Gone, But Never Forgotten

A note to the reader: I wrote this on my last night in Albania but didn’t get to post it (for many reasons) until today.

As I sit in my apartment for my final night in Albania, my main emotion is relief.

I am relieved that I made it through a year here.

I am relieved that I made friends that will last a lifetime.

I’m relieved that I get to go home tomorrow.

I’m relieved that I will have good heath care again so I can stop being sick.

I’m relieved that I was able to travel without running out of money.

And most of all, I’m relieved that at the end of it all, I feel successful.

God has been by my side through every step of the way, and, if you’ve been following my adventure, you know there have been numerous ups and downs. I guess I’m sort of even ending on a down note, since I’ve been sick the last week. I had to cancel plans to go to Kruja, to go to Berat, to go to Durres, to visit the National Museum, to visit the National Art Museum, and to spend time with my friends and students here.

At the same time, being stuck mostly in my home for the last week has helped finally figure out just how important my relationships here have become. Aida came two days in a row to help me with various duties so that I could save my energy and rest. She ran errands, washed dishes, hung up laundry, and did a little cleaning. Neda came one day to do the same. She and Olsa and Ledio even spent the night here once—sort of to check on me, sort of to be able to stay a night in my apartment, and sort of as an excuse to be away from home. lol Aida and Neda both helped me with getting my last souvenirs to take home. Olsa and Neda have both helped with cleaning. And the Huna family (Neda, Olsa, and Ledio and their parents) even invited me to their home for my last dinner in Albania. Neda and I made the fixings for tacos but since we can’t usually get tortillas here, Mrs. Huna made petulla. Yum! Put them together and it’s kind of like a gordita. Tasty!

As if fighting of a mumps virus isn’t enough, this morning I woke up with my left eye swollen ¾ of the way shut. I had to go to the doctor anyway to pick up a copy of my records so I figured since I was going there anyway; I might as well just see the doctor, too. She said she didn’t see any reason why I should be concerned. She said it didn’t show any signs of severity and I didn’t exhibit any other symptoms to be concerned about. In fact, she thinks that because I’m fighting a virus and because my arms are covered in various bug bites--some bordering on horrendous, one that’s golf ball sized and swollen even on the inside of my arm—that she thinks the swelling of my eye is just my body’s way of over-reacting to either a mosquito bite near my eye (though we couldn’t find any bite site) or to something that got in my eye.

Hopefully it won’t cause me any problems on the plane. It’s a little purplish so really, it kind of looks a little like a black eye. Funny. Well, not really, but what am I supposed to do besides laugh? I’m frustrated, but it doesn’t pay to show it or dwell on that negative feeling. So instead, I just chalk it up to another way I’m allergic to Albania and laugh. So if they question me at the airport, I will make a smart remark in typical Katie fashion. Hee hee! Probably something like, “Moving across an ocean is dangerous! Watch out when you’re packing!” Or I’ll pull of the classic, “You should see the other guy!” Haha!

Mostly what I’m concerned about is getting enough rest tomorrow before I leave. My landlord and his wife are coming in a 7:30am to start cleaning. Whoa!!! That throws a major kink into my normal sleeping pattern. Plus, I was hoping to be well-rested when I wake up to face my last day.

After I get up and find a way to waste a few hours around here, it’s over to church to print all of my flight stuff—itineraries, reservation numbers, confirmation numbers, etc.—and turn in the keys to Agron and then say goodbye to he and Vitori. Then I have to say goodbye to the Huna parents. And then to all my students who live in that building. None of that will be especially easy. But I remind myself, “There’s no crying in moving!” because it’s not goodbye. Friends stay in your heart. You don’t forget them. God allowed them to be a blessing in my life for which I will always be thankful.

After that, Neda is coming back with me. She’s coming with me to drop off the wireless internet equipment and my phone to the man who bought it. There, I’ll be able to use their wireless internet to hopefully post this, to check my flight status one more time, and then to email my parents and Meghan, since they are my rides home.

Before and after that, we’ll spend some time weighing my luggage. I pre-paid for one extra piece of luggage. I know the weight on that is fine, but I think one of my suitcases might still be over. They lowered the weight limit by a considerable amount from when we moved over here. That makes packing a bit more difficult.

Helen and Lejda are coming to pick up some things that I’m giving them and for a final farewell. At some point, I’ll shower, so I’m a bit more clean and refreshed before heading to the airport when my ride picks me up at 6:15pm. The Huna’s have a cousin who owns a car and he’s taking me to the airport and charging me half of what a taxi would cost. I’ve met him and he did the same for Emily last week. Plus, I figure it’s a good way to get rid of the last of my lek since they won’t be very helpful once I’m out of Albania. This way, Olsa, Neda, and Ledio can ride to the airport with me. They don’t think I should go alone.

I’m a little afraid this will make the goodbye harder, but oh well. Once I’m past the security gate, I can relax and just let the waiting begin. From there on out, it will just be a whole lot of waiting. Waiting to board, waiting to take off, waiting to land, waiting to exit the plane, waiting to claim luggage, waiting at customs. Then on to the hotel for my overnight layover. Then waiting for the airport shuttle from Gatwick to Heathrow. Then waiting to check in, waiting to board, waiting to take off, waiting to land, waiting to exit the plane, waiting to claim luggage, waiting at customs, waiting for Meghan. Once I see her car, the waiting will finally be done. No more waiting to be home—I’ll be there! In my own country with my own friends, on my way to see my family!

In approximately 48 hours, Albania will be a part of my past. But the things I’ve learned, seen and done, the people I’ve met and grown to love, and the place that was completely foreign to me will forever be a part of me. No matter what happens next on the path God’s laid out for me to follow, Albania will always be a part of my heart—a very vital part of my life. For that, I thank God.

Before I head to bed, I would also like to thank all of you who’ve supported me, encouraged me, and been a friend to me throughout this past year. You’ll never know how your thoughts, words, and prayers have lifted me up when I needed it. I ask now that you keep my in your prayers one more time. Please pray for my health throughout this journey home and for safe, smooth, comfortable flights. God is good and he never fails. Thank you for that reminder.

Quarantined

I have very little to report to day as I remain quarantined in my apartment. Emily left here around 2:30am and it was a quick goodbye. Refreshingly, at least from my perspective, it was an exciting goodbye. I felt like it was the sign of completion at the end of a very productive and positive year of work. Also, it was exciting to say "See you in the States!" and know that we will be comparing notes as we both find out what God has in store for us next.

At the same time, I did shed a few tears after I locked the door and walked back up the stairs, alone, to an emptier apartment. It did sink in that our time here is truly at an end.

After waking up at 1pm, (Hey--I was tired, up late, I'm sick, and I'm supposed to be resting. ;) At least I have good excuses. lol) my daily activities included:

• Flushing mass quantities of various fluids.
• Taking a shower. Being alone is no excuse to be stinky. Hee hee!
• Doing one load of laundry.
• Folding the sheets and towels Emily hung on the line yesterday.
• Talking to people on Skype.
• Watching movies on TV (when I could find something in English).
• Reaching a new level on the facebook game Farm Town.
• Playing other online games.
• Making soup for dinner.
• Emailing my travel plans and full itinerary to my family and Meghan, since she'll be picking me up in Chicago and driving me to Milwaukee where we'll meet my family for dinner.
• Frequent visits to the bathroom due to the extensive liquid consumption. lol

Tomorrow's agenda includes much of the same from today, minus the cooking because I have leftover soup. Aida is coming to keep me company and to help with some things. She offered to come and help me pass the time by keeping me company and helping with some things. What a great friend!

I'm feeling fine. There's hardly any pain thanks to mostly sitting still, no talking, and ibuprofen. The swelling maybe went up just a tad from yesterday but it's hard to tell. Other than that, I just feel tired and don't really feel like doing much except sitting on the couch. I'm just feeling a little stressed about all that needs to get done before I leave and not pushing myself those last few days before I head to the airport. Olsa and Neda had agreed awhile ago to help me with cleaning the apartment, so I'm not worried about that. I'm just worried about all of the stuff from our apartment that has to get to church and then get organized in the new location. Tomorrow I'll try to think of a plan for that. It will give me something to do.

But for now, I'm having a flashback from my childhood. I know I need to get some sleep so I hear my dad's voice in my head saying, "Shadrach, Meshach and To-bed-we-go!" lol Goodnight!

