Written 14 November...

Street cleaning equipment - brooms of branches

Well, the weather outside completely replicates my mood.  Leaving Tirana is always bittersweet.  Tirana is high 60s and cloudy, hopefully without rain, but the weather here in Munich is much more somber... 2 C and dripping.

Because of the pesky viruses that inhabited my body, I haven’t done as much blogging as I had hoped.  By 8:30 or 9 I was exhausted, facing a night of interrupted sleep due to coughing.  It is only the last three nights that I have slept through - and those have been shortened by mock packing.  Why is it that everything doubles in size within the last 24 hours?

The last few days have been a whirlwind - I managed over 4 miles by 10:30 yesterday.  Dori was to have a test and asked if I would be there.  So, I walked to her place (about 2+ miles), then to the hospital (about 1 mile), then “home,” another mile or so.  All in all, it was a typical day (in terms of walking).  I generally walked 3-7 miles daily.  Hummmm... didn’t seem that far.  It does, however, give you an opportunity to pray for those around you, ponder imponderables (“Exactly who, Lord, of all these people are “the least?”; “Will there be departures in heaven, so that we have to bid farewell to friends?”; “Lord, where in the world am I going to find someone to inhabit the vacant hospital?"), and generally soak up the environment.
 

CT scanner, ER, dialysis...

120 private beds, neonatal ICU...

A hospital, you say... remember that there was a hospital sitting vacant that Barry(from IPA) mentioned?  Well, I met Michelle, who worked with the administration of the hospital, and she was able to arrange a tour of the facility.  It looks ready to go - a little dusting, and calibration of the machines, and perhaps an addition here or there and it will be ready for labor & delivery, angios, lithotripsy, Lasik and a myriad of other things.  The in-patient area is 120 private beds - with a little different style than ours.  Since family often stays with a patient in the hospital, there is an area for the family to stay/sleep as well as an area for the patient.  So, pray with me and a bunch of others that our Abba would grace me with the opportunity to interest somebody in populating the facility and providing modern and Hippocratic medicine to Tirana.

Alban commented that doctors and judges are disdained in Albania... both take “favors” from their supplicants and seem unconcerned about those who haven’t the wherewithal. While there is a style of public medicine, it is grossly inconvenient, available primarily in Tirana leaving vast swathes of countryside without care, and selective.  I have the impression that Hippocratic medicine is yet to reach Albania.  Wouldn’t it be incredible if that dawning were associated with our Abba?  So, pray with me that God would make this possible!

Well, the gray morass has continued to envelope us as we climb to our cruising altitude.  Now begins the long wait... already I’ve been in my seat for an hour (waiting to take off, then all the rigamarole that follows) besides the 1.5 hours from Tirana and 2 hours waiting in Munich... it will be another 11.5 to 12 hours before the opportunity to stand in line and go through passport control and customs once more.  The first time I did this, the weirdest thing (and most memorable) is when the passport control agent said, “Welcome home.”  It did feel welcoming.  Well, at the end of this is a scurry to get my bag, call my hotel, wait for the van, and then unpack a little in order to sleep for a few hours before I head to the Central Coast from San Francisco. 

Well, I’ll fill you in on more after I reach the West Coast.  There is much to share; much of it will have to be in person. 

Mirupafshim!

OK, so now it's Thursday, 7 November

Wow!  Time sure does fly!!  I have only one week left before I will be winging my way back to the West Coast!  It will be nice to have a washer and dryer again.

I must admit, I feel comfortable here in Albania.  The people are so kind and forgiving of a bumbling "tourist"; they are so willing to help.  Yesterday, for the first time, I met a friend of mine on the street and he said a very loud "Mirmenjes" (Good morning) to me as I was on a mission and not expecting a friendly face.  While I'm used to seeing people from the Center as I amble around here, this was completely unexpected.  It made me feel I belong here.

The madras in Tirana

The layout of Tirana is finally becoming imprinted.  If you know me, you probably realize that I am usually 90 to 180 degrees "off" when I am trying to find my way... rarely do I manage to "feel" like I'm going in the correct direction.  That happens here, too, but I'm getting a better sense of where things are. 

