Albania

A few weeks ago we traveled with a team from our church to Albania to come alongside our sweet friends, the Stires, in their full time ministry over there. Here are the pictures that we took while there. Enjoy:

Russ.

Eric, our leader.

Tim.

Katie.

Jeffrey.

Brandon.

C.W.

Anthony.

Lane.

The Stires.
from top clockwise: Kris, Chelle, Whitney, Breanna, Sierra, and Kaitlyn.

Kris.
We have so missed his laugh! It's contagious! Kris has been such a gigantic, godly influence on our lives. He was our youth pastor for almost 5 years--from the time we were about 17 until about 22--during very important, life-changing years. His wisdom, leadership, and encouragement was, and is, invaluable to us. The Lord has used this man in our lives in ways unlike anyone else. While in Albania we were so blessed to be able to once again glean from his loving counsel and learn from his example of leadership. How priceless this time was for us!

Chelle.
It's true what they say: behind every great man is a great woman. It was so wonderful to get the opportunity to learn from, get encouraged by, encourage, and just love on Chelle. This trip allowed Katie & Chelle to begin a new chapter in their friendship and to renew the love that they have for each other! Chelle is such a godly woman and it was so encouraging to watch her live for Christ in difficult circumstances.

This photo is one of our favorites because it is how we think of Chelle. She has impacted our lives as much--and really, for all we know, perhaps much more--than even Kris has! We say that because we know that Chelle understands the powerful, peaceful role of a wife. We are confident that she has prayed for us and for so many others that Kris has counseled and we are equally confident that the Lord has answered her prayers.

Speaking of Chelle's prayers, this photo is one of her and sweet Albanian girl, Bruna. The first summer that Chelle went to Albania she met Bruna and began praying for, loving, and encouraging her in her walk with the Lord. Since the Stires have lived in Albania, these two women have grown closer and closer.

Bruna recently got married to a great guy, Micah. (this is his shoulder)

an Albanian bride.

Eric on the streets of Tirana, Albania.

The Elliott men on the streets of Tirana, Albania.

The purpose of us being in Albania was two-fold: 1) Come along-side the Stires by helping them, providing for them, and loving them, and 2) Come along-side the Stire's church, Grace Church, by putting on an evangelistic youth camp.

The youth camp was advertised to Tiranian youth as a church camp where they would improve their English skills. In the morning we taught English for 3 hours. In the afternoon, we played sports and made crafts. In the evening, Eric & Tim took turns teaching through the Old Testament until on The 4th night Timmy shared the gospel. After each teaching time we split into small groups to discuss the lesson.

It was such a wonderful time and while the Lord really grew each of us and our expectations, He also grew our relationships with each other, the Albanians, and most importantly, Himself.

The camp grounds are owned by German missionaries and so the facilities were very nice:

The cafeteria/sleeping building.

The sanctuary/teaching room building.

The sports complex.

volleyball.

dodge ball.

Sheriff Russell.

Like I said, God grew our relationships with one another.

This photo is one of a sweet girl, Christa, who helped us with the camp, and one of the Albanian youth.

After the camp, we spent a few days winding down, debriefing, and taking photos together before we left for America:

Katie & Chelle.

Christa & Katie.


Russ.

Tim & Katie.

Curt & Lauren

Katie's sweet cousin, Lauren, is getting married to an incredible young man, Curt, this December. They have got to be one of the cutest couples we've ever seen, and so taking good pictures of them was so simple--you really can't go wrong! Their relationship is so sweet, too--it's so encouraging to see them honor and glorify the Lord with the way they relate to one another.

This was our first real photo shoot, and it was so much fun! Taking pictures of people who you're comfortable with and who love you is so easy! We had the camera on the wrong settings, and so our depth of field (how much is in focus) was REALLY small--that explains the blurriness of the photos, but like I said, it's hard to go wrong with such an adorable couple!

I'm pretty sure they didn't know I was taking these . . .

Lauren is such a doll--it's astonishing to me

that the older people in our family get us mixed up!

You can just SEE how much they love each other! <3

This pose was actaully Curt's idea, and what a great idea it was! I love this photo!

Platt Family Reunion

Each June Katie's family attends the Platt Family Reunion in Crockett, TX. (Katie's great-grandmother was a Platt) We look forward to this time each year as a great opportunity to catch up with our family and to have fun! We're so blessed that we get along so well with our extended family and always have such a great time.

We spent most of our camera battery (we forgot our extras) on taking pictures of our cousin & her fiance (next blog!) and so there aren't too many of anyone else:

Michael at the hotel pool.

Katie's cousin, Tim, at dinner.

David.

Brazos Bend State Park

A few months ago we visited the wildlife-infested Brazos Bend State Park with Katie's family. There were many wonderful photo-opps of God's magnificent creation of both nature & humans!

Katie & her brother, David


Katie's cousin Will--he's silly :)

Katie's sweet cousin, Michael.

On the way out we took many pictures of the fantastic landscapes of southeast Texas.
This tree reminded us of Psalm 1.

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.