Time Is Of The Essence

First and foremost, you will have to read this post in its entirety if you want to know my most recent news. So much has happened in the past week that if I don’t write about it in order, I will forget it all. So let’s back up a bit, focus on the highlights, and then begin, shall we? (Forgive the horrible formatting with this. I am NOT an expert and have just guessed my way through.)

Sunday, June 14
- Was jolted awake, literally. We had a small but noticeable earthquake shortly after 7am.
- Met at church to take any available girls 12 and older to the beach.
- About ¾ of the way into the furgon ride, Doris puked.
- At the beach, we saw another bear on a leash—twice. This was a different bear than the one Emily and I saw in Tirana.
- The furgon ride home was, thankfully, puke-free.
- After showering and treating sunburn, we went downstairs to Pastor’s for our last pizza and game night. Each person won at least one game. Very appropriate. :)

Monday, June 15
- I cancelled my classes because students hadn’t been coming and we had an unrelated huge project to complete.
- We spent between 4-5 hours at Pastor’s assembling liturgy/hymnal worship booklets
- 100 Albanian booklets for the church in Durres
- 30 Albanian booklets for the church in Tirana
- Approximately 5 English booklets for Durres
- Approximately 10 English booklets for Durres
- One Worship Leader binder for each church
- One Accompanist binder for each church
- Tirana (Agron, Vitori, Pastor, Me, and Emily) and Durres (Mikal and Pavolina) church workers unite for one final dinner together.
- After the meal Emily and I met up with Tim and Helen, Lejda, and Aida for some drinks and chat time.

Tuesday, June 16
- To keep Pastor’s family tradition alive, we went up to Sky Tower for his last night in Albania. He and I both chose ice cream (of course) and Emily tested out the Irish Coffee. All choices were heartily approved and enjoyed.
- Pastor’s taxi picked him up at 3am so around midnight we wished him farewell and said, “See you in the States!” :)

Wednesday, June 17
- My last classes with my St. Louis, Boston, and Atlanta groups. Also our first class in the new location so we played games, snapped a few pictures and I treated all classes to ice cream.
- Attendance was poor and some of Emily’s students came to my classes. I guess once school’s out, they don’t pay attention to anything but playing and having fun. :)

Thursday, June 18
- Around 11am, Aida came over for coffee. We enjoyed a nice chat and made plans to meet later in the week.
- Last class with the Seattle group. Attendance was great, and a few kids even brought friends. - More games, pictures, and ice cream.
- Emily had her last classes. All’s well that ends well. :)

- Had dinner at the Huna house where we were stuffed to the max with Mrs. Huna's scrumptious homemade byrek. Mmmm!!!

Friday, June 19
- Went to the French Pastry shop for lunch with our new American friend, Kate, who’s spending the summer in Durres. (Her husband is Albanian.) I will miss their Orange Chocolate Torte.
- Last Activity Night was held outside to play some relay games. After a group picture we were suffocated with kisses and farewell wishes. J
- Fun continued with salsa dancing with Helen, Lejda, the other Lejda, and Aida for some salsa dancing. We also joined for a bit at various times by Shari, then Nardi and his friend. A great time was had by all!
- *Note* At one point, we were line dancing to Mexican salsa music at an American-themed Irish pub in Albania. Among the group were people from Albania, England, the US, and Macedonia. How’s that for cross-cultural? ;)

Saturday, June 20
- Had our first worship service in the new location. No electricity, but since only Agron, his mom, Vitori, Emily and I showed up, we skipped songs and Vitori translated for Emily and me. It was actually quite pleasant.
- Luckily, were able to change our Saturday afternoon plans so that we could finally have some time to ourselves. This was great as it gave me the afternoon to rest since I wasn’t feeling the best and it gave Emily time to pack.
- Needed to get out of the house in the evening so we went to the Hunas to say hello. Found Neda all dressed leaving for a school dance. Ledio was getting ready so we left a bit later with him. Turned out to be a good thing as he didn’t know where it was being held so we helped him find it.

Sunday, June 21
- Woke up with a strange swelling under my left ear and around my left jaw area. Though it was uncomfortable, I couldn’t cancel plans. Had a lunch date at the Huna household so Mrs. Huna could teach me how to make petulla. Yum! :)
- Still experiencing discomfort, I sucked it up and enjoyed our evening guests. Aida and Lejda came over for dinner and games as a final way to spend some time with Emily. They are always great to be around and will be dearly missed.

Monday, June 22
- Swelling and pain in my ear/jaw area was worse when I woke up. Emily suggested I go to the doctor. Good advice.
- The doctor touched it, asked if it hurt, asked two more questions, looked in my ears and my mouth, and asked me if I was up to date on my MMR vaccinations. I said yes and the doctor proceeded to tell me I have a version of the mumps virus.
- Deciding this couldn’t be possible, I carried on with daily plans.
- Went to the Xhika’s house (Fatmira, and her three girls, Aurora, Albina, and Albiona) for pasta, pizza, fruit, and candy. They surprised us with a fresh elaborate bakery cake. Played games, talked, laughed and ignored with pain and swelling. Much fun was had.
- Continued ignoring the pain and swelling as we moved to Kesi and Klea’s house for a 12th birthday party for Klea with her sister, parents, cousin, and uncle. Gjoka household is always fun and feels like another home. ‘Twas a great time. :)
- Kept moving because our next date was with Ledio. His American sisters (Emily and I) wanted to take him out for ice cream to spend some time with just him. We spend so much time with Olsa and Neda and we wanted to show him that we love him, too. Had a great time and a great talk with our Albanian brother. :)

- After returning home, I checked WebMD and the Mayo Clinic website to see if what my doctor said was correct. It was. I had the classic symptoms of more mild strains of the mumps virus.
- Looked at the rare but extremely severe complications and got scared.
- Checked on treatment and prevention.
- Lots and lots and lots of rest. No going out and very very very limited home activity. (Think mono. Had that once, too. Eww.)
- Force fluids, fluids, and more fluids.
- Stay away from people due to being contagious.
- Take Tylenol or Ibuprofen for pain.
- Ice swollen area.
- Rest, rest, rest. Sit, sit, sit. Very still. All day.
- Called my family to report the news to them. Parental units showed extreme concern.
- It was decided I shall treat this like mono and do absolutely nothing until Saturday, when I go to church.
- Thus cancelled all plans I had for this week. Sad. L
- Decision was made to keep the same flight and ask for help with packing and cleaning. No need to wear myself out before a big trip.

- Got frustrated with the lack of information from the doctor I saw here.

Tuesday, June 23
- Spoke with parents again, after they consulted the clinic at home.
- All information I found was recommended by the doctors at the clinic as well.
-Sat on the couch virtually all day but made three photo albums.
o Road Trip to Croatia
o Fun From May
o Salsa Dancing


As I write this, Emily is filling the last of her luggage and doing the last minute odds and ends. Her ride to the airport will be here in about 2 and a half hours and her flight leaves at 5am. It will be weird to spend time here without her, and since I am pretty much quarantined to the apartment, it will get a bit lonely, I think. Thank God for Skype! lol

My main concerns now are that Emily makes it safely to Germany, has a great trip, and then makes it to the US safely. And while she does that, I will become great friends with the couch in my apartment--as if we aren’t close already. Haha! My other main concern is to do exactly nothing until Saturday and then take it easy and slowly until I leave for the airport on Wednesday evening. Please keep both of us, as well as the mission here, in your prayers. And expect more updates from me these next few days since I will have plenty of time on my hands. ;)

The Way I See It...

For some reason, facebook has refused to successfully upload any photos for me this weekor last. I’m not sure why there is a problem, but I do know that I will share my Croatia pictures with you as soon as this problem is resolved. On the bright side, I can share pictures from our day trip to Shkodra. I actually had this album done awhile ago, but I forgot that I hadn’t shared it yet. Oops!

Lately, class attendance has not been good because school is officially done. I just hope that today and tomorrow for my last claasses the students will come back. We’ll see. I’ve been playing games with my classes. I’ve been playing hangman and am absolutely amazed at how much they’ve improved since the first time we played that way back in the fall. Wow!!! They’re so smart! :) We’ve also been playing Spelldown, which is the same as Scrabble. Their ability to recognize and find words had improved leaps and bounds. A few students have even found 5 or 6 letter words. Good for them! And we’ve played some Jeopardy games to review concepts and vocabulary we had studied. It’s been really fun for me to watch them develop and improve their English speaking abilities.