When I first came, there were no maps that I could find - most streets were unnamed.  On one of my visits, I guess maybe two years ago, there was a frenzy to name all the streets because of an effort to get into the EU.  I blogged about it at the time; names of streets were going up indiscriminately,  sometimes being changed by the residents of the streets.  Now, there are lots of maps  - most too complex for me.  I have a little old map that Berti gave me 2-3 years ago, and on it are many of the main streets.  With that map, I am beginning to put together the "lay of the land."  I finally have the "University" in the right place in my mind, the "lake," the "bead" store, the prison and so on.  It makes it so much more cohesive, and allows me to find my way around more easily.

Ocean front, Durres

Well, on Tuesday, I was "under the weather."  I think that's when I put together the last post, telling you about the wonderful weekend we spent in Vlora.  You will think I have only come here to be a tourist this time, but please realize that there has been a request that I not share much of what I am doing here so publicly.  That's frustrating, I know, but probably for the best.

So, one of my good friends here has only had one day off since I was last here - despite her plans during the summer to take a week to go to the sea.  So, I took her to Durres yesterday - it was "her" day... and we decided that the rain would not dampen our spirits. 

We took a van to the "train station" in Durres, she met one of her best friends and I was met by another old friend, Arian.  Arian and I went to an incredible pasticeri where we met his wife and young son, and we had a wonderful time there.... eating!  Yummy!  I could have taken the whole pasticeri home with me, but decided to leave it there so you could discover it, too, when you come to Albania.

Walkway along the waterfront

Then, I met up with my special friend, and we had coffee and just walked.  She showed me her old haunts, we walked along the sea wall which has been "cleaned up" since I was last there.  We had another coffee and talked at length.  I think it was good for her to be able to spend time and discuss some questions she has about her business.  Well, I'm not too much of a business person, but God stepped in and I think we were able to come to some conclusions that hopefully will result in a more successful business.  This is vital... much of what she does impacts my ministry in one of the suburbs here, and she has a responsibility to contribute to her household income.  Her work with me is entirely voluntary.

Sunset

Her last wish of the day was to see the sun set over the sea.  Well, we stood there and talked as the sun set - it was lovely.  The California coast is not the only place where the sun falls into the sea!!!  It was like home - except for the mosquitoes; I now have a few more itchy, red bumps!  The mosquitoes here are quite intelligent, and sneaky!

Via Egnatia, Durres - feet of Paul

Today I visited the prison, and spent quite a bit of time discussing love again... mother love and father love.  Almost every woman at the table had lost or been abandoned by her father at a young age, or had never known him.  Interesting... what does that say about the importance of a father?  Well, the last time that we talked about love, the ladies agreed that "real" love is mother love.  It was quite fruitful to morph that that concept into father love.  It naturally led to the Father of love.  Oh, Abba, that these ladies would know that they are not forgotten, and that price of their sins has been paid for them, if only they will accept it.

Then, I hurried home because I had a few errands to run before catching a bus to the suburbs.  I had

Durres Coliseum

to find the bead store - well, it's not really a bead store, but it serves as one.  It doesn't have many of the things you would think would be in a bead store, but I was looking for pony beads so that I can complete a project that I had not planned for.  It has been good to have an Action Packer here - it has allowed me to be flexible, and I will be teaching the crochet necklace at one of the churches - not something I packed for, but there were some "left-overs" from my last visit.  I did find beads similar to pony beads, but I must say were a little more "precious."  Oh, well, it will allow me to complete the project.

I needed also to find a small crochet hook for my project, and there was one lady at the prison who, at my last visit, was in tears because she didn't have the tools to make anything for her children.  So, I bought a crochet hook for me and a second one for her as well as some crochet thread... what do you call it?  At any rate, one of her "family members" will leave it for her, and hopefully she can make something for her children.

All the while as I was running here and there, I was also looking for a special kind of pliers that I should have brought with me, but in the effort to reduce the weight of my luggage, I forgot that I'd need it.  Oh, well.  Albania, the land of improvisation.  I did find only one set of pliers - used, the points did not come together, and they were definitely not going to do what I needed to have done.

Durres mosque above art gallery

Then off to the suburbs and an encounter with some of the women I think God has purposefully placed in my way here - one an Ob-Gyn.  My medical colleague showed me some videos she has on her new iPhone 5 - she seems to have a sad life.  Also, had the opportunity to collect some of what I had ordered and taught a new person how to do the project I brought.  Then helped the storekeeper clean and get rid of some things that didn't need to be in the store.  I now have two sewing machines which need to be repaired in my room right now.  I'll take them in tomorrow.

