Visitors from Indiana! and an overnight in Berat

Our traditional "airport arrival pic" -- we nearly forgot (out of practice after a long winter), but Reni reminded us!

We're blessed to work for an organization that cares about our mental and spiritual health enough to send folks on a semi-regular basis for pastoral care.  It's especially nice when they are also long-time friends!  We've known Todd since we started working together in the fall of 1999.  He was a big help in our transition from campus ministry to Albania so that we could stay with our organization, but serve on loan to Planters (the foundation my parents started).  More than seven years after that conversation (he may have been the very first person we shared our first 'nudge-ings' to move here), it was a joy to share a bit of our lives with him, as well as his wife, Mindy!  He now pastors a church in Ft. Wayne, but his church as graciously released them to volunteer part time in a pastoral role to all missionaries in our organization living in Europe.

Todd shares greetings to our church in Vlashaj

Todd and Mindy chatting with some of our young adult friends

It was cold and rainy most of their visit, but Saturday was lovely out in the village!

Todd and Mindy came not just to see us, but to get to know our greater team here in Albania.  We found a brief window of time when we were all able to get away together for them to encourage us in a more relaxing setting.  Saturday evening through Sunday afternoon we got away to the beautiful Albanian town of Berat, about 90 minutes south east of where we live.  It was a first time for all of us to spend the night in this city, except for Nathan and Reni.

We enjoyed a couple of yummy meals out, but also crunched out some business too...

Berat is one of my favorite places to snap photos, and this trip was no exception with all the pretty flowers in bloom... I just didn't have the foresight in the midst of also hosting to think about trimming Ellie's bangs (sorry, Mom!) or cleaning Reni's fingernails....

Berat is said to have the highest concentration of Ottoman-style architecture of any city in the Balkans.  It also has a castle perched at the highest point in the city that began as a Roman garrison around 400 BC.  The perimeter eventually spread to the edges of the hilltop to contain an entire town which presently contains about 120 families within the castle walls.  We spent most of our time up in the castle, but came down to the old town for photos Saturday evening before dinner.

Someday he'll agree to wear something other than graphic t-shirts for special photos, right? :-)

The limited time-frame and weather also did not work in my favor... But thank you, Tiffany, for capturing this photo of our family!  What you don't see are all the pedestrians and cyclists walking between us and the camera! It was a hasty shoot.

The kids were good sports during our meetings, but we finished about 30 minutes before our lunch reservation so we pulled out the dominoes and got in two games.  Reni trounced us all!

 Living in a country with very few chain restaurants means that eating out is a bit of trial and error without some good advance research.  At the recommendation of friends about four years ago, we found a great hotel at the bottom of castle hill in Berat (Hotel Mangalemi).  But as tourism to Berat started to increase, we found that it was impossible to eat lunch there on most weekends as they only accommodated large tour groups.  At the recommendation of some other friends, we decided to try a new-to-us place up inside the castle.  When I dropped into make reservations Saturday, they told us that their tables indoors were all booked, but if we were okay to brave the weather, we could eat on their outdoor terrace.  It was beautiful so we agreed.

Unfortunately, just as we sat down it started to rain.  And rain, and rain.  If you see the shelter above us, it's lovely, but not necessarily designed to protect from rain as much as sun.  Thankfully, Nathan and I happened to sit under the two major leaky spots.  To say I was damp was a bit of an understatement.  The restaurateurs felt so bad, they comped all our beverages -- something I've never experienced before, but was certainly a nice gesture! We assured them we knew they couldn't control the weather, and I took responsibility for choosing the table.  I just hope no one in our group gets sick as a result!

But if you like vegetarian fergese and you ever go to Berat, you have to go to Hotel Klea!  YUM!!! I think it was the best I've ever had and worth the wet jeans. :-) (Fergese is a side-dish casserole of minced sweet red and green peppers, tomatoes, and a creamy cheese sort of like ricotta, baked in stoneware.  We usually eat it spread on bread.  The owner told us they made the cheese themselves!

Poppies are out in full force throughout Albania!  I LOVE IT!!  So pretty! I took way too many photos...

(below) A rare group photo!  Courtesy of Tiffany...

Albania is such a land of contrasts... For so long economic conditions have stifled development (and still do). A lack of resources mean buildings crumble or remain unfinished.  Trash is still shockingly abundant in some places.  But there are pockets of beauty and when you find them... wow. (photo below courtesy of Tiffany)

The cool, damp spring we have been enjoying has been amazing for Albania's roses!  SOOO gorgeous!

Hoping for dryer weather soon... until then!

