All in all, we think it went well. The good thing is that we met new people, personally invited them back to our center, and had direct contact with the community. Praise the Lord for instant drinks and electric hot water kettles!

We recently discovered that a wonderful worship song called "You Said" by Hillsong has been translated into Albanian. Our team leader played it at one of our team meetings, and it just kept ringing in my head. While I had heard of it before in English, I had never learned it, but always wanted to because the song's message is really a powerful one. You can read the lyrics below:

You said, Ask and you will receive
Whatever you need
You said, Pray and I'll hear from heaven
And I'll heal your land

You said Your glory will fill the earth
Like water the sea
You said, Lift up your eyes
The harvest is here, the kingdom is near

You said, Ask and I'll give the nations to you
O Lord, that's the cry of my heart
Distant shores and the islands will see
Your light, as it rises on us

As you can see, it has a great message about the fields that are ripe and ready for us to harvest. Well, we put our heads together and started working on learning the song for ourselves, and at our last service (Feb 28th) my teammate, Soni, sang it with me as Geni helped us with the guitar. As guests that evening we had with us fellow believers from another fellowship here in town along with some German missionaries. It was evident the way the Lord used the song to move our hearts and remind us why we are all here. The entire room was truly filled with his presence and it almost felt like a re-commissioning for the work ahead. If you want to hear the song you can easily find the lyrics on the web or click on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e3HksVfHRo to see a video with lyrics.

I have recently learned an intriguing story of a family here with such interesting circumstances that I can hardly imagine myself in them.  A young gal, about 16 years old, recently left Kosovo to live with her biological parents in Western Europe.  In all those years, she never once met or saw her mom and dad.  She was born pre-maturely and spent several months in the incubator at the hospital.  I won’t disclose why, but at that time her father had to leave Kosovo immediately due to some political circumstances surrounding his life.  Her mother was informed that her baby had died in the hospital, and so she left Kosovo with the baby’s father.  Due to the status of their immigration documents, they were not allowed to leave the country and come home to Kosovo.  Meanwhile, back at the hospital, the baby once thought to have died was actually still alive.  A call was placed to the family, and the baby girl’s aunt took her home, eventually becoming guardian over the child.  Well, the years began to pass.  On one side, there were efforts to get documents approved so that the parents could travel out of the country where they were residing.  On the other side, the aunt continued to take care of a child who no one else seemed interested in caring for.  From diapers, to asthma, to schoolwork, it was all taken care of by one selfless woman.  The years continued to pass until finally she was able to join her mom, dad, and sister, whom she had never met.  Essentially, she had to begin living with a family completely foreign to her.  Back at home in Kosovo, the aunt looks back at 16 years of her life dedicated to raising her niece. These were critical years that have left her with no husband and no children of her own because she chose to put the needs of a little girl ahead of her own. 

So many aspects of this story are just beyond my comprehension.  Why weren’t the parents given accurate information about their baby girl?  Why did they leave so quickly before the situation with their baby was resolved?  Why did it take 16 years to get legal documents put together?  How does someone avoid becoming bitter in a situation like this?  As I continue to get to know my friend (the aunt in the story) I hope that the Lord will give me verses to encourage her with and that He will open her heart up to Him.