Getting settled at home

We have been in our house for almost 1 month now and we have most everything unpacked and set up. After being "homeless" and living out of suitcases for over 2 months, we are even more grateful to the Lord for providing this perfect haven for us. Not only is it a great place for us to live, but we are able to use it for ministry purposes already. This week we are hosting a visiting seminary professor for a few days. Hopefully some of you will be able to stay at our home when you come to visit or serve on a short term mission trip. We would love to have you! Also, beginning next month, our church is starting weekly home prayer meetings. We will be having one of these prayer groups at our house. We are really looking forward to using this house to glorify God and serve the body for years to come.

Many of you have asked to see pictures of the house now that we are settled and have our things in it. Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy.

Welcome to our house! This is the view of the downstairs from the front door.

We didn't know when we packed our container with our furniture, knick knacks, and pictures that they would be so important to us here in Albania - most of all to me. God was so gracious to allow us to bring our "homey" and familiar things - like greenery (fake, our course, because I have a "black" thumb and kill any living plant), toys, books, and family photos. Having these familiar things makes moving to a foreign land not quite so foreign.
This is our family room.

Albanians are very particular about having clean houses. This is good for me because it forces me to keep a tidy house all the time. Who knows when someone will drop in. We have these tile floors throughout the house. They are wonderful and cool in the summer, but everyone has told us to be prepared for how cold the house will be in the winter. I have already realized that when our house is chilly inside, it is warm outside. I am getting our blankets and heaters and cozy socks ready for the first real cold spell.

Praise God for this wonderful kitchen!

We spend many hours in this room and so we are grateful that it has lots of space and a wonderful breeze. I am especially thankful that our stove/oven is both electric and gas. This means that when the electricity is out, I can still cook. Our electricity has been going out from 1-4 pm and then again from 5-7 pm every day, so I am thankful to have this stove. Of course, I look funny with a miners light on my head trying to cook in the dark. LOL! But hey, no one complains how I look when there's dinner on the table.

This is the landing on the second floor and my office area.

This area is very versatile. The girls will be practicing their piano here when we start lessons up soon, I study and do my language work here, and we are able to store lots of things in the large wardrobe. It's such a bright and airy room. I love it.

Here is Kris's office.

Because Kris needed to office out of the house due to space issues at the seminary we were so thankful to find this house with lots of room for Kris to work. He has 5 bookcases full of great resources for teaching and studying. Praise the Lord that Kris was able to bring these these valuable tools.

This is Kaitlyn and Breanna's room.

Kaitlyn loves having how own space on the top bunk. She is such a great sister and helps Breanna get dressed and make her bed every morning.
This is Whitney and Sierra's room.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the pictorial tour of our home. We really would love to have any of you come for a visit. We are so thankful for the way you serve us in prayer and support that we would love to show you our Albanian hospitality.

Please continue to pray for our neighbors. We have had so many opportunities to get to know our English speaking and Albanian neighbors. We praise God that He put us in this home to be a light in this dark area for His glory.