Getting Back on the Horse | April Review

Personally speaking, I've always wanted to be "goal-oriented".  Isn't that one of those "seven habits of highly successful people"? (I actually don't know, I just assumed).

Yet most of my adult life I've lacked the discipline to put goals on paper. On those occasions I have set "goals," I haven't provided myself with the accountability to ensure I follow through.  I usually give myself a "pass" because of my stellar ability to create wonderfully detailed to-do lists.

Enter our regional director who has implemented rolling quarters, a system of monthly accountability.  Each monthly report includes three goals for the upcoming month.  But the first question of our meetings regard how we dealt with our three goals for the previous month.

So here I sit, on the last day of the month, knowing that tomorrow I must give an account for my April goals, one of which was re-entering the practice of blogging -- something I have yet to do this year.

_________

Last year was hard, for so many reasons.  I didn't know what would spill out if I would sit down to record on this digital journal. So I refrained, posting only occasionally, avoiding anything too personal.

With Dad's passing ten months ago, I lost a big part of my incentive to write.  Dad taught me photography, and he also taught me an appreciation for the written word.  Along with inheriting from him a heavy dose of sentimentality and a need for affirmation, this blog represented a big part of him in me.  And I didn't realize how much I subconsciously wrote for his enjoyment, and ultimately, for his approval.

Then this winter my mom made a monumental discovery.  Unbeknownst to any of us, Dad had journal-ed.  Specifically, the journals she discovered began when they started dating, almost exactly 50 years ago to the date.  Just a few weeks ago she typed them up and shared them with my sisters and I.  It was such a gift to hear his voice again (albeit much younger) and it reminded me not to be so selfish in my own journaling motives (not that I think the world is so eager to read my writing, ugh -- the idea seems horribly narcissistic). This is for my children first, then for any of my family and friends with whom we want to stay connected.

So where to start back up? 
How about this past month? 
There's no easier place to begin than to share a smattering of photos from the cell phone...

___________________

The first weekend of the month I took some colleagues on a girls-only overnight trip down to see part of southern Albania, including the beautiful Albanian city of Gjirokaster (below).  Part of the downside of going pre-tourism season (this particular city is a UNESCO World Heritage site) is that you might possibly run into repairs -- which we did.  The trip started off with a bang when we struggled just to reach our hotel when we ran into blocked street after blocked street, requiring many adrenaline-pumping drives in reverse down wall-lined, single-laned cobblestone streets. There's a reason why Nathan does most of the driving here!

I eventually drove on this street (below) when we could figure out no other way to get to our hotel. I'm not exaggerating to say that it's a miracle that I didn't pop a tire, break something on the undercarriage of the vehicle, scrape a wall or other vehicle, or require a tow truck to pull us out of a ditch or deep hole.

My hands were literally shaking by the time we reached our destination.  Gjirokaster, you are lovely, but I won't be visiting again for a long time!

My dish dryer one-night decided not to take his job too seriously...

Did you know that Easter baskets in this part of the world are red?

And all the eggs are red too?

One afternoon we got a text message from the son of some friends while grocery shopping.  He could sleep in the airport if need be, but if it wasn't too much trouble, could we spare a bed for the night?  He wasn't reaching his host in Kosova and didn't want to arrive late at night with no plan.  Thankfully it worked out that we literally picked him up at the airport on our way home and he caught a ride to Tirana the next morning with one of our village friends who took him to the bus station to take the bus to Kosovo.  Reni was thrilled to have a teen American house guest again (in spite of the silly expression on his face below)!

This month the kids studied World War II in school.  Below, Miss Pam teaches them how to make "war cake" -- a dessert made with ration ingredients.

Thanks to a special gift, we were able to add a bit of extra space to our home!  Given that we live above the ministry center where we have no private outdoor space, it has been a dream of ours for years to have a place to eat a meal outside and enjoy the out-of-doors.  After much careful planning by Nathan, we built a 3x5 meter deck off our living room/dining/kitchen and above the outdoor covered area where the village kids play four-square.

The weather stretched the construction timeline out to nearly a week (I think we chose the wettest week of the year), but eventually we finished!

 It's already proving to be a wonderful "spillover" space from our cozy home, accessible through a little door we installed where a window used to be. Now when we host summer teams, we should have ample table space for everyone to eat (no more holding plates on laps on the couch)! But we're already enjoying it as a bigger place to hold coffees, Bible studies and meetings than our present living room!  Just mind your head as you go back inside (wink).

Spring came to Albania this month!  I couldn't resist snapping some photos on the cell phone of Ellie with her guitar in this grassy orchard behind the rental house in Metalle...

Coloring Easter eggs and hosting an easter egg hunt continue to be a highlight at the Hope Center!  

