Planting Seeds

Hello! I’m excited to share a bit of what’s happening more broadly with my job at GDQ and ministry in Albania.

Hosting the fundraising consultants was a great opportunity to get more perspective on the feasibility of our campaign, but revealed the gaps in the broader strategy of the school, and what this means for funding the building purchase. A lot of the decisions that needed to be made were bigger picture, and, after many months, GDQ’s board of directors clarified our five core commitments and finalized a strategic plan that allows us to build a case for support for the school. The Fellowship of Christian Fundraising Professionals holds calls every quarter, and the speaker at the last one emphasized the importance of how, as the recipients of gifts, it is important to receive well. The way I’ve put it, GDQ has known the need of a building for a long time, but we’ve been laying the foundation for receiving well by implementing a strategic plan that expands enrollment while maintaining our core mission and vision.

For me, this has meant more time for data cleaning and connections. After many hours of digging I’ve managed to compile over 1000 connections from GDQ’s past, a milestone I’m patting myself on the back for! Last month the school director and I hosted The 6th at 6— a call with the GDQ community to give updates on our recruiting needs, a building update, and outreach efforts for our students. We had a great turnout that built some momentum in our connection with alumni/staff/families who have been our ‘local champions’ in the past, and I’m hoping it can be a strategic way to connect with those who will champion for the future of the school as well.

I’m excited to be sharing my responsibilities with a new member of our advancement team! Last month we interviewed a GDQ alumnus who is currently raising support to join our staff- after visiting the school during the 30th anniversary reunion last March he was looking for ways to get involved, and expanding our team of people working on getting this campaign off the ground is exactly what we need right now. With that, I’m looking forward to what this means for the progress we can make on fundraising and spending some more intentional time building out a ministry of hospitality out of the Doçi home.

Visiting Agape’s ministry on the Camino in Spain (La Fuente del Peregrino, the Pilgrim’s Fountain in English) was a highlight moment for me this spring- so much felt like it was falling into place in my own discernment, and having an in-person experience at a thriving ministry honed in on hospitality as a way of loving our neighbors makes me very excited to bring some of what I saw being done home with me. Planting seeds is all it is; living Christlike in service, listening, and proclaiming truth. La Fuente doesn’t shy away from conversations about God, and seeing just how open these travelers were to discussing matters of faith made for great evening discussion.

Dinner at the Agape house- a good opportunity to practice my French with the French pilgrims!

Planting seeds became a significant theme in how I approached the next handful of guests we took in at our home. While hosting P, a nineteen year old on his gap year who I met at L’Abri, we befriended M- a jazz musician from Toulouse who was spending a few weeks traveling around the Balkans. Over the course of two days M opened up about his upbringing in a secular household, the impact of music on his life, and the questions he had about spirituality. I was able to work the gospel message into our conversation discuss why I thought Jesus was crucial in how we approach God. M came to church with P and a few friends of ours, and I’m praying that God met him in a special way that Sunday.

J, a hitchhiker from Scotland, and B, a digital nomad, were two others where there were clear opportunities to plant seeds.

J was collaborating with an art gallery in Tirana doing a piece on secrets, and the importance of public confession and stayed with us for about a week. It was fun to have him around at the same time that M and his friend A, a filmmaker, were visiting Tirana later that month- three artists from different disciplines, conversing over good food. Quite a fun evening.

“Aaron, what’s something you believe with your whole self to be true?” is how my conversation with B started over lunch. I think you can guess where we went from there.

On Saturday we said goodbye to A, our final guest before a hectic summer season. I was connected to A through N, a guest who stayed with our family for a month last August. A was baptized in November, and with some of the questions he had about his new faith and needing some fresh perspective to discern what that meant for his life I invited him to spend some time in Tirana. Without knowing anything other than being N’s friend and a believer, A came to Tirana to spend a week in our home. It became apparent quite early on in our conversation that A was really seeking discipleship and a network of believers to grow in his faith with. Living in a very secular environment, a new Christian without much context for what comes after giving your life to Christ, it was so special to see faith in the fresh eyes of a young believer. A and I had many conversations about faith/fact/feeling, grace, forgiveness, walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, and discipline, to name a few. I’ve often told myself that it takes ‘someone better than me’ to disciple a new believer, but walking with A for a week reminded me that our role as disciples is simple- listen, guide the conversation, and restate the truth of what we believe about God and what that means for our life. I’m constantly being reminded that what qualifies us is not how many theology degrees we have in our back pocket, years of experience, or sinlessness— it’s God’s voice asking us to serve, and us listening.

As of now, I’m sensing the Lord opening doors for me in hospitality ministry that I really want to push open and commit more time to. With your support, and TeachBeyond’s, I’m excited to return to the United States with the hopes I can raise the funding necessary to stay on the field for the long term. This is definitely not what I expected to happen when I committed to coming to Albania for a year in 2022, but it’s been confirming to see the gifts from God that come with submission to His call. I truly sense God’s will and mine coinciding in the prospects of serving more fully in a hospitality ministry, and I ask you’d pray for my sensitivity of heart and peace of mind as I trust God’s provision to fund this whole plan. I’m returning for a furlough confident, with a vision, and bring more people into this unique opportunity to serve God’s people around the world.

My current plan is to start in the Northeast August 13-Mid September, then slowly move Midwest/South. Between August and December my main goal will be to reconnect with as many of you as I can, visit family, and work on my personal MPD, with a few weeks taken for GDQ recruitment and alumni engagement. As you can tell, my planning is very loose at this point, but I’ll clarify as things start to come together.

A few prayer requests:

1. For GDQ’s capital campaign, for our new team addition and our work together to finalize the groundwork for fundraising our building.

2. For former guests: that seeds planted in them may grow, and they’d be reckoning with matters of faith alongside solid Christians in their home communities.

3. For my own discernment as I engage different forms of hospitality ministry around Europe this summer, that I could build a network to learn best practices from and for spiritual support.

4. In preparation for furlough- that God would already be orchestrating and preparing the hearts of those who have a heart for hospitality. For my own rest and renewal, for time with family and clear knowledge of WHERE I’m supposed to go and WHY.

As always, thank you all for your steadfastness, encouragement, and prayers.

Aaron

Our most recent family photo- sans Abby!