No fancy update today. Just a bit of news. I arrived in Tirana on Sunday morning after 35 hours of travel. It’s stinking hot here, and the electricity keeps going off.

But we’ve got a small class of great students: Five Albanians and two Latvians plus local and Danish staff. I can always tell the week is going well if I get choked up when I’m teaching. The kingdom has a strong grip on my emotions, and when they push themselves to the surface I know I’m speaking from the deepest places in my heart. It’s happening, and the students are getting it.

I began praying for this country twenty-some years ago when I heard there were no known believers here. Albania was declared the world’s first officially atheist country in 1967, and all religions were strictly banned under the constitution. Now they tell me there were five old priests who were meeting together during the Communist years and praying for God to move. Even their wives didn’t know they were doing such a dangerous thing.

So I feel pretty honored to be here. The church seems to be healthy and growing, and from the quality of these young people I’d say it has a bright future. Hopefully I’ll have some photos to post soon.