Here is a picture of Brian with his ferrari that he left in the London Gatwick airport for other people to take picture with. :)
Church service this morning was wonderful. The church is made up primarily of young people, about our age. Some are married, some are single. Brian got to preach today and he did a wonderful job. One of the church leaders was translating for Brian and when he introduced us, he remarked in Albanian that hopefully this will work out because they are needing a young couple to come and work with the youth of the congregation. Good for Brian, he didn't understand what he was saying, so he just kept trucking along with his sermon!
All of the people are super nice and very welcoming. We went to lunch with Ellen, the missionary here, and a young couple who the husband is one of the church leaders. He picked us up from the airport last night and we found out that he had gone to undergrad with Brian at Harding for the year that Brian was there. He was a couple of years ahead of Brian, so they never met, but it's funny what a small world this is. His name is Sokhol, his wife Stella and him have a one year old daughter named Delisa who is super hyper and hilarious to be around. It was good to get to visit with them today.
We ended up taking a two hour nap, which could be why I'm writing this at midnite...then went back to church for evening services. The church put on a national youth day for the Church of Christ youth in Albania yesterday and had worked endlessly on an hour long play performance. They did an encore performance after church for those of us who hadn't seen it yet. It was outstanding. The talent that the youth have of this congregation is amazing and it has really been inspirational to be around it.
Picture of the play:
After the performance, we went out with another young couple, Erna and her boyfriend Romeo. They took us walking and for ice cream, we just got back a little while ago. They are a sweet young couple who are starting their professional careers. Romeo is looking for more information about the Lord and I'm excited to see a relationship blossom between him and Brian, as I think Brian will be a good influence for him. Romeo seems very cerebral, asking lots of questions, which is right up my husband's alley!
The country of Albania is made up of a lot of young people as a result of the tumultuous history of the country. Sokhol, Stella, Erna and Romeo explained a lot of the history of Albania and how that has affected it today. It is amazing to me that in my & their lifetime, they were living in a country where it was forbidden to worship under ANY religion until about 10 years ago. I think about how that has affected the people of this country and wonder if maybe that is why there are so many young people our age that make up the church. What they searched for most of their lives is finally available to them and they can't get enough of it, it seems. I feel very blessed to live in a country that has a freedom of religion, so I can practice my faith and live it out loud.
Please continue to pray for our work here. We're not sure about what the rest of our time here will hold. We will probably participate in Bible studies, we are holding Vacation Bible school during a Gospel meeting and having a few other parties & meetings while we are here. Our main priority on this trip is to visit with the missionary and really get a feel for if this is something that Brian and I would like to do someday. It has really been incredible to be here with my husband, I love seeing him serve the Lord, and especially get to do it together.
Tomorrow we are moving into our apartment for the rest of our stay. But Ellen offered her computer to us when we need it, so hopefully every few days or so I can check back in and offer a few more pictures of our time here!
Now it's time for bed. Night night!
7 comments:
I am so proud of you guys! What you are doing is awesome! I am praying for you-Love you guys!!
I am so glad you all made it safely! What a fortunate church to have you two working with them. We miss you here in fact Heath said something about ya'll this morning and I was like well you won't be seeing them for another month. Have fun and look forward to many more updates!
Wow, sounds like y'all are off to a great start. Clayton teased me while I was reading your blog stating, "finally a blog worth reading!". I'll look forward to more blogs. Oh, we are watching the Giro'd'Italia (cycling race from 05/09- 05/31) and were curious if y'all were going to make the race? I'll be praying for y'all. Sarah
I am so very proud of you both! Brian, you definitely looked like a natural up there preaching! We will be thinking of you throughout every day and have you in our constant thoughts and prayers.
Love you bunches!!
luv,
dad
Great to read your blog about your trip and your work with Ellen Ruth. Saw your mom a couple of weeks ago.
Love you guys. cousin Ken
Wow - ever have one of those dumb moments where you do something really dumb and you can't believe how dumb you are? :) Back in September, I bookmarked your blog so I could keep up with you and your crazy life. Only I bookmarked THAT DAY in particular, so every time I clicked on the bookmark, it took me back to THAT DAY. So I've been checking your blog for 6 months, every time thinking, "Wow, Amy must really be busy - she hasn't updated her blog in FOREVER!" See? Told you it was dumb. I'm so glad y'all made it safely and will be praying for God to work through you over there. Love, Sara
From Russ and Ellen Bartee -
Hello from Texas! Your mom is in our small group, Brian, so we have been praying for you two for awhile now! It is great to be able to keep up with your trip through this blog, and now we know specifically who needs our prayers. I love the picture of you preaching, Brian...I guess all that extra reading during my English class paid off-ha! Amy, you are a wonderful support to your husband and we will continue to keep you both in prayer as you spread God's word so far away.
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