Si po shkoni? How have y'all been?

If you have been wondering what we have been up to, here is an update of our family's adventures around the world! This past summer, we traveled back to the US on our first furlough for 3 months. We landed in Los Angeles, and recovered from jet-lag over the weekend and flew out to Indiana for 3 weeks. We drove to Oklahoma to visit beloved friends and churches for 2 weeks and then to Dallas for further missions training. We spent the last 3 weeks in California before flying back out to Albania at the end of August. It was a whirlwind of lots of hellos/goodbyes, hugs & tears, and good food physically and spiritually.

Some of the highlights included being part of celebrating Shaun's sister's wedding in Indiana. Our girls enjoyed being with their cousins running free in the Indiana countryside.

Another highlight in the summer was for Hae-Jean to visit her grandfather with her family. Her grandfather passed away while we were in Albania last November, and she didn't get to say good-bye. So when we all sat together and sang his favorite hymn at his gravesite, we felt God's blessing of peace and closure in His timing and love for all of us.

While we were in California, we gave our missions testimony at church. We shared that God taught us that our children is God's missional ministry that He wants us to prioritize, and He uses us in this way to reach the lost. Hae-Jean's 90+ year old grandmother came up to us afterwards and praised the Lord with thanksgiving because she has been praying every day while we were in Albania that we would prioritize our children first over medical missions work. She then shared that many years ago as a young mother, she was called to missions, but never went; but as she looked at us with tears in her eyes, she said that God answered her prayers today through us as missionaries in Albania. He truly is faithful.

We returned to Albania after confirmation from the Lord that we are being called back for our second term on the field. We traveled back refreshed and encouraged deeply in the faith through all of you. Thank you. The Lord knew that we needed time to process and heal and be prayed over after our difficult first term.

Hae-Jean's grandmother and parents in California after missions church service

Journey back in Albania...

We hit the ground running in August with the oldest 3 back in school (Hannah 6th grade, Lily 3rd grade, Abigail Joy 1st grade). While we were in the US, our friends S* and T* lived in our home that we rent because their home was being reconstructed after being damaged from the 2019 earthquake. When we returned, their home only had the foundation and walls. So, we lived together and learned quite a bit of Albanian family culture from them! Living in tight quarters with a 10 year old boy and our 5 girls was an adjustment, but we then, moved across town to a friend's rental house in Tufinë near Tirana. Our friends have a ministry vision to create a silent prayer retreat center with this home, and while we live here, Shaun gets to use his hands and work on the house towards that vision. Last week, S* & T*'s family moved back into their home, and we moved out our remaining things out of the rented house. In that period of our two families' lives intertwined, God provided opportunities to share His love and Good News with them. Continue to lift their family up to know His truth and love for them!

In the midst of packing and moving and a busy school schedule, we resumed language learning and building relationships with medical students and our Albanian medical colleagues. Out of the weekly medical student training meetings, a few students have come to believe! Pray that they grow in their new faith and impact their generation!

Before our furlough, we submitted our medical school diplomas to the Ministry of Education. After we returned, the ministry required us to submit our undergraduate diplomas and transcripts. And so, we followed through with obtaining those apostille documents. We are still waiting for their final decision of our applications. In the meantime, the Lord provided us to meet with the deputy head of the Education Ministry and have favor with the Minister of Health! Continue to pray that He opens doors for our US medical licenses to be recognized in this country! We do miss daily caring for patients!

A glimpse into medical education ministry. Topics range from pap smear exams to IV & suturing workshops...medical, nursing, PT students come hungry to learn!

In October, a retired pediatrician and his wife visited on a vision trip to see if Albania would be a good fit for mid-long term missions. God used them to bless a fellow PT worker and her ministry with disabled children in the villages.

After more than a year of praying and searching for specific direction and vision for ministry, the Lord has answered in many ways for us to lead us to move to the south east rural area of Albania in Ersekë. During the summer at our missions training in Dallas, we were called to pray Monday morning to the Lord for a specific prayer request and wait expectantly for an answer on Friday. We both prayed in our hearts for the Lord to give confirmation on whether we are to move to Ersekë or not. A year ago, we asked another missionary family with children who are friends with our girls to prayerfully consider moving out there with us. The chances were slim; they had just moved in and were in the thick of a busy church ministry, and was just selected in as part of the international Christian school board. They politely said they would and really did start praying a year ago. On Friday morning at our Dallas training, Shaun got a long voice message from that family saying, "This is it. We're all in. We're moving to Ersekë."

This is just one example of the many confirmations and answers to prayer. While the transition will not be easy in many ways, it will be good for all of us because we believe we are following the Lord's leading. We will be joining a team of workers in Ersekë that has established a small gathering of believers and Bible school. Ersekë acts as a beacon of light in a desert where the surrounding area of miles upon miles have little access to both spiritual and physical health care. We hope to establish a home health care ministry in conjunction to a meals on wheels to the elderly and disabled; as well as help a nursing home for neglected elderly 20 minutes away. We first need to move there in end of January, settle into a new routine of homeschooling our girls and establish relationships with the local community.

Prayer Requests!

A short-term missions team from Hana church is coming Dec 24-Jan 6! They plan to organize Christmas programs for the Roma community and outlying Albanian villages, as well as a nursing home in Korça.
Saying good-byes to friends in Tirana and GDQ school is really hard, especially Abigail Joy, Lily and Hannah
Moving out to Ersekë in January - for a smooth transition and good relationship building in the local community
For our medical licenses to be recognized in Albania
For the salvation & kingship of Jesus in the lives of our friends E* & K* and their children and S* & T* and their children and M* and her children
for God's provision for funds to build a classroom in our home in Ersekë to homeschool our girls (we are moving into a 1.5 bdr house - cozy!)

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Our mailing address is:
Shaun Peters
K.P. 119, AEP #58
Tirana ZIP 1057
Albania

Our email address is: shaunandhaejean@gmail.com

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-	Albania Newsletter December 2023	bonghwang	2024-01-18
Next	Albania Newsletter February 2023	bonghwang	2023-02-24

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