Titling a post is harder than it may appear. Thankfully, I waited until I reached the end of my first draft because the month's theme caught me by surprise!
With winter forcing us indoors, I shouldn't be surprised that the table would be a natural gathering place for this month's activities!
This post begins and ends with images around this essential and multi-functional piece of furniture. Read on and see all the ways we spent time at a table... from meals and fellowship to games, learning, celebration, and lots of meaningful discussions. Significant times were spent there showing love, appreciation, compassion, and sacrifice.
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This post begins and ends with images around this essential and multi-functional piece of furniture. Read on and see all the ways we spent time at a table... from meals and fellowship to games, learning, celebration, and lots of meaningful discussions. Significant times were spent there showing love, appreciation, compassion, and sacrifice.
___________________
January started with a first -- overnight visitors! How fun to have guests with whom to celebrate the new year? We enjoyed lots of games and fellowship with these friends we met a few years ago through Reni's online school!
We also enjoyed a belated holiday meal with these dear ones on January 2 -- a raincheck due to illness on Christmas! They treated us to a yummy meal.
On January 3 we welcomed Bonnie and Peder Anderson for their 4th visit to Albania. They jumped in immediately! You will see throughout this post lots of various ways in which they contribute to the work in the village.
Below, Bonnie poses with kids who came to her first baking class. Each Thursday at 4PM they learn how to make a new treat which we serve at church the next evening!
The Andersons will stay with us through March 10.
One morning I took them on a home visit to get better acquainted with a couple from church. During that time I learned that "R", below, spent his weekends playing live music at weddings with his many brothers. If you aren't familiar with Albanian folk music, the clarinet plays a big part!
A group photo before leaving...
Peder helped us tackle cleaning out one of the storage containers! This project has been on my list for years. Ugh. Thank you, Peder!
On January 8 we started the Alpha course again. This time using the youth videos, for fresh content.
As always, we begin the evening over a catered meal around the table. Bonnie made lemon bars for dessert from the abundance of lemons we were blessed to receive.
One Friday evening an old friend of Reni's spent the night. The two boys and Ellie hung around the island (also a table) after church for more than an hour asking questions and debating issues related to the Bible, general living, and life after death. I'm so grateful for Nathan's wisdom and eagerness to take part in these meaningful conversations as we parent teens who are developing their personal worldview and faith.
I found some eager helpers one afternoon -- they made quick work of organizing the "art cart" at Jeta, separating the pencils from the markers and the scissors from the erasers and glue sticks.
Nathan couldn't resist snapping a photo of the irony. On the day Eda would teach the account of Palm Sunday, they found a donkey tied up at the house where we hold kids club in Metalle...
Peder has an amazing willingness to tackle my "honey do" list each time he comes. I can't tell you what a blessing it is to have so many of these matters addressed! I will appreciate his work for months and years to come as he works to make the properties to look and function better.
Below, the storage room (this isn't even an accurate "before" photo as we had already been working together for about an hour).
Below -- nearly finished!! It feels so good to PURGE!
As I've written in previous posts, Ellie and I spend our Wednesdays volunteering at VT Albania. This particular day was special -- it was Besi's birthday and his mother made a tre leche cake for the group to enjoy together during coffee time!
This particular week, Ellie was uncharacteristically sick, so I attempted to teach her music class. I found these reading glasses and asked the students if I looked a little like their music teacher.
So Ellie has been teaching about various composers and finding interesting facts about their lives, while also introducing us to samples of their music (these are most enjoyed when they accompany Tom and Jerry videos, ha ha). I take the facts she finds and translate them into Albanian, creating fill in the blank worksheets, usually followed by a crossword puzzle.
I have to say, I think I enjoy the lessons as much as anyone! And I love that we learn together around a table instead of in a traditional classroom setting.
Ellie was thrilled that our neighbor, Ester, extended her Christmas break visit into the third week of January.
Bonnie -- breaking all kids of barriers getting the boys to participate in baking too! Her classes would continue to grow in popularity!
Frankly, we were surprised this friendly street dog made it so far into the winter, but when he got so comfortable with us that he started coming inside the center's gate and scratching at the door to find his favorite humans... someone decided he needed to find a new village to call home and he disappeared.
I've continued to enjoy trying new recipes for family meals. Don't ask me why I took a photo of the sandwich below except maybe as a reminder not to judge a recipe by its name?
Below is a chicken Philly cheesesteak sandwich. Oh my goodness, it was so yummy. Who would have guessed that a packet of Italian salad dressing mix would make such great marinade that Nathan and I would be licking our fingers? For the past year, I've been trying recipes from my college friend, Laurie H, at the Passionate Penny Pincher. They are simple and use 'regular' ingredients. I can't say enough how much they've revived my enjoyment of the kitchen.
We visited the Hope Center twice in January. The first time we had a blast playing VR games. The second visit we made our own pizzas (it's always good for a teen to learn an easy-to-make meal to keep in their back pocket). We make these with frozen packages of pita, something plentiful and cheap and easily found in virtually every grocery store in this part of the world.
Then we played some team Minute-to-Win-It games...
Any game is more fun if it involves a rubber chicken, lol.
The pizza was a hit!
We said goodbye to our new friend, Teresa, who had spent nearly three months at the Hope Center, then spent a few weeks at the end at VT Albania. We had her over for lunch to share our appreciation for her friendship.
One of my other big list items was to lay a barrier around the boxwoods in front of Jeta. The weeds grow abundantly and hopefully, this will slow them down!
A photo of another Alpha course meal... Bonnie and Peder and I work the kitchen -- serving up plates, clearing the tables and bringing out dessert, filling the dishwasher, and washing up what doesn't fit. I am so thankful for their help!
Once a month we try to meet with each of the couples on our team ...
Whether it's the dinner table or coffee table, it's a good time of connection and also coming up with strategy for the future!
Every Tuesday and Thursday we have after-school tutoring. We often play games with those who finish (or didn't bring any homework at all, ahem).
In what ways and with whom did you have meaningful time around the table this winter?
As always, don't reply to this post if you are reading by e-mail. It is sent by a third-party service.
As always, don't reply to this post if you are reading by e-mail. It is sent by a third-party service.
