Traveling Home

 We all managed to stay up all night to get to the airport while it was still dark out. Going through the airport in Albania was interesting. Apparently, they don't like skateboards on the plane as a carry-on, even if the wheels are not on it. So they had to be checked, but somewhere along the way, they got lost. 

We got to Austria and over to the spot where we would board the plane, and most of the crew crashed on the seats. After their nap, we found out that we needed to go to a help desk to get new boarding passes printed out. We finally get on the plan and leave on time. Some of us take the opportunity to get a little more sleep.

We land in Chicago, and it takes FOREVER to get through customs. We should have had enough time to go through customs before our flight was boarding, but that did not happen. A big shout out and thank you to the staff at security who helped us get into the special line for those who were afraid we may miss our flights. We got through security and raced over to the gate, where we learned that we made it on time. But we had to check our carry-on bags because they had run out of overhead room. We got on the plane to then sit there for about an hour as they tried to fill the plane with as many bags underneath as they could as there had been a lot of lost baggage that hadn't made it to Denver yet. 

We finally get in the air and find that, due to the weather, we have to do a few circles before we can get to Denver to land. But the weather has not left yet. It takes a little bit before we are able to get to the gate. Off the plane, we then had to go to baggage claim to get our bags, but the weather came back and had us waiting even longer for our baggage. 

Needless to say, it took a lot longer to get home than we had planned, but we did. It was probably the worst travel experience I have ever had, but I was glad I was not alone this time, like I was in India when they had to get the flight on a new plane. Thank you to everyone who supported our team by giving and praying. Thank you to the parents who allowed their teenagers to go on this trip and have an experience that not many get to have at their age. Thank you for reading the blog! Thank you to the team in Albaina that we got to partner with.

I will be going on more mission trips in the future, and I will be sure to let you know what is next once I have the information! Till then, may God bless you in a way that is beyond all understanding.

Day 9 in Albania

Our last full day in country started like all the others. We got up had breakfast and did a devotional before heading over to the church. But this was not a normal day as we got to spend the day playing tourist. The team from the church got a van to take all of us about an hour away to a town that has a castle. The team from the church had been there before and was able to help us understand some of the history.

The castle that we got to see was the Castle of Kruja. This was the castle that belonged to a man who is known as the country's hero, Skanderbeg. He lived in the 1400s and rose to power in the country due to his military prowess. Skanderbeg was able to hold back the advancing Turks from taking Albania and, by extension, the rest of Europe. It was not till his death that they could finally move forward with taking Albania and other parts of Europe.

The castle as we see it today is actually not the original castle but a rebuild. I am not sure if the layout is completely the same as the original castle or if they built it knowing that they were going to have the museum there. You can walk through the main part of the museum guided my a tour guide. The guide will help teach you about the castle and about Skanderbeg. It was a beautiful spot full of history. The photographer in me wished I had more time just to explore the town and take pictures, but the town is on the side of the mountain, and I am not sure I am in shape to walk up and down the streets doing that.

After getting to go through the castle, we had lunch at a very popular restaurant nearby. The food was served family style on a kind of charcuterie board. I don't have any pictures of it because I was too busy enjoying the food to even think about taking a picture of this unique dining experience. But before the food arrived, I was able to take a moment to enjoy where we were at.

After lunch, we made our way to the tourist trap shops for the city that is close to the castle. They had all the good fun tourist things to get, like magnets and trinkets. After our quick shopping trip, we got back on the bus and went back to where we were staying. It was a quiet day after that. We got everything to go, and most of us plan to stay up all night as we have to leave for the airport not long after midnight. 

Day 8 in Albania

Today breakfast was on everyone's own. We just had to be at the church at the same time. So the girls slept in. 

At the church we did a wrap up meeting with the team here in Albania. We gave them feedback and discussed some high points of our experience. We also prayed for each other before closing out the meeting. 

After the meeting we made our back to the hotel. On the back we stopped at a restaurant and got some lunch. From there we made it to the hotel and everyone was a loved to rest. Some took naps and others enjoyed having time to themselves. Some of the youth had a coffee meeting after dinner so they went to dinner a little early. Don't worry they didn't have coffee at this meeting, they had dessert instead. They had a great time.

Please continue to pray for health, and safe travels as we get ready for our tourist day and start making our way back home. 

Day 7 in Albania

Our nails!

I bet you can guess how our day started. That's right, with breakfast. After breakfast was coffee meetings. Then we split up. The boys ended up coming to the girl's room to shower as the shower in their room was not the greatest. Some of the girls got their nails done. 

