y’all, Kosovo doesn’t have a McDonald’s anywhere in the country, but they do have a KFC. I guess you can take the girl out of Kentucky, but Kentucky will always follow the girl. Basically, what happened was: Lee went there a few times and had already been talking to him, and one day for some crazy reason, I really wanted KFC and Lee Is always down for fried chicken. When we got there though, I changed my mind and said “nah let’s just go to Noja; it’s healthier”. But  God really wanted us to be there because as soon as I said “Let’s go,” John called and asked if we could bring him KFC, which settled that debate, so we went in. He was working and Lee started talking with him and that’s when he found out he was a Christian. He invited us to his church where we met other missionaries who were there long term. We got to babysit for them and introduce them to our friends we had made, so they could continue to talk with them after we leave. Which, BTW, they have been! Please keep them in your prayers. Our time in Kosovo continued the slower pace vibe, and I was still struggling with the ”we didn’t do enough” feeling. With that said Prizren, Kosovo was a very nice surprise it was beautiful and welcoming.

So that’s a tiny bit of what happened in month two and three! A theme that started in those two countries and would follow me the rest of the race, was slowing down and taking time to rest in and be with GOD.