the Buck Stop

Happy-dokey-hooooouse!!

2010-06-07T14:26:00.000-07:00

Before heading off to bed, after 2 wonderfully exhausting days, I just quickly have to brag...oh, excuse me, I mean share...about an unbelievably incredible part of the world our dear friends the Giles introduced us to...Cappadocia, Turkey! Since truly, words are incapable of doing this justice (and at 2 in the morning, I'm having a tough time remembering adjectives)...let me share a few pics, just to wet your pallet!

The above pictures were taken in an underground city. With James as our tour guide, we learned about how Christians (1200 AD??) built huge underground cities to save themselves from enemies...often these complex cities were seven stories below ground, and could fit a few thousand people for months at a time.

***

These following pictures were in Goreme Cappadocia. These "fairy chimneys" (the actual word for them, not a made-up name by Elise- one of the sweet little girls we were traveling with) contained hundreds of explorable hand carved caves...many, still in use today!

Again...my words fail me...

Barkation?!

2010-06-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

Saw this outside of a hotel in Thessaloniki Greece...

Arta

2010-06-04T22:12:00.000-07:00

(Although I'm posting this now, this was written Wednesday June 2nd.)

Earlier this morning, Steve and I received the sad news of an Albanian friend’s passing. She was a young girl (early 20’s) though she struggled with diabetes and eating disorders. She had worked in the Kennedy Foundation clinic for several years, and always had a quick joke on hand. Naturally’ her death came as a shock to everybody. Steve and I are grieving and badly missing being with our friends in Albania to share with them in their tears and mourning.

Arta’s death came just after a young girl died tragically in Erseke this last weekend. It already has been a difficult week for our Albanian friends, and this unexpected death certainly adds more pain and grieving to their lives.

Should you think to pray for regarding this, pray for our friends in Korce…and for us…as the reality of leaving Albania has struck our hearts far more quickly than we expected.

The Bright Side of Life!

2010-06-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

After writing my previous post, I decided to challenge myself by also posting 10 positive things that have happened in the last 36 hours. Here we go!

10) Blessed by friends helping us get all of our bags to the bus station.
9) A wonderful send-off...tearful, but not unbearable. And really, this also refers to all of the goodbyes in the last week.
8) We like our hotel room..and we get free internet...using skype and talking to friends and family feels like a godsend!
7) Saw Robin Hood in theaters last night. Didn't love it, but I did love the theater ambiance and eating ridiculous amounts of popcorn!
6) Breakfast provided by the hotel was decent, and I especially liked the yogurt and peaches.
5) Had a super yummy salmon, cream-cheese, on a poppy-seed bagel for lunch.
4) Met up with Albanian friends at Starbucks ...played Catan and I won...by a landslide!
3) Blessed by a surprise gift of 50 Euro! Really lifted our spirits and helped us justify our trip to the movies.
2) Finding a bus to get to Istanbul.
1) As I write this, it is beautiful outside, and Steve's meds (I found some Excedrin, didn't need to go to pharmacy after all) are kicking in!

"Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice!" It's against the will of my flesh, but that's what I'm choosing to do! =)

The Very Good and Very Bad

2010-06-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

I just need to pat myself on the back for a bit...and then majorly vent!

Our last few days in Albania were wonderful...busy, but wonderful! I need some MAJOR PROPS here, because anybody that has experienced the chaos of "Kristal-and-Steve-packing", knows how stressy and awful I can get. HOWEVER, I proudly confess that this time was different!

It was incredibly important to us that our last days be good ones so that we would say "good goodbyes" and leave without regrets. Untrue to our usual natures, we had all of our things packed and the apartment cleaned and ready to go days before our departure date....we even stayed with friends our last week to help the process along.

We had dinners scheduled with all of our closest friends and special times set aside to say goodbye. It was wonderful...it gave us lots of time to do lots of extras...like buy gifts for friends, develop pictures, take care of loose ends and even enjoy a few naps. We didn't even pull any all-nighters!! (those of you who know me best, realize that this was a HUGE accomplishment for me...please clap!!). All week I was rested, calm and not-overly-emotional (I think I was just the right amount emotional for someone going through what I was going through...saying goodbye to four beloved years of ministry and friendships).

But then...

9:15 the morning of our departure, Steve calls me to tell me the bus leaves at 9:30, not 10:00 as we thought. We quickly called our "send off-ers" and rushed ourselves, and the 350 lbs of our earthly belongings to the bus station, which thankfully was just down the street from our apartment, only to see OUR BUS drive away. "S'ka gje," says the bus agency lady,"you can get on the bus for Athens, then transfer to the Thessaloniki bus at the border!"

We say our last tearful goodbyes, and off we go.

(only continue reading if you'd like to be horrifically bored...)

We got to the border and made the switch...we personally transferred the 350 lbs of luggage out of the Athens bus and into the Thessaloniki bus. Whew! We handed the driver our tickets, and he smugly announced that it was the WRONG bus. He pointed out that our bus had already gone through the Albanian border and was on the Greek side. With dozens of accusing and laughing eyes on us (none offering to help of course), we got our 350 lbs of luggage and made off to the other side. At some point, I joking said to Steve, "Let's just pretend that we are on the Amazing Race." Completely unamused, he didn't respond.

The "no man's land" between the two borders is probably about 1/4 mile...but felt much longer. Wheeling as fast as we could, we finally made it to the Greek side...hot, sweaty, embarrassed, stressed, grumpy, and irritated. Steve was so strained from the mad jaunt that he was near to tossing his cookies! At long last, our bags and selves made it on the right bus, which was not air-conditioned and miserably stuffy and hot.

We got to Thessaloniki, got ourselves situated in hotel close to the train station (another exhausting non-adventure) only to find out that the train from Thessaloniki to Istanbul is not running and would not be for a long time!! Okay...plan B....take a bus...only to find our that there are no buses running to Istanbul. Plan C...MUST find a bus to Istanbul. It took hours, but we finally found one...only it leaves a day later than we expected (argh). Through all of this, ALL of the Greeks we have met have been anything but friendly or helpful.

Then, while walking to meet some friends for coffee, it started pouring. We got drenched. Friends showed up 1 1/2 hour late. (Sigh) Finished coffee, only to discover that Steve was sick with an earache. Check back into our hotel that we had only hours previously checked out of.

Oh my gosh. The last 36 hour have been so stressful! So much for a "vacation" before returning to the States. It's just ironic, because we've (for the first time in our lives!!) been meticulous in our planning, carefully putting up several safeguards so that we wouldn't be in this stressed position after leaving Albania!! (another sigh)...

Okay...I've thoroughly vented and am finally feeling slightly amused. Now, gotta get Steve to a pharmacy.

Toto!!

2010-05-04T08:01:00.000-07:00

With each passing day, many aspects of life in Albania feel more and more normal, and many of the things that used to shock me, don't even make me turn my head anymore. But today was NOT one of those days. Everything seemed strange, foreign, and I'm sorry to say, poorer. I felt very far from home.

Today, I was on hospital duty, taking care of Raj. The medical system here is just so different and so foreign to me. I have been spoiled with American health care, with large hospital rooms, privacy, and constant attention from nurses and doctors. So, as I sat by Raj's bedside on a small wooden stool, I was overwhelmed.

There were three children patients in the room, with no dividing curtains. Your business is everybody's business. At one point, I counted about 20 people in the small room! But with no chairs to sit on, other children's visitors were using Raj's bed for their personal seating! She wasn't bothered in the slightest, but I was!

I was confused when the lady came around selling spinach soup. I was appalled when I watched the doctor carelessly throw the burn-victim's dressings in the toilet and bathroom waste bin, and I was offended when I saw the state of the dirty bathroom (shutter). How on earth are people supposed to get well in a place like this? I'll be honest, I was thrilled when my shift was over, and I can't wait for Raj to get out of there!

No Toto, I'm not in America anymore!

Who wants nightmares?!

2010-05-03T16:32:00.000-07:00

As promised in "Gezuar 1 Maj to Me," here are the creepy kid mannequins from a children's clothing store in Ohrid, Macedonia. Steve and I have always marveled at how awful they are, and I'm so happy to introduce them to you too!

Antela

2010-05-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been in the midst of suffering? Not, I'm dying for chocolate and why isn't there anything good on TV, but real, somebody's in pain, suffering?? I don't know that I really have (thank the Lord)....I have served in extreme poverty...but I don't think the two really compare...although they might go hand in hand.

Anyways, today when I was at the hospital visiting Raj, I asked about the sweet little blondie in the bed adjacent to hers. I was told that she was a burn patient. This poor 2 1/2 year old girl, had fallen backwards into a tub of boiling water (women here will boil water on the fire-stove top in a large metal tub, and then use this water for the housework...I'm assuming that this was the case).

I made my way over to her to get a closer look at the wounds (to satisfy my curiosity, shame on me!), and my heart broke on the spot for my new little friend Antela. Her entire back side was severely burned and infected. Although she had been in the hospital for a day, she had received no treatment, no painkillers, no salves, and no dressings. All she had was in IV for hydration. And to make her wounds worse, she had been wrapped in gauze, which was clinging to her broken flesh, and the dressings were soiled. She just laid on her stomach, most likely still in shock, barely able to hold on to the doll that was dangling off the side of her bed. Surely, suffering looks something like this.

