Interesting...

I find it very interesting!  Albania is a country of 57% Muslim, 16% Catholic/Orthodox, and .14% other Christians. It wasn't that long ago that this nation declared itself to be "atheistic".  

Last night at 10pm, a local church (either orthodox or catholic, I am not sure) played "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" on the church bells.  Not just the chorus, but the entire song.  It was wonderful, I have never heard anything like that before.  The bells rang through out the community. 

Then at midnight...a massive fireworks display took place in the main center of Tirana.  Now...there could be no other reason for this celebration...at midnight on December 25th.  New Years is still a week away, this country does not need practice with fireworks...it is an art form here...I will get to experience it next week. 

Now...in the US, mainline denominational Christian 18%, Catholic 24%, Evangelical 26%, and Muslim .6%...and the words "Merry Christmas" are not "politically correct". 

Hmmm....

Merry Christmas !  God bless you!  

Merry Christmas from Tirana, Albania~~~

This is my first Christmas in Tirana, and it is very easy to find things that make me smile.  Twenty plus years ago...Albania declared itself to be a completely "atheistic country." Everywhere you look around town is evidence to the contrary...Christmas trees, a Santa village in the main center of Tirana, stores decorated with snowflakes, ribbons, and lights. Streets and light poles are decorated with what looks like Christmas decorations to me. I know of several churches that were singing carols around the main center.
Today, I was walking through the open market near my home.  It was packed, the majority of the shoppers were men. As I came to one area of the market, I discovered hundreds of turkeys, lined up in rows on the street.  Their feet were tied together...they were all just laying there...waiting to be purchased.  I asked, each turkey is about 12# fully clothed and costs about $50-60 USD, and you have to do all the "work".  I was later told that many people buy the turkeys now, tie them to a tree in their yard, feed them for a week and eat them at New Years. I saw one bird that was standing up...make a run for it...he is currently missing most of the feathers on his left wing.  I couldn't get anyone to let me take a photo...but most of the birds were draped over a shoulder as shoppers continued through the market. It was perfectly normal to be carrying a live turkey over your shoulder as you buy onions, garlic and potatoes.

I am finding that life is just as much an adventure in Tirana, Albania as it was in Kosova.

Have a Blessed Christmas...!

P.S....I acknowledge that most Albanians would tell you that the decorations are not for Christmas, but for New Year's Celebration.  Ok...but I still think it is about Christmas.  ;-)

Currency Challenge...

Imagine...when you go to pay your next month's mortgage or rent payment, the landlord or the bank ask you to no longer pay in $US dollars, but to convert your payment into Mexican pesos, or gold, according to the exchange rate on the first of each month.  

I have discovered in Albania that landlords want the monthly rent in currency that is not Albanian...the Lek.  They ask for payment in Euros or $US dollars...and it varies each month according to the strength of each currency.

Praise God....my landlord will allow me to pay each month in a flat rate Lek fee...no exchanging of currency or computing the exchange rate.

Miracle Water...Glina Mineral Water

During my first visit to Tirana, Albania a friend shared with me an amazing new secret.

Glina mineral water, when consumed with a meal that has
extra fat content...will allow the fat to just be washed right out of your system.

No longer do you have to worry about the fat that french
fries are cooked in...Glina mineral water will wash it away.

The cost of this amazing water...40 lek. 
(that's about 40 cents)

Breakfast in the Balkans

Each morning while I was staying at 
the Risto's Guest House, I was treated to a different amazing breakfast.

Today it was leek pita, meats and feta cheese, tomatoes, a marmalade pancake, bread and a boiled egg.  Oh yes....Nescafe.

The one thing that you can't see that 
made this breakfast special was the fresh morning air of the village, the donkey "braying", or the bells on the goats. There was also a wonderful view of Lake Ohrid.

Macedonian Alarm clock...

While staying at a guest house near Ohrid, in a small mountain village, each morning the guests were treated to the "braying" of the little donkey just across the path.  

7:20-7:30 am.

I would also hear this little guy at other times during the day, but it always made me laugh each morning.  

It is part of the charm of staying in a 
village...

Progress in Kosova's highways....

The typical road in the midst of the highway construction...
really slow, really rough

Notice the 130kph speed limit, about 80mph

This highway is nice, it is beautiful.  Amazing progress...!!!

