Have you ever been camping in 110 degree heat with an infant and 15 teenage girls who have never been camping before?

I have :) It's hard. But it was soooo worth it.

I just got back from a one-night camping trip with all the girls from the youth group (plus some). (See the previous post for more info.) I have to say, I never expected 15 Albanian teenage girls to even want to go camping...it's something way out of their familiar comfort zones. And many of their parents had reservations about the "safety" of camping, not to mention the "cleanliness". Which is funny, because the place where we camped is much cleaner than here in Tirana. Anyway.

It was a really, really good bonding time for everyone. And the highlight of my time was actually sitting and listening to Jona, 15 years old and a girl I've been discipling, lead our Bible study for the first time ever. Her spiritual growth has encouraged me tremendously in the last year, even the last few weeks. Every time I challenge her or gently rebuke her she steps up and takes things to heart, as if they were coming from the Lord. And for the first time leading a bible study, she did a really good job. I was so proud of her.

The girls loved camping, they love hiking, they love nature. They are so cooped up in this dirty city that they don't often realize what they are missing! It was wonderful to be in God's creation, to be without make-up and mirrors and high heels and busy streets and dirty air and loud disco music. To sleep under a blanket of stars on a hot night, to cook your dinner over the campfire, to read the Word and pray together, to sing worship songs late into the night, all the while praying and praying that God's Spirit would penetrate a dark little village in Nowhere, Albania to us, but Somewhere, Albania to Him.

We felt like we were gone for more than one night, yet it went by so fast. I spent a long time praying and planning for that trip and now it's done. And I just have this satisfied feeling like something significant was accomplished, spiritually I mean. The girls' grandmother, whose property we camped on, is staunchly Catholic. Her life has been long and rugged, and she recently suffered the death of her husband. She is a very tough woman, and her heart, sadly, is still hardened toward the Gospel. Her daughter, the girls' mother, even asked us not to read the Bible in front of her or talk about anything religous with her, because it upsets her too much. And for the most part she made herself scarce when we read from the bible or sang songs. But by the end of the afternoon today she was sitting in a circle of Christian teenage girls who were singing worship songs! She was even reading the words on the song sheet I had given her, and she was listening intently. So, I don't know what God is doing in her heart, but we are praying for her heart of stone to be made into flesh that longs for her Savior.

Another wonderful thing was that we had 3 girls from a nearby orphanage with us on the trip. I think they were encouraged, and they had great fun, and our youth girls did a good job of including them in everything. If you think of it, please pray for these relationships among the girls, that they would love selflessly and not be in cliques.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for praying. I find such comfort and confidence in knowing that many were praying for us!
Hope you enjoy the pictures!