Golly, I’ve been here a week, and haven’t published a blog post yet.  I have written and written, but am fighting with the format, photos.  So, here goes another attempt….

Waiting!

Friday, 22 April
 27 hours and I finally arrived.  I must admit that after the third security pat down, I was done.  I could no longer find anything that I had carefully packed in my carry-on luggage… what had been on the bottom was floating on the top, and what I needed during the trip was utterly buried and inaccessible.  Well, so much for air travel in the 21st century!

 Preparing for this trip has involved so many!!!  How can I thank you to all.. and that includes my patient family! All that happens here has so little to do with me and so much to do with everyone who is praying, supporting this work in so many ways… cutting, packing, lugging, creating…  THANK YOU!!

Pam, cutting squares

The largest classroom

Saturday, 23 April-Tuesday, 26 April
Well, a quick turn to pick something up on Saturday and my back was history.  Sitting in a chair?  Really painful.  Walking… well, it wasn’t as painful as a chair.  So, I spent the next 3+ days taking pain meds and staying pretty much in bed.  With stretches, exercises and walks, the symptoms have begun to retreat… by Tuesday, I got to spend some time quilting with friends!

The pizza was so big - this is Don

You may already know that Krystal is opening her KidzClub for neighborhood kids (primarily Roma/gypsy) - transforming a former ground floor apartment/coffeehouse into a cheerful group of rooms destined for classes, homework help, Bible clubs, and crafts.  There is a large kitchen with good lighting, a sewing room with tons of storage, a large and cheerful classroom, a bathroom (an improvement over the last facility) and a multipurpose room.  Approval from court was relatively expedient (a praise!), and now we are waiting for the actual papers to be stamped and signed so the club can be registered for taxes (who would ever want to hinder that process), then a get together with parents and “Shazammmm!” it’s a ClubHouse.  Please pray that all of this will be complete so that Linda may open the center on Monday with her presentations!

Sewing Room... cute tree

Until it is open for the kids, though, the center is available for other types of gatherings… like a quilting club.  Bee, our Roma (gypsy) friend absolutely loved the quilt that Krystal hung on one of the walls in the center (it is one of the ones I brought over originally), and so Krystal asked if we could do a quilt with her.  So, we put together fabric (thank you for those who have donated fabric), found a relatively easy quilt pattern, and last Tuesday we started.

Multpurpose room with Pam

First, Bee thought she could choose just one of the fabrics… they are different from what is available here.  But, she got five different coordinated fabrics...the whole packet.  We showed them the quilt top I had put together before we left (so that we can sandwich/quilt/bind while I am here), and then began to cut out the pieces that will become the design.  My experience is that most of the time, Albanian women (and perhaps men, I don’t know) will stay at an activity for about 1½ to 2 hours

Bee and me

before they feel a need to go.  Our friend was there for, I think, 4 hours interspersed with running home to take care of her son’s meal, or whatever.  Krystal tells me that they have since spent some time learning how the sewing machine works… I don’t believe that she has ever worked with a sewing machine before.

First set of blocks done!  Wahoo!

I’d like to introduce you to Pam, an absolutely wonderful person from Georgia, who has partnered with Krystal in getting the KidzClub up and going.  Pam is into COLOR - it does my heart good!  According to Krystal, Pam has helped paint the walls, camouflage the pipes, and find interesting posters and stuffed animals.  Altogether, the KidzClub is an inviting and visually stimulating environment.  Knowing Pam and Krystal, it will be utilized for many activities to reach not only the kids in their neighborhood, but also their families.  I am so excited to see how God will use this facility and these women in His story.

Well, there's the call to prayer… that means it is 4:30 am.  I’m going to try to get a little more shuteye before the day begins.

Bekime (blessings)!