February 2025 | From Routine to Retreats, A Month to Love

 What a month!

It started with an overnight team meeting/retreat in Berat.  We are blessed to have such unique places to visit with a few hours' drive of our village. 

This town is considered a UNESCO world heritage site, boasting the largest concentration of Ottoman style architecture in the Balkans. Our group below, including the Ericksons (who provided our Bible studies), the Anderons (volunteers for 10 weeks), and Laura's mother, who was visiting from Argentina.

Pastor Genti provided us a tour of an old church that also doubles as a museum devoted to the painter, Onufri.  And we got to see where monks hid the Purple Codex of Berat (the Gospels penned in silver ink on purple parchment) from the N@zis during WW2! (below)

We had meaningful time in the Word, facilitated by the Ericksons

I absolutely love the combination of stone, iron and wood.  Throw in an arch and flower boxes and I'm over the moon.  Even in the dead of winter!

Pastor Genti also took us to a small museum outlining the history of the Jewish community that formerly lived in this city.

Our return home Sunday evening took twice as long as necessary given that our caravan got a bit lost -- but we enjoyed beautiful scenery.  And you can see that the next morning we were all smiles before the Ericksons left us to minister to others at a church in Tirana.

We were pleased for them to visit VT Albania this time!

In the midst of this, we had some work done in our kitchen so we decided to paint!  Brrr to having windows and doors open for drying!

As I referred to earlier, we were pleased to have help this winter from Bonnie and Peder, their 4th visit to Albania.

Bonnie continued her Thursday baking club -- it was a HUGE hit!

This week they made crackers!

Peder stained, treated, and helped install a privacy wall for our courtyard.  

Before Jeta existed, village kids played in our courtyard, and for their safety, we created openings in the gates for visibility.  It's not necessary anymore as the courtyard now is an outdoor space for folks staying in our guesthouse. 

Valentines Day meant we got to decorate Jeta with some of the sweet garlands Bonnie made 3 years ago.  But it also meant it was time to take our winter decals off the glass doors.  It turned out to be more difficult than we anticipated!  But also a good excuse to use power tools!

We handed out Bible verses and chocolates at that week's Alpha course.

And Bonnie and the kids made Valentine's themed sweets for church treats.

The Andersons took us out for coffee and dessert on Valentines Day.

And Pastor Genti had a love-themed message at church.

On February 22, the Andersons' son, Luke, arrived for his first visit to Albania!

For the most part, he joined into our regular life and activities in Vlashaj.

Nathan and I rolling taquitos for a team coming in March!  We start freezing meals several weeks in advance to distribute the shopping and prep work...

Below, Nathan helps Ellie with her Asbury dual-enrollment math class.  She would finish it the first week of March and we all cheered that she was likely done with math forever!!

Sunday evenings are often game night in our home.  The Andersons brought us a game and this particular evening my mom Facetimed from Peoria and partnered with Ellie for our game night!

Haircuts!!

We love Dena! <3

Below, my English students learning adjectives with flash cards...

Below, Ellie does a math project...

... with a musical twist, of course.

The Alpha Weekend Away looked like some sessions at Jeta for the teens...

... followed by ice cream...

...and bowling!

While Nathan and the kids were doing their thing, I drove up to Shkoder with the adults!

Before we checked into our hotel, we stopped for photos at this Ottoman Era bridge.  The sunshine was amazing!! And I played photographer.  It was a delight.

Then at the hotel (which we enjoyed to ourselves), a steaming glass of mountain tea was the perfect way to ward off the evening chill!

I was too involved to take many photos of the weekend, but suffice it to say, I really enjoyed some sweet conversations and fellowship.  I really love the community that is growing out of Jeta...

... and my partners in service.

Because we inadvertently scheduled our event the same weekend as Carnivale in Shkoder, Genti had the brilliant idea to go to the lakeside village of Shiroke for pizza. What a beautiful treat!

Merita has been experimenting with some hat designs for children.  Here is just one!

And some amazing friends gifted me a bagful of lemons from the end of the season. Such a treat!  I juice them and freeze them.

One of Bonnie's last classes was in teaching them how to make American pancakes!

And before she returned to Argentina, Gina made us empanadas for dinner one night!  So much work to make -- so quickly consumed!

And our third session of Alpha wrapped!  Thank you, Lord, for a tool to learn more about you and your purpose for creating us!  And thank you for the gift of friendships and hospitality -- a way to nurture those relationships.

Coming up soon: MARCH!

P.S. if you are receiving this by e-mail, do not reply.  We will not see it. This is sent via a feed service.

January 2025 | Gathering Around the Table

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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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.