Ladies and gentlemen we have done it! I am fully fundraised for the world race! It’s been a long journey with y’all and there’s still more to go. I want to thank you all for your dedication and fundraising thousands of dollars to help people around the world find Jesus.
There are actually two ways you can help people I have come across in my travels if you’re feeling called to donate more. Firstly, in Malaysia, some of the Rohingya kids don’t have quite enough money to pay for school. While we were there, there were also talks of new ventures the church could support in their community, including a free ambulance for the nearby neighborhoods. The PayPal link is here @JessicaEsther17. Secondly, our ministry host in Albania, Florie, whose name means gold in Albanian, is a very new father and has a car that is around 20 years old. He takes this car everywhere up and down Çorovodë and to the many surrounding villages. Some villages, he says, can’t be reached in his car because he is scared his car will break down. Brandon will be posting about it, and here is the link for donations: https://gofund.me/d1d54430. I also made it into college! I will be going to A&M this fall. Pray a lot for that because I will be in the Fightin’ Aggie band, and it’s just such an important next step in my life. But of course, we have a good deal of the race still to run, and I’m more excited every day for my mission here in Albania.
I went caving the other day with Carter Brandon and my ministry host, Jacob, and that was a blast. It’s such a blessing to see all the wonderful works of creation, and caving isn’t for the faint of heart, but the treasures and secrets held beneath are so mesmerizing. Our adventure started at a construction site that hid the cave from uninformed tourists. As we walked, we got to a nice trail with metal railing, and 500 meters later, we were met with a beautiful viewpoint forking right from the path. The cliffs on either side of us are about 600 feet tall and my mind can’t hardly comprehend the depth and sheer size of the luscious gap. We tried throwing rocks to the other side, and even being 200 ft above the river below, we couldn’t hit the other side. There were little pockets up in the cliffs, and I wondered if only I could get up there if I would be the first person in the world to get there.
Looking to the left you could see the caves that were easiest and most accessible. Three little openings all in a little sloped pocket. I, being the only one prepared, actually brought my headlamp and we walked over to the first cave opening. The first opening went a couple of meters, and we almost immediately had to start crawling as the cave seemed to be filled with muddy soil that prevented us from seeing the full extent of the cave without commercial equipment. The second opening was just a wall of limestone and we just walked past it.
But the last opening? Oh, the last opening was a sight to behold. It started in a large chamber slanting upwards filled with stalactites and stalagmites. There was also a sick-looking bug that didn’t quite look like a centipede. About 40 feet in, I hit a wall of warm, musty air that, at first, kind of scared me, but I pressed forward. Carter and Brandon were having difficulties with the muddy cave floor and slipped multiple times. The back of the chamber went slightly downward and we started to notice there were cords and electric lamps on the sides. There were little pools of water everywhere and in those little pools were little shrimps. It was about here that we lost Carter because he didn’t have a headlamp but Jacob Brandon and I shuffled our way down the shrinking tunnel for quite a few minutes. When we thought we were at the end we found a small little opening to crawl through.
Without a care for our clothes, we all went through the little opening following the cords. This proved to be quite a good choice because, after the 3-foot tunnel, it opened up to a second larger chamber. Ignoring the cords to explore, we went right, which again led us up a small rise of many stalagmites. But our journey came swiftly to a halt at a 40 ft drop off which was absolutely amazing but also a little sad because nobody really felt like taking the tiny rope you get down further that way.
Heading back to the tunnel which we came from, we took the route to the left, flowing the cords. Jacob decided he’d stay back because he’d already gone further than he’d thought he’d want to but Brandon and I were determined to reach the end of the cord. The way proved to be much more difficult as the path turned steep and slippery. After a few minutes of slipping and sliding down, we finally made it to the end of the cords. It’s just a big bundle for future exploration and lights, but it’s cool nevertheless. Jacob had also come down as well which was very cool of him to overcome that fear. The end of the cave was just a small ending but to the right, there was a 3 way splinter each barely big enough for a man to crawl through but I wasn’t feeling like going in those crawlspaces so we started heading up.
There was a stalagmite that had broken off and I had the great idea to bring it out with me. Perhaps it was the air, or perhaps it was just fatigue, but I started to feel rather weak as I crawled, slipped, and slid out of the first part of the cave. Reaching the second chamber we crawled back through the birth canal and continued our ascent. Stalagmite in hand we walked out of the cave. We all had an audible sound of relief when we reached the wall of fresh cold air we had been needing, and we found Carter lying down on the other side of the fence, resting on the rocks. The long walk back up out of the construction sight was not fun with how I was feeling, but the memory of traveling in that cave is priceless, and I suggest you go to this cave if you find yourself in Çorovodë Albania, of all places.
I want to share a lesson I learned about the parable of the sower (Mark 4:1-20) while talking to my Dad. I had previously read this scripture before I called my parents that week and I had been thinking a lot about the seeds we are planting abroad. Thinking about how we met many people who didn’t want the gospel and thinking about how many who received the gospel might not let it grow. But my Dad shared with me something he had learned from this passage earlier that week, which is so good. It’s simple: you don’t just have to plant seeds, but you can change the soil. This is brought about through relationships founded in the love of God. Why only plant a seed in someone’s Rocky heart when, through time and effort, you can remove rocks and pull up weeds that might prevent that seed from growing to its full potential. And the more I think about it the more I realize that this is so true in how we went about in Albania. Ledio, Mario, Marinela, Daniel, and Alecio, just to name a few, are great people that I’m so glad I got to spend time with. I feel we made good progress and I think that rocks have been destroyed and weeds have been burned in their lives to allow God’s love to grow inside of them. I sincerely hope that these people will soon grow up to be leaders of the church as they are slowly becoming.
As for me, I thank God for all the people who are sticking through this with me, and I am excited for each new day. This week, we are heading for Guatemala, and I’ll miss these fine people in Albania. I thank everyone for reading through to the end. And ladies and gentlemen. God bless you all.
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