We also had coffee at another home this past Thursday night. We went to Anxhela and Ina’s house. Their mom actually knew more English than any of the other parents we’ve met so far. She was at about the same level as some of the beginning students. Then we found out that she speaks Italian, so, obviously, she’s able to pick up languages. It was fun because all of our other students that live in that same apartment building joined us. It was like a little party! And she made some delicious Turkish coffee. Mmmm! I love that stuff! We had a nice visit with them and they wished us the best of luck and health upon our return to the States, but they said they wished we weren’t going back and told us that they are sad because we are leaving. Awwww! So cute! I wish I could stay and get to know more people, but I promised them that I will save money so I can come back for a visit. :)

Wednesday night we met Aida for a backwards dinner walk. Let me explain. The fast food here can be ordered to sit down, to go, or to walk and eat. But it was very hot that day—in the 90s (that's why I look so bad, lol)—so we decided to meet for ice cream first. We went to Behari, the best place in town. I ordered a special item, the Behari Sundae because it’s an original. I can’t get it anywhere else so I wanted to find out what it was. I’ve never had anything like it. I got this HUGE dish of what looked like whipped cream covered in fruit. I’m not kidding you! There were pieces of apples, oranges, kiwi, strawberry, melon and two cherries on top. There were a few nuts sprinkled over it and it was drizzled with chocolate syrup and cherry syrup. Under this was a massive mound of whipped cream. Once I ate all that, I got to the ice cream. There were two flavors, chocolate and kiwi. It was super tasty! I’m very happy I ordered it. :)

Our backwards dinner walk continued as we headed towards a qofte joint. Qofte, in case you’ve forgotten, are little sausages. Albanians think they are spicy, but Emily and I think they’re just right. They eat them with a spicy flavored salt on them. Qofte = delicious artery clogging goodness. :) So we got qofte on bread because you can eat it on the go, like a sandwich. Aida was proud of me because I ordered completely in Albanian. lol She likes to make Emily and I do that when we are with her. We ate and chatted a bit more as we walked.

Albania is closing in on election day. The election for prime minister is on June 28 and the city is plastered with posters and advertisements for the various candidates. Albania is a country of roughly 3 million people. Land wise, it is the same as the state of Maryland. However, they have between 20 and 60 recognized political parties. Of course some parties have more money for campaigning than others. But everyone always talks about how many parties there are. Right now, from what we can gather, the leading candidates are from the Democratic party and the Socialist party. Sali Berisha, the current prime minister is running as the Democratic candidate and Edi Rama, the current mayor of Tirana is running as the Socialist candidate. There are a few other parties that have popular candidates, but Sali Berisha and Edi Rama are the two most well-known because of their current roles.

Many of our students and their families are pro-Sali Berisha. This is because he is from the northern part of Albania, as are many of the families we reach. He has done good things for Albania, but he has also done some very questionable things. For example, there are two small cities right outside of Tirana that are basically illegal cities. When he became prime minister, he told me people from the north that they could come to Tirana and just have this land. Well it belonged to someone else and he just gave it away. Nothing else to it. There are still lots of disputes going on because of that action. Also, he has taken credit for getting Albania into NATO, when in reality, Bamir Topi, Albania’s president, is responsible for that because he is the one who went to meetings, studied the process, entered negotiations, etc. The other thing that does not impress us about Sali Berisha is that when we got here, much controversy began involving the credibility of those he placed in high positions around him. Many of them have since been found to be corrupt.

If we could vote, we would vote for Edi Rama. He has studied in politics and business and has vastly and quickly improved the city of Tirana. He understands tourism and he understands that reputable conditions improve opportunities for business. Also, Edi Rama understands that world standards are different and really wants Albania to reach those same standards. He just has a wider, broader view of what Albania can be and from what we’ve seen, heard, and observed, these types of changes represent a positive future for Albania. Edi Rama also has a much better understanding of the younger generations of Albania. He grasps that they are the future of his country.

Now remember, we are by no means experts. What we know we’ve learned from seeing, observing, asking questions, being told, or catching English on TV. But, how can we form an opinion from anything else? I am very curious to see what Election Day is like and to find out the results.

I might do something I've never done before--post two blog updates in one day. That's right. I said it. It is definitely down to crunch time around here. And since it feels like every waking minute is spent doing something or seeing someone, my free time is at a minimum. However, after my last days of classes today and tomorrow, I have actually schedule free time into my schedule so that I can take care of things like this. lol :) I also have to sort some things and start packing. Plus, I believe that today is when we are moving the church from our current location to the new location just down the hall. Exciting! But, I will write later because the events of the weekend, Sunday in particular, certainly need to be recalled. What a day! :) Now you have something to look forward to. Hee hee!

Easier Said Than Done

It started with a toaster. And some plastic canisters. Then it was a heater. Next came the rugs. After that it was the bike. That's when it hit. When I gave up the bike, it hit me that I'm leaving. It was a little sad, at first, putting things up for sale and givnig them up. But now that there are a few more items removed from our apartment, it's just a reality check.

Harder though, were the moments on Sunday after English church. But let me backtrack to last Thursday to explain.

Emanuela told me after class that she and her sisters, Brisilda and Dajana (both my students as well), would be leaving the next week to go to Greece for the summer. Their dad works there and is only home in Tirana on the weekends, and they have lots of family there. A large majority of their summer is usually spent with these relatives. But when she told me this, it sank in that those three won't even be here for their last class with me. That made me sad.

So Emily and I decided to invite those three, plus Luela and Aldo (Luela is my student and Aldo is her cute little 6 year old brother, who I'd like to put in my suitcase and take home as my souvenir. lol), over to our house for dinner on Saturday. The five of them are always together so it just seemed logical to invite them all, even if Luela and Aldo aren't leaving. They hadn't been here yet, anyway.

The five of them came over and we had a blast! We snacked on some peanuts and cherries and soda while we played Uno. Then we ate hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, potato chips, cucumbers, and cookies for dinner. An all-American meal. They liked it. :) Then we played some more Uno, took pictures, and chatted for a bit. It was hilarious because Aldo doesn't know any English, but he totally came out of his shell and was cracking us all up! He was making little jokes that the girls would translate so Emily and I could understand. And he was being silly--not wild--just funny. I think he had the time of his life being here with those girls.

When I had spoken to the girls to invite them over after Activity Night on Friday--**side note** The Activity was Line Dancing and it was super fun to watch them try it. :)--Aldo was with them. He understood enough to know that they were going somewhere with me. With a very concerned look on his little face, he said, "Teacher! Teacher!" and pointed to himself in a questioning manner. I smiled and said, "Po! Yes! You too, Aldo!" And he beamed. :)

Back to Sunday after English church.

Emanuela, Brisilda, and Dajana came and after church Emanuela told me, "Teacher, I have some bad news. Brisilda and Dajana and I will leave for Greece tomorrow." I was sooooooooo sad! I know I shouldn't have favorite students, but those three are definitely among those at the top of my list. Emanuela and I have really become buddies and I was truly hoping to be able to spend some extra time with them between the end of class and the day I leave. But, alas, that's not in the grand plans, so we took some pictures and said good-bye just like we would any other day.

However, I leaked, as is typical when I have to say a serious good-bye. I didn't cry cry, but I felt like it. There were other people around though, so I held it in. And since I can joke about myself, I explained that my friends and family all know I'm the crier, especially at movies. Everyone always tells me, "Katie, you should watch this movie! It's really good! But you better make sure you have some Kleenexes because you'll cry." lol I can't help it, ok? It's just the way I am! lol ;)

Class attendance has been dwindling lately. I'm not that surprised though. We have come to realize that the last week or two of school here doesn't actually involve any real classes. Students, when they have already taken their final tests, just have school to go through lessons that they won't get tested on. It's kind of like a big study session. They seem to treat it that way, too, because if they don't feel like going, they don't. So since school attendance is shady, our attendance has been shady. Besides, it's been summer weather here since the end of April and no one wants to spend time in a classroom. The summer bug has bitten!

A strange and unfamiliar feeling has overwhelmed me these past few days. I'm very very eager to get home, of course, because it's been so long since I've seen family and friends or just been able to pick up a phone and talk to them at will. And there are plenty of foods that I'm just dying to have again including these two at the top of my list--milk and real cheddar cheese. Have I mentioned I'm from WI? Haha! True Wisconsinte at heart, can you tell? lol But really though, I'm caught in this feeling of wanting enough time to get things done so I feel organized and ready when July 1 arrives and at the same time feeling like time is crawling now and I'm stuck waiting because I'm looking forward to something so much. This sounds crazy, but the closest feeling I've had that I can describe it to is like Senioritis. Hee hee! I kid you not!

