The Garden of Eden Village in the Mountains

This month, our second month, is “Ask The Lord” (ATL) month. It is defined by being a month where teams are supposed to ask the Lord in prayer where in the country they should serve, how they should serve, to provide for food, and where they should rest their head each night. NO ASSIGNED HOSTS. So before we left Romania for Albania, I gathered my team to pray for words and visions. We received the following: orphans, widows, elderly, house visits, person who takes us in, they’re not forgotten, living with homeless, light house, and south. When we looked at a map, the cities Vlore and Berat, stood out to us, though we ended up feeling more called to Vlore. So we booked an AirBnB there to begin with. Next our squad travel day took us through Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and finally Albania. We stayed there as a squad for a week for teaching sessions, a couple days for debrief, and then… ATL was upon us.

All my team knew on the morning of the 28^th, was that we were climbing aboard a bus to Berat (the only option to get to Vlore = COOL), and then switching to another bus (van) in Berat to Vlore. Beyond that… we were trusting God. Once we arrived in Vlore, our driver helped us unload our hiking bags. Standing on the sidewalk, we asked him for assistance with calling a taxi to get to our AirBnB. He assured us that the location was nearby, so he would just drive us there himself. He stopped at the address shown on Google Maps, and asked the family that was standing outside. The family confirmed it was not the location of our AirBnB, but asked how many of us needed a place to stay, and offered us their home to stay in. AH!

We called the AirBnB owner, and he suggested we go to a coffee shop nearby to unwind from our travels and get food, and that he would meet us there in 30 minutes to walk with us to the location. The bus (van) driver drove us there—remember other strangers who are traveling are still chillin on this ride—and though he didn’t want payment, we paid him for his generosity and kindness. I ordered “shawarma,” essentially a middle eastern burrito. It’s SO GOOD. We were seated outside, watching a pack of stray dogs run by, a couple men pushing a running car down the street, the ocean waves calmly growing and disappearing beside the sidewalk to streets across from us (plus two mysterious mountainous islands surrounded by a fog a couple miles away in the distance), and shuttering every time we spotted an elderly man wearing a speedo by the shoreline (LOL).

Lenny (name changed for privacy), greeted us and we walked up a small hill to our AirBnB which was located inside an apartment complex (which had made it difficult for our van driver to find). Lenny is a 25 year old lawyer. He explained that he always gives his guests a tour of the city, did we want to go tonight? We decided, yes! At 6 that evening, we met him at the bus stop across the street. He pulled up in a Land Rover, and I got to sit in the front and hold his puppy, Otto. He explained the history of Albania to us, pointing out historical locations and buildings around town. Plus places we could get groceries, because meat, fresh produce, baked goods, and purified water are not sold in the same place. We were very grateful.

Toward the beginning of the tour, he mentioned he rarely saw Americans in Albania. Why were we here? We replied that we were here to love and serve the community for the month. We had no agenda, just to volunteer where we were needed. He was astounded… he’d figured we’d come to go paragliding, sunbathe, or something touristy. He then told us about a village his parents had grown up in, that was nearing its season for harvesting olives. “…there are not enough workers for the harvest…” he said. Our team exchanged glances. We asked if we could visit once, before moving there? He was shocked we were considering it, and agreed. Lastly, he took us to an area with wooden booths and a stand serving tea. He ordered tea for us and we all sat under the lights strung above the booths. I had asked if the village was religious? “Yes, Bektashi (branched off of Islam). Are you religious?” I shared that we were protestant Christians (in Europe it is important to clarify between Orthodox, Catholicism, and Protestant Christians). “If you want to share your faith with them, they won’t listen. Don’t waste your time,” he said. We affirmed we were unmoved in wanting to love and serve them. He was also a Bektashi Muslim. We cherished learning about his story and his heart for improving the living conditions of this village. He had tried many times to convince them of modern changes needed, even living among them for awhile, but he considered their response “ungrateful” and “set in their ways.” Lenny has a brilliant mind though, deeply cares about injustices and people’s well-being, and was wrestling with his current spiritual beliefs. We were very thankful to have met him, and to continue to spend time with him.

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As a lawyer, he was very busy. So the next day, we took a walk around Vlore, built friendships with people working at the grocery store and the worker on the bus who came around to collect money, and made note of ways we could serve immediately. In the following days, we picked up trash and visited a convent. We spent an hour in prayer each morning asking for guidance and to prepare the hearts of those we encounter. We learned basic Albanian. We did a prayer walk around the local mosque. We asked the Lord for Bible verses and phrases to write on notecards, and then tied them to fresh flowers we bought, and handed them to whoever the Lord highlighted to us (+ people we had already built friendships with). We focused on strengthening our relationships as a team. We spent one whole afternoon and evening fasting and praying about moving to the village. We had coffee with Lenny at a local coffee shop to plan a day trip to the village. We shared the Gospel with local people.

