A busy day, then a stroll...

Actually, I thought that I had last posted on Friday, but I see that my last post was Thursday.  So, let me bring you up to date.

 Anila (right) seemed to catch on quickly

Everyone is busy!

Friday was a great day, spent primarily at the International Christian Assembly - a wonderful church across from the Iranian (I think) embassy and around the corner from CCC.  We had about ten women who did both the hot pad and the pillow, of all ages, and a few hearty souls stayed until they were essentially done... about four or five hours.  Of course, we didn't begin on time, one of the three machines was malfunctioning (so we only had two), and only one iron.

The malfunctioning machine was sounding just fine after a  cleaning, but I didn't have a chance to clean it until the group was almost gone!  Everyone seemed to enjoy the time together, though, and we are getting together again this coming Friday to complete the pillow and work out the "kinks" for our visit to the prison. 

We have not yet found out how many women will be able to go to the prison, and we have a couple who have not yet done the pillow, so that will be something to work on this week.

After the ICA, we had a chance to meet a variety of people involved with the ministries in Bathore and with the magazine, Ilira - more later.

For Bonnie!

Saturday, the Pashos invited me for lunch and evening church.  It was a good opportunity to catch up with them, see their new home, and deliver some things we carried over.

The day was absolutely spectacular as I set out for the trek.  Because it was so nice, the going was slower than usual; the sidewalks were filled with people and vendors.  I decided to try to highlight some of the things along the way which reminded me that I was not home...  Albania is such a special place!!

First, I wanted to show that pets are becoming more common... I've seen more dogs being walked than before; dogfood is highlighted in more and more stores!  This pet store is for Bonnie... it looked prosperous, and had a couple of dogs (to the left of the steps) as well as cats for sale.  I hate seeing dogs in such small kennels, though.  Compared to the emaciated female dogs with hanging tits and protruding ribs seen along the streets, these look healthy and well fed.

A coffee

 The The first thing you notice along the route is the number of coffee shops with tables along the sidewalk.  People are busy talking and having "a coffee."  Notice, also, the bikes and (you can't tell from the photo) motorcycles parked along the street's edge.

But, you have to be alert!  Danger can lurk along the way.   The sidewalk is not necessarily always in good repair, and dangerous areas rarely marked.

Store fronts can be below the sidewalk, at street level, or above (see the spiral stairs in the back?) going up.  These can protrude into the walkway.

You can get almost anything done - even buy fabric.  The store below on the left is probably a seamstress shop, but this is how fabric is often displayed.

Notice the lack of handrails; it would not be unusual to see the entrance to the tattoo parlor (right) without the glassed in area above its entrance.  Having this kind of protection is becoming more common.

Vendors set up anywhere - farmers from the surrounding villages, or people with a garden in town.  They can be on the sidewalk, an alley, along a fence... wherever there is an open space (to the right). 

Conversations along the way are also common - notice the two men on the left below, one with a bicycle?  I waited for several minutes while they chatted at a bottleneck in the route!

The food stand to the right is fairly stable (outside an open air market)... if you look hard, you can find another vendor in the back who is sitting and "covered," though her eyes are not.

Thursday, for the first time here, there was a woman on the street who was completely "covered."  She had black from the top of her head to her toes, though I assume she could see through her face covering.  There is this reaction in me - it's as if the person under all that material isn't a person at all... just a ghost, or a shadow, or a "negative image," a vacuum.  She was tall and stately, walking with her husband.  I wonder what God thinks of covering up half of those made in His image.

At any rate, finally made it to the Dori and Alban's - they have a new house which is absolutely beautiful!!!  So, I will leave you wondering about that, and will close for now.

Take care!  Pray for the people of Albania! 

Mirupafshem!

It might be easier without photos...

Well, that was an experience - like none other I've had making these blog posts.  I was having trouble with text and photos, they were bouncing around, and I couldn't control the margins or spacing!  But, because I haven't taken a photo either yesterday or today, this post should be easier.

Yesterday I met with Krystal, a Christar missionary to the Roma here and a friend of Linda's.  How energetic!!!  It seemed like I had known her for years, and she understood the vision God has given me, even though my explanations were even more muddled than usual by my jet lag.  She is currently serving several different communities - including two Roma groups - a complex thing to do in this culture.  At any rate, there are many who lack marketable skills in her communities.  While her husband focuses on the men, her focus has been on the children, young girls and women.  Even here in Tirane, among the Roma, the girls get married early - often around 13 - and marriages rarely last a lifetime. 

