First Spring Break in Albania

God, who is so good to us, allowed us the opportunity to enjoy a few days away during the girl's spring break. We decided to explore some of north Albania and visit Montenegro (formerly Yugoslavia) and also Croatia. It was a relaxing trip and one that built some great memories for us and for the kids.

After being in Albania for almost 9 months, I was ready to get out and see some different scenery. Our months here have been hard and filled with hard work and so we were weary and in need of some family time as well as some fun. I praise God that He always knows how to refresh us and encourage us, and at what time.

Here is a short photo tour of our 3 country trip - which only used one tank of gas, by the way. It's amazing that you can drive for 6 hours and pass out of Albania, through Montenegro and into Croatia. Things are just so close here in Europe.


Sunday - April 6th

What a beautiful country Albania is! This is a shot of a Catholic church on one hill and a Muslim mosque on another. Just driving through the country and seeing the gorgeous creation set the stage for a great time away.


Once we crossed the border in to Montenegro - the country just to the north of us - we were looking for the Adriatic Sea. It almost brought tears to my eyes when we crested the hill and looked down on the sea sparkling with sunlight. God is so creative! The coast is filled with bluffs and small islands.


Monday - April 7th

This is Kotor Bay, Montenegro. This Bay is the only natural fjord in Europe. A fjord is a steep walled valley filled with sea water that resembles a lake because it is inland, not right on the coast. The view of breathtaking. We rented a place on line and the picture above was taken from our balcony. There is just no way a picture can capture the grandeur and majesty of this place. It is so rich with history as well. In the distance (of the picture) you can see a 3 mast ship sailing into the bay. It was surreal.


The weather forecast was quite gloomy for almost our whole vacation. I was praying hard for God to change that. Praise God, we only had a couple of rainy days. On one sunny day we visited the coast. BRRRR!! The water was cold and the wind was just blowing down from the cliffs on either side. I sat on a chair with a coat and two towels wrapped around me. What are the crazy kids thinking running in the water with their pants rolled up? Breanna almost blew away. I was happy to get back in a warm car.


We also visited a park in Kotor. The park equipment has much to be desired in Tirana - if it's even safe. The girls enjoyed the unique play things. The see-saws were deadly. They were super tall and could throw off the riders if the drop was too hard. I could envision broken tail bones and cracked skulls.


Kotor has a 700 year old fortress and city. The picture above is of the wall being lit up at dusk. It was a tremendous sight. There is nothing like a huge, ancient city to remind you of how small and insignificant you are. We really enjoyed exploring the old city. We got lost in the maze of small, winding streets, but finally found our way out by following all the cats.


Tuesday, April 8th

On Tuesday we took a day trip to the next country north, Croatia. We had heard that Dubrovnik was a "must-see" city and since we were so close we thought we would be real world travelers and go. We took a ferry across the Bay with our car to get to the border. Now we have one more stamp on our passports.


Here was our first view of Dubrovnik. It was stunning to me. The whole city is walled in and is still inhabited. It has a distinct Italian feel to it make those stories of walled cities in the Bible so much more understandable. Dubrovnik was a major center for trade for centuries and was almost undefeatable because of their defenses.


Dubrovnik celebrated it's 500 year birthday this year!


Here are the girls on the stone streets of Dubrovnik. It's crazy to think that we were walking on the same stones that some children centuries ago played on. I think that was lost on the girls, but they had fun terrorizing the hundreds of birds in the main square.


Here is our family on the wall surrounding the city. It is a 2 kilometer ( just over a mile) walk around it.


Here is a shot of us all on the wall walk. It was quite a stressful time for me because the walls are not too tall and the girls wanted to run and then climb up and look over the side. There was a couple of hundred foot drop! Touring in the states is much different where they have guardrails and you can't get near the edge. Of course, they probably wouldn't let you walk on the 500 year old wall in the states. Not much is that old in USA. So, I am thankful that we could have this amazing opportunity.


One of the highlights of the day was meeting up the Provosts. This family, who have been serving in Albania for 15 years, have been great team leaders and friends. We are so blessed by them! They were going up into Croatia for their Spring break and so we enjoyed this wonderful city together. The kids all get along great and kept us on our toes. Here we are all together.


Kaitlyn was checking out the guillotine. No, it was a punishment :-) The kids thought this was so funny. I was just hoping that the blade was nice and secure. That would have been a major bummer and cut short our trip. LOL.


Here is a photo of the majority of the city and sea from the highest tower on the wall walk. I will never forget this sight. It was fantastic!

Wednesday, April 9th

Wednesday turned out to be really chilly and rainy so we went swimming in a nearby hotel pool. Because it was still early in the season we had the place to ourselves. It was so fun to watch the girls swim and play and enjoy themselves. This day was the highlight for them.


Whitney was having so much fun swimming that she swam right into the edge of the pool and gave herself a shiner.


Here she is smiling with her black and swollen eye.

Friday, April 11th


Kris took Kaitlyn, Whitney and Sierra on the hike up the mountain to the top of the fortress of Kotor Bay. It was even less protected than the Dubrovnik wall so I'm glad I didn't go. You can see that Sierra was up for the challenge though. What was I doing while they were having so much fun hiking up a mountain? Picking lice out of Breanna's hair! YIKES! We discovered on Friday morning that both she and I had lice - she gave it to me from a child in her pre-school. What a test of my joy in God in all circumstances. I spent 5 hours picking through her hair and then washed and hung dry lots of clothes. I was so exhausted and then Kris had to go through my long hair. Praise God they didn't spread to anyone else. I learned a "lice lesson" through this though. I was reading the book Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges and he was talking about how we don't deal with the "small" sins in our lives as the hideous affront to God that they are. I was thinking about how much time and energy I spent getting rid of lice because I was disgusted that they were anywhere on me, my kids or in my house. If only I would spend that much time and energy to get rid of the sin in my life that is so much more devastating than bugs. I had Kris pick through my hair at the slightest itch. If only I was so diligent to pick through my life and have others comb through it carefully to help me deal with the "eggs" of sin that will cause an infestation. Sin is so much harder to get rid of than lice, but I was more concerned about the lice. What a lesson. Praise God for lice. He knew I needed that lesson.


So, here is the slippery, wet and uneven journey Kris and the girls were took.


One of the saddest things that I learned on this trip is that in the whole town of Kotor there is not one Protestant church! This old catholic chapel is visited for tourism and the there is an old cathedral, but that's about it. I was so amazed by this and prayed so often for the city and the people during that week. Who will tell them of God's love and mercy for repentant sinners? Is there even one believer in that town? My heart was so burdened for them.


700 year old ruins and my 3 daughters. Who would have thought they would have the privilege of walking in and touching such history. Of course they only remember the stinky goat droppings all over the place. Oh well, that is why we take pictures. At least later in life they can look back and say, "Oh why didn't I appreciate that more?"


Here is the whole of our end of Kotor Bay and the city from the top of the fortress.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this photo tour. Thank you for your prayers for our safety. One of the most encouraging things about this trip is that I was really ready to be home - in Tirana - by the end of the week. I realized while we were away how grateful I am for where we live and for the ministry God has given us. I was even ready to get back into language classes. After spending 5 days in a country where I didn't know what people were saying, it was great to go back to Albania and understand at least 50% of the conversation. That was a real boost to my confidence level. I AM learning. It was funny because in Montenegro, I kept trying to speak Albanian to the people in the market or shops. The first words to my mind were not English, but Albanian. Yeah God! Keep up the prayers. We need them.