Sierra's Seven!

Here's the big seven year old! Yesterday we celebrated Sierra's 7th birthday! Kaitlyn woke up at 6:45 to make her this special birthday girl crown. She asked for my "famous" pancakes for breakfast. The thing that makes them famous is that they are made from scratch. There are no mixes or Bisquick here, so I am learning to make everything from scratch. I am even going to have to learn how to make my own syrup with maple extract because they don't sell syrup here. My Albanian friend was amazed when I told her that I had never made pancakes from scratch because we had a mix that only required you to add water. I didn't even tell her that you can buy them already made in the frozen food section. That would have blown her away!
After breakfast we opened presents. We had brought a few gifts from the states, but forgot to bring wrapping paper, so we used only grocery bags and tissue boxes. She didn't seem to mind because they were tied up with candy on top. It was a good lesson in being content because she only received 3 small gifts and a couple of "gifts" from her sisters (their old toys). I am thankful for the opportunity to scale down gift giving for birthdays and holidays. The girls spent the morning playing with their My Littlest Pet Shop animals.
In the evening we went to a Chinese restaurant in town. It is the best Chinese food we have ever had. Of course the owners barely speak Albanian or English. We don't speak Mandarin or Albanian, so we had an interesting time with the ordering. Here are the girls under the sign for Da Shang Hai restaurant.
Sierra is mastering the art of chopsticks with some fried dumplings! Kris ordered them thinking that none of the girls would like them. No such luck! He only got 2. The girls gobbled them up. We were all full and happy when we left.
Sierra got a traditional Albanian cake for her birthday. I had planned on packing a cake mix to make for her, but in the last minute rush I forgot. The morning of her birthday, I asked Arta, my Albanian friend, where I could get a cake. She took me to a bakery that was a 1 mile walk away to order it. So I walked 1 mile there and 1 mile home. Then later in the day I walked 1 mile there to pick it up and 1 mile to bring it home. After 4 miles of walking, I was hoping it was a good cake. It was a yummy chocolate and strawberry one. When we cut the cake and asked Sierra which piece she wanted she said, "I don't really like cake, but it wouldn't be a birthday without cake and a candle, would it?" Ahhh! Thankfully, I enjoyed the walk and was grateful for the exercise. All in all, the first birthday away from family and friends in the states was a success. We all had a fun time and had some neat experiences to go with the special day. We praise God for Sierra and for the laughter and joy that she brings into our lives. Her quirky ways and silly laugh are a highlight of our days. We rejoice that she seems to be soft to the things of the Lord and always thanks Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins in her prayers. Please continue to pray for Sierra, and for all of the girls (see previous post in Feb.- Missions at Home), and their spiritual walk. We covet your prayers on their behalf.

