Christmas Traditions, Part 2

How many times does something need to repeat for it to become a tradition?  I don't know the technical answer, but I do know that for the second year in a row, the Bensons have traveled from Vermont to assist with the annual Holiday Bazaar.  And for me, two times already feels like a tradition!

This year they brought their friends, the Smiths!  This is technically the Smith's second visit to Albania, but their first visit happened before our arrival!  In 2012 they came to help prepare our apartment for us to live in.

This year they lent a hand in a number of different ways!  Here's a brief recap in photos.

The room that used to serve as the kids' homeschool class room was in dire need of a new coat of paint (I'm not sure if that room has been painted since PSF bought the apartment 15 years ago!).  Moisture from the ground below had seeped up into the lower walls and so the walls had to be scraped and re-plastered before a fresh coat of paint could be applied.

Phil spackles holes in the wall

In addition to painting that room in Tirana, they spent an afternoon in the village and while the ladies did home visits, the men installed a motion sensor in our stairwell, caulked our windows to keep out cold air and moisture, repaired a sink leak, installed a light fixture where a bare wire had been hanging for years, hung some pictures in the center, etc. -- basically they tackled my 'honey do' list from this fall (which has been on 'hold' while we've delved back into language study).

Camera phone pic after the first day of painting.  Poor Phil had the ladder collapse under him.  I just had to explain that his painting skills supercede his appearance.

On December 6 we participated in the annual Christmas Bazaar at the Sheraton Hotel in Tirana.  I love that this event supports many causes dear to my heart.  The first is the Organization in Support of Albanian's Abandoned Babies (all of the table fees go to their charity).  They care for relinquished babies in the maternity hospital where our Ellie lived for the first 7 weeks of her life.  They do a super job of taking care of babies in a difficult situation and it comforts us to know that Ellie was likely held on a regular basis by their volunteers and that her physical needs were met with the best care possible.

Secondly, we get to promote the women's knitting project through sales at our table.  Since the event is primarily attended by the Expat community, I get to connect with friends engaged in other ministries as well as share about our work with others in attendance from the diplomatic and NGO communities.  They like to 'shop with a purpose' for their Christmas gift-giving, while giving something from their home abroad.  It's a joy to hear the women's work appreciated for its uniqueness.  The event lasts several hours and there is no way that I could do it by myself!  I'm pictured below with Lynne who manned the table with me.  But more than that, she has been around since the inception of the women's project and has more years of craft shows under her belt than I!

The Benson's visit serves another purpose -- those from the States who purchased scarves got them transported back in Lynne's luggage and shipped promptly the day after her return in time for Christmas gift-giving.  It wouldn't be feasible for us otherwise!  Without those sales to the States, the women's profits would be cut by at least half!

And since I didn't have another photo of this blessing 'in action', I'm posting this one below -- Ellie LOVED Ms. Pat.  Right off the bat she announced she had 'granny' hair and that she would be Ellie's "Grandma #3".

Because our van was in the shop for an extended period of time due to a collision (another blog post), we stayed in Tirana for several days where we could walk to classes and be closer to our guests and the action of the craft show while we were without transportation.  While we were in class, Phil and Pat watched the kids in lieu of our regular child care plans in the village.  They probably had no idea that 'babysitting' would be part of their ministry to us, but it was so kind of them!  Pat also made a super big batch of sugar cookie dough that we've been using at a couple of youth events.  I am NOT a baker so this was not only a time-saver during a busy time, but made it possible to share some of our traditions from the States (cookie decorating) with our village friends (post coming up).

So all that to say, we love the Christmas tradition of having Vermonters come in early December!  They love us and our neighbors so well and help us feel like we've had a visit from family when family is oh so far away.