Day 31

I am now at the University in Paris working with the Summer of Service and it has been amazing so far!!! However there is unfortunately very limited internet access so I'm using one of the three computers here to give an update :)

Our days have been so crazy busy! We have breakfast every morning at 7:30 and then worship and a teaching at 9:30. Then lunch at 12 and a short break after that and before we go out with our specific teams at 2:30. Then we have an open air service from 8 to 10:30 and since it takes us over an hour to get back to the University I usually end up in bed by 12:30 at the earliest. Then we wake up and do it all over again! Every day is so crazy though nothing feels redundant which is good. There are so many amazing people here and it's been so encouraging to talk and spend time with them. There are around 80 participants in the program and they are all from over 15 different countries. Having such a diverse group always makes everyday things much more interesting :)

Saint Denny is the area we go to work with muslims. Yesterday was the first day we spent out there and since it's hard to do much as an English speaker I spent the afternoon interceeding with another girl for the rest of the team. It was really good but I'm also really excited to go out and talk to people later this week or next. Going into this area feel like you're walking into an area of North Africa. I've never seen anything like it. There are so many people that you can tell are from so many different backgrounds just from the way they dress and carry themselves.

France is such a diverse country and I think its often forgotten how much need there really is here.

Day 22

It's been so long since I've written! For the few people reading this, my sincerest apologies :)

I'm in France! Just outside of Paris, in the region of Champagne (where they make Champagne if you couldn't guess that). We've been here since last Wednesday and have been helping out with a youth camp that was hosted by the YWAM base here. It has been very very interesting. Our roles were to be the servants of the base, so we have mostly been cleaning and serving and preparing meals and things like that. But because of the unexpected low attendance, we were also able to attend the different workshops and services and things. There were actually three people from the Bethel school in Redding here as well and one of them was a speaker. Its been really crazy experiencing so many differing theological beliefs and practices. However, I have learned more about unity in the church than I ever could have hoped for in a one week period. It has been amazing getting to know the whole team and of course Art has been incredible.

We've also gotten to travel around this area a little bit since we've been here. Yesterday we went to this Medieval village called Provins (I think) and the day before that we went to a winery for Champagne tasting which was also really exciting. And on Sunday, since we're with art, we all went out for pizza to this little restaurant and filled the entire place with something like 30 people (most of them were our guests).

Tomorrow we're headed back out to Paris for a few days of sightseeing before we start the Summer of Service on Monday. With the Summer of Service program we'll be staying in some university housing with a bunch of other teams and break up into different evangelism groups. I was hoping to be with the Muslim evangelism team and to my excitement I got an email two days ago from that team leader telling me I would be part of it. So I think the next two weeks will probably be the best yet! And I will definitely not let 10 more days go by before I post again!

Day 12

Wow! It's my last day in Tirane!!! It went by way way too fast :(

Friday morning we all went to the prison here and spoke to some of the women there. Their "cells" do not seem at all like what we have in the states. They live in what looks like a little neighborhood. They have bedrooms that are decorated and they all have their own clothing. Also, most of them were wearing make up and had done something with their hair, which I wasn't expecting. They also had a little outdoor area that they all met in. We didn't find out what any of them had done to be sent there, but something tells me it has to do with the repressive nature of women in Albanian culture. The women were all really happy to see us and we had a time of worship with a pastor that Eljon and Jennifer know and then we all shared a little something with them. It was definitely an emotional time, but also really really good.

Yesterday we had a full day of sight seeing. We went to this functioning monastery that had some really interesting history. Again we could see the damage that communism had and that this country now doesn't have the money to restore. We also went to Appolonia which is this old city that was built during the Roman occupation. It was really cool, but again, would be so much more amazing if there were the funds to do further excavation.

So after Appolonia, we went over to this quiet beach for a couple of hours and relaxed. Then we came back to the apartment and watched the intense game between Ghana and the U.S. which unfortunately did not end well for us :(

This morning Jennifer, Courtney and I went out early to meet this girl that we've befriended who works at the bakery by the apartment for coffee and then to take her to church. Thanks to Albanian time, we met up an hour later than we had planned to, but we still made it to church. She had never been to any kind of service before, but loved it and actually went up to the front when the Pastor asked if anyone wanted to give their life to Christ. Unfortunately however, there was no mention of repentance or doctrine or Jesus on the cross but she connected with a few of the girls who attend there, so hopefully she'll learn more and still be confident and excited about the gospel.

I am so excited to be in Paris tomorrow! I my flight leaves at 5:10 so that means a 3:30 am wake up call, but it'll be worth it :) Je viens Paris!

Day 8

Yesterday we did some more walking around Tirane and hung out in this little cafe to watch the game and chat with people. I realized as we were driving to the center of the city that I never really took the time to illustrate how insane the drivers here are. Not only do Albanians drive fast, but they completely disregard any sort of law or guideline. For starters the stop signs, which are posted everywhere, and clearly say "stop," are actually just "yield" signs. At least that's what Eljon says. The lane dividers are usually followed, but overlooked when they become inconvenient. For example, it's not uncommon to find six cars driving side by side on a three lane road. And I'm pretty sure there are no laws for people on mopeds or motorcycles. It looks like they can just do whatever they want. And the horns. You cannot drive in Tirane without a horn. You use it for everything, when you're driving down a street and it looks like someone might cross the road, when you want someone to move over and let you in on the roundabout, when traffic slows, as soon as a light changes green and their happen to be people in front of you who didn't jet off, etc.. And finally pedestrians do not have the right of way. If a car is coming and you're crossing the street, you'd better run to get out of the way because chances are, that car will not be slowing down for you.

