Hey! My name is Andrew if you forgot! My apologies for not posting in a while. My life has been a roller coaster. With highs and lows, mountains and valleys.
My team and I are in Lushnje, Albania serving under a host, Pastor Erion, at Word of Life Church. We have been here for 3 weeks. It’s crazy to think I have been in Albania for over a month now!!! A lot of the work we have been doing is helping the pastor out, going to house visits and leading youth groups on Fridays. The pastor is very busy and we have stepped in to carry a part of his burden.
He has had his fair share of highs and lows too in the ministry. God has blessed him with a wonderful church that is alive and well! He has also been running a school for preschoolers with his wife Enie for the past 10 years. My team and I have loved supporting the church and the school. The kids they have been discipling to follow Jesus over the years in a 53% Muslim country is a high! A low is they have been having problems with legal papers and the government is opposed to the school. They tried to get the papers approved 4 times but the school was officially shutdown yesterday. It’s heartbreaking to see a school that was being a true light in their community be shut down like that. I pray that the school will be able to re-open but either way I know God will get the glory.
One high for me which was high literally was when my friends Brian, Jo and I went para gliding together on March 16! It was amazing!!! And so much fun!!! I ran off a mountain and landed on a beautiful beach below. It was absolutely incredible seeing God’s creation in the sky like that! The sea a thousand feet below was a beautiful blue and turquoise color. I have always wondered what it was like to fly like a bird and now I know. Also speaking of flying, while my friend Jo was having the time of her life para gliding, Brian and I hopped in the man’s car who was taking us para gliding with his assistant and he flew down a mountain rode to meet them at the beach. As he was zooming down the windy mountain road, I was holding onto the oh crap handle that’s above the window and looked at the screen on the dashboard and it read,”Brake pads worn.” Not sure if the para gliding or the car ride was more thrilling.
I am staying above the pastor’s preschool. One day, I received word from my leader Lindsey, that one of the kids was having a birthday and that the mother of the kid wanted someone to dress up like Santa. That’s right, Santa at a birthday in March! She said that I was the man for the job and I agreed! I was the man! So the next day, the mother came to the school and gave her 3 year old a rager. Just kidding, but it was close, she definetly went all out for her kiddo. The mother gave me a Santa suit and I put it on. I had a big poofy beard and everything. If I was not a silly person in the first place then I would’ve felt ridicilous being Santa at a birthday party. The part I did feel ridiculous was when the mother had me come into the classroom holding a present, a HAMSTER! When I entered the room I did NOT know what to say because I was a confused Santa coming to a birthday party in March so it came out,”Ho! Ho! Ho! Happy Birthday!” And that was that.
One of my most meaningful moments was on one of the first days of ministry. Part of my team and I got called to do a house visit to a woman’s house. We were told that the woman’s husband committed suicide a year ago and she was left to care for her 3 children. When we got there she was glad to see us but I could tell she was in great pain. We stayed a long time just listening to her and comforting her. With tears in her eyes, she told us that after her husband’s death she tried to kill herself as well.
I was so heartbroken for her and prayed for her the whole time. Then she was telling us how she was struggling to make ends meet and how she didn’t know if the next day she could feed her kids. “I don’t know how to get out of this.” She said. That’s when I looked down at my key necklace that says freedom on it and I heard the Holy Spirit say,”Give it to her and tell her she is not alone.”
So I told her my testimony about how I once had deep depression that crippled me and how God gave me a miracle and set me free. Then I gave her the freedom necklace and told her that it can be a reminder that Jesus is her freedom when all else is lost.
That night I cried for her because in a way I knew how she felt. I remembered how much pain I was in all those years ago and that I lost the will to live in my darkest moment. Then I remembered that Jesus made a way for me where there was no way. Jesus lifted me out of the darkness and into his glorious light. Jesus became my life when I lost it.
I am realizing more and more on how much God loves us and that ALL things work together for good for those who love God. (Romans 8:28)
My life has been a roller coaster but I’m riding it with Jesus. When the roller coaster is going down it’s scary descent, I know Jesus is sitting next to me.
Prayer requests: Pray for Pastor Erion and his wife as they trust in the Lord and try to figure out what’s next. Pray for direction for my team’s leader Heidi, who was taken out of the field. Pray for God’s protection for me and the squad as we have been experiencing spiritual warfare. I have had a tough time so pray for perseverance and that I will find my rest in God who is my refuge. Pray that I would always let the Holy Spirit lead and not do things in my own strength. Lastly, that I would finish my time in Lushnje strong as I am about to go to Kosovo!!!
