Bible times around the table

Every morning, before the girls head off the school, they work on a Bible study that is age appropriate. Word of Life has put out this wonderful resource for them to use. We have been so encouraged to see them learning to build the discipline of daily quiet time with the Lord from a young age. Kris and I find that these small samplings of Scripture and commentary are a wonderful springboard to discussions about specific application in their lives. Even Breanna gets in on the action. She is always so excited to "read" her Bible. Praise God for the living and active Word of God.



Kaitlyn and I have begun a regular discipleship time together. We are reading and discussing Elizabeth George's book "A Young Woman's Walk with God" about the fruit of the Spirit. It has been a wonderful and incredibly encouraging time for me, as Katilyn's mom, to see her studying and appropriating the Word of God for herself. The first time we sat down together to go over our study, right after we prayed Kaitlyn looked at me and said, "Well, mom, what did you find interesting or convicting on the first page?" Who's discipling who here? :-) I have to say that our times together have been some of the best one-on-one discipleship times I have had with anyone. Her grasp of the deeper meaning of things and how to make specific application to her life is amazing to me. After working with Jr. High and High School students for many years I was expecting more immature and superficial discussions, but was overjoyed to have her asking lots of great questions and relating the truth of the Bible to her heart and her motives. Praise God that He has given her a heart that is inclined towards Him.

Please continue to pray that the Seed of the Word that is being planted in the hearts of our girls would bear fruit from a young age for His glory.

Building Leadership and friendship in Albania

Core leadership team for Young married and family ministry



A couple of weeks ago we invited to dinner the two Albanian couples who will be joining Kris and myself in starting up a young married and family ministry in the spring of '09. What a splendid time we had talking (in English, thankfully) about how we can glorify God in this new, and necessary, ministry at our church. Lenci, one of the young men who just graduated from SETS, and his wife, Alta, are a passionate young couple that want to make a difference in their country for the Lord. Nick, an Albanian man who studied in the states and has returned to Albania to reach his country with the gospel, and his wife Lizzy (an American MK who I met in 1990 in Nepal - another whole story in itself)are an amazing couple who have been serving faithfully in the church.

The purpose of the new small group ministry at church will be to establish spiritual friendships with the 15 or so couples that fit in this category at church. Kris has been teaching a discipleship class to the various small group leaders for the past month in preparation for a church wide small group ministry that will kick off in January of 2009. We are going through C.J. Mahaney's book "Why Small Groups?"

I am looking forward to the small group format where we will be able to focus in on applying the Sunday message and keeping each other accountable to taking the truth that we hear each Sunday and living in out through the week. I especially look forward to deepening the sweet friendships that God has begun with Lizzy and Alta.

Kris teaching at CCL




On November 10th, Kris had the privilege of speaking in a chapel service at the Center for Christian Leadership. This undergraduate Bible school, here in Tirana, offers a two year Bible degree for Albanians in Albanian. Their purpose statement is "Glorifying God by equipping spiritual leaders to become disciple-makers". It was so encouraging to see 6 young Albanian men and women committed to studying the Scripture and taking it back to their villages to serve in their local churches.




After chapel we had such a sweet time of fellowship together over a fabulous lunch in the schools dining room. Kris and I had a super opportunity to practice our Albanian over steaming bowls of Albanian chicken lemon soup and homemade bread. The body of Christ is an amazing thing. I love the fact that we can meet someone for the first time and immediately experience the bond of fellowship in the Spirit. We look forward to building on these new relationships.

We are so thankful that God has allowed us to begin new areas of ministry now that our first year of language learning is behind us. We look forward, with keen anticipation, to what God will do in us and with us for the sake of His kingdom.