Getting to know our new home

This is a view of part of the city of Tirana from the Sky Tower. This tower has a small restaurant on top that spins so you can see the whole city at one time. On Tuesday we decided to walk with the girls to this tower for them to get a bird's eye view of the place they will call home. The drinks were steep ($2.50) but the experience was worth it. The walk (in 104 degree weather!) took us over an hour. We did stop and visit an ice cream store :), peek in at a sad looking amusement park, buy some fans for the girls to use, discover the Tirana Galleria (this building actually has 5 floors of some western stores like Benetton and Nike as well as other high end Albanian shopping - it was air conditioned), and practice crossing busy streets in traffic with 4 girls in tow. We took a taxi home. This in itself was quite an adventure. We have to call an Albanian friend who calls a taxi for us since we can't explain where our house is - there is no address. Our friend called the taxi for us and when the taxi pulled up we got in and started on the road. The driver asked us in Albanian where we were going. We said the name of the owner of the house, which usually works because everyone knows him, but our driver gave us a blank look. We had gotten in the wrong taxi. This man had no idea where we were going. Thankfully, I remembered the name of the nearest major street to our house and told him that. Once we got to the street, we were able to direct him to the house. We really need to learn Albanian quickly! Here we are in the Sky Tower. The girls are putting their new fans to good use. The girls were disappointed that the spinning tower wasn't more of an amusement ride. It went really slow and at one point the electricity went off and we stopped moving. The building has a generator, so it came back on in a few minutes, but we were thankful that we weren't on the elevator at that moment.
Akullore!! Ice cream!! This city if full of the yummy stuff. We stopped to refresh ourselves and cool off on our walk. We enjoyed banana, kiwi, strawberry and vanilla ice cream. Breanna had the first time opportunity to visit a traditional Albanian bathroom. We call them squatty potties. The hole in the floor is connected to plumbing, so it flushes, but she was not about to go. I had to hold her up over it. Oh, the fun we had! :)
On Thursday, we took a little jaunt about 45 minutes outside of Tirana with some Albanian friends, Genci and Arta, along with their kids, Emi and Joel. Genci took us up the beautiful mountain side to a wonderful hotel with a new pool. I was amazed that this pretty hotel could exist so far from the city. The pool was so cold! The water is from the mountain spring, but it felt wonderful! There was a neat playground next to the pool for the kids to play on. We enjoyed a very relaxing day with our friends away from the heat of the city.
Here is Kris with Genci and Arta. Arta will be our language teacher for 2 years. Genci is the associate pastor at our church. Their daughter Emi is Kaitlyn's new friend here. We are so thankful for their friendship. God has been faithful to provide us like minded friends here in Albania. We are looking forward to our relationship growing. They are helping us learn the cultural norms here so we can live here and understand the people's lives better. We are hoping to do more fun things with them in the future. All in all, this week has been a good opportunity to see more of Tirana and the surrounding areas. The girls are beginning to recognize landmarks and whenever we get close to our house, Breanna yells out, "We're home!"

Living out Philippians 4:11

Here we are on the roof watching a movie with the laptop. The temperature in the house is 90 degrees and not much cooler outside. This is the view from the balcony of the house. There are some newer apartments right next to houses with the roof falling in.

"Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." Philippians 4:11

Our family has learned a whole new way of applying this verse in the past few days. Of all the things that we expected to be challenges for us, the heat was not one that we thought would be so difficult. Albania is experiencing record breaking heat in the 100's. Today was the hottest day that many Albanians can remember. What's the big deal you say? Well, the heat coupled with the lack of rain has caused major problems with the energy department. Added to that is the huge problem that many Albanians just don't pay their electric bill. So, how does the energy department deal with their energy crisis? They just turn off the electricity for 4-6 hours of the day. The houses here are all made of concrete and don't have any insulation. In reality, when the electricity goes out, as well as the water with it, we are baking in the house. Of course, going outside it even hotter so we are learning to rejoice in a 90 degree house. This has been an especially hard lesson to teach the girls, because it is so hard to apply ourselves. All you want to do when it is so hot and you are just sweating into a puddle on the floor is to be left alone and lay down. However, that isn't a possibility with 4 energetic girls who don't want to be cooped up in the house all day.

We have made it as fun as we can. In the evening after the mad scramble to get the kitchen cleaned up and teeth brushed before the water turns off, we go up on the roof and watch a movie together on the laptop. The girls actually want the electricity to go off so they can stay up late. The house is so hot that they can't go to sleep so we have had to adjust our "going to bed" schedule to fit into the electricity schedule. It has been fun to have some watermelon and a movie or just sit on the roof and listen to the sounds of the city.

Kris and I ended our day sitting out and listening to the people and sounds all around us. We prayed for them and for how we are to live in the midst of them. The sounds of children playing, babies crying, cars honking, and a woman singing her Muslim prayers wafted up as we prayed. It was one of the most beautiful moments for me since we have been here. Off in the distance I could see an apartment building that was totally dark except for one apartment. They probably had a generator for their electricity, but they were the only light. As I looked at that lone light, I prayed that in this totally dark land, we would be like that lone light, shining brightly and obviously to all around. My prayer since then has been that we would radiate the Light that we have.

