Here We Are

Well, the day is Saturday and we have been here in Tirana for close to three days. It was definitely a long journey so far, and I'll start from the beginning...

We arrived at our church bright and early in the morning. At half past three we departed on our way to LAX, bright eyed and bushy tailed. Well, at least, as bright eyed as you can be at that time. When we arrived at the airport we all checked in, but soon realized there was an issue with Kym's passport. Albania has a newer regulation, stating that you cannot have your passport expiration date be within three month of your stay, and hers expired in January! She just barely missed the window and because of this we were forced to continue on through customs without her.  We fervently prayed for God's provision for Kym throughout all of our travels. He is so faithful! Keep this on mind as I continue. We took off from LAX  and five hours later arrived in New York on time. The layover was smooth, although the take off was slightly rocky due to weather and delayed ascent. 

We got into the air safely though, even if we were slightly late. We got cozy because we wouldn't be reaching Rome for 8 more hours 

By the time we finally landed we were a tad bit later than expected and this then caused us to miss our flight to Tirana, but once again, God is good! Here we discovered that while in the air Kym had gotten a new passport and was en route to Paris! We then had to entertain ourselves for six hours in the airport. We took a few naps and found ways to keep busy though. 

By the time we got on our flight and took off we were all quite ready to land and get going in Albania! Although along the way we definitely got so many amazing reminders of Gods beauty and His creation.

We landed and made our way out of the terminal only to be greeted by The Grimes family, Pastor Alex and several others smiling faces. What a blessing that was! On top of seeing so many dearly missed friends, we received word that Kym had made it to Rome and was only a little over an hour away! 

Once we reached our hotel we all were ready for some much needed rest. 

Once rested the next morning we made our way to breakfast and were all much more chipper and ready to reach the city with Jesus...and Kym!!! She reached the city at around one in the morning. 

After breakfast we walked to a home for the elderly and visited with them and prayed for them. It was so sweet to get to use our smiles, hugs, worship and even a skit to give them joy. 

We even got to pray for a woman with hearing loss and by Gods healing power she had her hearing returned! Also, two of the men there committed their heart to Christ. God is so good! Afterwards we traveled up to the city of Kruje and had lunch. 

We also got to tour the castle at the top of the hill and learn some of the history of this amazing nation we are ministering to.

There were definitely some amazing views!

 By the time we left, it was getting dark so we headed back down the mountain to the city of Tirana and had a great time of worship and prayer to end out our first full day in the country. We prayed for fresh vision and for God's light to shine on Tirana. God met us and really got us fired up for the next day and all He had planned. 

This morning we were excited because we knew we had the opportunity to minister to the children and adults attending Pastor Alex's church. We had a lot of fun getting to know all the kids and doing skits, crafts and games. Seeing the joy on their faces was amazing! 

We had the opportunity to share the gospel with the children and there parents and several people gave their hearts to Christ! We were celebrating with heaven for sure! After this we had lunch and rode the bus down to Toms church. 

It was pretty crowded but we actually got the chance to meet a fellow sister in Christ and encourage her! Once we were off we got to see where the Grimes hold their church services and had a small worship session. After worship we walked throughout the surrounding neighborhoods,annointed the places we walked with oil, praying over the streets and invited the kids to come to our events we'll be holding the next few days.

The last few days have been packed, but they have been amazing. I believe our eyes are being opened and our hearts are being softened for the city. So much has already happened in only three days and we still have so much more in the days to come! 

Be Blessed! 

- Emily