southernlightsblog

Thank you for praying for our Middle School Retreat February 20-23!

Staff and students alike enjoyed a few days outside the city at a nearby retreat center, though some of us didn’t get much sleep those two nights! Middle school students seem to have boundless energy though there were plenty of activities to keep them busy – ultimate cow tongue (think ultimate frisbee but more disgusting), hiking, soccer, basketball, tag, and scavenger hunts. And, of course, there were the worship services, teaching sessions, and small group times. The Lord met us there and many students encountered Jesus’ love in new ways through song, prayer, laughter, tears, conversation, and diving into God’s Word.

High school spiritual impact week in February was also a time of challenge and growth for our students. Our special speaker, a missionary from Hungary, brought messages centered on having the mind of Christ based on Colossians 3:1-3. Earlier in the month high school chapels focused on issues of poverty, so our spiritual impact week ended with a high school service day. Students were divided into four groups to visit four centers of ministry both inside and outside of Tirana. They learned firsthand about relief and development efforts, orphan and children’s work, literacy outreach and church-planting ministries. The following week several students shared moving testimonies of the impact of that day.

Then came March, now April. We’ve returned to the routine of school days with quizzes, homework, lesson plans, meetings, classroom management and school-age drama.  Walking through the ordinary days of life, eyes focused on the tasks at hand, it’s hard to remember the moments recently set apart. For us as teachers at a Christian school, there’s a sort of emotional/spiritual whiplash that happens when we go from crying and praying with a student at retreat to having to discipline that same student for misbehavior in the classroom. When faced with the need to move through the curriculum and complete a lesson plan despite a roomful of talkative students, it’s easy to forget the heart needs of each student.

¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.              

 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (NIV)

Pray we may truly see each student, day in and day out, as created in the image of God. Pray we may be so filled with God’s love towards them, so filled with His Spirit, that we act each day as ambassadors bringing a message of reconciliation through Jesus Christ.

We see many of our friends and family relying on their fitness trackers to keep up with their steps throughout the day. Though we don’t have one (yet), we thought we’d look back and update you on some of the steps we’ve taken over the past six months. Don’t worry – it won’t add up to 10,000!

We arrived in Albania on Friday, August 25, and began the school year at GDQ International Christian School on Tuesday, August 29. Those first weeks were a whirlwind of unpacking, shopping, meeting people, and learning our way around the city of Tirana. Even with Google maps we’ve managed to get lost a few times as we’ve walked around the city. Thankfully, we haven’t yet gotten on the wrong bus!

Being Head of Secondary Len walks back and forth from our high school campus (9-12) to our lower school campus (K-8) several times a day. It’s only a ten-minute walk but it can be an adventure getting past the loose geese in an empty lot. Apparently Len’s briefcase comes in handy as a shield! Though Betsy stays at the lower school campus, she gets her steps in going up and down from the staff room and printer on the first floor to her office and classroom on the third floor, as well as frequent trips to the nearest grocery store.

Len’s High School Office

Middle School Memory Verses

Grocery Shopping

A huge step in our journey these past months was Len graduating from Columbia International University with his Master of Education in Administration in December. Though he wasn’t able to attend his actual graduation ceremonies, he was surprised with a “ceremony” complete with hood and stole during a Friday morning staff meeting at GDQ. It’s been a blessing to work alongside the rest of our K-12 staff at school. Many have come to serve here from the United States, but others from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Finland, South Korea, Canada and Albania. Though our instruction at school is in English, numerous other languages are represented in our school community. As we begin more formal language training in Albanian, we are hoping that our having learned Spanish will help us in understanding some of the grammatical rules and constructions. But we are more than a few steps away from being able to hold a conversation in Albanian!

Besides learning culture and language, we are learning much about our students at GDQ. Our 137 students represent more than 20 different countries. Some have lived all their lives in Albania. Others, like us, only arrived a few months ago. Some are already planning to leave at the end of this school year, either temporarily or permanently. Most have had numerous experiences with transition in their lives. Wherever their steps might lead, we are thankful to have this opportunity to walk alongside them as they learn and grow academically, emotionally, physically and spiritually. As the GDQ International Christian School vision statement says, our goal is that of “educating international children to have maximum influence for the glory of God in their lifetime”.

A recent highlight that led our students to take steps in drawing closer to God was our Middle School Retreat. We spent two nights and three days at a campground outside the city. Activities included games of hide and seek, hiking, basketball, ping pong and other large group outside games. More importantly, as we learned how to have an unbreakable faith, the Lord moved on many hearts during our worship and small group times.

