Presents, Preparations, and People

What a week it has been! First of all, my parents sent so many goodies back with Emily that when she got here, it felt like Christmas! :) They sent things like ramen noodles, spices, chocolate chips, brown sugar, vanilla, Velveeta, body wash, lotion, a bath puff sponge thing, and I don't even remember what else because it was all so amazing! I know it sounds like simple silly little things, but the food stuff is all stuff that I can't find here. It will make cooking much easier and much more fun now. And the bath stuff they sent just because it's much cheaper in the States than it is here. They also sent along a beautiful card with a very encouraging message. All of it was greatly appreciated and if it hasn't been enjoyed already, it will be enjoyed in the future. ;) Actually, I've decided to kind of ration out these special food items so they last longer. lol (Dad, remember when you used to tell me I hoarded things as a kid? Well I guess that is coming in handy now! Haha!)

I was very excited to have Emily back, too! I made her soup for dinner and put up a welcome back sign and pretty much talked her ear off the first night she got back. :) It's been nice this week to have her around. For one, our apartment isn't so quiet. Secondly, I don't have to talk to myself anymore. (I know that makes me sound crazy, but admit it--you do it too sometimes. Haha!) ;) And thirdly, it's much easier to plan class and activities with another person around to bounce ideas off of and receive feedback from.

One of our big tasks this past week was getting the final documents together that we needed to take to the police station. Don't worry! We're not in trouble and we're not getting deported or anything....yet. ;) We need to have residency papers. Emily had to renew hers and I had to file for first time residency papers. There were lots of documents we needed including copies of our passports, extra pictures (we had to go get those taken), notarized copies of our rent contract, letters from Kingdom Workers saying that we are being supported and assisted while we are here, a letter of good conduct from the US Embassy, and a few other papers Agron filled out for us. We got those all together and turned in, though it took two mornings going around town to collect it all. Now, however, everything is turned in. Emily's visa was renewed when she got back here on Monday because she got a new stamp. Mine however, was extended once we had all the papers turned in. So we are now good to go until our official residency papers are in.

Classes went a little more smoothly this week than last week. There was still some confusion over if we were here or if we weren't. Plus, Monday was a holiday here, Mother Teresa Day, so there was no class. Some people in my blue group figured that since they didn't have class on Monday, they wouldn't have class on Wednesday either. So I had to do some rearranging of my lesson plans again so I'm really really hoping that this week everyone shows up and we can have a normal week to get back on track.

Activity night on Friday was not my finest moment. Let's just say I had a major brain fart (or mental blip if you like that term better). I knew that we were having another American Culture Night for our activity and that I was going to briefly and simply explain the process of voting for a President. Everyone here knows all about the election and many people ask questions about it. So I figured since it's a current event and the actual vote is right around the corner, we should talk about it. I put together a simple little PowerPoint and made a handout that explained things so they could follow in English as I was reading it and then listen as one of my students translated. I even found a YouTube clip of "Hail To The Chief" that I planned to play at the end. We got blue cups for drinks and some stars and stripes napkins that Mrs. Ahlers left us for snacks and I wore red, white, and blue. I got to church, arranged the room, and realized I not only forgot the adapter cord for my computer so I could plug it in, but I forgot the flash drive with the PowerPoint on it. Grrrr!!!! I was so frustrated!!!!

I am ridiculously organized. Most of you know this about me. In fact, most of you even call me anally organized. I know it and I can admit it. I tend to think that disorganization is a root of evil. So on the very very rare occasions where I lose something or forget something, it makes me really angry. I am always prepared so when something like this happens, it throws me for a loop and I don't feel like I did it to the best of my ability.

What did I do to solve the problem? The only thing I could--got back on the bus to go home and get the stuff. After the 10 minute bus ride, I had to walk 7 minutes home. For some reason, my shoes (sneakers!) gave be such bad blisters that when I took my shoes off at home, my heels were bleeding. So I got the stuff, changed shoes, and rode my bike to church because it's faster than the bus. I was so determined on the ride back that I think the look on my face must've scared some people because they got out of my way before I even had to ring my bell. I got there 25 minutes after I was supposed to have started. Thankfully, Emily had the goodness to help and used common sense to serve the snacks first so that was just being cleaned up when I got back.

