Just another night in the village

To think that these will be Ellie's memories of her time here...

Change of Address

Here are the kids giving their best "Oh no!" face.

That's because on Friday we picked up a packet from the post office containing several Christmas cards and a note from someone dated October 2013!!

While I always try to keep current contact info on my e-mail signatures and in our newsletters, it occurred to me that not everybody reads those details and we might want to make a special note to point out our change of mailing address here. ;-)

A little background

Until our move to the village, we gave out Mandi's post office box as our mailing address.  If we knew we had a package coming, he would check the box for notification slips and deliver them to us.  We would then walk to the central post office and show our ID to pick up our packages.

BUT, as government budgets grew tighter, the PO started cracking down on folks who didn't pick up their packages in a 'timely manner' and they started assessing us multiple "storage fees" in the amount of about $15 per box for boxes that sat more than a week without being picked up.  On at least two occasions we believe that our slip was either put in another PO box or not delivered at all.

Then we moved out to the village and picking up mail became even trickier as we could no longer slip on our walking shoes and head to the office -- it involved a coordinated plan to make a trip into Tirana, figure out parking and/or driving around congested downtown streets while I waited in line inside, sometimes as long as 20-30 minutes depending on the time of day.  Yeah.  Pretty stressful.

We quickly decided the most logical solution would be to take advantage of a mail service provided by the evangelical alliance (AEP) of which we are members.  For a variety of reasons we didn't use this service while we lived in Tirana.  But now we are requesting that you send our mail to AEP who visits the PO daily (thus no storage fees) and they can hold it for us until we get into Tirana.

Our new mailing address is:

AEP

KP 119

(Attn: Nathan Waggoner, Box 19)

Tirana, ALBANIA

That's it!  And hopefully, we won't have any more of these faces because your mail was delayed in getting to us:

Happy Birthday, Gjysh!

Because we can't Skype... a photo will have to do...

(Apparently the road-widening project on the autostrada keeps resulting in a severing of the internet cable -- hence the fact that Sunday was the only day we have had internet the past 5 days.  At least now we know 'why'! This we are able to post thanks to Nathan's internet connection on his phone.)

Put on your racing gloves!

Earlier this month we had a bit of an issue with attendance at kids club.  For a couple of weeks we'd start Saturday morning with a packed yard full of kids playing, then when it was time to go inside, a lot had better things to do.  Some would come in for a few minutes, then leave and a many would get up and follow. One Saturday it was only a circle of girls (and if you know how few girls attend, that tells you something!)  It was frustrating on many levels.  I don't know all of the dynamics at play.  There was a religious holiday one of the weekends... but I don't really know what was up.

Incidentally, Nathan had started keeping attendance with the help of a phone app (partially for reporting purposes but also to help us learn the names of our less frequent attenders).  At one point after a slew of kids got up and left I determined we'd institute a reward system for those who were faithful.  Knowing how much they loved playing our Wii (we've only gotten it out twice in the year since we've been here), I thought a "Wii party" would be something they'd relish. Yesterday morning near the end of Kid's Club meeting we wrote the names on the board of the kids who had come to 3 of the 4 gatherings in October.  Then they signed up for slots to come back later in the afternoon to play a 4-player car racing game on our Wii.

Several others came just to watch, even though they couldn't play.  Everybody enjoyed Coke and cookies.

Wiiii expect to have better attendance next month! ;-)

This and That (from the cell phone cam)

Where or where has this week gone??? Here's a brief recap for my own sanity...

Let's see... Monday afternoon and evening after home school we hosted Angela P and her sister.  They were in Albania to bring Angela's daughter home to the States.  Her daughter had been living in Reni's former orphanage so we connected online about a year and a half ago and it was a joy to finally meet in person!  Sadly, no photos of them but here is a selfie photo of my two favorite boys getting a coffee while our car was washed before we picked up our guests (there was no way I was letting Angela ride in our car after our road trip last week)...

It's missions conference weekend at our home church in Kentucky and they asked for a brief video.  Here's Nathan's sophisicated "tri-pod" (a mixing bowl, serving tray and four plastic drinking cups).  If any of you are lucky enough to see this video, watch for the shot of Reni picking his nose (albeit out of focus) over Nathan's shoulder.  The quietest activity we could find for them to do while we recorded was coloring on the dining table in the background.

FALL finally arrived in Albania!  The rain came on Tuesday and Wednesday the temps started falling fast.  We swapped wood stoves between our village residence and our old apartment in Tirana, which has a the capacity for larger pieces of wood.

By the way, soot is not a fun thing to clean up.  Thanks to our friends Ani and Demir who helped us!

