Our trip to Albania went very smoothly, with no complications at any of our stops. We first flew from Columbus to New York City, then to Vienna, and finally to Tirana. As soon as we got here the first thing I noticed were the huge beautiful mountains everywhere. I love Western Maryland because of its mountains, but I’d never seen any quite as big as the ones they have here. Since being here, we’ve had a chance to go hiking nearby in Milot. Kurt (my team leader) and I pressed on a little further than the rest of the team, and climbed nearly to the highest point on one mountain. It was a very intense hike, but the view was well worth it.
We’ve been helping Dan and Mary (our coordinators) with their church plant here in Milot, and will soon be helping in the nearby city of Lezhë with teaching young children English and helping with their homework.
There have been a couple of times that we’ve been able to worship together as a team in English, but soon we’ll begin to try leading a few songs in Albanian. We’re taking language classes 3 days a week (2 hours per session), and just trying to be outgoing with our attempts at speaking the language as we’re learning.
I’m so excited to see what God has planned for the next six months!
Lizzy Maust
December 15, 2021