Purity Retreat

In the beginning of November our church hosted the first ever (that we know of) retreat for single girls, in Albania, regarding sexual purity. It was a great joy and honor for me to be able to attend and help lead as a "spiritual mom". Sexual purity is a huge issue for the youths of Tirana. I have been told that most of the students in the high schools and universities are sexually active. The immodesty is appalling! Sometimes I am floored by what I see the girls wearing, or not wearing, just walking on the streets of Tirana. The decadence of the west has swept into Albania and is wreaking havoc on this young generation. Many of the cultural taboos are still in place regarding birth control and speaking out loud about sexual issues. It is a disturbing mystery that girls do not have any shame in wearing the barest minimum of clothes and yet will not even say certain medical terms relating to their bodies. Abortion is rampant here, as it is a more acceptable than birth control. Given this horrifying trend, it was greatly encouraging to have over 20 committed young girls and women attend this retreat. Here is a photo of the leaders and attendees. We had a special speaker from the Czech Republic give us the biblical view of sex and God's purpose for purity. Some of the girls said that this was the first time that they had ever heard these verses about God's plan for intimacy and His commands regarding purity.
Our retreat started on Friday night and we came back home on Sunday morning for church. We had many great opportunities for hearing God's Word, worshipping with song, praying together, and breaking up into small groups for discussions.
We stayed at this Christian retreat center in a nearby town of Priske. The facility was perfect for our needs, although we didn't have hot water (or any water for showers) or heating. It was in the 40's at night and I was thankful for the foresight of Kris to bring our warm sleeping bags to Albania. The mountain air was so refreshing! It was a gift from God to wake up to a spectacular sunrise on the changing foliage and to hear a bubbling brook nearby.

One of the most impactful times, for me at least, was the small groups. The desire of Gretchen, the youth leader who put this retreat together, was to provide a "spiritual mom" for these girls to begin to share with and build a relationship with. Discipleship and long-term spiritual friendships were the goal of these groups. Here I am with my small group. Eri, on the left, is finishing up her studies to be a doctor. Rose, is an American woman of Albanian descent, who is here on a short term trip to work with university students. She is 77 years old and is here in Albania with a passion to share Christ with her people. Bruna, in the blue shirt, is my true spiritual daughter. I have seen her grow from spiritual birth to become a leader among her peers and younger girls in the youth group. I am so proud of her! Aida, on the right, is in her first year of university. She is quiet, but has a solid grasp of Scripture and loves the Lord.
We had so many great times of reading from Scripture, talking about how culture has shaped our thinking regarding our view of morality and modesty, and sharing some real life struggles that each of us has.
Here I am with Eri on Saturday morning. I received a special letter from some of the girls at the conference. Here are what some of them had to say:

"Thanks for being in Albania. Thanks for being with us. Thanks for sharing with us...be sure that your testimony has changed a life."

"Chelle, thank you for sharing with us about your personal life...may the grace of God overflow in your life. Your name is written on the table of my heart because of your words and I praise the Lord for giving me the opportunity to know you and to experience the joy and the love of the God through you."

"Jam shume miremjohere per ty dhe jolenderoj Zotin qe no dho munderine te te kem mike." (I'm still working on translating this one :-) )

Please pray for these girls. Many of them are first generation Christians and face stiff persecution from family members. Some parents are even encouraging the girls to wear immodest clothes and engage in pre-marital sex in order for them to find a good husband and start their own families. They are under intense pressure from their culture, friends, and family to cave into Satan's world view. Pray that they would remain committed to their First Love and keep themselves pure for His glory. Pray that I would be able to get involved in the lives of these girls and give them a life picture of the benefits of a godly marriage. Thank you for your faithful prayers.

Young professional fellowship

Is it a great privilege and joy for Kris and me to be able to serve in the church. We are currently working as lay staff in the young professional ministry. The young professional group ranges in age from 20 and single to 30 and married. Most of the people in this ministry are finishing up university or are already working in their profession. We have doctors, teachers, a dentist, a shop owner, a business owner, two mommies, a female prison guard, a police officer, and three seminary students , just to name a few. These young Christians are the future of the church in Albania. Most of them are first generation Christians and live in tense family situations because of their faith in Christ. It is a truly humbling thing to hear their stories and realize the persecution they endure for the sake of the gospel on a day to day basis. We are so grateful to God to serve and grow in the midst of these trail-blazers of the faith in Albania. This gathering at our home was a few weeks ago on a Sunday night. I was told to expect maybe 9 people to attend. We packed out the house with over 25 young professionals!! Praise God that He provided the space and the generator to have these functions. I served some traditional American finger foods - a cheese ball with crackers, chicken noodle soup, deviled eggs, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (they don't have peanut butter over here), and an apple crisp. It was fun to see them try things for the first time.
These are three of the men who will carry the baton of the work of the church for the future in Albania. Marcel, on the far left, is already a leader in Campus Crusade work in the universities here in Tirana. Afrim, in the middle, is a doctor whose takes his role as a worker for the Lord very seriously. He is a serious student of the Word and has a reputation among the leadership of the church as being a faithful servant and a good man. Flori, on the right, is finishing up at the seminary that Kris is teaching at. His desire to dig deep into the Word and feed the flock in his native country is seriously needed thing in Albania. Godly men are few and far between in the church, and these men are taking the call of God to lead the church by example very seriously.
Here I am with two wonderful young women. Afrodita, on the right, is a committed young woman who has endured much family persecution because of her faith. She is in her late 20's and still single because she refuses to marry an unbeliever. The joy on her face is a characteristic of her life. I never see her downcast or complaining. She faithfully serves the church as a translator and is always busy at church doing whatever she can to help (teaching children's Sunday school, serving meals, heading up administration of the prayer team). Pray for a godly man to see the rich treasure in this woman and snatch her up! Irina, on the left, is from Russia. She is married to the Albanian man who works with Campus Crusade. She and her husband have a small boy, Sasha. Even though she is not an Albanian national, her love for the country and her desire to see them turn to Christ is contagious.

