ALBANIA

QUICK FACTS

Where is Albania?

• Neighbor and located west of both Greece and Macedonia. It’s bordered by the Adriatic sea on the west.
• Main religion is Islam, primarily a Muslim nation.
• Golik Bridge – Apostle Paul walked on this bridge during his journey to Illyria written in Romans 15:19. This bridge is located near the town of Kotodesh & Katjel, where we partnered with our ministry host
• Road name is: Via Egnatia (connects Rome with Constinople)
• Currently in a Post Communism era (AMEN!!)

NEW SEASON OF CHANGE

This next portion of the race looks new with lots of changes, like new raised up Squad Leaders, new teams and new country. Below are some fun facts about my team that I’ve gotten a chance to serve, do ministry and walk life with this last month.

I introduce you to…STCKD (pronounced Stacked)

Members:

• Sarah Dodd –  Creative, and gentle team leader, who has a heart to see others well and is considerate of everyone.
• Alyssa Philips – Thoughtful and observant woman of God, who loves others well and places others before herself. The Lord has blessed us with her as one of our Logistics role (handle all the logistical side of things, such as traveling to and from countries, lodgings during debriefs etc.)
• Amy Scotts – The pure joy of the Lord can be heard in her laughter. Amy brings to the team a pure delight in the Lord over the small things that are easy for you or I to miss. The pure delight in the little things are so contagious, that before I realize it, I am also smiling and finding joy in the same thing. The Lord has gifted Amy with a set of gifts that has equipped her to be the other half of our Logistics team.
• Joana Quintana – Bright like the sun and a gentle breeze. She is brilliant, funny, lighthearted and kind when the time calls for it. Those qualities are just some that I’ve come to discover about her and can understand why the Lord has called her into the role of Beauty For Ashes & Treasurer.
• Trisa Moser – Spontaneous, curious, strong and a courageous woman of God who has a heart for justice for those who are in need. She is passionate to further the kingdom of God thru justice and healing.
• Me

TEAM MISSION STATEMENT

We are stacked stones, a living sacrifice for the Lord, preparing for the Kingdom by fostering a fear of the Lord with remembrance within ourselves and inviting others to stand on holy ground with us, willing to get the Kingdom stacked.

Joshua 4:19-20
On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan.

Three words spoken over the team: Remembering, settle, simmering.

WHAT DID MINISTRY LOOK LIKE?

In January, we stayed in Kotodesh most of the weekdays and were advised to stay indoors for a majority of our time there. The times we got to be out on the streets evangelizing were Sundays-Mondays, when we traveled into Pogradec which is a neighboring city about a 45 minute drive away. I’ve listed some of the things that we got to join in while in Kotodesh with our Ministry Host.

• House Visitation
• Purchased clothes & necessities for children in Adopt A Child program with funds donated by sponsors
• Children’s ministry – Tuesday afternoons. Worship, dancing, Testimonies, Crafts. Many of the children are part of the Adopt-A-Child program and are encouraged to attend some of the programs throughout the weeks.
• Women’s Bible study ministry – Wednesday Mornings. 1 hour sessions through a Bible League lesson with widows from the village.
• Teens/Youth Ministry – Thursday Afternoons. Testimonies, youth nights/afternoons
• Administration – partnering with Adopt-A-Child and administration services where the help was needed.
• Church services – Saturdays & Sunday Mornings. Testimonies shared.
• ATL days – Sundays. Spend 1 day and night in Pogradec. Walk through city and prayed for people in the streets, helped where the need was.

ATL WEEK

You may be wondering what ATL stands for huh? Well, in short, it stands for “Ask the Lord”.

What is ATL Week?
A couple of weeks where our team simply lives life dependent on the Lord’s leading. Where the Holy Spirit leads, we go. We spend time individually seeking the Lord’s guidance in where He is calling us to go. We then spend time as a team listing out any prophetic words, imagery, and bible verses during our time in prayer intentionally seeking his guidance and direction.

We started ATL week on February 10th and are now halfway into this week of ATL and God has been really amazing in being our provider. Our team eventually decided to do a backpacking/tenting journey down south along the Adriatic sea coastline. Turns out, this is the same road that Apostle Paul walked during his journey around Illyricum in Romans 15:19. God spoke peace, stretching, boldness, pilgrimage, open expanse of waters, geyser, “seek”, leaving the 99 to find the 1 and a few more things. But, as I look back at our list, I couldn’t help but realize that some of the things that were listed had already come to pass.

On the first day of our trek, as we traveled south from Tirana to Durres, things were looking different than what we could’ve imagined. We didn’t exactly know where we were going, just in a direction. Anywho, we decided to find some food within our budget and came upon a Sufllaqe (soo-flah-cheh) restaurant called Rehat Kebab. Now, it was here that we ran into the Whitehead family. Long story short, as we got to talking with them, we learned that they were living life on mission and following the Lord too. They and their four children packed up their whole life in the states and moved overseas. We came to find out that the restaurant was a place they usually go to after church at a regular time, yet for some reason that day, they ended up going there later than usual. We were completely blessed to have met them, because that night, we had decided that there was a possibility of us tenting out on the beach. However, the Lord had placed it on their heart to open up their home to house our team of 6 and our squad leader (7 people in total).  It was there that we got to just live life with them for the next 2 days. That looked like pouring into one another about how God is our provider and how he perfectly orchestrates our steps, praying over one another, sharing meals, doing puzzles, playing games with them, sharing testimonies, and many other things. We were so blessed to have spent 2 nights with them, even though that was not in our original plans at all, we quickly came to understand that God’s timing is always perfect. God is so good in providing just what we all needed at the right time. And even though we did not know each other before that encounter, they were like family, because the love of Christ that brought us together.
As we continued on our journey two days after spending time with the Whitehead family, we had trekked for multiple hours down south and ended up camping for a night on the beach of the Adriatic coast near the town of Golem. As we woke the next morning to start our journey again, we spent some time as a team in the word. By lunchtime, we decided to stop at a place to get some food. Our original intent was to grab lunch and leave, but the Lord had different plans. As we walked up to the front steps of the restaurant, a young married couple from America began speaking with a few of my teammates. What was supposed to be an hour long lunch time, turned into a 2-3 hour long lunch with the Fergusons. By that time, we had not made any distance in the direction that we had planned. So again, we as a team were set on camping out on the beach again. But the Lord really provided hospitality thru the young couple and we got to pour into them and in return, learn and be challenged by them. And now, we are currently in Vlore (vlor-ruh), waiting to see what else the Lord has in mind. So far, we’ve seen the Lord provide for us in lodging, community, and the stretching of our funds. When you walk with the Lord, and let him take the reigns, He will always come thru and provide in such an amazing way.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Here are some ways you can be helping pray for me and my teammates!

Team STCKD

• Strength, endurance, stretching & Growth as we trek/backpack along the coast of Albania down south to Vlore during ATL week.
• Lean into boldness and seeing how the Lord will use us to share the Gospel in country.
• Deeper level and depth of unity as a team

P Squad

• Wisdom as we travel to Turkey after Albania
• Safety & Protection, as Turkey is predominantly Muslim and imprisonment is possible if we are caught sharing the Gospel openly.
• We will be without our Alumni Squad Leaders. Their time with us on the field has ended, and they have helped train up new Squad leaders to take their place. Please pray for the Lord’s will be done in the next season of our Alumni Squad Leaders’ lives. Where they go, what they do, pray that it all aligns with the Father’s will.