August R&R's | Reconnecting and Resting

Week 1

The highlight of August was a long-awaited visit from my mom and sister (their last visit was in November 2020).  Alas, they arrived as we were at our most depleted after weeks of summer camp.  Thankfully, they were content with some days of slower schedules that included visiting friends, enjoying some treats and the occasional nap!  We couldn't remember the last time we were able to slow down like this! August is a month where most everything shuts down in Albania.  Folks either host family visiting from abroad, take personal vacation, or lay low to avoid the heat. It makes it an ideal time for us to take a break from programs, though traffic everywhere was crazy.  I blamed it on a Covid travel lag.

We were pleased for Mom and Hannah to meet our new teammates, Luis and Laura!

We retreated for a portion of the time to the Planters apartment in Tirana where we enjoyed simple pleasures like donuts and coffee and shops just a short walk away!

We usually ventured out later in the day to avoid the heat.  Below, we are outside of Albania's national football stadium after introducing them to a new-ish fast food restaurant with amazing shish-kabobs

Below, Reni learned the art of crisping perfect bacon (yes, vacation for us means hot breakfast!).  He agreed he would happily fry bacon if we paid for it. 

Because my mom and I can't sit still for long, we also spent hours and hours sorting and purging closets and cabinets!  We found some treasures languishing in storage to bring out to use in the village!  

Below, enjoying lunch with Teza Vera.

Reni's birthday gift request was a shelf on which he could display his Lego builds from childhood. We went back to the village to watch The Chosen one evening and afterwards, Nathan installed Reni's new shelf under his lofted bed, including cleverly hanging some air craft with fishing line.

Week 2

During Mom and Hannah's second week in Albania, we traveled to southern Albania for four days where they got to see some of Albania's historical treasures like Butrint (a UNESCO world heritage site) and the stone city of Gjirokaster.

This may look like a posed photo below, but after hours in a stuffy car with barely-functioning air conditioning, we couldn't get enough of the fresh sea breezes at this castle overlooking the city of Saranda.

Albania is full of historical sites that are maintained by private businesses that have opened restaurants or coffee shops on the premises.  Here we stretched our legs and enjoyed a stunning view of the Ionian Sea while cooling off with some cold iced teas.

Our destination was a small, family-owned hotel in Ksamil, owned by friends of friends.  They have a covered roof-top terrace that we used for playing board games and assembling puzzles.

As you can see, we got some sun too! Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the village!

One of the big bonuses to visitors is the fact that they can bring us things we can't buy here!  Nathan had been eyeing this pickleball set on Amazon for months.  Mom and Hannah were able to bring it over for us and below, we tried it out for the first time on our new court!

It was so much fun!  We later shared it with the village kids who now ask to play "big ping pong." ha ha

Of course, Mom had to see the Koni family's new home, still in progress.

Week 3

Too soon, it was time for Mom and Hannah to depart.  They left on August 15 in the wee hours of the morning, and 8 hours later we were back at the airport to pick up our next guests, Rick and Lori Lampen! They were joined by Mike Banks who had been serving youth at a conference in a nearby country.  The three work in our agency's member care department and their 'job' is to help us stay healthy as we work in a cross-cultural setting with all the stresses and demands that accompany this.

We planned a day trip for our team to see the Shala River in northern Albania for the day after their arrival.  The river outpost is accessed by riding in a ferry boat for about 45 minutes. As we approached the ferry terminal, the skies turned ominous, and it started to sprinkle.  We boarded the boat and between the wind and the rain, we were shivering and quickly wrapping ourselves with beach towels!  Such weather possibility never crossed my mind!  I kept reminding myself, "This will make a great story someday!" followed by praying, "Oh Lord, please protect us from sickness!"

Everyone was a good sport, though, and we enjoyed a few hours at the river 'beach' where the boats drop passengers.  You can see the clarity of the chilly water that runs down from the mountains!

These little boats (below) bring a couple dozen passengers each to an outpost with a restaurant, lounge chairs, a zip line, kayaking and swimming.

It was a special time for our team to just have fun together. Instead of running our various different directions, overlapping here and there when ministries allow paths to cross, we could simply enjoy the experience of a place new to most of us.

Lest you be jealous, one of the two kayaks above was missing a hunk out of the front end, seeming determined to function more as a submarine than a kayak, ha ha! It added to the adventure!

Ellie desperately wanted to kayak, so I was so glad Nathan took her out on the water and she could enjoy that experience.

The next day we met at Jeta as a team (no photos of this, :-( ), ate lunch, then enjoyed a time of teaching from our visiting colleagues.

