Camp & VBS
July means day camp and VBS for our team in the village! We had a four-day camp around a railroad theme. We focused on English vocabulary, reading, listening, and speaking practice with daily lessons facilitated by Nathan based on four different children's books about trains (e.g. "Curious George" and "The Little Engine That Could.")
Luis captained the games rotation with fantastic games like "the floor is lava" to water games on the basketball court.
Our summer visitor, Jessica Handwork, designed this beautiful set inspired by the Rocky Mountain Railroad VBS curriculum we would use the following week for VBS. This extra turf and our artificial Christmas trees complted the look! We had three teams of students that rotated between stations. Above, the Blue team poses with their captain, our summer intern, Hannah R.
After camp, our family enjoyed special times of fellowship with our summer guests, playing games and surviving some intensely hot days indoors.
July 4th we celebrated with a cookout hosted by our summer guests at their rental house across the street from Jeta.
Ellie FINALLY got her braces off! We celebrated with an impromptu photo shoot to show off her new smile! Again, we stayed indoors to avoid the heat.
Ellie chose to wear this antique blouse and pose with her sharki. After five years of braces, we can't get enough of her beautiful smile!
One Sunday afternoon we were invited to visit our neighbors' garden. It was Nathan's first time and his turn to be impressed by its size, variety, and orderliness. Adding to the experience is this garden's location, hidden at the end of a sloping, curving path, sheltered behind a hill and a copse of trees.
We were gifted sweet corn by another neighbor who grew this with seed brought by my mom in February. In her honor, we fixed her favorite summer supper -- BLTs with corn-on-the-cob!
VBS and the Royal Servants
Sunday evening a coach pulled into the village bringing a group of 26 from Royal Servants to serve in the village with us for a week! It was a full circle moment as I took part in a Royal Servants experience as a 16 year-old!
Monday morning we started VBS around the theme of the power we receive from Jesus to do hard things and the right things. The visiting team provided puppets, dance, and drama to enhance the program.
Shpresa provided some wonderful lessons each day for the children.
Below, the Royal Servants provided a drama at the close of VBS.
Thursday evening we took the team into Durres where Nathan gave them a tour of the amphitheater.
Saturday evening we enjoyed the taste-testing game with local soft drinks. Drinks got a thumbs up or thumbs down.
The third week of July we took three days to drive about an hour north where we rented an Air BnB near the seaside, which we shared with the Handworks, Artonis and Hannah. It was lovely and restful few days after a very busy first 6.5 months of 2024!
We rounded out the month with a variety of other projects and activities, albeit at a much slower pace. We were thrilled that Reni got to travel out of Albania with a school friend to a camp for missionary kids (below). With only 13 campers between the ages of 14 and 16, he enjoyed a variety of outdoor activities and times of concentrated Bible study, and, he told me, he gained an appreciation for afternoon naps during a required FOB (flat on back) time each afternoon! Can someone require that of me? lol
Summer means lots of yummy fresh veggies and dinner on the grill at a decent hour (not 9pm, our usual dinner time after evening programs).
Jess, Hannah and I visited these neighbor ladies for coffee one morning...
We played lots of card games to enjoy some afternoon hours out of the hot, hot sun.
When the Olympics started we spent evenings cheering for team USA! Our friends didn't have AC in their rental house, so we didn't have to twist their arms very hard to hang out with us after supper most evenings.
The temperature in our bathroom one afternoon (to prove I'm not exaggerating the heat, ha ha). It's registering about 95 degrees Fahrenheit, indoors.
We did a major overhaul of our supply room over the course of three days. These guys were troopers, meticulously sorting boxes of supplies that had been mixed and blended with all kinds of various craft supplies. It feels good to have Jeta all prepped and ready for the fall!
Nathan and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary! It seems impossible that it's been that many years! We celebrated with a trip to dinner and a movie in Tirana. We have been gifted tickets for a trip that we will take later this summer when my mom and sister come to stay with the kids.
Art show in the village!
Jessica has a passion for using art to minister to others. She started an art club this summer with periodic art classes once or twice per week. After church the last Friday evening of the month they hosted an exhibit of the students' work at the Handworks' rental home.
It was super impressive to see their art exhbited so beautifully and see them proudly point out their individual pieces.
Revisiting Holta Canyon
As a thank you to our volunteers who persevered through so many hot, hot summer days, we took them one morning to Holta Canyon -- a stunning piece of nature near Gramsh, Albania.
Each time we have visited, the experience has been slightly different based on the water levels.
Reni had to remove his "long legs", so he wasn't keen on being photographed.
Nathan captured a beautiful video with the 360 camera which you can see here for a little nature therapy.
Reni turns 15!
I can't believe this kid is 15! We're really proud of the person he is growing up to be. He is always learning, strong in his convictions, tries to do the right thing and is a loyal friend. He says 'yes' when we ask him for help, and he is a genuine pleasure to spend time with. I don't understand the breadth of his knowledge of futbol, baseball, and collegiate & NFL football. I hope this is the year he decides to tackle a foreign language! Right now he has verbally agreed to two!
His birthday breakfast request was waffles... in our family we all eat them differently, hence the option of peanut butter, maple syrup, jam and peanut better for toppings. We had the extra challenge of cooking these without electricity as it had been out since before sunrise, but thankfully, our home was recently connected to Jeta's generator and we decided Reni's birthday breakfast warranted a test of this new luxury!
With guests coming in the evening for a cookout, Nathan agreed to hang these string lights we had purchased nearly two months earlier for the pavilion in our courtyard!
We had grilled hotdogs, brats, and hawaiian chicken, greek salad, potato salad, and chips.
It was special to have dear friends join us for the evening.
Even in his prosthetic legs, it appears that Reni has surpassed me in height!
S'mores for the win!
