Walking around Bar Sometimes.

 Over the past week I've been recovering from a cold, but it hasn't been too bad. As training rumbles on, it hasn't been physically strenuous, so I've not had to miss any days of studying. But most of my training isn't really photo-worthy... who ever wrote home about their school work? So in the past couple of days, I've been feeling better and took the opportunity to do some excursions into the city of bar.

Saturday night I played basketball with some local lads. I actually don't have any photos of this (sorry), but it was really great to connect to a demographic that churches haven't really been able to reach out to very well. Most of them were Orthodox Christians, but definitely leaning towards the ways of the world, so it was great provide some wisdom in the right things to aim for. We actually gave them all a bible in their language, and my friend wrote each person a personal message for them. Lots of them were really interested in the Bible and wanted to know where to start. So please pray that they will take initiative in their faith.

Yesterday I needed a day to relax, so in the afternoon I went out and about on a stroll to the beech with some friends.

So today, just before I'm writing this I played football with some locals. To be honest they weren't very good, but it was still super fun to run around after a rolling ball.

I have two more weeks of training, and after then, the real work begins! Super exciting!

Where is Bar, Montenegro?

 After I updated my blog yesterday, I realised that for many people, the location of Montenegro is not obvious, so here is an image detailing the location of Montenegro and the city of Bar, which Logos Hope is currently visiting:

Sitting beside the Adriatic Sea, Montenegro is merely a stone's throw from Italy. The country received it's independence from Serbia in 2006 after a narrow vote. Montenegro is part of NATO and is currently trying to gain entry to the EU. But even now, much of the country uses Euros, so there's that.

Most of the country is Orthodox Christian, but there are minorities of Muslim and Roman Catholics, mostly in the South. There are very few Evangelical Christians in the country.

I’m now in Montenegro

Righto!

The ship is now in Montenegro. The city is called Bar and it’s pretty beautiful.

But after every big sail, the ship needs to undergo some cleaning, so the engine trainees were roped into lending a hand. We had to clean tank tops… beneath deck 1.

It was messy. This is the aftermath…

But it was a lot of fun. I’m so glad we did it together!

In any case, I was supposed to have a small C-Day, but I’ve come down with a cold and was feeling pretty rough… so pray for that.

But I still had a chance to walk around Bar. I went to a massive church in the centre of town. It was pretty extra, but impressive nonetheless:

Building a Wall

 So in the port of Durres, the ship was connected with a family with some extremely autistic children. It wasn’t safe for one of them to go outside and their home didn’t have a boundary.

So the ship decided to help this family by building a wall, collaborating with a local believer as well.

On Monday was the last day we could do this, and some work needed to be done. So I volunteered with some of my friends to help out. 

It was really wonderful to get stuck into some practical work. I had spent the week stuck in a classroom, so I was so glad to be out and about.

The family was Muslim, but they were so appreciative of the help we provided, and we were invited in to their home.

We also met an old lady who lived across the street. She was very typical of Albanians, having a form of syncretism between Christianity and Islam, but one of my friends prayed a really beautiful prayer with her and she was so grateful. I didn’t take any pictures, but rest assured, we received many kisses from her.

I am really grateful that I was able to connect to some locals. Tonight we will sail to Montenegro, so soon I will talk about that.