Isaiah 9:2 says, "The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them". This passage chapter goes on to foretell about Christ, the Messiah! We have that Light living in us and Matthew 5:15-16 tells us that we are the light of the world and that shining that light in the world brings glory to God. I have to say that these passages have taken on a whole new dimension for me now that we are experiencing physical darkness every day. The dark is so dark without even a hint of light of anywhere. That is what the people of Albania, and all over the world, are living in spiritually - no Light, not even a hint! How heavy my heart is for them. How grateful I am for the glorious Light that has saved me - totally unworthy though I am!

May our lights shine before men in such a way that they may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven.

Camp at Vlora

On July 16th we loaded up 45 students and about 15 staff and headed off to the beach town of Vlora, which is a 4 hour bus ride, for youth camp. The theme was "True Happiness" based out of The Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5. One of the greatest lies that the Albanian youth have bought from the father of lies is that the wealth of the west will bring them happiness. The streets are full of people searching desperately for hope in sex, drugs, alcohol and materialism. Sadly, they are catching up quickly to the youth in America. Kris and I have had the privilege of attending and serving at this camp for the past two years. It was so neat to see how God has grown those we ministered to in past years.

Here is the whole group together in our camp t-shirts. There were 101 stairs from the bottom floor to the top rooms (!). Thankfully, our room was only half way to the top. The mornings were set aside for small group teaching times on different verses from the Sermon on the Mount.
Kris and I enjoyed being here with our kids. Of course, having kids at camp was very different than it had been in previous years. Chelle was not as free to spend time with the youth girls because she was focused on the kids, but she did have some wonderful time with the one of the staff wives, and Albanian pastors wife, and some of the staff girls. Kris preached three times at camp and helped lead the music for worship in the evenings. He preached on what true happiness is, how holiness leads to happiness, and Solomon's take of true happiness out of Ecclesiastes. Kris was very thankful to have three other men from the team share some of the teaching this year.
We are so thankful for the commitment to prayer that the staff had. Every morning at 6:30 all the staff met for prayer on the pier. The sweet time of unity in the Lord surrounded by the breezes from the Agean Sea was a true taste of heaven.
The girls had such a fun time at the beach. Here is Breanna searching for shiny rocks on the beach. The water of the Agean is very salty and has few fish. There are, however, lots of sea urchins. Thankfully, we brought water shoes for the rocky beach, but the first day I spent a couple of hours digging sea urchin spines out of the feet of many students. Using a dirty needle and rusty tweezers on multiple people went against all my nursing training. So far, I haven't lost one of those patients. :)
This is view of the hotel we stayed at and the beach below. I wanted to include this picture to show how wonderfully God protected us. Kris took this picture and he is standing only a few feet from the edge of a wildfire burn area. On Thurday morning at 1:30 we were awakened by our team leader to inform us that there was a fire just over the ridge. We were to prepare to evacuate. Our room is right on the corner of the building and we could see the embers from the fire and see the flickering of the flames. I had our Bibles, camera, and computers packed to get out with the girls when they put the fire out. It is amazing what becomes really valuable when you have to chose what to take with you. We had great opportunities to use the fire to talk about God's sovereignty, the transitory nature of our lives and how God cares for His children. The camp's purpose was to encourage and challenge the believers from the youth group at our church in Tirana. All praise to God that while we were there one of the girls, Deni, who was staying at the hotel, but who lives in Tirana made a profession of faith. Kris had the privilege of talking with her about her new commitment to the Lord. She came to church on Sunday, the day after we came back from camp. She and I exchanged cell phone numbers and we are going to get together. Please pray for Deni. Thank you for praying so faithfully for us and for the team from Texas this last week. We are confident that your prayers were effective as we saw and heard many students impacted by the Word of God being faithfully taught and lived out in the lives of the staff. Now we have the privilege of staying here to nurture and see the results of camp for years to come! Praise God for His goodness to us!