And this was going to be a post about Durres.  So much for the "well-laid plans."

Will try to spend a little of tomorrow with you, but the next two days are pretty full!!

Pafshim!

 

It's Tuesday - 5 Nov.

If I had to choose a day to be sick, I guess this is as good as any.  I think it basically has been raining all day - at least it was raining every time I was conscious... and raining hard, at least it sounded hard.

Yesterday, my throat got sorer and sorer.  I developed a dry cough, and my chest felt tight.  By the time I got home, I took a hot shower, had some hot tea, and went to bed.  This morning, or actually during the night, I woke up with a "sloppy" cold - stuffy/runny nose, tearing eyes, etc.  At least my chest felt better - I must admit that, being the only guest last night made me feel like, if I needed help during the night, it would be hard to find.

There are some things I have neglected to show you and here's one... breakfast for less than $5 - toast, coffee, water, two eggs and bacon.

Ismail Qemali

OK, spent the weekend with Alban and Dori in Vlora; what a beautiful city it is.  We walked and walked; the weather cooperated, and we found Vlora not as smoggy as Tirana.  It has about 80,000 people in the city (about 185,000 in the metropolitan area), sports a Mediterranean climate, and was the city in which the independence of Albania was declared on 28 Nov 1912 by Ismael Qemali Vlora, during the  First Balkan War  - remember?  Last year was the centennial.

Albania's
Betsy Ross - Marigo Posio

It was settled first by the Greeks as a colony along the Illyrian coast in the 6th century BC and was named Aulon (a name still used by Greeks for the city; the Italians call it Valona), and has been continuously inhabited since then... 26 centuries.  WOW!!  It is only 70 nautical miles from Bari, Italy - the closest port - and the mouth of the Bay of Vlora is guarded by the island of Sazan... a naval station at which Dori's father worked.  Sazan was an Italian and German submarine and naval base during WWII, so was extensively bombed by the Allies.  It was liberated by the Partisans under Enver Hoxha in 1944, and the base at Sazan was then leased to the Soviets.  When Albania cut ties with the USSR in 1961, Khrushchev threatened to occupy Vlora, but the Cuban missile crisis interrupted his plan.  However, after Khrushchev invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, Enver Hoxha realized how vulnerable Albania was, and built thousands of concrete bunkers from which to defend the country in case of an invasion by USSR - these bunkers still dot the Albanian countryside even today. 

Can you see Sazan in the distance?

Vlora is surrounded by mountains and forests, olive groves and orange orchards.  A chemical used in tanning (Vloronia) is named after the Italian name for the city - being found in the acorn caps from the forests surrounding the city.

Israelite pasticeri

Vlora became a haven for Sephardic Jews in the 16th century as

The old synagogue

they fled from Spain and Portugal.  There is a synagogue which still stands, but is now "re-purposed," since essentially all the Jews left and headed for Israel after Communism fell.  At least one family has returned, though, and opened a bakery!

The OLD walkway across the marsh

Confessionals in the monastery

Poling and dropping nets,

Grilled ngjala - actually quite good!

We explored an old monastery on an islet in the bay - walking over the marshy water on an rickety old wooden walkway.  It is beautiful - Orthodox, and still used for celebrations and holy days.  It had some icons left, but many had been pillaged.  In the marsh, there were fishermen, fishing for ngjala - eels.    They pole their canoes around the bay, dropping nets.  Then they slap the water and yell to scare the eels into the nets.  When we were finished at the monastery, we went for lunch, and enjoyed some of their catch!

We took afternoon naps, then ate dinner at Kolonet - the Albanian equivalent to McDonald's - you could get whatever you wanted... pizza, chicken wings, slovaki,  hamburgers.

The reception center where they gather at holidays

No prohibitions on images of people

See the money?