I don't have a choice about staying here, so I feel like my work here is complete. I really feel like I've done all I can in the time that I've had. I feel like there's little left for me to offer. Yet, I know that there's much for me to offer when I'm back in the States so there's much to look forward to. It's just like graduating from high school or college. You feel good about the accomplishments behind you, the work you've completed, and the experiences you'd have. Yet, at the same time you are eager for the future, ready for adventure, and curious about the new experiences.

Saying good-bye is always easier said than done. But apparently the preparations for returning home are the same way. I feel like I'm in "The Waiting Place." You know, the one Dr. Seuss mentions in Oh, The Places You'll Go. (Which I should really start including in my list of favorite books....) This is what he says:

"...headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!"

The story goes on to say somehow you'll escape. Patience is a virtue, and I must not have enough of it yet, so God is teaching me how to have patience and wait. Soon I'll be somewhere new and things will take a new route.

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but at some point in my life, I started looking forward to change. I like knowing something new is coming. It keeps things exciting. It gives me something to look forward to. I am motivated by being ready and preparing for a new challenge. It really helps if I can choose the new task, but even so, it's fun for me to look for something new. The idea of a career always doing the same thing in one place is absolutely unappealing to me. God has given me a different opportunity every year for the past three years since I finished college. Next year will be year four of something new.

I've realized that he's taught me I don't need physical stability because he is my stability wherever I go and in whatever I do. He won't change no matter where I am or what I'm doing. The good-byes are the sad part about enjoying frequent change. Being able to feel like my work is complete and that I am ready to move on to the next thing is the blessing.

That's how I feel right now.

Teeth Sticks, 55 States, and Jellyfish

Sasha: "Teacher, you have teeth stick?"
Me: "Oh, you mean a toothpick? Yes, I have some toothpicks."

Teeth stick. That is probably my new favorite Albanglish word. That's what I call the words my students make up in English. It's kind of like English speakers who make up words in Spanish. They speak Spanglish.

Anyway, in regards to the Albanglish, Sasha asked me that question when we were finished eating yesterday. The MMM group came over for some American food and a movie. We had hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, chips, salad, and pickles, with ice cream for dessert. Very American. They enjoyed it a lot, but the teeth sticks became very popular at the end of the meal. lol

It was funny when Sasha asked because right away, I knew exactly what she meant. What else could a teeth stick be? Emily and I have realized that we have become quite proficient at interpreting Albanglish, however, our English skills have diminished over the course of time because sometimes we catch ourselves speaking in likeness to our students. Haha! :)

I haven't mentioned this next part yet, but this past week there have been some physical troubles with our church building. A large chunk of the building that houses us has had problems with water leaking from pipes or pipes that have basically burst. Well the situation became so bad the weekend that we were in Croatia that part of our ceiling collapsed. Fortunately, it was just a small area that fell. There was a soffitted area right above our door and that is the portion that collapsed, however significant water damage was done to the cement walls on that end of our room. The computer and printer and electronics are all on that side of the room, but thankfully none of that was damaged.

The water pooled up in the one end of the church and continued dripping for a few days. This past Tuesday, it started running instead of dripping, so Agron made the decision to cancel class. He said that the water was bad, and was concerned for our health and the health of our students. Agron was afraid of someone getting sick or getting an infection from too much exposure to it, so he cancelled classes for that day.

God has been good to us, though. No one has had problems with their health, and he was able (and willing!) to continuously clean out the dirty water, mop the floor, and keep things clean. Agron is such a blessing to the church not just for all his work with the services, but for the physical work he puts in to situations like this. He is a wonderful Christian man, leader, and example.

Also, Agron was able to talk to the owner of the building and there is another spot that we will be able to move to. It's only about 4 storefronts down the hall. This is in a section of the building that has not had water problems, it still has a bathroom, and this new area will have a window. Currently, we are windowless. The window will be awesome for airflow, especially when we have very busy motion-filled Activity Nights. Thank God that he was able to provide a space for us basically next to our current location so that we are still easy to find for new people, still easy to locate for our regular contacts, and in a section of the building that has been damage free. Rejoice in the Lord always! :)

When class was cancelled on Tuesday, the decision was made once I arrived. Agron didn't want to make the decision without me. I thought that was very thoughtful. However, since my students like to arrive early because it gives us all a little time to chat (Aren't they sweet?), they were already there. I didn't want to just send them home after saying hi, so I came up with a different idea. I took anyone who wanted to stay to a bar kafe by the church that had umbrella tables outside. It was a very hot day so I let everyone order something cold to drink, got out some paper, and we played hangman. It's a good game to work on spelling and letters and just seeing and recognizing words. We sat and played for about an hour before heading our separate ways.

However, while we were playing, somehow we started talking about the States. During that conversation, I mentioned that when I was in 1st grade, we had to learn all the States. I told the kids that when I was in 1st grade, I already knew them because I'd learned a song that had the name of every state. They wanted to hear it, of course. Any time a song is involved, my students want to hear it. lol So I sang it, right then and there. After I finished, the following funny conversation occurred.

Aurora asked me, "How many states there are?"
Me: "How many states are there? There are 50 states."
Aurora: "Wow! This is many!"
Klea interrupted, "But, no, teacher! There are 55."
Me: "No, there are 50."
Klea: "Why only 50?"
Me: "....Because that's all there are."

It was really funny to me because she was ready to argue with me that I was wrong. But when I said, "that's all there are," she looked at me, thought about it, smiled, and said, "Ok!" I asked if they knew what provinces or territories were, but they didn't, so I'm pretty sure she wasn't confusing states with territories or anything. Still, it definitely made me chuckle! ;)


It was after this that one of my students introduced me to a tasty new snack. See, I was waiting around to talk to Agron to decided what to do about classes for the rest of the week. We decided to play it by ear, but anyway...as I was waiting, Xheni (pr. Jenny) walks by and stops to chat briefly as she was on her way to a class. She was eating chips but I had never before seen the flavor. They were chicken flavored chips. She asked me if I wanted to try one. At first, I thought it sounded kind of strange, but then, in the same thought, I realized that barbecue flavor is strange too, but it's good on chicken and it's good on chips, so maybe chicken flavor is good on chips. I tried it. It was delicious! I got some later in the week as a snack for myself. lol

Other events from the past week included two coffee dates at students' homes. First, we went to the Kodheli family's home. The mom, Ariana, and her young daughter Ester, are in one of Emily's classes. Their son, Kevi, was in one of my classes, but now that it's nice weather, he's involved with soccer (excuse me--I mean, football), and doesn't come to class anymore. We had a very nice visit at their home. Kesi and Klea were there too, since they live across the hall in the same apartment building, and to help with translating. They fed us many snacks and gave us plenty of soda and we had lots of laughs. Ariana is a teacher, too, so she had stories to share with us. Then, her husband got home from work and was asking us many questions about our families and our homes in the States. They are just a super nice family and both Emily and I felt very happy and blessed to have been able to spend a bit of personal time with them.

On Saturday, we spent the afternoon with Kesi and Klea. Their grandmother lives near us and they usually visit her on one of the weekend days. So they planned to come over to our house for a little while before going back to their home, and from our house, we would go with them to theirs. While they were here we took some of those funny quizzes on facebook. Whenever our students come here, they want to use the internet. It's not that popular to have home internet here. Some families do for a time (people pay by month here), but the fact that we have it all the time and on two computers is very exciting to our students.

One of the quizzes we took was called "What is your true inner nationality? A quiz of global clairvoyance." As it turns out, I am German at heart (surprise, surprise, lol), Klea is actually Spanish, Kesi is Swedish, and only Emily is truly what she appears--American. Obviously, these results were humorous to us all and continued to be a running joke throughout the day.

At their house, we were stuffed with snacks and treats and soda, and we also played a rousing game of Scrabble. In class, we have the same game except it's called Spelldown. I play it with my students pretty often and am always impressed at how well they do at spotting the words. Every game they are quicker and find longer words. But when we play in class, we don't play for points. We just play with the goal of using all the letters in the bag. Klea, however, is quite competitive and requested, "When you come in our home, you can bring the Spelldown and we will play for points!" So I obliged and packed my travel Scrabble game in my bag before we headed to their apartment and it was a blast. The girls' parents were laughing as they watched us. :)

On the way home, I almost stepped on something I've never seen outside of water. They were thrown on the ground--just dumped out of a bag. I could tell, because the empty back was near them. It took me about 5 seconds of looking at them to realize what they were: Jellyfish!

