Intermission

We will now interrupt this blog site with a brief intermission. On the 29th of January, Lord willing, we'll llift off from Tirana's international airport. Our round trip ticket schedules a February 12 return to Albania.

A two week respite will pass quickly. We do hope to soak up much love via the grandchildren as well as the possibility of squeezing in brief visits with nearby family and friends.

When we arrive back here in Gorre we will continue with our local routine and also plan for a transition of mission service which we'll tell you about later.

Til then, may God richly bless your lives. He is the source of all blessings and the One who provides amazing grace. May you choose to enter His gates with thanksgiving and approach His court with praise.

An overnight Guest

Life goes on in the village of Gorre. Thinking that we were back into our "normal" routine after the holiday season, we were surprised one evening with a gentle knock on our door. Our good friend Ermal, whom you've met before, stood at our entrance with another young man whom we did not recognize.

Ermal introduced the young man as David Graeser, currently from Istanbul, Turkey. "Could you put David up for the night? He is here for a visit and needs a bed and a meal or two." Yes, we scrambled to get one of the icy cold rooms set up with linens, copious blankets and one of our small electric heaters.

We soon learned that David had previously visited Gorre (about 3 years ago) while on a short term mission trip. He managed to befriend Ermal as well as other local villagers at that time. Now, he was back in the area to visit those previous acquaintances.

It happens that David is a very gifted young man. Along with several other members of his group, he uses his musical talents, dancing abilities and other drama related skills to communicate the Gospel among the Turkish populace. An Atlanta, Georgia native, David has committed two years, at least, with the Operation Mobilization mission.

How exciting to witness a young man devote his life in this way to serve the Lord. We enjoyed our visit with David. After a hot shower, a warm meal, a good night's rest and breakfast, David left our village to make other visits in Albania. We trust that he is now back in Istanbul preparing for his group's next performance for Jesus.

PS: An up-date on the revenge killing of Pastor Dritan that we reported on earlier in the fall: Praise the Lord that Dritan's family has decided not to continue the feud...what a courageous, yet humble stand, for a Christian family to take. Prayer is still necessary for the 1500 men we have been told live in hiding because of similar threats on their lives.

Turkey Mania

Since our arrival here in rural Albania, we have been intrigued by a common and pervasive scene: turkey shepherds watching their flocks by day and ostensibly penning them up by night. While spending a few of the holidays and nights in Tirana, we witnessed the climax of the turkey drama. Shackled together or hobbled in some similar fashion, huge numbers of turkeys brought the streets and sidewalks of the big city alive with feathered islands and their shepherds now turned merchants (a scene repeated in most settlements throughout the country). Having cared for their feathered friends for several months now, just days prior to the new year, the local merchants spend the hours from early sun-up to after sunset hawking (no pun here) their big birds. Life is now short for thousands of innocent turkeys as they are soon to have their heads severed so the lady of the house can prepare the year's most highly celebrated meal.
Fortunately for us, Pastor Landi and Juli invited us to their home, where we shared the much anticipated Albanian New Year's feast. What a delectable experience for us, as we were treated to beautiful side dishes in addition to hormone-free turkey meat. Our pictures show the effort and beauty of the festive meal, but only our taste buds and stretched stomachs can attest to the delightful experience.
Sadly, however, while the locals spend weeks, even months, preparing the the New Year's bash, the blessings of Christmas barely get noticed. The festivities, including turkey feasts, flashing lights, fireworks and even some decorated evergreen trees, all culminate in the celebration of the new year, to the exclusion of Jesus' birth. Pray with us that this trend will be reversed as more and more people accept the reality of the Christ Child.
May God richly bless you with His love in this new year!

