Didn't Grouch* Marx say...?

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."

Gr*oucho Marx

I have no idea how that quote popped to my mind just now.  I think as we are on the cusp of flipping the calendar yet again, I shake my head at where time has gone.

We are firmly in a routine now.  It's good.

Between language class in the day, evening Albanian lessons three nights per week with Vera, shopping, planning and packing for our weekends in the village, not to mention the realities of every day living, office work, etc. ... the week really does fly. 

Thankfully, we have some variety thrown in there to keep life interesting -- like surprising Abby with a visit from her friend, Ryan!  Ryan was working in Italy for a few weeks for an Italian bread maker and told Abby he'd pay us all a visit to Albania at the end of his time in Europe, sometime near the end of November.  Instead, he contacted me and let me know he'd like to come earlier, if at all possible!

Last Wednesday after school we took Ellie and Reni out for some family time... which happened to include swinging by the airport to pick up Ryan!  Ellie told me, "I'm so excited, I could kiss you!"  (She had met "Fun Ryan" on Skype a few times with Abby and was excited for our first house guest!)

We told the girls we'd meet them at a local restaurant for a "1 month evaluation meeting."  When they arrived, we texted Ryan (hiding in our car) to come find our table.

We're so glad Abby could have the opportunity to share a little bit of her life here in Albania in person with someone from back home.

Weekends mean youth group after church on Friday nights!  Our numbers are growing!

The mature crowd has taken to playing "Spot It" around the kitchen island.  It's a great game to play with limited language -- we are learning Albanian nouns and they are learning the English equivalents!

Our plans for this week might push them out of their comfort zone a bit... stay posted!

On Friday, Ellie lost her other top front tooth.  On the way to the village, she and her brother conspired as to how to get the tooth fairy to leave something for Reni as well.  That included devious acts such as sawing Ellie's baby tooth in half or for Reni to bite on a piece of metal or a rock for him to lose a tooth too!  (OUCH!)  In the end, Ellie concluded, "You can't fool the tooth fairy!"

Each week Abby and Anna collaborate to put together some amazing crafts from the stash of supplies stocked at the ministry center to fit with the Bible lesson at Kids Club.  Saturday's lesson was on Abraham's servant meeting Rebekah at the well (to find a wife for Isaac).  Appropriately, the girls had the kids make clay pots out of Modeling Magic (no, you cannot buy this here -- this was brought over by Mom and Dad or a team on a previous trip -- thank you!).

Every craft is a hit, regardless of gender or age!

Reni's hands

Please feel free to provide your own caption for the photo above...

This Saturday everyone will paint their clay pitchers (yay for us to make one craft stretch two weeks!) :-)

Saturday afternoon we visited the Koni home.  This was the first time we have made a home visit (we made two, actually, because we had decided to spend two nights in Vlash it gave us time to do this -- we plan to do more).

Eda put out quite the spread for us, including this yummy walnut dessert!  For my American friends, I have no idea what to compare it to.  Ellie just chowed and chowed on peanuts (kikirik).  Demir commented that she ate just like her grandpa.  So true!

If by chance any of our Florida friends are visiting, the pregnant momma at the women's retreat gave birth to this little guy below in June!  He regularly gets "kidnapped" by his cousin Eda so she can get some baby time in with him. ;-)

So grateful for our friends in Vl*ash.  

On Fridays as you're anticipating your evening pizza or family movie night, would you pray for us in the village?  This particular Friday Nathan will be sharing the message at church and we are particularly excited!

Thanks, friends!

And we're off...

... to the village!

 Pray for us...

... that it will be more than just fun and games.

We are staying an extra night and will be meeting with someone about future ministry opportunites... and hopeful for a few home visits too.

Grateful for your prayers and support that allows us to be here for Him.

Beautiful Albania | Petrela

So grateful...

In my previous post I shared a tiny bit about our language study.  It's only possible because of the fantastic help we are getting from Abby and Anna.

And as you can see, they do more than just teach our children.  They are part of our family.

The kids love them.  We love them.  And we're so blessed that they are with us for these first eight months.  THANK YOU to all who contributed to their funds so they could be with us.  They are so creative with school, the children are soaking up learning like sponges (Reni is even sounding out and reading some words and Ellie's handwriting and drawing skills have come so far!).

Sunday after church and the lunch dishes had been washed and put away, we wanted to soak up the incredible weather before it slips away by making a short visit out to Petrele, just 10 minutes outside our side of Tirana.  Fresh air and enjoying God's creation seemed like a perfect way to end our Sabbath.

Petrele is a village, but up above the village (WAY up above), after many hair pin turns, a visitor can visit the ruins of the castle called by the same name.  I believe it was once occupied by Skenderbeg's sister, Mamica (Muh-meet-sah) in the 1400s.  It was part of a chain of castles that via smoke signals could communicate the arrival of invaders (mainly, the Turks).

This was my third visit, and I was greatly surprised to find the parking lot packed and a gift shop being constructed (you've come a long way, Albania!).  Expecting to find a bunch of ruins we could climb over with a little coffee bar for refreshment, we were instead greeted by a full-fledged restaurant and many a diner enjoying a late afternoon lunch al fresco.

All of the outdoor seats were taken, so we went into the little turret.  Hope you're not afraid of heights!

Look!  A Reni-sized table!

Proof that not all of our family pictures are picture-perfect.

I guess the secret is to let him wear girls' sunglasses.

And one more just because the vista was so spectacular... (Ellie's quote: I can see WHOLE Albania from here!)

Grateful that (for now) we can carry Reni on Nathan's back so these places are still accessible for him, though we discovered one of the straps was literally hanging on by a thread -- he might be getting too heavy!

Alright, back to language study!  Check back tomorrow for some photos from last weekend in the village!

In Training

We started our second week of Albanian class today.  

It's amazing how quickly our emotions regarding Albanian study can vacillate.  One minute it feels like we've been given the secret decoder ring to understand previously obscure things and a new realm of understanding is exhilarating. 

The next minute we have to read aloud a paragraph in Shqip or answer a relatively simple question in Shqip in front of the whole class and we freeze with what would normally be easy.

to a pair of American ears, these pairs of words sound virtually indistinguishable but have very different meetings

The opening day of training in Colorado, I'll never forget our instructor sharing an exhortation from I Corinthians 9 (bolding mine):

Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

I believe the translation he read used the words "I beat my body." That was our mantra during hours of language drills in August, and it's becoming our mantra again.

We are beating our tongues, our lips, our ears, to speak Albanian and hear Albanian.  This is our training.  We know training isn't easy, it hurts, it's exhausting, it requires endurance.  But the prize is more than worth it.  

Another Point of View

Abby and Anna are posting their experiences here with us in Albania on their blogs and Instagram!  If you're interested in reading their point of view (and seeing lots of Ellie and Reni pics), check out their links!

Abby's blog:  http://abbylecompte.blogspot.com/

Anna's blog: http://applestomangoes.wordpress.com/

How we spent E*d

Tuesday was a significant holiday here.  In Albania it's called Bajramin. In other parts of the m*slim world it's called Eid al-Adha, a feast celebrating the provision of a substitute when Abraham was willing to sacrifice Ishmael (yes, it's a little different than the OT account).  At one point we drove past sheep being slaughtered on the side of the road.  While the meat is feasted upon, a portion of the sacrifice is to be given to the poor, and we would later see the Sisters of Charity receive a large bag of fresh meat donated to their group home.

Government offices were closed and school was called off, so it seemed like a good day to make a long-promised return visit to Elbasan.  Since Reni's adoption trip in 2010, work has been ongoing to build a tunnel through the mountains to significantly shorten the journey between Elbasan and the capital, Tirana.

While the journey to Elbasan was almost completely different than we remembered it (the tunnel is amazingly modern), some things didn't change as much... like Reni's first home.  We immediately felt at home upon arrival.  While there were a lot of new faces, it was neat to see some others we recognized, and we were greeted like long-lost family.

Doesn't Reni look HUGE?  The little guy behind him is the same age or slightly older.  He was one of those familiar faces.

While Reni was the "returning son" and the one everyone wanted to see, all of the attention was a little much for him and he wasn't very charming, as you can see below.

Sister M.F. requested a photo with Reni (which we were more than happy to oblige).  She kept trying to tell him how she took care of him as a baby.  After his special Dyzi, I think Sister MF was his favorite Sister in white (and the reason why for months after coming home, he would search every dark-skinned woman's face for a sign of recognition), though he doesn't appear to have any memory of his time in Elbasan.  In spite of his orneriness, we managed to get a couple of decent photos.

After some time with the bigger kids, Ellie, in particular, was anxious to see 'the babies.'

Ellie convinced a Sister that she could feed a baby.  Ha!  After two or three spoonfuls, she told this sweetheart, "Okay, you can feed yourself now."

Sister M.F. told us that this was Reni's first bed... a new piece of info for us.  Reni wasn't all that impressed.

One of Reni's former roommates was born with a lot of medical challenges.  The Sisters secured medical treatment for her in Italy and we had received word during our visit in 2012 that she had been adopted by a lovely Italian family.  The Sisters were especially proud that 'one of their kids' had not met just ONE but TWO Holy Fathers (the previous and current Popes).  See how she's kissing his cross?

 

Reni eventually warmed up and showed off some of his gymnastic skills...  if you've never seen him do a cartwheel, you really must watch the video below.

After lunch, we took the girls to see the old city wall...

The P family, here to adopt their son E, hung out with us (or we with them) for the day.  It's special to be part of a little fraternity of families with children from Elbasan.  It's pretty exclusive, I think! Their 2nd court date is on Tuesday and I'm sure they'd appreciate your prayers on their behalf.  I just noticed that in the photo below E is conked out on his daddy's back. ;-)

Our hosts for the day were our missionary friends (and roommates), Kerri and Julie.  Of Julie, Ellie said, "I like that girl."

Kerri told us of a great outdoor play place connected to a coffee shop... that was part of a funeral home.  Not joking.  The kids saw it and we figured it would be good for them to get some more energy out before we hit the road to return to Tirana.

Another change in Elbasan since 2010 was a reconstruction of a portion of the Roman Road that Elbasan was built around. 

The original stones were dug up and re-laid.

What a great day.  I can't wait until we can return... Now back to the books!