We talked about how we as families and teammates navigate lives of transition and change, using the analogy of a bridge.  This was followed by a demonstration of how we can help each other in various phases of transition and crisis.

Harnesses physically demonstrated how we are tethered to each other and can pull each other down without the proper support. 

Mike then encouraged our hearts with reminders and a challenge from the Word.

Rick and Lori spent a lot of their time with us in the role of listeners.  We took them to Tirana another day to meet up with our colleagues based in Tirana.  Of course, we had to show them the center for a quick photo with the statue of our hero, Skenderbeu!

In certain parts of Africa, you go on exotic animal safaris.  In Tirana, Reni has his eyes peeled for luxury cars. Please don't ask me about this vehicle.  I walked right by without even noticing it! I still don't know what it is or what makes it special.

Also seen in Tirana... this is one way to stand apart in a crowd!

Knowing that we would be hosting guests in August, we asked our interns and the Acostas if we could wait to take them to see Kruja so we could make one combined trip.  The weather was lovely! 

We love seeing our shopkeeper friends who own businesses in the old bazaar whenever we visit Kruja. Many of them, even those we don't know personally, have seen our family visit 1-2 times per year for the past nine years and remarked on the kids' growth!

A large part of experiencing a new place is trying the cuisine.  We encourage visitors to step out of their comfort zone for this experience in Albania when we go up to Kruje. This sampler platter is a great way to share a smattering of traditional foods.  Below you can see pickled cabbage and beets, olives, boiled vegetables, various kinds of byrek (savory filo dough pie), fried vegetable fritters, and assorted cheeses.

And to prove we didn't build this basketball court for ourselves, ha ha, a photo below shows it in use one late afternoon... For now we are keeping it unlocked and accessible to the village whenever they want to use it.  This has been a great place for kids to play while the kalceto is in use for other activities, and it's a place for the kids to play when we don't have staff at Jeta. The taller frame was designed to hold a net to provide shade from the sun. We hope to add that eventually.

And then it was time to say 'goodbye' to the Lampens!  We thoroughly enjoyed their visit. As veteran missionaries in South America, they gave us wonderful insight into better understanding our Latin colleagues and the ways in which we might perceive the world and situations differently  It was so helpful! We look forward to the day when they can return again!

Week 4

I don't have as many interesting photos from this week.  While our programs were still on August hiatus, we took advantage of the large blocks of time to start homeschool (Reni is taking three classes with an instructor live, online), and work on projects, reports and other correspondence that fell through the cracks of summer's crazy schedule.

With a center like "Jeta", there's always something to do! We made the stairwell a little bit safer with this wonderful anti-skid tape by 3M. We think it makes the stairs a bit more visible too!  Hannah R brought the tape over for us from America in June, but we finally found the time to install it in August.

Some of you may remember the B family who came to help us launch the athletic programs at Jeta. They never intended to stay long-term as they ultimately feel called to another location, so we knew this day was coming.  We said goodbye at a small farewell reception.

Part of Ellie's home school curriculum this year is learning her way around the kitchen. Mom brought us these recipe cards from Hello Fresh and we have thoroughly enjoyed a change from our usual 'routine', along with learning a few new-to-us cooking techniques!  Ellie's not the only one getting an education along the way! :-)

And that sums up August!  Lord willing, we'll be back with a back-to-school report and the kick-off to fall 2022 programs!

July 2022 | CAMP, CAMP, CAMP!

 

July, July... I think of this month and I just feel ... tired.  It was fun (like the colors on Ellie's fingernails above), but I felt like we were always hopping.

Introverts, brace yourselves :-)

We continued our first camp cycle on Healthy Living that had begun at the end of June, covering topics like eating well and handling our emotions.

We also discussed the issue of disability, with the hopes of increasing empathy and compassion while also decreasing fear of individuals who might live differently because of physical or cognitive needs.  Below, these campers volunteered to navigate all of the activities of camp as an individual with blindness.  We were so proud of them ALL!  Many others volunteered to hold doors or push wheelchairs for our friends at VT.  They were super!

(Above) Ellie was a buddy for Lisjana during the weeks of camp.  She would get her drinking water, walk her from station to station, get her snacks, etc.  I was very proud of Ellie's servant heart in serving Lisjana and doing it with a smile!

(below) On the day we talked about making good food choices, campers made these planters in craft time, including planting vegetable seeds inside!  Ellie's role in camp was to assist one of the VT students, but she also found herself participating with all the other campers.  She went above and beyond in her creativity making this planter (made from a felt-covered soft drink bottle). :-)

This was my view (below), much of camp.  Nathan created incredible original content for each day's opening and closing programs and lessons.  He continues to amaze me with his creativity and breadth of knowledge!