This poor girl has left a deep impression on my heart, one I am sure will stay with my memories for a very long time. I'm really looking forward to going back tomorrow to visit both her and Raj, and I'm going to try my hardest to get a smile on that sweet little face!

Gezuar 1 Maj to Me!

2010-05-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

Today was just one of those perfect kind of days (with the exception of Steve having the flu, but for bragging purposes, let's just pretend that he felt grrrreat!), that I have to brag about publicly. As part of our "Bucket List" (goals of what we want to do before leaving Albania) we wanted to spend some quality time with our friends Paul and Albana and their son Hani by showing them around Ohrid, Macedonia.

Ohrid has long been our favorite place of retreat while we have been in the Balkans. It's close to Korce, relatively inexpensive, rich with history, has decent shopping, incredible scenery and most importantly, GREAT food...wait, hold that...no, MOST importantly goes to delicious ice cream!!

Here are some of my favorite pics from today...

The above pictures are where we pulled over on the side of the road after Hani blew chunks. Normally, the smell of wretched sour milk should have ruined our high spirits, but with scenery like this, it was easily forgotten!

When we finally got to Ohrid, it dawned on us that it was a holiday in the Balkans, Labor Day!! There were thousands of people out celebrating, streamers lining the walkway, music blaring from the docks, and a contagious air of festivities. It felt like Ohrid had invited us to a surprise party!

For lunch, we ate at a BEAUTIFUL restaurant on the water, and I sorely regret not getting pictures of our delectable spread, which included a Macedonian salad of baked peppers and tomatoes, a shopska salad, six traditional and flavorful dips for our homemade bread, lots of fries, and yummy sausages. We all agreed, lunch was a huge highlight of the day...which says a lot, because the rest of the day looked like this...

Views from the city fortress

Shame that we're blocking the historic St. John's church behind us...sorry!

Hani's first time playing in a lake...he couldn't get enough of throwing rocks in the chilly water!

Whereas I was totally enthralled by the blossoms on these trees...Cotton-candy anyone?

To top the day off, the five of us had dinner (1 pizza, 1 salad, 2 uber-delicious sandwhiches, 4 drinks) for 10 Euro!

Finally, on our way back to the car, with that wonderful "I'm exhausted and way-too-sun-kissed" feeling...the sound of live music drew us into a cafe, where we sat under the stars, sipped cappuccinos, and let the band serenade us.

On no! I promised myself I'd finish this by 2:00 am, and I just saw that it's 2:13. I'll have to save the bonus pictures of the creepy kid mannequins for the next blog!

Dag-nabbit...I can't resist sharing one more thing! Steve, surprised me by treating me to a sweet little ring, with an Ohrid pearl...as a memento of our wonderful times together there...and it made me blush. =)

Gezuar 1 Maj! Happy Labor Day!

Little Mize

2010-04-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

Last year while in the States, I came down with appendicitis. Within the course of 24 hours, I was out of the hospital with a well-fed belly and nothing left to show for my big ordeal but 3 tiny slits in my gut, pictures of my ovaries, and loads of paperwork to petition for financial assistance for the $32,000 bill (which the hospital paid!!). 3 days after my operation, I was dancing (well, that's the closest word for it...) at my sister's wedding!

And I was grateful. I was grateful that it happened while I was in America. But NOW I am REALLY grateful because I've seen what it's like in Albania!

Today, I went to visit sweet little Rai, an 11 year old girl from the Safe House, in the public hospital. Yesterday, Raj got appendicits. Although she is hanging in there, my little "Mize" was in a lot of pain. One day after her operation, her stomach hurt, she was throwing up vile, she had no sort of pain killers, no IV, hadn't eaten or drunk (drunk? drank? drinken? huh...how do I not know this?!) anything for 24 hours, and she had a rubber glove attached to a tube that was draining blood and infection from her wound-site! Oh, and she wasn't allowed to have a pillow, or her bed raised! Poor girl! Although the hospital did offer a clean bed and a clean room, our staff had to bring changes of bedding and diapers, etc. for poor little Raj, who will most likely be there for about a week!

And for the sake of not making this political, which is the only way I see this going, I'm going to end this here! Te shkuara Raj!! Get well soon Raj!

Gabriel

2010-04-28T10:34:00.001-07:00

In effort to record my daily happenings, I want to tell you about the interesting and pleasant man I met today, because I don't want to forget him!

As Steve and I were hopping into a furgon from Libonik to Korce, a man from the back seat immediately asked us in English, but with a HEAVY Albanian accent, "Where are you from?"

I turned around to see an older man (51), with a red complexion, soft blue eyes, and religious tattoos on each cheek of his face! One was written in Arabic "Allah is great" and the other a symbol for Allah.

We easily chatted with him about what we're doing in Albania and heard a bit about his experience in America. He went to the States as an illegal immigrant by hiding on a boat from France to the States without anything to eat or drink for a week!

Anyways, he loved talking about religion and eagerly welcomed discussion about faith. He kept emphasizing he wanted to discuss faith peaceably with us, and we agreed! As we were discussing the Bible, the driver of the furgon said, "speak in Albanian, this sounds interesting!!"

Before parting ways, Steve exchanged numbers with Gabriel with hopes to meet again for coffee. I quite enjoyed the company of our new friend, and even better, the driver let us ride for free! A good day!

Another Purge

2010-04-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I wrote a blog about my beloved socks and how difficult it was for me to part with things that hold sentimental value. At the time, I had no clue that that was just the beginning of what God was doing in my heart regarding the discipline of simplicity...

This last month, I MAJORLY purged my "closet". I'm talking about 4 garbage bags worth of my clothing! (Patting my own back). Currently, I can get ALMOST all of my clothing items into three small suitcases!!

Today, I called the airline we are flying home with, and I am allowed to check 2-23 kilo bags. (that's about 100 pounds total). To check an additional bag, regardless of the weight, is $160!! Through the post, I can mail 10 kilo's (22 pounds) for about $100. In other words, IT IS REALLY EXPENSIVE TO GET MY JUNK TO AMERICA!!

Obviously, I'm not excited about paying that much to keep my belongings, especially considering that my clothes aren't worth that much anyways! (They're practically all used clothing, bought from the Gabi)

So, considering that we have books, dvd's, knick-knacks, photo albums, (guitar??) etc. that should take a priority, it looks like it's time for ANOTHER purge!!

Basically, I have to limit all of my earthly belongings (on this side of the world anyways) into 120 pounds (I get 20 pounds to carry on).

Oh dear readers (all 5 of you), is this difficult for anybody else??! Send me your words of wisdom!!

Getting Ready to Go

2010-04-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

As I was going to bed last night, I was feeling a bit remorseful that I have not better documented my incredible experiences during my time in Albania. I have felt intimidated by blogging, feeling the need to post perfectly worded, wonderfully humorous stories with incredible pictures to boot! What a shame to forget the funny and unique happenings of the last 4 years, but even more so, the things God has done to soften (and toughen) my heart and transform my character. I would hate to forget these things, and have to learn them all over again!!

So, as I am preparing myself mentally, spiritually, and physically for my return to the States, it feels really important to me to reflect and record about my time here. To meditate on the the things God has taught me, and the emotional process of leaving. So, I intend to do a lot more blogging the month of May...not so much for you, the reader...but as an avenue for me to process my thoughts. Posting them publicly simply keeps me accountable to actually doing it.

See?? That wasn't beautiful written, insightful, or funny...and I'm posting it anyways (and only proof-reading once!!) Hey, that's progress! =)

Shqiperia in the News

2010-01-11T07:42:00.000-08:00

Not many "headliners" come out Albania, but every once in a while, this little country makes the international news...and this last week was one of those weeks! Check out these two articles...

http://www.euronews.net/2010/01/10/albania-hit-by-worst-floods-in-almost-half-a-century/

...and on the lighter side of things...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100107/od_nm/us_cross_girl

Workin' Men

2010-01-10T17:57:00.000-08:00

Last week Steve and I braved the market on New Year's Eve to try to capture the wonderful madness of the holiday. I've already posted some of my favorite pics (Pazar te Mbare) but I wanted to give you a closer look at this picture, because these two men just cracked us up!

Not shy of the camera, these two life-loving Albanians were eager to have their picture taken. As soon as he saw my "aparati," the man on the right shouted to his friend, "Give me your cigarette! Wait, wait...hand me my Raki!" The man on the left grabbed his beer and jumped in the picture too.

And do you see that he's also flashing his wad of cash?

You may be thinking that these guys must have started their New Year's celebrating early! Nah, they were just hard at work!

I Heard the Bells

2010-01-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

Albania 2009

We put together this slide show of friends, landscape, and ministry in Albania to share with our church in Vacaville. Hope you enjoy this glimpse into our Albanian life!

Sock it to Me!

2010-01-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

I have a confession.

I love socks!

People know that I love socks. Friends and family buy me lots of socks.

They’re cheap. They’re fun. They’re great!

(in the tone of Bubba from Forrest Gump)...

