Media around the Mediterranean Sea
Kruje, Albania
April 2023
Happy Easter to you! We are praying that you experience the joy of our Risen Savior and His deep love for you.
Sometimes our work involves capturing incredible views, hearing stories of life change, and traveling to exciting places. Sometimes it’s making oobleck with a 4-year-old or struggling through reading a one-paragraph biography in Polish. We have seen a lot of ups and downs in the past few months.
Trip One
In February, we had the opportunity to visit a beautiful, historically and culturally rich nation and spend time with a worker there before meeting up with a church group to join their short term trip.
One of the workers there passed away a few years ago, and we met with and interviewed several of his family members, friends, and partners in ministry. We’d only met him over a short zoom call once before, so it was bittersweet to hear about the impact of his life and work in this way.
When Peter and I began working together, we had a lot of discussions about interview methods. When you’re interviewing someone with an end-product in mind, it can be frustrating when they’re not really good at articulating themselves or when they haven’t thought through their story before. We try to set ourselves up for good interviews, but when you’re traveling somewhere for a short time, there isn’t always enough time for full preparation.
Shortly into an interview with a long-time friend of the global worker, he said, “Well, I haven’t really talked about this since he passed.” At that moment, Peter and I both knew the interview to follow would be less about the video and more about the conversation. Over those several days, we were able to have several similar conversations that enabled people to process some of their grief and celebrate the life of a man who meant a lot to them. We will be editing together pieces of those interviews, but we’re grateful for those moments of ministry that extended beyond a video.
Once we met up with the church group, we were able to travel and capture b-roll in ways and places where, only a few days before, we hadn’t been allowed.
It’s hard to describe our experience in this country. It was incredible and weighty as the Biblical history and current cultural and political conflicts presented themselves simultaneously.
Home in Poland
Within a day of our return, our friend and fellow worker Jenny Valentine was admitted to the hospital with a life-threatening infection. We and the other workers here in Poznań were able to step in to help care for her home and kids during her stay in the hospital. We’re praising God that she was able to return home and has been recovering. She is feeling much better but is still recovering.
Trip Two
In early March we visited global workers Ted and Nita in Albania. Ted is serving in a ministry called Selah Worship Arts Ministry. Run by Arben Xhako and his family, the vision of Selah is to equip Albanian and Balkan churches for worship. They do this through training in church leadership, discipleship, music theory, and worship leadership. We got to hear about their ministry and its impact, and we look forward to sharing it with you.
Nita is the MOPS Albania leader. She and the women she works with are regularly multiplying groups and raising up new leaders. While they develop these groups with the genuine desire to show care, love, and support to moms regardless of their faith background, many women have come to know Christ for the first time or at a deeper level because of their MOPS group leaders. As one group leader put it, “I believe that Albania can be reached with the gospel through its moms. When a mom experiences the love and grace of Jesus, her kids and her husband see that, and their home is changed.” Keep an eye out for those stories!
Following Albania, we flew to another Mediterranean country to capture b-roll of the country and hear stories from fellow workers and local leaders. Many of you know that Peter and I have a soft spot for ministry in this part of the world, and we’d been dreaming of visiting this particular country for several years, and it did not disappoint.
There are two families serving there. One family is fairly new to the field, but they have been finding creative ways to engage in their community and develop relationships in addition to their work with the local church. It’s always interesting to see how global workers incorporate their passions and hobbies into their lives overseas, and we know God works through those connections.
The other family is in the process of transitioning into a new role within our region, which will place them back in the States but involve frequent travel. They have had a decade of successful ministry, and we were able to hear from men they’ve worked with about the impact they’ve had in their community and church. We loved getting to know this family, and we’re excited to see how God will continue to use them in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean and in the Middle East.
As we prepared to leave, I felt real sorrow. Peter had gotten sick and needed rest. The team back in Poland was going to need support. The workers there needed to continue in their work and transition, but a piece of my heart remains with the Arab culture. Even so, I’m grateful we can serve those ministries in our small way from a distance.
Peter capturing “maybe the best sunset ever”
Back in Poland
The day we returned, our friend and fellow worker Miranda Brothers was admitted to the hospital with serious pregnancy complications. Again, God allowed us to be back in Poland in time to help meet some of the needs of the family. She has also returned home but she and the baby are still under careful watch.
Big news in our residency process
A couple weeks ago we went to the immigration office for our fingerprinting appointment. After looking through our paperwork, making a few corrections, and capturing our fingerprints, the kind lady stamped our passports! These are not visas, but they do clearly state that we are in process of acquiring our residency permits and are legally allowed to be in Poland until we receive a decision. They are dated from Dec 8, 2021, the day we applied for residency. We expect a response within the next couple months, and in the meantime, we should experience much less confusion and frustration from border guards than we’ve had over the past year.
