Holiday Bazaar

Sunday found us at the Sheraton Hotel for the annual holiday bazaar.  The vendors were selling everything from handcrafted furniture to paintings to baked goods to jewelry and traditional ethnic attire.

Our table was a little off the beaten path, but we generated some traffic during the peak hours.

By far, the scarves were the most popular item!

I wish I could have taken more photos to give you a better idea of the atmosphere.  

When Nathan arrived with the kids, Reni burst out with, "I saw the REAL Santa, Mom!"

The expat community was well represented (many of which had connections to the various craftsmen or charities sponsoring tables).  It was fun to see some of our classmates from Albanian class and meet their families!

We have another bazaar on Thursday, this time at the embassy.

We are grateful for any opportunity to sell some of the products made by these special ladies!

Thank you, everyone, for your outpouring of care and concern for Mom Waggoner, as well as for us.  It's hard, not being able to jump in a car and drive over to support Dad and be with Mom.  Ellie prayed the other night, "Thank you, God, for getting Nonna out of the hospital!  And don't let her have surgery again!"  Faith.

But God...

On Saturday, December 7th, 2013 my (Nathan's) grandmother, Dorothy Champion, went to be with Jesus! She joined her husband of 72 years who made it to heaven slightly ahead of her.

We called her 'Grams' and she and 'Pop Pop' are part of the reason our family is serving as missionaries in Albania today.

Grams loved Jesus more than anything else, and she modeled service to others. Called to start a Christian school in southern New Jersey, She and Pop Pop left a comfortable life and job to pursue a life of living by faith, first at Mount Carmel High School in Kentucky and then as teachers and later a principal of Bethel Christian school in Port Republic, NJ.

There are many things I will remember Grams for. My ending the last sentence with a preposition would have frustrated her. She was a great teacher and knew how to manage a classroom. Even at family reunions, we would all snap to if Grams requested. The night we first brought Ellie home from Albania, our extended Champion family was celebrating Christmas in Wilmore. When we brought Ellie in to meet the family everyone quietly stood in a circle and greeted Ellie individually as we went around the room. We later learned that Grams had correctly realized that Ellie would have been overwhelmed any other way and had orchestrated the greeting.

There were two words that Grams used often and always with a knowing smile,

"But God..."

Whenever Grams would hear of the 'impossible' she would utter those words...But God!

There are no excuses when those words are added. I'm too young, too old, too poor, too uneducated, too tired, too weak...But God!

If you asked for her story, those words would emerge...But God.

When she heard of two orphans from Albania, she said...But God as she welcomed them into the family.

Grams suffered with Alzheimer's in her later years, and my children will mainly remember her through pictures and my stories, But God gave Ellie and Reni the heritage of Grams and Pop Pop Champion!

In the chaos of the days surrounding my mom's stroke, Grams' words once again proved true!  When you have But God... You have enough!

Meeting Ellie, December 2006

Meeting Reni -- August, 2011


As we post this, it appears that my mom is having a setback in her recovery from her stroke.  Understandably she is grieving the loss of her mother.  This morning she exhibited signs of a possible second stroke, and though tests to this point have been negatives, the symptoms remain so she is being held overnight for observation.  It's difficult to be this far from family during times like this, But God!

Fashion Show!

The village ladies dropped off their creations this morning and we had SO much fun going through the bags and bags of goodies.  I wanted to photograph the collection for a variety of reasons (mainly because we are concerned about display space at the craft shows, but also because I wanted a reference to show them which patterns we think will be worth repeating in the future...).  

Pray that we can sell these goodies at the shows on Sunday and Thursday.  I've been told that 'handmade' products don't have much perceived value here.  The economic climate in the village seems to have grown more desperate, so we want good sales to help these women and their families.  I've already had inquiries about shipping these abroad.  While I'm grateful for the interest, we don't know how feasible that will be in the immediate future (but check back with me after Christmas).

Here are a few of my favorites.  Aren't Anna and Abby fabulous models?
Click on the link at the bottom to see the whole shabang on Pinterest.

http://www.pinterest.com/cydil/knitted-scarves-village-ladies-creations/

Not Your Typical Friday Night

We had to buy more coffee mugs last week!  That's a good problem!

It's Friday.  That means lots of hot chocolate and hot tea, but more importantly, discipleship time for us in Vlash after church.  Would you pray for us?  Would you pray for the students who attend? 

We praise God for the opportunity to cultivate the soil of tender hearts.

We praise God for students who attend (including a couple of girls who recently moved into the community and for whom the Message is brand new).

We pray for the eyes of their hearts to be opened by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We pray for lives to be transformed and spiritual growth to occur.

Ladies Night

I'm playing 'catch up' on the blog here!  A little over a week ago I lost the use of my laptop.  I think it was going on six years old, which in laptop years is probably 85.  Some of the keys were sticking and the monitor had a funny hitch in it, depending on the tilt (it would freeze and turn green), but it still worked for my purposes.  Until it took a nose dive off the coffee table onto the floor.  Yep, brought it all the way here and used it for not even three months...

Fortunately it was Thanksgiving week and Nathan found a good deal online that my parents will bring me when they come over in February.  In the mean time, Nathan and I will share the other laptop.  Sharing didn't seem too inconvenient at the time we opted not to purchase a replacement here in Albania (minimum 20% more than we would pay in the States), but apparently I didn't realize how often we are usually on the computer at the same time!

Right now I have use for a few minutes so here are some photos from last week in Vlash...

