journeytoalbania.com

Summer Ministry

jwheelis — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 03:24:32 +0000

We have had a full year of youth ministry! So many things we need to go back and fill in the pages from 2010-11! But what are we up to in the summer? While many ministries of the church gear down in the summer, the youth ministry gears up and goes full steam ahead! Teens are out for the summer and have LOTS of TIME on their hands. Instead of our weekly Saturday morning meetings, we are meeting in the evenings at 6:00 as is begins to get cooler after the heat of the day.

Mondays- Worship Night

Wednesdays- The Loft Weekly Outreach Program

Fridays- Sports in the Park

Saturdays- Church

Our new Loft space is finally feeling like home after a team from our sending church in Norman, OK was here in May. Thanks JOURNEY CHURCH for all you do to support youth ministry in Albania! And special thanks to the team of guys who were here with us for 14 days of outreach, fun, messy games and helping at the Loft!Click to view slideshow.

A celebration of volunteers

jwheelis — Sat, 22 May 2010 22:02:34 +0000

Our volunteer team at the Loft

Last Monday we had our final monthly meeting with our volunteers at the Loft. These precious people have dedicated HOURS upon HOURS of time to ministering in the lives of teenagers. Nothing that is accomplished for the sake of the kingdom could be done with out these people. Here’s just a short list of what they have been doing at the Loft:

leading small groups
playing games
leading servant team (set up and clean up each week for the Loft meeting)
answering questions
leading the worship team
praying for the Loft
training Albanian teens for next year’s worship team
meeting with student individually for coffee
giving hugs
preparing snacks and drinks each week at the Loft
taking attendance so we know who is coming and who is missing that we need to follow up with
having conversations
talking with parents

Egli, Visi, Gretchen, Dovi, Jordon, Andrew,

Helena, Albana and Alicia….

well done, good and faithful servants! We love you!

God has all the money

jwheelis — Thu, 20 May 2010 09:13:28 +0000

Money… this is such a tough thing for us to talk about in ministry sometimes. And yet, really it is all God’s money. We are just stewards of it, hoping to use it for building His kingdom and bringing Him fame.

We cannot tell you what an amazing journey it has been to live on the gifts given by others to cover our salary. It has been a time of learning to lean on Him for our every need. We have learned a lot about trusting God for His provision.

Over the last four years 90% of our support team has remained the same. A few have stopped giving for a variety of reasons and others have joined. That means that of our original 85 financial partners (3 churches and 82 individuals and families) 76 of them are still giving! That is AMAZING!! You might be interested to know that our monthly gifts range from $10 to $500 in addition to everything in between. God uses all those amounts of money to pay our rent, electric bill, car repairs, visa fees, school tuition, food on our table as well as money to help those in need that we meet.

This year we have 2 fund raising goals:

$800 new monthly commitments for the Loft center and Egli’s salary

$500 new monthly commitments for our personal salary

We will be meeting with groups and individuals LIKE YOU to ask for prayer and financial support. Don’t feel left out if we don’t ask you personally! If GOD is asking you to partner with us to bring the gospel to Albania you CAN! If you would like to partner with us financially, you can visit our SUPPORT page and see the ways to give. If you would like to receive our monthly updates send an email to Robertwheelis@gmail.com

HMA- Home Ministry Assignment

jwheelis — Wed, 19 May 2010 09:11:11 +0000

Yesterday, we wrote about what is a furlough. Our upcoming furlough is called HMA by our sending agency, Frontiers. We will be leaving the mission field for a period of three months in order to connect with our supporters and partners in ministry, share about ministry with churches and small groups, visit family (including meeting our new niece!), raise additional support for our personal funds and the youth center, and recharge and refresh – physically, spiritually and emotionally. Our time will also include some health check ups since we don’t have the advanced medical care available to us there that we are blessed to have here in the US.

Some people have said “Wow, I wish I had a three month vacation from my job!” We can assure you this is not the case! While we do have a couple weeks of vacation built into our time, most of our time will be spent working to keep us in Albania! In order for us to be able to be on the mission field, a large part of our job is fundraising. We are able to work and minister in Albania as a result of your sacrificial gifts. We take the responsibility of reporting to you what God is doing with those funds seriously. Without you, the advance of the gospel would not happen. Our time will be filled with meetings with current supporters and partners, small groups, speaking engagements, as well as meeting with new friends and connections in order to raise additional support.

