Last Day of School!

Wednesday, June 18 marked the last day of school across Albania for her grade-school aged children.  Since we now have Wednesdays off on our summer school schedule, we were excited to join Mandi and Xhina on their trip up to Darshen.  The drive to Darshen is not for the faint-of-heart, but it's oh-so worth it.  I haven't been over the mountain in some time, so I enjoyed the carpet of summer green and bright spots of yellow wild flowers lining the road side.

We arrived mid-morning and trekked up the hillside to the highest point in the village, the public school.  All of the kids were gathered in one classroom (though more than a dozen other rooms sat empty and vacant, unused for many years, testimony to a time when life in this community was far more vibrant).

Ellie walked right over to a desk and took a seat along with the students.  Reni hid, self-conscious in a crowd of kids he didn't know, behind the teacher's desk.

Xhina warmed up the group with some corporate singing...

Nathan shared a devotional message with the kids based on Luke 2:52.

"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."

Nathan reminded the students that Jesus had been a child just like them.  And like them, he spent time in school, sharpening his mind and learning (the 'growing in wisdom' part).  Nathan challenged the students that though school was over for the summer, they should continue challenging their brains by reading books, like the Storybook Bible we gave them at Christmas.

Nathan told him that Jesus also grew in stature -- a reminder that he was born as a baby and experienced growing pains and too-small shoes and short clothes.  We expected that the next time we saw them in the fall, the kids should be a little taller! 

Then Nathan told them that the Bible says Jesus grew in favor with God and man.  He explained that as we grow in our relationship with God, our desire will be to please Him, and as we live a life that is pleasing to God, it will spill over into our relationships with others.

They listened attentively and I prayed the words were falling on open hearts. 

We then presented them with gifts from a generous friend in the States.  They received them quietly and politely, as is their custom.

As only God could work it out -- all of their clothes and shoes fit!!!

As seems to be the nature of life on the mountain, the weather changed quickly and became overcast, but thankfully never rained.

After school we met with the mayor of the village to discuss the possibility of helping improve a couple of village homes.

It's so complicated navigating the waters of physical assistance between choosing those who are most needy, then in determining the best course of action.

It wasn't exactly Ellie and Reni's 'cup of tea', so soon I was letting Ellie take photos with my camera as a means of keeping her entertained.

Here's the view of 'downtown Darshen' as photographed by Ellie.

Want to get 'real smiles' out of grown ups?  Give a bulky, unwieldy camera to a 9-year-old and let her subjects watch her take their photo...

I missed the mayor giving Reni a kiss, but you can see what he thought of his whiskers.
(poor Reni gets LOTS of kisses)

Two good little travelers...  These two are growing up and better travelers than just a year ago!  On our way back to Tirana!