Another amazing week...

This week, I got to see Jesus move.

Two ladies from the states came to join us for a week of ministry. Long story short, we had three days of intensive training and it was awesome! Without going into too much detail, here are the highlights:

-Wednesday night, we had prayer with the youth. Sue began giving words of knowledge to all the kids. I swear my mouth must've hit the floor. Even cooler, I started getting words too. And it was amazing to see how Sue would speak out to one kid exactly what the Holy Spirit would whisper to me or something that completely complemented what I was receiving.

-Teaching on spiritual gifts. We got to live it out and learn while we went!

-Watching Violetta, a pastor's wife from one of the other churches, get healed when we prayed! Whoop whoop (this cheer is your influence, Veronique!)!

-Karaoke night in Ferizaj with the youth group. Let's just say, as a musician, it can be very...challenging to sit quietly and listen as songs are intentionally being butchered before your very ears.

-TiranaFest! Genti, three girls, and I drove to Albania on Saturday morning for the Luis Palau Festival in Tirana. Awesome. Exhasting. Best part in my opinion, hands down, was the miracle we experienced crossing the border. Theoretically, kids under a certain age are supposed to have a notarized document saying that their parents are allowing them to leave the country with another adult. However, in the past, they've taken the documents and haven't needed them. So this time, Genti didn't stress it. But the border guards did. After being told we couldn't go through, we prayed with the girls, believed in faith, talked to someone else, and (45 minutes later) got through! Praise Jesus! What a faith building experience for the girls!

-Treasure Island. After getting home on Sunday completely and totally beat, I had to unwind. So I tried a classic I hadn't read; it was a good choice.

-Coffee and conversation with Nesha. The more time I spend with my roommate, the more I absolutely adore her. She is an absolute treasure! I feel so very blessed to live with her in this season. And this was a great escape from responsibility, as both of us were so exhausted that we didn't want to do anything productive. We were both feeling some serious adrenaline letdown after an intense week. So we went out for coffee...which was productive; we were building relationship. :)

Much love to you all! Thank you for all of your prayers; I can't tell you how much they mean to me. I need them!

Katelyn

Blown Away

Wow. Talk about an amazing day. I'm still reeling from the goodness of the Lord!

Mondays are team meetings. They usually go from 9-12ish. I woke up excited this morning, but a few minutes into the meeting, I was dragging. So was everyone else, it seemed.

The first week and half has been both really good and really hard. In all transparency, I didn't expect the adjustment to be nearly as hard on me as it has been. I experienced more culture shock than I'd prepared myself for. I expected to have to push myself through the meeting, as I felt burdened and weighed down. But the Lord, faithful as He is, had very different plans. Long story short: He moved, turned our discussion int intercession, and I left that meeting on fire. So much on fire that I just had to worship, my heart was burning. The bridge to Healer by Kari Jobe was a huge theme:
Nothing is impossible with You
Nothing is impossible
Nothing is impossible with You
You hold the world in Your hands

A few hours later, Nesha was heading out the door to visit a friend and she invited me to come along. This is a lady she met when the team handed out New Testaments earlier this year. As we were walking to her house, I wondered somewhat why I was going, given my level of Albanian fluency and all. Intercessor. That one word fluttered in my heart and I knew that that was why I was going. I was going to pray.

At first it was the normal chit-chat and complete awkwardness for me. But after awhile the conversation turned. My spirit quickened within me as the word Zoti came out of Nesha's mouth in increasing intervals. Zoti. God. I sat and prayed, having absolutely no idea what was going on except that there was an intense conversation. Then, Nesha said we were going to pray. She would interpret for me when I prayed. Nesha prayed. As I sat there, my heart fluttered again: pain in her left thigh. What?! No way. You've got to be kidding me. I'm not saying that. There is no way. Once again: pain in her left thigh. I'm not saying that; my stubborness persisted. Besides, I'll make YOU look like a fool and me and Nesha. Try me. Finally, Nesha stopped. Oh no. I have to do this.

