Women's Day

March 8 is International Women's Day FYI. As I've said before, I don't know why we don't celebrate in America. Probably because of Mother's Day. But who says we can't have both?? 

I wrote about it last year HERE. 

There were about 15 women last year that came. 

This year there were 70. 

Our church building sits at the end of a vacant lot that is covered in mud, potholes, chickens, and gravel. 

It was quite the site to see dozens of women dressed in their VERY BEST (high heels included) flocking to the church trying to weave their way around the many impediments. 

We really had no idea how many women were going to attend and planned for 50. 

Way off. 

The women just bring their friends. Their sisters. Their cousins. 
So many of them are the mothers of kids in the youth group and in the Children's ministry. It blows me away. 

In Albania, the norm is to have a few very close friends. Like one or two. And then there is family. And cousins. I swear they all have 100 cousins. Its amazing. And they all know how everyone is related. 

2 days before the event, Melodie asked me to speak at it. We were going to be out of town for those two days and I was planning on getting home right before the event. 

It is so hard to not be able to speak to people in their language. And yes I can have basic conversations but I couldn't give a full on speech/message. Unless I had a long time to prepare. But I knew I had to do it anyways. My hope is that the next time I do something like this, I can do it in Albanian. 

So as we drove around Tirana I typed up notes on my computer while the girls slept in the car.

As it was technically an Outreach, I tried to make it extremely simple. 

I was thinking about these women's lives. And honestly, most of them are very hard. 

Poverty. 
Broken marriage. 
Sickness. 
Death. 

They are overlooked and under appreciated. In general I would say. 

So I decided to simply tell them 3 things about God's love for them. 

I opened and said something like this: 

I want to start by telling you something I have noticed about Albanian women. 

That is that you work VERY hard. I have learned so much from you all. 

How you take care of your homes. 

How you take care of your families.

How you work hard to feed your family. 

How you work hard to give your children the best opportunities. 

And I know this can be very hard. 

And I know that sometimes this goes unrecognized. 

And today, I just want to tell you, from the Bible, something that is very simple. 

I want to tell you 3 things about God’s love. 

And when I talk about God I am talking about the God of the Bible. 

And this is what the Bible tells us about God’s love: 

God's love gives us HOPE. Lamentations 3:21-24

God's love gives us JOY. Psalm 5:11

God's love is IN CHRIST. Romans 8:37-38

I wanted them to hear that no matter how unloved the feel, there is a GOD that loves them perfect. 

No matter how insecure they feel, there is a God that can give them security. 

No matter how discouraged they can be, there is a God that can give the joy. 

But bottom line, there is One true God that can give them salvation. 

My sweet friend who is in my bible study translated for me. And I felt privileged to be standing there with her, sharing the gospel with many women who have never heard it. 

And even now writing this, I am touched by the simplicity of God's love. 

It is deep and wide and incomprehensible. 

But it is also simple. In the sense that women who have never truly heard of this God before can understand his character in a simple 10 minute message. 

After that we ate and danced. 

Albanian dancing is a BLAST. I was trying to learn some new steps and I had at least 10 people cracking up at me. 

And talked. And I met new women and new moms. 

We cleaned up and I drove home with a very full heart. 

This was 3 days after the Masquerade and it had felt like a very full couple of days. 

But we were very thankful and excited. Excited at what God will do. Excited that there are new people to hear the truth. 

And I was telling Cory last night...

Sometimes life here is thrilling and exciting and overwhelming, in a good way. 

And sometimes I just think "WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I DOING HERE?" Are we really making a difference or an impact? 

But really that's not the point. 

The point is faithfulness. Faithfulness to where God has called us. Faithfulness to obeying Him. 

Whether it be mundane, thrilling, or anywhere in-between. 

Masquerade

We have had a very full couple of weeks. And yes it is always full, but I feel like we have packed an extra amount into the last 3 weeks. 

We kicked off our Sfida ("challenge" in Albanian) which I wrote about last year HERE. 

We had a Masquerade Ball which was hilarious and I spent a lot of the week preparing for it. 

Sometimes I find myself asking, why am I doing this? I was trying to make centerpieces but the options are just minimal. 

