It's hard to put into words how full our weekends feel. Are they tiring? Just a little. Are they worth it? Absolutely. Fridays start with language class in the morning, then lunch, making sandwiches for the road trip, packing up the car, drive over to homeschool co-op, shop for youth group refreshments (usually while some of us are at co-op), and race across town while eating our sandwiches and drive another 15 kms to the village to arrive in time for evening church.
This week Nathan provided the message and lovely Eda translated.
We opened up youth group this week to include anyone who came to church. Ryan had the brilliant idea for the army men shoot-out relay (shoot army men with q-tips through straws). If you're looking for youth group games that don't involve shaving cream, balloons, eating weird food or making an overall big mess (about all the games I could find online), this is a good one.
Pictionary was also popular.
As well as 'blow-the-cotton-ball-across-the-table-and-off-your-opponent's-side".
We spend the night in the village, something we all look forward to -- such a nice change to be in the quiet of the village and woken in the morning by roosters instead of car horns ricochet-ing off concrete buildings.
Remember how last week the kids made clay pots out of modeling magic? We had the idea for them to paint those pots this week at Kids Club after they had 7 days to dry.
The paint we found in the cabinets was still in its cellophane wrappers but the consistency was, well, a bit runny, leading us to believe it was probably quite old. We made a decent mess requiring a little elbow grease and a mop bucket, but chalked it up to another learning experience (up there with the origami stars). And the kids enjoyed it. How did we know? It's always extremely quiet during a successful craft time!
Who knew we'd be moving to an area flush with snails? They provide endless fascination to Els and Reni. This is what entertains them while we pack up the vehicle to leave the village...
We had a fair amount of time between the conclusion of Kids Club and our first "class" session at the H*pe Center (about four hours), so we decided to take Ryan over to see the Adriatic Sea before he left Albania in a few days.
Where we ended up is what happens when you rely on verbal directions and no help from a GPS. No worries-- it was all a fun little road trip, but will have to be another post of its own. It was a little pickle that worked itself out, with the bonus of seeing something cool and unexpected, but as always, we turned into 'those Americans' who try to cram too much into too little time. Maybe someday we'll wander back there again...
Meanwhile, we made it back and to the H*pe Center for a time of making pancakes with the youth there. Oh My Goodness. I don't know that I've tasted pancakes ever so yummy. From scratch, folks, down to the homemade maple syrup. All the meal lacked was a side of some Bob Evans sausage.
Somehow during the course of conversation I learned that three of the youth had previously lived in northern Albania for a period of time with a young lady adopted in 2009 by some friends in Michigan! Melissa G, this photo is for you!
They made four batches of pancakes (32 servings) and they disappeared. Anna's the boss of the kitchen.
Below, Ellie entertains the youngest resident of the H*pe Center...
Many thanks to the Hope for the World staff for letting us hang out with your youth on Saturday! We look forward to returning!
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