Girls' Ministry

Whoa - it's been a while since I (Gretchen) have posted anything on the blog! Sorry! I wanted to update you all on the happenings of the ministry with the youth girls here in Tirana! The Lord has answered so many of our prayers regarding our small but growing group of kids. Having only started with one boy back in February when we first arrived, now we average 10-12 boys on a Sunday morning. And as you've read below and can see the picture, there are lots more boys now for Justin for pour his time into. So praise the Lord! Interestingly, our group of girls has somewhat dwindled in the past few months down to a steady 5 or 6. Like we've explained before, it is much more difficult to spend time with the girls during the winter because of the shortened daylight hours. Parents don't allow their daughters out past dark (around 4:30 now). And they get out of school around 2. So this doesn't leave much time for extracurricular "church" activities or meetings. Anyway, it's been difficult to keep up with them all.

There is something really good happening in the girls' ministry though! Every Saturday morning we have girls' bible study at my home. I chose something topical to go through for a couple months - Purity. I've been doing a lot of bible study on my own and combining that with lots of other helpful resources I have on sexual purity. There are about 6 girls who come regularly and are really excited to talk and learn about this subject - something they don't get in school, from friends, or from family at home. I am convinced that the Church must provide a safe and trusted atmostphere for teenagers to learn about this area of their lives. So please pray for these girls - Fjori, Jona, Majlinda, Iva, Enxhi, & Rozi. They are between the ages of 13 and 18, so it has been challenging for me to be sensitive to their different needs. I have to be specific and challenge the older ones, but I don't want to traumatize the younger ones! The Lord has given me much grace and wisdom in this area. I have shared my bible study lessons with a few other Albanian women in our church, just to make sure that everything is appropriate and culturally sensitive. They have all gotten back to me with positive feedback.

So, when you think of it, please, please, please pray for these girls who are so dear to me. They are hungry for the Word and thirst for Jesus - and that is so refreshing to me! I am learning a LOT through building relationships with them, and I will be very sad to leave them at the end of December when I return to the States for about 4 months. Please pray for me that God would give me wisdom as I delegate different responsibilities to different women in our church to shepherd these girls while I'm gone. I know the Lord will keep his hand on them and protect them.