Hey everyone! I want to start off by apologizing for not keeping up with posting weekly blogs as consistently as I would like. These past two weeks have been very busy with ministry, school, and other responsibilities. However, I'm finally getting into the rhythm of organizing my priorities and to-do tasks, so expect more frequent updates!

One of the main goals over the past couple of weeks has been connecting with and forming relationships with locals. As I told you before, we are staying at a church in Kotodesh, which is a small rural village town in Albania. The majority, if not the entire population, is muslim. With this in mind, we have been making an effort to get to know the kids we are ministering to on a deeper level because in their culture, it isn't proper to suddenly spring your religion and belief onto them. For their entire life, they have been studying and practicing the teachings of the Qur'an where many of its teachings go against the teachings in the Bible. Therefore, we have to be very intentional in the way that we approach them with the gospel so that we don't scare them away and make them not want to listen to us.

In 1 Corinthians 9:19-20;22-23, Paul talks about becoming like those of other cultures in order to share the gospel. He says

"For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews... To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings."

So with this, I have been trying to find similarities between myself and the kids in anything I can to bring us that much closer to each other.

Something that I have been focusing on in growing closer with the kids is simply listening to them in the best way that I can. It's definitely been difficult to converse with them since very little kids are able to speak English, but even by translating easy phrases and questions, I've been able to form a little bridges to bring us closer together. I've found that just being there and showing you want to listen and talk with them is one of the best things you can do in ministry because it means you care and that means SO MUCH to them. Also, participating in activities, even though you may not always want to, has been something that I have learned to take part in. It doesn't matter if you're not good at the game or if you don't fully know how to do the activity well. Trying and participating is 100x better than sitting back and doing nothing at all just because you are scared and don't want to embarrass yourself.

A group of 6 of us have been going to another church 5 minutes away from Kotodesh in a town called Katjel where I have been getting out of my comfort zone a lot and engaging in activities I'm not the best at. Let me tell you, these kids are INSANELY good at soccer, and to be honest, it's been a little embarrassing to repeatedly get demolished by kids half my age at a sport a played for 6 years. But at the end of the day, it's all for fun and for growing closer to the kids, so I don't care if I get beat (let's just say I've had to put away my competitive side a little bit haha). Anyways, Katjel is the location that I was chosen to minister in for the next month that I am in Albania! I'm excited to continue growing closer to the children and to begin hopefully sharing the gospel in a way that they will accept it and open their hearts and minds to our words. I would love if you could pray that God would give us the wisdom, strength, and boldness to share the good news with them so that they will accept and absorb the truth we speak to them!

Another lesson that I have learned recently is how impactful words can be, both for the good and the bad. Living in close quarters with each other for this amount of time has challenged everyone, me included, from letting certain words and comments slip out of our mouths. Our leaders keep joking that we are moving past the "honeymoon" stage where our relationships aren't all sunshine and rainbows anymore. Now, we are getting more annoyed with each other and letting conflicts build up when we should be bringing those conflicts to light. As a team, we have been working on communicating more with one another in a graceful and loving way and speaking up when something bothers us so we don't have any issues with anyone. I think the last thing that any of us wants is to have beef with someone for the rest of the trip and feel like you have to avoid talking with them. And you know who does want that? The devil.

Ephesians 4:29 says "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as it fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

Proverbs 16:24 also says "Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body."

Thankfully, we have had discussions as a group about being kind and uplifting towards one another and about working through conflict. I myself have even had one-on-one conversations with people telling them things that bothered me but then working through the issue so we can be at peace with one another. It is so encouraging to me to see us communicate effectively and in a healthy manner so that we are able to forgive and continue loving each other despite what we have said or done. That's a skill I want to practice for the rest of my life: communication. It's so important to have those conversations with people since everyone thinks and acts in a different way and you can't ever fully know what's going on in the other person's mind.

A few other significant events from the week would be giving a "ted talk", sharing my testimony out loud for the first time, and taking a day trip to Macedonia.

First off, for a while, I have felt God pushing me to do more public speaking since high school, but I always pushed off the calling because I was too scared to get up in front of everyone. When I got on this trip however, I have felt him guiding me more and more towards getting my voice out there and speaking out loud instead of through written down words. I have always liked writing rather than speaking in front of a crowd because I feel more comfortable, but this whole trip is about getting out of my comfort zone right? So when a pastor of the church announced the opportunity to speak out loud and give a "ted talk" to the kids, I decided why not and went ahead and told my leader I want to do it. And I did it and it was amazing! I felt so happy and grateful that God had laid that opportunity down in front of me and that he had given me the confidence and the words to say to the youth. Then, I shared my testimony at a church service which is a little more scary since I had to be more vulnerable in sharing my story, but again, I was glad I did it so I could hopefully relate to others in some way.

Lastly, yesterday, we finally had a break/fun day after lots of go go go especially this past weekend. We took a day trip to Macedonia to explore the towns, historical sites, and restaurants! Some of the specific places we went to was Samuel's Fortress and the Monastery of Saint Naum. It was so cool to see ancient landmarks from thousands of years ago that are still standing and to think that figures in the Bible like Paul, Luke, and Timothy walked where we walked. It's one thing to read about these places in the Bible and to see pictures online, but to actually be present in the location is a whole other experience.

Prayer requests would be praying for our health and peace of mind in everything we do. Also that each of our ministry teams will be able to make more of an impact in sharing the gospel and in planting seeds of bringing them to Jesus.

I'm excited to see the ways that God continues to work in my life and in the lives of others and I can't wait to share more next week! Thank you for reading!

Blessings, Hailey