June, part 5 | The Interns (and other random bits)

Visitors bring an energy and excitement to our special summer programs.  We were happy to welcome three summer interns who came for 7 and 9 weeks. 

Ellie and Eda share a moment in the van ride to kids club in Metalle...

John spent 11 months with us in 2018.  It was lovely to have him return and see all of the changes and growth in the ministry scope and team size.  He loves sports, but particularly basketball and was happy to give Luis and Luli some coaching pointers in basketball.  While Luis and Luli primarily coach soccer, they have been asked to provide training for a small Special Olympics basketball team in Tirana. John played collegiate basketball under a gifted coach whose training John passed along in his sessions. 

Below, E poses with a craft designed by Belen for kids club to accompany the week's memory verse, "Be still and know that I am God..."  (Psalm 46:10) The reverse side was a "stop sign."  Very clever!

John's visit was to fulfill a cross-cultural component of his mentored ministry requirement at Asbury Seminary.  Below, Nathan and John consult with his supervising professor (our dear friend, Dr. Jonathan Powers) about the direction of John's research.

Chloe and Melissa hosted a slumber party one evening for the missionary girls.  We heard MUCH loud singing and laughter downstairs!  What a gift they gave to provide our girls with some feminine fun they often don't get to experience in our isolated setting!

In anticipation of the Asbury team coming, we utilized the help of our interns to shop and prep food for in the weeks leading up to July.  Below, that is THREE shopping carts worth of food.  That's only one of many grocery trips!  I must confess it's at times like these that I long for a place like Sam's Club or "click and shop" services with curbside pick up, ha ha.

Another reality for us is carrying groceries up to our second-floor apartment.  I was never more grateful for the extra hands, just in carrying the food upstairs!

Below, I texted someone and said, "Seven eggs down, thirty-seven more to go!"

Cooking ahead saves my sanity.  Later, we would assemble these into breakfast sandwiches to freeze and reheat later, after the team arrived.

The girls were great about jumping into our evening workout classes -- even when it was sooo hot and we moved outside!  The summer season took a toll on our numbers, but a few dedicated ones remained.

We didn't work them completely to the bone. :-) One day I took them on a trip up to Shkoder for the day to visit Rozafa Castle, Middle Bridge (a beautiful model of Ottoman architecture), the Museum of Witness and Memory (a site of communist-era religious persecution), and an art center that produces Venetian masks exported and sold at stores around the world!

This castle withstood multiple sieges against the Ottomans in the 1400s. Fascinating stories!

Melissa at Middle Bridge.

Above, they pose with the factory owner.  We were given a tour of the production floor, but sadly we were not permitted to photograph the amazing artists who were creating these pieces.

John prepared a special message that he shared at church one Friday evening.  He did a great job!  He and Melissa also worked each week to prepare worship for our church services.  Everyone was amazed that he led worship in Albanian!  This was thanks to his language study from his prior visit ... and lots of practice during the week!

Not pictured, but just as valued are the hours they spent playing with the village kids, prepping the guesthouse and Jeta for all of our summer visitors, spending time with Ellie and Reni, running the special programs at VT, and just filling in wherever we asked them to!

Click here to view a handful of highlight reels stitched together:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTgNseATcs4

June, part 4 | VT Days

VT Albania, the disability program that meets at Jeta, concludes school instruction in mid-June, but the students continue to meet through the end of July for the benefit of social connection.  Because our colleague, Tiffany, who directs the program was scheduled to be in the USA for the summer months to fundraise, we (along with our summer interns), planned several weeks of theme-days and later, day camp, to structure the days without classes.  We tried to get into the spirit of each day's theme as best we could, and the interns did a great job shopping for decorations to add to the 'specialness' of each day.

One day we had "Pirate Day."

The students were given pirate props and made pirate hats out of cardstock.

They built ships which we floated and then tried to sink with "cannons"...

Another day we "went" to Hawaii!

The day's activities included slicing fruit on the Wii, building sand castles (with kinetic sand), making tissue paper flowers, learning an Hawaiian dance, enjoying snowcones, playing water games in the kalceto and making mini volcanos in bottles with vinegar and baking soda!