Thankfully most of the young professionals in this group speak enough English that we can communicate with them. However, we are realizing that to have relationships that will go deeper than surface words we need to work hard on learning the Albanian language. Please pray that we will be diligent in this long and difficult task.

Kris and I praise God that He has allowed us to jump right into a ministry that we have had a passion for and had experience with in the states. We are praying that we will be able to minister to those who are newly married and starting families. This is really an untouched ministry in the Albanian churches. Pray for wisdom and patience as we get to know these dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Cultural differences, language barriers, and time constraints make ministering here different than we have experienced stateside. Thank you for your faithful prayers on our behalf as well as your love for the people of this nation that God has called us to.

Stire kid's corner

Kris and I are so thankful to the Lord that He has given the girls such an easy transition to life in Albania. He has been so faithful our family. We know that many of you are praying often and fervently for the girls and I thought that you might like to hear from the girls own mouths what they think of Albania, what they miss about America, and whatever else is going on in those little heads.

I hope that as you read each girls section, you will take time to pray for them individually.

*Pray that they would not join the ranks of "M.K.'s" (missionary kids) who have the reputation for rebelling against the Lord and dishonoring His name.

*Pray that they would be soft-hearted to the gospel and recognize their need for a personal relationship with God.

*Kris and I recognize that what they see and hear at home will impact them deeply as they begin to see the connection to what they hear about God and how we live that out. Please pray that we would be faithful and diligent to model Christ-likeness for them.

*Pray that our family devotion times would be consistent and that the Word of God would pierce their souls (Heb. 4:12). Thank you.

Kaitlyn - age 10 (almost 11)

Kaitlyn says, " I really like living in Albania, but I miss Japanese food and friends and family back home. Here are some things that I really like about Albania - for instance, there's lots of adventure and different stuff, like going on short trips to parts of Albania. In this picture we are visiting a castle outside of Tirana with some people from our church. It was really cool to see such an old place and stand on top of one of the old towers (note from Chelle - she scared her mommy to death by standing on one of turrets to get a better look. They don't rope unsafe areas off or have any kind of guardrails and so Kaitlyn just climbed up on the 4 story turret and leaned over to see what was at the bottom. After recovering from a near faint, I was praising God that He is so sovereign and protects my children). It was really, really hot and a long walk to get there, but I still had fun. I hope to visit all of you back in America. For you people who are praying for me and my family, pray that I would do well in school and that I would grow to know Jesus more."

Kaitlyn has really become such a helper for me. She loves to keep things orderly and help me in the kitchen and with her sisters. She is liking school, but thinks that it is much harder than school in the states. She definitely has more homework, but she is diligent to get right to it when she gets home from school. Her Albanian class, at school, is hard for her, but we are able to work on it together at home, as Kris and I are learning some of the same things (colors, days of the week, days of the month, and numbers). Her accent is really good. She tends to get easily discouraged about things, so we have been really encouraging her that she doing well and that school will get easier as she gets into the routine. This is the first year she has a locker and moves from one one classroom to another for different classes.

Pray for her to grow in her walk with the Lord. She has confessed Christ as her Lord and Saviour and we thank God for opening her eyes to her need for Him. It is neat to see her being convicted by the Spirit regarding her sin. Pray that she would continue to be sensitive, but not introspective, to her sin.

