Before I moved to Albania, I bought carrots in a bag. They always came in nice neat little bags and were very clean. They usually looked like this:
I even remember when they started selling baby carrots. These perfect, bite sized carrots that you didn’t even have to peel and cut. Like these:
If you needed something really fancy you could buy these:
I think at some point I forgot how to cut a carrot. Seriously… I had even blocked out that fact that they grow in dirt.
I did a little grocery shopping today. When I bought the carrots they looked like this.
I got started on cutting and cleaning them, I had a pile of this:
and this:
I really think I paid twice as much as I should have to. My ego-centric self cried with indignation: IN AMERICA I DON’T HAVE TO PAY FOR ALL THIS EXTRA STUFF THAT WE ARE NOT GOING TO EAT!! I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!!
Some of you may be wondering what has happened to me (us). Where have I been? What have I been up to? Well, I can honestly tell you that our HMA (Home Ministry Assignment) has been full. I appreciated my friend Carrie’s post today about why she hasn’t been blogging…. here’s my version:
1. My camera finger has stopped working. We have taken so many picture this summer it just wore out. I am so behind on posting pictures I don’t know where to start.
2. We have been staying with family and friends for 9 weeks. As a general rule, they want to talk, not read my blog.
3. “The Olympics have occupied much of my normal blogging time. I just can’t tear myself away. As fun as it has been to watch Micheal, Nastia, Shawn, Natalie, and Usain, I will be glad to be TVless again in the evenings.” Well said by Carrie Baker!
We leave for Albania on Wednesday. Hope to get back to blogging soon!
Well, we have arrived. After 27 hours including a 3 hour delay and 1 mom breakdown, our sweet family arrived in Denver. I will confess that I sort of fell into my dad’s arms and cried (more on that “mom breakdown” later).
So now we have all had a little time to refresh and are enjoying our time with family. As we have been doing some catching up on what has been happening while we have been away, I have been compiling a list of things I forgot while we have been living in Albania.
I forgot:
1. How CLEAN everything is ( and I am talking PRISTINE) !
2. How rude people can be. I know this is true everywhere but I must not notice it as much in Albania since I don’t understand the language well.
3. How many different types of people there are. It was a relief to not be an odd ball.
4. That you do not have to honk your horn to say “Stay out of my way!” as a car approaches on the side street. They ARE going to obey the street signs.
5. You can put your toilet paper in the toilet. Ahhh….
6. Everyone speaks English and I can understand all the side conversations going on around me. This can be good and bad.
7. There are lots of RESTAURANT and FOOD choices. Yum!
8. You have to drive practically everywhere. Always being in a car seat or booster seat is an adjustment for the kids.
9. The trip to the store for milk takes more than 2 minutes. I think I drove around for 10 just trying to remember where the closest grocery store was!
10. Adoption is a well known concept and if I say Jadyn is my daughter I won’t have to answer 10 questions about why and how she is my daughter.
It is amazing what you can get used to…. here are just a few of the things that top my list from the last two years.
1. Cars passing me on the road with only inches to spare. I hardly flinch.
2. Cars honking behind me to get out of their way on narrow roads. I frequently ignore them and go on my way until there is a safe place to move over. This often happens when I am with Jadyn. I need a sign that says “wide load.” It has new meaning on our narrow streets!
3. Opening and shutting the windows and outer blinds on our house on a rotation system throughout the day. It is all based on where the sun is! In the early morning I can leave everything open until about 8:30 or 9:00. Then I have to shut all the upstairs windows and shades to try to keep the heat out. After 3:30 or so, the sun has moved enough for me to open everything back up (at least on one side of the house) and let the hot air out.
4. Closing all the downstairs windows at night so we don’t get stray cats inside looking for food. I am guarding my trash.
5. Sweeping up and endless supply of ants. Yes we have sprayed…… they must live somewhere very deep in the walls AND they can find the smallest morsel of food with in a 10 yard radius.
6. Enjoying crunchy towels that are hung to dry. Whey use the dryer in the summer and add to the heat? Great for exfoliation.
7. How to shake t-shirts just right before hanging them on the line so they don’t have any wrinkles. This works better with the kids clothes than Robert’s.
8. Short seasons of certain fruits. Strawberries came and went so fast we almost missed it. We will only see them again at very expensive prices in certain markets.
9. Turkish coffee… it is an experience one can not describe. I am anxious to fix it for those of you we will visit this summer! Read more about my Turkish coffee adventures tomorrow!
