Many of you missionaries are not where you expected to be right now﻿—waiting to find out what your new mission assignment will be, or perhaps even back at home. Watching these stories unfold has brought up tender memories of my own mission experience years ago. I thought perhaps I could share a few perspectives that might help, from one unexpectedly reassigned missionary to another.

An Albanian Evacuation

In early 1997, I was a missionary in Albania. My companions and I loved the countryside, the delicious cheese-and-spinach pies, and the sound of the language we had worked so earnestly to learn. Most of all, we loved working with the people there.

Over time, the political climate around us grew more tense. We tried to stay focused on sharing the gospel but couldn’t help overhearing news about rebel forces gaining strength across the country. Then the government imposed curfews, and things started getting violent. The nation was heading toward civil war.

Finally, on March 14, our entire mission was evacuated. I will never forget the phone call that told us it was time to gather so we could be rushed from the country. Conflicting thoughts and feelings swirled through my mind. Of course I wanted to be safe, but the thought of leaving the families we had grown to love, especially in that chaotic situation, broke my heart. We wouldn’t even have the chance to say goodbye.

Our journey out of the country included a helicopter ride to an aircraft carrier and then a short transfer in Italy before being reassigned to different missions. I ended up in England. It was fast, and a little exciting, but mostly really hard. One of my last memories of Albania was watching the landscape shrink beneath our helicopter, wondering what would become of the people we were leaving behind.