Here are Kaitlyn and Whitney before school one morning. They are getting so big! It's fun for me to see them becoming more independent and beginning to form a friendship that will deepen and endure through the years. We praise God for these sweet gifts from the Lord!

Whitney - age 8

Whitney says, "Albania is a great place because there are lots of dogs there. The dogs were thrown out of their homes because people couldn't afford them. They live out in the streets and they eat from the garbage. The people in Albania are always nice. There's nice friends here, like Elley, Lydia, Wesley, and Miss Waites (my teacher). I miss my friends from America. My friends names are Emily and Rebekah and Rebekah's mom and Emily's mom. America has nice homes and nice people at church, and I miss our house. And I miss the church. I miss going to my friends house. I am thankful to God that we live in a house and that we don't live in the street. I miss the food that's there in America and I miss my family that's in America."

This is a picture of Whitney just after Kaitlyn accidentally knocked out her baby, front tooth last week. She cried a lot. There was a lot of blood. But soon after, Whitney was thanking God that Kaitlyn knocked out her tooth because she got Albanian lek (money) for it. She is so cute with that snaggle-tooth smile.

Whitney made mention of the dogs here. She loves all kinds of dogs and wants to take all the stray dogs home. She is even writing a book about some puppies near us and the mommy, daddy and grandpa dogs who find food in the trash bins for them. You should see the adorable illustrations that she made for the narrative.

Whitney also loves going out in the back yard and watching our landlord work on things. He is quite a handyman and is always digging something, building something or fixing something. She will just sit and "talk" with him in English/Albanian for hours. He thinks it is really fun to have her there and gives her fruit and veggies from their garden to bring home. Who knows, but she may be the opening God uses to bring him to the Lord.

Sierra - age 7

Sierra says, "I miss you! I like it here in Albania and I like Chinese food and things here. I miss Rebekah and all my friends. I miss Grammie and Granbud and Poppy and Mimi and I wish I was with Nannie and Grandpa. I miss all the food that's in America. I like all the new friends here, like Abbey and Gemma and Austin. I like the house here and my new room. I like to go to school because I like learning new things and playing soccer. I miss you so much."

The picture of Sierra above is taken right after she pulled out her first tooth! It was just hanging by a thread, but she wouldn't let anyone pull it out. She wanted to do it herself.

She is doing really well in school and her teacher said that she is at the top of her class. Praise the Lord!

Sierra is very faithful to thank Jesus for dying on the cross every time she prays. This morning after I had finished praying at breakfast, she said to me, "Mommy, you forgot to thank Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins." How right you are, little one! What a great reminder she is to be cross-centered everyday. Of course, not 30 minutes later, she was standing in front of me whining that "there's no one to play with". Ha, this is why we had 4 of you little people. Never can they use the excuse that there is NO ONE to play with. She didn't think my reasoning was valid. She wanted somebody "fun" to play with. Such is the life in our house.

Breanna - age 4

Breanna says, "I like to live here because it's beautiful. Albania is beautiful. My friend Isabel goes to school with me. I miss my friends and miss my church in America. "

In the picture above, Kris is having some fun daddy-daughter time playing Play-Doh with Breanna. When he sat down at the table, she turned to him and said, "Daddy, I will make the plans and you do the work." Kris and I just laughed and laughed. Now we just need to ask the Lord to help get that "administrative" (i.e. controlling) personality under the power of the Spirit.

Another funny story about Breanna...She and I were saying good-bye to an American friend who teaches Kindergarten at GDQ. All of a sudden Breanna looked at her and said, "Mary Poppins." Our friend thought that was the sweetest thing for Breanna to liken her to Mary Poppins. As she turned to go, I said, "Mirupafshim (meeruhpahfsheem)", which is goodbye in Albanian. Breanna piped in with, "Mary Poppins!" She had been trying to say goodbye in Albanian, but to her it sounded like Mary Poppins. At least she was making the connection between the Albanian words and the right action.

Being at the Albanian pre-school has been very good for her Albanian language learning. The other day I had an Albanian friend at our house and she told Breanna, in Albanian, to tell her mommy that she was beautiful. Breanna turned to me and, in English ,said, "Mommy, you are beautiful." I was floored! We are thankful that many of the seasoned missionaries here encouraged us to have her get a solid foundation in the language by putting her in the Albanian pre-school for a few hours a day. One English pastor's wife told me that all of her kids are fluent in Albanian because of the pre-school time. We are hoping and praying that Breanna will pick up Albanian quickly and help mommy and daddy with their Albanian. LOL!