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Lenny met us at 7:30 A.M. to drive us to the village, which was an hour away. In the front seat, another American, Nate (name changed for privacy), from Oklahoma, was also backpacking around the world at age 25. He wanted to open a Vietnamese restaurant in Albania, and was beginning in this village to work and save money and learn the language. We drove around mountains with breathtaking views of olive fields growing at the bottom and up the sides of the mountains. The road was very bumpy, and we’d all burst into laughter after we’d caught some air and gravity returned us to our seats (thank you seatbelt, lol).

We passed an occasional car on the dirt rode, leading up to the village hidden on a mountain. Once there, Lenny shut off the car at the entrance. We walked past a man guiding a donkey. There were some turkeys huddled together on the side of the “main street.” They decided to follow us, but we had to scare them off, for the sake of my teammate Tiffany’s peace. Lenny asked us to wait outside the gate to a house three stories high. Eventually he waved for us to join him. The wife there brought chairs from inside for us to all sit outside. She brought us a shot of expresso (and offered us liquor), as well as a little cookie to dip in our coffee, and some fresh fruit. Her name was Hola, and she had three children: Aryola (5 years old), Bessa (3 years old), and Ahnie (her baby). Her husband was working, and they lived in a house with his parents. I asked if we could pray for her, and she said yes. Next Lenny walked us around the entirety of the village, and its residents smiled and greeted us, always wanting to know our names and why we had come. They were very gracious, friendly, and cheerful.

The final house was on top of the mountain, and it was actually a light house of sorts. The house nearest to it, were the caretakers of it. We learned from them it was actually a shrine. A hundred years ago, a man in the village had tried to kill his son, and as his son was bleeding to death, he crawled to this building/mountaintop (unclear from translation) and his life was spared. At the end of his life, he was then buried there, and the villagers now light candles and pray to him for blessings. The building is made of stones, and then a large stripe of windows, and then a roof, with his grave in the center and lots of wax melted on the window sills.

Once we were back in the center of the village, Lenny unlocked the gate to his parent’s home (before they moved to Vlore and he was born). Between the gate were many small fruit trees. I had forgotten to mention! This village is a Garden of Eden lookalike! All along the gates of people’s houses on the street were various fruit tree vines, apples, plums, pomegranates, grapes, peaches, berries, and you could just reach your hand up, pick the fruit of your choice, and bite into its juicy richness. My heart was moved by how God provided for them so richly. Lenny’s parent’s house had been overgrown with the fruit trees and vines. This house was where Nate was going to be living and us too, if we decided to leave our AirBnB. Paint had chipped off the walls, there was dusty furniture, and lots of old food and liquids that needed to be disposed of. Lenny had intended to take us to some other scenic and historical locations that day, but our team rolled up our sleeves and got to work so that Nate could have a nice accommodation to live in.

When Lenny saw we were not stopping, he left to ask the locals if they would let us borrow some cleaning supplies. They shared with us. And slowly the town entered through the small gate to see what all the ruckus was. Who was cleaning up this abandoned house? Villagers stopped to watch from outside the gate too. Since I was responsible for the safety of my team, I wanted to meet as many of the villagers as possible. I shook their hands and offered the little Albanian I knew. They giggled at that, and then we referred to Google Translate. They were so curious about us, and I was so charmed and curious about them. They had never had Americans visit their village before. They were my size!! : )

As we worked, two siblings from the neighboring house, Clydie (17) and Layla (12) brought food to us. We had met their mother, Loretta, earlier. They were very shy initially, and so rather than getting our attention that they brought food, they asked me how they could help us clean the house. So Clydie helped clear the pathway of vines and Layla mopped the floors. Not wanting to ignore their generosity, I invited everyone to take a break, and for us to take our food up to the roof! I got to hear more of Clydie, Layla, and Nate’s stories. How grateful I feel to have such incredible friends!!

Then we got back to work, but the parents had learned I was an English teacher, and sent English books with their children to ask me to teach the children English. Of course I wanted to help, so we went up on the roof again. Layla helped me translate. Later that day, once the house was cleaned, we said goodbye to all the village people who were hanging out with us. Nate needed a pot to cook with, and one of the older women left, and came back with a pot for him to borrow. Their generosity and joy that we were there just made me catch myself thinking, “This is so surreal. That a place like this exists. That a people like this exists. Welcoming complete strangers into their village and taking it upon themselves to make sure we have everything we need to be comfortable and taken care of.” I think true love is sacrificial. When you give of yourself, not expecting the other person to repay you. And that’s how the people there treated us. I gave all my “students” hugs, and they all wanted to kiss my cheek and get 2^nd and third hugs, haha.

