Heading to the hills with Albanian youth

Susan Fischer

Kelli (USA) and Liliana (Ecuador) went first, helping at a camp for Christian youth.

Later, Su, Matias and Alba (all from Chile) lent a hand at a camp where most of the youth were non-believers.

Here are their stories!

Kelli and Liliana

Erseke, Albania. Home to Udhekryq (Torchbearers), a Christian camp for children and young people ages 9-20+. A week of Christian service, lovely mountain weather and views, and an amazing display of many cultures coming together in the Name of Jesus.

In July, my teammate, Liliana, and I traveled by bus to Erseke, where we met the two church groups who we would be serving throughout the week. Grace Church, Tirana, and Lakeside Community Church, Texas came together for a week of adventure camping in the beautiful mountains not far from the Greek border.

The group consisted of 20+ teens, several youth workers from both churches, and our team of 10. My team was responsible for preparing the camp for the campers by setting up tents, outdoor bathrooms (with a flushing toilet and warm shower!!!), cooking and cleaning in the “kitchen”, and hosting outdoor activities such as rock climbing, hiking, orienteering, and games.

I was especially encouraged to see the Albanian and American youth interacting during meal times and activities. After speaking to several of the youth, I was also inspired to hear their stories of salvation, and their desire to deepen their relationships with the Lord. The youth workers were wonderful, too. Their energy and Christian example were truly awesome!

Our week in the mountains was one of hard work, but also one of immense joy and blessing. I was particularly grateful for the time in the mountains, being surrounded by God’s amazing creation, and able to spend some quiet time with Him!

By Kelli

Matias, Su and Alba

In August we three Chileans travelled  to the south of Albania to help for one week in the kitchen of Erseka Youth Camp.

We had a very interesting experience - though rather different from  Kelli and Liliana’s -  this time the camp was bigger, with 30 young people, 22 of them were non believers. It was harder to keep them quiet during the nights, but they had lots of questions and many of them were very interested in knowing more about God.

Apart from  cooking and enjoying the nice landscape and weather, we were able to intercede for the teenagers during the times of teaching. We know that God is faithful and He will bring the fruit from the seeds that have been planted.

By Su

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