We LOVE visitors (especially after a Pandemic-induced travel drought) but visitors mean little desk time for Cydil! :-) With the next team arriving tomorrow, I wanted to snatch a few hours this morning to report on February!
In this "issue" you will read about:
Alpha, Night to Shine '24, a visit from my Mom and sister and friends from Chicago, a time of strategizing with our team, and the Alpha weekend away!
Early February
In early February we said goodbye to the H family! They had a wonderful little entourage show up to say "farewell" while they loaded up luggage to make a hasty departure. They received a text message at 4:15 informing them that their 9PM flight was now leaving at 7PM! Talk about scrambling! Our young neighbors certainly missed having three American playmates in the village those three weeks!
So I love our little gym community and the photo below is from another one of our post-workout birthday celebrations at the local patisserie. I don't have a group photo, but did manage to capture this pic of a new-to-me dessert, that is apparently "traditional."
February also marked the second half of the Alpha course. Below's photo was snapped on Valentine's Day with a table of ladies from the gym!
Not sure you can see much in the photo below, but we love seeing the street crammed with parked cars for exercise class!
I thoroughly enjoy hanging out two afternoons a week for "study hall." Problem is, most of them don't have homework to finish so to encourage them to linger, I often pull out table games. Below, I pulled out Battleship, brought over by my Dad more than a decade ago. One of the kids chirped, "Computers!" when he saw me pop one of these open!
Night to Shine
Every February I get to dust off my event photography skills and document this special event. I don't know how many years I have been doing this ... maybe 8? And each year, the number of participants grows!
We always have a lovely contingency from VT Albania! (above)
But my job is always to man the photo booth station... (below)
But my job is always to man the photo booth station... (below)
After walking the red carpet, guests make their way to this station for a photo with their escort, and then usually later with a big group of friends. I am BUSY! :-) As always, I couldn't do it without Nathan's help with lighting and organizing the subjects!
This year the whole family joined us to help and you better believe I insisted on a snapshot... Can you tell how hot we were? We didn't stop moving the entire night!
I never want to forget to include all the folks who make for a fun night!
Mom, Hannah & RK +
An Overnight with our Team & the Ericksons
On our way to the airport, the highway was lined with American flags! We learned that US Sec of State Anthony Blink3n would be visiting the next day.
We picked up my mom, Sarah, sister, Hannah, and Mom's long-time friend, Rita Kay. As per our tradition, we stopped at the Preza overlook on our way from the airport to the village for a post-travel caffeine hit! We immediately put our visitors to work plating food and washing dishes as we had an Alpha dinner that evening!
Below, Mom gives greetings in our evening church service.
The reason for Mom's visit was to host an overnight retreat with our joint Planters/WGM ministry team. Nathan opened the meetings with an exercise intended to facilitate reflection about the progress(?) made through this group since it's arrival in the village.
Having drawn a timeline representing the years, we wrote different joys and sorrows and "God" sightings, each represented by different colored papers. With our combined contributions, it was special to remember all the ways in which God has empowered the work.
Also present with our group were Rev Don and Claudia E, visiting from Chicago. They provided devotional messages for our group and challenged us to continue working in love and unity.
Mom then asked us to write 3 dreams or goals we each would like to tackle in the next year. These were applied to the wall and read aloud for discussion.
On the return from our meetings, we enjoyed lunch on the beach...
'...followed by a stop at the Zvernec monastery.
The 13th century monastery sits on an island in a lagoon.
Pastor Genti explained the significance of the structure and the icons inside. It is a treasure that survived communism, a time when many structures like this were destroyed.
Aren't our kids looking so OLD??
Of course, we always like to introduce our visitors to our local friends!
And then it was time to say goodbye. Because they usually leave at 2AM for the airport, I have so many of these "farewell" pics just in case we didn't get any other photos throughout their visit!
Alpha Weekend Away
The culmination of the Alpha Course is a weekend away. For a variety of reasons, we have chosen not to go overnight with the youth, but we did have a special Saturday in which they met at Jeta for a final session, ate pizza, then drove into an indoor trampoline park in Tirana -- a first for most of them.
On the way home, Nathan sent ne this pic!
I was unable ti drive to them and lend assistance because I was many miles away to the north, in Shkoder!
You'd never know that the photo above was taken at a gas station! It was a new experience for me to eat fast food this way. Basically they had a kitchen open with a "menu of the day". I ate pilaf and cheese. Others ordered soup with a small amount of beef. It was all tasty and very economical!
As you can imagine, it can be a challenge to find a location for this event that fits in our budget and has suitable spaces for our needs. Pastor Genti found this relatively new hotel in the countryside outside of Shkoder. It didn't have a conference room, but they allowed us to use the coffee bar/breakfast room and it worked well! A local restaurant delivered food for dinner.
After our evening session, we played card games and enjoyed fellowship.
I was SO pleased my neighbors attended! I can't describe the affection I have for them in my heart!
And on that, I can think of no sweeter note to end! Spring comes soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment