September 2025 | Settling Back Into the Swing of Things

September 3 found us boarding a flight back to Albania!  Not without a little drama.  Just a few hours before the photo above was snapped, we got a frantic phone call from a guest staying in the guesthouse below our apartment that water was pouring down the stairs and coming through the ceiling... the plumber had been called to make sure everything was working for our arrival, but the power was out -- which meant the pump was not running -- and he accidentally left the tap open and unconnected under our kitchen sink.  Super grateful for colleagues who went above and beyond to fix everything after hours of soccer school and no dinner in their stomachs yet!

Flying out of the Peoria Airport means that our faithful farewell crew was able to help us ferry luggage and see us off at security!

But this time half of them came with us!

Below, the welcome crew received us!

Dinner after church with the team!

And much-needed haircuts!!

The reason Mom and Hannah joined us was to deal with emptying Mom and Dad's old apartment in Tirana.  It was a lot of work, especially given it was on the 4th floor (with no elevator)!

It was also emotionally heavy, given all of the memories that transpired there.  Below, Mom locks the door for the last time. So grateful for the use of this place for so many years!  So many memories -- from bringing Ellie home from the orphanage to team meetings and games around the circular kitchen table.

We spent MANY hours at the notary - dealing with the apartment sale as well as other legal documents related to Planters (this has been on our "to do" list for years), providing me authority to sign for business matters, given that I am in the country virtually full time, compared to Mom.

At one point in the packing, up the apartment, we heard Mom shriek.  I thought for sure she had stuck her hand in the back of cabinet and found a dead rat or something (don't ask me why -- we've never had rodents in the apartment before -- but that was the level of her shriek).  We discovered my dad's last prank just waiting to be discovered:

...About a dozen large rocks hidden in the back of a cabinet.  We saved a handful of the stones and placed them in our grape arbor.

After more than a week of packing, moving, cleaning, and business meetings, we enjoyed a quick overnight to Prizren, Kosova -- a 2 hour and 10 minute drive away.  

The trip had been on the calendar since March as an opportunity for Reni to connect with one of his best friends who now lives in Skopje, Macedonia.  We were able to coordinate it with a quick coffee visit with our colleagues, D & B, who moved to Prizren from Tirana in July.  As the WGM Balkan team leaders, we will go back with our regional director for a longer visit to see their home and meet their local partners later in October.

A super fun turn of events was a suprise addition of another family we know (also living in Kosova) that came and joined us!  They have served Ellie and Reni at a few conferences and Reni's summer '24 MK camp experience.  The number of things to do in Prizren seemed a bit limited, at least to us all given that we have not spent extensive time in this city.  But the kids found a place to do go-karting and Ellie and Reni showed off their driving skills acquired from the riding lawn mower and Gator. :-)

Old town Prizren is really charming, and photos don't do it justice!

Just a day or so after returning from Kosova, it was time for Mom and Hannah to return to America.  We took them for their 4 AM airport drop off, came back home for a couple of hours of additional sleep, then got back on the road for a big grocery shopping trip to restock our pantry and fridge.  

But first, a real cappuccino.  I'm sorry, but they're just not the same in the USA.

Our 2009 VW Caddy van has been a fantastic vehicle since we bought it in 2013, 12 years ago.  But with the need to lend it to Jeta to haul kids for soccer school, we were finding it increasingly difficult to "share" it 3 days per week.  

We had been saving up funds to buy a newer vehicle, and wanted to get another that would accommodate 6-7 passengers as we host visitors so regularly. Buying a vehicle in Albania can be sort of complicated -- with more limited options, and needing to consider so many factors (like the ability to locate replacement parts, for one).  It is not unusual for many folks to locate a vehicle elsewhere in Europe and pay someone to drive to Albania on their behalf, or personally travel there to acquire it himself (this was on the table for us).

A few weeks after we returned, we learned of a guy who needed to sell his 2024 van fast, and had steeply discounted the price to ensure a quick sale.  It was still more than what we had wanted to spend, but within 24 hours, we received two unexpected, unsolicited special gifts that totalled the difference between the price and our savings. The fact that the car was still under warranty and available in Tirana tipped the decision in favor of buying it. We now have a 2024 Opel Combi!  The fact that we can connect our phones to the speaker system via Bluetooth is a feature we've never enjoyed before, ha ha! We expect this will serve us well for many years to come.

With our colleagues, Luis and Laura, in Argentina for the fall, we are at Valued Treasures every day.  Below, we play chair volleyball as a movement break before class!

Ellie continues to teach music every Thursday.  The visiting team in April brought and left these color-coded bells!  She has taught them "Jesus Loves Me" and "Nothing But the Blood" -- songs that can be performed within one octave!

On September 22 we welcomed back Steve, Caleb, Jordan, and Joe for repeat visits, and Brent and Chris for their first visit!  Ellie is always clever in her personalization of the welcome sign in the guesthouse. :-)

First morning in the village found them greeting the students at Valued Treasures!

They were great at helping with crafts, games, and exercises!

Brent and Chris were in Albania to shoot a video, so Nathan took them to Durres to visit the amphitheater...

... the rooftop terrace made a great interview location.

Every day the village kids would come for a pick up game of volleyball with the team.

Below, Nathan's brother, Pastor Stephen, greets the village church.

Brent had an acquaintance who came down to visit from Kosova where he serves with Youth for Christ.  It was a pleasure to meet him, his wife, and daughter and hear about the challenges of ministry in his home country.

Saturday evening, set up the projector in our living room and watched Illinois and Ohio State play football in back-to-back games.

We try to take guests to Tirana once while they visit. It just so happened they had amputee soccer practice in the city the same day, so we picked them up from practice and went to see a few sites.

The SkyTower afforded some special views for the video crew. 

Chris needed to find a few gifts to take home.  I thought these mugs were lovely and unique.  Proud of myself that I remembered my full kitchen cabinets resisted the urge.

We hit the Futbol Federation's outfitter shop full of the gear and merch of every team that plays in Albania, as well as the national team, of course.  It's Reni's happy place, as you can tell.

We got home in time to see our "niece" Jaz get baptized at her home church in Argentina!

Another activity we enjoy with groups is serving a flight of sample drinks typical of or unique to Albania. 

From left to right: Dhalle (buttermilk), pomegranate juice, thane (cornelian berry) juice, Aranxhata (a softdrink from the communist period that was recently reintroduced to market as a nostalgic beverage, lemon soda, and "American" cola, just for the fun of it! 

Try as I might, I had to take a turn in the seat in front of the camera.

(below) Ellie is now giving music lessons in guitar, piano and ukele lessons.  Chris got some video of Ellie "doing her thing." :-)

Before we knew it, it was the last night with our guests!  We enjoyed a final time of devotions and debriefing.