Update from Albania!

Howdy from Albania!!

It’s hard to believe that I am already writing an Albania wrap up blog! It feels like we just got here yesterday and I am most definitely not quite ready to leave this place! We are also officially month eight racers, which is unbelievable.

In my last post I told y’all that we were in a town called Pogradec, trying to make connections and see where the Lord was leading us this month. We had a really sweet couple weeks in Pogradec, filled with a lot of individual and team time spent with the Lord, and many answered prayers. I learned more about and got to step into a lot of rest and a lot of wrestling at the same time. The Lord has really been refining me in this last season and while that’s super cool and encouraging, it’s also hard. So I am thankful for our time in Pogradec because I had a lot of time, that I otherwise wouldn’t have had, to intentionally spend in prayer and figuring stuff out in my own heart and life with God.

While we were there, and even before we got there, we were praying that the Lord would lead us to new connections and people that He wanted us to serve with this month. We had a couple leads in Pogradec, but nothing that really amounted to much. However, at our half marathon, we met an American couple who were also running and happen to be missionaries who have been here in Albania for the past 5 years! They are from a town called Korçë, which is only about 45 minutes away from Pogradec. The week after the race we came down here just to meet them and see what the Lord was up to through them in Albania and after that there was no going back! Natalie and Freeman have been here building relationships and following the Lord’s vision for this place and they just recently opened the Korce Student Center, which is a coffee shop/hang out spot for students and young adults. The dream is to create a space to bring young people together despite religious divides and organically reach people from all different walks of life and different backgrounds with the Gospel. It is such a cool place and the vision behind it is even sweeter, and led by the Spirit! Long story short, we felt very led to come here and serve alongside them. We moved here to Korce as soon as we could and have been helping Natalie and Freeman fix up the backyard of the center to be another hang out space and also just hanging out and building relationships with them and the youth in this place. Natalie and Freeman have told us so many times that we have been such an answer to prayer and encouragement to them, just as they have been for us. The Lord brought us together at the perfect time, for us to be encouraged and for them to be encouraged by us. It is hard to put into words how uniquely and divinely the Lord orchestrated this whole thing, all because we ran a half marathon in some random Albania town… crazy! These people and their community have so quickly became friends and we are finding ourselves grieving a hard goodbye, yet again.

We only have a few days left in Albania before we head to Africa! We are soaking up our last moments in this place and with these people. This month in Albania has been one of the sweetest of the race for me while simultaneously being one of the most difficult. It’s been a paradox of a month because I have been able to rest and find a lot of encouragement but also been challenged and pushed out of my comfort zones on multiple different levels. I am really thankful for the rest that I found in the Lord this month and I am also very thankful for the hard lessons I am continuing to learn. We have less than 3 months left on the field and while that is still a bit of time, the reality that going home is coming fast is setting in and it’s easy to feel excited and overwhelmed and a whole mixture of emotions regarding it. It’s going to be a fight to stay present on this last stretch, but I am stoked for Africa and the ministries we will be partnering with there! It is definitely going to be different ball game there and I can’t wait to update y’all from a different hemisphere! Hehe.

What an adventure I’m on. With each day that comes I am more and more in awe of this life and the creator behind it and more aware of the ‘something bigger’ that is out there. If you are reading this, thank you for being my support system. I couldn’t do it without y’all’s love and support. I am sending all my love to my people back home. Also, do something today that scares you and tell someone something you’re extremely grateful for.

Please keep my team and I in your prayers as we transition into another new place and culture. We will also be finishing the year out as a whole squad which will be new and bring unique challenges of its own. Communal living is no joke y’all. Pray for unity and hearts postured to love. Pray that for the church in general too! I love y’all!

Jesús te ama

xoxo tay <3