Again, no photos, but we were visiting a neighbor's home and you can imagine our surprise when they told us that our family was mentioned on a national TV talk show (kind of like the Albanian equivalent of Howard St*rn, from what we can gather).  He was interviewing a pastor (who is a frequent guest on the show, representing a different point of view than his own) about Albania's way of handling children with disabilities and this pastor shared our family's story (though not by name)!  From the description of our children, our friends were sure it was us, and Shpresa confirmed the pastor is a friend of Genti's who knows our testimony... Interesting, eh?

Our kids brought back some souvinirs from last week's conference.  Namely, head colds (no fevers, thank goodness!)  Here's Ellie showing that she is fever free with her forehead temperature sticker!

We lost our internet for 2 days... enough said.  Also, hence the haste of this post because I'm living in fear that it will go out again soon!

We had a staff meeting with our Planters Staff on Thursday.  We hold those in Tirana and it's always a great time when we can get together to strategize and hear about what's going on in each other's area of ministry.  The staff have a couple of good ideas we can't wait to implement.  And because we were back in our old neighborhood, our boy got a hair cut at our favorite barber shop, which you can see below... I always call him "my little Albanian" after haircuts because there is one haircut style here for boys, which which of course makes him look just like all the other little boys his age.

Wednesday afternoon between rain showers I was able to photograph Linda's scarf creations on our friend, Ester.  Ester was a beautiful model and I was excited to see what Linda made!  We are preparing for two big craft shows in Tirana in November and December our our knitters have given us a lot to sell!  You can also see some of the inventory posted so far on our site:  http://villageknitsalbania.blogspot.com/

Saturday I will shoot one more batch of scarves, this time from Roshe's collection.

Finally, Ellie was really proud of catching this fellow who had the misfortune of hopping up on our steps during an evening rain.  We discovered it after Wednesdays Bible study programs...it was released the next morning but she's been thinking about it ever since!

Our Happy Place

After 4 weeks of go, go, go we enjoyed a beautiful Lord's Day afternoon.

This national park is about 45 minutes from the village.  We discovered it by accident last year.

Then this summer, with some guidance, we found the hiking trail.

We promised some friends we'd help them find this hidden gem, so Sunday afternoon we set off to enjoy a spectacular fall day.

The kids chased bugs.

We all explored old ruins.

It was just what we needed.  Even the goats were beautiful.

Lord willing, I'll take a couple more Sundays like these before winter! ;-)

Pie Makin'

Saturday afternoon we made it back from the AEP conference and stopped at the supermarket before even unloading our bags.  We were scheduled to be with our friends at the Hope Center and the plan was to make pizzas.  We love hanging out with these kids.  We also love that Eda joins us!

It's funny that they think we do pizza 'wrong'. ;-) 

Whoever brought pizza to Albania created about 8 types of pizza and apparently, you don't deviate from those combinations of toppings!  I can understand why they might think pineapple an unusual topping, but onion?  Bring on the olives, peppers, mushrooms and garlic -- but onion?  I was met with a bunch of wrinkled noses! ;-)

This funny young lady is new this year and we thoroughly enjoy her.

Here is part of the prep crew:

Usually you can find pre-made pizza crusts at one of the two foreign supermarkets that have come to this country.  Given that we had less than two hours between returning from the conference and getting to the Center, I knew we didn't have time to make home made pizza dough.  You can imagine the sinking feeling we got when we arrived at the supermarket and there wasn't a pre-made crust to be found.  Plan B?  Tortillas!  We bought every packet they had! (In reality, I wouldn't have been surprised if those had been all sold out too!)

We had everyone make their own pizza and Teuta somehow managed to keep track of the order they went in and out of the oven!

We brought some games to play while supper cooked.

Reni was really getting a quick eye for "Spot It!"

This was our second visit to the center since school resumed in late September.  This second year we feel like we know these kids a lot better and look forward to our visits together!  Next visit we'll be teaching photography!

You know you're...

The day following Tim's departure we left the village around 10:30 am and drove north.  We stopped for lunch before the border, then crossed into the neighboring country of Montenegro.

You know you're in the Balkans (where nationalities are not necessarily defined by borders) when in the first 30 minutes of our drive we passed school kids walking home from school giving us the occasional fist bump to the chest and a hand gesture of solidarity upon seeing our Albanian license plates.

Meanwhile, as prevailing religious affiliations began to blend, our kids made up their own tally game which they coined "M*sques vs. Churches".  Castles were worth 10 bonus points.  Only in this part of the world...