I literally walked around Pogradec for an hour and a half looking for candles. No one had them. 

And for what? Like is this really the best way to spend my time? 

But this is one of the biggest outreaches we do. The "Sfida." It draws in SO MANY new kids that would never come to church otherwise. Every week they have multiple "challenges" that they have to do and then at youth group they always have some kind of presentation like a skit in English, or a dance or...whatever else we think will make us laugh ;) 

We then gear the message at youth group to be a bit more Evangelistic. 

Cory preached on Saturday about the problem of sin and how it separates us from God. 

The Sfida lasts for 6 weeks. So every week for six weeks these kids are constantly together and slowly they get drawn into the life of the church. They hear a focused gospel message for 6 weeks straight, come to church on Sunday and many of them come to faith in Christ. 

BUT, you gotta make it great. Like if you're going to do an Outreach don't make it lame right? Because they will associate the church with that. 

I'm not talking about being seeker friendly or watering down the truth. 

But don't be boring. And do things with excellence even if its a Masquerade Ball.

And it's crazy to think about how the little things make a difference. But I really think they do. 

So it feels worth it. Spending hours to find candle sticks and spray paint coke bottles. I also had a blast with my Bible study girls preparing for it. 

Not only that but the Sfida funnels a ton of girls into Bible study. We have had between 15-20 the last few weeks. 

On Friday we finished 1st John and discussed the reality that Jesus is God's Son with girls who have never heard this before. 

I am always touched when girls who have been in Bible study the last year and a half begin to "take over" the Bible Study in a sense. They jump in and share with the new girls what the Bible is, how to find the chapters and verses as we read, and what the gospel really is. They always make sure that they are caught up and understand what is going on. 

And I just kind of sit back and watch, amazed that a year and a half ago, those girls had never heard the gospel or read the Bible. 

We talked about having "eyes to see" and "ears to hear" and what that really means. And I feel like I have seen that in a whole new way since being in Albania. Watching God enlighten hearts to His truth in a place that is very godless is a privilege. 

Coming up...

Women's Day Event
Stranded in Tirana
Visit from a Friend
Packed out on Sunday

My Little Fam and a Question for You

I was looking at pictures on my phone of the last two weeks since I posted a blog because they always help me remember what has been happening in my life.

My phone is full of the girls, Cory and ministry events. I know I always share bits and pieces about the 3 of them (Cory, Shiloh and Taliah) but I thought I would go a little more in depth especially for my own documentation. 

So if you are not interested in the day to day happenings of two little girls and their Daddy, don't read on because this will bore you :) BUT skip to the END because I have a question. 

Taliah drew the short straw and she gets to go first. 

We are beginning to feel like this girl is "coming alive." Shiloh just came into the world with such an intense proclamation of her presence that it has taken us some time to get used the fact that Taliah is simply a different person. She is sweet. Oh so sweet and happy and giggly. She wants to be either tickled, held or to crawl around and find herself in the oven door or the balcony door window. She loves her sister and her daddy. When they come into the room she lights up. She is still a peanut for her age (10 months) and I couldn't believe it the other night when I was still putting 6 month pajamas on her! She is also a whiner, as we say. Like for no reason. She doesn't cry, just whines. And Cory's dad always says that he was like that when he was little so I blame him for that. The are plenty of things Cory blames on me for Shiloh. Taliah is saying "mammamam" but not to me I don't think. She loves to clap and loves music. She does not need as much sleep as Shiloh did which is constantly confusing and sometimes frustrating. Taliah has 2 bottom teeth and the top one coming in. She HATES to have her face touched. How dare you even try to wipe her nose or check for teeth or wipe the food off her mouth? She starts to spaz out and of course, whine. I can't believe she will be ONE in less than two months. Here she is doing her favorite thing, pulling herself up, standing, and smiling. 

Shiloh Belle. 

I don't know where to begin with this one. I am AMAZED at her vocabulary. I had no idea 2 year olds could talk this much. I no longer feel "alone" when I am home all day because Shiloh and I definitely chat it up. Our latest hobbies are painting nails, baking for bible studies and making "crapps" (crafts). She is a machine at going on the potty and that was so much less of a pain than I thought it would be. I am SO thankful and I think it will make the summer so much easier. 