We already have another home invitation from two sisters, Anxhela (pr. Ahn-gel-ah) and Ina. We had originally set a time for this week, but we forgot to tell them that Emily's sister Sena and her husband Brian will be visiting this week and are arriving that night. So we re-scheduled for the next week. One of my students, Doris, had also mentioned wanting us to visit her house, though she has not brought it up again, and though Albanians don't seem to mind people inviting themselves, I don't feel comfortable doing that since I've only met her mother once. We'll see if she mentions anything.

We've now been to Kesi and Klea's house 3 times, we've been to Ariana's house once, to Emanuela, Brisilda and Dajana's house once, are going to Anxhela and Ina's house, and have been to Sara and Danja's home on multiple occasions. And the Huna household (Olsa, Neda, and Ledio) is our other family so we are there very frequently. It's nice to have these connections here.

As promised, I spent much of my free time the last two weeks trying desperately to catch up on my photo albums. Here is the result of my work. I now have pictures of the end of Day 2 in Rome as well as the first half and the second half of Day 3 in Rome. I even finished off the Rome trip by adding Day 4 and Day 5.

Though I'm not completely caught up, I was able to finish the photo album of the beach day in Durres with Sara and Danja. And I even had time to complete one more album so you could see pictures of some of the activities with my students. Now I need to work on the pictures of our road trip to Croatia and compile the last of the random fun pictures from the month of May.

I can't believe that May is over. Today is June 1 and that means I leave for the US one month from today. My last day here is July 1. At 6:30pm (Tirana time) my plane will head off into the horizon and will leave Albania behind. I've said it before, but this brings very mixed feelings. I know that God wants me back in the States for some reason. Otherwise, he would have given me the opportunity to consider staying or leaving. But, with the funding to Albania being pulled, there is no opportunity to have this job again next year.

Part of me is thankful that I didn't have to make the decision myself, because that way, I never ever have to feel like I made the wrong choice, one way or another. At the same time, I feel a little jipped that I didn't get to think about the ways I can contribute here or if I still have something to offer here. But the Lord know best, not me, and I just have to face the facts.

So on July 1, it's off to America I go. The thought of saying goodbye to my friends, students, Agron, Vitori, and the Huna clan is not a happy one. Goodbyes are very rarely appealing but they are usually unavoidable. Such is the case with this one. Obviously, if the circumstances were different and if it wasn't so far and so costly to come back for a visit, it would be an easier goodbye. I am preparing myself to make it a cheerful and friendly departure as best I can because I know that my lines of communication with my life here will not be severed by thousands of miles, an ocean, and two continents. And that, is a much happier thought. :)

On the other hand, I am ridiculously excited to be home again. I can't wait!!!!! Obviously, the thing I am looking forward to the most is seeing my family and friends again after so long. They are a HUGE part of my life and I can't wait to be around them again and to be able to talk to them whenever I want or to plan time to spend with them. Plus, I am excited to have good health care so I can be feeling good again. I have felt yucky since the first week here and I will finally be able to get to point where I feel great every day. American health care is a gigantic blessing that I have been fortunate enough to have for my whole life. Wow! I will never take it for granted again.

I also have a plethora of exciting events that I am looking forward to this summer. In July, my dad is celebrating a very important birthday. (I'm not sure he'd appreciate me saying which one, but I'll just say this--come July 13th, I'll officially be half his age. ;) Hee hee! I love you, Dad!) Also, my parents bought a house and will move in just a few days before I return so I will be around to help organize and set up the new place--extra fun since that's where I'll be living when I get back. At the end of July, my godson/cousin, Ben, turns 8. I can't believe he's that big already! And I am just itching to see him and his little sister Rachel again!!! Plus, my good friend Matt is getting married to a great girl and I am looking forward to being able to attend their wedding and help them celebrate.

In August, one of my best friends, Meghan, is getting married at the end of the month. I am honored to be part of the bridal party and am anxiously awaiting all the fun that is in store for the wedding weekend. I will also get to see another one of my good friends, Lizzy, and her husband Nate, who will be there from TN.

Two other summer highlights to look forward to include a road trip to West Virginia with my friend Christie. Beth, the same one who visited me, runs a summer camp there for kids mostly from the DC area. We can camp there and get meals there so lodging and food will be free. Basically, all we need to spend is gas money. Bring on the fresh country air!

In addition, my aunt and uncle who live in Grenada are on furlough for a portion of the summer and will be spending some of their time with us in WI. Yay!!! They've always lived far away from me so any chance to see them is exciting. But they moved to Grenada only a few weeks after I moved here because my uncle accepted the call to be the pastor at our mission there. It will be so fun to swap foreign living stories with them.

Obviously, it helps me think of the good things to come in the future rather than dwelling on the sad. Plus, I know that once I am home, I will be so excited to be able to write/email my friends here to tell them all my news. And more and more of them are getting facebook so they will be able to see pictures, too. Technology sure makes the world seem smaller!

Whew! This turned out to be another novel by yours truly. Since I have the day off, I figured it was a perfect time for another update. It's Children's Day here, another holiday. Some of my students don't have school, and some have other activities planned at school, with family, or elsewhere, so I decided to cancel class and let them just have the day to be kids. It goes by too quickly--they just don't know it yet! As for me, I feel a bit like a kid too from the excitement of having an extra day outside of the classroom. You're only as young as you feel, right? :)

Please, continue the prayers. We are steadily making some progress in getting things set up before we leave. Moving to a new location will slow this down a little bit, but I'm confident we can handle it and still have things in place and as organized as possible before July 1. All prayers and encouragement are helpful! Thanks to all of you for reminding me of that! :)

A Plethora of Information

Ok. Since I have been receiving many more questions about how things run around here I decided I should address these questions before I give any personal updates. I have time right now so let me try and give you an overview of everything here.

Right now, the way this works is that we have English classes at 3 different levels: beginners (those who haven't studied English until now), high beginners (those who study it at school and can get the point across though they have limited vocabulary and grammar), and one intermediate group (they are mostly fluent but with small mistakes). Each group meets twice a week. Emily teaches the three beginner groups, and I teach the 3 high beginner groups and the intermediate group. So Emily teaches classes a week and I teach eight. Then, there is one student that I meet with on her own twice a week because she has a different school schedule than everyone else and there is one group of young beginners that Emily meets with on their own twice a week, if they remember. lol

Overall, our attendance has been very good. Our numbers haven't fluctuated in a huge way. We have around 40 students. Most of them come to classes regularly. This always impresses me because they didn't pay for the class, just for the book(s). No one reminds them that it's time for class, they just remember on their own. Keep in mind--the majority of our students are between 10 and 13 years old.

Once a week after my high beginner classes, Agron has a devotion with the class. He's been using the Christ Light lessons that are used in the lower grades in the US. It's a better level for them because the English is simpler and because the stories are new to them. They really like it and often ask if we will have a devotion before the class even starts. :)

My intermediate class ends at 7pm and he feels that's too late to keep them. Also, some of those kids are already pretty solid contacts and he knows some of their parents personally so there other ways to reach them.

Emily does her own devotions with her classes. They are using the Albanian version of a My First Bible. It's really really simple and she sometimes feels like it doesn't have much depth, but for the very very limited English her students understand, I think it's perfect because it keeps their interest since it's at their level. Yes, it could have more substance at times, but an introduction doesn't need to be complex.

Besides that, we don't actually have any other religious classes going on. In the future this could (and hopefully will) change because there were 4 girls who told me they'd be interested in learning more. They're all around "normal" confirmation age so I brought it up to Pastor and Agron and they were happy to hear it, of course. It was talked about briefly but nothing stable has started yet. I'm going to try to bring it up with the girls again--and also with Pastor and Agron--to see if we can't get started with that before I leave, but we'll see.

The MMM group, Mary and Martha Meetings, is a group for girls ages 13-17. We have about 6 or 7 girls that attend these monthly activities. We meet and do something away from the church. Some things we've done include bringing them to our place. For Christmas we had a huge cookie baking day. Once we had them over for pizza and a movie. Most recently we went to the artificial lake and had a picnic. At each meeting, we have a little devotion and just spend time talking with each other and making connections to each other. It has helped the girls become more cohesive and I've noticed that they are more likely to come to church now if they see someone they know from this group.

