One Stone

One Stone

You know the expression, "Kill two birds with one stone."

I think it speaks to our desire for efficiency, economy.  No wasting of effort or resources.  When it seems to happen coincidentally, killing 'two birds with one stone' might refer to good luck or fortune -- double the outcome for half the effort (or something like that).

But have you considered God answering two prayers in one way?

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Today marked our second day 'home' in the village.  Ellie had been chomping at the bit to see Squanto (her beloved pet cockatiel), and we had endeavored to retrieve him from "the sitters" the evening before but failed to bring him back Thursday night to his familiar perch on our balcony (our friends happened to be out when we dropped by).

So we muddled through another day of unpacking and settling in, slowly acclimating to the heat a bit better, strategically planning to shift our work to various rooms throughout the day as the sun moved across the sky.  

All thought of relative comfort flew out the window when the power went out for 3.5 hours and our next door (upwind) neighbor conveniently decided it would be a good time to burn her trash.  All windows went closed and we dropped all shades to keep puttering around our apartment re-organizing shelves and emptying suitcases of supplies in clean, if not fan-cooled moving air.

This evening was to be the first church service of the fall season but some folks were still on holiday, a number of our neighbors were seen walking down the hill in formal wear to a wedding, and the traditional text message didn't get out.  Attendance was slim.  Nevertheless it was good to continue greeting old friends and neighbors as we opened the front gates and introduced the village boys to "Can Jam", a frisbee game that Steve and Rachel taught us last Saturday (we managed to pick up a few sets at Target and stuff them in our suitcase at the last minute) while we tried to figure out exactly what time we would begin service.  (The start time is rather fluid, influenced more by the amount of relative daylight and the time of year).

After church Ellie and Reni got permission to go down to Xhesi and Ambra's house to play and get reunited with Squanto while we continued to visit until it was appropriate to close up the center for the evening.

We eventually made it down the hill to hear all about Squanto and Ellie's enthusiastic reunion.  Apparently Ellie had not been forgotten. I wished I had been there to record it!

We went inside and caught up with our friends, discussing current events like the refugee crisis in Macedonia and the mass exodus of Albanians this year to Germany. We also talked about our respective summers and it was reassuring to me that we hadn't completely lost our ability to communicate in Shqip!  

I can't remember exactly at what point in the conversation switched gears to school this fall.  We were proudly told that Xhesi had been hired as a teacher at the Kopsht where Reni would start attending come September 14.  

[insert sound of scratched record]

Wait. I could scarcely believe my ears, but the nods of their heads confirmed that my foggy, jetlagged brain had indeed heard and processed the words correctly.

Xhesi had just completed her degree in education in July.  We have all prayed that she would find a job as employment options for university grads in Albania is pretty bleak. Neither of her parents have consistent work and resources are always stretched thin. 

Now, I was hearing that not only did she have a job, but she would be one of Reni's teachers.  I couldn't keep from tearing up.

All summer we have been lightly approaching the subject of Reni attending Kopsht this fall.  It's a sensitive subject because Ellie longs to attend traditional school (which she can't this year), and Reni hasn't been exactly thrilled about going to a new school alone.  In fact, there have been quite a few tears shed to the point where we have shared our concerns with some of our friends and family this past summer. It broke our hearts to see Reni so fearful, yet as his parents we felt pretty strongly that we needed to push him to do this. 

Now here I was hearing that one of the members of the family he is closest with -- of all the families we know in our entire village -- will be with him every day at school.  When we told him, he raised his arms and started jumping up and down. 

Tonight as we put Reni to bed we tried to express to him how much God loved him and provided for him in this moment of uncertainty. With one fell swoop the giant called "fear" had been defeated. There have been so many moments like this for our Reni that I shouldn't be surprised at God's provision on his behalf, yet here I am again as if it is the first time. 

Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee -- Psalm 63:3

One stone.  David slew a giant with one stone.

Two prayer requests.  One answer.  

Do you have any giants that need slaying?