Odds and Ends

Life is finally settling down to a predictable, fairly hum-drum pace. Monday thru Thursday, I wake up at 7:25, take a shower, eat some granola or eggs or fruit while I read my Bible, and meet the staff* downstairs for devotions at 8:30. The kids and I do school from 9 to 12:30, when we eat lunch, and then read a library book together; we're currently on the last chapter of "Pretty Polly," by Dick King-Smith.

After lunch, we do school for another hour or two, and then I send them downstairs to their house, and breathe a big sigh of relief! It doesn't take long for me to score their work and map out the next day's pages, so I'm usually back in my room by 3, where I read, nap, clean, and/or sit in front of my laptop until 5:30, at which time I go downstairs and help with supper.

Meals are interesting. Even though families invite nannies into their life, it still feels like an intrusion at times. We're treated to the normal drama of a normal household--arguements between husbands and wives, frustrated outbursts at the kids, sassy comments from the kids... comfortable in the context of people you've always known and loved, but when you're a nanny, sometimes you curl your toes under the table and become very interested in the artwork on the refrigerator.

But I guess that's all part of the job.

Misc: I sure mentioned meals a lot in that section. It should come as no surprise that I've gained 4 kilos since April 2. (4 kilos sounds much nicer than 8 pounds...)

David and I now share our apartment with another short term missionary, Nathan, from Washington state. He just graduated from university as a civil engineer, but has felt God's call to the Balkans for about two years.

And then there is the possibility of another roommate in July--Mission Nannies has a girl to fill my place once I leave on August 5, an 18-year-old from Texas. But the kids' dad had a talk with me the other night and was very positive and appreciative about everything I've done, in taking initiative while he's been sick, and the way the kids have responded so well to me, basically pleading me to stay long term.

He phoned his wife about this new girl, and she said, I want Lauren! So I told him I would pray about it... but at this point, I don't feel led to stay. I like it here, the family is growing on me the more I get to know them and understand the way they work, but all the while, in the back of my mind is the fact that my visit has an end date. I can definately endure four months, and enjoy those four months, but opening the question of a longer commitment... it's like I'm pacing my strength, mentally and emotionally, to last four months, and the thought of an extension is not a tempting thought, besides all the changes it would mean at home (losing jobs, missing family, etc).

Of course I know I should be open to the possibility if an extension is what God wants for the next step in my life, but I've been here two months, and Albania hasn't rooted itself inextricably in my heart. It's beautiful, and the people are generous and outgoing. But I believe that when you serve long term on the mission field, it should be in a place God has put on your heart, and I really don't feel that for Albania.

Knowing there will be a teacher to fill my place leaves me feeling, at this point anyway, free to continue on. I don't want to look at my time here as an assignment, a task to be gotten through, where I learn what God wants me to learn and get out... and yet, some days are like that.

The verses I've been reading lately have been things like II Thessalonians, "But ye brethren, be not weary in well doing" and "the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ."

So I ask that you pray for God's direction. I've been praying all week, and feel that something really big would have to happen for me to stay. At this point, I believe God is wanting me to grow in peace and hope, patience and contentment, while I am in Albania, but he isn't necessarily asking me to stay.

Thank you for your prayers!


*The staff consists of Rudina, who is the church secretary, Mirella, who cleans, Alban, who drives the vans and disciples the young adults, Vici, who works in the office, Irachli, who drives the vans and fixes whatever needs fixed... as well as different teachers from the kindergarten upstairs, and the cooks.

Leddy got her Bible Friday night... she came into the apartment and said, "I am so happy, happy, happy! Pastori just gave me a Bible. I don't know why, but he just said it's a blessing from God."

Her smile stretched from ear to ear.

Sports Day

The International Christian school in Tirana hosted a sports day last Friday, and invited area homeschooled students. Jane and Michael had a wonderful time, and the weather was crisp and cool--I'm praying it lasts! I also made a friend, Anakoh, a 23 year old girl from Budapest, Hungary serving in Albania until July. We had a good visit while the kids played.

Jane, hopscotching

Michael, racing

The school is really nice, and the staff and students are from dozens of countries. I can't imagine the challenges!

Picnic BBQ

David planned a BBQ for the church's young adults last Saturday. He made hamburger patties, and I made pasta salad and brownies, two new foods for Albanians. The recipe used Nutella, and was amazing. They ate the entire pan. (I heard later that some of the guys ate so much food that they were sick.)

We loaded up the church's two vans and drove out to a wooded headland. Very beautiful.

Skipping rocks

Me with Ruca (23), a girl from the church who also works upstairs during the week with the church's kindergarten program.

Only in Albania... playing volleyball as a shepherd drives his flock of sheep home for the evening, bells jangling around their necks.

Nutella Brownies
Chocolate hazelnut spread: Europe's peanut butter. (Really. They don't sell peanut butter here.)

1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 t. vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup Nutella
1 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 t. baking powder

Melt butter, add sugar and vanilla. Cool slightly, stir in Nutella and eggs. Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl, add mixture to Nutella. Bake in greased 11x7 pan at 180 C for 25 minutes.

"Në fillim ishte Fjala..."

"In the beginning was the Word..."

There is only one translation of the Bible in the Albanian language. It's roughly equivalent to the NIV, but there are many problems with the translation, which have resulted in frustrating issues among Albanian converts.

