Oh February. You are the shortest month. Yet we packed you so full, I'm just getting around to reporting you...
My friend Margaret visited Albania nearly 3 years ago and met this special woman above. She felt compelled to use her skills as a pencil artist to sketch her portrait. And I had the pleasure of delivering it to her! Small acts of kindness can have immeasurable impacts...
After returning from America we had a few folks we wanted to follow up with, post earth quake. One Sunday evening we checked on this elderly couple (above) who has one addition on their old home that was considered safe enough to live in while the original house was deemed unstable. We checked it out to see if there was anything we could do to maximize the small space and make it more comfortable.
Below, we visited our friends who moved into one of the "Ikea" shelters. These were delivered to families who lived in places inaccessible by trucks (which delivered trailers), since this model of shelter was delivered in flat boxes. They are considerably more spacious than the trailers, but not nearly as warm, though they didn't seem to mind.
Long-time friend, Whitney, came down to visit us from her internship up in Kosovo. We put her to work one morning assembling food boxes for displaced families. The food was gifted by Food Bank Albania. It wrapped up the last of the food aid.
Later that day Whitney accompanied me as my assistant for Night to Shine (see previous post). The event counted as credit for her internship as well, but she wanted proof of her attendance, hence this photo outside the venue.
During the month of February we helped at the Valdete Trust by providing transportation for a young woman to the center. Her family lives on a hilltop, on a road inaccessible by the handicap van. We have a four-wheel-drive, however, so we were able to pick her up. It's a real filling-rattler of a ride with some precarious drop offs!
(below) This is the young woman we picked up. She lost most of the use of her legs after being struck and drug by a train on her way home from school! Now, thanks to physical therapy, she is rebuilding strength and slowly walking with the aid of a walker. She is as delightful as she looks in this photo!
Kids club attendance has really been up and down as the school system has periodically held make up days on Saturdays. We continued to hold our weekend programs because kids still showed up whether they had school or not, but the format is a bit looser. One week we had table games for recreation since the weather was yukky. I love that this kid below (mine) loves chess.
The photo below looks a bit awkward, but this was the first time Reni and I headed across town to attend home school co-op in Tirana without use of his stroller! It's a new world thanks to his new legs.
Reni's co-op class got a lesson in first aid!
As the interior walls went up, it was interesting to get a better idea of room size. Below, Tiffany stands in what will be a shower room.
We made cookies for Valentine's Day...
Someone gifted us with some really fun cookie cutter shapes :-) Ellie, obviously, struggled to be serious!
We held a special 'Galentine's' Party the Monday before Valentine's Day.
While we normally assemble every Monday night with these ladies, Tiffany bought some special food and planned a craft for us to do together. As always, we enjoyed our time together!
Wednesday before Valentine's Day we had a couples night at the center. We served a special dessert from a local bakery and had a night of games as well as a message from Genti. The couples and their families form the heart of our village and we enjoy any time we can have with them, especially having fun! Bingo is a fun game that allows everyone to be involved. You can see Nathan and Mandi calling the numbers...
Mandi bought great prizes to replace housewares broken during the earthquake. He stands below with the grand prize...
Fatmir and Rudi were so excited to win, you would have thought it was a cash check! :-)
One weekend we drove to the village of Sukth to visit one of our student friends from the Valdete Trust. It was her birthday and Tiffany had printed photos of her dancing with Tim Tebow and put them in a decorative folio.
It was a joy to meet her mother, grandmother and sisters. What a beautiful family!
Our dear friend, Pam, lost her brother after a long illness. We took her to the airport so she could go back home for 10 days to be with her family.
Reni realized it was more fun to play nerf guns when he shared from his stash with friends.
This photo was taken near the beginning of the first week. By the end, we had to play in shifts -- so many boys from old to young wanted to join in the battles around our yard.
A month later I am still finding pieces of nerf bullets around our house. :-)
The last week of February we attended an education conference for missionary families. It's a time of incredible spiritual refreshment for Nathan and I as well as learning from workshops and seminars, and a great social opportunity for the kids who have very few English-speaking peer friends in Albania. It's the closest thing we get to experience to Family Camp. The day before it started we visited some dear friends in a nearby city and Reni gave instructions on the proper way to bite a taco.
(Below) Ellie got her first experience of "youth group" and has continued to remember games she learned and played and wants to teach us. She also got a lot of practice in independent skills in a safe environment that stretched both her as well as her mother. : -) I snuck this picture as I walked by the young-teens' room.
Near the end of February we attended a quiz night fundraiser for Valdete Trust in Tirana. Reni loves trivia and contributed a few answers to our team while enjoying his favorite local hot drink, salep. It's sort of like a thick spiced chai latte made from orchid bulbs. He ended up falling asleep before the evening ended! :-)
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