First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone who has continued to read our blog as the weeks have gone by. We have definitely felt your prayers for our team and are continually encouraged by everyone back home. As this week has come to a close, we are still amazed by how welcoming the people here have been to us and the ways that God has been working.
On Thursday, a few of us were also able to help with the church’s mercy project. They handed out food and goods to several families within the community and had some time of fellowship. Our team lead a quick devotional during this time where I was able to read some Scripture. Although most of the people who came did not speak English, we were able to communicate with them through smiles and did our best to show God’s love through our actions. After this, we all went back to the center that we were working at on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was cool to see how excited the kids were to see us even after one day and some of them even remembered my name.
One of the highlights of this trip was getting the chance to go to a prayer meeting with the people of the local church on Thursday. During the service, we sang a couple of worship songs, prayed for the different cities, prayed for members of the church, and at the end, there was a time when we prayed for each other. During the times of prayer we prayed both in groups of Albanians and our team as well as separately. I think I can speak for everyone to say that this was a very impactful time for us to see how passionate the church is and how much they care about their community. We sang the song “Tremble” which felt like the message was for this country. One of the verses of the song says, “Your Name is a light that the shadows can’t deny, Your Name cannot be overcome.” These words felt so tangible in a place were there is so much darkness. God is present and working here and His Name will not be overcome. I also had one of the Albanians pray over me and even though he was speaking in Albanian, I felt the power that came from his prayer for me and was very encouraged by how much this man cared for me.
Friday we got the chance to go to a city close to the Rogova mountains and help with the children’s meeting there. There we were joined by one of the missionaries who showed us around her home. We got lunch at a place that had an incredible view of the mountains and then got the chance to drive through the mountain range. We stopped at a few places along the way with great views as well as a village that had a skiing place. We then visited a church there and helped to lead their children’s meeting. It was cool to see how far the local church impacts and cares for ALL of Kosovo.
Saturday we broke up and went back to the Houses of Hope we had been working at as well as one that was a little farther away to work in both their children’s and youth meetings. I was able to be at the other House of Hope in the morning and then at the same one that I had been at. All of the children’s meetings included some worship songs in both Albanian and English as well as games with the kids. The kids always showed up super early to the meetings and were so excited to be there. In the youth meetings, we were able to see a lot of the kids who were at the camps which was super encouraging. It was nice to see the programs that were so well-established by the Albanians within the church and get to see them lead their communities.
Sunday we went to church for the last time and got to see a lot of the people that we had seen throughout the week, as well as some that I had not seen yet. The service included communion and a message from Acts 16 about using our voices within our communities. During the announcements, our team was brought up on stage to pray for us and gave us shirts to help us remember Kosovo. After church, we got the opportunity to visit one of the villages and had a family make us a traditional meal. The food was all amazing and we got to get a taste of what traditional Albanian life was like.
Overall, this week has been both good and challenging for us. We got to continue to make connections with people we know as well as make some new relationships. The language barrier continues to be a challenge, however, we are finding ways around it and can still show God’s love through our actions. Please be praying for our team to continue to stay present over these last few days as we start to think about what it will look like to leave a place that has become home. We also ask that you be praying for the church and the people within the church as they will be continuing to be spreading the Gospel even after we leave.
Greetings from Kosovo,
Mack
Taylor University 2019 Lighthouse Blogs 
Mack, Thank you for the report. God has used your team to encourage the people that you have met, worked with and worshiped with. You and the team have also experienced multiple instances of God’s power. I am sure you will agree it was worth all the team’s efforts! Praying that your travels back to the US will be safe. As you unwind and reflect on your 3 weeks in Kosovo, will you continue to pray for the friends that you made there? Will the love that you have expressed to them continue? I am reminded of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. Check out I Thessalonians 1:2 and 2:8. Paul mentioned them in his prayers, was affectionately desirous of them and had shared not only the gospel but himself with them. All this even though Paul had been with them in Thessalonica only three weeks!