Bre w Cru Staff Aurora, Head of Barleti U. Physical Ed., me, and head of Albania AIA Alban P
Speaking at Teuta Sport Center, with the physiotherapist/archer, and with Jim S and our friends from Suissa.
Memories from Albania
On 18 March we spent about 20 hours traveling to Tirana, Albania. You might not recall exactly where Albania is, but that is common. Albania lies just south of Montenegro, just west of Macedonia, and north of Greece. It gained freedom from Soviet control in 1991. All religion had been outlawed by the Communists, and Albania had been declared an atheist country. Currently it is about 70% Muslim, 20% Catholic and 10% Orthodox, with a fraction of a % evangelical.
Miami University (Oxford, OH) sent profs in education, social work, biology, nursing, computer science, and business communications. I expect bonding to arise from this shared experience. Brenda and I sure enjoyed our time of fellowship with these folks and with the local Cru staff there.
On Wednesday the 20th I (Phil) spoke at 12:00 am at Barleti’s University (after arriving in country just the afternoon before) on the "Value of Sports in Educating the Whole Person". The next day, I spoke at the Teuta club to 20 coaches on “Recovery from Exercise Training: A Brief Review”. On Monday, March 25 we drove about 4 hours (including a coffee stop) to the SE Albanian town of Korce where I again spoke on Recovery, as I did the next day at a university in Shkoder. Alban, my Cru host and the Albania AIA director said these talks were very important for their ministry. In total, I gave 5 talks in 9 days and got to meet a lot of important people in Albanian Sport and Higher Education. More importantly, I was able to lay a foundation for future ministry and evangelism. The Cru staff there put emphasis on building solid relationships to share the Gospel.
On Thursday, March 28 in the morning I spoke again on "Value of Sports in Educating the Whole Person" at the University of Sports in Tirana. I also had another opportunity to speak at another University but didn’t have time.
Brenda along with another lady in our group, was able to meet with some young Cru staff moms, about parenting. She also had the opportunity to take about 3 of them individually out for coffee. A staff couple took us out for coffee to enlist our financial support. As you might imagine, trying to raise money for Christian ministry is tough in Albania, and thus far they have only 3 Albanian supporters. We will be donating!
Some observations about Albania:
Since Communism only ended in 1991, most Albanians don't have a Christian heritage nor a foundation upon which to build.
For 4-lane streets, people simply put on flashers and park in the street.
Albanians don’t wear shorts.
Streets and sidewalks are full of cars, scooters, and bikes and sidewalks are full of people. I tried to run 2x there, and the only saving factor was the large park about a half mile from our hotel.
Lots of fruit and olive production.
Lots of old bunkers that are pretty impressive.
Lots of unfinished masonry homes, and no wooden homes.
Lots of old Turkish forts.
Lots of unusual, really original architecture.
Lots of small universities. None bigger than U of Tirana at about 30k, down from almost 60k.
Several of us were scheduled to speak at Vlora University on Wednesday, 27th. All our talks were cancelled due to University elections--yes, they elect their leadership. Apparently, the Rector (president) and other leaders must win the vote to continue to hold their positions. Wow!
Lots of car washes==big part of culture.
The old name for Albania was Illirium, and parts of the ancient road still exist.
With Einstein, view of Macedonia on the way to Korcea, and Bre and I on Illyrium road.
Final thoughts:
Our return trip was a bit of a trial. Due to lack of aircraft, and over and hour sitting on the tarmac, we arrived at Dulles Airport far too late to catch our flights to Chicago and Birmingham. We did get to Birmingham only 16 hours later than scheduled. But such are the travails of travels.
G^d blessed us all thought this trip. It is so great to know Albanian Believers and Cru staff there. It was great to serve with a terrific group from Miami of Ohio. Who knows what G^d may do with our ministry efforts there.
And, your prayers and financial support make it possible for us to make these mission trips. We are grateful for you.
Brenda and Phil
Bre in a war bunker, Native Albanian Mother Teresa, the Grand Mosque.
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