Well, there are still cows crossing the highway.
Some things may never change...

SNAKE in the house...!

I was getting ready to go to bed early and got up to leave the living room. Across the kitchen floor was an uninvited guest, a 3 foot long snake. IN THE HOUSE...!  I called a close friend, ended up calling the police.    (I didn't know who else to call)  Jonathan, the son of a friend, came over to help...and eventually the "Animal Control" officer came.  He had this reacher thing...opened the closet where the snake was under the hot water heater...grabbed the snake...put it in a bucket and that was it...over.  No big deal for him.

The snake was not poisonous...I don't like any snake.  The animal control officer assured me that he would take the snake to an open wilderness area and release it. So no harm came to the snake that got my heart rate and adrenaline moving. We are still not sure how the snake got into the house...or how long it had been hiding out.  I slept very little that night.  

I am still a little nervous when I open that closet door.

Hannah Marie

Hannah, 1 week old

My new granddaughter...

Hannah Marie was born on June 1, 2012.  She is the first child of my
youngest daughter Elissa and her husband Sam.  She was born weighing 6#10oz.  Sam and Elissa are doing a great job adjusting to being new parents. 

This little girl will be spoiled, she is the first grandchild on both sides of the family.  Isn't that what grandparents are supposed to do...?

I think it is written somewhere that grandparents spoil precious, beautiful granddaughters. ;-)

What a blessing little Hannah is, my prayer is that she will grow up to be a woman that seeks after God with her whole heart.

Hannah and her daddy, Sam

        Isn't she the most beautiful baby...?!

Accident...Kosovar style...

Today, as I was just enjoying the sunshine and going for a drive, I came upon this accident.  It had just happened, there were 2 police cars and about 15 people discussing what happened.  The horse, well, he was just standing there not bothered by what was going on.  45 minutes later...the horse and cart and the car were moved onto the side road...and the discussion continues. 

No one was injured, and as best as I can tell, very little damage...

Try it before you buy it...!

Peanut butter is not a "staple" in the Albanian diet. Peanuts are very popular, but the concept of a "peanut butter and jelly sandwich" is pretty foreign. Actually, it is a pretty "American" thing. I have made peanut butter cookies in the past...and they are a novelty, but there are never any left on the plate.

Recently a fellow missionary in Malishevë purchased peanut butter, her kids love peanut butter. Not once, but twice she purchased an "already opened" jar of peanut butter. It was clear that a little finger was in the top for a taste, then the foil put back down and the lid put back on.

I think we all learned to open the jar of peanut butter and to look for a sealed top, before putting it into our cart.

P.S. Peanut butter is not available in all the stores. There are times when we can't find any for a while and then it is back in the stores...it is pretty good, and it even comes in "crunchy"...

Snowball update....

This morning when I got up, there was more heavy snow falling. My little car has completely disappeared beneath the snow. It will take some serious effort to free it from it's wintry blanket.

I am thinking a few young men with shovels will get the job.

For now, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

How much snow...?

The last few weeks, Malishevë and Kosova have been in the grips of a major, "no end in sight" winter storm. Temperatures were bitter cold...with highs in the teens, with stiff winds pushing the wind chill factor well below zero. Many of the shop owners have been constantly shoveling, sweeping, raking, and hoeing the snow off of the sidewalks in front of their stores. At times, when there is a break in the weather, they will move the mountain of snow to an empty field, one wheelbarrow at a time.

Yesterday there was heavy snow for most of the day. Underneath the deep snow was a layer of ice from the previous storm. If you didn't have chains on your car...you didn't go anywhere, period.

Today is the first day in nearly 2 weeks that the actual pavement is visible on the roads.

I don't know how much snow Malishevë received in total...probably close to 3 feet. One city about an hour from here, Gjakova, it is reported they had 2 meters of snow, and Pejë had 3 meters. (6.5' and 9.11' respectively) These cities are near the Rugova mountains.

The forecast calls for 7 more inches of snow tonight and tomorrow.

All of this snow is great for the agricultural area of Kosova. The only thing is, when all this snow melts...

MUD...!

Tidy little snowball...