"Ask her...if she has pain in her left leg."
"What?"
"Pain. In her left leg."
Nesha interpreted.
"Po. Po." came the response and she pointed to, lo and behold, her left thigh. My jaw virtually drpped at this announced. There's no way! I practically gigled through the next sentence.
"God wants to heal your leg. He showed me you have pain because He wants to heal." So I prayed. Short and simple. And the pain was gone.

Now, I've received words of knowledge before but never about healing. In fact, I've had a very hard time in the past even praying for healing for others. So here I am reeling from the fact that I just got to pray for this Kosovar woman for healing. And it happened. Then, her husband walks in the door.

At this point, I assume, it's time for us to leave. Not exactly. He sits down. Starts talking. Soon, Nesha is sharing the gospel with him. And the whole time is very open to discussion, talking about other world religions and Jesus. When does that happen? During all of this, I just sat amazed, watching this whole thing transpire. Five hours after we arrived, after dinner and tea, prayer, discussion, and general Kosovar hospitality, Nesha and I finally left. We were both awed by the events of the evening. While they didn't accept the Lord, the Spirit definitely moved. And I'm excited to see what the Lord continues to do.

On our walk home, I prayed, "Wow. Thanks for that, Daddy."

Once again, ever so softly in my heart, I heard a quiet whisper, "This is only the beginning." 

Faithful...

The Lord is faithful. And by faithful I mean crazy ridiculously impossibly wonderfully amazingly overwhelming intensely passionately perfectly deliciously delightfully faithful. He always shows up. He always answers. He always surprises. He surpasses expectation. And He loves loves loves loves to make Himself known to us.

I don't have anything very profound to say except this: God is faithful. So wherever you are, whatever you're going through, whatever circumstance you're facing, don't give up. Because He's not finished yet.

Philippians 1:6 
And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion in the day of Christ Jesus.

Week One: Check

Welp, I survived my first week! That counts for something, right?

Each day certainly feels like a new adventure. While, I have had a lot of free time this week--way more than I know what to do with--I have had a few little...ahem...mishaps, too. It has been nice to rest and recover and adjust, though I'm pretty ready to dive headfirst into ministry.

Wednesday night made one full week of being here. Crazy.  In that week I have:

Taken myself on a tour of the city. And gotten lost. So lost that when I called Linda she had no idea where I was and told me to get in a taxi and meet her somewhere familiar. Turns out I wandered pretty far.... :D

Had coffee (okay lemonade/water) with two 12 and 13 year old girls from the Center. They showed me around a bit, we chatted, they practiced their English. We giggled at my attempts at Albanian. It was fun.

Had Turkish coffee (which is thick and strong with heavy grounds on the top...not exactly a decaf soy latte) and pite (I'm not sure how you spell that one) with my landlords, who speak significantly less English than I speak Albanian--which is saying a lot. We laughed and I looked sheepish and they fed me way too much. Moreover, this was on day number two when my understanding of the Albanian language was about, eh, none. I've picked up a little more since I've been here.

Experienced some culture shock. Wandered around in a daze for a little while. "What did I get myself into?!?" Hid in my room after an overload of Albanian. Took deep breaths. Cried. Played music. Freaked out. Got excited again. Yeah, not a roller coaster or anything.

Met with Geni and Soni to discuss my role here. It's getting clearer, but not perfectly defined...more on that later. They are amazing. I have a very deep admiration for them within in the little time I've had here.

Laughed with Nesha at our often hilarious methods of communication. She is a great storyteller with an amazing heart for the Lord. Even in her broken English, I understand her. Her English is actually pretty good, she just isn't very confident in it. But living with me, I hope, is helping her.

Learned a bajillion Albanian words from Simone, Geni and Soni's youngest son. Enjoyment level: really high. Retention level: yeah, pretty much zero.