Kuzum Baba Vlora

An area to light candles

The next morning, Alban agreed to take me to the local Bektashi administrative building (new) as well as the shrine of the founder of the sect.  By the way, for some reason, green is the color of the Bektashi.  The Bektashi are a Sufist sect of Islam, mystics, and they are centered in Tirana.  It is common for the Sufists to visit the graves of their revered leaders for luck - and leave money or some remembrance.  It says on the entry to the administration center that Kuzum BabaVlora would live eternally as long as people remembered him.  It was especially interesting to me as I have been studying the sufist sects.

Sunni mosque

There is only one Sunni mosque in Vlora, essentially across the street from the synagogue.  It was hard to photograph as it is surrounded by trees.

Monument to the partisans

Every city I have visited also has a monument to the Partisans who died during WWII.  The Partisans fought against Italy and Germany, and were essentially led by Enver Hoxha who later became the Communist dictator.  Virtually every family has someone buried in the monuments - if not father or brother, then an uncle, grandfather or cousin.  So, on Patriots' Day, virtually the whole population goes to these monuments and leaves a memento, remembering the ones who fought the invaders.

All in all, it was a wonderful visit, and I learned a lot.  I enjoyed getting to know Dori's family a little better; how gracious they were to me!

After I returned on Sunday, I met with a couple of friends - as I return to Albania, relationships become deeper and I find my friends and me sharing about family, children, work and all those things that women discuss.  It has really been a blessing to get to know these wonderful ladies a little better - and share our lives with each other.  My friends are such an encouragement to me... they are such mature Christians, listening to our Abba, and I have a lot to learn from them!

Listening intently

The neediest received staples

Also had an opportunity to share again with the ladies, and challenged them to consider CHOOSING Christ, rather than passively accepting their family tradition of Islam/Orthodox/Catholic.  This was the monthly meeting, and there was also a speaker who shared about hypertension.  Afterwards, the neediest received a bag of staples.  One thing that happened, is that I found a Bible study for them from Australia which has been translated into Albanian by a new friend, Teuta.

We've started a new project, which hopefully it will be completed by the time I leave - at least, I hope so!  The women here are eager to work... they just need something to do.  So, let's see what we can do about that.  There may be a Christmas panair (fair, bazaar) here in their future, so you can pray about that.  They only have one month to prepare, but I have some ideas for them.

OK, I'm going to go and take another hot shower - hoping that my plan to visit Durres with one of my friends will not be upset by this blasted virus!!! 

Pafshim!

It's Friday!

How do I know it's Friday?  Well, it's the Muslim holy day, and they were sitting in rows outside the mosque down both cross streets listening to the sermon... at least I think it was a sermon.  They were just sitting there, not bowing to Mecca.  But, it was unusual to see everyone facing the same way.  I didn't have my camera at the ready, so cannot share an image with you.  I'm always learning something new.

The local produce aisle...

It continues to be lovely here - although the smog is accumulating and diminishing the blueness of the sky.  While I was driving to the suburbs today, the smog was an obvious presence, more so than in LA.  I wonder if there is an inversion here, like in LA.  That would make sense - the geography is similar. 

Tobacco for sale

OK, down to business.   We've settled accounts with many of the people we are working with in the suburbs, and have visited with them a couple of times.  They have started new projects that I brought, and will diligently work on them.  Hopefully, they will be finished on Monday when I introduce new designs.  We are working on several things - looking for things which will be sold here.  There is a panayer (fair) in one month, and luckily (as God already knew), I have something that my friends can make and perhaps sell.  It would be good for them to learn to sell what they make.  We've tried crocheting scarves - they look good.  We have doll sweaters - they look good, too.  We've discussed various types of bags and clothes, and lots of other things to make and hopefully we will have lots of merchandise in one short month.... now, if only we can get into the panayer!  Wouldn't that be exciting?

My friend raved about this

See where it is made!

Spent last evening with a group Roma women and Julee.  I was asked to share my testimony and then we made Debbie's rings.  They LOVED them!!  Debbie, I am having difficulty getting the right size!  I will be with another group of Roma women next weekend and will again make Debbie's rings.

And so the West comes to Albania

I've spent quite a bit of time "hoofing it."  One of the first things I saw was this advertisement for IVF (In Vitro Fertilization), offered at the Spitali Amerikan.  Now, it is a hospital invested in by Americans, run by Albanians, and physician staff is Turkish.  So, it's hardly "The American Hospital."  I have learned that it, along with others, "ambulance chase"... that is, they pay taxis and ambulances to bring the injured to their ER.  While that happens in the US, by and large, the patient is taken to the closest appropriate ER.

