March in Review | Cell Phone Gallery Highlights

This winter... ahhhh.... just. so. busy.  I don't think we have been busier in the winter months as we have been this year.  One day seems to bleed into the next and I see that I have yet to post anything for February, and I might just have to give myself permission to move on.

We had some warm days in March which led to some of our favorite critters peeking out of their winter homes...And since everyone knows what an animal lover Ellie is, our neighborhood kids are proud to bring their favorite discoveries to the center to hear her oohs and ahhs...

John has been 'adopted' by our friend, Endri.  They crack me up in their communication attempts with each other.  The photo below amuses me as an example of Endri's persistence in speaking Albanian with John, and John's good-natured manner of dealing with Endri's desire to teach him Shqip.

Thanks to Lynne Benson, we may have gotten the kids of Metalle addicted to Twizzlers...
Nothing but the best, premium rewards here. : -)

There is a lot about living in an old country that I get -- stuff was built before so people had cars, before there were systems in place for city planning, governance, etc.  But now, when aiming for lofty goals like EU membership, the city of Tirana does this...

I get the desire for city beautification.  I really do.  I love trees and I understand that it's nice to provide shade for pedestrians in a Mediterranean country where people walk a lot. Tirana has never looked better. What I don't get, though, is that in an era where there's never been more desire to adopt western standards and practices, they are still completely oblivious to functionality, accessibility and safety for individuals like Reni --and not just Reni, but anyone just pushing a baby in a stroller/pram.  In the photo above you see that there is plenty of green space on the right side of the sidewalk to plant trees (which would have probably been cheaper and faster) without tearing up a sidewalk in perfectly good condition.  This is happening all over the city where sidewalks much narrower than the example above are being torn up to plant trees, forcing pedestrians and parents with children in strollers to push their kids in the street with traffic. But it's not just the trees, if I admit it.  It's also cars parking in crosswalks, on curbs, and across sidewalks.  I know I have complained about OSHA requirements when I lived in the States, but there's something about not having the same here that makes one appreciate it all the more.  Thanks for letting me vent. :-) 

Back to my re-cap...

One weekend we had a pizza-making night at the Hope Center.  

I may just have convinced a few of them that pineapple is a legitimate pizza topping!!!  (The world may have just stopped spinning on its axis for a split second :-) )

They built their own pizzas, though we did ration the cheese :-)  They are teenagers afterall, and they ate just about anything else that didn't fit on the base.  (In other words, no leftovers!)

I taught them the game SkyJo.  We have gifted this game with a number of our friends/family and may be single-handedly responsible for the diminished inventory (and rise in price) on Amazon.

My SkyJo partner...

Ellie has always had a way to participate in Kids' Club each week and I just may have found Reni's form of service.  He seems to enjoy helping serve up the snacks each week. AND (bonus) we work on our math skills as we calculate how many can fit on a tray and how many we need to prepare for the number of kids present each day.

(below) For our Palm Sunday service, we actually just cut these palm leaves from Shpresa's yard 5 minutes before church.  The perks of living in a Mediterranean country!

Friday night we made homemade pizza for our post-service refreshments!  I think it was a hit!

While visiting Uncle Jack and Aunt Ruth (and all our friends at Eaton's First Church of God) last summer, we were gifted with these wooden cross puzzles.  We distributed them Saturday in conjunction with the lead up to Easter and they were a real hit (and not so easy to solve)!

It was the quietest this group of kids has ever been!  A reward was on the line for the first person to find the solution...

We repeated the same puzzle in Met@lle.  Below, Nathan provides a few hints..

When you announce you are going to town and ask if anyone needs a lift...

And because we will have guests with us Easter weekend, we had our traditional egg-dying with the kids at the Hope Center a week early.  We are so excited that you can find egg dye in Albania now at a popular Greek shop in Tirana.  It's just EXREMELY strong (at least compared to what we get in the States).  Our fingers may still carry hints of color where it splashed on us...

Matchy-Matchy

Reni likes to do an eyeball on his Easter egg every year.  Pardon the dirty finger nails.  Such a village boy, playing outside all day Saturday. :-)

And my little egg-spirament below... trying a little ombre action.

Happy Easter, everyone!

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  I Corinthians 1:18