His Word is Alive and Powerful!

While living in Albania, one of my biggest problems has been not knowing how to communicate with other people about my faith.  Telling someone about Christ is a daunting task in itself, but add to that the confusion of a language barrier and it sometimes seems impossible!  I have been learning as much Albanian as I can pick up without taking lessons, but by now my vocabulary is only that of a two-year-old.  And most of the young Albanians that I have met know a good amount of English, but it's not enough to speak fluently on important topics.  (You know, how the God who created the Universe sent his son in human form to save us from our sin and depravity, and stuff like that.)  With such an obstacle, fear of miscommunication seems like a very legitimate concern.  But how can I do what I feel God has called me to do when I am so afraid to speak to others about Him?

Recently, I have been reading through Isaiah and Jeremiah.  Several verses jumped out at me and, like a slap in the face, showed me how ridiculous I have been:

• Isaiah 50:4 - "The Sovereign Lord has given me His words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary..."
• Isaiah 51:16 - "And I have put my words in your mouth and hidden you safely in my hand..."
• Isaiah 59:21 - "'And this is my covenant with them,' says the Lord.  "My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you.  They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children's children forever.  I, the Lord, have spoken."
• Jeremiah 1:7-9 - "The Lord replied, 'Don't say "I'm too young," for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.  And don't be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you.  I, the Lord, have spoken!'  Then the Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said, 'Look, I have put my words in your mouth!'"

God gave His prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah, the right words to say because He knew they could not do it alone.  I realize now that my worry is completely unfounded.  When God gives us a job, He also provides us with what we need to do it.  And not only will He give us the words to say, but He has also provided us with the Bible, which is powerful enough to speak for itself!  Now, I have a new found confidence that God will provide me with His words.  After all, I am nothing more than His instrument.  I cannot accomplish anything on my own, but He will provide what I need to bring Him glory.



I have continued to build a relationship with an Albanian friend.  She speaks enough English that we can communicate fairly well, although we often end up laughing over the misunderstandings that the language barrier creates.  I often go to her house for lunch and to help her with her English homework.  She has also been coming to church with me almost every Sunday for the past two months.  She enjoys the service, and I know that she pays attention because she often comments about the message and tells me that it really made her think.  She is very open and receptive to the Gospel.  Yesterday, I gave her an Albanian Bible and a pamphlet about eternal life.  Later that day, she called me to tell me that she had spent the past few hours reading them, and that it's been making her think about her life.  She said it made her realize that she does wrong things, and she told me over and over how much she loved the books.

It's truly incredible how God has been working in her!  To her, the Word of God is like a mirror, showing her sin and her need for Christ.  No one had to tell her these things - she learned them on her own by listening in church, and now by reading the Bible.  Her simple acceptance of the truth reflects the child-like faith that the Bible says we should have.  I plan on meeting with her sometime this week to talk about the Gospel.  Please pray that God would give me the words to say, and that He would continue to give her a soft heart that is receptive to His salvation.

Bethany Orphanage

For the past few months, I have been volunteering at Bethany Orphanage with my aunt, Kristi, and my cousin, Sofi.  We go for a few hours on Tuesday mornings to play with the toddlers there.  Many orphanages in Albania are dreary places to live, and the children are not always properly taken care of.  However, Bethany is a wonderful orphanage with beautiful facilities and workers who truly care about the children.  There are about twenty toddlers that we play with, and they are all so precious!  Many of these children lived in awful situations and witnessed horrific events before coming to live at the orphanage, and as a result, some of them are very emotionally scarred.  They receive wonderful care at Bethany, but it is still a hard life to live in a home with twenty other toddlers and only a few workers to share between them, without a family and without one-on-one attention.  It has been a wonderful experience to be able to go for a few hours a week and love on these little ones.

My Friend

In the past few weeks, my uncle has been making friends with our mailman.  He discovered that our mailman's first wife was a Christian, and when she died he married a woman who is Muslim by tradition, though not in practice.  He is very open to discussion of Christianity, and has many questions about our faith.  His fifteen-year-old neice has been living with him and his wife for the past few years.  Two Sundays ago, they came to church with us.  They both enjoyed it, and would like to continue coming.  I was also able to spend some time at their house last week, to help the girl with English homework and to get to know her and her aunt.  She speaks only a little English, and her aunt speaks none at all, so trying to communicate is often very comical.  But both of them are very kind and welcoming, and I enjoyed the time I spent with them. My friend and I plan to continue spending time together, and I am praying that she will keep coming to church with me.  Please pray that she and I would be able to develop a good friendship, and that she would come to know the Lord.

English Lessons

Last week, we began making arrangements for different ministry opportunities that I am going to be involved in.  I hope to begin giving English lessons, so that I can make friends with Albanian girls of high-school and college age.  Most Albanian students know at least a little English because they are required to learn it in school, so I’ll offer tutoring to help girls with conversational skills. We spoke with a school across the street from where we live about how I can help their English students, and I hope to begin working with them by next week.  I have also been arranging to work with Hope for the World at a home for Albanian orphans between the ages of 15 and 18.  There, I will help the girls with their English studies by hanging out with them and teaching them conversational skills.