Before November gets away from us we wanted to be sure to thank each of you for being a part of our ministry here at GDQ International Christian School! Without your faithful support and prayers, we certainly couldn’t be here investing in the lives of our staff and students. THANK YOU! Our hearts are truly filled with gratitude for the privilege of serving the Lord in Tirana, Albania.

Though Thanksgiving was a little different this year, we were blessed and thankful to still enjoy a traditional American holiday meal. We had several invitations to join others for the day and ended up spending the day with a group of missionaries, enjoying turkey with all the trimmings and some wonderful fellowship around the table. Though we weren’t with our own family back in Georgia and New Jersey, we were thankful to be able to speak to all of them via FaceTime over the holiday.

Other blessings we find ourselves thankful for include the opportunity to attend the weeklong conference of the Albanian Encouragement Project held in Budva, Montenegro. We rode up with World Gospel Mission coworkers, Nathan and Cydil Waggoner, and their two children. Len’s sister, Joy Phillips, also attended as she spent time in Albania as part of her responsibilities as WGM Regional Director for Asia, Europe and Oceania. It was a wonderful week of worship, fellowship, and learning more about various ministries throughout Albania

During the school week, our days are full, leaving each morning at 6:45 a.m. Many days there are meetings to attend after school as well, especially for Len in administration. With the time change recently, it’s getting dark here by 4:30 p.m. so our internal clocks are having a hard time realizing it’s not as late as it feels! Of course, after arriving home there’s always “homework” – lesson plans, grading, and for Len, finishing up his final online course at Columbia International University in South Carolina. As of December 8, he will officially graduate with his Master of Education degree! For that, we are truly thankful!

Again, thank you for allowing us to share with you some of the blessings God is showering on us here in Albania. And thank you for being one of those blessings!

It’s now been a full month since we arrived in Tirana, Albania! And it has literally been a full month – full of learning, lesson plans, new friends and new foods, more than a few humbling language struggles and missing family back home. We arrived on Friday, August 25. After a weekend of settling in to our 8^th floor apartment, shopping for items for our home, learning bus routes and being generously welcomed and hosted by coworkers, we officially began the school year at the GDQ International Christian School.

Len is adjusting to splitting his time between the two campuses, about 3 blocks  apart. One building houses the K-8 and the other is for the High School. He’s been studying the school handbooks and spending time in meetings with other administrators and teachers, learning more about the history and operation of the secondary school. Betsy is teaching Middle School Bible and is getting to know her 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade students. Being asked to help with a small group during the Middle School Youth Group time has been an added blessing in that regard! She’s also collaborating with Lower School Chapels each week, Mondays with Grades K-2 and Wednesdays with Grades 3-5.

Yes, this month has been one of learning. We are learning again to study and appreciate a new culture. We are learning to adapt to the busy, noisy life of a big city. We are learning to treasure FaceTime moments with our children and granddaughter across 5,000 miles and a 6-hour time difference. We are learning to accept the feelings of humility and incompetence that come from not being able to communicate the simplest phrases when a neighbor invites us over for a snack. We are learning that each staff member and each student at our school has a unique and fascinating story reflecting the working of God’s grace and love. But most of all, we are learning to depend fully on Jesus each day, realizing anew how much we need His wisdom and His strength to enter fully into the place He has called us to. In joyful obedience to His call to this place, we pray: “Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands.” (Psalm 119:66) May we be a winsome witness to the love of Christ each day and to every person we encounter.

We are on our way! We will be traveling to Tirana, Albania, leaving Atlanta on Thursday, August 24. It’s hard to believe the time has already arrived. But God has proved Himself so faithful – and we are incredibly thankful for each of you who has felt led to partner with us through financial support and through your prayers.

These last few weeks have been a whirlwind! An international move involves quite a bit of preparation (not that we ever start early enough!). Our checklist this summer has included such things as:

• Sort, organize and pack all our household belongings for storage.
• Schedule physicals with our family doctor.
• Find a loving home for our cat.
• Forward mail to family members.
• Upgrade and unlock our phones for international usage.
• Buy things we know we’ll need for our new home in Tirana and can fit in six suitcases.
• Make sure our three children have any important documents they might need for the year.
• Close out accounts and utility bills.
• Prepare for classes and ministry at GDQ International Christian School.
• Spend as much time as possible with our family before leaving.

We are excited and looking forward to all God has in store for us in Albania, though it also feels like a daunting challenge. As we go, we are leaning hard into Jesus for needed strength, grace and wisdom for life and ministry in a new place. Thank you for going with us!