Tuesday morning

There is so much to tell you, and I have much to do this morning before I leave.  For the first time, I didn't sleep past 3:30 am - but kept trying, anyway.  That means that the time I spent tossing and turning could have been better spent sharing with you the sights and sounds of this wonderful trip.

It's 5:30 in the morning here - the minarets have finished their call.  It's fun (though sad) to think of an old, wizened man climbing all those stairs to sing out a call to prayer from the top of one of those spires, but I know that doesn't happen here anymore... it is all automated.

Lake at Fierze

Tropoje was beautiful - the air was clear, the alpine mountains green with cultivated plots horizontal on the hills.  One could imagine the AERO teams hiking the mountain trails to an area where you could just see a few specks designating a village.  The gorges were steep, with rivers bursting with water.  Albania has had an overabundance of water this year and is selling electricity to its neighbors.

Hydro electric plant

The rocks are a little slippery

We stayed in Fierze, a small Catholic town close to the largest hydroelectric plant in Albania, and despite the drizzle went to visit high above the plant.  We had a feast of local dishes, enjoyed meeting family, and visited over coffee.  I awoke to a cacophony of chirping birds, the lowing of a cow, and the tinkle of a herd of goats which couldn't decide where to graze - they kept going to and fro across their path just above my window!  You can just see them in this picture.  I can only imagine getting up each morning, stepping out the door of my flat to a vista of the lake, the sounds of the livestock, and the crisp mountain air.  This was the childhood of my friend!

Can you just see the goats?

Church on Sunday was so appropriate - the sermon was on the family of God... how we are siblings, we are to help each other in our family because by doing so we show the world how we are different.  I came away amazed that we all have siblings, albeit only a few at times, in even the most remote corners of the world.

The town of B-Currie from afar

Cutting fli

Baked from above in layers

Church was in B-Currie - a town named after a patriot who worked for independence in 1912.  It was good to see the town and understand how it is different from the city.  There is a traditional food called Fli (pronounced like the pesky insect) which is only made in Tropoje and Kosovo.  Despite a ridge that is the tail of the Alps between them, Kosovo and Tropoje share many traditions, foods, a dialect and an identity.  While it may have been expedient to draw an international border along a ridge of mountains, it apparently separated a people.  We looked into the shops looking for local goods - there is lots of crocheting, and perhaps we can turn that into a product that will sell well. There were many renditions of the local traditional dress, absolutely beautiful, which features beaded embellishment.  I didn't take any pictures though I should have.  I did not see much in the way of hand loomed wool or other traditional products.  Today I'll see a pastor from the north who works in Tropoje and see if she has some ideas or experience with local products.  Hopefully, later I will be able to visit Kruje - the home of Skanderbeg - where, I am told, there are many examples of traditional arts.

Then home again - passing through Kosovo en route.  I hope I can find a road map here - I'd like to see how things go together.  There is so much more to tell, but that will have to wait.  It was a wonderful, amazing trip with incredible friends which I will not soon forget!

Yesterday was Monday - and I spent it at Ida's.  We had three women who came to learn how to bead - they were excited to be able to earn some money.  Our agreement is that I will give them their first kit so they can learn how to do the pattern.  Then, if they do well, I will pay them to make several kits that I will bring home to see if I can market them.  With money in hand from the kits that they have beaded for pay, they can buy a few kits to make and market themselves.  These necklaces are different here, and although will not fetch nearly the price I hope to get in the US, I think they will sell for these ladies.  Perhaps you recognize the lovely face of Vera - and her younger girl Sylvie.  Vera picked up the pattern immediately, and will help her neighbor Negi (a young woman living alone with her five children).

Ida with her new necklace

Chamila and her necklace

We finished Ida's necklace - she was an incredible help with the ladies - and our neighbor Chamila also finished hers.  There is a lot of interest in the design - hopefully enough to elicit some funds for these widows.

Ida spent the rest of the afternoon greeting so many of the neighborhood women who just happened by.  There were some other widows that had been invited to come and learn to bead earlier in the day but who could not make it.  They will come today to learn.  We should have six ladies (and their children) this morning.  Pray that I keep everything straight!!  Especially as we introduce a new design - and I choose which women will do it.

One of the widow's daughters makes a braided (or knotted) necklace/bracelet that may go well with the beaded beads.  So, we'll investigate that.  So far, so good.  Please pray that I remember that this is Albania - with Albanian time - not the US.  The day is punctuated by many coffees, greetings, introductions, explanations, and I nearly itch to get my objective done.  I keep pinching myself to remember that I am not here to complete MY objective, but HIS.  We will meet Chamila, an ethnic Muslim, at church on Sunday... perhaps that is why I am here.

OK, please keep me in prayers for protection from illness (I am not able to control food and water as well as I have in the past and I came home last time with an unwelcome pathogen).  Please pray also that I recognize His opportunities and respond as He would have me.  Today the food aid for 34 widows will be delivered to Ida's - all done on $250 monthly.  Remember Ida in your prayers, as well... she helps support herself and her family with the things she makes out of her shop... I don't know when she has a chance to do any sewing.  Of course, I am there which complicates things, but even if I sit in the corner like a church mouse, she hardly has a chance to touch her sewing machine.  Last week, she showed me a stack of orders that must be done, and I know that I am an impediment by my very presence.  Pray also for Migena who has taken on extra work just to cover the expenses for the food aid... each month the goal is met by God's grace.  And, last but not least, please pray for these widows whose plight is so different than it would be in the US.  We are to care for widows - let this endeavor make a little difference and glorify Him!  (Please also remember that poor little guy with the heart condition...)

Mirupashem!