WHAT IS UP BUSTA’S!!!!! First off, I want to say sorry for not being the best at updating as often as I'd like. It's SO hard to believe it has already been over Three whole weeks since I left home to begin this journey! Time has really flown by, and in the short span God has already been revealing so much to me. It was so crazy that a week and a half ago, I couldn't imagine my life with all these new people in my life, and now I couldn't ever imagine life without them. There is a LOT i need to unpack and talk about, soooo this blog may be a little long lol.

POGREDEC

We stayed our first week in Albania at a city named Pogredec. The area was filled with shops, cafes, people, and one of my favorite parts, a giant awesome lake. Our time in Pogredec was filled with moments I’ll never forget. We did this thing on our first Thursday called “ATL” and it stands for “ask the lord”. So, we got into groups of 3 or 4, and prayed about where we should go for lunch. We also prayed to be able to encounter people that we could serve and pray for them as well. So me and two others, Jameson and Allysa, walked into the main city in Pogredec, and we walked, and walked, and walked for almost 2 HOURS. So we were like, alright we need to sit and pray again. We found a curb and sat down and prayed for a minute, then right after Alyssa saw an old lady at this fruit stand and said “We need to pray for her”. So with no hesitation we ran down to this lady and asked if we could pray for her. She literally spoke no english so it was a little difficult to explain at first lol, but she understood. We sat down and laid hands on her, and Alyssa prayed for her. After the prayer I realized the old woman was tearing up, and even though she couldn't understand us, and we couldn't understand her, I knew God had called Alyssa to pray for her, and she needed it. We were also STARVING right next to her fruit stand was this amazing restaurant with this really good food called Suflaqchi. So we ate, then started to walk back, and as we were walking, I saw this old guy super far ahead of us in a wheel chair, and I could not shake this weird feeling I had about this guy. So I said “Peace out brotha’s” to Jameson and Alyssa, and sprinted to this guy. Once I got to this guy he spoke STRONG albanian and didn't understand anything I was saying. So I just started to push him in his wheel chair, and he pointed the way. At one point, he had me pushing him in the middle of the street, it was a little scary. Then I pushed him up this super steep hill. Once we got to the top, he waved me off and basically said he had it from there, but I knew I needed to pray for this guy. So I asked if it would be okay if I prayed for him, and somehow he understood instantly and said yes. So I kneeled by him on the sidewalk and laid my hand on him, and prayed for what felt like 5 minutes, which was the longest I had ever prayed, EVER. Then I got up and felt SO FILLED by the holy spirit. I felt amazing. I felt so good I was literally running down the hill. I just pushed the guy up with joy, lol. Then once I got to the bottom, I saw another man sitting by his shop on a corner. He smiled and waved, and I returned the same, and continued on, but I got that strange pull in my chest again. So I was like, “alright God, I GOTCHA!” So I ran to this guy and asked his name. His name was Joah, and he has lived in Albania his whole life. We talked for a second, then I asked if I could pray for him as well, and he agreed! So then I kneeled once more, and I prayed for joah for SO LONG! I felt so full from the holy spirit it was amazing. 

KOTODESH

After our first week in Pogerdech, we moved to a Village in the mountains called Kotodesh. We had all started to get really comfortable in Pogerdech, and we all started to settle in, then it was time to pack up again. But that's a part of the journey, learning to let go of comfort and trust God in the New. Arriving in Kotodesh has been a whole different experience. The pace is slower and the environment is a lot quieter, which has given me more space to reflect and listen. Right after we left, we got the opportunity to meet 2 amazing people that visited us for a whole week. Their names are Dave and Beth Kuhnert. We all got to “sign up” for different times to have a meeting with them. Once mine came around, I had no questions prepared, and I honestly didn't think I would learn anything from them. I am someone who cannot sit and listen to people talk about facts, and logistics about things that is just not how my brain works, which I always thought was a deep rooted problem in my life, and it always made me feel less than everyone, and overall stupid. Somehow this got brought up, and I felt comfortable enough to share that, that was how I felt. Dave and Beth began to explain to me in detail that I am in fact not stupid at all, and my brain works completely different then 85% of everyone in the world. And explained how this is a HUGE strength, not a weakness. Which changed my whole perspective on my life, and how I have perceived everything throughout my life, which was so amazing but also very hard. I am so beyond grateful that I met Dave and Beth, their presence brought encouragement and energy to our group, and I thank God everyday for calling them to meet our group, and the time and energy they gave to be with us for a whole week. They are amazing people that I and all of us here will never forget.

HOLY SPIRIT

On Friday something very hard had happened. A girl on our team had passed out in the front yard while we were all doing yard work and helping our Host Ardite with some other stuff. It was very hard for me, because I had a similar experience a couple years ago, I had a friend that I was very very close with, and I was very close with his family. And one night his dad had passed out and hit his head and passed away that night. And all those feelings came flooding back in a way which was weird and kinda scary. Then two of my leaders, Shania and Tammy came out and asked me about the Holy Spirit, and asked if I had ever been baptized in the Holy Spirit. I said no lol, because I had no idea what that even meant. Even though I didn’t know what that meant, I knew in my heart I needed it, and I wanted it. So they prayed over me in tongues, and asked the Holy Spirit to fill me. And as they did that I asked the Holy Spirit to overflow inside of me, to lead me to where I need to be, who I need to meet, And to show me what I need to be. After they prayed over me, I felt this weird but amazing peace over my heart, and all I could think of was the Holy Spirit, and that I wanted more. There is still so much that I am learning, and trying to figure out. But I know God is drawing me closer to the Holy Spirit which is why I needed to share this. So ya know what that means, IM FOR REAL LOCKED IN!

As I look back on these past 3 weeks, leaving home, going overseas for the first time, moving from Pogerdech to Kotodesh, having deep conversations, taking classes, and stepping into more vulnerability everyday, I can see God's love in it all. And learning to trust him and his plan has been so important and amazing on this journey. I am so grateful for the people God has placed around me, whether it's my teammates, mentors like Dave and Beth, or even those unexpected conversations that remind me of his love. Each one is a constant reminder that I am not walking this journey alone. I am so excited to keep sharing what God is doing, and I can't wait to see what He has in store for all of us in this next part of the journey. Thank you all again.

 ADIOS BUSTAS!

-Ethan Sausen