What Happens Next

In case some of you were wondering, what do we do when we are not in Albania, here will be some news of what is done on a continual basis that is necessary for the work of Planters. One of the first things we really enjoy is putting all of our pictures in a useful format. That means to copy about 500 pictures on a DVD and have them ready to use for a future power point, newsletter, or any other media presentation. Besides, David needs to get his memory sticks cleaned off now that he is confident that his pictures are safely preserved.

Saying Goodbye

All of us have now packed our bags, made the journey over the blue sea of the Atlantic, and returned back to the schedule of normal life duties. We have so much to praise the Lord for all of his abundant blessings and answers to prayer. Although some of us have brought more back with us than we would have liked, namely coughs and running noses, our health was flawless and schedules were not interrupted. The planned events were more than successful with results exceeding our expectations. The time we spent with the workers, Mandi and Xhina, Genti and Shpresa, Arjan, Eldina, Klara, Mersin, Nori, and Lela was extremely rewarding. As usual, words can seldom express the feelings of leaving these dear ones behind to be on the front line of the dark battle. But now our role takes a course that stands invisible-- alongside. Through our prayers we join in with this dark battle supporting our commrades, lifting up their efforts. We must never forget the people whose souls depend on our prayers.

Florida Team Finishing Up

It is early Sunday morning and the last team members are now flying back to the west. The last two days were great getting to know the village lifestyle and connecting in special ways. Friday evening we hosted a reception for the village. Part of the activities was an exchange in traditional folk dances. In the picture, some of the team members were trying their foot work out in the Albanian folk dance. We Americans, also displayed one of our folk dances, "The Virginia Reel", to the Albanians. We felt like we had stepped back in time as we clapped and stomped our feet to the music of "Turkey in the Straw". The Albanians laughed and it must have been funny to see us "swinging our partners" left and right. One of the other activities was to do a community improvement project. Randy Reid, the county manager for the Gainsville, Fl, area, had two signs made with the village name to put up on the main village road. In the picture is Connie (Randy's wife) with the mayor of Vlashaj. I also wanted to add another picture of a home visit with the team.

Too Tired for Photos

We are now on day 5 of none stop activity and tonight we are too tired for photos. We did a bit of historical perspective on the country of Albania and saw the country's most popular historical site of Kruja. From there we went to the children's meeting at Kasalle. The children performed a drama for us which was very well done. It was extremely touching to witness their enthusiasm inspite of the living conditions. The children's desire to learn is so refreshing. Then this evening we really enjoyed having a dinner guest, Alfred Nurja, otherwise known to us as "Tall Freddie". He joined Planters Seed way back in the mid-nineties and went to the village visits with us. Now he has gone on to much larger pastures and currently is working as translator for the American ambassador. He entertained us with his stories and perspective from the "insider" view. We are now busy packing up things to take to the village where we will be until Saturday evening. The team will be leaving in the early evening. The next day and a half are packed with many events and we will get that info off to you upon returning back to the computer and internet. This is it until then.

At the Heart of it All

Probably the heart of it all is doing visits in the Albanian home. What a wonderful time we had going to three houses today in the village. Questions and answers were flying everywhere and delicious treats were the common bond that connected the hostess with her guests. Later in the afternoon we got to meet with the girls and Connie did a great cooking lesson on preparing cookies. Jenn also showed the girls how to make gospel braclets along with giving the message of the meaning for each bead that was used. Here are added some pictures that were taken yesterday that didn't get included because the day was too long and time ran out to get them on the blog. The pictures of the puppets were taken while practicing along the roadside.

Day on the mountain

It was a whirlwind of events for our day visiting the people in the village of Darshen. The following photos are of visiting the school, a home visit and children playing games for the weekly children's meeting. We had a beautiful day with a lunch and puppet practice along the mountain road.

Vlashi Visits

We began our day's visits to the village kindergarten. Diane, a teacher, brought her puppet, Ellie the Elephant to tell the Bible story to the children. Next the group made their first home visit. Photo books are always a hit for conversation and interest for all. We ended the afternoon with a tea reception with the girls that attend the vocational training classes. It was a time of introductions and questions with the girls and sharing ideas for their futures. Many new things were learned about village customs and living.