Since our purpose in coming to Albania has been to fill a short-term gap in the teaching staff at GDQ International Christian School, maybe it's time to "advertise" the school a bit and send a few pics of where we spend most of our time.
The school opened 21 years ago (just after the fall of Albanian communism) with just a handful of students and an even smaller handful of teachers (6 pre-schoolers and one teacher, to be exact). Its purpose was to serve missionary families. Now we have 100 plus students in grades K-12, 30 plus teachers, several support staff, and over 20 different passports represented among this group. Most of the students are from missionary families, but some are from business and embassy families.
What do the letters GDQ stand for? Here is a paragraph from the student yearbook.
"GDQ is proud to take its name from Gjerasim D. Qiriazi, an influential Albanian patriot and evangelical Christian of the late 19th century. He established the first school for girls in Albania, seeking to build Christian principles into the next generation of mothers, whom he regarded the most influential people in Albanian society. Qiriazi (1858-94) endured political and spiritual persecution but remained faithful to his convictions."
GDQ's mission: "Educating international children to have maximum influence for the glory of God in their lifetime."
It has been a great joy and pleasure to teach in this school in this environment, seeking to fulfill this mission and provide excellent education. You are aware that the challenges have been great for us, and we have at times felt overwhelmed and wholly inadequate to the task, but the over-all impact has been the joy and pleasure just mentioned.
For 3 months we have been "teaming" together as science teachers for grades 6, 7, and 8. Actually, Bob is the teacher, Judy is the "secretary", (copier, filer, organizer, recorder...), and these roles have worked well. "Doing" ministry together has been our desire, and this has been about as together as we can get in terms of ministry. It has been enjoyable and rewarding. We have a total of 19 students, many of whom were our students 2 years ago. Seeing how they have grown and matured has been a great gift to us. They are amazing young men and women, hard-working students, respectful, and very much fun.
Just this past week a teacher from Alberta, CA has agreed to step in to replace us when school resumes after Christmas break. This is a huge relief for us and everyone at the school. So, our last day of teaching will be Dec. 19, after which we'll stick around for a while to help the new teacher get settled in.
Several of you have asked for more pics, especially some of us. We're quite camera shy, but here are a few to show you our school and our students. You'll see us in a couple of them.
Before trying to organize the photos (always a challenge for me), we'll sign off with warm wishes for a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving to you. We'll have a couple of days off from school and will travel down to Gorre, the village where we were 4 years ago. It will be wonderful to see our village friends again.
We thank you for your prayers.
Love to you and God's blessings, Judy and Bob
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grade 7 |
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hard at work in our tiny workroom |
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parents and students on first day of school |
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gr. 8 and models of cross-section of a leaf |
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Drita and Spresa are part of the foundation of the school. Their names
mean "light" and "hope", and they more than live up to those names with
the help, encouragement, and sense of humor that they share.
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Han-hee and her digestive model |
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gr. 7 |
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lunch in the "penthouse" |
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grade 6 |
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And at the end of a full week, we relax by going out to at one
of Tirana's fabulous restaurants.
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more gr. 7, with lab asst. Erjona
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