Albania Oct 2026

Our first mission trip Day 1 - Wow what a day! We arrived at the house and got into our room, had a brief tour, then the main meeting brief with the whole team which covered the weeks ahead - Prayers and introductions. The we had an incredible talk on the culture and history of Albania and the Albanian people. We were then assigned families to go and visit that evening to meet with and pray for - along with a translator. Each family had a back story of where they are in their faith and what they needs prayers for imparticular. Such an incredible time with the family and it also showed us how wonderful our boys are as they went off with the families 12 year old son, (whoonly knew a few words of English) and they all made the experience look easy. The back for a debrief and discussion about all of our experiences, food and then bed... much needed sleep from having started our day at 2am. A side note - the views are incredible with the mountains so close by. The country is poor which is clear to see in the buildings and streets, however the people are so warm and beyond welcoming. Nice to actually get to see the true side of country and we are excited about the days ahead.

Day 2 - Up early to explore the area and get some fresh melons for breakfast which where in abundance and incredible. Practiced our Albanian, which made everyone smile at the efforts we made. Back from breakfast then worship and Bible study with the team and then packed up to go for some time exploring the area. Wow the views are epic, Team building and site seeing, Walked miles along the coast to see a church that survived communism where we had time to reflect and pray. Exploring bunkers and then a walk around the beach line, so beautiful but so sad to see the amount of rubbish. Back to the house for food, de-brief and planning the week of community service and outreach. After prayers, gratitude and daily diary we turned in for the night. Day 3 - Up early with another walk into town for groceries and saying 'Hi' to the locals. So hard seeing all the stray dogs and not being able to help them, but its just the culture here. Jake and I just want to stay and help them all. Breakfast and then morning devotional with the team. "Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome." - John 1: 3-5 God really answers us for within the darkness of the dogs here and our pain of this, He shows that He is the light and with Him all will be ok.

We then had a group debrief and Jill shared the heartbeat for day 3, which was helping the locals with community improvement projects.

So we were all slit up into smaller teams to go help certain people/families.

We got blessed to go to Pastor Dag’s home to help him to harvest his Grape Vines and help with the entire process to press and create the grape juice.   What an experience, but also what an absolute pleasure to be able to support him.  This is something he normally tries to do by himself and can take weeks on his own, but has felt this year God pulling his time to growing the faith within the community and spending that time with families instead. He had got so behind with his home and loosing crops.  2 families and 2 of the team went over and within the 6 hours we had picked all the grapes, hand pressed, stored, had ice cream break and then helped clean and tidy areas he needed tidied.  These grapes are used for the Holy Communion so such a blessing for the entire congregation.

Back for dinner and debrief. Then the men went off for Bible study at the church led by Pastor Dag whilst the women/families stayed to play games with some of the local children to create relationships and break barriers.

Exhausted but hearts full upon going to bed 🙏❤️

May God bless you all for allowing this work to be possible 🫶❤️

Day 4 (no internet as up a mountain) so this is for yesterday.

Up, breakfast, prayers and worship then packing for mountain hike up Mount Krujë to camp for the night, with the whole YWAM team plus some wonderful Albanian guys/girls.

Incredible raw, rocky trail once we past the first 30mins of steps, plus some off track mountain climbing, natural spring water finds and cave exploring. This was an epic experience, indescribable views whilst also being both mentally and physically challenging  - with the children it was so much more intense as you have not just yourself to think about but 4 heartbeats to consider. Keeping Morale up, constant safety scanning, fed and watered.   It really took everything and I personally was exhausted at the top as I sat to breathe in Gods creation with the views, which made it all worth it.

It was all stations go once arrived though to set up camp, collect firewood and get dinner on.  

We watched the sunset whilst eating dinner. Then it was round the camp fire for prayers, worship, our highs, lows and where God has spoken to us so far.   Beautful way to end the day.   Wonderful to share the whole journey with those from so many different countries showing spiritual connections and unity.

Day 5 - Interesting night camping is the only way to put it with the boys, using others gear and getting minimal sleep. But walking up on the top of the mountain certainly made up for that. The views this morning were incredible which we all appreciated during breakfast wrapped up in as many clothes as we could layer on.