Most of the children, though required to go to school, don't.  Often, the only "skill" they learn is begging.  Parenting skills are not a priority, "houses" may not have floors or walls, most eat one meal a day, if that.  Does this sound a little chaotic?  It does to me.  The plight of the Roma was much better under Communism - they were literate, and discrimination was officially not allowed.  However, now that the "heavy hand" is gone, people have reverted to age old prejudices and the Roma are ostracized.   Krystal says that even the "Albanian" community is stratified, based on income, I guess.  Enough!

So, another community that could use marketable skills for the women - those deserted or divorced by "husbands" (they are often not legally married at the outset) - most with children.  It sounds like Krystal (and her compatriots) have made inroads into the two Roma communities that they serve, and we strategized on how to introduce something that could blossom into an income for some of her friends.  I will be seeing her and two of her partners on Monday - we will check out beading supplies here, and I'll introduce a "craft" I brought over to give to the widows in Bathore... knitting jewelry.  Depending on their ability, these resulting pieces may be marketed in the US.  In addition, Krystal may have space for some sewing machines and a seamstress.  We'll see..

Today, I met with Suela, Anila and Lisa to check out the facilities at the prison.  It seems we may have a big enough group of Christian women who will commit to monthly visits; there are ten treadle machines (not all in working order) at the prison and random supplies (thread, etc.).  The women in prison appear willing to begin this new venture!  We sat around for an hour or so, and answered questions, discussed the project, talked with staff, and so on.  Suela will talk with the authorities to assure them of our intentions.  So, that was very productive, I thought.  Although we were not allowed to take photos today, I have been assured that we can take some during the class.  For the initial steps in this ministry, I think things went really well.  More later.  One thing I will share, is the sigh of relief when they let us out!

After that, I had an opportunity to strategize with Migena.  Remember Migena?  She is a wonderful woman who has a heart for widows in her country; I met her last spring, along with Kathie and Rhonda (both of whom traveled with me, if you recall).  The stories of many of the widows sound like the Roma above, and, in fact, I suspect many of them are Roma.  At any rate, perhaps you recall that Migena has, single-handedly, begun a ministry to serve some of these women, having had meetings for them monthly for probably the last year, more or less.  She has recently begun monthly food distribution to about thirty families which has been financed through several sources.  It is primarily through her efforts that she has brought quite a few to know the Lord.  For instance, she helped an older widow visit her recently widowed and pregnant daughter in Greece.  Through that relationship, both the mother and daughter, as well as other family members have come to know our Savior.

Recently, Migena organized a meeting for about 25+ widows featuring Martha, an author from the States who traveled here to lead a seminar for Christian leaders.  Martha's visit was facilitated through the efforts of CASMI (Come and Sew Ministries International), a sister ministry headed by my spring-time travel partner, Kathie.  Through their efforts, all of the attendees professed a belief in the Lord at the end of that meeting.  Migena is currently following up with everyone to make sure that they are "plugged in" to a church and to discipleship.

Migena has also worked hard, along with Dava (a widow), and Ida (a seamstress), to begin a ministry to teach widows a marketable skill - sewing.  Through the generosity of a grant from CASMI, they were able to obtain some sewing machines and are busy with weekly classes.  It was due to their ministry in Bathore to the widows there that Ida felt God nudging her move her sewing business to Bathore so that she could not only be closer to the widows she is teaching, but also to model a Christian business!

Recall that I brought with me a way to knit jewelry (above)...  Migena and I discussed the potential for this to become income-producing... there may be a way to market finished items in the States.  And, there were some other potential skills (some that I picked up at the Market) that might translate into income-producing ventures, so we talked a lot about those.  We had lots of ideas, some of which may actually see the "light of day."

So, with Migena, we will have a busy couple of days - visiting the staff of Ilira (a Christian magazine here for women) Evis (the director of the center I visited last spring in Bathore), and others.  God has placed such a heart in Migena, and I am proud to have her as my friend.

OK, I'm going to try to catch a few winks now that it is 4:30.  Pray I can fall asleep, and that this jet lag thing will plague someone else... not me.  Oh, bother, just pray it goes away and doesn't plague anyone!!

Take a gander at the Houston Market...

