Life has felt like a state of survival mode... Our days are packed from rising to sleeping. The list of things to do grows daily. I do not know how single parents do it! Many days I think longingly how nice it would be to have a personal assistant! :-) The silence on our end has not been for lack of material to report. Quite the opposite in fact. And this brief report will only share what I have photos of, but I figure it is better than nothing. :-)
Let's start with EASTER!
Easter weekend we rejoiced to worship in our new facility. Below, Ellie embarks on some 'music therapy' (that is, playing on the beautiful keyboard that came with the VT Albania program when they moved into the center). I posted this photo so you can see some of our seasonal decorations!
Below is a close-up of the garden tomb made by Pam and the kids in homeschool. What you can't see is the flickering votive light that shines from inside the tomb!
It offered us substantially more space in which to social distance and shelter from the rain that chose to fall that morning. The children had a separate lesson in the classroom -- this allowed us to better distribute attendees across more space as well.
Coloring eggs continues to be a fun activity we enjoy doing here! Though most of the eggs are consumed before they make it home!
(Below) Nathan attended a forum in Tirana for organizations engaged in ministry to the Albanian disability community. It was a time of strategy and mutual encouragement.
Some generous tourists from Germany heard about VT Albania, came and visited the program, and then returned with the gift of a printer! This was MUCH needed and is being put to good use!
Below Nathan has it set up in the computer station designed into the classroom built-in cabinets, a gift from Wesley Community Fellowship in Conyers, Georgia.
Reni, hanging out with one of our neighbor friends.
Reni loves to try to pet this lone sheep that grazes in the orchard next to the future football field.
One Sunday the village kids wanted to take a hike in the hills above the village. Nathan and Reni joined them!
April is Luli's birthday month. We went out to lunch, then we enjoyed an impromptu jump on the trampoline in a rare moment without kids! Luli is enjoying a jump with his sister.
The wait for construction of the kalceto has been painfully slow. But we got a glimmer of hope one morning when a truck showed up to unload the rubber pellets that will serve as the cushion below the turf carpet.
The picture below just because...
We continue to also slowly furnish the new facility. Below is the reception desk for the facility.
The kids took a week off of school after Easter for Spring Break. We hosted our dear friends from Kosovo for a few days and went to the national park at Cape of Rodon for a morning hike one day.
And another because, my goodness, God's creation is stunning.
Back to Easter -- you're never too old to enjoy an egg hunt! Not pictured, the two families who joined us for lunch!
A meaningful activity for me in the week leading up to Easter was coordinating the translation of the Season 2 premiere of The Chosen into Albanian.
I was touched that Dallas read my FB post on the live stream before the premiere, spotlighting the translation efforts of many around the world.
You can watch that by clicking here.
Shortly after the premiere of Season 2, the distributor of the series asked for my help in coordinating the teams of volunteer translators. I recruited a co-leader and have since been in regular communication with the studio to create systems for funneling volunteers to language teams, facilitate communication between language team leaders, and report news between the teams and the studio. We have more than sixty languages in process so far!
We were able to have some inexpensive LED lights installed around the wall of the rooftop terrace to provide light in the evening...
More updates to the new center... Nathan was finally able to start setting up the AV room in the back of the sanctuary. That included setting up a television screen in the sanctuary (the brightness of the room in daylight makes projection a challenge).
Kids club! Every Saturday morning :-)
The new facility has meant that kids get to do crafts at a TABLE instead of on their laps! This is huge! What a gift of space! We don't take it for granted!
Reni shares some fun with his buddies...
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