10. Sweating all day and smelling a wide variety of scents when I ride the bus or even meet people on the road. Can you say deoderant?
Little did I know there is a fish named Koran (same as the Koran, the holy book of Islam) that is only found in the lake near Pogradec, Albania and one other lake of the world. Egli brought us some, caught by a friend. Now we don’t buy fish in Albania because of how things are kept. I am a little suspect of the quality of the fish locally and the cleanliness of the shops as well as their ability to keep it fresh before selling it. Not to mention, the water pollution here is no small problem. However, in Pogradec, the lake is fresh spring water and the water is not polluted like it is here in Tirana. So when he brought us these fish we decided to give it a go! Egli did ask Robert if I knew how to cook fish. He told him yes. Now that was not a lie, but little did Egli know, we have only bought the fish in nice neat fillets. I have never gutted a fish and Robert didn’t feel obliged to tell him (although he is now probably reading my post… ) So… I finally took them out of the freezer this week and took a stab (literally) at the fish.
I confess, it was gross.
I have seen my dad clean fish he had caught years ago so I had the basic idea, but really I was only guessing. I knew to cut the heads off. And slice down the belly. And push out all the guts with your fingers. I didn’t know they would be such slippery little suckers! And I didn’t know a fish really does have red blood. I don’t know what I thought but that wasn’t it.
Anyway… I finally got it done, baked them in the oven with lemon juice from our tree, a little dill and lemon pepper and VOILA! Even the boys loved it!
“To label me a hypocrite would only scratch the surface of who I’ve been known to be.” ~ Undo by Rush of Fools
Do you ever get to the end of your day and really not like who you see in the mirror? The last couple days I have been mean spirited, rude, unkind, grumpy, grouchy, picky, impatient …all with the people I love the most. What is wrong with me?! Life can be so overwhelming. I do not have the most difficult of circumstances…yes life is hard, but I am not the only one and yet sometimes I find myself living in this vacuum of complete and total self focus. My friend Krystal was here for an hour today and I am not even sure if I asked her any questions! (Please forgive me, Krystal!) All I did do was vent, rant and generally complain. And now my spirit needs a good cleansing!
This is the passage my eyes fell upon today, when asking God to speak to me:
Come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters, and you have have no money come buy and eat! Come buy wine (Note to self: NOT whine) and milk without money and without cost. Listen, Listen to me and eat what is good and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Issiah 55:1-2
God, I so need your forgiveness and grace. Please fill my cup when it is empty. Undo the things I can’t undo myself.
Undo by Rush of Fools
I’ve been here before, now here I am again
Standing at the door, praying You’ll let me back in
To label me a prodigal would be
Only scratching the surface of who I’ve been known to be
[Chorus]
Turn me around pick me up
Undo what I’ve become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace
I need You, need Your help
I can’t do this myself
You�re the only one who can undo
What I’ve become
I focused on the score, but I could never win
Trying to ignore, a life of hiding my sin
To label me a hypocrite would be
Only scratching the surface of who I’ve been known to be
[Chorus]
Turn me around pick me up
Undo what I’ve become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace
I need You, need Your help
I can’t do this myself
You’re the only one who can undo
What I’ve become
Make every step lead me back to
The sovereign way that You
[Chorus]
Turn me around pick me up
Undo what I’ve become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace
I need You, need Your help
I can’t do this myself
You’re the only one who can undo
What I’ve become
It is a 20 minute video about all of our stuff. Where it comes from and where it goes in this world we live in. In my ever increasing efforts to reduce “stuff” in our life, from junk toys, to unneeded housewares, to the overstuffed closet that I always seem to have…. I was very interested in what “The story of our stuff” might have to say. Now, I do think this is activism at its best (or worst… however you might look at it), but I think it is a though provoking conversation starter about the stuff we buy, the stuff we have, the stuff we don’t use, the stuff we throw away and the new stuff we want. Since we sold or got rid of 1/3 of our stuff before we moved here, and we stored 1/3 of our stuff in my parent’s basement (some stuff I just couldn’t part with), I am realizing that I still have plenty (and in many cases too much) stuff. And “stuff” has really come to Albania… it is everywhere and people here are only in the beginning stages of learning what kind of “stuff” is available to them from all over the world. So let’s talk about it. What stuff is really important to you? What do you do with your used up, worn out stuff? Do you need all the stuff you have? Interesting and thought provoking!!!
