Chris and Ann Efstathion and Tracy Reynolds, disciples from Worcester, MA, spent a week in Albania. They didn’t just teach – they learned. They didn’t just inspire – they were encouraged. Here is Tracy’s report:
Editor’s Note: This article was posted on the website of the International Missions Society.
Chris and Ann Efstathion and Tracy Reynolds, disciples from Worcester, MA, spent a week in Albania. They didn’t just teach – they learned. They didn’t just inspire – they were encouraged. Here is Tracy’s report:
Visiting Albania has made the Bible truly come alive for me. It is such an amazing land full of incredible people, a beautiful language and so much history. As I was reading in Acts this morning about the different places Paul visited, I wondered, “Did he walk through Albania when he traveled to Macedonia or Greece? Did I see what he saw?” And as I was reading in Jeremiah 24 about the baskets of figs I thought of Albania and the delicious figs and I understood the analogy. But more than those things, what I learned from the Albanian people has helped me have a deeper understanding of God and his unshakeable word.
We went to Albania to serve. It seems so na??ve to say that now, as I certainly received more than I gave. I had no idea what was going to be needed, but I was simply praying to be filled up and poured out by God – to be used however he saw fit. I prepared myself as best I could for little sleep and much giving. I prayed and set out for the complete unknown.
The minute I met the disciples in Tirana, however, I knew I had found a part of my family. I felt so welcomed, so loved and accepted that I immediately forgot I had just met these people. Right away sisters starting asking to set up times to get together – “appointments.” I gave them a piece of paper with the days I was going to be in Tirana and told them to fill up my time as they wanted. I knew of only two places in the city at that point so I just told them to pick which place to meet me at and I would be there. How exciting! I had a schedule completely open to just be able to have appointments with people! I had no idea what we were going to talk about or even how much we could communicate with my three words of Albanian, but I knew God was with us ??? I could feel him with us there ??? And I knew that was enough. The disciples in Tirana gave their hearts so quickly and completely that I knew right away I had much to learn from them and that God was going to work powerfully during this time.
First thing the next morning we set out for a retreat outside the city. Five married couples, a sister with a non-Christian spouse and two single sisters came with us. What an experience just figuring out how to get to the village we were going to about 3-4 hours outside the city. There was no bus schedule to consult, no website to look up the best route. We just met on the sidewalk and tried a couple of places on different sides of the city until we found a bus heading in our direction. The bus was the size of a city bus, but the winding, twisting mountain roads we had to take to get there were half the width of our streets here with no guard rails and a steep drop off the edge were we to slip off the road. And the driver treated those roads like a race track!
Once the bus started out, they actually gave everyone on the bus a little plastic bag just in case breakfast decided to take an early exit from the rollercoaster ride! Once my stomach adjusted to the constant turning motion, I was in awe of the splendor outside the city. Albania is a truly breath-taking country. The mountains, the sheep, the green, the lakes ??? it???s just majestic! There is no artist that compares to God!
Words cannot describe the people of Albania. They are honest, accepting, giving, vulnerable, teachable and loving. Hospitality is a way of life for them. It is not something they read about in a book or think would be a good thing to do. They have so little and yet give so much. They willingly, happily sacrificed what they had to give to me.
Right away they sought to know me deeply and thought of ways to encourage me and places to show me that would make me feel special. They gave to each other in the same way. They eagerly helped each other with their children, shared their food, clothes and even hotel rooms. Whatever someone needed, whoever could help, he or she immediately did. I really feel they are living out Acts 4:32, “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.”
Just witnessing their hearts was convicting to me. We have so much here in the US and yet we really share so little. We claim much as our own even among each other. We may have gone to Albania to give, but I definitely received more than I possibly could have given. I believe God has designed this relationship between the Worcester Church and the Tirana Church because we need it, not so much because of what we can give but because of what we absolutely need to imitate from them. I need to learn to have the same attitude as the first century church, and the Tirana disciples are teaching me that!
Once back in Tirana, every day was filled with “appointments.” I left our flat early in the morning and often didn???t return until late at night. I was so moved by how open and soft-hearted the sisters in Tirana are. Not one appointment was spent talking about superficial things. Every sister shared her deepest struggles and fears and pain. The humility and trust of their hearts brought me to tears. They so much desire and actually crave input from others! It made me think of the fact that I have so many opportunities to spend time with sisters in my own congregation and don???t have as deep of conversations as they were willing to have with me, a stranger to them.
We need deeper relationships with our brothers and sisters if we are to really live as Jesus calls us! The Albanian sisters taught me much about having the humility to realize our need for the help of others. I felt challenged to dig deep in my Bible and lean completely on God in a way I never have before. And so many times, we would be turning to a scripture and before we could even get there – they would quote the scripture to me. They really know their Bibles! Even so, they were eager to look at the scriptures in a new context in our conversations rather than the “I already know that scripture” attitude that I have given others before!
Albania is a poor and corrupt country and there are so many felt needs there. I saw young children living on cardboard on the street and children begging every day. It broke my heart because I thought of my two children who are ages 5 and 8, and the children I saw there were no bigger. I came home so grateful for the life my children have been given and so convicted to make sure they see my gratitude and that I train them to be grateful and giving rather than greedy. My children have learned so much from my trip to Albania. They, too, are seeing God and their own lives in new ways. They want to visit there themselves one day.
I was convicted also by the amount of resources we have here in the US that we take completely for granted. There is only one children???s Bible printed in Albania and it is not very simple, so the young children in the church really have nothing that teaches them about God on their level. Even the song ministry has the huge challenge of trying to translate or write inspiring songs for the congregation. It was an amazing experience for me to sing along at the services. I knew the songs they were singing, even though they were singing them in a different language than I had ever heard those songs sung in before! However, for them, they have been singing the same few songs for a long time and really crave new songs. One of the brothers has written some songs and another brother is working on having more translated, but it is difficult because not all songs are able to be translated and still sound like a song.
I came back feeling like there is so much more we could be doing for the churches around the world simply by the fact that we have so many resources that are inaccessible to them! I am so grateful we live in a time and age that God has allowed us to have the ability to have global relationships. We are a kingdom united in Christ. It is Christ that brings us together and Christ that teaches us how to love each other.
I have so much more to learn from just this one trip visiting my brothers and sisters in Albania. So much of my character has been challenged and so much of my heart encouraged. I am truly inspired by the faith, character, love and joy of the Albanian disciples and how God is moving in our hearts! I strongly encourage anyone who has the opportunity to visit abroad. Do not hesitate to do so! God will use that magical place to transform your heart and mind! I know I have formed relationships that will bring me closer to God for a lifetime from this trip!
Editor’s Note: To listen to a sermon from the leader of the Albanian church, Go Here.