After breakfast we had prayer and worship together.  This is a sacred spot for the locals who have faith, they come up the mountain to pray for Albania, to pray against the pagan rituals that are held in certain spots on the mountain.  So to be able to pray here with a group of locals was a huge blessing.

The camp got packed back up, whilst the boys explored the nature and some of the team did caving. Then the drive back, we went via Krujë, to stop, say hi, support and meet the locals, have food and see the area. 

Then back to unpack, wash, have food and reflection time. 

Incredible trip and week one is all about relationships, challenges, community outreach and prayers so it has been all of this and more. But next week starts digging into more hands on work supporting the locals and being of service which we are really looking forward too.

Day 6 - Up, breakfast. Daily devotional and Bible study with a debrief of the mountain activity and the community work here.  The leaders presented t-shirts to all as a gift and meaning that ‘all creation testifies’ and we spoke on this and shared thoughts of how to further help here in Albania. 

The heartbeat for today is couples and Gods unity and love within them.  Bringing together local couples to enjoy a date night with food and service complementary by the team held at the church.   Date nights for couples are not part of the culture here in Albania, it is custom for the men to go out together, whilst the women stay home. So emphasising Gods love in the marriage and how we can serve and compliment each other is new and an important message to share.

As a couple, part of the team, we were asked to create a game and message to share that promotes connection and unity through Gods Love.  We chose 1 Corinthians 13:4-5, as this passage defines love in practical terms, reminding us to exhibit patience, kindness, and humility.  This verse provides as a foundation for a selfless, forgiving love that mirrors God’s love.  We played a game of couples Pictionary dictionary that we created.

The whole day was planning, preparation and setting up the room.  Food was made by the church leaders and desserts bought in, with a gift for each person. A keyring with a hand carved wooden cross, heart and key on it. A reminder of connection love and keeping God at the forefront of marriage.   The whole evening was a success and the couples were laughing and enjoying each other’s company which the team said is rare here and so wonderful to see how God is moving within the community.  

Ollie got to be one of the waiters for the evening and loved serving. The other boys joined a larger group of children to hang out.

Again going to bed totally exhausted but completely full of joy.

Day 7 - Most of the team are ill today with colds and some with sickness so it’s good it’s a rest day after Church service, which only a few of us made it too.  Ollie is also down with sickness so rest for him too. 

Such a powerful service, trying to sing worship songs in Albanian and join in. The service message was all about knowing Jesus/Jezus through the Bible. The passage reference was John 5:39-40. It was a passionate sermon by Pastor Dag. We celebrated the Lord and shared how He has touched our lives.  We prayed for each other and for the community. 

So lovely seeing the boys walking home together chatting about the service and how they have loved helping and being here. 

The afternoon was about washing, tiding, and exploring town to find a pineapple to make a bromelain tonic for the team.  Success, a very expensive 😂 pineapple sourced and tonic made for all, together with a treat of choc/banana oat balls for those feeling bit better. 

Some dinner and early night after some uno games with the boys and a few of the team

Be blessed as you Bless one and all  ❤️🙏❤️

Day 8 - After breakfast we had daily devotional, Bible study and shared our highs for the week. Then team meeting to discuss the day and projects ahead.

The heartbeat for this week is to have all hands on deck to help at Eli’s home.  Eli is on the leadership team here at the church and has felt called to open his home up for missionary. This is such a wonderful thing for him and his family to do.  Eli has a large home but currently only the bottom flour is complete and 2 rooms of the middle flour. The rest of the house is at brick work level and needs a lot of work doing.  Today was a site visit, planning the work and teams and getting started. 

After a few hours me and the boys headed back to the house, which was fun as we had to find our way through back streets and a main road. Then out shopping before back to make dinner for the team so they could all crack on.  We all shared a meal together along with our highs and lows.

It’s great that most if those who were sick are now up and feeling better.  Praying for more productivity tomorrow 🙏

God bless you all

Day 9 - Starting the day in prayer and devotion. Praying into the day ahead and the size of the project. God led me 2 Chronicles 1: 7-12 - we are not building Gods temple as Solomon did but for Eli we are building a temple to serve God with, a prayer just like Solomon, to give up his home and serve the Lord and in that we honour Eli and his family by working together to make this prayer a reality.  I love how God leads us through His word and encourages us to continue, through the flesh and build up the spirit.