Driving continues to be an adventure here in Albania. We still do not have our own car, but by the grace of God, we have had one to use since mid-July- no always the same one mind you. Our current car is a affectionately nicknamed “the ghetto car.” Traffic in Albania continues to be a lesson in trusting God.With only 15 years of driving history, signs in the back window of cars “shoferi e ri” (new driver) are common.Never mind that the driver maybe 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years old!
This month we have seen a big crack down by the police on illegal parking (double and sometimes triple parking on bus streets), obeying street lights (albeit only when the power is on), and restricting access to one way streets.This all makes for great improvements on the roads but they can’t be everywhere….
Today when I took the makina (car) to pick up the boys from soccer, I left only with enough time to get there if I encountered no obstacles or problems.In general, this is not a good idea.So when I turned down the narrow road that will take me out the main street, I was a little disheartened to see a car coming toward me.This could take a while….
Cars are parked along both sides of the street so only one car can pass through.There are however, a few places where one car can move over enough to allow the other to pass by with centimeters to spare.The car in front of me has moved over to allow the car coming toward us to pass.I am waiting a few yards back, waiting for my turn.And WHACK!In trying to over compensate for the car on his right, he hits the parked car on his left (never mind, the parked car had it’s rear end sticking out) and takes a nice chunk out of the bumper.I prepare to put my car in park, waiting for an irate Albanian (probably a mom picking up her child at the school) to come out screaming at the driver who has hit her badly parked car.I look at my watch, I am not going to make it to soccer on time.It doesn’t happen. The guilty driver looks over his shoulder a bit, looks at me, shrugs with a sloppy grin and drives on by. I shake my finger at him… he doesn’t look at me again.
Sigh, knowing there is nothing I can do, I too drive on.Okay, I am grateful I wasn’t late to pick up the boys from soccer.
You know many people have said to me, “I admire what you are doing.” But the truth is, I could have been doing the same thing I am doing now, praying for and ministering to Muslims, right where I was living in OK. AC, our pastor at New Covenant, has a saying, “Every Member is a Minister.” But we can go further than that. EVERY CHRISTIAN IS A MISSIONARY. Since Jesus said “Therefore go and make disciples of ALL the NATIONS…” (Matt 28:19) it makes sense for us not just to be missionaries in our neighborhoods, but cross-cultural missionaries to our neighbors of other nations and cultures in order to really reach the ends of the earth. You may not be called to GO to the nations like our family, maybe the nations have come to you: in the form of ONE Muslim you know. We reach Muslims one at a time. It is called the POWER of ONE.
We went last summer to Florida for a training with the Crescent Project. Their mission is to reach Muslims for Christ. Will you begin to pray with us about reaching a million Muslims in 2007? You have the POWER to reach ONE Muslim for Christ and change the world. Read the e-mail we received today from Fouad Mosari about the POWER of One. You’ll have to follow up by reading Robert’s blog today about meeting a devout Muslim man at the local pizza place. While trying to convert Robert to Islam, Robert and another missionary (and the Holy Spirit) led the man to agree to read the Bible to find out more about Jesus and meet again for coffee to discuss. Praise GOD!
What’s one in a million? More than you may think.
At Crescent Project, we want to help you share the love of Christ with a Muslim around you.
Maybe she is the covered woman you’ve seen in your neighborhood, but have never gone out to meet her. Maybe he is the co-worker that you know is from Pakistan, but you’ve never gotten into that conversation.
If that’s your story, we have organized the Million Muslim Outreach for you and the one Muslim you know.
Our vision is to see that one million American Muslims hear the gospel in 2007. We’re working with other Christian groups and churches to make this vision a reality. The message will spread through individual Christians living for Jesus. We believe in the power of one:
* 1 Christian committed to sharing the message of Jesus
* 1 Muslim’s life changed creates a ripple effect among friends and family
A Million Muslim Outreach. It will only be a “catchy idea” unless you choose to act. Get involved today. Share the message of Christ with a Muslim.
I wept today when I read this story forwarded to me by one of the families with whom we traveled to China. My heart is breaking for the murdered babes, their mothers and fathers and the fear that must now grip the hearts of others. These were babies in their 7th, 8th and 9th month of life, forcibly killed without the consent of the mother or father. What if it had been Jadyn and we never knew her because of some “family planning quota” that was not being met in her province?!!? In the deepest places of my heart, I know that Jesus is weeping today.
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