This Tuesday, however, a new Shqip (Albanian) translation is being released. It is a Study Bible, and the church is very excited about it.

There is a girl here that I've become friends with, Lidiana, who is 16 years old, and would love to trade in her old translation, but 4,000 lek ($40) is way out of her price range. Yesterday, another missionary in Durres talked to Lidiana about babysitting her children over the summer, and today at lunch Leddy said, maybe I can save some of that money.

The pastor plans to make a bulk purchase of the new Bibles, and took orders this afternoon from people in the congregation. I told him to get a copy for me, meaning to give it to Leddy. My first impulse was to pay for it myself, but then I wondered if perhaps someone else would like an opportunity to bless Leddy?

Every Saturday she volunteers at the church to make sandwiches and hand them out to children in the feeding program, and every Sunday she leads Children's Church. She is very sweet, always willing to translate for me.

My email address is on the sidebar--if anyone feels led to give $40 for a Bible, just let me know.

With Bruna in Tirana

It's warming up here in Albania... but the landscape is lovely. David, Bruna and I went to Tirana for lunch, at a restaurant that serves American-style food. Many English-speaking missionaries frequent the restaurant, and I was amused at the odd feeling it gave me to understand the conversations at the tables around us. I'm used to tuning out Albanian chatter! Then we walked around window shopping for several hours. It was a nice, relaxing day.

(In answer to your questions, Grandma, yes, Bruna is a girl from the church, one of the translators (the Pastor preaches in English). She is also David's girlfriend. Tirana is about 35 minutes by van. You pay the equivalent of $1 for a one-way ride in a van with around 12 other people. It's better than the bus option.)

What country, friends, is this?

This is Illyria, lady.
Twelfth Night: Act 1, Scene 2

Here's to you, Jessie Alden!

In the third Boxcar Children book, Jessie makes a pie on Surprise Island. Trouble is, she doesn't have a rolling pin. Solution? An empty glass bottle.

My life is now complete.

Being a good cook in America is one thing. Being able to cook in a foreign country is another. Bruna and Albana came over Saturday night, and I taught Bruna to make apple pie. Then we ate it warm, while we watched a bootlegged download of the new Alice in Wonderland.

Library Loot

This is the view from the British library's steps. Surreal, no?

Since a war museum is housed in the same building, a beautiful mosaic graces the front entrance.

Who would have thought that a city in the middle of Albania would provide delicious reading material? Including a "new" D.E. Stevenson!

Have Yourself an Albanian Meal

If anyone is interested in trying an Albanian meal, follow this menu, which I had Wednesday night in an Albanian home.

Soup, a milk/chicken broth with pasta stars and parsley
A full plate of plain spaghetti noodles, salted (topped with a bit of grated cheese for the kids)
A little chicken
Grilled red peppers and eggplant
Salad with tomato and cucumber, dressed with freshly squeezed lemon

(It's really good if you mix the chicken and vegetables in with the pasta, and squeeze lemon juice over the noodles)

To drink: pear juice, mixed with Sprite

Dessert: An apple

One of the church's ministries is providing "food bags" once a week to certain needy families. I helped with the distribution on Wednesday, and got a crash course in Albanian!

The families on the list line up at the door to the magazine (with a variety of empty bags and a little pushing and shoving), where the church stores pallets of flour, sugar, oil etc.

They sign in, and one of the church's staff members, Mirayla, calls out the items allotted for that specific family, while others (including myself) grab the items.

So Mirayla calls, "Nee vigh, nee spaghetti, doo meel, tray biskeet, cauter sauce, nee reece..." etc etc, all in ten seconds. And we scurry to gather one bottle of oil, one package of spaghetti, two bags of flour, a bag of cookies, four jars of tomato sauce, one bag of rice...

It was a good challenge!

You would be amazed at what these women can carry. There was one lady, a widow with nine children, so you can imagine the amounts of flour, sugar, oil, etc. that she needed. And she took it all away in two big bags. Who knows how long of a walk she had to get home.

You would also be amazed at how few of the recipients said thank you for their food. Not because they were proud, but because they've come to expect free things from Christians.

The sea, the sea

Here I am with Rodina and the couples from Bulgaria, and one of the English pastors

A very Socialist-looking statue, commemorating those who fought during WWII. We had a very interesting conversation over lunch, about Albania's religious history. Before the Turks, it was a Christian nation. Then it became Muslim during the Ottoman Empire. In the 1960's, however, Albania became the first officially atheistic nation in the world. They murdered hundreds of religious men, Christian, Orthodox, Muslim, it didn't matter their persuasion. They would push them off cliffs into the sea, or put them in giant nail-studded balls and roll them through the streets. The government was communist at the time, and the leaders claimed that religion influenced the people against the government... also, any tithe people paid to their church was money lost to the government.

Yesterday was the first time since 10 April that the apartment was free of mission teams. So what did we do? Invited people for a dinner party! The girls in pink and red are sisters, Bruna and Albana. Rodina is in black. I made an American breakfast meal, pancakes with bananas and chocolate chunks, baked apples with cinnamon, and then threw in a plate of Albanian cheese for a savory. Today we're shopping for ingredients to make meatloaf, baked potatoes, and maybe an apple pie. Shopping here is so different from America. One store is good for fresh eggs, another for meat, another for fruit. You buy a little here and a little there, and carry it all home. Most people shop for one meal at a time.