We were amazed by our day. But on the way home, Lenny wanted to stop and get us coffee/tea. He said it was just a 15 minute stop, because he had a lot of work to do once he got home. We sat down at the equivalent of a gas station but with a quaint coffee shop on the side. The view was overlooking a field of sheep and the countryside. Lenny then began asking us difficult ethical questions, such as, “If someone killed your sibling in front of you, and moments later they were about to fall off a cliff, would you save them?” And, “If there were six people tied to train tracks on the left, and 1 person tied to train tracks on the right, and a train was coming, which track would you choose the train to speed down?” Me and another teammate responded immediately, “Of course I would save him! Of course it’s difficult to choose, every life is significant, but I’d save the 6!” His response was, “Why save someone who murdered who you love? They deserve to die. Revenge is in our nature. You can’t deny a part of you wants to see them suffer.” We saw that as an opportunity to share the Gospel, “Well, we all deserve to die. Because of our sin. But God made a way for us to be reconciled to Him, by dying in our place…” Lenny wasn’t convinced. “Right now you may say you wouldn’t let that man fall to his death, but in the moment, with the pain and loss pulsing through your veins, I believe you would let him die.” Our response, “But Jesus was able to overcome evil, in the face of horrendous suffering, and still do the right thing. Still die for people who didn’t appreciate what He was doing.”

Lenny appreciated our determination, but didn’t believe us. He turned to one of my teammates who had been quiet the entire conversation. “I want to hear from you. What would you do? Would you save the man?” My teammate, also named Kaitlynn, slowly said, “I don’t know what I would do… in a moment with that intense of emotions. I would probably let him fall. But I like to hope, that based on all the small decisions I’ve made in my life to be selfless, to choose others before myself, would help me to make the right decision in a big decision like that. I think we’re inclined to do what we make a habit of doing, and so I’m working to become the person who would reach out and save someone like that.” Lenny was speechless. There were tears in his eyes. He said, “That was so honest. Thank you, you really thought about that. The others just blurted out what they knew to be right. But does anyone have the ability to overcome their humanity and save that man? I don’t know.” I recommended C.S. Lewis’s books, “Mere Christianity,” and “Problem of Pain,” to him and he wrote them down. “I think Lewis can debate with you better than I on this topic, Lenny.”

Driving home, my other teammate Renee asked if he would tell us his life story. He said, “I will if you tell me yours first.” Renee shared her life story, the hardships honestly, and how Jesus changed her life. She was the other teammate who had responded immediately to his ethical questions, and he had rebuked her for “not thinking it through. Not knowing what she would truly do in the face of true suffering.” But Renee had faced something similar. And Lenny was speechless at the end of her story. He said, “I’m so sorry about what I said. I didn’t know you had experienced so much pain. Please forgive me.” He shared his life story with us. Then he said out of the blue, “I think I should read the Bible.” Renee said, “I was just thinking that!” ; ) When we got out of the car, we thanked him for taking his whole day off of work, and in general, spending so much time with us. He said, “No, it is I who should be thanking you. Thank you, and see you next time.” Then he drove away.

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Since being at the village, I have longed to go back. To continue all of those friendships. And the delight of walking around picking fruit off trees and savoring their explosive taste, like in the Garden of Eden. Unfortunately the olive harvesting season was going to begin a month after our departure date. But I still felt the Lord was impressing on me that we should move to the village and just do life with the people there. Today was the day we needed to make our decision. I shared the burden on my heart for this unreached village with my teammates. I had a lot of responsibility for my team’s safety though… I had to make sure I had heard from God correctly. We prayed. We disagreed. We prayed more. We disagreed. We prayed more. I read aloud to them the original visions and words the Lord had given us at the beginning of our ATL month. The light house… was there on the top of the hill of the village. The village had many elderly and widowed people. We would do house visits. Lenny had “taken us in.” The village was located exactly between Vlore and Berat. We disagreed. We prayed more. Among the original words, I had listed “team stays together.” We prayed more. I valued what everyone believed they were hearing from the Lord, about whether we should stay in Vlore or move to the village. I announced I would ask the next level of leadership how to settle our decision. And then, suddenly we were in agreement. One of our teammates did not feel peace about moving to the village, but she was willing to trust us who did have peace, to take everything a step at a time and be discerning.

I let Nate know we were packing food and our sleeping gear today, to join him tomorrow. He said, “It’s been awesome here, really. I love it. The villagers always come to the house and talk to me. Honestly you have nothing to worry about. I sleep like a baby every night.” Lenny also okayed us moving there. As well as our above leadership. It will only be the 6^th through 9^th. I’m so excited for what the Lord has planned for us there!! : ) Your prayers make such a difference!! You guys have taken such good care of me, thank you for supporting me financially and through your prayer!! Leave a comment below praising God for His faithfulness and heart for the Albanian people!!

Prayer Requests:

+Provision to be fully funded! Just $1,100 away! (already missed my deadline but, we believe in grace around here, lol).

+Opportunities to share the Gospel with villagers

+Opportunities to serve the villagers & do everyday chores with them

+Ability to translate Gospel accurately

+For our safety and discernment

+That our eyes would be opened to what is spiritually oppressing the village