Check back tomorrow to read about our support needs and fundraising goals.

What is a furlough?

jwheelis — Tue, 18 May 2010 09:08:19 +0000

If your like us, you may not have heard the word “furlough” many times in your life. Before we came to the mission field, we did not personally know anyone who was serving in missions overseas long-term. So we had very little knowledge about many of the ins and outs of being a missionary.

200 years ago, missionaries went to the mission field with their worldly belongings packed in a coffin, knowing that the only time they would return to their homeland would be after their death. 100 years ago, missionaries would return to their home country for a year once every 7-10 years. The cost and length of time to travel was too great for returning more often than that.

Thankfully, times have changed. Today, the length and frequency varies among churches, denominations, agencies and missionaries. Anywhere from every year for a few weeks, every other year for a few months, or even every fourth year for six months to a year.

Even on our team, our team leader has given us the freedom to make a plan that works well for us and helps us remain connected to our support team and family and gives us a chance to recharge emotionally and spiritually.

Our sending agency, Frontiers, calls furlough HMA or Home Ministry Assignment. Check back tomorrow for more about our HMA this summer!

Can you feel it?

Robert — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:53:19 +0000

A New Kind of Christmas

Robert — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:13:41 +0000

Since we moved to Albania, we’ve downsized our consumption in so many ways and the deconstruction of our consumeristic mindset was a difficult transition to make. (actually, i’m not sure we’re 100% there yet, but we’ve found a happy medium.) Being content with what you have is such a daily battle. As Albania modernizes, we find that it’s becoming easier to get distracted with the new “stuff” that’s available here. Big box retailers are finally finding their way to Albania. There are mutliple super-stores that have opened or are opening in the next few months. Advertisements have popped up everywhere in and are Tirana, when just 3 short years ago, it was shockingly void of most marketing.

In the midst of these changes, it has reminded us that one of the blessings of being in Albania is the gift of contentedness. As the kids get older, we are thinking more and more about how to instill this value in their lives as well. We love the message of this video and are trying to figure out how to integrate this into some new family traditions. Presents will still be part of the tradition, but not the centerpiece. What about you? What do you do differently for Christmas to give your PRESENCE?

What I’m thankful for…

Robert — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:56:38 +0000

my AMAZING family
the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies
taking a stroll thru the park and playing frisbee with the boys
unconditional love
praying supporters
experiencing the variety of different cultures
laughter that makes my gut hurt
friends that stick close to the end
skype and google (communication enhancing technology)
deep conversations
witty humor
Jadyn’s smile
Tyler’s art
Austin’s athleticism
Jenny’s compassion
parents who are committed to their marriages for life
and most of all, for God forever changing me from the inside-out!

Cheers!

Robert — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:32:42 +0000

When we were raising support to serve in Albania, it became a regular occurrence for anyone over the age of 35 to ask me about this classic episode of Cheers. You gotta love Coach.

Do you remember this clip?

Heart of Worship

Robert — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:38:31 +0000

Kristi is one of our teens who gave his life to Jesus last year. He is 13 yrs old, but is much more mature than his age. He really has a heart for worship and loves to play the guitar. Recently he’s been leading worship for his guys small group that we just started.

Last spring he wrote these lyrics to a song:

une pas teje dua te shkoj (I wanna go after u)
rrugen tende dua te ndjek (I wanna follow your path)
emrin tend do te nderoj (I will honor your name)
biri i zotit shpeton jete (the Son of God saves lives)

ty degjoj te adhuroj (i hear and worship you)
se si ty ka vetem 1 (like you i have only one)
ty te shoh une ty te ndjej (i see you, i feel you)
biri i zotit shpeton jete (the Son of God saves lives)

une e di mire kush je ti (i know well who you are)
une e di qe ti jeton (i know that u live)
une e di se cke bere ti (i know what u have done)
zeri yt kudo jehon (your voice echoes everywhere)

kur une lutem dicka ndjej (when i pray i feel something)
thelle ne zemer me godet (i feel it deep in mu heart)
me godet nje fryme e shenjte (holy spirti hits me)
biri i zotit shpeton jete (the Son of God saves lives)

kur une krahet i ngre lart (when i lift my arms up)
degjoj engjejt te kendojn (i listen as the angels sing)
dhe pastaj nje shkendi (and then a spark)
vret te keqen shpall lavdi!!!!!!!!!(kills the evil and proclaims glory)