I have striped socks, animal socks, Jelly Belly socks...

split toe socks, "toe-lder holder socks,"

matchy socks, fuzzy socks, slipper socks,

handmade socks...

and socks that were hand dyed with dynamite powder!

I just love socks!!

But I never would have considered myself as having a fetish or even that I'm a collector....until I decided to count them!

Drum roll please.....

I have 75 pairs!! Probably more if went through the laundry! That’s enough to get me all the way to March without ever washing a single pair!

The other day I was at work, the Street Children's Center, and began taking notice of the children's feet. Their socks were all torn, dirty, and falling apart....many didn't even have socks AT ALL ! While visiting one child at her home, I saw that her little brother was wearing hand mittens on his feet!

Guilt and conviction started to nibble at my toes. I figured it was time to do something...time to purge and give my surplus to those cold and needy little feet at the center.

Always one to give material objects unnecessary and ridiculous sentimental value, I'm ashamed to admit that this wasn't easy for me. Sorting through my sock drawer, and all the wonderful memories that are embedded in them, I made a rule...I would only get rid of socks that I could not remember where they came from or that I had bought for myself.

Here's what I managed to "sacrifice"...15 pairs. Out of 75 pairs, all I could manage to let go of was 15 pairs of socks!! I hang my head, (or shall I say, my warm and beautifully adorned feet) in shame.

I love this verse from Isaiah (and Romans)...

Isa 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."

If only God was referring to the beautiful feet of those with fabulous socks...then this Christian walk would be a lot easier! Boy, I still have a long way to go...

Pazar te Mbare!

2009-12-31T05:37:00.000-08:00

Today is New Year's Eve, and as this holiday was one of the only legal holidays to celebrate during the many years of communism, it still remains the biggest and favorite day of the year to the Albanians. To share some of the Albanian New Year's cheer, I thought I could take you through the pazar to do a little NewYear's shopping!!

Gezuar Vitin i Ri! Happy New Years!

The Raclette

2009-12-26T14:27:00.000-08:00

There's nothing like some good food and great company to ease the pain of being away from home on Christmas! We have some terrific Dutch friends, who were kind enough to have us over for a very traditional Dutch Christmas dinner. This Christmas was one of the best we've had in years, and in addition to the fun fellowship, I have to give much of the credit to this contraption below!

This a Dutch "Gourmet" or "Raclette." It's basically a big electric frying grill that goes in the middle of the table.

The table is spread with a lovely array of food...steak, chicken, minced meat, peppers, onions, potatoes, batter, etc. I even fried some yummy peaches. Each person chooses their own feast and cooks for themselves!

The upper level gets covered with salt and oil to fry the meat and veggies, while the lower deck has eight trays for baking Dutch pancakes.

(House Rules: No silverware allowed...only the special scrapers on the teflon!!)

Doesn't that look WONDERFUL!? When the food is cooked through and smells simply divine, scoop the goodies into your pancake and enjoy! Ju befte mire!

Lamb of God

2009-12-23T11:41:00.000-08:00

Just two days before Christmas, I went out to visit the old neighborhood. By good fortune, I was able to greet the shepherdess...who was carrying these two beautiful newly born ewes!

After capturing these pics and patting their heads, I couldn't help but think that at the same time next year, these sheep would probably be someone's New Year's feast...maybe mine!

But don't you think that it's a strange time of year for a lamb to be born. It's cold and it's almost the end of December...aren't baby animals born in the spring?!

But then it came to mind...it's Christmas! Wasn't it around this time 2000 years ago that another lamb was born? The Lamb of God?! King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

He was born in a lowly humble state, with a birth not that much different from these little guys. "And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." Luke 2:7

And not only did he enter the world like in humility, but he died in same way, "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth." Isa 53:7

These sheep will be killed so that people can feast, but the Lamb of God was killed so that our sins could wiped away, clean forevermore . "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool". Isa 1:18

This Christmas, I hope you can join with me in proclaiming these words of the angels and voices of heaven:

... "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing" Revelation 5:12

The Twelve Days of Krishtlindjen

2009-12-21T16:37:00.001-08:00

Here's a little ditty we naughty missionaries composed...

Sung to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

On the first day of Krishtlindjen an Albanian gave to me...

a cup of cai mali. (a lovely tea made from local plant)

On the second day of Kristlindjen an Albanian gave to me...

Two shots of raki. (Albanian hard liquor, a cure-all for EVERYTHING)

On the third day of Krishtlindjen an Albanian gave to me...

Three red lokumme (comparable to Turkish delight)

On the fourth day of Krishtlindjen an Albanian gave to me...

Four Birra Korca (local beer)

On the fifth day of Krishtlindjen an Albanian gave to me...

Five Nigerian DVD's (aka: pirated but legal...sort of)

On the sixth day of Krishtlindjen an Albanian gave to me...

Six Leje Qendrimis (literally "permission to stay" or visa)

On the seventh day of Krishtlindjen an Albanian gave to ...

Seven Pickeled Peppers (yummy)

On the eighth day of Krishtlindjen an Albanian gave to me...

Eight Policemen Sleeping (typical)

On the ninth day of Krishtlindjen an Albanian gave to me...

Nine Women Sweeping (it's a wonder the country's not any cleaner!)

On the tenth day of Krishtlindjen an Albanian gave to me...

Ten Leaky Bombels (a gas tank)

On the eleventh day of Krishtlindjen an Albanian gave to me...

Eleven Dodgy Passports (can you tell we wrote this with some Brits?!)

On the twelfth day of Krishtlindjen an Albanian gave to me...

Twelve Baklava (we need more days for all the baklava Albanians love to give!!)

Gezuar Krishtlindjen!!

Christmas Carol Quiz

2009-12-21T16:31:00.000-08:00

Here's a little Christmas game we enjoyed at our Christmas party last night.

The following are clues to the names of well-known Christmas carols. Can you guess the names of the Christmas songs from the cryptic clues provided below?

1. APPROACH EVERYONE WHO IS STEADFAST.
2. ECSTASY TOWARD THE ORB.
3. LISTEN, THE FORETELLING SPIRITS HARMONIZE.
4. HEY, MINUSCULE URBAN AREA SOUTH OF JERUSALEM.
5. QUIESCENT NOCTURNAL PERIOD.
6. THE AUTOCRATIC TROIKA ORIGINATING NEAR THE ASCENT OF APOLLO.
7. THE PRIMARY CAROL.
8. EMBELLISH THE CORRIDORS.
9. I'M FANTASIZING CONCERNING A BLANCHED YULETIDE.
10. I OBSERVED MY MATERNAL PARENT OSCULATING WITH A CORPULENT UNSHAVEN MALE IN CRIMSON DISGUISE.
11. DURING THE TIME OVINE CARETAKERS SUPERVISED THEIR CHARGES.
12. VIRTUOUS ROYAL PHILANTHROPIST.
13. THE THING MANIFESTED ITSELF AT THE ONSET OF A TRANSPARENT DAY.
14. WHAT OFFSPRING ABIDES THUS?
15. REMOVED IN A BOVINE FEEDING TROUGH.
16. VALENTINO, THE ROSEATE PROBOSCIS WAPITI.
17. THE SLIGHT PERCUSSIONIST LAD.
18. FATHER CHRISTMAS APPROACHES THE METROPOLIS.
19. SERAPHIM WE AURALLY DETECTED IN THE STRATOSPHERE.
20. THE CREATOR REASSURES YOU, LIVELY FELLOWS

Happy Caroling!

Won't You Be My Neighbor?! (or not!!)

2009-12-21T12:53:00.000-08:00

While living in the village, I had a love/ hate relationship with my neighbors. It would take hours to describe the neighborhood we lived in and the culture of the people around us. They were far different from anybody we had ever met in Korce, and moving into their world felt like being on anther planet.

Immediately, our privacy was a luxury of the past, as our new neighbors were overwhelmingly intrigued by the strange foreigners living on their little private street. They were a small community of extremely conservative people that had come from a very remote village, not even reachable by car. About ten years ago, they all transplanted themselves to Libonik. Most of the women my age had little education and were just waiting for their parents to find them a spouse, so that they could move out to serve their husband’s family. Naturally, we were a novelty, and our lives were just as strange and foreign to them, as theirs was to us.

Their curiosity though, was stronger than their usual social graces. It often had them peaking through our windows to watch what we were doing, or inviting themselves to our house uninvited…even snooping through our trash to see what the funny foreigners had thrown away. All hours of the day, they would feel free to call out my name continuously to get my attention (had they forgotten about knocking?). Not a single guest could enter our house without us getting the great inquisition from them later on. Naturally, these were the parts I hated.

But they were wonderful to us too. We were constantly brought gifts from their gardens or animals (like eggs and freshly slaughtered meat!), invited over for coffees and incredible home grown and homemade meals. They even offered to help me with the cleaning and sometimes just started cleaning my house without being asked (which I was clearly not able to keep up with their standards of cleanliness).

So, upon moving out of the village, I was overcome with mixed emotions about our new separation from the neighbors. These were people who had warmly welcomed us into their community, invited us into their lives and had been a part of our everyday life for over a year.