You want me to eat this whole thing?!

In the evening, it was time to go to the church for another meeting. But before making our way over there we made sure to do a quick team devotional.  We started the meeting at the church with a pie-eating contest and then a worship song. Then we sat down at tables to listen to Josh give his testimony. After hearing his, we turned to our tables for some small group time that allowed us to also share some of our testimonies. We kind of wished that we had more of this time as we were able to really connect with some of them. But it was time for some fun. 

Listening to testimonies.

We all went around the block to play some volleyball games. Everyone was having such a great time that we ended up staying till late.

On our way back to the hotel, we tried to stop and get food at a restaurant but the kitchen was closed, so we returned to the hotel and ended up splitting up into two groups as not everyone wanted the same thing.

Please continue to pray for good health, restful sleep, and that as we start warping things up that we are able to keep seeing God work here.

Day 6 in Albania

Worship

Today was a day of rest. We slept in a little today as we didn't need to be at church till late morning. Some of the group had to be there a little early to practice as they were joining in leading worship. Pastor Josh was asked to give a message, and he delivered a great one.

Josh Preaching

After church, we went to lunch and then went back to the hotel to relax. On the way back to the hotel, a car had stalled and needed a little push to help get going again, so some of the guys quickly got went into action to help. The driver was very thankful for the help.

Helping the driver.

At the hotel, some of us took naps while others just enjoyed not having to do anything. Around dinner time, we all got together and went out to have dinner. When we returned, there was still time to relax and enjoy the evening. We would have loved to spend it outside but the mosquitos make it hard to enjoy. So we enjoyed hanging out inside instead. The girls especially enjoyed torturing the boys when they agreed to let them pluck their eyebrows.

Making them eyebrows
look gorgeous

Please pray that we get no more bug bites and that the ones we do have stop itching! Also, please pray that we continue to have good health, the students have open hearts as we talk with them about our stories, and that there are no injuries as we play volleyball tomorrow.

Day 5 in Albania

America Night!

We had a slower day. We slept in a little bit, but our day started with breakfast, and then the girls were tired, so we came back to the room to nap till we met with our Albanian partners. In the hotel cafe, we discussed our plan for the evening before returning to the room to do our devotional for the day. The boys went and had fun in the city while the girls went and did their laundry at a laundry mat. When the girls came back there was time to rest before we had to go to the church, so that is what we did. The boys came over to our room to hang out till then as well. 

Games!

Before long, it was time to go so we could help set everything up for tonight. Tonight was American night, but it turned into kind of another game night due to the numbers that showed up. Even though we had to change plans last minute everyone had a blast playing the games. While waiting for everyone we played ping pong and card games. Once we got going we played three different "American" games. The Albanians loved the three-legged race as they had never done anything like it before. We ended the night by singing karaoke! 

Karaoke!

We went longer than we had thought we would but that was partly due to the fact that we started so late. After helping clean up the church and setting up for tomorrow we went to dinner before returning to the hotel.

Please continue to pray for good health, a restful night's sleep, and good conversations continue. 

Day 4

Morning Devo

Today was filled with so much fun and laughter. It started with our team devotion after breakfast. Then most of us had a coffee meetup to go to, which was filled with good conversations. After coffee, it was time to get ready for the beach and head over to the vans that were rented for us to take. We had two vans as some of the teenagers and students went with us.

It took about an hour and a half to get to the beach, and the fun time in the sun started immediately. It was so hot that most people went into the water right away to cool off. The water wasn't freezing but the perfect temperature. When getting out of the water, you had to be careful and quick as it was hard to walk on the sand because it was so hot that it felt like it was burning your feet. Even though the sand was hot we still enjoyed our time.

BEACH!

Volleyball Fun

Later in the day, we were about to start a volleyball game when the sand had cooled off. The Albanians can really get into the game and were good players. It was great getting to play several games with them.

Dancing!

As the sun went down and the games wound down, we made our way over to a camp facility nearby and got cleaned up for dinner. After dinner, we started a fire and turned on some music. There was a lot of dancing, and they had everything to roast some marshmallows and make smores.

Before long, it was time to clean up and get back in the vans to go home. There was less traffic, so it only took about an hour to return. The vans took us back to the depo, and from there, we had a short walk back to the hotel. On that short walk, we found a bakery that was still open, and some of our group decided to get one last treat before getting back. We were all pretty tired, so we got ready for bed and went to sleep shortly after returning.

Thanks for all the prayers. Please continue praying for good health, open hearts, boldness, and great conversations as we enter American night and share some testimonies.