Hello from Albania!
Our squad traveled from Craiova, Romania, to Kruje, Albania, a few weeks ago. We left the ministry with our hosts and headed into debriefing and training. Debrief was a week-long opportunity for our squad to process through the first month of the race. We also talked about the dynamics of our smaller teams and how the Lord is working in our lives. The training was a week that immediately followed debrief and was a sweet time of equipping and diving deep into the Word. It was a much-needed break after a month of intense ministry. Before I leap into what Albania has looked like so far and what our outreach will look like, let me recap Romania.
Our time in Romania was busy. We started our mornings around 7:30 am and ended our nights around 7:30 pm. We squeezed in team time, feedback, ministry, and making dinner for almost 30 people during that time. It was a learning experience and reminded me why a work-life balance is essential, even in ministry. Finding time to reconnect with the Lord was challenging and took discipline. However, the stolen moments before sunrise or sitting out, bundled up underneath the stars, remain some of my favorite memories from our time there. Craiova is a city marked by spiritual darkness. The impact of the spiritual warfare I experienced was hard for me to understand at first. Since my time traveling and in ministry has been limited, I had few to no expectations upon entering this city.
I did experience sadness and relived the emotions associated with some past hardships. Still, I attributed it to general angst and adjusting to a new lifestyle. However, on the few occasions we had to leave the city, it was like a weighted blanket fell off my shoulders. Suddenly, it was easy to laugh, and joy flowed seamlessly. Reentering Craiova was always accompanied by sadness and bouts of depression. It blew my mind to realize that part of what I felt was tied directly to the area where we were staying. Our alumni leaders continued to comment on the darkness and weight they felt compared to most of the other places they had been. We had a couple of nights where we just prayed over our house and against the city’s spiritual forces at work. Several of my squadmates wrestled with the loss of sleep and haunting dreams for the entire time there. Overall, exhaustion defined my time in Romania. I had no usual comforts that I would have run to, nor did I have much alone time. Each week, however, we were blessed with a sabbath – a day to spend as we want with the expectation of finding rest and reconnecting intimately with the Lord. (I can’t wait to share more about the sabbath in a future post.)
Besides spiritual warfare and exhaustion, there was also the dynamic of working within a new team. My team, BANJO, includes four fellow racers and one alumni leader. My teammates are Brian Sanders, Andrew Musselman, Nancy Philbrick, and Jordyn Ward, and our team leader is Heidi Gray. (They each have blogs and will be writing updates on our ministry. If you wish to have other perspectives on our time together and hear how the Lord is moving across our team, I encourage you to follow their journeys too!) I think two words to describe our team are “playful” and “humor.” We love to laugh! But, honestly, we have had a rougher start. Our personalities are wildly different, and each has a strong personality. While we have a lot of fun and laugh together frequently, we have had to fight for those moments. From the start, the enemy has tried to divide us. We have made strides in team unity, but this next 6/7 weeks will just be us. The rest of the squad is spread across Albania, doing ministry in different regions. There will be many more opportunities for the enemy to try and divide us again as we attempt to spread the gospel. I am hopeful that our team will continue to grow together in unity and learn how to love each other well. So far, our time in Vlore has been so fun and sweet! I’m excited to start our ministry with them this week. Also, we have one of our squad leaders, Allison Vickers, joining us for the next seventeen days.
Additionally, during this first month, my role on the squad officially began. My position on the squad is that of the logistics coordinator, which I share with two of my fellow squadmates. While technically we led our travel day from America to Romania, we did not have to schedule flights or set up anything. After we arrived, we had a lot more on our hands. We were in charge of finding a location in Albania for debriefing and training (which we stayed inside a castle!!!). We organized and led our transportation across three different borders. We made sure we all had negative covid tests. We handled all payments and cash transactions to our hosts. Finally, we helped create a peaceful, restful environment for the rest of the squad during debrief. We also organized several meals for the squad and planned an afternoon for squad fun! The squad fun day was so sweet and unique. We did “Squad Olympics,” and each team competed against each other in a bunch of silly challenges and games. It was fun to be the referee and watch our squad enjoy something our logistics team worked so hard to create. It’s been a busy couple of months. Truthfully, I am tired, but I am excited to jump back into ministry!
This picture was from one of our squad dinners:
Yesterday BANJO traveled from Kruje, a city on top of a mountain, to Vlore, a city by the sea. Both of these cities are stunning, displaying God’s creation and imagination so differently. Vlore reminds me of Hawaii, with the glistening sea against the backdrop of rolling green mountains. For the next seventeen days, we will be working in the county of Vlore. We are currently in the actual city of Vlore. Still, we will likely be moving to a smaller coastline community in a few days. We are currently seeking the Lord on what he has for us in the next couple of weeks. It is a time to truly take ownership and step out fully into where the Lord is leading us.
The most recent photo of team BANJO:
We have the freedom to minister in various ways, and that is so exciting! It is also a bit daunting as the scope of our impact rests on our shoulders. It will take boldness and consistency on our end, paired with listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit is not something I am used to doing. Over the years, I have had leanings or convictions that I attribute to him. However, trusting that the Lord will lead us where we need to be through the Holy Spirit or spend time just resting in his presence is not something I did back home. It is a growing experience for sure. After these next seventeen days, we will hopefully be connecting with a local ministry in Albania. More details to come on that later.
I have had several people reach out to me regarding my safety regarding the Ukraine/Russia conflict. First and foremost, we are safe! Albania is over 1,000 miles south of Ukraine, so we have had no direct interaction with what is going on. We also left Romania before the conflict turned violent. Our squad has been intentionally praying for Ukraine, and I’d like to invite you all into that as well. Our ministry partners in Romania are working to help the refugees at the border. If you would like to help support those brothers and sisters, here is a link where you can donate: https://togetherformission.com/donate-for-ukraine/.
Prayer Requests:
- For team BANJO, that we would continue to choose team unity and love each other well.
- For ministry over the next seventeen days to be impactful and done through the leading of the Holy Spirit.
- For Ukraine and Russia.
- For my intimacy with the Father to deepen and grow.
- For our interactions with the people of Albania, most of whom are Muslim, to be impactful. Also, for opportunities to share the gospel and create genuine connections.
- For our leaders as they continue to make squad-wide decisions.
Thank you all for your continued prayer and patience with updates. I love you all and can’t wait to share more! If you want more details or have specific questions, feel free to reach out to me directly 🙂
With love,
Corban