After prayer time, we gathered for the team meeting to reveal what the heartbeat of the day is.  (It’s great literally living in the moment, such beautiful lessons for the boys, naturally giving them pure presence)

Today the team was split up into groups for different community outreach projects.  

Team 1 was the skilled labours, Dee was assigned this team to go back to Eli’s house as the carpenter, with Graham to finish the wood trimmings in the bedrooms as the others worked on electrics, concreting and building works.  

Team 2, which included the boys and myself! We all headed off with 70 trash bags to litter pick and clean up round a huge lake.  5 hours later, all the bags filled and dropped off at the dumping station! The lake was clear and the reward was to jump into the lake and have 20 minutes down time before heading to the leaders home to celebrate (any excuse) their dog’s birthday 😂.

Once there we helped cook, decorate and clean their home (as they give so much and haven’t had time to do much cleaning recently) then we all enjoyed a team celebratory dinner together, with cake and games after the hard work, with an incredible sunset to finish the day!

Day 10 - Later start this morning as it was very late to bed yesterday.  So a wander into town to get some supplies for the team.  Back for breakfast and team meeting to find out the heartbeat of the day. 

Again today there were many teams set up to work on a variety of projects so that we maximise the outreach here. Serving in the best way with the peoples skills that are here, as each week people fly out and in so the dynamic within the house changes as well as the projects outside. 

Team 1:  the skilled labour team went back to Eli’s to continue the building work, prepping the rooms ready to paint or stain them, which we hope will be on the cards for more of the team to get stuck into tomorrow. This was where Dee and Ollie headed for the day. 

Team 2: community outreach with the local teens. A group of the YWAM teens met up with a group of Albanian girls to have social time with a translator.  To find out about each other’s culture and break down cultural differences with walking with God.

Team 3: was operation clean up! The team house was in real need of some love, with the teams being out for 10 days and ill it’s been neglected.  So Jake, Tobie and I stayed back to give the house a deep clean. Then we went shopping and made dinner for the team, so they came back to a clean house, washing done, warm meal and dessert prepared.

This evening after mealtime together the men went off for men’s Bible study and prayer  night at the church and Jill and I went for a meeting to catch up and discuss our experiences, thoughts, and where we can see a continued help.

It was a great day all round of service in so many different ways. It’s now 11:45pm and we have just stopped together to grab a cuppa before bed and say hi as it’s the first time together since breakfast! Our hearts are full and we know we will sleep well once we get to bed with the boys (as we now have 2 in the bed with us, which is two single beds tied together with socks so they don’t come apart and the boys fall in the middle 😂)

Not so many photos today, but God did reveal some verses to encourage us to step closer to Him

Stay blessed everyone ❤️🙏💙

Day 11 - Morning walk to get supplies, making pancakes and adding smiles to many faces! Bible, worship and devotional time together, with praying over those who are in need of prayers within the team. 

This morning was a grey day but I did take some photos off the balcony to show you the area around the communal house we are in.

The heartbeat of today was similar to yesterday.

Team 1 - at Eli’s, finishing projects and starting the painting and staining.  Dee said they really feel like they have accomplished a lot over the past few days. 

It’s slow progress with work at the house as we haven’t had the right tools or materials.

However today felt like a jump forward - one of the upper rooms is finished, the other just needs to be stained.

We are now working on the small joining space between the rooms. The difficulty is that nothing has been built straight or level so we are trying to work from that to make it as good as we can.

We had another group painting one of the lower rooms as well as a few working on the electrics.

Challenging but fun and most importantly what we are doing will have a big impact on future missionaries coming over to stay.

Team 2 - me and the boys got to hang with one of the Albanian young boy, building relationships and time together.  We were on dinner rota again to help the team so we planned the meal, wrote the shopping list and translated it to Albanian to help at the shops as not many speak any English here.  But we are getting the hang of some of the basic language which is nice. 

Today in town I took some photos of the sad side of the country. The dogs! This morning on our way to get supplies we saw a dog that had just died on the street, alone and unloved.  Here they hold no value at all, unless you are wealthy and keep one simply as a guard dog they are not part of family life at all and seen as vermin on the streets, people own cats but not dogs.  There are so many and they are all in such a sad state.  We are told not to touch, engage or encourage them but it is heartbreaking. 

