Donkey on a beach

Donkey on a beach….not exactly the title you’d expect to see on a blog about a missions conference somewhere in Europe, right?

And there we were, just hanging out on the beach....when this man showed up with melons and fresh olive oil to sell ~ on the back of his donkey.  Notice the tourists just on the other side of the donkey!

 

Well, let’s fill you in with a few details.

Our Serve Globally colleagues gathered recently in Albania to encourage one another, worship together, read God’s word together, and catch up on Serve Globally business together.  Oh yea, and we were fed by words of encouragement from our ECC president Tammy Swanson-Draheim.  For many of us, it was our first time meeting Tammy (newly elected in 2022 at the annual Gather meeting in Kansas City).  She is such a great leader, and her personal and life testimony is all about giving God the glory for the great things He has done.  She is chosen!  Just as each one of us is chosen!

Mosque in downtown Tirana, the capital city of Albania.  Impressive!

 

So when 50 or so Covenanters who serve with Serve Globally, and Covenanters who serve globally in the world but not within Serve Globally, gather….can you imagine the fun we had??!!  We were young and old alike, babies and grandparents.  Enough arms to carry around the babies in our group and to fill our hearts with joy.  We played games with the kids, loved having child care helpers from California (shout out to Peninsula Covenant church in Redwood City, CA for helping make that happen!).  And we even danced!

A quick explanation about Barb dancing with the traditional Albanian dancers....she was thick in the midst of a Uno Flip game with the kids when all of a sudden she glanced over at the Albanian dancers and said to the kids "sorry, guys I gotta go dance!"  Having grown up with a father who had emigrated to the USA from former Yugoslavia, Barb had grown up with the Serbian Orthodox Church traditions, which included being in a dance troupe in the St. Simeon Mirotocivi congregation on the East Side of Chicago.  Though the dance steps were a bit different in Albania, it was the same rhythm and the locals who were also dancing were quite gracious to let Barb join in the dance.  Good time was had by all!  And Barb, because she loves to play games, quickly made her way back to the game table to finish out Uno Flip with the kids!
 

Communion.  Community.  And I believe that God looked upon us with great joy as we celebrated being family together.

 

Just for fun ~ another view of the donkey on the beach!  You should know that a bunch of us, including our kids playing in the sand, were just on the other side of the donkey on a beach.  It was a fun in the sun kind of day ~