Wednesday update for Elbasan

I am writing this from an internet cafe about a half mile from my hotel. The internet has been out all day, so in order to find out about Ellie's first day of school, I made the trek. I can't figure out this keyboard though, so there won't be quotation marks and maybe some other punctuations. I also have a few short videos to post, but they will have to wait until the internet is back at the Hotel Univers - that is really how it is spelled, it is not a typo.

I learned today that Reni's passport won't be done until Friday, so that is the earliest I will be able to take Reni. We are still hopeful that the court papers will be done tomorrow, so if you could pray at 1:00 pm our time - 7:00 am EST that is when Sister Rosita and I will be going to the courthouse to request the papers.

This morning I tried to calculate my expected expenses while here in Elbasan, and decided that I needed to exchange some more money. My Albanian is limited enough that trying to tell the taxi driver to deviate at all from the expected is difficult, so I thought it would be a good excuse to take a walk with Reni after arriving at the orphanage. This time my camera was charged so you can see how cute he looks in his hat. We definitely drew stares on our walk! I think most of the stares were because of Reni's face and the distinctive hat, or maybe the handsome American pushing the stroller. But at least one stare involved his lack of legs. It was so hot that I stopped at a little grocery store to buy a cold water to share, and the lady wouldn't let me pay, telling me it was a gift for the boy. I thanked her and as I turned to leave, I heard her say Shume Kech to her coworker. Very Bad. I think it is the fist act of pity, but we enjoyed the free water!

Reni was asleep by the time we got back to the orphanage. We may need to remember this trick!

Our friend Karri has a special bond with a little girl named Luchia. Luchia has several major facial deformaties, but she seems to be very social. I thought her playing with Karri's hand was precious, so I snapped this picture and the close-up below.

We had heard about Karri's favorite souflachi place before, but today she and a friend from South Africa offered to show it to me. It was a hot walk, but the food was good, and we all three ate our fill for less than $10!

This afternoon went quickly. Reni wanted to be held almost the whole time. The kids and caregivers know his departure is near, and they all want to love on him! I think the kids especially are a little overwhelming to him, and I am tall enough to lift him out of the fray. The hotel is all decked out for a celebration of some sort tonight, so I hope I can sleep through it! Two more sleeps as Ellie would say...