However, eager to welcome back a life of privacy and normality, I was thrilled to be in apartment on the sixth story where it would be impossible for outsiders to look into our windows. So I was surprised to find myself thinking about and missing the neighbors terribly our first few weeks back in Korce.

I thought about them constantly, but most all when I was cleaning. Part of me was rejoicing to be able to clean however I wanted, at any time I wanted, without anybody telling me I was doing it wrong! I could clean at four in the afternoon, and nobody would know, nonetheless care! I could do it my way, and at my leisure!!

So I decided to tackle the rugs out on our balcony…a chore that the neighbors constantly offered to do for me and I always refused…simply because I’m stubborn and did not want their help. Now, this isn’t just a vacuum job. Cleaning the rugs means hosing them down, scrubbing them with a scrub brush forever and ever, and then rinsing them with a hose and letting it dry for days.

Now our rug is about twice the width of the balcony so I had to fold it over and do it in sections. Little did I know, a wet rug is heavier than I can move by myself. Also, we don’t have a hose on our balcony, so I had to make about a gazillion trips to the sink with the mop bucket to wet, wash, and rinse the beast. At first, I was singing praises, happy to be doing the difficult work alone, without anybody watching me, or telling me what to do...thinking to myself, “Ha ha neighbors!! Look at me now…I CAN clean all by myself!!”

But about an hour into it (and about 200 trips to the sink later) I really began to miss the neighbors. Why, oh why, hadn’t I accepted their offers to help? Why had I been so stubborn? It would have been so easy at their house…with the entire rug laid out, and their hose to rinse, and four girls, all eager to clean and scrub. But no, I had to do things MY WAY.

I’ve learned a lot from those neighbors…like how to make byrek and Turkish coffee and I have a deeper understanding of their culture, but mostly my relationship with them taught me multitudes about myself. Now that we have a healthy ten miles of distance between us, my relationship with those neighbors has changed. It is no longer love/hate relationship …it is just love.

p.s.
Once Steve got home, he helped me get the sopping wet rug hung over the balcony to dry. Later that night, a disgruntled and annoyed neighbor from downstairs came knocking on our door. Our rug was dripping onto her balcony. Sigh. So much for my “island living!!”

"...you shall love your neighbor as yourself..." Mark 12:31

Shopka

2009-09-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

(This actually took place last September…found it in the archives!)

People often ask us, "What does a typical day look like for you?" I never know how to answer, because typical days don't really exist!

Let's look at yesterday, for example.

Here's what I expected the day to look like…

Morning: go to Korce to make arrangements with new apartment landlord and run other Korce errands.
Mid afternoon: swing by a birthday party just long enough to make a polite appearance.
Afternoon/evening: pack pack pack up the house for the upcoming move.

Here's what actually happened...

The owner called and canceled our appointment. Kind of a bummer but not really a problem. We had the morning free to watch cartoons, listen to a sermon, drink coffee and enjoy a relaxing Saturday morning.

At around noon, a youth from the church called to tell us she needed money for the party immediately. Steve left to go the church, and I got to packing up the house. About an hour later, Steve called to tell me the party had been bumped up an hour and that I needed to get to the church ASAP.

I was dressed to do grungy work around the house, t-shirt and jeans. So certain was I that I would be back to house packing soon, I didn't even bother to put on real shoes...I just slipped on my shopka (Albanian house shoes...ONLY worn in the house and appropriate for going to the corner store. NOT TO BE WORN at public functions.)

I got to the church to find, what was supposed to be just a small cocktail party, had turned into a full blown BBQ (which now obligated us to stay for the rest of the afternoon) The BBQ led into a round of Mafia, and one round of Mafia turned into 3 rounds of Mafia. Finally, around 8:30 pm, people FINALLY started to head home. One of the girls asked if I'd escort her. Naturally, I agreed. Thinking that she lived directly across the street, I didn't even bother to tell Steve where I was going because I knew I'd be back in a flash.

Wrong.

She lived about 10 minutes away, and once I got her to her door, she and her mother INSISTED I join them in the upstairs apartment to see a bride celebrating her wedding. They promised, just 5 minutes (Now, I have lived long enough in this country to know that 5 minutes DOES NOT ACTUALLY mean 5 minutes!! Shame on me for falling for THAT trick!!) Next thing I knew, I was (still dressed in my house-packing-scrubbies and shopka, mind you) dancing traditional Albanian “vale” around a tiny room with beautifully dressed strangers and posing for pictures with the bride (I didn’t even know her or her family...but they had to document the foreigner at their wedding!!!)

Wanting to escape the madness, I tried calling Steve to pick me up, because now it was late enough that I needed an escort home. Much to my chagrin, his phone had died. I was stuck at the wedding until he could get home, charge his phone, call me to figure out where I was, and then make the 15 minute walk to pick me up.

I'll spare you the rest of the details, but I finally got home around 11 p.m. Needless to say, my day did not turn out as planned...I guess that's what I get for wearing my shopka out of the house!

The Gossip Circle

2009-09-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

Just about every night of the year, the neighborhood girls and women gather in a circle on the road, directly across from our house. They pull out carpets to sit on the road or squat (they never sit directly on the dirt!), and pass the evening away chatting and gossiping. Each night they take turns buying sunflower seeds and share them around the circle. I occasionally join them, knowing that if I don't, the evening's gossip will most likely be about me!

Last week, there was a quick and hard down pour of rain. Steve and I ran home in the rain, and laughed when we got to our gate. Six neighborhood girls, almost identically dressed, had sought dry refuge under our porch. So much for having our gate locked!

Apple Crisp

2009-09-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Steve came home with a huge bag of beautiful green apples. Immediately my mind jumped to my one of my favorite fall desserts. Apple cobbler.

I thought out loud,"Do we have oatmeal? Yep! Do we have brown sugar? Yep! Do we have nutmeg? Yep! (all special ingredients sent from the States) I'll make Apple Cobbler!"

...a sad pause...

"But wait, we don't have an oven!" (Our only oven is wood burning, and it's not cold enough yet!)

Well, since I can't have any, I thought you could. I love this recipe from Betty Crocker...it's quick, easy, and delicious!!

Apple Crisp

4 medium tart cooking apples, sliced
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup butter or stick margarine, softened
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg (I only use 1/4 tsp)

1. Heat oven to 375. Grease bottom and sides of pan.
2. Spread apples in pan. Mix remaining ingredients; sprinkle over apples.
3. Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender.

Ju befte mire!!

Volcanic Tomato Sauce

2009-09-22T07:51:00.000-07:00

About one in every three bottles of tomato sauce I have bought in the village seems to have been a dud...expired and fermenting. None, however, have been as bad as this last one. I opened it up, set it down on the counter, turned my back to it, only to turn back around to see that it had done this...!!

I now buy tomato sauce in the city.

The Fried Cheddar Burger

2009-09-22T05:35:00.000-07:00

Eating out in foreign countries is always an adventure! This past week, while dining at a fast food restaurant in Macedonia, we were thrilled to receive a menu in English! However, upon closer inspection, the English version of the menu didn't make much more sense than the Macedonian one. We tried asking the waitress a few questions, like, "what's the duble dog?" but her feeble English skills were not much help.

Excited to see something with "cheddar" on the menu, I decided to give it shot, thinking that my selection..."fried cheddar burger"...may not be as scary as it sounded. This is what a got...

Yes, a fried patty of cheese (NOT cheddar, mind you!)!!

Would you like a quadruple bi-pass with that?

Big Phat Deal

2009-07-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

While we were in America, we entrusted the care of our home to a close friend and welcomed him to stay the night if he wanted to. Upon our return, he informed us that he didn't spend the night because he was afraid of all of the bugs and spiders. We laughed, and thought to ourselves,"So what!! What's the big deal?!"

Well, here's big deal...

Steve's fat lip! He got bit during the night! There's really not much more of a story to this, but like a loving wife, I've just been looking for an excuse to post this picture of Steve!

My Cold Eggs

2009-07-11T18:58:00.000-07:00

In Albania, it is the norm for a married couple to begin having babies a year or two after their marriage.

Steve and I are almost six years into our marriage, and we are still childless, by choice.

I am used to everybody here wishing me to have a baby (especially a baby boy). I'm usually able to shake it off by giving a polite "thank you," but since we've returned from America, the guilt trips have been heightened. A recent "lecture" went something like this...

"Don't you know that children are a blessing? Don't you know that a boy will warm your life and your husbands? Can you have babies? Do you need some medicine? Oh bo bo, it's just so shameful! You need to go make a baby boy!!" (and on and on!!)

My favorite came from a 73 year old woman I met for the first time this last week.

Her spiel went something like this...

"You do not have any children yet? That is so shameful! Children are a blessing! You know, your eggs are getting cold! You need to have a baby boy. You need to name him Angelino. And don't worry, I will take care of him!!" (and on and on!!)

Well, I'm sure one day, God willing, children will warm our household, but until we're ready for that step in life, these little guys are doing the job!!

A Cool Reward

2009-07-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

Being a missionary is just flat out hard sometimes. It's easy to get discouraged, and it takes a long time to see the fruit of your labor. I try to find practical ways to help people, but most of the time, it goes unappreciated and sometimes even scoffed.

