People frequently ask me how difficult it is to work overseas away from my family.  It’s hard to explain and put into words how I feel when I leave my family and go abroad to work with missionaries.  Of course it is hard to leave my children behind.  They always walk me up to the security checkpoint at the airport and watch until I get through security and disappear from their view.  As I am waking to my gate, I am a blubbering mess.  And I remain that way as I board my flight.  Somewhere over Nova Scotia, I manage to get my emotions into check and begin to focus on my destination and my mission.  While I am in the States, I miss my Albanian family and the mountains.  Likewise, while I am in Albania, I miss my family and the familiarity of home.  Regardless of where I am, I have one foot at home and the other foot in Albania.  Both families are wonderful, remarkable, and loving.  

 I am one of the lucky few who have discovered their true purpose in life.  Beyond a shadow of a doubt, I KNOW that I am doing what I was created to do in this life.  I help people.  This has always been an inclination throughout my life.  I’ve been lucky enough to find opportunities to do what comes naturally for me.  And I am very blessed to be able to help others in exotic, foreign locales.  I am fortunate to be able to experience all sorts of cultures, languages, customs, foods, and peoples.  I’ve met people from all over the world representing dozens of organizations.  Similarly, I’ve met people all over the spectrum of wealth and privilege; I’ve visited amazing people who live in slums as well as dignitaries in their stately houses and have always received an overwhelmingly friendly reception from both ends of the spectrum.  Three different times I’ve been fed a meal by people who were literally cooking all they had in their houses to feed us.  The poor give sacrificially to show their appreciation.   It would have been rude and insulting to refuse their gift of food, so we accepted their gift.  It is very hard to enjoy a meal when you know that you are consuming the family’s weekly food supply.  Forever, I will remember their loving sacrifice.  Hospitality has always been shown to me in overabundance and I am so grateful for all of the relationships which have been formed during my time overseas.  

I have been able to participate in a wide spectrum of experiences while serving missionaries.  In one instance, we have visited villages carrying a basket of eyeglasses.  As we visited each house, the villagers would try on eyeglasses until they find a strength that was adequate for their eyesight.  If they had eyeglasses they weren’t using, they tossed them into the basket so someone else could possibly use them.  This is a simple, effective solution for providing some relief for those who can’t afford food, yet alone proper eyeglasses.  Another experience involved distributing aid to villagers that included shoeboxes filled with gifts (Operation Shoebox) as well as clothing aid from Danish charities.  It is hard to adequately describe the joy and gratitude from those who are receiving this aid.  

Through my work, I get to experience the joy of helping people.  Many times, these people face insurmountable odds that would simply crush my spirit.  Because of my encounters with the poorest of the poor, I have become much more grateful for everything I have and enjoy.   Being able to do this type of work has changed my mind set, my reality, and my perception of life for the better.  I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.   I am grateful to my family for giving me encouragement but most of all, for giving me “wings” to pursue what I was made to do with my life.