June 2020 | The Bullet List Recap

June, June, June...

With quarantine restrictions lifted and normal activities resuming, this month seemed to fly.  I had to pull out my monthly planner to refresh my memory!

This month held its share of special highlights including:

• We wrapped up another year of homeschooling!
• Resumed visits to Ellie's orthodontist after several months away
• Took a field trip to look for fossils (see earlier post)
• Celebrated Ellie's 15th birthday
• Promoted The Chosen on Radio 7 with Pastor Genti
• Remembered 2 years without Dad/Gjysh
• Cydil applied for and was accepted into a Masters program for TESOL (to begin in the fall and be completed online over the next two years)
• Built two new websites for the building project and VT Albania
• Reni attended two local birthday parties
• Recorded a video report for Asbury University's alumni virtual reunion
• Introduced the kids at the Hope Center to the deliciousness of s'mores
• Launched the "Lift Us Up" elevator fundraiser campaign
• Supervised many afternoon nerf gun battles with village boys
• Helped host a reunion BBQ lunch for the students at VT Albania
• Enjoyed some yummy fresh produce from our garden as well as the neighbors'
• Slipped away for three days to introduce Tiffany to southern Albania 
• And finally, on June 30, celebrated the 10th!!! anniversary of meeting Reni in person, even though we wouldn't officially become a family for several more weeks.

These are fresh figs.  After way too many years, Cydil has finally overcome textural aversion and learned how to eat these. :-) The jam is delicious.

Social distancing at outdoor kids club!  Such a challenge after months away from the classroom... but we are so happy to see our young friends again.

One of Reni's besties had a birthday.  Reni asked Nathan to walk him to the door of his friend's home, then excused Nathan to leave him there.  He's growing up and more confident and independent!

  

What new recipes have you tried this recently?  The kids expressed a desire to learn how to cook.  This was a good beginner-level recipe, but they are a long ways from cooking on their own! (Tortilla/omelette wraps you can fill with toppings of your choosing!)

My friend Merita gifted me with these fresh apricots from her yard.  Whoever said cooking produce intensifies flavors didn't exaggerate!  These were so tasty fresh but came out of the oven with a strong side of sour! :-)  We'll just say a little bit went a long way.

This friend in Metalle was SO earnest in his re-cap of the previous week's lesson.  We all got a giggle when he stated that Zacheus' job was to collect taxes... for water and electricity.

While doing some business at our bank in Tirana, Nathan snapped a photo of this poorly-named virtual teller assistant for the Austrian-based bank.  Yeah, I imagine folks will struggle to call "Rona" for help...

One Thursday morning Pastor Genti and I traveled to the studios of Radio 7, the only evangelical radio station in the Albanian language, to promote The Chosen.  He was interviewed for more than 15 minutes.

While quarantine meant we couldn't visit our friends at the Hope Center, we were eventually allowed to come again this month to hang out with a few who were not able to return to their families for the summer.  We brought a blow torch and taught them how to make s'mores.  MUCH cleaner (and faster) than whittling sticks and building a campfire. :-)

While we are usually the ones bringing activities to the Hope Center, one day Ms. Pam graciously set up the slip-n-slide she had devised so Ellie and Reni could enjoy some fun in the water, too.  As you can see, Nathan couldn't resist either!

For my friend, Linda... the grape arbor has grown over completely now and the grapes are coming in!

One Thursday in Tirana we had about an hour to kill between appointments.  How fun was it to bump into a friend when we stopped for coffee and wifi!  As you can see, we still have a lot of socializing to catch up on and fill our 'tanks' from what we missed during quarantine...

We have been holding church services outside.... While it has its challenges, so far, not too bad!  We will see this week now that the heat has arrived.

The heat got to this wee one Saturday morning.  She was sooo tired, she walked over to Luli, held out her arms, and fell asleep in his lap during the lesson.

The ban on minibuses/vans/public transportation meant that programs at the Valdete Trust has had to be suspended as many can only travel via the ministry's handicap accessible van.  We held a lunch for the students who could make it and announced the news that Tiffany will be transitioning to the role of director in September!  We arranged for the current director, Sue, to share the news via Skype from Scotland.  We are grateful the news seems to have been positively received!

There's nothing like the loss of freedom to drive and leave one's home to inspire exploration when that freedom returns.  Combined with a rapid increase in positive COVID numbers and a governmental threat to return to lockdown, we spontaneously planned a three-day trip to southern Albania, a place our colleague Tiffany had yet to see, while we could get out and enjoy some fresh air and nature. 

At the top of my wishlist was a stop at Porto Palermo -- a castle I somehow never visited before (maybe because the road south used to be so bad and the journey so long, one just wanted to REACH the destination and not stop along the way!).

It was REALLY cool inside -- both in temperature and design.  Wow.  I can't believe we hadn't been before.  Though by local standards, it's not really that old -- only 200 years, if I understood the guide correctly.  We had the castle to ourselves to explore!  It was a great way to break up the trip!

In addition to Tiffany, we brought our friend, Pam.  It's more challenging to travel as a single sometimes, and we have more fun when sharing experiences with friends, so we were glad she joined us and this trip was extra fun! Below we stopped on our way in Vlora for a coffee mid-morning to break up the drive and enjoy some pretty views.

This city was where Ellie lived when we adopted her... Of course, that was in November/December 2006 when one didn't indulge in waterfront coffees without a jacket or coat!  I always forget how pretty it is in Vlora, where the Adriatic meets the Ionian Sea.

Funny how this kid won't eat peanut butter or celery, but baby octopus?  Bring 'em on!  Good thing he likes seafood because that was about the only protein on the menu most places...

Typically this part of Albania would be crawling with Europeans attracted by Albania's natural beauty and incredible prices (which is part of the reason why we rarely visit the area -- I hate crowds), however with pandemic fears and travel obstacles, we had most places largely to ourselves.  It was heartbreaking to see businesses struggling while we tried to enjoy the rare gift of quiet and space.

One of the places we insisted Tiffany see was Butrinti National Park -- a UNESCO World Heritage Site in southern Albania featuring city ruins from a couple of hundred years BC to more recent times).  While in the theater where people were martyred for their faith, Reni filmed his completion of the Lift Us Up stair-climbing challenge.  You can view his video here:

The Lift Us Up challenge is a fundraiser for the elevator in the new center so our friends at the Valdete Trust (who will relocate their school to our center when it opens) can access all floors in a safe, dignifying and INDEPENDENT manner.  The fundraiser ends July 10 (shortly before the price quote from the elevator company expires), so don't wait! :-)

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