A few weeks ago, we had a very hot day. I had the brilliant foresight to bring an icy beverage along, as I knew I'd need hydration! I brought with me that day Crystal Lite lemonade...

As I was waiting at an unshaded bus stop, a weary woman was coming my way. She looked hot, really hot. She stopped to chat with me, but the entire time, I could tell that she was eying my bottle.

Seeing that she needed a cool drink, a passage from Mark came to mind. Mark 9:41 "And anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name, just because you belong to me, will surely be rewarded."

I thought to myself, "this is my chance to finally do something biblical! If I do nothing else of worth in this country, I can offer this woman a cup of 'water'!"

I selflessly handed over the rest of my lemonade, silently patting myself on the back and smiling, thankful the opportunity to practically serve someone in need.

My moment of self-praise was short lived, when the woman's face puckered and she nearly spit out the lemonade and handed it back to me.

"What is this?!!" She exclaimed. "Do you put this in cars??!"

I assured her it was lemonade, but my good deed was not received as I had hoped. So much for that eternal reward.

Luckily, I had another chance... Because I gave my first bottle away to the thirsty woman, I bought another water before returning on the HOT bus ride home. Sitting alone with my thoughts on the bus, I felt a tug on my hair. A little boy, about 2 years old, asked me for my bottle of water. Ah ha! I grinned and gladly gave it away...Redeemed!!

Pro 11:25 Generosity will be rewarded: Give a cup of water, and you will receive a cup of water in return.

The Inside Scoop

2009-07-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

"Wow!!" "Praise God" "You're so lucky!!" "You must feel so blessed!"

Now these are exclamations you might expect when telling somebody great news, but these are the responses I get when I've told people about my appendicitis while I was in America!!

And although I find some humor in this, all of my well wishers have been absolutely right!

Here's something you may or may not know about me...I am terrified of doctors(dentists included!) and being in Albania has heightened that fear for me (I have heard HORROR stories about the hospitals here!!) Going to the hospital in this country is an absolute last resort for me, and praise God, I have not yet had to do this. Should anything serious ever happen to myself or Steve, we'd bum a ride to St. Luke's hospital in Thessaloniki, Greece about 3.5 hours away. Anyways, long story short...had I been in Albania, I would not have gone to the doctors, and if I did, by the time I would have made it to the hospital, for sure the appendix would have ruptured (apparently, I only a had a few hours before bursting).

So yes, I am INCREDIBLY grateful for my appendicitis in AMERICA! I am still praising God for this provision!

The entire process was quick and painless (with the exception of the appendicitis part). And, as proof of my former organ...I have pictures!!! People say that when you give birth, all modesty is thrown out the window...well, the same is true of appendicitis, because as I awoke from my surgery, all of my hospital visitors were looking at pictures of my insides...ovaries, fallopian tubes and uterus included! And seeing as I only have about 5 blog readers, I might as well share the "inside scoop" with the rest of you too! Enjoy!

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

2009-03-25T05:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I joined my neighbors for dinner...which almost always means I have a new story to tell! Last night's menu was rice and freshly slaughtered chicken! As we dined, the woman of the house described to me how she killed him. She held down his head with her right foot, held down the body with her left foot, and put an ax right through his neck. Her daughter explained that, in following Muslim tradition, after the rooster died, she took the blood and painted a cross on her forehead (oops...was this meat sacrificed?!). The conversation continued and someone confessed that they would miss his 6 AM crowing, and another boasted about how beautiful and colorful his tail-feathers were. Those of you who know me well, may remember that I didn't eat chicken for about ten years, as I had a pet chicken myself...I think I've come a long way! The dinner conversation may have been a bit strange, but the chicken was delicious!

March 14 - Part 1

2009-03-16T19:18:00.000-07:00

Almost every Friday afternoon, the youth of the church are begging Steve and me to have a game night to play Settlers of Catan. Strangely, for the first time in months, yesterday, nobody asked to come over! They all had bigger plans…to celebrate “The Day of Summer.” The festivities began yesterday night (March 14), when everybody built fires. For families with land, the fires burn the scrap pieces of wood, branches and yard rubbish that’s collected during the winter, but the apartment dwellers all gathered together to build a huge bonfire consisting of wood and tires…STINKY!!

There at the bon fire, people just enjoyed an evening out. The children painted their faces with ash, teenagers mingled, young men snuck shots of raki, and some brave souls even dared to jump over the flames (in old tradition, it was believed that this act got rid of their lice and fleas!)

March 15 - Part 2

2009-03-16T18:37:00.000-07:00

The next morning, as explained to me by my neighbors, children would be coming around to my door at 5 AM to go “trick-or-treating”. Yes that’s right…5 AM! I asked around and everybody confirmed…5 AM and all morning long.

Well, I am NOT a morning person and knew that if I went upstairs to go to bed that I would NEVER get up on time, so I spent a sleepless night on the couch. At five am, I turned on the lights for the kids to know that they were welcome. Nothing. 6 am. Nothing. 7 am. Nothing. 8 am. “Knock, knock, knock.”

Before I continue, let me explain what the kids are trick-or-treating for. Kids here go from door to door for hard boiled eggs, nuts, dried figs, sweets, fruit and small change! When I went to the shop last night to stock up for today, the shopkeeper explained that I was to give a collection of things, but that I especially needed to give out eggs. I told her that I didn’t want to give out eggs because kids would rather have candy! (Cultural faux pas # 2,349,211) I was then lectured, with the spiel ending in “well, you can just give us eggs for your holiday, Easter!” Agreed.

So the first kids came to the door and to my surprise, the kiddos were holding a bag of treats for me! In addition to the treats given to kids, neighbors exchange similar food with each other (oops, I didn’t shop for that!). The kids chirped, “Ciu, ciu,” which mimics the noise of birds, and I gave them their goodies. But because these kids were the first to arrive, to top it off, I gave them water pistols too! Thrilled, the kids ran off, and one young boy exclaimed, “Thanks! I’m sorry I threw the things on your balcony!”

So although I’m without sleep, it’s turned out to be a pretty good morning! My refrigerator is stocked with hard boiled eggs, I got a confession from the culprit dirtying up my balcony, and the neighborhood kids think my water guns are the coolest. Now I’m going back to bed!

Ary's Healthy Food

2009-03-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

It seems like new fast-food restaurants spring up all of the time in Korce. I'll let the photos of this latest joint speak for itself!

Drip, Drip, Brrrrr, Drip.

2009-03-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

Steve and I have gotten into the horrible habit of not getting simple repairs done on our house. For 1, having the owner over means that we have to clean...really clean (but shhh...don't tell the neighbors that Steve helps! This could RUIN his reputation and mine!!)and 2, watching the owner's workmanship really stresses me out (see blog: Culture Shock: Round 2). Well, Steve and I endured a grueling and cold winter with very little water pressure coming from the boiler. It got to the point that the water pressure was so weak that we were avoiding showers and only bathing once or twice a week. Gross. I even went to a friend's place to get myself washed up! Well, after we couldn't tolerate the slow cold drips any more, we finally succumbed and called the owner.

This was the culprit...

Build-up in our pipes! Looks like calcium deposits to us, but the owner insisted it was salt! I'm glad to say, regular showers are back in our routine!

25 Random Things About Albania

2009-02-06T10:02:00.000-08:00

1) President George W. Bush was the first sitting President to visit Albania.

2) The Albanians received him like a rock star.

3) Mother Teresa is Albanian.

4) Albanians love their sugar. It is not unusual for my visitors to ask for 5+ scoops of sugar in their tea or coffee.

5) Albanians eat an abundance of bread with each meal.

6) They do not eat bread with pasta.

7) During the years of Communism, in an attempt to protect the country from its “enemies,” the dictator Enver Hoxha built hundreds of thousands of concrete bunkers all over the country. With the money spent on these bunkers, each Albanian family could have had a house.

8) 90% of the landscape is mountainous.

9) Almost everybody has a cell phone.

10) Almost nobody has a house phone.

11) The alphabet has 36 letters, all phonetic.

12) The new movie “Taken” features the Albanian Mafia.

13) On the label of a popular brand of Albanian water, their slogan has been translated into English as, “Suffled How it Gush From the Source of the Woods of Tepelena.”

14) Jim Belushi is not only Albanian, but was born in the Korce province. He recently came for a visit.

15) There are tons of thousands of unstable explosives buried throughout Albania. Last year, an entire village was blown up in an attempt to disarm the weapons.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO15dZIH_f8&feature=related

16) Albanians celebrate a marriage with several weddings, including one that’s only for the bride and another just for the groom.

17) Although predominantly Muslim, Albania has a rich Christian heritage.

18) Most Albanians clean every day like its spring cleaning…and all before 10am.

19) Parents are unaware of their children’s romantic relationships until engagement is announced.

20) The majority of the cars on the road are Mercedes.

21) Most Albanians make their own lamb jerky during the winter and eat it with beans.

22) House hold pets: N/A.

23) Albanians protected their own Jews during the Holocaust while also offering shelter to other Jews who escaped into Albania from Austria, Serbia and Greece.

24) The world knows this country as Albania, but the Albanians know the country Shqiperia, “land of the Eagles.”