This offer is that for 2200 Euro, they will try twice to implant eggs.  The "flip side" shows what you can get with a little more, but is in Lek.  For 85,000 Lek (about $850), they will take care of all prenatal care, the birth, 6 months of pediatric care, and a thyroid test on the infant.  For 20,000 fewer Lek, you get all the same, except only 3 months of pediatric care and no blood test.

Talking about hospitals, I have found out some interesting facts about the abandoned hospital.  I have been told where it is (now I just have to have plenty of time to walk there... it is a long way), may get a tour, and have learned a little about medical care here.  So, as you may remember, one of my dreams would be to have this hospital open, honest, patient centered, and a place that interns/residents and fellows in training from the US would come to train themselves and to be an example for and provide training for local physicians not only with their competency but also with their approach to patients.

OK.  I always seem to go off when I get on the blog.  I share all of my dreams... most of which probably will never come to fruition.  But, if we don't dream, then nothing will ever happen. 

I'm off to Vlora to spend some time with Dori's family this weekend... we'll see what the weather is like.  It should be in the 70s there, too.  Hopefully, it will be good weather. 

You know, peoples' lives keep getting in the way of all the things I want to do here - each trip is so unique!  But, isn't that what it's all about?  Peoples' lives.

It's Tuesday morning...

As little children...

It's Tuesday, and I think I have missed a couple of days.  I finally am beginning to feel like I am winning the battle - gosh, wouldn't it be nice to say winning the battle against evil, or winning the battle against cancer?  No, my battle is a simple one - the common cold.  Isn't it true that you complain most about those things that are the least important?

OK, I am still battling against things somatic, though.  For the very first time, last night I took a pain pill here in Albania.  I am praying that my neck/head/shoulder pain will remit this morning.  I must admit that it makes me excited that the Enemy finds my activities here so important that he would be so persistent in trying to deter me.  Isn't that the truth?  So, please pray for my worn out neck - and that the Evil One would be defeated!

Do I have to speak Albanian to work here?

It is an absolutely beautiful morning today.  I looked out the window to blue skies and sunshine.  The temperature has been in the 70s, I'm sure (although I have never been good at guessing ambient temperature), but rises midday along with the humidity... and the wind dies down.  Yesterday was a glorious day... I spent it with a special friend from Bathore.  We met at Taiwan - no, we didn't take another international flight, there is a building called Taiwan close to the Qendra Stefan.  We "had a coffee" (a national pastime) there, and caught up with each other.  I am finding that as I return, the relationships become deeper - people are beginning to share deeper things.  It is gratifying, and allows me the opportunity to know them better, pray for them, and, perhaps by the grace of God, say something that is a balm for them. 

Setting up - transport to R, 'counter' behind him

Remember when you first came to church and everyone seemed to be happy and "have it together"?  Then you got ot know a few people, and you realized that at least those few had a problems that approximated yours?   The more people you got to know, the more they seemed just like those outside the church - in terms of problems - and the thing that distinguished them is their Savior, their position in Christ.  And, the closer they were to Christ, the more distinct they were from the world?  Well, it is like that here.  His people face the same problems that everyone in the world faces.  Unfortunately, sin and tragedy are indiscriminate.   One of the blessings that God gives us is each other, right?  We bear each others' burdens.  In that simple sharing, there is comfort.  Why?  I don't know.  It doesn't solve the problem; it doesn't keep the Evil One at bay; it doesn't confront any earthly perpetrator.  How like God!  Is it the same when we pray?  Is the simple process of sharing with our Creator like a balm?  Let me know what you think!

See the new broom... twigs peaking out above

Today, I meet with the pastor of IPA.  He summarized his sermons in this way:  the Spirit led him, when he first came, to spend two years on preaching love God, then some years later a two year series on loving one another, and now after some time a series is to begin on loving the world.  It struck me - TWO YEARS???  Is it so hard to love God?  Or one another?  Or the world?  Perhaps it takes that long to break through that shell that forms around us as we "take care" of all those things placed in front of us by our physical lives - you know, family members, maintaining a roof and food, clothing ourselves - then there are those other things - a spa trip, that vacation to Disneyland, or a new car.  We get focused on ourselves, don't we - me first! - and forget about those things which we cannot touch, or see, or smell.  We get trapped in our physical.  We can opine about the metaphysical, imagine heavenly battles, envision the Throne - but at the end, we are jostled back into the physical.   Perhaps it does take two years of sermons to explore loving God - perhaps even a lifetime.