Girls who are 11 and 12 constantly beg to be a part of this group. We've even had 2 boys (and I think in all classes combined we only have 5 or 6 boys, if that) ask if they could please please come. Of all the things that will be difficult to continue once we leave, this is the one that I think will hurt the most if it falls apart. Not saying that it will, I'm just expressing my fear. One of the girls who comes to this group, Kesi, has really stepped up as a leader. The younger ones in the group really look to her and Agron has even let her teach the devotion lesson to her sister's class a few times. Olsa has also expressed an interest in doing more church-related work so Emily and I are planning to sit down with those two and teach them how to keep this MMM group going.

You know about our weekly Activity Nights that are open to our students and their families. They are always popular and they were a great way to get new faces involved in the Christmas Program and Easter Program this year. Being that Emily and I are the ones who organize and run that hour or so of weekly excitement, we have been the one building relationships with these people. Now we're trying to get them to connect with the people who are permanent fixtures here. That will bridge the gap and hopefully make it easier for these relationships to grow in the future.

We also have a monthly activity for adults that we call Cappuccino Club. This is for those who are 18 or older. It's always very small, and it's always all women, though we advertise it for either gender. Agron doesn't come, but I don't know why. Vitori has come twice, and Olsa has come once, so that helps. A mom in one of Emily's classes loves these days. She comes regularly. This lady, Fatmira (I've mentioned her in the past) has 3 daughters in our classes, one of whom participates in MMM. Sara and Danja's mom came twice and once she brought a friend. So though it is small, it is branching out which is nice to see.

Pastor is arrived Thursday for his last visit here. He will leave around the 20th of June after that, there is no full time Pastor here. Pastor Vogt, who is in the Ukraine, will act as a circuit pastor for the church here, in Durres, in Bulgaria, in the Ukraine, and I'm not sure where else. From what I've been told, he'll be making small visits to check in on each of these places, teach some classes with the leaders at each location, and assist with other issues/projects as needed. It's good to know that someone so dedicated will be here to help things keep going, but the church in Tirana is very young and very new. I pray every day that God blesses our synod monetarily so that a full time pastor and Kingdom Workers can be sent here again. It is needed because we are not yet at the level here where we have people we can teach and train as consistent leaders aside from Agron and Vitori, who do everything already.

There are so many things to pray for here, because the possibilities are numerous and right on the brink of becoming something bigger. It's sad to think that there won't be as many people working here but I have to keep telling myself it's not up to me. I don't know how the Lord plans to work here, but I do know that he won't abandon those who believe so I am confident that the small seeds of faith in so many people will continue to grow with his help. I just keep telling myself that my job here is to act as people's introduction page to the Bible. Hopefully, I've been able to do that job well.

In other news, my next posts will include an overview of our road trip to Croatia this past weekend, numerous links to recently created photo albums, funny stories of my students, and tales of home visits. You won't want to miss this. ;) I'll do my absolute best to be timely with the rest of these blogs, but bear in mind that as my remaining time here is very very limited (just barely over a month) my schedule is becoming increasingly full because we're trying to cram everything in at the end. Typical. :) But it continues to be quite the ride and I'm thankful for every second of it! :)

Curious?

It's a known fact that kids get curious. My kids are no exception. Sometimes my students ask me strange things. For example:

1. Once a girl came in with her fingers crossed, held them up, and asked, "Teacher, what is this?" That class learned about good luck superstitions. lol

2. Another time my older group asked me what the word "n*gga" meant. (Thank you American rap music.) I answered honestly and the student apologized for asking. I explained that class was the right place to ask such a question.

3. "Teacher, what does ' 'round' mean?" I immediately knew the student was referring to the song that says, "You spin me right 'round, baby, right 'round." Good thing this class had already learned prepositions! lol

4. After I assigned the task of working in groups to write a dialogue that another group in class would act out, a student asked me, "Can we write about a social issue?" I very enthusiastically replied, "Sure!" Turns out this group (2 girls) wanted their two characters to be gay in order to play a joke on the other group (2 boys) that would have to act it out. I nixed that idea ASAP since we're in a Christian environment and are trying to teach morals. Next time I'll ask what the social issue is before I give an enthusiastic answer.

5. One particular day, I had a group of students who asked me what a word was. Well, they kept pronouncing the word like "cows." So their question was, "Teacher, what is 'cows?'" I was having the hardest time figuring out what they meant because they said they thought it meant crazy. After about 10 minutes and more explanations on their part, I finally got one student who thought maybe she could spell it. C-A-O-S. I realized they were asking about the word "chaos." A crazy situation. Haha! :)

6. This question wasn't so crazy, but her example was hilarious. The students were working on making sentences that followed this format: "When I was 8 years old I wanted to......but I couldn't because....." So they were working quietly for a few minutes when one student came up to me and asked, "Is this right? I don't know the right word at the end." I looked at her paper and read her sentence. "When I was 8 years old I wanted to ride a bicycle but I couldn't because my equilibrium was off." She could think of the word 'equilibrium' but she couldn't think of the word 'balance.' Hahahaaa! :)

My students crack me up. Knowing that all to soon I will have to say goodbye, I've been really treasuring every day with them. It may not always be the most interesting day and we may not always be doing the most exciting things, but it is always fun to just see their smiles, or hear them talk more and more in English or see how much their confidence level has risen. It's such a joy! I will desperately miss that when I'm gone.

You may be curious about what I've been up to outside of class. Away from work I've been catching up on my photo albums. I finished the one of explorations in Tirana from when Beth was here and then I finished the one of the celebrations from when Albania joined NATO. I also added photos from my our first day in Rome. Then I added photos of our Colosseum tour and our adventures in the Roman Forum. I still have a long way to go before I'm caught up on photos, so bear with me. Please! What fun is taking photos if I can't share them? I just need some time to get them all posted.

The weather here is starting to get hot. Walking anywhere, near or far, is a sweaty process and biking only enhances the sweat level. But, that means it has not been raining. Woo hoooooo!!!!!!! :) I hope most of the rain is gone for good. I've seen enough of it to last me a long long time.

Keep the prayers coming because now is when we have to start figuring out how much of what we've implemented this past year will be able to be continued when we're gone. Not only do we have to figure that out, we have to figure out how, and continue teaching people how to do it. It's no small task. It's not an easy one either. Pray that God gives us the guidance we need to keep things moving along successfully here. Thank you!

Going, Going, Gone

That is the best way I can think to describe my time here. There are many reasons it's been so long since my last update, but let me assure you: I’m baaaaack! :) Well, sort of. We had been without internet at our place for awhile (again) and just on Thursday we finally found out the supposed problem. Our internet is all paid up, but apparently we had used all of our allotted time or bites or something for April. I don’t understand how that is possible or why on earth they would try to operate their business that way, but it’s just one of many things I don’t understand so I shake it off. lol However, I am used to actually receiving a consistent reliable service if I’ve paid for it, so I couldn't help but be slightly perturbed. The lack of internet has meant a lack of blog updates, so once again, I am apologizing. It has been quite an interesting and fun time around here since I last wrote.

Since I last wrote, we did a home visit at the Xhika household. This is the family where the mom and youngest daughter are in one of Emily's classes and the older two daughters are in my classes. Anyway, we have learned that the mom and her girls are very artistic. They all draw and the mom paints. While we were at their house, she showed us her paintings and wouldn’t let me leave without choosing one to keep. I couldn’t believe it! She let me pick any one I wanted! My choice was one that reminded me of my childhood. It’s a small boat tied up to the shore and it shows a small house/cabin close by. The woods surrounding the cabin and bordering the water portray trees in the fall. I love the array of colors in the picture and the scene itself takes me back to Stoddard and the river and the little cabins and fishing shacks along the shore. I just hope it makes it back to the States in good condition.

Before I go on about all that's been happening, I have to say that the thing which has excited me most is the church attendance lately. Your prayers have been working! The crowds haven't been huge or anything, but at least our little space has looked more full than empty. We have even had three female adults who've come for the first time! Pray that they (and the children who've been coming) continue to do so and that they develop an interest in learning more seriously. God is good! It's so great to be able to have more people there and to know that the Word is being shared through our students when they speak of the things we do hear. That's when it just breaks my heart that there won't be so many people here to continue things next year. But that isn't my worry. I need to turn it over to the only one who is in control.

So.....on to the other events!

Two Fridays ago the Activity Night was a Hollywood night. I made big white letters to look like the Hollywood sign and then I put them on the wall. I surrounded that with start cut-outs I'd made. I had told the kids to come dressed as their favorite celebrity. Some of them dressed as Albanian celebrities and when one of the girls started telling everyone that was wrong, I said, "That's ok! They're on their way to Hollywood!" lol

Then I took a picture of each kid in Hollywood (the area of the room where I'd put up the sign) and then we took a group picture of all the celebrities in Hollywood. Instead of dressing up like a celebrity, I wore a black shirt and black sunglasses (yes, I wore sunglasses inside) and told them I was the paparazzi because I was taking pictures of celebrities. Haha! They loved it! Then, I told them about people getting a star with their name on it. I asked how celebrities become famous and we decided it was because they have talent. So anyone who had a talent to share with the group could come up and show us and then I gave them a star (from the wall) and wrote their name on it. It was awesome. We had singers, dancers, models, gymnasts...it was quite entertaining!

We had a picnic at the park for our monthly MMM activity on that Saturday. The weather was awesome and everyone remembered to bring their own food. We played Uno, a game like volleyball, and took pictures. All went well except that a dog peed on Kesi's coat. Oops! lol

Since Emily's friend Colleen was visiting, onSunday we went to Durres to showe her the sea and the sights in the city. We ended up meeting Vitori and therefore we ended up meeting some of her family. They are awesome! They even took us on a quick tour of the town and then out for ice cream. The wife has a small hair salon and told us that next time we visit, she'll do our hair for us. And the husband said we have an open invitation to their home whenever we'd like to visit. Awww! People here are just so kind and generous to guests. I never ceases to astonish me.

Classes throughout the week went well. After my Seattle group met on Tuesday, I got into a good discussion with three of the girls about ideas for Activity Nights. I didn't want to cut the discussion short just because Emily had to use the room for class, so I invited them to have coffee with me next door at the bar kafe. They know the workers there so I knew they could get permission to go there with me. They had some good ideas and I was so excited about them that I made the schedule right away the minute I got home. :) lol

Another one of my classes learned prepositions so we used flashcards with diagrams on them to learn words like: into, out of, under, on, in, around, along, across, up, down, inside, outside, etc. We also came up with numerous sentences using those words. Guess what the homework was? More sentences! lol They actually get excited about that though because I told them they had to write sentences that were different from the examples we said in class. This is funny to me because I would not have thought this was exciting if I were the student. Haha!

The class week finished up smoothly and that brought us to this past Friday and Activity Night. We had planned an American Food night. I made some of the macaroni and cheese that we received in a care package. It's totally American because every kid in the US loves it. lol Then we decided on peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches. We couldn't find peanut butter anywhere (big surprise) so Emily bought peanuts and made it herself. It turned out quite tasty! And then I made two simplified cheesecakes to take as well. We had a very small number of children who came because Friday was another holiday here. Worker's Day. Many parents had off of work so kids went out of town or to the beach or even to work with their parents that day. Those who came had a blast and most of the food went over well. They got a little taste of what it's like for Emily and I when we're constantly being given something new here. lol :)

Saturday after church we met with Fatmira and her youngest daughter Albiona for coffee. There had been a little time mix-up the week earlier for Cappuccino Club and so we re-scheduled with her. So after church they came and then we invited Neda and Olsa to come with also. We went to the place next door and had a nice little chat. I wasn't feeling so well because I've got a bit of a cold, so I mostly smiled and laughed. ;) It was still fun though

Yesterday--Sunday--Emily and I went on an excursion. We went to a town in the north called Shkodra. There is an ancient fortress there and you can explore it. We took a furgon there and back. If I haven't explained it already, a furgon is like a mini bus/extra passenger van that drives to a from two different cities all day. It's not really on a schedule. You just wait until it's full and then you leave. These rides are faster than a bus and usually are much more entertaining. We didn't have anything super exciting happen on our ride, but it was fun just the same.

The fortress was awesome and the views were spectacular! Shkodra is situated on a river and a huge lake. It's surrounded my mountains making it rather picturesque. We explored the fortress and had fun singing, dancing, and laughing. Basically, we acted like kids to the amusement of a few non-English speakers. Once we realized people could see and hear us, we figured they'd already seen it, so why should we stop? You know, don't quit until you're ahead. Hee hee! :) We had a little picnic and took tons of pictures, which will be posted at sometime in the future. (I'm about a month behind in posting pictures. Sorry! It just takes so much time!) Other exciting things we saw in Shkodra included a live one-eyed owl on a chain in a bar kafe, a sign to a place called Puke (obviously there is a picture to go with this), and a spiral staircase that lead to nowhere on the side of the road, just sitting there like a light pole. All this said and done, we saw beautiful sights, learned some history, were never at a loss for entertainment, had perfect weather, and couldn't have spent the day in a better way. :)

This week is starting out to be rainy. Boo. I will NOT miss this much rain. Ever since I was a kid, I've always hated rain. I'm still holding out hope that it will turn out to be nice weather this week but we'll just have to see. At least I don't have to go out in it right now. My St. Louis class is cancelled today because all but one of the kids are on a field trip with their class at school. It gives me more time to finish this. :)

Keep the mission here in your prayers. And please as that God would grant me good health during my last two months here. Oh, and sorry for not proofreading this. lol ;)

A Moment In Time

I feel like since I returned from Rome, I haven't had a spare moment to myself. I'm going to keep this strictly business as there is much to be reported in the update department. Tonight I finally have a moment to get this all posted.

First, I finished posting the pictures from Day 3 in Athens. There were tons and tons and tons to choose from, but I kept it to only one more album. :) Tough, but like I've said, my time is at a minimum. Then I posted the pictures of our March MMM activity, the girly day where we painted our nails. Happy viewing!

The Sunday after I returned from Rome was an interesting day. It was the date of Western (Catholic) Easter and our friends from the Baptist church informed us of an event that was taking place in Tirana. The road from Skenderbeg Square to Mother Teresa University was closed down for a march. All Christians in Tirana were invited to participate in an Easter march, sort of parade style, but without the different units. It was one big mass of people with banners and signs proclaiming the resurrection. We ended at the university where we were greeted by a band and a gospel choir which our friend Gretchen was singing in.

There, the band and choir led the crowd in sort of a concert of popular Christian contemporary songs. It was all in Albanian, so I didn't know all the words, but it was cool to recognize some of the songs. For example, one of the songs they sang was "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High." In English, the words repeat these two stanzas.

Lord I lift Your name on high.
Lord I love to sing Your praises
I'm so glad You're in my life
I'm so glad You came to save us.

You came from heaven to earth
To show the way
From the earth to the cross
My debt to pay
From the cross to the grave
From the grave to the sky
Lord I lift Your name on high! (3X)



It's generic, but yet its simplicity says it all. It was a good message to share in a public place. Then a few different people spoke, I think reading portions of the Bible. It wasn't exactly a service as much a a concert and celebration. Even though not all the doctrinal details are the same, the main message doesn't change so it was nice to see the number of people that were out celebrating that good news. It was even more exciting to think about how many people walking past were hearing it for the first time.

After that, we had a picnic in the park with some of our friends. I finally got to meet Louise, who was here when Josh and Joel were here and was also here for part of last year. She lived in the apartment below us, so Josh and Joel knew her very well and Emily knows her, too. She was back to visit people and celebrate Easter here. The day ended with game night at pastor's.

Monday morning I woke up not feeling well. I taught classes anyway because it was the first day back after our two week break. I only taught one of my three classes that day, because in each of the other two classes, only one person showed up. That's what happens when we start classes on a day when there is no school. It causes confusion since our usual rule is if there's no school, there's no class.

I went back home and that's when things really started to get interesting. I felt horrible and it took me an hour and a half to eat one little bowl of soup for dinner. My stomach was just really hurting me. About 11pm it started to get really bad. The pain was getting so strong that it was making my back hurt and my whole body was becoming tense. Eventually, somewhere between midnight and 1am, Pastor and Emily managed to call the clinic's emergency number to take me to a hospital because I said I needed to go. It was the worst pain I have ever felt in my entire life. On a scale of 1 to 10, I gave it a 13.