25) Albania was among the first countries to support the war on terrorism, with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Okay...I lied, it's going to be 27 things!!

26) Albanian houses are not built with closets or any room for storage.

27) The youngest son is obligated to live with and care for his parents until their deaths. When he marries, his bride moves in with him and his parents!

"Shtop Looking at Me Shwan!!"

2009-01-31T10:24:00.000-08:00

Before I left for Albania, my family had a strange meats festival where an assortment of exotic meats and seafood was served. One the menu, was bear chili, kangaroo patties, buffalo,elk, wild boar, Kobe beef and crocodile (Mom, if you're reading this, will you remind me what else you guys served?). I’m NOT sorry to say that that day I stuck to eating seafood. Since moving to Albania, I have definitely moved way out of my comfort zone in terms of eating meats that, quite honestly, I would prefer not to (like my next door neighbor’s adorable little lamb). But, let me say, that I am so grateful that I WASN’T invited to the following family’s house for lunch!

A couple of weeks ago, I was visiting a family when we began discussing the phenomenal plane crash into the Hudson. Naturally, we began talking about the causes and the possibility of geese being the problem. The college aged daughter chimed in and said, “We have a goose, do you want to see it?!”

Seeing that this family lived in a small apartment, I was extremely curious about this goose!! I wondered why and where they kept it!(Obviously...it didn’t occur to me that the “goose” was dead...duh!)

The girl went out on the balcony and proudly came back displaying a large plastic bag. From the bag, she revealed, not a goose, but a swan!! (Apparently, in Albanian, it’s the same word). She pulled out the lifeless head and neck, which was wet, dirty, and quite frankly, disgusting. Lovingly, she began to stroke its LONG limp neck and kept saying, “Isn’t it beautiful? I just love him!” She playfully moved its bill and explained that they’d eat the swan the next day and then stuff just the head and neck for a house decoration!

Quite honesty, I don’t know what else to say about this, except that next time my family has a strange meats festival...I think I know what should be on the menu!!

Beware of the Kurent!

2009-01-31T08:29:00.000-08:00

Amongst Albanians, it is widely known that there is an invisible, silent, deadly force of nature, out to get anybody in its path. It’s called, “the kurent”...or, as I might call it, “a lovely summer breeze.”

Our first encounter with this tale was during our first summer here. We were speaking with a shopkeeper, trying to discuss the hot, unbearable weather. We enthusiastically shared that we bought a fan to help fight the heat (only, not so eloquently, as at that point, we were just beginners in Albanian). But he became very serious and warned us not to aim the air directly on us, or we might get sick. He instructed that we must shoot the fan at the ceiling or a wall.

In another case, we were packed in un-air-conditioned furgon (a large van used for public transportation) that was over crowded with hot,sweaty, stinky bodies in the middle of summer. Someone dared to open a window. For a brief second, I thought there might be relief from our misery! But to my dismay,the window-opener was quickly rebuked by another passenger because the breeze would make her toddler catch a cold!

Another time, I had a friend and her baby over at my house for an afternoon. Again, it was one of those famously hot days (we lived in a brick building on the fifth floor...the perfect recipe to make our apartment feel like an oven). As soon as we got in the house, I opened all of the windows and a wonderful refreshing breeze went sailing through the apartment. However, my bliss was short lived, as my guest insisted that I could only have one window open, otherwise the vicious “kurent” would make her baby sick (and turning on the fan was absolutely out of the question!!).

And yesterday, I heard the ultimate consequence of the "kurent." Here’s the following conversation Steve and I had with a taxi driver...

Taxi driver: “It’s too bad about Javo!”

(Javo is a friend of ours from church who had a double by-pass heart surgery this last weekend.)

Us: “Yes it is, but did you know that Javo had his operation on Sunday? He’s still in the hospital, but he’s okay now!”

Taxi driver (in a very condemning voice): “Well, it’s his own fault!! It’s his own fault!”

Us (shocked): “Why?”

Taxi Driver: “Because three years ago he bought a motorcycle and he rides it with an open shirt!”

So let this be a warning to you all...beware of THE KURENT!!

Don't Say Thank You!

2009-01-19T05:16:00.000-08:00

I was walking to church this afternoon and I came across an elderly woman. Because I was already running behind, my pace was much quicker than hers, and I’d planned to quickly exchange polite greetings, and then scurry on my merry way. But as we were both traipsing through the ankle deep mud/snow slosh, I happened to look down and notice that she was wearing an open heeled slipper, as opposed to my thick heavy boots. I couldn’t help but comment on her shoes so I slowed my pace to equal hers, and our conversation went something like this…

Me: “Hello, Happy new year!”

Old lady: “Happy new year!”

Me: “How are you? How are you able to walk in the snow? Aren’t your feet cold and wet?”

Old Lady: “No, I walk very slowly and carefully.”

Me: “Okay. Well Happy New Year.”

Old Lady: “You too. May you have a baby boy this year!” (This is a common blessing to give a married woman…baby boys are so cherished here!)

Me: “Thank you!”

Old lady (now in a scolding voice): “No don’t say thank you!”

Me (perplexed): “Why?”

Old lady: “You just need to go home and make a baby boy!”

Me (now very entertained by this lady): “Why?”

Old lady (almost whispering, as if she’s sharing an age old secret): “Because your husband will love you more! If you have a baby boy, your husband will love you more!”

At this point, the lady reached her destination, we exchanged goodbyes, and I laughed to myself all the way to church.

Baklava Day

2008-09-30T04:14:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day of the Muslim holiday, Ramazan (or Ramadan). Traditionally, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, the month in which Muhammad received his revelation of the Qur'an, is dedicated to fasting from sunrise to sunset for the purpose of prayer, good deeds and self purification (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan). As explained to us by some friends in Turkey, Muslims will wake in the early hours of the morning to eat before sunrise. During these early morning hours, a person will roam the neighborhoods banging a drum to wake everybody up as a reminder to eat. He usually collects a small payment in return for his services.

Now that we are living in a "Muslim" village, I completely expected early morning wake up calls and hungry neighbors during the month of September. However, as I have found out, for the Muslims in my neighborhood, their "faith" is actually rooted in family heritage. I'm discovering that Islam here is not much unlike Christianity in the States, miles wide, but only inches thick. Yes, we do have a drummer boy. But he doesn't come until well until the late hours of morning. He doesn't wake anybody up, but just tries to collect their money. Although they all claim Islam, nobody I've asked has fasted, and most of my neighbors have never even been in a mosque. The children have today off from school, but the only other sign of celebration I've seen is the making of Baklava. Lots and lots of Baklava.

Birdie on a....Suicide Mission?

2008-09-30T03:23:00.000-07:00

A couple of nights ago, all of the neighbors started screaming my name, “OOOH KRISTAL! OOOH KRISTAL!!” This is a fairly frequent occurrence, as the neighbors usually shout for me over silly little things, “OOOOH KRISTAL!! TURN ON YOUR PORCH LIGHT!” or (7am) “OOOH KRISTAL, THE GARBAGE MAN’S COMING!” or 8am today, "OOOH KRISTAL, CAN WE HANG OUR BLANKETS ON YOUR BALCONY!?" This time, however, there was an unusual urgency in their voices.

I looked out the window and saw that everybody was pointing up and shouting. Not having my Albanian brain on, I didn’t listen to what they were yelling and assumed they were calling me to come out to see a rainbow, as it had just finished raining. Much to my surprise, when I went outside, I saw what all the commotion was about! Silly me, Albanians don’t shout about rainbows! They were shouting about the suicidal pigeon hanging by it’s neck from our roof! Somehow, the pigeon got its neck wrapped in a plastic bag, which was caught on our roof, which left for a large lifeless bird gracing our house! Why they alerted me to this travesty, and not Steve, is beyond me.

I called for Steve, who quickly ran up the stairs with a pair of scissors to free the poor bird. Much to all of our surprise, as Steve reached up to save our little friend, the pigeon managed to escape, only to land into the hands of the neighborhood kids, eager to terrorize the poor stunned bird. Is there a lesson to be learned here? Yes. Please don’t litter, recycle when possible and remember to cut you plastic coke rings! As Animal Planet would say, “it’s their planet too!”

The Oddities

2008-09-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

Being visitors in a foreign land, we are somewhat of an oddity. Full of curiosity and with little shame, the Albanians ask us questions all the time. I’ve decided to share with you some of my favorites!

