What a beautiful month of weather we enjoyed in Albania this month! While we managed to stay quite busy, this month felt a bit lighter on the 'special events' which tend to generate a lot of photos. That's not to diminish the quality of the memories that follow. We just seemed to keep our heads down in the day-to-day of homeschool, zoom meetings, managing programs and the team, etc.
The photo above was taken at an Ottoman-era bridge north east of Shkoder earlier in October. With Hannah's impending departure we took a few hours to take Hannah and Mari Grace to see this new-to-them place.
Shkodra is located in northern Albania, near the border of Montenegro. One place we try to take guests is the former headquarters of the interrogation police where many leaders of faith were held imprisoned and tortured in the 1960s-80s. It's a moving experience to stand in jail cells, read messages scrawled on walls, and learn the stories of individuals held there.
Another favorite site is Rozafa Castle (above) -- a fortress with foundations dating back to Illyrian times. It's imposing scale and stunning views, not to mention legends as well as written accounts of sieges and battles capture the imagination.
(Above) Hannah requested a cookout before she left -- something we had enjoyed on occasion over the summer! It was a nice time to share memories and say good goodbye! (Below) We also had a time of prayer for Hannah at church.
I shared last month that Nathan is teaching a practical math and science class on Monday afternoons at VT. Below he demonstrates the process of water filtration!
On the 15th we had the pleasure of hosting a visiting group from the LOGOS HOPE ship, docked for a few weeks in Durres. The ship carries a team of a few hundred volunteers from several dozen unique countries that minister from this floating ministry base. Below, a team of four representing Albania, Argentina, and Germany introduce themselves at kids' club.
Nico gave a great object lesson demonstrating how we can get trapped in cycles of sin.
Later that day we brought friends with us to see the ship!
It boasts the world largest floating book store! We were proud to find a few shelves devoted to some of Uncle Jerry's titles. (below)
After a mega book shopping trip, we caught up with Nico at the snack shop and learned more about how the crew on the ship functions. He then gave us a private tour to see other parts of the boat not open to the public. By the end, I think we were all ready to volunteer and ride the seas with Nico and his friends, ha ha.
A significant highlight for the month of October was working with our colleague Luis on the development of Albania's national amputee soccer team. Luis was tasked with coaching them to a friendly international match in Belgium, and Nathan joined along to serve as photographer/PR agent and translator.
For several weeks leading up to the tournament, Nathan and Reni joined the team for their weekend practices in Tirana -- and we learned a lot about how amputee soccer works. For example, a bi-lateral amputee like Reni is not technically eligible to play any position except goalie. And if he played goalie, he would have to play with one arm behind his back. Interesting, eh?
The tournament at the end of October was one we'll never forget. With very limited training, we knew the team was not in peak physical condition, nor experienced playing together as a unit. Three years ago, their one and only international match ended prematurely because of a fight on the field -- between each other (not with the other team)! Luis told us he would consider the tournament a success if they scored one goal. Not only did they score a goal in their final match, but the team won the sportsmanship trophy and Luis won the coaches' award! The next goal is for word to spread about the team so they can recruit additional players from across the country.
________
On October 17 we welcomed our agency's president, Dr. Schafer, and his wife, Pam (below). Our regional director, Joy, was also here for one of her twice-a-year visits.
This was their second visit to Albania and we were flattered they wanted to visit and see Jeta. Of course, we had to also show them some of our favorite local historical sites.
They had perfect weather for their visit, which we enjoyed with a stop at a nearby signal tower on our way back to Vlashaj from the airport. This tower was severely damaged by the 2019 earthquake, but with funds from the US Embassy, it was restored and steps to an observation platform were added!
This tower is in a string of towers through the area which were used to communicate during the years of the Ottoman invasion. We can see it from our living room window on a clear day!
We hosted a coffee for the Schafers to meet our national colleagues and friends.
They were also able to meet the students of VT Albania for the first time.
This month we also made progress towards finishing up the development of the new playground area with the addition of gravel and concrete edgers.
We are especially grateful to our friends at Pack Saddle Fellowship for the gift of six park benches (which hadn't arrived at the time the photo above was taken). In a few weeks, some representatives from their church will be here to help landscape the lot!
The benches provide a place for folks to gather and rest. It's the difference between people feeling welcome and choosing to stay and fellowship, or going home.
Another form of community-building has been transpiring on Wednesday evenings on the co-ed volleyball court. I'd love to find some other teams that we could play!
We hope you might check out their goodies! We have lots of
pretty garlands perfect for decorating your home for Christmas!
The picture below is a peak at Tirana in October... I think this might just be the best month of the year here -- lots of sunshine and pleasant temperatures.
Nathan has been working with an attorney in Tirana to process residency papers for some of our international teammates. This is the necessary but not-so-exciting side of working overseas. When we can, we try to take time for a coffee or breakfast date as our evenings are usually scheduled six nights per week. Below I snapped a photo after we had polished off a special treat of Albanian petulla (fry bread) with local honey and slabs of goat cheese. YUMMY!!
And while I'm on the topic of food, I spend a good bit of time waiting at the bread counter of the grocery store each week. During a recent wait I decided to snap a photo of some of the food goodies that you can buy there. In the US it might be fried chicken, sandwiches, potato salad or mac n' cheese. Here one can get a slice of pizza or one of many varieties of byrek. For about $0.60, you can get one of these flaky pastries with your choice of tomatoes, potatoes, spinach, or meat.
At our exercise class, one of my friends was telling me about all the work she was doing to harvest olives. I offered to come help so I could see the process, but I don't think she believed I was serious! Instead, the next class she brought me this water bottle filled with olive oil pressed the previous day! It smells sooooo good! Interesting fact, I learned on a podcast that most olive oil sold in the USA is diluted nearly 50% with sunflower oil! No wonder it tastes so much better here!
Finally, my curiosity has been killing me...
For years we have heard rumors of a train from Greece to Albania or a train from the airport to Tirana, and we had an ancient, graffiti-covered train that would crawl by our village for years, running from Durres to Tirana. Then I think during the pandemic, it just ceased operating. I have no idea who used it because it just looked plain scary. But... we've noticed crews working where the old tracks used to be... could it be? Are they going to lay new track? Could this improve our public transportation options? Trying not to get my hopes up too much, but this could be such an improvement over taking a bus... We will stay tuned!
*If you are receiving this post by e-mail, please do not "reply" -- this is sent by an automated service and we will not receive your message.