Each week we had a 'field trip.'  Below, we visited the board walk in Durres and enjoyed ice cream and pita.  We also did an alphabet scavenger hunt!  Many of the students live in homes without transportation (or wheel-chair accessible transport), so going out anywhere is a special treat!

My personal favorite was "Story" day!

We decorated in the them of "Old Hollywood" with a photobooth and props. 

The students chose a puppet for themselves and had SO much fun. We practiced "acting" various emotions on our face, then tried to convey those emotions with our puppets. Of course, we had to play Charades, too!

Snacks were served in fun popcorn bags, like at the movies.

Then, the students were split into two groups and practiced performing two different parables from the Gospels:  The Good Samaritan and The Prodigal Son.

(above) Our "victim" from the Good Samaritan story astride the donkey taking him for recovery.

We had more fun days, but I don't find any photos on my phone! I must have been having too much fun to document the time!  Suffice it to say, years and years ago, my Dad brought over so many wonderful ministry resources (the puppets are a great example).  I think he would be tickled to see that we are still using them, all these years later -- even the dozens of giant rubber chickens!  Who knew you could play so many games with rubber chickens? I'm SO sorry I don't have photos of those from "Egg-salent Day", ha ha. 

June, part 3 | Luli and Hannah's Wedding

One of June's highlights was the wedding of our friends Luli and Hannah.  Wedding festivities transpired over multiple days.  Rain POURED the night of their village dance so the event had to be brought into the kalceto.  It also brought the temperatures to a cool, 'refreshing' level -- which worked for Hannah, who would arrive in the traditional, colorful wedding costume of Luli's native region - Kukes.  I had no idea their bridal clothing was so colorful!  Being that the folks of Kukesi reside at a high elevation, it shouldn't have been a big surprise that the dress included thick woolen knee socks and sweaters underneath the traditional vest!

Another distinction of northern weddings is the unusual duel-ing drums and noisy horn, which sort of sounds like a bagpipe or a vuvuzela.  We had nothing but admiration for this band that maintained a consistent staccato drumming and incredibly loud trumpeting for hours! No amplification was necessary -- they could be heard in surrounding villages! (please watch the video below to get a taste of this cultural experience).  It was new even to most of our local friends whose origins are rooted in the central part of the country!  We could only imagine that we were hearing tunes that have existed for centuries, but may be on the verse of dying out in this modern age and the mountains (with their antiquated infrastructure and limited services) empty of their population.

 

https://youtu.be/FDyTIUZnkFM

The day of their wedding appeared to threaten rain, but thankfully it held off!

Ellie was thrilled to provide prelude music for arriving guests. You can hear some of her playing in the video further down in the post.

Nathan was proud to serve as a groomsman and prayed with Luli prior to the ceremony.

Hannah looked beautiful, wearing her grandmother's wedding gown.

Reni and a friend watched the wedding from the picnic tables in the olive grove above small field.

The field overlooked a small pond, surrounded by a restaurant and mini outdoor pavilions.

Our village besties...

click here for some clips of the wedding ceremony (less than 3 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfipEdTNe1o

Then it was on to the reception!

Our ministry team! (minus the Vinascos who had to leave early for their son's bedtime).

The food was ABUNDANT (per normal for local weddings).  I'm sharing just a few of the plates of food brought to our table...

Cheese and fresh veggies drizzled in a balsamic glaze? YES!

Cheese, meat, veggies and nuts? Also, yes!

Grilled chicken in an herb cream sauce with tomatoes, fresh basic, a grilled mushroom and moist cornbread?  Soooo goooood.

My seatmate at the reception.

The reception venue was a feat of gardening engineering.  Green plants growing everywhere, hanging from everywhere... it was incredible.

Evidence that it was a fun party (thanks in part to Hannah's carefully curated song list and fantastic DJ), our entire family joined the fun on the dance floor (we are NOT dancers but we tried that evening).

For more sites and sounds of the reception, click here: https://youtu.be/rpwFYYK_8n0

(I sort of wish I had been capturing video with a highlights reel in mind, but alas, no -- so this is the best I can do, ha ha).

Congratulations, Luli and Hannah!  When you guys got acquainted over meals and games in our home in the summer of 2018, we had no idea it would lead to this!  Imagine what else God has in store!