1) Where are you from?
2) What are you doing in Albania? Okay…I know these top two aren’t interesting, but keep reading, they’ll get better, I promise!
3) How is your family? This is always followed by more family questions…Family is SOOO important in this culture! I LOVE this and really enjoy telling about each member of my family!
4) Which place is better, Albania or America? This is a TOUGH one to answer, because the truth is America is my home and first in my heart. But the Albanians seems to love hearing great things about their little land, so usually I answer by saying that I love the hospitality and kindness of the Albanian people, as well saying how beautiful the country is.
5) Why don’t you have a car? Answer: we can’t afford one. They usually don’t believe us, (because aren’t ALL Americans rich) and proceed to ask…
6) Why don’t you ask your parents to buy you a car?
7) Can you find me an American husband? I was even offered a dog in exchange for a man!
8) Next time you go to the States, can you bring me _________? Fill in the blank with any of the following…peanut butter, medicine, digital cameras, diaper rash cream, underwear and my favorite...a Hummer! In this case, it was a salesman whom we met when we were furniture shopping. He was really pushy and made both of us feel incredibly uncomfortable. Every time we passed his shop, he asked us to go for coffee. It got to the point that we’d even start walking different roads to avoid him! Well, on a whim, one day we accepted his invite for coffee, and found out why he’d been so insistent…he wanted us to arrange buying and shipping a Hummer from the States!
9) How much money do you make? I hate this question! Usually I avoid it by saying something generic like, “it’s different every month.” But I’ve just recently started responding, “It’s personal.”
10) Did you fall in love or was your marriage arranged? Answer: LOVE!!

Does This Country Make Me Look Fat?!

2008-09-21T13:44:00.001-07:00

Probably like most of the American population, I could afford to drop a few pounds (I call them my “Donna’s mocha pounds),” but I wouldn’t consider myself fat. Well, these skinny Albanians make me feel like I am a big fat cow. Today I came into church, wearing a pair of pants I love and thought were slimming, and immediately one of the youth said loudly, “Wow! You’re fat.” Again, later today, another Albanian said, “your not fat here (pointing to my waist), but you’re really fat here (pointing to my hips).” Unfortunately, this is an everyday occurrence for me! People frequently ask me why I’m “fat”, and sometimes I just shrug me shoulders, but if I’m in a good mood I just tell them I love chocolate too much!!

Mellow Yellow

2008-08-30T00:45:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was doing the dishes (at my strangely off-centered sink) and thinking, “It’s so neat that our water comes directly from the earth.” I let the water run freely and without constraint. Our water came from a newly dug well, which was about 6 meters deep- two times deeper than any of our neighbor’s wells. Naively I believed our owner when he told us that our source of water was a never ending supply. (I should mention that our water is NOT drinkable…we go to a neighbor’s house to fill up all of our drinking water!)

A few days later, I turned on the sink to some unwelcome sputtering. Thinking it was a problem with our electric pump (another luxury in our neighborhood) Steve called the owner. He came over, checked the well, jiggled a tube, and announced to us that we needed to be careful because our well was running dry. So much for my “endless supply of earth water.”

We proceeded with caution, but much to our dismay, two weeks ago, the faucet dripped its last drop. Immediately, the owner arranged (and paid) to have a crew open up a new well. However, after a day of hard work, they were struck with a bit of bad luck and hit rock. Well number 2 was a no go!

The owner brought four large barrels to our house, filled them with water, connected it to the electric pump and called it good. Each day he says that he’s going to open a new well in a couple of days….two weeks later and we’re still filling barrels for our water. We’re grateful for our generous neighbors who are supplying us with their water through a garden hose! We have a sneaking suspicion that our owner, who has now paid for two non-functioning wells is trying to hold out for some rain in the off chance that well number 1 might fill back up! In the mean time, we’re trying to use as little water as possible, and yes, we’re letting the yellow mellow!

Culture Shock...Round 2

2008-08-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I read a devotion book geared for missionaries and the topic of the day was culture shock. Among one of the questions was this, “Describe your first experience of culture shock.” I really struggled to come up with some ideas, but finally wrote down some generic answers just to fill in the page.

Well now we’ve moved to the village, and even though we’re only a few miles away from Korce, I feel like I’m going through culture shock all over again. If I were to go through that devotion again today, I would have pages and pages to write about my village culture shock.

This was triggered yesterday, when at a time that was COMPLETELY inconvenient for me and Steve, our landlord insisted that we open our home to have some more work done (he put in a wooden banister on our marble staircase). Rather annoyed at the inconvenience of the project, and exhausted from a tiring day and week, I was NOT in the mood to have a bunch of drinking men doing construction in my home at night, the time when I was counting on getting some rest. But being a good missionary, I welcomed them all with a good attitude and graciously kept conversation with the men that weren’t working and just drinking beer. I even talked to a perfect stranger on the phone when a man shoved the phone in my face and said in Albanian, “here, this is my son, make him speak to you in English.” I offered candies to everyone that came in, and even entertained the owners’ wife, three children and niece well past sunset. Meanwhile, all this time, when I would have really relied on Steve’s help, he was called into an “emergency pastors’ meeting”. Sigh.

But the truth is, what REALLY got me was when I looked over at the workers and saw that one man was using MY bread knife to cut the wood!!! Without permission, he went through my drawers and took my bread knife! This got my blood boiling, but seeing as I was entertaining the neighborhood, I kept my anger to myself, and reminded myself that value of the knife was probably less than a dollar. BUT STILL!!

After everyone left, I had plenty to complain to Steve about. The workmanship of these guys was terrible! For example…everything is done by eyeball…nothing is measured and all of the wooden posts are spaced unevenly (Monk would go NUTS in our house!). When drilling holes in our kitchen cabinets, the men didn’t bother removing dishes and other things, so everything is covered in saw dust. Outside, they set their saw blade up right over our shoes, leaving our shoes covered in saw dust. And just to top it off, when I went out to clean up the men’s mess, my neighbors, whose new goal in life is to watch absolutely everything I do, told me I was sweeping wrong!! Argh.

Bikinis and Baptisms

2008-07-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

The highlight of June was a few weeks ago (while the American team was here) when the church celebrated the baptisms of seven Albanians and two Americans. The church body, along with some local youth, filled up a bus and we all went together to Lake Ohrid. We gathered in a grassy area, and those being baptized shared their testimonies. Most of the Albanian testimonies began,
“I come from a Muslim family…”

We prayed for the “baptizees”, and headed off for the water. I, Kristal, got a good laugh watching Steve and Plator wade through the murky water looking for a clean place to do the baptizing. The four women being baptized were extremely nervous, and as women here don’t usually know how to swim and don’t have bathtubs, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the first time they’d ever been completely submerged under water.

The three pastors went out into the lake together and all took a part in baptizing the nine. Steve was absolutely honored to be a part of this and worked hard to make sure he could properly baptize in Albanian.

As the church witnessed the baptisms, so did everybody else on the beach. Many people asked what we were doing. Even children playing in the water gathered around to watch. I thought all the women in bikinis (the only type of swimsuit worn by women here) made for an…interesting….setting for such a spiritual occasion. Celebrating the baptisms in public really was a true declaration of faith for these committed believers.

The adventure met its high point while on the bus ride home, the back window shattered and we all ate dust for about an hour as we poked along the dirt and gravel roads. By the end of the trip, I think we were all ready to be baptized, just to wash the layer dirt off! The day was a joy for everyone, and as one of the Americans said, “It was epic.”

A "Simple" Project...

2008-06-27T05:26:00.000-07:00

We have officially survived our first week of the “summer project”! True to Albanian form, NOTHING turned out as planned! The original goal….

Along with a group from San Diego, the youth of the Libonik church was going to break into teams and either work at the church building a patio and play area, or, would go to a neighboring village and do evangelistic children’s programs, followed by open air evangelism in the afternoons.

Well….scratch the evangelism and the children’s programs! The patio/play area project demanded MUCH more time and people power than anybody was expecting. Had we been in America, this could have easily been done in two days, but Albanian culture presented many unexpected problems. A week later, and we’re still trying to get the “simple” project finished. Here are some of the building hardships…

- the land that was supposed to be leveled by a tractor, wound up being leveled by hand

- the second shipment of “dirt” turned out to be hard clay mixed with old trash (and the driver DEMANDED payment)

- bags of cement were left out in the rain

- The brand new, hand made, wood cover for the well was vandalized! Sigh….

Through this, we’re learning more about the Albanian culture. Most of the laborers we’ve dealt with (those outside of the church) take very little pride in their work. The first time they do a job, they do it well in order to get hired again, but the work quality quickly goes downhill from here.

Anyways, the project wasn’t really a loss. The youth spent time serving; the team built relationships, and there are the beginnings of an incredibly beautiful patio and play area behind the church! In the end, we all agreed that everything worked out for the best. We just have to keep reminding ourselves that sometimes we make the plans, but the Lord directs the steps. A big thanks to Shadow Mountain Church for providing the means to create this place of fellowship for our church! We’ll post before/after pictures soon!

The Best and Worst of It!

2008-06-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

Still no luck on the jet lack front. I woke up promptly this morning at 3:00 am wide eyed and bushy tailed. Because we have a visitor staying in our living room, I was confined to my bedroom…which meant no sneaking into the kitchen for post midnight snacks and internet use…shucks. I read for 5 hours, which means I REALLY wasn’t tired because usually reading puts me fast to sleep.

Anyways, jet lag isn’t what I wanted this blog to be about! Rather I want to share with you the best and worst parts about greeting our Albanian friends after two and a half months away.

Albanians are very gracious in their greetings in that they always ask, MULTIPLE times, how you are doing, how your health is and how the trip was. This is followed by asking about the family. They ask specifically about each family member and literally go through a list, (How’s you mom, dad, brothers, sisters, grandparents, Steve’s mom, dad, brothers, sisters, etc….and if they know us real well, they even ask about the pets!) This is followed by asking specifically about everyone’s health as well! The entire ordeal takes quite a few minutes, and makes a simple errand take forever! (Please understand, this is not a complaint!)