This morning we picked up trash. A lot of trash, in front of the apartment we're staying in. I'm talking 2 full black trash bags for each of us (which is 5, excluding everyone under the age of 15). It's odd the way Albanians will keep their houses and apartments impeccable but will just throw whatever garbage they accumulate while they're out onto the ground without a second thought. Lets just say I found some really disgusting things out there today. And, no joke, I had two flies swarming around me by the end of it. But it was totally worth it. The outside area which has a small playground and benches looks way better. We'll see how long it stays clean for :)

Friday we're going to speak at a women's service at the prison and then we're off to the south for the weekend!

Day 6

So unfortunately it doesn't look like we're going to be able to go to the village this week because all of a sudden the rain that's apparently been building up has decided to poor down on us at once, which makes traveling to isolated areas a little too risky, or at least that's what I'm told.

I'm so disappointed that I won't get to see Skrapar again while I'm here, but it will make some things easier. Hopefully we'll go somewhere else (Macedonia or Greece?) instead.

Saturday, Sunday and today have all been pretty uneventful. We went to a couple of different churches over the weekend which were both good. And ate suflaqe which was also good :) Today we drove over to Durres and saw the amphitheater there. Unlike any other significant ancient remains I've been to, you can run and climb all over the place without being yelled at in a language you don't understand. It's actually really upsetting the way the Albanian government treats historic sights like this. It's only halfway excavated and there hasn't been any restoration to it. Unfortunately when budgets are tight, things like this are the first to be cut. You see this all over Albania. Beautiful buildings that have just been left to rot because the government doesn't see taking care of them as a priority. After communism fell the people went into anarchy. Chaos ensued and while it's obviously calmed down since then, it doesn't seem like the damage was ever really dealt with.

Hopefully more exciting stuff to come over the next few days! Only a week left in Albania and then it's off to Paris!

Day 3

Although I am slowly adapting to this crazy weather, it's still way to hot to go outside between the hours of 10 am and 5 pm, which is fine because everyone else here waits until evening hours to venture outdoors too.

Nothing too exciting today other than the HORRIBLE calls (or lack there of) made by refs during USA vs. Slovenia. I never took myself for a soccer fan but being somewhere other than the U.S. during the World Cup will definitely bring out repressed enthusiasm. It's amazing how many people come out at night just to sit in cafes and bars to watch the games with friends, and of course to watch foreigners walk by without the slightest sense of subtlety.

Last night we went to one of the churches here for a time of fellowship and I got the chance to talk with the cutest kids ever. Branden (I think that was his name, but I could totally have misunderstood due to this fun thing called a language barrier) who was 10 spoke great English, his sister Claudia who was 5 spoke none, but her brother translated. Their mom spoke Italian too, but neither of us were very good. By the end of the night I didn't want to leave them and poor little Claudia got so sad when I said "ciao," she gave me the tightest hug and I wasn't sure she would ever let go. It's crazy the kind of relationships you can make without saying hardly anything to someone.

Everything else is great here. People are happy to see us, the foot is tasty, and at least until Sunday when we go to the village, we have a working shower and a toilet you can sit on :) What more than that could a girl ask for?

Day 2

Technically it's day 3 I suppose but since I arrived around 2:00 pm on Tuesday I'll just start counting from Wednesday, which was incredibly eventful. So Eljon bought this AMAZING car for something like $1000 for us to drive around Tirana in, which would be really convenient, except for the fact that it keeps breaking down. We decided to go the beach yesterday and one of the tires blew out on the way there. Of course the only car service place around was in the sketchiest building imaginable. Basically a small brick garage with like five guys and a bunch of questionable used car parts. So we got two new tires just in case, and although they're admittedly a little small, they work. Then on the way back from the beach, just when we're all feeling very secure with the situation, all of the power goes out from the car. The lights turn off, the horn stops working, the windows won't roll up, nothing. And then Eljon tells us that the gas also isn't working and that we're just coasting. A few minutes later though he clears up the misunderstanding, we do in fact still have a working accelerator. Eventually the car starts making this weird clunking noise and we pull over, but can't get it working. So Eljon then impresses us all by doing this jump start thing by putting the car in reverse (on the side of a busy Tirana street) and somehow manages to get the engine going again.

So other than that fun adventure it's been pretty relaxing over here. I am definitely adapting the the Mediterranean life of sleeping in, eating meals at what seem like ridiculously late times and staying up until the early hours of the morning visiting with people.

The only real problems I ran into were my flight being delayed an hour and half and my luggage getting lost. But it came late Tuesday night so everything worked out.

The Church in Albania is definitely having some problems, mainly with the prosperity gospel. There seems to be a lot of frustration especially when some Churches seem to be doing so well while others have nothing, especially when they are told they are given to according to their faith. Church times have changed to Thursdays and Saturdays so I can write more about that after I actually attend.

It's so good to see everyone I met two and a half years ago again. I forgot how much I loved this place and the people here!

Be praying that the Albanians would just be encouraged by us and that they (and us all) would be content and joyful with the true gospel.

Hopefully I'll be able to update this every few days, although I won't be so bold as to make any promises :) You never know what could come up here!