Week 1
This is literally the first pic of the month for July. It's a photo Nathan sent me when he got trapped in the elevator one evening. He didn't panic but did mention it got quite warm! We have had quite a few episodes of fuses tripping since we built the coffee shop. Nathan requested numerous times that they tie the new espresso machine onto a different circuit. After making a trip to Jeta after 9PM and rescuing Nathan, the electrician got the message. It hasn't happened since!
The coffee shop is Nathan's new office during off-hours. Above, he's cutting letters with the Cricut for our Camp/VBS set.
World Cup matches continued into July, with some matches more popular than others.
America's 250th fell on a Saturday. We decided to host a bit of a party with our village-based colleagues, which felt a little overwhelming at first, given that it was less than 48-hours before the start of camp and we did not feel ready yet! Nevertheless, it was a fun time!
It was so much fun to share a brief overview of the beginning of the USA with our interntaional friends, as well as some of our modern traditions. They surprised us with this amazing birthday cake! <3
Week 2
Sunday was a busy day! We had to decorate Jeta for camp, starting the next day, before welcoming the Royal Servants mid-afternoon! Our camp's theme was "Wise Choices" based on verses from the book of Proverbs and four Bible stories highlighting the blessings and consequences of individuals' choices (Aachan, King David, Jonah, and the Good Samaritan).
Opening and closing sessions of camp each day featured a game show pitting the teams against each other in various challenges of choice and chance. Each day the stakes and types of choices varied, to mirror the types of choices each Biblical character faced. For example, to help or hurt the competition (like David when he could have taken King Saul's life but chose not to), to help a competing team at a cost (with a delayed, unknown reward, if any -- like the Good Samaritan) and so on.
The compilation video contains four, 1-minute highlight videos of each day... Ellie played live game show music which really topped it all off, but sadly didn't make the highlight video!
Before VBS even started, Nathan and I were taking Reni to the airport for his first solo flight! He was going to attend a special camp for third-culture kids like himself in Croatia.
Because they do not offer daily direct flights to Zagreb from Albania, he had to connect through Vienna. I wasn't concerned about Reni flying alone until Nathan reminded him (who had not slept all night, ahem, late packer) not to fall asleep during his layover and miss his connection!
The coffee shop was a HUGE blessing the week we hosted the Royal Servants. It gave them a place to hang out with the older kids (who were too old to attend VBS) as well as other members of the community, many of whom came to watch the world cup! It was BUZZING!
Ellie was in HEAVEN making new friends with the team. She learned that a handful had also done the Torchbearers program at other sites around the world!
While some were playing table games, Ellie enjoyed making music on the patio!
She also enjoyed being prayed over by the remarkable co-leaders of the team.
Before we knew it, camp was over! Nathan took this photo and posted it in our team chat with the question, "Tell me camp is over without saying, 'camp is over.'"!
As a token of our thanks, we hosted a little culture night for the team with two sampler plates of Albanian treats, accompanied by a brief history lesson.
We served them two types of byrek, corn bread and kos, llokume (aka Turkish Delight), a piece of goat cheese on toast with fig jam, a communist-era soft drink called Aranxhata, and thane juice (cornel berry). They dubbed it Albanian charcuterie, and I think we will repeat it!
They were leaving before 6AM the next morning, so it was hard to wrap up the evening knowing it was goodbye.
We had to get to the airport at 11PM to pick up Reni. He was starving so we picked up a quick bite to eat at KFC. Below, he shows off his sunburned arms. He said he "fell asleep" on a raft on the river.
A few weeks after camp, we received a handful of pics with proof that he actually attended and didn't party down the Dalmatian Coast, ha ha.
Week 3
The grandfather of some of our older village kids passed away. This always means a funeral trip for Nathan followed by a condolence home visit for us both a few days later...
Immediately following camp, Luis and Shpresa took the older kids to Alpha Camp on the other side of Tirana. For most of them, it was their first time spending the night apart from their families. We were so grateful their parents permitted them to attend! The first day or so took some getting used to for most of them, but by the end of camp they were all having a really good time! They even re-enacted one of the evangelism musical dramas they had seen performed by the Royal Servants the week before!
On Tuesday we picked up Luli and Hannah from the airport and promptly brought them upstairs to see Kafe Sera for shaken iced lattes to stay awake!
They brought amazing goodies from our friend, Claudia. By the way, if you want to know a way to bless us, any Kool-Aid packet can be made into a slushy and the village kids love them! It's the most cost-effective way we know... The kids also love choosing the flavor of the day from all the many great choices!
Claudia monogramed us these beautiful aprons and towels! Aren't they so official and amazing??
Hannah gets a lesson on using the espresso machine!
One evening all the ladies on our team decided to go out for what I guess might be the equivalent of American Happy Hour but at a local restaurant. It was a really sweet time of fellowship as women and I also enjoyed trying various breads, cheeses and sliced meats.
Weeks 4 and 5
A highlight of my month (which had many lovely moments) was finally meeting Leila and her husband, Doug of Massachusettes. Leila earned PTO from her employer and decided to use the time to go back to her home country of Albania. Unaware of possible local partners for ministry service, a Google search led her to me! She was a remarkable woman and I can't wait until she returns! As only God can connect people, we have a very special mutual friend.
We continue to furnish the coffee shop. Below, a painting created by Cydil's mom. We got it framed and hung over the ice cream freezer!
Reni and I for my traditional "last day as an X-year old" pic :-)
Birthday cake breakfast and gifts! Maybe his last birthday in Albania (at least for a while, gulp!)
His request had been for months to see the new Spider Man movie. We were happy to be joined by the Mustafajs, Artonis (not pictured) and Dukas!
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We went out to a special supper afterward. They served us complimentary ice cream!
Modeling his gift, the kit of the local Vora team, personalized just for him!
Ellie created a home made birthday card for Reni using AI to put him on a futbol playing card.
Reni's gift from Luli and Hannah included this super-spicy tortilla chip. It was flavored with dust from the Carolina Reaper pepper and Dominican (?) ghost peppers. It even came with a latex glove with which to handle it. We thought the claims were a bit of an exaggeration.
Nevertheless, Reni decided to split the single chip with Luli. In closing, enjoy this video of their reactions to this eating challenge...
I could have left the video rolling as the side effects of the peppers lingered for many minutes after. After running out of milk, the guys resorted to hunks of ice!