And I thought I had blunted the jet lag... well, that theory goes by the wayside.  Just couldn't stay up any longer last night, so laid down at around 9:30, thinking that would probably get me through the night, and I could wake up at a respectable hour... well, sort of respectable, like 5 or, with luck, 6.  Forget that!  I woke up at 2:30 am.  There is nobody else up, probably in the whole city... so thought I'd blog for a few minutes before I try to catch a few more winks.

Checking out samples, discussing...

Writing orders...

I thought I'd give you a view of the Houston Quilt Market before this new format (or my funky computer) completely drives me nuts.  I have pictures and text bouncing around at what appears to be random.  And, this blogging thing used to be easy!!

There were 22+ rows of vendor upon vendor.  You can see in the first picture how big the smaller vendors' spaces were, the second picture shows a bigger vendor with people writing orders.  The vendors who would share with me seemed to overwhelmingly say that they had wished this show had followed the election, thinking that the results of the election would have influenced the orders written.  Everyone agreed that people were kind of waiting anxiously before taking another financial risk.

Trying to give perspective... the lights go on forever!

Some vendors had lots of free space...

It didn't seem like the economy was much of a bother for many of the shop-owners, though.  New ideas and products, demonstrations, samples, quilting ideas abounded.   I took photos of lots of quilts - who would have guessed? - and found many ideas that might be translated into projects over here.   We have ideas for marketing, potential vendors if we want to open a store here, and it was generally a very productive time.

My lovely hostess after hours of driving, tromping the show!

Adi and I talked for hours about how a store might work, where it could be, what we would do there, strategies about introducing quilting or sustaining it over here.  Basically, she said we should focus on Tirane for now.  So, will not try to go north, but will still try to visit Morave and Berat.  It always seems like such a really long visit while I'm preparing, and the time goes by so fast, I wonder how I'm going to get it all done while I'm still here.

Well, I'm going to post this - so you can read it before it mysteriously disappears into the clouds somewhere.  I'll catch you up on my activities here in the next blog.

"You haved arrived"

Adi's GPS would announce "You have arrived!" when we would thankfully reach our destination in Texas.  It always made me feel a little special, somehow... you know, like when the car door opened, there would be a red carpet or something special.  That's how I felt when the door finally opened on the last airplane yesterday...

Last night I had trouble with the internet, and I see this morning that my post was not posted.  So, hopefully the kinks will be worked out soon, the photos will finally upload, and the internet will be more cooperative.  Do you think there is a battle going on????

Leaving Dallas, the Lufthansa captain skirted the storm, and we had a comfortable flight over the "pond."  You may ask how I know that it was comfortable... well, I couldn't sleep!  The guy behind me was sniffing and coughing all night - each time he blew his nose it sounded like a horn and I jumped.  The fellow beside me was snoring, and I just couldn't get comfortable.  Oh, well, the perils of modern day travel!

We arrived in Frankfurt, I found my way to the gate for Ljubljana (a trek), and then realized that I had given Alban the wrong information about when my flight would be arriving in Tirane.  So, I spent what little time I had trying to navigate the internet in German.  I can manage a little Albanian, a fair amount of Spanish, but very little German, unfortunately!  They said, in English, that I had 30 minutes of free internet, but the access process was explained in German, and I could never figure it out!  They announced our plane which was two stories down (we all got to carry our luggage and so on - no elevator), onto a bus then up a flight onto the plane), a nice trip to Ljubljana (I'm going to get that spelled right without the spell-checker pretty soon...), and then a sky-way into the terminal.  WOW!  No bus!  No stairs out of the plane!

The underground tunnel

Ljubljana (got it!), at least the airport, has an Austrian feel.  It is clean, modern, seemingly efficient with yet another language to navigate, and the people seemed more friendly than Frankfurt.  We arrived with snow covering the surrounding mountains, an inch on the ground at the airport, and the ambient temperature at 0 degrees Celsius. 

Remember that Slovenia is part of the EU; Albania is not.  After managing another passport check (I think it was my third or so), I went looking for the "B" gates.  It was easy to find all the other gates, C, D, E, F were on the same floor.  But, the "B" gates were through an inconspicuous glass door, down five (count them, five) stories of stairs without an elevator, along a long corridor, and up two stories at the other end (thankfully, with an elevator).  Along the way, I met a fellow traveler from Spain who was lamenting her inability to communicate.  She spoke under her breath, as she panted her way up the stairs, that she didn't speak English, German, French... and nobody could understand her.  Now you understand why I say that I can speak a fair amount of Spanish...  we understood each other.