Our colleague Shpresa invited women from her church in Tirana to join the women of Vlashaj for an evening of testimonies and eating.

Yes -- the power went out briefly at the beginning and out came the cell phones!

Shpresa welcomes everyone

One of the village ladies brought this cake which translated reads, "God bless you"

Refreshments included muffins, an egg byrek and a tomato and onion byrek along with apples and oranges.

The Day After Thanksgiving...

Ever since 2006, the day after Thanksgiving has been significant for us.  It's the day we met and held Ellie for the first time.  Friday morning in sharing with her about this special little 'anniversary' Nathan held Ellie in an impromptu re-enactment after breakfast.  "Hold me longer, Daddy," she said.  We'll hold you forever, Els.

Given that Friday was also a holiday in Albania (Liberation Day), we arranged with the help of our friend Kerri to meet up in Elbasan with Reni's Dyzi. We are indebted to Dyzi for her love of our Reni boy until we could get there to hold him ourselves.  We hope we can maintain a relationship with her as Reni grows.  

We met up at a little shopping mall (new since our stay in 2010) with a play place and let the kids play.  I know the photo below isn't tack sharp (between the low light, motion, and shooting through mesh... yeah, excuses) -- I just love the look of joy on Dyzi's face.

I don't know that my children have ever gotten to play in a real ball pit before!  They loved it -- and I love it that Dyzi jumped in with them!

We were pleased to bring our dear friend, Vera, with us to Elbasan for the day.  Kerri is center and Julie is on the right.  Thank you, friends, for translating for us!  Hopefully we won't need your translation assistance forever!

For those of you who have adopted, I'm sure you can understand how much it means to know that your child had someone to show them love and to love in return before you.  I know it was terribly hard for both Reni and Dyzi when he came into our family, but he is an emotionally healthier individual because of Dyzi's love!

Here's to more visits to Elbasan.  It's nice having family in Albania.

(don't Nathan and I look like giants?)

How We Spent Thanksgiving

This year our Thanksgiving holiday happened to fall on the same day as Albania's Independence day (celebrating 101 years as a sovereign nation), so it was a holiday for all!  While it may not seem a big deal, it really helped the day "feel" like a true holiday.  Everything was just quiet (a rare thing in the city, indeed!)

It was also a beautiful dry, clear day for the first time in over a week.  I grabbed my camera and walked over a couple of blocks to Mother Teresa square for a few photos of the bunting over the Boulevardi.

Look!  Snow on the mountains!! 

We were so happy to be invited to join the Hosaflook's and friends for Thanksgiving dinner.  We had never been to their home before so we had to laugh when we read the directions and they ended with the instruction to turn left at the garbage cans at the top of the hill... When we got there, it made total sense!

We arrived around two.  Below is Pam.  She works at the Hope Center where we volunteer a couple of Saturdays a month.  She is making rolls for dinner.

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Below is Faby -- she grew up in the orphanage in Shkodra and was taken in by David and Kristi when she aged out.  I LOVED talking to Faby who is now married and a mom of three.  I don't even know where to start to describe our conversation -- so much interesting stuff about orphanage life, understanding the Albanian orphan 'care' system, her integration into life in the 'real' world/mainstreaming, etc..  She's pictured with her youngest son, standing next to Ben, the H's oldest son.

Upon arriving we learned that our host David had most likely broken his arm in a football game earlier in the day.  He had made some phone calls to determine the hospital with the best orthopedist and made an appointment.  Nathan offered to drive him and accompany him for the duration of his visit.  

That meant lunch was postponed indefinitely but we had lots of veggies and crackers and dip to snack on while passing the time visiting, in between the random Skype call that would come in from friends and family elsewhere.

(below, Faby and Kristi) 

The adults' table...

I was super camera lazy... I think by the time Nathan and David returned it was all about filling kids' plates and eating!  We had all the traditional fare (except we had chicken, not turkey -- I haven't spoken to anyone in Tirana who had turkey for their Thanksgiving!) -- sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn casserole, cranberries (from dried), stuffing, pickles, and rolls!  There was a lot of 'making do' with what could be purchased locally as well as dipping into precious reserves of goodies brought over from America (like cheddar cheese)!  All in all it was delicious and a taste of home!

We got home rather late, but were able to chat with both of our families via Skype.

We trust you all had a good Thanksgiving day too!

Is it cheating?

 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:5-9

I memorized the verses above thanks to a lovely song on a Seeds Family Worship CD (all lyrics are directly from Scripture, ESV version).  Sadly, I don't know any Albanian Scripture verses set to music tunes (yet!), but it's not stopping me from selecting memory verses for Kids Club each week.  It's funny what a little thing like rewards positive reinforcement produces.  Rote memory seems to come relatively easily to our young friends, even without musical reinforcement, and we're throwing up a lot of stars on our attendance and Bible verse chart.

Our friend above, we'll call her Joy, apparently doubted her memory from the week earlier.  Does writing her memory verse on her palm 'count' as 'binding them on her hand'? ;-)  If so, is it cheating?

Watch out Mersin!  The kids found your guitar!  (By the way, yes, that is an Uno card being used as a guitar pick).

Working on the "Twelve Tribes of Israel" craft.

Reni and his buddy, we'll call him Leo

If you flipped Ellie's over, she may have deviated from the lesson and renamed some of her tribes names like "Daddy, Mommy, Abby, Anna, Reni and Zoe (Nonna and PaPa's dog)".