The Balkans, the area of Eastern Europe where Kosova is located, have been pounded with unending snow storms and frigid weather. After the first major snow storm when my car was freed from the field behind my apartment, it has been parked on the street. The shop owners across the street from my apartment, and the brother of my landlord have been helping me the last 2 weeks to clean my car off.

I went out today with a broom to tackle the "snowball". The handle of the broom snapped before I even got started. The owner of the market across the street jokingly told me that it will take a month to dig my car out.

These photos show how much snow we had the last 6 days...

It is a good thing that whatever I need in Malishevë is still within walking distance.

Police stop...twice in 30 minutes....?

I was driving to a city called Gjakova yesterday evening. Along one stretch of road I am very cautious about the speed limit, since I was stopped by the police 3 months ago for going too fast. The roads were wet from the recent snowfall, the temperature was dropping, and it was getting dark. There was no way I was speeding...but a police officer stepped into the road and waved me over to stop.

Oh man...! How could I be getting another speeding ticket when I was being so careful...? The police officer was very nice and asked me in english for my driver's license and my documents, as he was waving his flashlight at my car tires. He didn't even look at my documents. He told me to have a nice evening and waved me to drive on. No speeding ticket...what a relief.

30 minutes later, same road conditions, just before I reached Gjakova, another police officer stepped into the road and waved me over to stop. Again...??? I had just gone through the emotions of possibly getting a speeding ticket...and now it is happening again. This officer spoke to me completely in Albanian, again inspecting my documents and tires...taking a while to inspect my NM driver's license. I am pretty sure he has never seen a NM license before.

So...no speeding tickets, my documents are all in order, and yes I have winter tires on my car.

Have a nice evening...

Still stuck in the field...

My little car is still stuck in the field behind my apartment. I guess it will have to stay there until the snow melts some and I can find some young men to help push and dig. I am not sure where I will park it when I get it out...the edges of the streets are piled high with snow from the sidewalks.

There is more snow forecast for Tue-Thurs this next week. I had wanted to see how my car handled on snowy roads. I know this for certain...it doesn't do well in deep snow.

Winter wonderland...

We finally had a major winter snowfall in Malishevë. We have had flurries all winter long...but this morning there was 10-12 inches of snow. It is so beautiful and early this morning as the sun came up it was so quiet and pristine.

As the shops along the main street in Malishevë began to open, the snow was piled high on the sidewalks. There was some sculpting of the snow, and a few snowmen started showing up.

Unfortunately there was a huge pile of snow put into the area of the street where I usually exit my parking place between two buildings. So...I had to attempt an exit through the field behind my building. My little car pushed snow as I was able to go about 50 yards before becoming stuck. The clearance on my little car is not high enough for this amount of snow. It is currently in the field behind my apartment, and it will stay there until some of the snow melts. I do have to be careful to not wait too long because with the melting of the snow comes the mud.

Camping showers...brrrrr

A new adventure...camping showers in the winter!

In the past there have been times when there was no water, off for several hours or a day. But I have never experienced a time when the water turns off and on every 5-10 minutes. The water had been fluctuating but had been quiet for the last 2 hours. So...I thought it was safe to get into the shower. I was all shampooed and soaped up...water off! Yikes...! It is about 50 degrees in the hallway/shower area. It took about 8 liters of cold water out of a bottle to rinse off. It took about an hour to get warmed up. I had power so that was a help to dry my hair, have hot tea, and snuggle up in the warm living room.

Now, I am so thankful when the water stays on throughout an entire shower.

Never put off till tomorrow...

"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today..."

This is so true here, but I still find myself doing that very thing.

Two days ago I did quite a lot of cooking and decided to finish all the dishes the next day. The power had gone off and I don't like to wash dishes by candle light. Yesterday morning, there was no water...ok so I will leave the dishes until the water comes back on. Today...2 days later there is still no water.

So....this morning I am washing dishes "camping style". It takes me 6 liters of water, 1/2 to wash, 1/2 to rinse, to do all of my dishes. I have water stored in 2 liter bottles, and heat it on the stove. It takes a lot longer to wash dishes this way...why did I not just do them 2 days ago?

Oh, by the way....I use the left over dish water to flush the toilet...no water is wasted. I hope the water is back on in another day or so...washing my hair "camping style" is not as much fun.