Albania

Father, You love Albania! Thank You for pursuing this small country that lies in the crossroads of East and West. Traditions of Islam and the fallout from Communism prevail, so we pray that Your Word will spread into every corner of this nation and that the light of Christ will transform it! Amen.

Nathan Waggoner, Missionary, Albania

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SPECIFIC NEEDS

Volunteer

Missionary

Community Development Workers

ESL Teacher

Sports/Recreation Coordinator

Teachers (to partner with an international school)

Are Short-Term Missions Worth the Cost?

Nathan Waggoner, Missionary, Albania
The Call, January-March 2017

Summer 2016 was a busy season for short-term volunteers in Albania. We were blessed to host a university team and two families for one- to two-week trips each and three Volunteers In Action (VIA) interns who stayed for seven weeks! Thousands of dollars were invested last summer in these short-term trips as the volunteers came alongside of us in the village. Was it worth it?

If you Google the question “Are short-term missions worth the cost?” you will find thousands of 

articles —some thoughtful, some cynical—debating the question. Many articles claim that short-term missionaries benefit much more than their host communities. Most compare the funds used for travel to local wages and consider what else (presumably better) could be done with that money. Some of the examples cited would turn me off from short-term missions completely if I hadn’t experienced the other side.

The team from Asbury University (Kentucky) brought youthful enthusiasm with special skills in worship arts. A student majoring in worship arts along with Jonathan Powers, WGM’s Student Involvement director at Asbury, led a workshop for our young congregation. As a result, a committed group of youth and adults meet weekly to help plan our church services. Not only is the church service enriched and more orderly with the planning but also more people are involved each week.

The team also helped us launch a new children’s program in a neighboring village. (Incidentally, we learned about this community through distributing Christmas shoeboxes—another short-term missions outreach.) We had hoped the draw of our American visitors would help our numbers, but we were amazed when more than 80 kids and adults showed up! Our daughter, Ellie (age 11), played her guitar with Jonathan as they taught the first praise songs ever sung in that community! The youth from our village church caught the vision and have faithfully continued leading this weekly kids’ club outreach. 

Nathan (WGM Board member) and Anne Lowe and their children came to Albania on a family missions trip, and they plugged into our village ministries like they had been here from the beginning. Each family member was involved, whether preaching at church, facilitating youth Bible study, holding a chess tournament, leading a workshop for young mothers on childhood brain development, or visiting village homes. I know they left tired, but they helped encourage us and our neighbors.

Since the VIA interns were here for seven weeks, they were involved in all of the above ministries as well as starting a weekly Bible study fellowship for the young ladies in our village. They were also instrumental in helping our church’s youth prepare and lead the ongoing kids’ club meetings in our neighboring community. Both ministries have continued since they returned to the States, because people are following the patterns they set while they volunteered here with us.All of these “short-term” missionaries have left a long-term impact in our community! They strengthened our hands as career missionaries as they used their skills and abilities for the kingdom of God in Albania!

Only in eternity will we see the full dividends from the investments made this summer by short-term missionaries in Albania. But based on the returns we have already seen in this short time, the answer to the question “Was it worth it?” is a resounding YES!

GO: Ready to make your long-term impact on a short-term team or as a volunteer? Visit www.wgm.org/teams and www.wgm.org/via to learn more!

Wrapping and Warming Hearts

Tracy Dubois, Support Staff
The Call, October-December 2016

Across the country, women of all generations get together in church basements to make quilts for newborns, newlyweds, orphans, and local hospitals. Other small groups stuff pillows for those in need while some fill grocery bags with food for hungry children to eat on the weekends. In Albania, a group of women meet to knit products they can sell to help support their families.

“Economic opportunities for women in rural communities are difficult to come by,” explained missionary Cydil Waggoner. “Where we serve in Albania, limited education and resources, not to mention the expense and difficulty of commuting and responsibilities for family care, all represent barriers for women to contribute financially to their families. Our attempt has been to develop skills (or take advantage of existing skills) to empower these women to create commodities that can be sold to help their families economically.”

When Cydil first became a part of the women’s crafting ministry, the ladies were making jewelry. Their creations had a very low profit margin, and the earnings were split evenly among the women. The ministry switched to knitting, which the ladies were already skilled in, allowing each woman to earn based on her ability, labors, and creativity.

Knitted items for sale include scarves, headbands, legwarmers, hats, fingerless gloves, and even a few pieces for men. Proceeds from past sales have enabled Albanian wives, moms, sisters, and aunts to buy necessities like heating oil and medicines as well as luxuries like their family’s first indoor kitchen sink!“

To those who have already purchased from Village Knits, thank you for making a difference in the lives in this little corner of Albania,” Cydil stated. “For those of you who are reading about Village Knits for the first time, see what we have to offer at the Village Knits website."

Although final sales are the goal of each knitter, there is much more going on behind the scenes as this winter wear is purchased and worn around the globe.

“As I photograph, tag, catalog, and post new merchandise, I breathe a prayer that each item will be bought, that faith will grow with each sale, and that answered prayers will wrap and warm hearts just like the products wrap and warm bodies,” Cydil shared.

MORE: Christmas is just around the corner. Visit Village Knits to start knocking items off your shopping list. You can also follow this community on Pinterest.

Speed Bumps and Bruises

Cydil Waggoner, Missionary, Albania
April-June 2016

A fellow missionary friend described the crossing of cultures like walking into a different dimension. Judging motives and understanding rationales in our host culture require a different filter to comprehend. Everything feels warped; even the same temperature “feels” different.

Those differences are like virtual speed bumps that shake the whole mind and body to remind us to slow down and shift to a different way of thinking. If you know a speed bump is ahead, you can adjust your speed and minimize the impact. But if you hit it at full speed, watch out—passengers are going to get bruised.

I was supposed to be familiar with this road. I wasn't supposed to have “forgotten” so quickly that speed bumps were just around the corner. The United States was supposed to be our “home,” but I had already stood motionless in my kitchen trying to remember where to find a cereal spoon. But it wasn’t just a matter of misplaced silverware. I couldn’t figure out why it felt like everyone was disappointing me and acting contrary to my expectations.

We were asked by friends on both sides of the Atlantic about our time in America. How does one answer?

• Our nieces and nephews still remembered us.
• Air conditioning is amazing.
• Sweet corn was even better than I remembered.

By the time we hit the one-month mark of our homeland ministry assignment though, I was ready to return to Albania. I missed my friends, my routine, our ministry, and my own bedroom. But as time passed, I got subtly lulled back into our old American life. I could drive a car again. I could share my thoughts exactly the way I wanted without having to pick and choose from a limited pool of vocabulary in a second language. I could do all of my shopping with a minimum of stops, no stressing for parking, and 99 percent of the time I could find the product I wanted on the shelves (or available online).

Oh, did I mention air conditioning? And soft, fluffy towels?

So after the heartache of some goodbyes that are probably the last this side of eternity, not to mention the stress of an international trip and poor sleep for several consecutive nights, I might have hit some speed bumps upon landing here in good “ole” Shqiperia (Albania).

I had been so concerned with watching out for my children's transition that I didn't have my headlights pointed in front of me. 

Thankfully we're hitting our stride now. I'm feeling a bit more like myself again and the bruises aren't so tender.

PRAY: As a family, gather together this week and pray for the missionary you partner with. Ask God to help them if they feel the bruises of transition and for continued blessing and peace if the speed bumps of transition seem small right now.