WEBVTT

00:00:06.520 --> 00:00:09.198
<i>Leilani took a year 
from studying at her university</i>

00:00:09.198 --> 00:00:11.148
<i>to become a student missionary.</i>

00:00:11.148 --> 00:00:13.478
<i>She knew she wanted to serve overseas</i>

00:00:13.478 --> 00:00:15.954
<i>but didn’t know 
where God wanted her to go.</i>

00:00:15.954 --> 00:00:18.754
I was just looking for a position 
I could teach English

00:00:18.754 --> 00:00:20.950
in a country that I had never heard of.

00:00:20.950 --> 00:00:24.086
So I prayed to God, 
asked him to give me a place

00:00:24.086 --> 00:00:25.495
I had never been to.

00:00:25.495 --> 00:00:28.444
Now I’m here, and it’s 
the best decision I’ve ever made.

00:00:29.635 --> 00:00:32.659
<i>Leilani was nervous when her plane 
touched down in Albania.</i>

00:00:32.875 --> 00:00:35.004
<i>But now, just one month later,</i>

00:00:35.162 --> 00:00:37.892
<i>she’s discovering 
both the joys and challenges</i>

00:00:37.892 --> 00:00:39.937
<i>of being an Adventist Volunteer.</i>

00:00:40.457 --> 00:00:42.537
<i>She’s volunteering at this kindergarten, </i>

00:00:42.537 --> 00:00:45.915
<i>which is run by the humanitarian 
organization ADRA Albania</i>

00:00:45.915 --> 00:00:48.260
<i>in cooperation with local church leaders.</i>

00:00:48.260 --> 00:00:49.791
<i>The school was started with the belief</i>

00:00:49.791 --> 00:00:52.030
<i>that investing 
in the community’s education</i>

00:00:52.431 --> 00:00:55.468
<i>will create happy, 
healthy children and families,</i>

00:00:55.697 --> 00:00:57.884
<i>contributing to a stronger society.</i>

00:01:11.332 --> 00:01:13.642
<i>I’m the kindergarten ESL teacher.</i>

00:01:13.642 --> 00:01:17.502
<i>I teach three classes, 
and all of them are in English.</i>

00:01:17.944 --> 00:01:20.104
<i>Her classroom is bursting with energy</i>

00:01:20.104 --> 00:01:22.342
<i>as the kids engage in fun activities.</i>

00:01:30.321 --> 00:01:33.444
<i>Being a volunteer 
is not always simple or easy.</i>

00:01:33.953 --> 00:01:37.066
<i>Leilani has had to adapt 
to a new language and culture.</i>

00:01:37.251 --> 00:01:40.115
<i>When she arrived, 
she couldn’t speak Albanian.</i>

00:01:40.341 --> 00:01:43.411
<i>And then I come here 
and I don’t understand anything,</i>

00:01:43.411 --> 00:01:45.524
<i>and everybody’s translating for me.</i>

00:01:46.199 --> 00:01:49.310
<i>Another challenge is being so far 
from her family and friends</i>

00:01:49.310 --> 00:01:50.740
<i>in the United States.</i>

00:01:50.740 --> 00:01:54.521
<i>But the loneliest times 
have only reinforced her trust in God.</i>

00:01:54.761 --> 00:01:58.721
My spiritual life 
has definitely become stronger

00:01:58.721 --> 00:02:00.525
just being here for a month.

00:02:00.525 --> 00:02:02.081
I didn’t even expect it.

00:02:02.484 --> 00:02:05.096
<i>God is there every single day.</i>

00:02:05.850 --> 00:02:10.360
<i>I came here, 
and my first day here I was like,</i>

00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:12.680
<i>"What am I doing here?"</i>

00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:18.583
<i>But through this whole process 
you can see God.</i>

00:02:18.583 --> 00:02:20.673
<i>And so just being here I’m like,</i>

00:02:20.673 --> 00:02:23.483
<i>"Whoa, You do have me, 
You do take care of me."</i>

00:02:23.483 --> 00:02:25.743
<i>It just shocked me. It’s pretty cool.</i>

00:02:25.743 --> 00:02:27.742
<i>It’s actually really cool to know</i>

00:02:27.742 --> 00:02:29.422
<i>somebody’s watching out for you.</i>

00:02:30.007 --> 00:02:33.113
<i>Please pray 
for Adventist Volunteers like Leilani,</i>

00:02:33.113 --> 00:02:35.525
<i>who have accepted God’s call to serve.</i>

00:02:35.915 --> 00:02:39.089
<i>You too can visit AdventistVolunteers.org</i>

00:02:39.089 --> 00:02:41.828
<i>to see a list of current 
volunteer opportunities.</i>

00:02:42.665 --> 00:02:45.925
<i>Thank you for supporting 
the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s work</i>

00:02:45.925 --> 00:02:47.367
<i>around the world!</i>