Thinking about it later I came up with this definition of a missionary - "someone who pioneers a work for God unaware of the fact that it could not possibly work". More on this later.
Behind the scenes of of seemingly all that God is doing there seems to be someone somewhere who is being faithful in the little things and paying regular attention to the important things. Often this attention seems to have little to do with strategy and great planning, but are determined by being close enough to the mouth of God to hear it when he whispers.
Here is an excerpt from one of the challenges that G. has. G. is our main contact person in Kosovo. He has to face an illness of his mother who needed medical attention not available in Kosovo. So they are now back in Albania dealing with an illness that does not at all seem to fit into the important strategic work he is doing in his mission's land of Kosovo.
And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Cor 12:9)
When your priorities seem to take you in places and circumstances that are not under your control and you could not imagine even months before and you are daily still getting used to the new "lifestyle" God is there to make it up to you with His Grace.
Our family is in between Shkodra and Tirana. We live in my mom's flat for now as we are waiting for it to be sold as Paulin and Violeta that live in our flat are looking for another place. There is no privacy, a bit like camping (or living in a camper). Kids quite enjoy this. When going to Tirana where my mother is taking the chemo cycles every other week, we stay with my in-laws. After Kela's sister got married the place is to quite for them so they enjoy the noisy bunch coming around for three or four days.
Hospital in Albania continues to be an "interesting" place quite unbelievable. While some of the conditions have improved and the place is clean, you (we) still need to bring your own sheets, buy all medicine in pharmacy outside the hospital (in our case each cycle is about 1000 euros) and then give "tips" to nurses and doctors so they don't neglect or ignore you. A patient needs to secure his own assistant to run around to find the nurse when needed. We found out the doctor tells you what the nurse should do and then you tell the nurse. If she has another opinion there starts the trouble. If you can't convince her and go to get the doctor to tell her, she gives you angry looks. Vendors can show up in your room anytime with things to sell, from clothes, to thermometers, to cigarettes (in a cancer hospital! - Not that you can smoke inside). Healthcare is supposed to be free in Albania but in between the medicine hospital doesn't have and the "tips" you have to give it trails not far behind what you would pay anywhere in the west if you have no insurance.
R. is doing well. She gets a little tired for 3-4 days after the cycle, but not as bad as we thought it would be.
K. and I went back to Kosovo for 6 days. It was like a vacation, although we went just back home. We enjoyed being together, having the space and it was so quiet.God gave us favor with landlord, who would not take our rent money for 4 months as a help to us. We are very grateful. Church seems doing well. Just back from a camp. We understood how much we miss everyone. Some of the neighbors we visited where so glad to see us back and said that they missed us so much and the neighborhood was not the same without us. They are unbelievers, so this really encouraged us. Jesus says we are the salt of the earth. Pray they will have time to think about the One who makes the difference, Jesus Christ that we have shared with them different times.We also visited J.'s teacher who gave us a stuffed animal for him. J. is sleeping with it every night and drags it around everywhere. He never cared about stuffed animals even when he was little. You can tell he is missing his teacher.
Our plans are that after mother finishes chemo therapy (and if she will be doing well) to return to G., Kosovo in the end of December, beginning of January. We feel God spoke to us this time we where there that we have still work to do there. It is going to be hard for J. to start 2nd grade school here in S. and then go back to G. [in Kosovo] again. We are praying that somehow God gives him all the emotional protection he will need.
Meanwhile ministry wise we are trying to serve the church in S. in any way we can, and the needs are many. Also I am working on putting together few evangelism events in S. (starting hopefully from second part of September) and also being involved in an initiative of Christian friends to try and start a local TV station that will shine through the light and love of the Lord Jesus.
When your priorities seem to take you in places and circumstances that are not under your control and you could not imagine even months before and you are daily still getting used to the new "lifestyle" God is there to make it up to you with His Grace.
Our family is in between Shkodra and Tirana. We live in my mom's flat for now as we are waiting for it to be sold as Paulin and Violeta that live in our flat are looking for another place. There is no privacy, a bit like camping (or living in a camper). Kids quite enjoy this. When going to Tirana where my mother is taking the chemo cycles every other week, we stay with my in-laws. After Kela's sister got married the place is to quite for them so they enjoy the noisy bunch coming around for three or four days.
Hospital in Albania continues to be an "interesting" place quite unbelievable. While some of the conditions have improved and the place is clean, you (we) still need to bring your own sheets, buy all medicine in pharmacy outside the hospital (in our case each cycle is about 1000 euros) and then give "tips" to nurses and doctors so they don't neglect or ignore you. A patient needs to secure his own assistant to run around to find the nurse when needed. We found out the doctor tells you what the nurse should do and then you tell the nurse. If she has another opinion there starts the trouble. If you can't convince her and go to get the doctor to tell her, she gives you angry looks. Vendors can show up in your room anytime with things to sell, from clothes, to thermometers, to cigarettes (in a cancer hospital! - Not that you can smoke inside). Healthcare is supposed to be free in Albania but in between the medicine hospital doesn't have and the "tips" you have to give it trails not far behind what you would pay anywhere in the west if you have no insurance.
R. is doing well. She gets a little tired for 3-4 days after the cycle, but not as bad as we thought it would be.
K. and I went back to Kosovo for 6 days. It was like a vacation, although we went just back home. We enjoyed being together, having the space and it was so quiet.God gave us favor with landlord, who would not take our rent money for 4 months as a help to us. We are very grateful. Church seems doing well. Just back from a camp. We understood how much we miss everyone. Some of the neighbors we visited where so glad to see us back and said that they missed us so much and the neighborhood was not the same without us. They are unbelievers, so this really encouraged us. Jesus says we are the salt of the earth. Pray they will have time to think about the One who makes the difference, Jesus Christ that we have shared with them different times.We also visited J.'s teacher who gave us a stuffed animal for him. J. is sleeping with it every night and drags it around everywhere. He never cared about stuffed animals even when he was little. You can tell he is missing his teacher.
Our plans are that after mother finishes chemo therapy (and if she will be doing well) to return to G., Kosovo in the end of December, beginning of January. We feel God spoke to us this time we where there that we have still work to do there. It is going to be hard for J. to start 2nd grade school here in S. and then go back to G. [in Kosovo] again. We are praying that somehow God gives him all the emotional protection he will need.
Meanwhile ministry wise we are trying to serve the church in S. in any way we can, and the needs are many. Also I am working on putting together few evangelism events in S. (starting hopefully from second part of September) and also being involved in an initiative of Christian friends to try and start a local TV station that will shine through the light and love of the Lord Jesus.
When attention is being paid to God and not to the circumstances, what is impossible becomes a secondary concern. It is all about knowing who God is. As the apostle Paul wrote "I know whom I have believed in and persuaded that He is able..."
Please join us in praying for G. and his family, not only for the important work with us in Kosovo, but also for the important things God is placing before him on a daily basis in Albania, and that he will be able to be a real blessing to others as long as God has him and his family there.
So what is the definition of a missionary? "Someone who pioneers a work for God unaware of the fact that it could not possibly work, because nothing is impossible for God."
We are expecting powerful things to happen in Kosovo, and we are also praying for new opportunities in Albania, perhaps as a result of this unexpected change in plans.
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