I made the presentation, some people were more interested than others (as usual), and it was ok. I didn't feel like it was the best because my head was still spinning a little and because instead of one girl translating, another girl joined in to help and I think it got more confusing for people. But they recognized the pictures of the candidates, even the little kids. Plus, they were really intrigued with the ballot I showed them. I have already voted, but for some reason I got send another ballot. And since you can't vote twice without getting in trouble, I took the second one to show them. They also liked "Hail To The Chief" very much. They got silent immediately and some kids started directing, or saluting, and some even got up and marched in place. lol Too funny! So even though it didn't go how I wanted, I think it was a success.

There are two big projects for this coming week. First of all, we're starting a children's choir. We have so many kids and they all love to sing. So after church on Saturdays we're going to have practices and then we will start singing in church every few weeks. That way, kids will hopefully come more frequently. And the parents come when the children "perform" so hopefully the parents will come more and that will generate more interest. We'll see. Obviously we're saying our prayers about it too.

I picked the first to songs we'll sing: Praise Him, Praise Him All Ye Little Children! and Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise Ye The Lord! They're both very simple and have very few English words to learn. But I don't have accompaniment for them so I had to write it myself. I wrote simple accompaniment for both songs on Thursday. It was pretty fun! I didn't have any music paper with the staff on it though, so I had to draw it myself in a notebook. I'm not sure anyone but me could read it, but it works. :) I will give it this--it's a step up from chicken scratch. ;) Vitori even translated the words for me so I'm hoping we can sing it in Albanian too so that the parents can understand. I guess there have been comments in the past about it's nice that the children sing, but the parents can't understand it. That's not good because then they don't hear the message and sometimes they don't even come.

On a side note, the other people I know who are here to work with a mission are much better at the language than we are. Part of this is because they are staying for more long term work instead of just a year commitment like we give for Kingdom Workers. Part of it is simply that they make more of an effort to learn the language. I'm starting to see how that really makes a huge difference in reaching people and am starting to think I should take lessons so I can communicate a little more with parents. We really need the adults to get involved but if they can't even talk to us, why would they want to come and how would they understand? Just an observation and a thought.

The other big project this week is that we are having a costume party for our Activity Night on Friday. We have activities to plan, snacks to prepare--Emily brought back candy corn and those little pumpkin candies, too--and our costumes to put together. Mine will be easy. I'm going to be a mummy. :) That means I'll wear my white cuddle duds and wrap myself in toilet paper. I'll probably use a little tape to keep it in place, too. Emily is thinking of being a super hero because she has black running spandex, sports short, and could make a cape. Pair this with her rain boots and I think it's a pretty cool super hero! I think it will be fun. More details will come your way after the fact.

This week we also reserved some time for friends. Aida came over last night for dinner and a movie. She is so funny! She's very good with English and will make jokes but it's those sound effects she always uses when telling a story or explaining something that just get me! We always have plenty of laughs when she's around. We watched A Knight's Tale last night. It's a funny movie to begin with and we kept adding our own humor too. :)

Tonight Lejda is coming over for wine, snacks, and a movie. We'll probably watch How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days because she loves loves loves chick flicks. Romantic comedies are definitely her favorite kind of movie. She's a big ball of energy and an eternal optimist. In fact, she might even be the epitome of optimist. And with all that energy, she's one of those friends you value for their entertainment factor. She tells the longest funniest stories with more expression than is imaginable. I hope she has another good one when she gets here! :)

This morning we had a little bit of a surprise. The electricity worked and the water worked, but our clocks were different. Some said one time, and some said an hour earlier. We couldn't figure out what time it was until we realized that our computers matched the time on the TV's guide channel. That meant we were supposed to change the clocks here last night. We missed it though because there were no reminders or anything. lol Funny! So we ended up having more time that we thought today. Not very often do you actually feel like you have extra time in the day! Most days we all wish for more! Haha!

I've got to run to the store to pick up some more water and a few other things to make the snacks for tonight. Thanks for all the messages I've been receiving! I love hearing about your activities and what's keeping people busy back at home these days. :) Oh! I watched Veggie Tales on TV here the other day (in English!) and it was the story of The Prodigal Son. The verse that they used at the end was the first part of I John 3:1, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" And it's so true! Being here, I know that I am still God's child no matter where I am. And I know some of God's children here, still I know God's children at home. The friendship I'm blessed with from God's children near and far is just a wonderful reminder of God's love. Only a God who loves his children would give the wonderful gift of friendship. :)