A Visit From Friends | The Lowes

Early last month we were treated by a visit from some special friends.  And even better, they brought their whole family!

Interestingly, we met the Lowes on a mission trip 10 years ago when we served together at an English camp outside of Budapest, Hungary.  We brought a team from Asbury -- they brought their two young children (Micah was yet to bless them with his arrival).

Somehow you can't help but bond over singing silly camp songs, sweating in un-air-conditioned buildings, and eating camp food, among many other character-growing activities. :-) I don't think we ever imagined we would spend time together again as families serving overseas, but then, God has a way of giving special gifts.  When we announced that we were moving to serve Albania, she and Nate were among the first to stand behind us, inviting us into their church, introducing us to their church family.

The dream of them visiting us in Albania has been in the works for a while, but after diligently watching airfares this past winter, the dream seemed out of reach... until they found affordable flights to Rome and decided the cost savings was significant enough to embark upon an "Amazing Race" type of journey by subway, train, bus and ferry to get the remainder of the way to Albania! The rest is history.  They came, they saw, they served.  But I can't leave it at that.

The old adage is true -- you get out what you put in, and the Lowes put in a lot!  I gave them some projects to prepare for, and they brought their "A game" AND everything they needed to pull off said projects. Anne gets a special star in the visitor "Hall of Fame" for having read every single book about Albania in our 'recommended reading list'. (Confession:  I haven't even finished them all).

The week together had its share of excitement.  Poor Micah arrived with a fever that didn't let up until the last 48 hours of their visit.  As you can imagine, it was the cause of serious concern throughout much of their visit, including a visit to a doctor in Tirana.  In spite of that, we were still able to do just about everything that was planned.  But Micah has to return or else all he will think Albania consists of is Ellie and Reni's bedroom, and the few square feet of our courtyard. :-)

I wasn't the greatest at pulling out my camera during their stay, but here are a few highlights from their ministry time:

I had never heard of the MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) program until I met Anne.  I asked her to replicate a MOPS program in the village.

We were thrilled that all but one of the young village mothers we invited attended!  Anne shared about building neurological pathways in the brains through sensory experiences using items readily available in their homes.

So the women could have their own 'sensory experience', Anne treated them to some of her favorite American chocolate candies...

She then brought all the felt, scissors, glue, ribbons, buttons, etc for each woman to make her own fabric book.

While everyone worked, Anne hosted questions from the women and asked her own questions in return.  The first question they asked Anne?  Did you deliver your babies naturally or by c-section?

I think crafting is a universally appealing activity for women!

Our summer interns, along with Eda, provided child care.  A few of the kids looked like they had never had so much fun!  I was really worried that they wouldn't be able to be apart from their mothers, but that turned into an un-founded concern!

Nate used to compete in chess, and when he heard that chess is a popular activity here, he brought 5 chess sets and organized a competition one afternoon.  I blogged about that here.

But that wasn't the only time they played chess.  Pretty much any afternoon we opened for Rec Time, a Lowe guy was playing chess with an eager Albanian competitor...

Saturday afternoon was Albania's first appearance in the Euro-Cup.  Naturally, we had to show it at the center.  Unfortunately, it was a mid-afternoon game and our projector wasn't bright enough to show it outdoors.  Here's Nate and Luli holding an alternate screen to see if it was any better for seeing the game!  (Thankfully the next two matches were at night!)

Of course, we took the requisite trip to Kruje to see the 800-year-old bazaar as well as the ethnographic museum (and um, souvenir shopping too, of course).  You can't tell it, but Anne was struggling with worry over Micah this day.  He stayed home with his dad that day. Thankfully, it served to be the day he turned the corner and started recovering!

Monday evening Anne and Lydia presented a special program for Girls' Night.  Prior to their arrival, I provided her with a list of potentially any girl from our village who might attend.  She painstakingly researched the meanings of their names and Lydia found a verse from scripture for each young lady. 

That evening the girls were presented with printed cards featuring their name's meaning, as well as their personalized Scripture verse.  I think it really meant a lot to them!

The verse for the night was from Isaiah 43:1:  Fear not, for I have redeemed you;    I have called you by name, you are mine...

Anne brought pre-cut penants, stencils, and lettering samples for the girls to design their own name pennant to hang in their bedrooms.  No two were the same!  Each girl then clipped her name card to one end and photograph of herself to the other end.

 Here is Micah, obviously feeling better, holding a giant grape leaf.

A highlight for virtually every visitor to our village is a home visit.  The Lowes got to visit not one, but two families.  Here they are with the K family, who resides at the highest point in our village.  It's quite a hike but the view and the hospitality are more than worth it!  Since my last visit they had made some improvements to their home, which were nice to see.

I really regret that I didn't get a photograph at the Lowes' second home visit.  Two years ago when we launched the portrait and prayer partner project, the they signed up to pray for a family from Vlashaj.  Their last evening in Albania (while I was busy prepping for Ellie's birthday), they popped in for a quick visit.  It was really neat to see that their partner family had kept the Lowe's photo and the Lowes were able to finally meet their partner family in person!

This really feels like it just brushes the surface of the memories we had that week!  Lowes: Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to visit us, to show us your love with your gifts and words of encouragement, and for loving and serving our neighbors so enthusiastically.  We hope this visit isn't your last!