Missionary Field Journal: Bible Study and Futbol

May 30, 2014

The chimes of my alarm ring through the room at 6:45am. Fiona and I rustle around on our bunks just wanting an extra 15 minutes of sleep...I doze off and then again the alarm rings in the air. 7:00am. I force my legs to move and my eyes to open. I laugh at myself. It should not be this hard to wake up at 7. I remember the 6 hour time difference and my lost hours of sleep. I push those thoughts to the back of my mind. Forget about all of that and allow your mind to trick your body into alertness. That mentality worked until I sat down in the van. On the way to the Student Center in Tirana my eyelids felt so heavy and my sweatshirt was so cozy. I could rest my eyes for just 5 minutes....

(Demetri Constantine [far left], Alex Limberatos [middle], Alex Karcher [far right]
and I waiting for Aht Luka at the Student Center)

When my eyes open next I am at the center. Looks like the usual five minutes turned into the whole ride. The Fellowship heads into the building to have breakfast with Ana Baba, and the heads of the Student Center. Aht Luka comes in about 15 minutes after we do with Nathan. You could see the reunion with his friends the night before hindered his sleep. His eyes like ours were glossy with tiredness. He saw us all with the same tired faces and laughed. Slowly the heads of the student center slowly flooded into the room.

Breakfast was a very simple yet ample. There was toast, butter, jelly, tomatoes, cucumbers, cherries, bananas, and my favorite Nutella. They had a variety of juices and water. I looked at the display and my stomach responded with a growl of approval. We sang Christ is Risen then started to eat. Nutella on toast with cherries and water. That is my kind of breakfast!

(Sign outside the student center that reads:
Student Center of the Orthodox Church)

After finishing breakfast we all rested as we prepared for our Bible study. My friend Demetri Constantine reached to grab the water and Nathans wife Gabriela grabbed it from him suddenly alarmed. "No, wait Demetri. You need bottled water. If any of you guys drink this water you will get sick!" I looked down at my empty cup...well, I thought to myself, it was only four cups you will be fine. Gabriela brought us all bottled water. "Our water is not bad but it is not as filtered as yours in the States. Our bodies are used to it but you all aren't." I prayed to myself begging God not to let me get ill and slowly put the cup on the table as if I was holding evidence to a crime. Then we started to read 2nd Peter 1:3-11.We read it first in Albanian than in English. Ana Baba sat next to Aht Luka and translated all that he said into Albanian. Though he is fluent in the language he wanted us to understand so he spoke English since it is his native tongue. We talked verse by verse explaining what each meant. We focused most of our time though on 2nd Peter 1:8.

"For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

We talked about the cursed fruit tree that bore no fruit and how God has given us everything that is necessary, every thing that we need, at our disposal. God gives us freedom but He also gives us everything we need. God gives us the gifts He is promising: eternal life, love, He is with us, salvation, the Holy Spirit and life! These promises are for not only this life but the next and as humans we forget these promises. We know them but we forget. We discussed how our society has gotten too content and in turn we have decided that we can stop growing but the beauty of Orthodoxy is that we can never truly say we have arrived or have learned everything we need to learn because God is infinite. We have to strive everyday and instill in ourselves a desire to grow! This strive makes life fun, interesting, it is an adventure.

As I take notes, I watch how Aht Luka teaches. I imagine Christ while he was teaching the apostles was a combination of Aht Luka and my spiritual father, Father Christodoulos Papadeas. They both together encompass love, wisdom, compassion and understanding. Both are missionaries and both have a dear place in my heart. I know I have a lot I still need to learn from both of them. They both have told me that a missionary is not here to preach rather they are here to learn. God does not need a lawyer.

(The Fellowship in the Chapel at Holy Cross High School in Sukth)

After Bible study we headed to the all boy Holy Cross High School in Sukth for lunch and a game of futball (soccer). The school was beautiful and in a way it held a special place in our hearts because we too go to a school of the Holy Cross. The school was beautiful. The property had one building that included the chapel, classrooms, cafeteria and dorms. Everyone lived and learned there together. We all collected in the chapel and the boys chanted a few songs in Albanian. We then in turn sang Save O Lord in English, all together in Greek and then the Holy Cross boys sang it in Albanian. After we collected for lunch it was time for some futbol.

Futbol. The one sport I love but am not so good at. We played in a grassy field that was in what could easily be described as ditch but even that description is flawed. I was the only girl who played. The people who weren't playing stood on the higher ground. The game was the Americans against some of the Albanians but not even half way through the game we had to mix up the teams. Let's just say the Albanians were playing on easy mode and we were still struggling. Throughout the game I tried my hardest and every once and a while I got a good kick. Thank you 13 years of karate for strong legs and kicks!! The most memorable part of the game was during the most intense part. We were trying to stop the other team from getting the ball. I see him going for a kick. I tried to get the ball. BAM. The ball hit me square in the face. My eyes teared. I looked up and saw the boys face go white. I laughed to myself, if only they knew that I have been hit in the face much harder during karate. I gave him a smile and ran after the ball continuing the game.

(Khader Baramky [back row], Demetri Constantine [middle row],
Fiona Sterling [front left] and I on the way to see
Father Martin Ritsi after the Holy Cross futbol game)

After futbol, we headed back to Tirana to meet with Father Martin Ritsi. I was so excited! Finally, after hearing about him, meeting his son Stephanos and being in conversation with his wife at the OCMC headquarters, I met him. We were all sweaty and with the remnants of a long futball game on our clothes. Sitting in Alexandra and Dn. Stephanos's apartment we listened to Father Ritsi while snacking on wafers. After about an hour we headed back to Shen Vlash to meet the Patriarch of Jerusalem.

When we got to Shen Vlash, the Patriarch was already there taking pictures. The Fellowship exchanged glances and laughed at how Aht Lukas timing is always so impeccable! We were all still in jeans and smelled of futball. As the boys left the van, Fiona and I frantically rolled up our jeans and put our skirts on top making ourselves as presentable as we could in the 2 minutes we had walking to where the Patriarch was. We all stood together separate from the seminarians and the Home of Hope children. After meeting with the Patriarch who knew one of our companions Khader Baramky (who is from Jerusalem) very well. We spoke with him for a bit about who we were and why we were in Albania. Then the Patriarch of Jerusalem departed from Shen Vlash and we all went to dinner tired in need of a shower and a good nights rest.