It's the first conference or training we've attended since arriving in Albania 13 months ago and the timing couldn't have been better.

We are two months into village life and we've never been more aware of just how much we don't know.

But at the conference we are with folks like us -- folks who are engaged in many of the same work, who face the same challenges and struggles that we do, challenges that are unique to this particular context.  Many have been working since 'the beginning' (~1992), others have come since the Kosovo crisis in '99, then there are those like us who arrived in the last few years.

They hailed from countries like Brazil, the UK, S Korea, Germany, Belgium, Paraguay, the Netherlands, and Albania itself. Despite our diversity of languages and skin tones, we have one thing in common: we love the people of Albania. Our meetings were conducted in English and Albanian, our worship and our prayer were in English and Albanian.  It was really, really beautiful.

The group isn't especially large, but we are scattered all over the country. In addition to encouragement through devotional messages, various individuals shared about the groups they represent and the ministries in which they are engaged.  We're learning about resources like solar radios (great for our neighbors who work in fields all day!), Albanian Bible reading apps for smart phones, audio Bibles online, discipleship curriculums, Scripture verse calendars in Shqip that have hung in many a m*slim home (because they like the photographs of Albania) ... I could go on and on.  I think before I was on this side of the ocean, I was at worst skeptical (just an excuse for a 'break', I thought) and at the least unaware of the benefits of conferences like this.

On the last day of the conference there was a 2 hour break built in which allowed us to visit a neighboring city and enjoy ice cream with some new friends!

The first night the chairman of the organization discussed the definition of the word 'synergy'.  Synergy happens when forces are combined and generate more power than if they were simply added together-- where 1 + 1 = 3, not just 2.  We are seeing that taking place here as we learn about resources available at our disposal. We're also getting understanding and insights into the culture from more seasoned veterans that are helping shape our cultural understanding.

On the last night, the children shared a few songs they learned during their program led by volunteers from the UK and youth from an Albanian church in the south.

It's a nice little break, but I wouldn't really call this a vacation.  Europeans eat dinner late.  Which means that we weren't released from our evening sessions until around 10PM (way late for two kids who are already pretty tired from a long day).  One morning we had to shake Reni awake in time for 8AM breakfast.

Before we knew it, it was time to head back.  The hotel where we stayed provided sack lunches for us to take upon check out Saturday morning.  Shortly after we crossed the border back into Albania, we found a picnic spot on the shores of a riverbank with a view of the ever-spectacular Rozafa Castle.

Then it was off to home-sweet-home!

3 for 3

We are still here!  We are still alive in spite of our relative silence on the blog! ;-)

The last three weeks are a bit of a blur, to be honest.  This morning in the wee hours of the morning we put our third guest in as many weeks on a plane.

Tim figured out how to win a place in our kids' hearts: by sharing his iPad and a few special games right up their alley!

Tim is the VP of Int'l Ministries for WGM.  He gave us some great insight on working more effectively in our context, in addition to some wonderful encouragement.

I know, I know.  We try to be more judicious in our planning, but visit dates shifted, others fell through completely, and this is how it turned out!  Three guests in three weeks.  We are blessed to have been so loved!  I would say 'back to the real world', but we've been doing our regular duties with a few extra fun things thrown in, in between.

Regular programs in the village have continued, though I have few photos to show for them.  In fact, with Genti and Shpresa's absence, Nathan and I facilitated two adult Bible studies and a church service solo last week!

Tomorrow we leave for a couple of days' worth of meetings with missionaries from across Albania.  There will be a program for the kids and ours are thrilled with the prospect of making new friends and seeing some 'old' ones from co-op.  We are looking forward to the fellowship and continuing to learn how to do our job better.  As with just about everything, the longer we are here, the more we realize we have yet to learn!

As you think of our Els, would you pray for her?  Her little bird, Marie, flew the coop this afternoon.  Ellie was playing with her on our balcony and forgot to check that the window was closed.  Ellie burst into the house very upset and I could sense before she spoke what had happened. We went out and could see Marie's bright yellow body flying above the village and then against the trees on the hills in the distance for several minutes, then she flew out of sight.  Squanto has been chirping Marie's typical song over and over and we've hoped that the sound would draw Marie back 'home', but it seems unlikely.

"Where is the night?" ...And the time Ellie interrupted an international TV reporter

Rebecca (right) with our dear friend, Vera.

For three brief days we had Nathan's sister Rebecca visit us!!!  Of our siblings, she's the only one who has never been to Albania before!  

