Okayyyyyy... So I suck at doing blogs, not going to lie. About five weeks in, I've only posted one so far, and I have too many stories to tell. Where do I start?

I'll begin with a brief overview of what the last few weeks have looked like in a general regard. Firstly, we had about 13 hours of travel, including the flight to NYC, the flight to Serbia, the flight to Albania, and finally, a 3-hour bus ride to a small town that we stayed in for the first week, called Pogradec. The first week, which was called "training camp," consisted mainly of getting to know our peers, leaders, and mentors who would be traveling with us for parts of our trip. Following our training week, we traveled to a much more remote and Muslim based location in a mountain town called Kotodesh. We have been staying at this church/ministry location for the last 4 weeks or so, and I have countless stories that I wish I had been telling from the start. Our daily schedule is PACKED and so incredibly fulfilling. For a brief overview, we wake up bright and early around 5:45 or so for a workout at 6 AM, followed by devotional time until around 8 AM (we eat breakfast either after or before devotional time). Following our workout, breakfast, and devotional time, we move into our daily class schedule, which runs until noon and consists of accredited classes through an online schooling program or non-accredited classes through a program based on life skills, which have been very helpful and insightful. Following classes, we have been split up into various groups where we travel to six different churches in the general area and serve where needed. Serving includes cleaning spaces where it's needed, leading worship, telling testimonies or messages, or simply playing soccer or volleyball with the local youth.

The main thing of note that I could share a thousand times over about my initial response to the first month or so is how much the Lord is moving, not only in this amazing community, but in ME. I have never felt such a burning fire for a more intimate relationship with Christ, but also to share my testimony or the Gospel with people who might not know it or believe in something else. Another thing I am so happy to say is that I have started keeping a daily journal where I simply write down all the things I do in a day, so I will be referring to that often for stories and Jesus moments that I might forget.

I am quickly realizing how much more I should have been journaling and posting as I am writing this. Hundreds upon hundreds of stories coming to my mind, starting from our group's first meeting point in the airport at JFK in New York, when we got yelled at for being too loud during our card game of spoons, to this past week, riding on one of the locals' tilling machines on his tractor. I should've been posting weekly, if not more so, now I will have to play catch-up! I will likely split up a fair amount of these stories and blog posts into a number of different sections over the next couple of days, so stay tuned!