On the Saturday before Easter we were invited to a special birthday party in Durres, complete with dancing, DJ, videographer and photographer!

The kids were good sports as it lasted several hours, but eventually we all had to take a break from the 90 decibels, and enjoy the view of the Adriatic.

Reni, at the party, reading a library book on the phone.  This month he discovered a new book series that has him captivated.  I'm thrilled.

The sign below reads "Happy Easter".  This hung over the front door of our center.

We had an outdoor service that included cardboard testimonies (a drama of sorts, set to music), a message from Pastor Genti, and capped it all off with a cook out and Easter Egg hunt!

Below, Nathan gives instructions for the egg hunt.  Anyone 12 and under could participate.

It was wildly popular -- even though we only had 50 plastic eggs for the more than 20 kids who participated.  Thankfully our summer team told us they are bringing more so we can do this again, but on a larger scale, next year!

We had friends over for Easter dinner where we colored eggs,

 ...and they taught us the tradition of cracking eggs to see whose was the 'hardest'!

Reni has spent a lot of time with one of our neighbors over their mutual love of nerf gun wars.  Like a LOT of time.  I'm finding nerf bullets everywhere!

 Last week we had a special reward party at Kids Club.  They had a wonderful time playing special games...

 ...and shopping at our prize store with points earned.

This winter Nathan devised a portable power supply with a trickle-charge battery so we can run a projector out in Metalle (the house is not hooked up to electricity).  As such, we were able to bring the Wii to our special party.  Below, the kids are 'slicing pineapples.'

Shooting targets of plastic cups with nerf guns... Reni was a good sport to share from his "arsenal" :-)

Sunday was Orthodox Easter (Albania officially recognizes both church calendars) and we were gifted these decorated eggs.  Aren't they lovely?

Happy Easter from the Waggoners!

Open for business | Handmade In Albania

It's November!  It's almost Thanksgiving!! The mandarins are ripe, the lemons are ready and the grape leaves have almost completely fallen.  For me, though, this time of year also means the Handmade in Albania store is open for business.

This project has been near and dear to my heart since launching the project my first winter here, five years ago.  I love connecting my neighbors in Albania with my friends in America.  I get a thrill every time I find a notification in my e-mail box that something has sold.  I hold my breath until the day the shop closes, praying for new customers (because surely all my friends and family have so many scarves from years' past that they can't possibly have room for another), that our sales will be good, and that the women will get a decent compensation for their hard work.  You could say my faith grows with theirs as we see God's provision for their families.

These women do whatever they can throughout the year to help make ends meet.  The profits from these Christmas sales have helped them pay down debts, purchase rugs for their floors, pay for medicine for sick kids, heating oil for their homes.... and the list goes on.

This year God's provision has come in another form than 'just' sales... this year we have a new colleague, Tiffany, who has joined the project!  She has been invaluable to helping manage the inventory, posting it to the website, and helping in marketing.  That means that a project that used to consume ALL my time this month has been made much less burdensome.  It also means the women have another "ambassador" on their behalf.  Already Tiffany has connected us to a new Christmas market in Tirana next month.  We LOVE any opportunity we have to sell more here in Albania.

Tiffany and Linda numbering product after I photograph it on the model, Linda's daughter, Ami

Not only do the women find it a creative outlet to make these products, but I get to flex my creativity too through photography and marketing.  Their work is truly beautiful and I hope the images I take do it justice through the images captured and the promotions we send out.

For two of the knitters, we use their daughters as models... I love that it their daughters have involvement too (and it helps us remember which products were made by whom :-) )

Tiffany also got roped into modeling :-)  since Roshi's daughters are now married and living out of town.

We also have a number of baby items.  This piece is modeled by Arjana's 7-month old grandson, Noel.  He was as photogenic as his mama, my most experienced model.

It's gratifying when we get messages from clients in the States who tell us that they pray for Albania or they pray for the woman who made their piece whenever they wear it.  It also means so much too when others share the project with their friends and neighbors.  The only way we will be able to grow it to include more knitters is if we can 'expand our market.'

This year we had several pieces made from one of three different yarns.  We chose to put them in collections inspired by different regions in Albania.  The yarns are incredibly soft and wildly popular at the local craft fairs where we have shown them.  I made three brief Instagram-style promo videos highlighting the pieces... Give them a watch and do a bit of 'armchair' traveling to Albania!







If you have seen something you like, for yourself or someone else, we have a delivery going to the States in early December.  Just place your order by December 6!  Thanks for your support of HIA (Handmade In Albania!).  We hope that your purchase keeps you warm, inside and out, as you wear something cozy that has helped someone else.

www.HandmadeinAlbania.org