But my FAVORITE part of reconnecting with our old friends (and sometimes acquaintances) is telling them that my sister is now engaged. This is inevitably followed by many congratulations and well wishes for her and her fiancé.

(For those of you reading this and just discovering this terrific news, Amber recently became engaged to Dave Dyson…a great man who was quite possibly, the perfect fit for her and our family! The two very considerately became engaged during our trip to the States so that we could personally share in their joy!)

Excited to hear good news, Albanians are always eager for more, and without missing a beat, inevitably ask if I have any good news myself (asking if I’m pregnant). I politely respond that I’m not. Disappointed, they wish me to have a boy. Somewhere in the conversation, they will have to mention that I’ve gained weight and that it was a mistake to cut my hair. So that’s the worst of it…not too bad.

But now comes the best part…meeting up with the kids! Yesterday we went to visit the girls at the Safe House. They weren’t home so wound up waiting for them for about fifteen minutes in the rain. But, the wet wait was well worth it when the two youngest girls saw us from a distance and ran with all of their might to give us our hugs, kisses and the roses they picked for us in the park. I barley recognized Delvina because her hair had grown much longer and Maria was just as playful and loving as ever. The older girls were equally excited about our arrival (and the gifts we brought back for them!) It really was a sweet reminder of why we’re here…to a make a loving difference in the lives of worthy kids like these!

Today, we made our way to the daily center, where Dani was they first see us. He was so thrilled to see Steve that his eyes literally welled with tears as they were hugging. Now, for those of you that have heard our “Dani stories,” you probably know that Dani can pull out tears on moments notice; but these were genuine, “I’ve missed you, my friend” tears.

Dani announced to the other kids that we were back and immediately the onslaught of hugs and kisses began. I was so touched by all the hugs that I forgot to worry about my head touching theirs and getting lice!! Toli (the youngest of the “Jungle Boys”) hung to me like a leach and wouldn’t’ let go for a good half hour. Steve was bombarded with all the rest as they fought for his attention. Ilka (the oldest) tried to play it cool when he saw us. However, he wolfed down his lunch much faster than any other kid so that he could (nonchalantly) get some special time with Steve while all the others finished their meal (smart kid!).

So that’s the best and worst of it! As hard as it was to say “goodbye” in America, saying “hello” in Albanian was so worth it!

Back to Albania

2008-06-05T02:01:00.000-07:00

One tall Caramel Frappuccino, two bites of a stale bagel, six airplane meals, three packs of trail mix, 2 fun-size butterfingers, 1 bag of pizza bagel bites, 4 bottles of water, and we’re finally back in Albania! Our travels got off to a rough start, as they usually do. Although I think we are rather experienced world travels, we ARE NOT experienced world packers. Every trip we seem to make the same mistake…waiting till the last minute to pack (and by last minute, I mean staying up ALL NIGHT the night before to pack.) You would think that we’d have this down by now, but no matter what side of the world we are on, we cannot seem to get this right! At the beginning of each flight, I always seem to curse materialism and try to figure out how I do better the next time.

Anyways, with the little sleep and major post-packing stress, I was in no condition to express my true love and emotions to those who were waiting so lovingly to send us off. Cheerfully, and running completely off of adrenaline and caffeine, I casually hugged the fam., and hopped in the car. Steve, however, had the opposite problem, and broke down the minute he said goodbye to his beloved dog. In my defense (as to not look coldhearted) I had my break down about a week earlier before going to visit my grandpa. Regardless, saying goodbye to friends and family is easily one of the hardest parts for us of missionary life.

So, we get to the airport and we’re told to wait in the United line. Half an hour later, we’re at the check-in desk being told to wait in the Lufthansa line. We get to the Lufthansa check in desk, where they are experiencing problems with our check in. Without any explanation for what is going wrong, we wait, and wait, and wait. The girl helping us calls someone else to help her, who calls someone else to help him (big sigh). By this point, Steve and I are nervously checking our watches. Finally figuring out the problem, we get our tickets, but are informed that our seats are in the back of the plane. “Fine,” I thought, “who cares where our seats are as long as we’re on the plane!”

Little did I know, but seats on the back of the plane means that our seats have shorter leg space, don’t recline AT ALL and are next to the bathrooms (gross). Oh well. It didn’t seem to matter much anyways because both Steve and I slept almost the entirety of flight.

More sleeping in the airport in Germany, more trouble checking in, Steve suffering a bad ear ache and we arrive in Greece, where, no big surprise…our luggage isn’t on the conveyor belt. Fortunately, the bags were transferred to a different terminal (which always seems to happen at this airport, and we’re on our way, again. We catch a taxi to the train station, where we lug over 200 lbs. of luggage across a busy street to the bus station for Albania. The men, Albanian speakers, seemed tickled to death that two Albanian speaking Americans were using their bus. I was tickled that I still remembered Albanian and that my head instantaneously shook no when answering yes. (Albanians shake their heads the opposite of Americans). In all we made it from Vacaville California to Korce Albania in about 28 hours…not bad!

So having made it safely back, we just have one more traveling hurdle to cross…jet lag! After futilely trying to sleep, getting back up and watching City Slickers at 2:00 am., I am writing this to all of you at 5:00am! Hope you enjoyed my early morning ramblings!

Village Life...

2008-03-11T02:10:00.000-07:00

Hope you enjoy these pics. from Drithas, a village not too far from where we're moving!

A new born calf!

Forging an ax!

Sonilla and her babe!

I think this picture speaks for itself!

How would you get rid of lice?

2008-03-07T11:01:00.000-08:00

Working with street children, seeing lice is not something that is uncommon to me. Having been nominated the children’s center barber, many times, I have attempted to attack this problem with my trusty blades…I mean scissors (and the end result is usually a totally butchered hair cut!) I have spent hours upon hours, laboring to rid friends’ hair strand by strand to terminate every single nit and louse. It’s a horrible, disgusting bug, and it’s not easy to get rid of! I’ve seen many “lice killing” solutions, from an electric shocking comb to simply soaking hair in oil or mayonnaise over night. But one solution I would have NEVER thought of was burning the lice out!!

Well, each spring, on the last day of February (for the Orthodox…the Muslims celebrate later in March) Albanians gather to celebrate the coming spring. Together, they build bon fires in the middle of the road, with scraps of wood they’ve been saving through the winter. As the fire builds bigger and brighter, children and adults attempt jumping through the “perilous” flames, believing that it will burn all of the icky things that have collected on them during the winter. (translation of “icky things”…fleas, lice etc.) Parents even swing their small children through the flames! In reality, seeing that most Albanians are very clean people and NOT covered in bugs, this tradition appeared to me as more of an act to seek good luck and fortune. At any rate, the end result for the kids at the center was singed lashes, burnt hair...and unfortunatey...lice.

The Vision!

2008-03-07T10:53:00.000-08:00

In planning to come to Albania, we imagined two years of stretching service doing something worthy for our Lord. At the time, we thought we’d easily be able to come back home and re-start our lives in America two years down the line. Like usual (and we should have saw it coming!) our unchanging God had entirely different plans for us than we had planned for ourselves. Last week, after months of agonizing in prayer, we surrendered to His call and renewed our commitment to serve Him in Albania.

The last two years we have been working in a center for street children, as well as a Safe House for girls. This ministry has been a wonderful stepping stone into life here as it provided a way for us to learn language and culture. We were also able to spend our time fruitfully with children who so badly need love in their lives. Thankfully, it’s connected us with the best Albanian friends we could have asked for. We’re truly grateful for our time spent in this ministry because it is also been the springboard into our next adventure.

As we’ve built relationships with the children, we’ve seen the deep poverty in which they live and sadly, in many cases, severe abuse and neglect as well. It’s become our dream to do something about this real problem by opening a Safe House for boys. The story of two boys in particular has broken our hearts, and our hope is to get them out of their current conditions by this summer. The younger boy, age eight, lives with his alcoholic and abusive father and his paralyzed mother. She was paralyzed during his birth and the family blames and resents him for her condition. He is undernourished, neglected and although very bright, not attenting school. The other boy, age fourteen, has been juggled from different abusive living situations. His father died of alcoholism, and his mother, who had been extremely ill for a long time, died last year. Since her death, he has been living with his unstable older half brother, and is basically raising himself. Our vision is to create a safe, nurturing family atmosphere for these special children.

In addition, Steve has accepted a position as an assistant pastor at a young and struggling church in Libonik, a village about a half hour from where we currently live. The church’s role in the area is very important to the spreading of the Gospel, as Albania is still predominately a Muslim nation. Steve’s goal is to help bring balance, new perspective, accountability and to lighten the heavy work load of the church’s current pastor (Plator). The full vision is that as Steve pastors, Kristal will be operating the Safe House, and both ministries will overlap each other as we serve side by side.

We feel beyond blessed for what the Lord has done in us and through us these past two years. Thank you to all that have been an encouragement through prayer, support, letters, and friendship. We can only pray that the blessings in this next leg of journey will be so abundant!