Ok, I'm a bit preachy today.  I'm off!  It seems this trip will be a more quiet and subtle endeavor than before... partly necessitated, so far at least, by my physical embodiment.  But, I can't help but think that the long conversations so far are Divine Appointments, that could have been missed had I been feeling better, with more energy and focus on "getting things done."  How Western I am!

More later...  Pafshim

Off to a slow start... sort of

As I mentioned in my last blog, the dreadful common cold made itself known to me in a very physical way (sore throat) on the first leg of my trip over here.  If I were home, I would traditionally just power through - so why is it different here?  Is it the time change?  Is it the atmospheric pressure?  Or the longitudinal meridian?  I am beginng to  think there is a lot of physical stress just making the trip and adjusting to the new time zone.  Whatever!  I was not ready to hit the ground running, like I had hoped (there were a couple of things I had hoped to do the day I got here), but have managed to stay on track, and will pick up the slack, I'm sure.

Did you know that there is a lottery to get an American citizenship here?

We had our first Quilt Leaders group on Saturday, with Adi and Dori as well as a missionary recently back from Turkey and Ela.  A funeral took precedence for a number of others, so we may repeat it in the next few weeks if we can get a group together.  We went over a few "facts" about quilting, and then started doing a couple of the squares.  There was a suggestion to change the format of the instructions - are there any computer nerds out there who could help me with graphics?  I can't seem to begin to make the changes they suggested, but I think theirs is a fabulous idea and would make the instructions so much easier!

I've been in touch with Adi & Berti, Sue & Blair, Dori & Alban, the Roma team, the prison ministry, the Bathore team (my friend Migena is currently the main speaker at an event in Greece), and some other special friends.  One never knows what God has in mind for you when you travel to Albania (or anywhere else for that matter).  It seems that my experiences over the years have uniquely qualified me to  help a friend over here, and we've spent some extended time together.  Praise God that He is such a good planner!

So, hopefully, the anticipated activities should begin in earnest this week.  I will be traveling to Bathore to meet up with the widows early in the week, review the last order we received and make sure it is completed, begin to teach the new project, and so on.  My plans for Bathore are ambitious - pray that we can involve enough people so that we can get all these things going and overcome the initial inertia,  grease the wheels, and then can pick up some momentum.  We have a little momentum at present, we just need to get the flywheel (does anyone know what that is?  OK, I hear my son say "Google it," so I have and it is an apt analogy) going a little faster.

Debbie has provided a project for the Roma women, and we have done it with the missionaries and they are enthusiastic.  Thanks, Debbie!!  That project may also find its way to Bathore and to a group of students taking English classes through CRU.  Thanks for the supplies, Melanie!

Oh, the call to prayer!  I was so tired last night that I went to bed at 8 (we are no longer on Daylight Savings Time here), only to wake up 7 hours later at 3 am.  So, I have managed to do a few things, but will lie down for a few minutes again before I get up "in earnest."  Who really wants to start the day at 3 in the morning?

I'll try to chronicle my day this evening - until then... Pafshim!

  

What a wonderful country!

The sunset on Tuesday, 22 Oct was absolutely beautiful.  Did you see it?  The only problem for me was that I was viewing the sun as it was setting behind Morro Rock as we took off, not from Venice or Manhattan Beach as we were landing in LA.  Yep, my flight was delayed about an hour.  It was good that I had a little extra time - it was nary too much.  I bid a friend I had found on my flight good-bye, then took off at a fast walk for my next gate... and, the strap on my shoulder bag broke!  Managed to get it jimmied to my "wheelie" and trekked the 100 miles from United to the Bradley International Terminal at LAX.   You know, UAL flights from SLO couldn't be any further away and still be in the same airport!

An Albanian widow

Then, I found the arrival level for Bradley, but couldn't figure out the departures... I forgot it was two stories!  For awhile, while under construction, I think they were both together.  At any rate, managed to find security, take off my shoes, belt and so on, found the gate number and was running up to the gate as the plane was loading.  So!  Good to have a little wiggle room in a flight schedule - especially from SLO.

