Team Albania 24 was a real success!  11 of us, including Aliyah, Joel and myself, travelled to Albania two weeks ago.  We spent 10/11 days working alongside the local church.  Five of the team were returning after being on the team last year, but six were first-timers.

Arriving in Albania after an early start (we left Chippenham at 1am!)

What did we do?  Well, we led five church services, had four midweek meetings, ran a holiday club over five days, spent time with the children and youth outside of holiday club time, and spent time with local believers and missionaries to encourage them in their work.

It is encouraging to feel aligned with local workers and to feel the mutual trust building so well.  They risked sharing their relationships with locals with us and it was a real honour.  For example, the church in the village, which they have planted fifteen years or more ago, is doing well in its connection with women and children, but the men of the village are much more resistant.  We were invited to a gathering of 16 local men, all but one of whom would call themselves Muslim.  Three of us were able to share our testimonies and find out more about the challenges they face trying to provide for their families (essentially trying to farm with inadequate water supply!)  The gathering went well and hopefully it will be part of building a bridge to these men.

The men’s gathering.

The children’s work went really well.  We definitely felt an increase in distraction and interruption on the day when we told the story of the cross, but other than that, they were very attentive and focused throughout the week.  It was really encouraging to see how the local women had grown spiritually during the last year.

Our team with the children we served each morning!

One of the key roles we could have on this visit was to encourage the missionary family that we met on previous visits.  They are a wonderful family who are plugging away all year round.  We can come in and offer some energy and a week of activity, but they are the ones who are walking with the locals through all of life.  It was a blessing to be able to bring a Ukrainian speaker from our church who proved to be a huge encouragement to the Dad who doesn’t speak English and tends to miss out on so much of the fellowship as a result.

Together with our missionary friends for an evening!

It was not all easy.  The temperatures were high, hitting 39 degrees C (102F) on the first day of the kids work.  Many on the team struggled to sleep well, even though we were blessed by the accommodation provided.  Some sort of cold/flu worked through several members of the team, taking them out of action for a day or so, one after another.  And sadly, on the Friday afternoon, we received the sad news that one team member’s grandmother had died unexpectedly.  Everyone’s heart broke for her , and we were able to get her on the next flight home, accompanied by another team member.  So there were challenges, but the team carried each other’s burdens and the ministry progressed even when one or two were missing at various times.

I (Peter) left the team on Saturday evening, to get back for church at TC on Sunday.  The rest of the team returned on Monday afternoon.  We are all tired, but thankful.  Please continue to pray for the church in Albania.  It is not an easy country to live in, but God is building his church and we were thankful to be able to contribute just a little bit to that work.  Thank you for praying for us.  We are grateful to be able to co-labour in ministry with you!

Back on the plane to fly home . . .