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!