Spent time with Genti and Linda and their boys. What a sweet family! Love  them. Linda took me shopping so that I actually had food to eat, which is a plus, all things considered.

Discovered that Kosovars are always late. If we're supposed to be somewhere at 9, we get there at 9:10 or 9:15. And everyone else is on this same schedule, so there isn't really any point in being prompt.

Put money on my cell phone all by myself! Never mind the fact that the man at the booth kept trying to communicate with me and I was absolutely clueless as to what he was saying. So finally I just held up my hand for five euros and he understood...after the girl next to me interpreted. :D


Read me some Jane Austen. Spent too much time on Pinterest. Checked my Facbook a LOT. Did some creative writing. Checked Facebook some more. Skyped with la familia.  Like I said, I've had a lot of time on my hands. I have a feeling this will change very, very soon. So I'm soaking it in while I've got it!

Met another single American woman living in Gjilan. She teaches English and has been here five years. Her name is Meredith and I really like her. We had coffee last night. She has such a sweet heart for the Lord.

Well, there's a glimpse into my life. Hope yours is going well too!

With love from Gjilan,
Katelyn (aka Katalina around here)

This week in a nutshell....

So this isn't pretty or elegant, the way I tend to like to write, but it gets the point across.
Here's a recap of the past few days in a nutshell (here goes!):
Monday - Full day of last minute errands, ice cream with the sisters, hugs, good-byes, a drive to Portland, a late night pedicure from my mother, and bed finally at 12:30.

Tuesday morning -
 4:30 AM- Wake up. Shower. Get everything in the car.
6:15 AM - Listen dumbfounded as the lady behind the United Airlines desk tells me that she cannot allow me to get on the plane unless I have a visa, a return ticket, or a letter from the organization I'm going with. Mind you, I did a lot of research on getting a visa before this conversation ever happened.
6:20 AM - Massive prayer text to many, Facebook message to Genti. Phone call from Geni.
6:50 AM - A new random lady comes, warns me that they may not let me into the country, and gives me a ticket. I leave and get on the plane!
Wednesday morning-
7:45 - Wake up. Realize the plane is landing. This is really happening!
8:30 AM - Deboard plane. Get lost in Munich airport. Wander around hopelessly.
10:00 AM - Find service center. Put backpack and guitar in storage. Get train map. Look for train. Need food and water.
10:10 - Find train. Board train. Get off at wrong exit.
10:15 - Wander around for a bit. Realize I'm wandering along senior center road. Not what I wanted. Turn back. Attempt to buy food at a mini store. Store is closed. Oops.
10:45 - Get back on the train. Decide to listen to the advice of the man at the service desk. Head into city.
11:15 - Arrive in Munich. Wander around. Enjoy staring at the giant clocktower with dancing Dutch-like figures. Enjoy the market. Buy chocolate. Have lunch. Listen to strange musicians. Get back on train.
4:20 Depart for Pristina.
6:15 Arrive in Pristina! (They let me in, in case you're wondering). Meet the Salius in person. Drive to Gjilan. Meet Nesha and Geni and see my new home...which is HUGE, I might add. I was expecting an itty bitty apartment, but this is very spacious.

Thursday - Meeting with Geni and Soni and Genti and Linda and Nesha. So fun getting to know them. Errands to run. Get my phone hooked up. Near heart attack upon seeing the size difference of my sim card to theirs. Thankfully, the fellas at the phone store knew how to fix that. Breathing again. Lunch with Nesha. Met my sweet, sweet landlords, Ramiz and Suffit. We communicated with a lot of hand signal and smiles and laughs. They fed me. Nesha and I showed each other pictures of our families, hers in Albania, mine in Oregon.

Friday - Prayer. Some grocery shopping. Music playing. Loooong nap. Real Change! Met a lot of wonderful people that I am excited to get to know. Crazy fun night at youth group, most of which I didn't understand. But that's okay, I will soon.

Well....there you have it. This week has been you know, kinda sorta maybe a little bit eventful.