Travel with me to Albania

Where is Albania you ask? Officially known as The Republic of Albania, the nation is located in South Eastern Europe. The country sits across the Adriatic Sea from the heel of Italy with Greece as its south and southeastern neighbor. Albania is about the size of the state of Maryland with a population of 3.1 million people. Its per capita income is approximately $2,580 and more than a quarter of the population lives below the poverty level, making Albania one of the poorest countries in Europe. Often family members will work in neighboring Greece and send money home to provide for their families.

In 1967 the communist government created the world's first officially atheistic country when it outlawed all religions. It was ruled by the most repressive and isolated regime in Europe until 1991, when it became the last country to emerge from the communist regime. Since then the nation has struggled through years of political instability and ecomonic collapse. An outbreak of civil disorder erupted in 1997, followed by an influx of 460,000 Kosovar refugees in 1998. This increased the burden on the already deteriorating political, ecomonic, and social infrastructures. Today Albanians enjoy full religous freedom. and while the government is an "emerging democracy" maintaining infrastructure is extremely difficult, especially in rural areas.

Alongside Ministries International hosts the Crossroads Christian Camp in Erseke in southern Albania. The children and youth are introduced to Jesus Christ and loved on by Christians in a one-week camp enviroment that includes crafts, games, bible lessons, and a ropes course (don't we all love camp!). I feel very priviledged to be part of bringing Christ into the lives of these young people.

Excerpts borrowed from World Vision http://www.worldvision.org/

Saturday, June 26, 2010

You Are A Blessing

Thank you, thank you to everyone who contributed to the Albanian Children's Campership Fund. $2725 was donated which means 109 children, who might not otherwise be able to attend the Crossroads Christian Camp, will hear the good news of Jesus Christ - many for the first time. You are truly a blessing to these children and the result of your blessing may well be life changing.

After repacking and reweighing my suitcase at least five times I'm ready to leave for Albania tomorrow morning. I received so many donations of Kool-Aid, antibiotic ointment, first aid supplies, stickers, ribbon, coloring books, crayons, and the like that I had to pull out clothes to ensure I didn't go over the airline's weight limit. Along with my suitcase at the maximum weight limit I'm also taking a very heavy carry-on. Your gifts are invaluable so I'm determined to take every last one of them. Along with my clothes I'm taking my own sheets, towels, TP, sleeping blanket, and construction tools but it's unbelievable how quickly everything adds up.

I fly to Chicago to meet up with 11 members of the team I'm joining from Dundee Presbyterian Church located in Omaha, Nebraska. From Chicago we fly to Munich, meet up with five more team members, then fly to Tirana the capital of Albania. About 16 hours and three flights after leaving San Francisco I'll arrive in Albania. Stay tuned to find out how the trip went.
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownJune 27, 2010 at 1:31 PM

    Cathy, - I wish you God speed and a wonderful journey and look forward to following your adventures and successess these coming weeks!
    Love,
    Aunt B.

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  2. AnonymousJune 28, 2010 at 6:45 AM

    Hi Cathy, Thinking of you! It's Monday morning, and I'm thinking you might now be on your way to Munich. Wow! Getting closer to Albania! I pray that you will sense God's presence each and every day on your journey. Thank you for taking all the gifts! Our love goes with you and to all the people you meet in Albania. (And I hope and pray all those suitcases don't hurt your back!!) Love, Tanya

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