Bulldogs, Babies, and Buddies | January 2023

I honestly thought I had accidentally deleted a folder of photos for January from my computer.  I went to create a review of February and realized that not only had I not backed up and archived my February photos, but I hadn't performed my monthly journaling ritual for January either! After you see my post for February, perhaps you might understand why I've fallen a bit behind.

I had to begin the post with these cute photos.  I mean, I'm not the world's biggest animal lover but even I thought this oversized puppy was more than just a bit cute.  No, he is not OUR puppy, but belongs to our colleagues, the Artonis.  His name?  Lio, in honor of their nation's most famous soccer player...
He loved being literally held like a baby!  Ellie couldn't get enough!

Nathan continues to teach interactive science lessons every Tuesday at VT Albania. 

Marshmallows and spaghetti noodles provided a great lesson on the strength of different shapes.

ALPHA 

In January we launched the Alpha Course.  Below, Nathan poses with our friend Ani, and his baby boy who was making his very first visit to the Jeta Center!

VT Albania students made these craft paper snowflakes as part of our winter themed decorations.  Didn't they turn out well?

We averaged between 30 and 40 guests each week.  Behind the scenes we never stopped our kitchen work preparing and plating the meal and dessert which guests enjoyed before the video and subsequent discussion.

We hosted the teenagers in a separate class room and any other children who were brought by their parents were occupied up in our gym.  Luis and Laura continually devised creative games.  Below is their version of "The floor is lava."

Albania's National Amputee Football Team

The team hosted a retreat and weekend of extended practices this month.  We were thrilled that they came one evening to practice at Jeta!

Our colleague Tiffany purchased a treadmill for the gym thanks to one of her generous ministry partners.  We really liked one that was about 15% more than her budget, so our partners made up the difference.  This treadmill is a wonderful piece of equipment for so many reasons.  Not only is it helpful in the therapy of our VT students, but for women who like to jog, we do not have a safe place to jog in our zone (really, there's not many safe places for men either -- the roads are very dangerous). Exercise equipment has incredibly high tariffs, so this was a truly long-awaited and generous addition to the center.   

Nathan taught another lesson on acids and base...? I barely remember my high school science education... maybe I should attend his classes too!

The Hope Center

We visited the Hope Center twice this month, but I'll only share pics from the night we had a Lego competition.  Most of these kids have never played with lego before, so this simple toy entertained them for nearly two full hours and we only completed two competitions.

In one competition, each team was challenged to build the strongest bridge.  We brought along hand weights to test the strength. With each kilo added, tension grew... especially as the lego could be heard creaking and cracking under the growing strain!

In another competition, the teams had to build sticks that could reach across a rug and snag a plastic hoop.

In the final competition, the teams were judged on their "sculpting" ability.  Below is the winner of the best portrait of trainer Luis.

New Neighbor

We rejoiced when our dear friends welcomed a new generation into their family with the birth of baby Aniel.  He is the son of Ani and Kimberly.  Below, he is being introduced to my mom over Facetime,

 

Reni enjoyed a visit from his old buddy, Albi, who immigrated to Italy a few years ago.  It was need to see that he's still as sweet as ever, even if he's grown up so much!

Nathan poses in his re-organized AV room at church.  It had gotten QUITE messy over the holiday season!

Sorry I'm not in the photo below but I was rejoicing in my first proper desk in 9 years of living here! 

A furniture store was having a "going-out-of-business" sale and the desk and chair were marked down 50%.  We did some creative rearranging in our bedroom to make space for this and I use it EVERY DAY! I never thought a desk could make me so happy -- or productive!  No more working on our rock-hard couch with my feet on the coffee table!

The photo below was taken for our friends at Pack Saddle Fellowship in Texas who bought these trees (and others, not pictured).  This variety of tree is supposed to be drought resistant and repel mosquitos!

One Sunday afternoon we had an impromptu doggy date with our team pets. The enclosed basketball court is the perfect place for them to run to their hearts' content!

Thanks fo sticking in there with this seemingly random assortment of photos. Get ready for February, hopefully coming soon!