Here are her "crapps" on the fridge. 

Shiloh is a schedule nazi. She knows when we do everything every day. The other night Cory and I decided we would let her stay up a little bit and watch a movie and have popcorn. So we told her like it was a really fun exciting thing and she said "I go to bed," with a frown on her face like "C'mon what is wrong with you guys." We were both somewhat offended. That's what we get for being fun. Or I guess that's what we've created. 

She is also incredible at reasoning with us.

"Shiloh its time to turn that off." 

"One more minute?" And she says it with her little finger by her face. 

"Ok one more minute and then we have to turn it off." 

"One more minute, four more times??" Where did she even come up with that? 

She knows who all of her possessions are from even if I only told her once and she always states that it is from that person when she's sees it. 

She has turned a big corner I feel, with the kids from church. There are some that she doesn't know, or that bother her on purpose, but other than that she knows many of the students by name and loves them. Especially the kids in Cory and I's bible study. I am very thankful for this and thankful for how they love her and play with her and make it fun when they come over. 

I notice that she wants to do everything I do. Especially with Lamby. Is there somewhere you need to draw the line with stuffed animals? Cory is a little more concerned about it than I am. He calls Lamby our third child. Here is Lamby eating some fish and watermelon. 

Lamby also likes to go on walks in her stroller to Macedonia, Tirana, and Korca. She is a very well traveled little lamb. 

We are still constantly working on her temper. I always remember how in the hospital the day she was born the nurses turned around with big eyes as they were trying to change Shiloh's diaper, they looked at Cory and I and one of them said "Which one of you has a temper??" 

I will let you decide which one of us that is.

But, the point being, I believe that will always be something she will struggle with and we are daily working with her on that. 

The other day she said to Cory, "I don't want to be mad," with a really sweet, genuine look on her face. Almost like, why does this happen to me? Let me tell you sweetheart, I just don't know either. 

Here she is in her princess dress. She told me that she was so pretty, like mommy. 

Oh. My. Goodness. 

And this man.

 I'm going to state the facts without gagging you with sappiness. He is exactly where he is supposed to be. I am constantly amazed at how his gifts, talents, passion, personality, and drive are used here in Albania. He is so focused and his mission is so clear. And that is to build up the church here in Pogradec. He wants to be used and he wants to make a mark. He is constantly challenging me in his purposeful love for people, his commitment to serving, and his wisdom in decisions whether they be for ministry or for our family. He never puts us on the back burner and always makes times for me and for his girls. They adore him and every time we aren't with him Shiloh wants to talk about where he is and what he is doing. He works hard at everything he does whether that be establishing a music ministry at church, discipling his boys, planning for the summer, finding a home for us, communicating with family, friends and supporters, studying for a sermon, planning a church event, fixing up our constantly broken house, taking care of our finances or walking around town paying the bills. His plate is very full and he does an incredible job at organizing his time and schedule and also helping me. 

What I have been most thankful for lately is the fact that he views the ministry I do here as important and valuable. He watches the girls for an hour every morning so I can study Albanian. He knows it is important to me that I learn this language. He makes sure to work from home on the days I have bible study so that the babies aren't disruptive. He listens to me process and think through what I am experiencing and how I should view it. And I also help him with planning different events and summer, communicating with supporters, churches and prospective teams, and thinking through ministry goals and plans. 

I am thankful that we "work" together. Our roles our different. Our responsibilities are not the same. Our priorities vary. But in many senses we are "pulling together" we are working towards the same goal. And I think that is an incredible blessing that not every gets to experience. 

So there you have it. There is a little update on the people I love most in this world. 

And now a question...

I feel often lately like it is difficult to think about or decide what to write about. I really want to keep up with this blog though. 

So my idea is, that if any of you have thoughts or ideas on what I could write about, send them my way. 

Maybe you wonder something specifically about being a missionary, or being a mom or being a missionary mom. Or about Albania as a country, a people and a culture. Or about living overseas or I don't know anything. 

I would appreciate your ideas. So send me a message or comment on the Facebook post. 

Happy Tuesday!