Christmas in Gorre

Oh, the immeasurable love of God, that He would leave His glory and come to live among us! Oh, the creativity of God, that He would arrive in the tender skin of an innocent baby, appearing first to lowly shepherds, who alone were treated to a choir of angels! We pray YOU have a sense of Christmas wonder as you go through the busy-ness of Christmas traditions this year.
The season is unique for us, as we long to be with our family and friends. God will help us through the lonesome moments...and skype will help, too.
Gorre and most of Albania puts very little focus on Christmas. During the communist era, which ended in 1991, any religious expression was so strictly forbidden that people stopped virtually all religious activity. Outward expression of faith is still rare, although in this area there is some connection to the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Evangelical Christians make up only 1% of the population, and even they are not used to much Christmas celebration.
Many people do decorate trees, as we do, but they are New Year's trees, and New Year's Eve is when the greatest celebrating of the year occurs. We're told the fireworks in the capitol city of Tirana out-"shine" any displays you'll ever see in the US. Santa suits and ornaments can be bought in shops, and a few lights twinkle in some shop windows. Bur we hear no Christmas music and see no holiday foods (definitely no lefse or lutefisk!)
So, these are quiet days here. We have decorated our apartment with bay leaf boughs and wreaths and copious candles, and it's very festive. The pre-school children are practicing for a program for parents. We hear "Jingle Bells" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" in their sweet voices, sometimes in Albanian, sometimes in English. The area Nazarene churches gathered for worship, fun, and food Saturday. And the women of all churches in one neighboring town invited all area women to a Christmas party. It was wonderful to be part of so many Albanian women celebrating God's love at Christmas. We have baked a few favorite cookies, thanks to a care package containing American ingredients. It's always fun to share those with curious Albanian friends.
Last Thursday it snowed in Gorre...for the first time in about 10 years! It was beautiful, and fun to watch children experience snow for the first time in their lives.
As much as we miss our family and treasure the traditions of Christmas at home, we are blessed with reminders that it's not the traditions that make the holiday. Jesus came in such a beautiful way...for us...He lived and died...for us...and He rose again...for us and for God's glory. And He is the source of our joy and peace this season. Our prayer is that you have His joy and peace also.

Gezuar Krishtlindjen! Merry Christmas!
Much love to you all, Bob and Judy

Ermal's Boys

One of our previous posts highlighted our friend Nertila and her young girls study group. Also, previously you've met Ermal, Nertila's husband who meets regularly with 6 to 8 teenage boys.

In this post we are showing Ermal meeting with his boys in our apartment. On this day, we (entire village) lost power beginning at about ten o'clock in the morning. The power outage lasted all day and into the early evening. We were challenged as the outside temperature was hovering just above freezing most of the day. Normally, Ermal engages the boys in Bible study downstairs in the church sanctuary. Since there is no heater in the church sanctuary, Ermal knocked on our door wondering if when we regained electric power, he could bring the boys up to our apartment. Within a short time our power did resume and we were able to turn on our room heater. The boys were led through their study by Ermal in the warmth (relative) of our home and also enjoyed the fruit drink and goodies we quickly rounded up for them.

Now that Ermal's group has experienced the warmth of our apartment and tasted the goodies we provided, we might expect (hopefully) to see Ermal and his boys on future Saturday nights during this cold season.

Though unable to follow the lesson because of the language barrier, it was great to watch the intensity of Ermal's leadership. Also, the boys eager participation was a joy to witness.

Thanksgiving Day

So far from our traditional day of Thanksgiving yet so thankful, to God, for daily bread in Albania. Even though the local turkey shepherds abound in our rural area, the birds are being "fattened-up" for the local tradition of serving turkey on New Years day. We settled for locally raised chicken & fixens.
At our dinner table, we were honored to share with Pastor Landi his wife Julie and their son Greisi. Also, present at our table were good friends Ermal and his wife Nertila. Though we didn't have stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes or pumpkin pie we were blessed with good food and great company. A highlight of the day was a skyping session between Nertila, Juli and several of the our grandchildren.

...give thanks in all circumstances...(1 Thes. 5:18)

Meet Nertila's Girls

Most Saturday mornings our little church is open for 5-6 14 year old girls to meet with Nertila for the purpose of Bible study and discussion of issues relevant to the girls' lives. I had the opportunty recently to participate, when the girls met in our apartment. Since they're interested in American food, we spent the first hour in chaotic fun putting together a pan of Apple Squares. They helped with such enthusiasm that there was little for me to do except give directions.

While the squares baked, Nertila led a discussion. Even though I couldn't understand much (except that the topic was the Bread of Life), it was clear by the girls' attentiveness and interaction that they love and trust Nertila and are hungry to learn about Jesus and how He can impact their lives.

It is truly a charming blessing to spend time with these girls, and I look forward to more cooking sessions. They have promised to teach me some traditional Albanian cuisine! As this year progresses I'm enjoying getting to know them better and watching them grow in their faith.