Elbasan Albania.
Before this week I didn’t know Elbasan existed. When I googled it I noticed 2 things right away
1.) It’s cold there right now! As a person who likes cold weather living in Florida, seeing that it was 20 degrees made me pretty happy.
2.) The time difference! Last time I went on a mission trip I was lucky enough to be in the same time zone. Elbasan is 6 hours ahead of Flordia. I’m grateful that we’ve given me a couple of days before anything starts to get used to the change!
My google search revealed a few more things, Elbasan is home to a castle built in the 15th century! Elbasan means “The Fortress” in Turkish. I’ve always loved history so I am the most excited to see the old architecture and learn about the city. I will be staying with a missionary family above the English-speaking school they run. I can’t wait to talk to people from different countries with different cultures, yet all sharing a common bond of being brothers and sisters through Christ!
God works in ways that we don’t always recognize right away, you might look back on something 5 years from now and think, “Oh! There is no way that couldn’t have been God!”.
That’s not happening this time! I am seeing Him actively move right before my eyes! I feel peace around this Mission trip and anticipate things to come. Not to say I haven’t stressed out about this trip. But I know God is here with me and active!
I still have a tickle in the back of my brain that is saying there is no way I can raise $3,000 by April 30th. And that thought is true, I can’t do it; Only through God!
Please be praying for me as I prepare to go this May! There are still plane tickets to be bought and schedules to plan but through it all, I know God is using the mundane and stressful times for His glory!
I invite you to join me on this Mission in seeking out God’s plan for me in the coming months!