Well, I hope that you enjoyed hearing from the girls. If you did, thank my mom, it was her idea. Kaitlyn suggested that we do this once a month. So, hopefully, you will hear from them more often. They would love to hear what you all have to say to them, so please comment on this blog. Thank you for your continued support and prayers.

New ministry in Albania

Well, it's not actually new ministry, it's just a new place to do it. God has given Kris and me the incredible privilege to serve with the body of Christ here in Albania. Due to the fact that we are in a restricted country and for safety issues, we are not allowed to mention the name of the church we attend or the names of many of the Americans attending our fellowship. Please, for our safety, do not mention names in your comments either. Kris has been gifted by God is a very special way to lead worship and play the piano. He only took 2 years of piano as a child, but has the ear to pick up songs and fill them out with complementary cords and such. I, on the other hand, am instrumentally challenged. I pray that the girls get his talent and giftedness musically. Ever since Kris was in high school, God has been using his natural and growing talent in the local church for worship. Kris has been part of worship bands and for the past 8 1/2 years he has been a worship pastor. He may no longer have the title of "worship pastor", but he is honored to be able to continue to use his talent for God's glory in Albania. Our team leader has asked Kris to work with the Albanian worship team to put in place a philosophy of music ministry and to help lead the music on the instrumental end. Due to our not being able to speak Albanian (YET), he can't really "lead" music vocally. The Albanians are a very musical people and so we have an oboe, violin, drums, guitar, keyboard and 3 vocalists. The team has graciously welcomed Kris and they are practicing and learning how to work together. The music worship experience , for me, in an Albanian church has been a mixed bag. One one hand, it is always an awesome thing to hear believers of different languages singing praises to God together. On the other hand, the power point words are in Albanian and even though I thought I knew all the songs they sing by heart, I can't seem to remember them when I am the only one I can hear singing them. It is more work to worship because I can't meditate on the words and join in with the corporate singing. This is easily remedied by getting some English music sheets made. Kris will also be preaching in the church service in a month and teaching in the young professional - singles - next week.
This is the English speaking children's Sunday school class I taught last week. There are a number of English speaking children whose families are part of the embassy contingency or work with ministries to Albanian orphans, gypsies or leadership training. It has been a sweet gift from the Lord for my children. Many of the children are stateside right now with their families, so this is actually only a portion of the children that will be in class. The majority of these kids will also be attending the English speaking school the girls will start in Sept. I am thankful that they will have lots of friends on their first day of school. As many of you know, my heart beat and passion is for women's ministry and discipleship. By God's grace, I will have the opportunity to teach at the next women's meeting. The married women and single women meet once a month for a time of prayer, fellowship, and teaching. Please pray for wisdom as I teach to women in a culture that is new to me. Thankfully, the Word of God transcends culture, language, and age. I just pray that I will be faithful to exalt my God and bring Him glory as I teach.
God's goodness continues to overflow onto us. Here I am with Bruna, my dear friend and spiritual "child". Two years ago, at our first camp here, God allowed me to develop a relationship with Bruna, share the gospel with her, and witness her new birth at 11:55 p.m. on July 15th, 2005. It was one of the highlights of my life. Well, she has just grown like gangbusters. She is faithfully studying Scripture and has joined the church to use her gifts for His glory. Bruna is an accomplished oboe player and vocalist and is part of the worship team. She is also serving as part of the lay youth staff. I can't tell you how grateful I am to God that He is allowing me to be a part of her growth in Christ. We have continued our friendship via the Internet for the past two years and now we will begin meeting for discipleship and accountability. PRAISE GOD!! Kris and I are just humbled that God would use us, such unworthy vessels to serve His body, the church. We ask that you would pray that we would be faithful to be learning and applying ourselves what we teach other. Teach applied study! Thank you for your faithful prayers. We are being gently upheld in His tender hand because you labor on our behalf before His throne. You are a vital part of our ministry here!