Well, even at the B gates, the internet was free.  So, I sent an e-mail off to Alban, hoping he would check before he got into the car to pick me up, and I nodded off while waiting, and again flight.

Albania was not covered in snow, but was drippy when we arrived.  Alban had gotten my e-mail, Dori and the kids were there (they have really grown!).  Customs was concerned about the Action Packers, one of which, they explained, had been in lost and found because all the identification had come off (at least it made it to Tirane).  One official-looking fellow came up to me as I was trying to leave in the "nothing to declare" line, asking what I had in the Action Packers.  When he learned that I had sewing machines, he wanted an invoice.  But, I said, they were "old" machines and I had no invoice.  He called over a colleague who conferred with him.  I offered to open the Action Packer; he agreed and checked out one of the machines.  He called over the boss, more conversation among the three agents, the boss looked, another request for an invoice, I explained the machines had been used in a school... a school???  Yes, in the US.  All interest was lost!  And, I was free to go.

So, I'm at the Stefan Center - awake at 3:30 in the morning - but have basically unpacked, slept, and am ready to go.  My phone is charged, I have bought some minutes on it, and I meet Krys at 10.  Think I'll try to catch a few winks before I get up in earnest, but did want to let you guys know that I am here.  And, it seems, I have at last mastered the new way to import photos, so will try to add a few more later today showing the Houston Market and so on. 

Mir pashen!

Wow! What a show!

Well, today we again walked the Houston International Quilt Market.  Adi and I learned a lot, got some new ideas for income producing activities for women, discussed quilting in Albania, looked for vendors, investigated marketing strategies with a couple of vendors at the market, and generally had a very interesting time.  There are several European vendors who are closer to Albania than the US, so we will investigate them after getting home.  And, will take over a few more ideas with me.

Tomorrow, I'm off "across the pond" and over the storm (hopefully).  There are thousands of flights cancelled, but so far, my flight is on track.  Will check in after I arrive.

Well, I am having trouble with photos, and it is quite late (all day at the market, a 4 hour drive, then sorting and putting things away).  I have to get up and repack, do some errands, and then head to the airport, so I am going to hope that everyone will be OK with no photos again today!!  I'll get back into the swing of things soon.

"The countdown" came and went...

I can't believe it... I had so many plans to blog in the days leading up to my departure, but a crummy old virus took residence in my upper respiratory tract, and the last few days were a blur.  Seems appropriate, somehow, last spring I left with a cold, and now I'm arriving (in Albania) with one... let's just hope that the aftermath is a little less dramatic (that is, no resulting bacterial infections).

So, as you read this, I am wending my way east... first to Dallas, then a trip south with Adi to the Houston Quilt Market to scope out all the choices for a potential quilt store in Albania and to find vendors willing to deal with us so far away (if my crazy plans ever come to fruition).  Not anticipated, but very welcomed, is the opportunity to check out various "tools" that might be incorporated into a ministry for the widows to make jewelry or other adornments in an effort to produce income.  We've actually seen quite a few things that Adi thinks might work well.

Because I arrived at midnight last night and didn't get to sleep until 2:30 am, only to open my eyes and jump out of bed at 7:30 am to begin the 4+ hour trip south to Houston, I forgot my cord that would allow me to download photos.  So, sorry, no visuals today!!  I've tried to Jerry-mander something but it doesn't seem to be working!

When I have a little time and I'm not on my knees typing on the computer located on the bureau, I'll fill you in on more.  But, wanted to say, "Mirpashen."  Be "chatting" with you soon...

A quilting bee at GBC

Here we go again!  Last month we had a number of people who learned how to make the Albania Gospel Spinner pillow covers - and we had fun.  This month, we are making Albania Pointed Star Hot Pads.  Join us this Friday and Saturday (one of both days) for 10 to 3 in the Community Room at GBC.  Please let me know if you are planning to come; I would like to have enough "kits" available for anyone who would like to make this project.  It's fast and easy!  And, of course, can you see the Gospel message in it?

If you couldn't care less about another hot pad... then join us anyway and do the Spinner Pillow covers, begin or complete another project, or bring your hand sewing, knitting or crocheting!  Those who were there last month had fun.

There will be examples of other crafts I will be taking to Albania at the end of this month... your thoughts are always appreciated!