Pastor found a taxi that took us to the hospital that the clinic's emergency person recommended. That was an adventure in itself. It was like stepping back in time, except no one even spoke my language. It looked like a hospital room that you always seen in WWII movies, where there are multiple beds and windowed cabinets with a few supplies. To make a long story short, I ended up getting a shot of pain medicine in the rear (that was an experience I'd never had before), an IV of saline, calcium, and a muscle relaxer. When that drip was finished, they gave me glucose because I was dehydrated from other symptoms I'd been having. You can guess. Then they wrote down some medicines they thought I needed on a piece of paper--5 of them--and sent me home.

I woke up a few times in the night because of pain once the medicine started wearing off, and because I needed to visit my porcelain friend. Around 10:30am I couldn't get anymore unrestful sleep, but the really bad pain was gone. I was still frequenting the bathroom and was feeling very very weak and tired. Even a bit jittery.

I decided it would be a good idea to go to the doctor at the clinic for a follow-up. Pastor went with me because I didn't really remember much from the night before. It was a bit hazy because all I could think about was the pain. The doctor who examined me happened to be the same one who'd been on phone duty the night before. He checked me over thoroughly and decided that I had a very nasty stomach virus. He said he'd seen a few other cases of it and it started with extremely intense stomach pains and by three or four days later it subsides and just leaves the person feeling really tired. He said to eat simple dry foods for about three days, mostly bread and pasta.

I did as he suggested and things proceeded just as he had predicted. Now I'm still feeling tired, but it's because of that and a busy week combined to really just wipe me out. However, now I can say that I've experienced the ER in a foreign country. lol

On Tuesday I spent the entire rest of the day resting and relaxing and trying to force the fluids and try eating. I had zero appetite. But Wednesday I at least felt a little hungry by supper time. I had taught during the day so I didn't have much energy, but at least I was feeling better. Thursday I taught and slept the whole night through for the first time since Sunday night. That was a relief! Friday I did some work, had to run some errands, and then had Easter practice instead of Activity Night.

Saturday we dyed about 60 Easter eggs to take to church with us for after the Easter program. Then we had to be at church in the afternoon for one last rehearsal. Rehearsal went alright, but we found out that 4 of the kids who'd been practicing were out of town for the weekend. Therefore, we had to double up parts to four different kids at the last minute to make sure we had everything covered. Thankfully, they did a fantastic job!

It was awesome! Emily ran the computer and so we had music for the songs and I directed the kids. I kept things moving because people were clapping after every song and every recitation. Since they tend to start talking after that, I made sure that the next kid started right after the clapping stopped. They sang loudly and clearly and better than they had in practice. And these kids love to sing, let me tell you! Besides one kid forgetting to hold up her picture from the passion history and another kid holding hers upside down, things went smoothly. :)

I've included two videos of the program so you can see what it was like. The first one shows the kids singing part of a verse of "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today" in Albanian. The second video shows them singing a song acapella in English. I'm the one in the middle in black. Sorry I'm in the center.





After the program, Emily and I went out to dinner because were all dressed up and it was kind of a celebration that our last big event went off without a hitch. From here on out, it's just the normal events: class, Activity Nights, MMM activities, Cappuccino Club activities, and church. It was great to eat at a nice place and have a real meal after a week of feeling crappy and eating bland food.

Later that night, we met pastor at a little after 11pm to go our for another celebration. This time, we went to celebrate Orthodox Easter on the street outside the Greek Orthodox church. We lit candles and then cracked red Easter eggs at midnight. I even ate one of the eggs. I couldn't believe it! I haven't eaten an Easter egg since I was a kid. Eggs don't always agree with me. But I figured I'd try it because it couldn't possibly be as bad as Monday night. lol And guess what? Not a single problem!

Anyway, we listened to their choir sing and to their priest and archbishop read from the Bible and say a few words. It was much more liturgical than the celebration the week earlier but just as exciting knowing that the real truth of Easter was being spoken right in the middle of the street. :) Then we followed a huge crowd into the church, candles still lit (talk about a fire hazard!) and watched the priests do their thing. They brought incense around the entire church and it sounded like a long liturgy was being read, chanted, and sung. However, it was very very very crowded in there with people going in and out and trying to avoid catching fire, so I wasn't able to see everything that was going on. Then we went back outside, talked with Neda and Ledio for a bit, and walked back. Pastor bought us ice cream on the way back and it was a beautiful night, so it was nice to walk back in nice weather in the middle of the night enjoying a treat.

Sunday morning we had an Easter service in English. It was our most well attended English service with a whopping 7 people (8 including pastor) worshipping. Agron, Vitori, Dorien, me Emily, Neda, and this one little boy, Daniel. It was awesome. :) Finally, on Sunday afternoon, we got a chance to relax. We spent the afternoon watching two movies. lol We just had no desire to do anything but take a break to catch our breath. After we did that, we started cooking because we'd planned to have our Easter dinner with pastor that night before game night. Between what we made and pastor's contributions we had a feast: Chicken (from Mr. Chicken), fries (the Albanian version of potatoes at a big meal), salad, stuffing, biscuits, canned cranberry sauce, ice cream dessert, wine, and struesel cake flavored decaf coffee with dessert. It was delicious! Oh, did I mention that we had chocolate Easter candy, too? Of course! No game night with pastor is complete without chocolate. In addition to his normal supply, Emily and I had brought along Kinder eggs because we had to have some sort of Easter eggs on Easter. lol

Monday was another day off of school. Since both Easters are celebrated here, both of the following Mondays are vacations from school. We didn't get a day off though because we'd been invited to spend a day at the beach in Durres. Sara and Danja's family has a house (apartment) at the beach in Durres and so we went with them, their mom, and little brother Ani, and Neda. We packed food to eat there and then spent a beautiful day playing in the water, collecting shells, taking pictures, playing on the playground, getting coffee, and playing games. By the time we got back, we were exhausted all over again, but it was completely worth it!

We had work to do to prepare for this week of classes so I was up late last night. Then, I fell asleep without setting my alarm clock. I slept though the 10am class I am supposed to have with Dajana. Emily said she even called my phone but I have absolutely no recollection of it ringing. Then she said she called my name after I didn't answer the phone. She said I replied with, "What." She told me that it was 10 and asked if I had class with Dajana and apparently I gave a grunt. Haha! I don't remember any of that. When I finally did wake up, it was 11:30 and I was completely out of it! Don't worry though--I had one of Dajana's sister's in class later today and she said Dajana slept late too and didn't go to class. So now I don't feel quite so bad. Haha! ;)

Aida came at noon to give me an Albanian lesson. I know it seems kind of late to be starting this, but she's offered since we got here but this is the first time we have schedules that will give us a time to meet. And she really really wants me to learn some more Albanian and I feel too bad saying no, so I agreed. Therefore, I have Albanian lessons every Tuesday and Thursday now. To add to my prep work and teaching, I also have homework. And here I thought I was done being a student.....;) Hee hee!

The rest of the week will be spent catching up on prep work and teaching classes. I have Activity Night to plan, plus the MMM group is meeting on Saturday. I'll be taking care of that since Emily will be taking care of Cappuccino Club on the same day. In addition, Emily has a friend who is studying culinary arts in Italy and she is flying in on Friday late afternoon to spend the weekend with us. We'll take her to our events on Friday and Saturday and show her around Tirana. On Sunday, we plan on going to Kruja, the town where the national hero, Skenderbeg, was born and raised. It's a touristy town and apparently very authentically Albanian. I haven't been there yet and Emily really likes it so we thought that would be a good thing to do.

After that, it will be back to another week of classes. Whew! Time is just flying right past now. The longer we've been here, the busier we've gotten. It's getting to the point where thinking about going home brings a very bittersweet feeling to my heart. On one hand, I can't wait to be home again to see family and friends and to get healthy again. But then there's the opposite hand where it will be heart-wrenching to say good-bye to the people I love here. It's sad to think that this chapter of my life is coming to a close. It's making me appreciate even more the things I'm experiencing and the people I'm spending time with. I thank God for all the things I've seen, done, and learned since I arrived here.

Celebrating two Easters was really cool because even though both celebrations were very different, they were both celebrating the same single truth. He is risen! In a country that shuts down the square for the big Islamic holiday of Bajram, where you here the mosques sing out the call to worship five times a day, it was awesome to know that those who believe in Christ receive the same respect and that the square will shut down for their celebrations as well. Everyone's religious preferences and beliefs seem to be respected here. It's refreshing to know that God is working in the hearts of people who've heard his Word. It makes it easier to think about stopping my work here. I didn't get the choice to stay or go, but that's because God already knows what will happen. :) God is good!!!