Oak Ridge Baptist Fellowship

On June 3rd our family had the wonderful opportunity of visiting a nearby church, Oak Ridge Baptist Fellowship. What a sweet time of worship and fellowship we enjoyed! In Sunday School, Kris shared about what God is doing in the country of Albania and about the ministry we will be doing there. We both were able to share our testimoney of how God had saved us and brought us the the point of overseas service. The body there was so welcoming and asked lots of questions about the country, our family, and life in Albania. Kris also had the priviledge of preaching the Word during the main church service.
Kris and Pastor Jess Larson have known each other for the past 5 years. Our churches have had the opportunity to do youth camps together. It was a joy to worship with Jess and his wife, Leah, at Oakridge along with their sweet body of believers. Kris is pictured here with Justin Tubbs. Justin is the youth pastor at Oakridge Baptist. That may seem like generic information to you. However, to Kris and myself, it is an amazing testament to God's glory. You see, Kris and Justin have a history that goes back to the time Kris was hired at Lakeside Bible as the youth pastor. Justin was a hard-hearted young man who had no interest in spiritual things. Through the prayers, love and consistent witnessing of friends at church, Justin's life was radically transformed upon conversion. These past 7 years we have seen Justin grow and become an incredible leader among his peers and now to the next generation of young people. His passion for truth and his love for youth are wonderfully matched. For Kris, it was a great reward to go to church and see Justin involved in the worship, giving announcements and most amazing of all - wearing a suit ! :) LOL ! God is so gracious to allow us to see the fruit of the ministry He entrusted to Kris for the past 7 years.

We thank God for Oakridge and for those who committed to pray and support us "across the pond". We can't wait to share with them how their faithfulness is worked out in Albania.

Missions at home

These are our four daughters. They are our first, and most important, mission field!

Kaitlyn, who is 10, is a confident leader who has a sensitive heart for the Lord. Last year Kaitlyn made a profession of faith in Christ and has been growing and representing the Spirit of God in her life more and more. We praise God for her desire to be a missionary at school in Montgomery, TX and in Albania. Please pray for Kaitlyn that she would learn to be sensitive to the Spirit and that she would allow God to harness her natural ability to lead (be bossy) for His glory. She has no fear of intimidating situations and we know that God can use her in a mighty way if her heart is bent towards Him.

Whitney (in the pink, flower dress), who is 7, is our sensitive, artsy girl. She is petite and seems shy and withdrawn. Don't let that fool you, she is the one to always try new things and climb the highest tree - and then jump! We call her "snugglebug" because she loves to hug and cuddle. My heart has been especially burdened for her lately because I know that she is coming to the age where she can comprehend the truths of the gospel and appropriate them for herself. She has expressed desire and interest in spiritual things and can articulate the gospel fairly well, but as of yet she has not made that personal transaction with God. Please pray that God would soften her heart and that she would see her need for The Savior, that she would repent and place her trust in Christ as her Lord.

Sierra (in the pink, geomtric dress), who is 6, is our spunky gal who has a personality that attracts people in an uncanny way. Her dry sense of humor and contagious laugh are a contant source of joy to us. She loves school, her friends and her sisters. I love to hear Sierra pray because she never forgets to thank Jesus for dying on the cross for her sins. Sierra has a soft heart towards the Lord, and a desire to please Him, but is still wanting "Sierra" it rule in her life. Please pray for Sierra that God would break her very strong will and that she become a mighty tool in the Almighty's hand for His glory. I know her God given talents are great and she can cause great harm or great glory for His kingdom. Pray for a broken and contrite heart that turns to Christ.

Breanna, who will turn 4 in two days, is the hard-headed and loveable "baby" girl. She is a daddy's girl and at this point loves Dora the Explorer and her blankey. Her desire to do everything her older sisters do has caused me many grey hairs. She loves to sing and draw. In the last few months we have dealt with the obstinate streak (it's a mile wide) on a whole new level. Please pray for Breanna to come to Christ at young age. Her desire to conform to what every one is doing is especially concerning because we know that it is so easy for children raised in a Christian home to delude themselves into thinking that they are Christians because they believe, intellectually, the facts of the Bible. Pray that we would be consistent to present the gospel to her, on her level, so that the Word of God can begin to pierce her heart and show her her need for God.

We covet your prayers as we try - and fail so often - to raise these gifts from God in a way that pleases Him. The mission field in Albania will add new challenges and great opportunities to teach them about the great God that we serve. Thank you for praying for our mission field at home!