Today I broke the rules, because I believe Jesus would love them too, we said hi to a gorgeous young girly and got her some treats, we were soon joined by another little one, so we shared some treats with her too.  It’s so hard passing them all, there is evidence of a few people putting some food out here and there but according to the team they have no rescues here or support for them. 

After we were all reunited about 6:30pm tonight we shared a meal, then some of the lads (with Ollie) went and played football with some Albanian lads and we all played games with cake and some of the local youth came and joined in, which is so nice as we’ve met so many lovely local people young and elder and made so many connections. 

Again going to bed with exhausted bodies but prayers of gratitude and our hearts so so full

God bless you all ❤️🙏❤️

Day 12 - Breakfast followed by Bible study, worship, devotional time and communion together, with praying over Albania, Eli’s home and the day ahead.

The heartbeat of today was similar to yesterday, but for today all the team was at Eli’s, finishing the week’s projects.  Dee will share more on this with images. Jake and Ollie wasn’t feeling well today so plans for us changed from going to the house to letting them rest up. I cleaned up and went shopping to make dinner for all. I had some time to do my own Bible study. Then it was Friday night church service from 5pm. Back to serve dinner. Then girls hangout time, I joined for a bit and made them popcorn but have missed seeing Dee so we went for ice cream and then hung out playing uno for an hour. 

Work on the house went well today. We pushed to get the small joining hallway framed and the panelling finished which we did. Both rooms have also been coated with clear wood stain and the electrics are done.

Just the doors and frames to hang and then finish a wee bit of trim.

I can’t even begin to explain how un-level everything is. So it’s been a case of trying to bring everything back to some kind of level and resolve anything else which has popped up.

But it’s been a successful day 😃👍

Yesterday I shared a little of the sadness with the animals here.  Today I share the sadness for the youth; energy drinks, they seem to be a staple here for the young (and very young) they are everywhere.  In the hands of the children from breakfast to dinner, as if it was water.  The adults too, but also with coffee and smoking being the main social activity.  Heavy prayers against these companies are called for and education on looking after themselves.  Prayers, prayers and more prayers are needed for sure to fill with Gods word 🙏

God bless you all.

Day 13 - Breakfast followed by Bible study, worship, and devotional time together this morning. The heartbeat of today was a team of 4 to go back to Eli’s to finish hanging a couple of doors and stain them so that the 2 bedrooms are done ready and one more coat of paint in the 3rd room.

The rest of the team got a day out in Tiranë city centre to visit the area, go to a bunker museum called ‘Bunkart 2’ so that we can learn more about the Albanian history and culture. Then a visit to Latitude, trampoline park, climbing wall and obstacle high ropes centre for an hour of fun for the younger crew whilst the rest of us chatted about the past couple of weeks.

The museum:

We entered via the original bunker entrance and had access to all the rooms. Each room told part of the story not just of the bunker but also how Albania came into communism, went through it and came back out of it. The stories of how they tried to eradicate religion and brought about atheism. How they tortured thousands and killed around 7000 people during this time. So many stories were shared within this museum, so many artefacts all in all a fascinating and sad experience learning about their history. I took many photos to share esp with the text for anyone interested.

Back for dinner and social before bed ❤️

God bless you all. 🙏

Day 14 - We made pancakes for the team house today as a last breakfast treat! Then headed to church for service and communion.  Wonderful message of how God is working in the lives of people here and how we can find His grace in the Bible.  After service we headed for ice cream with the pastor to have some 1:1 time together and to also pray into each other’s journeys with God. 

Back to the house to do some washing, packing and making dinner. While Dee got to go back to Eli’s house to see all the work and say goodbyes before leaving.  After dinner Dee got to interview Graham one of the YWAM youth (who is an incredible guy and a great testimony) for our podcast. Whilst the boys and I had a games night with the team and Albanian youth.

None of us want to leave in the morning, there is so much still to give here and the team have asked us to stay too 🥺 but we are packed ready for the flight in the morning ❤️ cannot wait to share everything and see you all soon xx

God bless you all. 🙏