(Above) We have had two wonderful volunteers with us this summer.  Sadly, we've been so busy and tired at the conclusion of each day, that we lacked the energy to take them to many of the usual nearby sites in Albania.  One Saturday evening, though, we got dressed up and broke away to Durres.

Above, we celebrated July 4 at an American restaurant in Tirana with dear friends!

Below, Nathan and Luli practice a skit demonstrating taking care of our teeth.

The second week of July started the second, two-week cycle of camp.  This cycle featured an international theme.  Here we are (below) on the night before Camp #2 commenced, making sugar cookies that would be decorated during craft time!

The first nation profiled was Qatar -- as host of this year's World Cup.  Students had a passport that they completed each day for each country we discussed, including coloring the flag, filling out facts of interest, earning an "official" stamp at the end of the lesson! (designed by Nathan, of course)

Below, Kosta poses with his decorated cookies in the shapes of a soccer ball, jersey, and cleats!

On "Japan" day, you HAVE to karaoke, right?

We had "sushi" (bananas and chocolate rice cereal) which students could eat with chopsticks.
(See our Instagram Reels for some fun video of this)

This week of camp found three new friends from Holland to help us with camp.  They taught us all about Kings Day (the King of Holland's birthday), the reason Holland has so many waterways and windmills, and more! And they made us some tasty snacks, too!

Colorful flags outside were to set the tone for the fun inside!

On USA day, we dressed in our "red-white-and-blue"!  And Reni took over computer A/V duties when my help was needed in the craft room!

A favorite portion of each day's camps were the quiz videos on everything from country flags to identifying the origin of various cuisines to photographs of landmarks.  Our students are uber competitive, as you can see from their animated expressions shouting out the answers below.

On USA day we decorated baseball hats.  The principle of "less is more" did not apply here, ha ha!

Below, I pose with some members of the red team.

We ended each week with water games!  These were a universal hit!

For the lesson on Albania day, Nathan created a virtual tour of some of Albania's most famous sites.  Then he had the student tick boxes indicating if they "had been" or "wanted to visit" each of these sites.  Mari Grace (one of our mid-term volunteers) has a very long bucket list we need to fill in a short time!

Below, Zhania made petulla (fry bread) served with cheese and honey or nutella!

We celebrated the conclusion of camp -- er, I mean, our 23rd wedding anniversary -- with a stay at a country inn about 90-minutes away. It was a surprise planned by Nathan and he did well! Mari Grace and Hannah graciously agreed to stay with the kids. What. A. Treat.

The last week of July brought another team from Holland.  This team hosted VBS.  It was nice to "just" be helpers and not responsible for planning all of the content!

One day for crafts, the kids were given the opportunity to make their own t-shirts.  They had all sorts of colors and paints with which to decorate them.  This is what Reni chose to put on his shirt:
Car Guy (noun) -- like normal guys but cooler.

This team worked HARD and in addition to providing VBS, they also installed a playground in Vlashaj!!!  Their hometown was upgrading its equipment and graciously allowed the team to bring the old playground to Albania.  As you can see, it still has a lot of life left!

They rented a backhoe which dug holes in which we could secure the pieces in cement.

We could barely keep the kids off of it before it was even fully installed!

The team worked in temperatures hovering around 100 degrees without a complaint.

In addition to installing the equipment, they also painted the basketball court to mitigate the sun reflection.  

They also realized Nathan's long-time vision of a chessboard on the well cover.  It's the perfect height!

Below, the painted court and the playground roped off while the cement dries.

This summer we converted the homeschool room into a second guestroom.  Nathan hung these curtains (which used to be in a different space), we bought a succulent and threw down a second-hand rug, and voila! The room feels so much homier!

We welcomed my mom and sister just in time for Reni's birthday!  On Saturday we invited the village kids to a nerf gun battle in the kalceto.  Special thanks to Luli for his help in setting up the 'shields'.  Someday, I'd love to get some more equipment and a few camo sheets that we could use to cover the barriers and I think we could market this as a party package!

Instead of cake, we had ice cream cones...

Reni graciously allowed Nathan to make a simple chocolate cake this year with chocolate cream-cheese icing (in the past he has made much more elaborate cakes). 

Oh, be still my heart, this boy is not so much a boy, anymore!  Below, he models some gifts from Gigi -- a bathroom (his request) and a magazine on cars!

And with that, we wrapped up a very busy month.  While most of our friends in the USA were preparing to return to school, we breathed a sign of relief for August's arrival and the chance to enjoy a visit with family and a break from programs.  We'll be back soon with an update on August!