Dreaming big with a dream team

Sadly, many leaders fall flat on their faces because they start out alone.

Over time, this can lead to burnout, isolation, and hopelessness.

When you start to move forward, it helps to have someone who can catch you when you trip.

Someone who will help you get up after you've fallen. When you have a team of people like this, passionate about a common goal, you are ready to do whatever it takes to get there. Anila, one of the leaders of MOPS Albania, put it this way, "We did great things with the strength that God gave us because we love mothers!”

That's what I'm giving you here today - the story of our team.

Check out what motivated us and share what has motivated you below.

The Dreaming Team

After I talked with Cris in Brazil and Monica in Guatemala about their conferences, I went to our team in Tirana—Irena Crawford, Blerta Veliu, and Anila Qiriazi–and I told them about this vision.

We started dreaming.

“For women who have never been to MOPS, they could hear the message, ‘You are precious!’”

“Hundreds of women gathered together for the event.”

“For March 8—International Women’s Day.”

“Women that are from every walk of life—from business to entertainment to stay-at-home moms to women who hope to be moms in the future.”

“For women from all the MOPS groups in Albania to come together for one day.”

“For women from other cities that want to start MOPS groups to get a taste of MOPS.”

We wanted women to feel honored. We wanted this to be a special day for them. So we contacted one of the best hotels in Tirana. Thankfully, the Sheraton wasn’t yet booked for that day! This meant the event would cost about $3000. 

For us, $3000 was a lot of money. 

"A huge dream and we had no idea how we’d make it happen!"

I turned to Anila, who took care of all the financial things, and I asked her how much money we had. As we turned to look at her, we all knew what the answer would be. “Almost nothing,” she said. 

A huge dream and we had no idea how we’d make it happen! The perfect opportunity for God to come through! 

Just a Dream?

Thankfully in addition to dreamers and spending time dreaming, we also had people on our team that were excellent at the practical work needed to turn the dream into a reality. 

When I had a phone call with Cris in Brazil about the conference, I had asked her, “How did you all get the money to do this?” 

"... the perfect person to make this happen."

Cris explained that they reached out to businesses and used their network. 

I didn’t have those same connections. 

But Irena did! She was the perfect person to make this happen.

A few weeks later, I was sitting in a taxi with Irena. 

We were on our way to meetings with four different organizations. I told Josh how nervous I felt talking to these CEOs and leaders. I was used to talking with women about being a mom. I wasn’t used to asking for money. Questions kept flooding my mind:

“What would they think about us?”

“Would they trust us?”

“Would they want to give to us knowing that we are a Christian organization?”

“Would they be confused by any of the details?” MOPS was not established as an NGO in Albania, so I would ask them to give to make a MOPS conference happen but through another account. 

Irena had prepared a clear written proposal and had sent it to each organization ahead of the meeting. Our request was simple - would you make it possible for 30 moms to attend the March 8 event?  

We pulled up to the location of the first meeting—an Investment Bank—in the center of Tirana. Albania has often been named the country with the highest number of cafes per capita. Some studies place Albania behind Spain or France. Social meetings and business alike take place in the cafes. But our meeting was formal enough that we met in the bank office. We showed our IDs to the guard dressed in a brown uniform. He directed us inside.

The Head of Marketing and Communications welcomed us and offered us something to drink. We sat down. I told her about MOPS. “We will have mothers of kids with special needs, and we’ll have single moms,” I said as I described the March 8 event. “We’ll have women that are working and stay-at-home moms.” 

“How do you get these ladies to volunteer here in Albania?"

She listened intently as I told her about the workshops and how this would equip moms. Then she said, “How do you get these ladies to volunteer here in Albania? I have been trying to involve our employees, and motivating them seems so hard. Is it because your women are Christians?" 

What a compliment!

That day, we visited a bank, a telecom firm, and the largest hospital in Tirana. 

Each pledged their support—either financial support or donating practical gifts like diapers or both! A Christian radio station joined in too. In all, the pledges added up to over $2000. 

We were on our way!

Your Dream

Do you have a dream or a big project or idea that you are just starting? 

Who could you invite to join you?

Who will be there to catch you when you trip?

Or offer their hand to help you up when you fall? 

Celebrating Momcon Albania

Were you with us at Momcon Albania? 

We'd love to hear about your experience in the comments section below. 

Here's what one leader had to say:

Thinking about how Albanian mothers don’t think about themselves and how to "break away" from everyday life and relax, I thought of the conference as a day when they could celebrate differently. It seemed like a BIG dream. But we thought, “It’s a dream, maybe it won’t happen.” Just kidding!

Working together as a team gave me a lot of joy. Each of us put to use the gifts and talents with which God has endowed us! We did great things with the strength that God gave us because we love mothers!”

- Anila Qiriazi, Tirana, Albania