"Walk where the king is carried"

In Albania's long and storied past, this great country has honored it's king in an entirely kingly fashion. We found out yesterday that past Albanian kings had porters to carry the them from place to place. Within this context, Albanian's of times past flocked to walk where the king had been carried. One of the workers at the Vlashi construction site call Reni "the king!" Since in his humble observations, Reni had been carried from site to site, he turned to us and said, "Everyone wants to walk where king Reni has been carried." It added a new dimension for the little king because people are observing that Reni rightfully draws a crowd and consequently has many loyal subjects.

Reni gained even more followers today as we visited several friends in typical Albanian fashion.

Fredi is a long-time friend who has been a real encouragement to Cydil and I during this trip. David, Mondi, Reni, and I met him for lunch at "The Amsterdam" restaurant which is located directly across from the Dutch embassy. We are so thankful for his phone calls on our behalf to the US embassy and the Albanian passport office during our adoption proceedings. But we are equally thankful for the fellowship over meals like this one during our time away from home!

After Reni's afternoon nap, we went to the village of Vlashi where long time friends of David and Sarah invited us into their home. Fatmira treated us to iced tea and snacks. Reni enjoyed trying the cracker sticks that are common here. His smile was contagious!

One of the main reasons David wanted to visit was to encourage Damire who had recently had a heart attack. He is doing much better, but Fatmira said his spirits have been down since his illness, and she knew it meant a lot that David made the time to come during his brief visit to Albania. Reni seemed to brighten his day as well!

Their daughter has been a faithful attender first of the children's meetings and later the youth events at the Vlashi ministry center. She is currently taking part in the center's English classes and discipleship groups. She was our translator with her parents today, and she is starting at the University this fall!

You may remember us speaking of our friend Mondi who has safely driven us back and forth across the mountains so many times. Tonight we got to visit with the rest of his family. Gina loved on Reni from the moment we stepped out of the van, and Reni was content to be held by her for longer than anyone else we met today.

In the back yard they have a little swimming pool and Reni loved splashing in it. He kept lunging for the water, so we soon had to walk away, but I have a feeling he is going to love the kayak!

Reni had fun, finally being in a place where he could just crawl around on the ground and play. For the second night in a row though, he made it very clear when he was throwing in the towel and was ready for bed. When all other clues fail, when your child crawls across the room and sticks their head under the coffee table then ceases to move, it is probably time for bed!

We said our goodbyes and headed home. Reni was asleep in no time and David and I ate a late supper. David stayed up long enough to dictate the first part of the blog and then he fell asleep on the couch. When he puts his head under the coffee table I'll know it is time to send him up to bed!