New friends and new places

On Saturday, July 14th, we did the tourist thing with the team from Texas and visited the famous castle of Kruje (Krooya). This reconstructed castle is a museum for the Albanian national hero, Skenderbeg. He halted the Ottoman invasion in the 14oo's for about 50 years which allowed the rest of Europe to prepare for the Turks. The girls are sitting on the steps of the castle waiting with anticipation to enjoy the wonders of hundreds of years of history. LOL! Really, they did a wonderful job and got a feel for the history of the country they will call home.

Here is Kaitlyn and her new friend Emi (Amy). They hit it off right away and have already spent hours talking about America and Albania. It is very interesting to listen in on the conversation of young girls from different cultures trying to make a connection. If you haven't already guessed, Emi speaks amazing English. However, she and Kaitlyn have been working on Albanian together. Isn't our God just so good to us? He knew that friends for Kaitlyn would be the top of her list of things to make Albania home. He gave her one just outside the door of the airport. I just love to see Him provide for my children as they follow us all over the world.
Sierra thought the statue of Skenderbeg was really cool. She was especially fascinated with his helmet. Out of all the girls, she probably enjoyed the museum displays the most. She was standing on top of the castle area singing at the top of her lungs, "I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch my eye!" LOL!!!! I got real kick out of that.
The girls and Chelle enjoyed a photo op on the top of the castle. The day wasn't really this yellow, although the sun was bright. I don't know what was up with my camera, but here was are. Sierra and Whitney have taken the whole European big sunglass thing to heart. You may be asking, "Where is Kris during all this fun?" Well, Kris had to stay home to...study. This really was providential, because while he was home, the stomach bug got to him. He was thankful to be near a bathroom. However, during his travail, the power went out. This has been happening for at least 4 hours a day in Albania lately. When the power goes out this also shuts down water. So, poor Kris is home feeling miserable and now he's hot and he doesn't have any water for the bathroom. Thankfully, he is feeling better at the moment. Keep him in your prayers, as he has to preach at camp in two days.
This is the team from Lakeside, minus Kris. Of the 8 team members not in our family only two of them are new to Albania. Six of them have been 3 times now. We are looking forward to the team next year to be about the size of Lakeside Bible Church :).
Our day ended with new friends made, new places enjoyed and a bigger view of our great big God who proved Himself, again, to be in the details our lives. Goodbye or mire pafshim (meer pafsheem) until tomorrow. Enjoy your Lord's day as we worship Him together in every tongue and every nation.

Albania, here we come!

God has been so gracious to our family! By His good hand, He has accompished what He has been preparing us for. We arrived in Tirana, Albania on July 12th. We have been here 1 full day and we are getting settled in. God allowed us to travel with an 8 person team from our church, Lakeside Bible Church, to Tirana. We will all be putting on a youth camp with a local church in Tirana. We are looking forward to this coming week of fun and ministry. Here are the girls ready to arrive in their new home of Albania. They were great world travellers. We travelled for 18 hours with a 6 hour layover in London. We were blessed that all 18 (!) of our bags arrived safely in Tirana.
Kris spent the majority of his time working on messages for camp in tight spaces. The altitude and lack of sleep left him a little crazy. What's new?
Here is the first look at our new hometown of Tirana from the air. It was surreal to buy tickets one way. I was brought to tears to realize all that God has done over the last two years to bring us to this point. I have never seen such a beautiful city before. I couldn't wait to get on the ground.
The girls are standing outside the home we will be staying in for a month. We have not found a place to live yet. We are borrowing a friends home since they are in the states right now. The home is beautiful and we are so grateful for it. The girls are having such a great time and fitting right in. Some of the Albanian people think that the girls are Albanian themselves. Kaitlyn has already become great friends with Emi (Amy) and is learning some Albanian. Yeah!!!
This is the view of the street outside the villa we are staying in. The drivers are crazy here and they don't stop for pedestrians. We keep a tight grip on the kids because we do a lot of walking - yeah for me. So far the weather has been pretty hot during the day and very pleasant at night.