We have continued to get to know the families of Denisa and Valbona, the gypsy girls we befriended on the street.  Yesterday, we went to visit Valbona’s older sister, Rukia, who was in the hospital to have her appendix taken out.  She is a precious girl with a beautiful smile, and she beamed as my uncle read to her from Psalms.  We hope to be able to continue to build relationships with her family, as well as with Denisa’s family.

Recent Happenings

This post is a much-needed update on all that has occurred the past few weeks.  So many exciting things have happened since my trip to Tropoja!  I am happy to say that  Iam learning to feel very much at home here in Albania.  I am falling in love with the country, the culture, and the people.  I  am making an attempt to learn the language, but so far I can only understand a little, and I can't speak very much at all.


Adjusting to Life in Albania

Last week, I went Christmas shopping with my aunt.  As we were walking all over the city, I came to an astonishing realization.  Walking around the crowded, dirty sidewalks of Tirana, crossing the dangerous streets, passing fruit stands and butcher shops with whole sheep hanging in the window, seeing beggars on the side of the road - it's all become so normal to me.  I was not very culture shocked when I first arrived here - mostly because Tirana is much more modern than the rest of the country, so I was more gradually introduced to the poverty and corruption that permeates most of the country.  However, for a while everything did seem very strange and different.  Now, it seems so normal!  I am excited to know that I am learning to be comfortable and to feel at home here in a foreign country.

Jozi

Jozi is a young Albanian woman who has been a good friend of the Hosaflooks for years.  She has befriended me, and has been taking me all around Tirana to teach me more about the culture.  We have gone to several historical landmarks together, including the 18th-century mosque in the town center, where we were asked to take off our shoes and cover our heads in order to go inside!  We have also been to the art gallery, the 19th-century clock tower, and to the lake, a popular place for Albanians to hang out on weekends and holidays.  Jozi has been wonderful in teaching me about Albanian history, culture, and language.  Her younger sister, Frida, is very good at doing traditional Albanian dances.  Once day when I went to their house for lunch, Frida showed me her beautiful traditional costume and taught me how to do basic dances steps.  (Click on this link for a video of Albanian folk music and dance.)

For the past few weeks, I have been going to church with Jozi at Kisha Biblika Baptiste Tirana (Tirana Bible Baptist Church).  My aunt, uncle, and cousins attend Grace, a church with a congregation that constists half of Albanians and half of missionaries.  It is a wonderful church with a good kids' program for my cousins, but I feel that God has called me to attend KBBT, where there are no other missionaries.  At KBBT, I will be able to make Albanian friends and hopefully learn more of the language.  The services are entirely in Albanian, but Jozi translates for me a little and helps me to learn frequently used Albanian words.

Inside the mosque in Tirana



The Bridge

On Saturdays, we host a youth group for middle school aged kids in Tirana's missionary community.  We hold it on the third story of my aunt and uncle's house (which my five-year-old cousin has nicknamed "The Fluff."  My aunt has named this youth group "The Bridge" because the missionary kids who attend represent a bridge between cultures, and because they are at an age that is a bridge between childhood and adulthood.  About twenty kids attend, all between the ages of 12 and 14.  They are a fun, precious group, and the first two weeks of The Bridge have been a wonderful time of fellowship and growing in the Lord.

Valbona

Since arriving in Albania, we have often seen two gypsy girls washing car windows on the side of the road to make money for their families.  We befriended them, and found out that their names are Denisa and Valbona.  We only ever see them when we are in the car stuck in traffic, so we've only been able to talk to them for a few minutes at a time, but we wanted to be able to make friends with them and their families.  So last Friday evening, my aunt, two of my cousins, and I took a walk to see if we could find one of them.  We met Valbona and her mother, Sonila, on the intersection where they usually work.  Her mother was very kind, and she invited us to come to their house for a visit.
Last Sunday after church, we picked up Valbona and Sonila, and went to their house.  They live in a tiny, run-down house that has a leaky roof, smells horribly of mold, and has a bathroom that doubles as their kitchen.  Outside their house in an enormous trash pile, with a dead dog lying nearby  As sad as it was, these are actually comparatively good living conditions for gypsies (more politely called Roma), who are incredibly poor and looked down upon by other Albanians.  We were greeted at their door with hugs and kisses from Valbona's younger brother and sister, Raulf and Majlinda.  My cousins had brought the children gifts, and they quickly became friends.

At Valbona's house we also met Rukia, the oldest daughter, who is thirteen years old.  Rukia is a Christian, and loves the Lord so passionately that it shines on her face.  We don't know how she came to know Christ or if she is being discipled by anyone, and we didn't want to pry on our first visit, especially since the rest of the family is not saved.  But Sonila told us that one day, when she was begging on the side of the road, someone gave her a Bible.  She brought it home and gave it to Rukia, who now reads it all the time and often shares the stories with the rest of her family.  Rukia writes beautiful poetry, most of which is about Christ and His love and sacrifice.  Her poems are full of such deep understanding and such fervent love for the Lord that we were almost driven to tears as she read them aloud.  It was truly incredible to see how God is working in her life.

We are very excited to have made friends with this family, and we would like to be able to visit them often.  In fact, we are hoping to visit them on Christmas Day  Please pray that we would be able to establish a good relationship with them so that we can tell them about the Lord.  Also pray for Rukia, that God would keep her strong in Him, as she is the only one in her family who is a believer.