We did three days of homeschool the previous week, (while Kristi was here) and school on Monday and Tuesday before Rebecca arrived so we could count one week completed between the two and enjoy time off with our guests. It was a highlight for our whole family to be loved these days and do some 'fun' things we don't usually make time for.

Having Rebecca here, I learned an interesting background behind the word for "sister-in-law".  In Shqip I introduce Rebecca as my kunatë.  If you break the word into parts it literally means "where there is night" or "where night is"  It kind of goes to show a lack of familial love, doesn't it?

I'm glad to say that's NOT the case with Rebecca.  Shpresa told me I could refer to her as my kudita ("where there is day") and folks would know we get along just fine. :-)

In spite of limited luggage (she's on her way to Asia for work through the end of October), she managed to squeeze in lots of surprises!  This was the start of 'breakfast suprises' each morning!

Our critter girl is reacting to a bug container that includes its own flashing light and cricket sound replicator.

We took Rebecca up Mt Dajti on the cable car -- a treat that Ellie and Reni LOVE and which is a neat way to see a little bit of nature and get an idea of the scope of Tirana from above.

While riding up the mountain we shared with Rebecca how we took Mom and Dad Waggoner up this same way during their brief visit to meet Reni in 2010.  Mom didn't tell us until much later how much she fears heights!  Interestingly enough, Rebecca was taking photos on her iPad which features a photograph of Mom on the wallpaper.  As soon as Ellie saw it, she hugged it fiercely.  This girl misses her family in America so much!!

I think this is the true reason Ellie likes to take the Teleferiku -- to ride the horses at the top.  She named this guy "Daylight" during her brief trail ride.  And to think she was deathly afraid of them the entire time we lived in Kentucky...

On her way here, Rebecca slipped on spilled liquid at the Frankfurt Airport and re-injured her knee on which she had surgery just last year.  So in light of all the travel she has ahead of her, we've tried to plan activities that didn't require strenuous hiking or walking.

So when we heard that the Travel Channel/ABC News would be in Tirana last night at a restaurant we occasionally treat ourselves to (they have real hamburgers and pulled pork!!!) we suggested it to her.  Rebecca thought it would be a fun experience to add to her Albanian memories so given that it coincided with the one evening we didn't have programs at the ministry center, we decided to oblige her request.

Secretly I hoped the restaurant would be full and we'd just go eat elsewhere.

When we arrived, it was completely empty, so we decided to stay and eat.  Three couples and a party of four eventually joined us.  We ordered and ate our food.  The crew still hadn't arrived and given that we were seated in the center of the restaurant, we felt bad about leaving.

We ate dessert and had coffee, and they still hadn't shown up.  When we arrived, the owner had asked us if we could stay for the TV crew and we told her we would stay as long as the kids held it together.
After we had finished our coffee we were just about to go when she told us they had called and would be there in just fifteen more minutes.  Could we please stay?

We agreed, keeping our empty coffee cups in hand.

Going on 2 hours since we arrived, the crew arrived.  Three guys with digital SLRs on brackets with shotgun mics.  A female producer with a clipboard.  And the reporter, a 30-something-year-old with a friendly demeanor and a British accent.

We took the kids' games away and told them to put on their best behavior.  I should have known we'd be in for trouble when Ellie asked, "Am I going to be in a MOVIE?"  (this has been on her mind since learning a few weeks ago that a friend of ours is featured at the end of Dolphin Tale 2).

After interviewing the owner briefly, the reporter turned his attention to us, the biggest group in the restaurant, smack in the middle.  Reni had climbed into my lap, leaving an empty seat for him to join us.

The rest is a blur.  All I remember is him asking us about why we were in Albania, how we liked it, do we feel people stare at us, etc. and Ellie tapping his arm, "Excuse me!  I have a bug cage with a beetle, a moth, and a zhapik!"

"Excuse me!  Look!  I lost my tooth!  In Albania they throw their teeth on the roof and a very, very, very, very smart bird picks it up and gives it to a baby.  Did you know in China the tooth fairy fights a dragon for the teeth?  What do they do in Germany?"  And more and more.

Oh my goodness.  It took me several hours to come down after that. Nathan has reassured me that there is no way they could have used any of what we said as we didn't deliver any editable soundbites, for all the interruptions.  I can only hope and pray.

Ellie, if you're reading this as an adult:  I love you, girl.  I love your incredible imagination.  To think one day we wondered if you'd ever talk...

Rebecca filled the rest of her time just seeing what life with us is like!  At the women's Bible study she shared her testimony and other afternoons included spending lots of time with our neighbor kids playing volleyball.

And meeting her partner family in the village!

Her visit was way too short, but we trust it won't be her last! ;-)