We made it to Albania! It’s been about a little over a week since we arrived in Pogradec, Albania and we are in a beautiful location for training camp on Lake Ohrid. Our week has been filled with so many incredible opportunities from meeting the most amazing people and building friendship, to coffee runs and getting to build relationships with locals here, to lessons and orientation with leaders and mentors like Seth Barnes, to nightly worship with the five guitars we all brought. We’ve been taught so much in these past few days and I feel like I’ve already gained so much knowledge that has made me so excited to see what else I will learn on this trip. We’ve been able to start some of our classes for Journey School this week and one thing I’ve loved is how much the mentors pour into us. They have done an amazing job of letting the Holy Spirit lead them in teaching us and equipping us to be ready for all that God is calling us to in the rest of our time here in Albania and then Italy.

As a part of training camp this week we’ve gotten to hear more of the heart behind the Worldrace and specifically this Journey School and essentially it is all about sending us out to make disciples and be able to tap into all that God has for us currently and in the time to come. We’ve been learning how to adjust to life in another country that feels almost like another world, which honestly hasn’t been the easiest for me feeling so far from home. But we’ve also been learning that stepping out of our comfort zones and leaving is the first step to figuring out all that God has for us. Throughout these next few months we’ll be doing ministry and outreach through the local church (I’ll have more specifics next week) and we’ll also be taking classes such as self leadership, ethical AI, career development, and storytelling, all to help set us up well for life and help us to step into our individual callings. That’s a huge focus here, stepping into our callings and specific gifting that God has given us and it will be so amazing having people to help me along this journey of figuring out where I want to go and who I want to be. So although it’s been an adjustment for me leaving behind home for these next few months, leaving behind the people I love and just the normalcy of life, it has also been amazing and I’ve been so filled with life and joy being surrounded by so much beauty and so many amazing people.

On Sunday we leave for Kotodesh, Albania and start our ministry and classes there for the next 2 months. I will say I’m looking forward to some sense of normalcy and routine and I can’t wait to see all that the Lord has for us in our time there. I am so blessed to be a part of all that God is doing here in Albania and in my group and I can’t to continue stepping into all that He has for me!

A few little highlights from this week!

• We've had beautiful weather that has allowed us to explore the little neighboring towns on daily walks

• We've had the opportunity to evangelize to locals even through the tough language barrier

• I got to celebrate my 18th birthday with all these amazing people on Wednesday

We've had some cool people/mentors coming to train us and teach us this week