The flight from LA to Munich was uneventful - sat next to a Romanian in the very last row of economy.  It was good - with my special meal, I didn't have to tolerate the wafting fragrance of the upcoming meals for too long before they served me my vegan plate of stewed squash and tomatoes for both breakfast and dinner - I must admit, they changed the starch from rice to potatoes.  And there was fruit, too.  All in all, it was good, actually, I shouldn't complain - just a little surprised at the repeat for breakfast.

Check out the cappuccino art

The stewardesses kept looking at me funny with my shoulder bag dragging it's strap - and I finally told them it had broken in LAX as I was changing flights.  One of them commented - "You should replace it here, this is Germany and things aren't too expensive!"  Well, I don't know where she shops, but I took her advise and looked at the shops in the airport - from those named after someone like Guiton to those with advertised deals, and the least expensive bag was about $100... more than I was willing to spend.  Bought some water - 3,35 Eur - about $4.50 for a pint of plain water.  So much for Germany not being expensive!

Then on to Vienna - found free internet there and sent an e-mail home, and finally arrived in Tirana at midnight on Wednesday night.  It was wonderful to see Alban waiting for me as the ground crew wrestled with getting the bags on the conveyor belt for us to pick up!  Both my Action Packers made it unscathed!  Praise God for that!  And as I pushed my disabled cart (you know I'd get the one with un-aligned wheels) out the door under "nothing to declare," I watched from the corner of my eye as two customs officers were eying me and pointing.  Maybe they already know me with my Action Packers - they didn't ask if I had anything to declare... which I didn't.

My husband on an AERO trip

So, here I am.  I've seen Dori and greeted old friends here at the Stephan Center (I saw Kyle as he was waiting for one of the Roma missionaries to join him and caught up with both of them; my taxi driver was there as well, and I caught sight of Blair who managed to scurry away before I could open the door).  The people who work here are also friends, so spent some time catching up with them - one of the waiters is now in college, his mother works upstairs and her sister is OK after breast cancer treatment in Greece - so there was lots of catching up to do.  Today (Thursday), though, as been low profile as I have tried to let my body rid itself of a
pesky cold virus that made itself known on the SLO to LA flight.

So, please do pray that God would be glorified and Christ seen as I am here - and if you have an extra moment, would you also pray that this virus would make a speedy exit?  Thanks!

Early morning - June 19

Well, I guess it's time to come home - my toothbrush broke!  It has been an incredible time here - and I can't wait to share.

It has been replete with sewing, beading, evaluating, catching up with old friends and enjoying new ones, and HEAT!!  The thermostat is being cranked up today again, and I must say, without any doubt, that I am not acclimated.  Of all the things which have been a problem, this is the biggest - but, as I've been here, it has become less so.

Monday, I was asked to evaluate the handwork of the women (not just the widows) of Bathore for World Vision.  They are hoping to put together a panair (read "fair") for these ladies to sell their wares.  I must say that the ladies were so adept at so many hand works!  They needed a lesson, however, in the British custom of "waiting on line."  A couple of times they mobbed the area where I was working, trying to get their things evaluated.  Since then, I have had the surprise opportunity of seeing a close friend who works with World Vision and now supervises those working the north.  So, we talked about opportunities for hand crafts, and some ideas as to how to market them.

We also talked about building business in poorer areas with a goal of aiding the community - providing jobs, eduction and hope.  She is a visionary, and I can't wait to see what miracles will take place under her tutelage.

Yesterday was filled with errands, last minute deliveries and final good-byes.  We spent time with our special ladies - praying that the work of their hands might be fruitful.  Our Abba wants us to work, and these ladies are certainly willing to do that.  Now, if we can find them a market, and begin a sustainable business, then perhaps we will have a real impact on their situation.

Well, I'm wedging the last of my earthly goods into satchels as I prepare for my last ride out of Tirana for this trip.  God is certainly at work here; His many people are busy in so many areas.  It has been a blessing to meet Him here, and to encourage and help His workers.  Oh, that the Lord would continue to bless the works of His people here, and would cause a great tsunami of blessings on these people so that they would glorify and call upon Him.

Mirupashen.