*I have been struck by the incredible lack of jobs here. It is truly heart breaking.The girl I mentioned HERE came to my house yesterday because we have begun reading the Bible together. I read it in Albanian and she corrects me and translates.
Her mom is in need of a surgery. I couldn't quite understand what kind, but I believe she needs to have her gall bladder removed. The recovery will take about 3 weeks.
But here is the problem: Her mom has 3 jobs. Her Dad has none. He had a job for 15 years and was fired. Because he went to school and was trained for that specific job, he has been unable to find another one for years. This probably largely also has to do with the fact that he is an alcoholic.
Her mom takes care of an older woman every day and cleans a house and a medical clinic. If she were to take the time off for the surgery, she would LOSE ALL HER JOBS. She would lose all her jobs, and the family would therefore have no income.
I don't know how to help. They don't need money for the surgery. Her mom needs a job when she recovers. Actually, she needs multiple jobs. Jobs that will support her and her husband for the rest of their lives.
I asked this girl if she could work her moms jobs while she recovers but the employers will not allow that.
Another lady I know has a little stand by the lake where she sells little trinkets and snacks. Her husband used to beat her. Then he left her. She has a 5 year old little boy. She looks so sad every day that I have a hard time saying hi to her. If she does not sell the little items that 18 other people along the water sell, she won't be able to provide for herself and her little boy.
There is an 8 year old girl named Esmeralda that sells sunflower seeds along the water all day long almost every day. I don't believe her Dad is in the picture. Her mom sells some other things. This is there only income. Esmeralda always comes and gives Shiloh and I big hugs. She is the sweetest thing and I wish I could take her home with me, feed her lots of food, and let her play like the 8 year old little girl she is.
**I said goodbye to my sister Lissy and my friend Natalie a few days ago. They have been here for 6 weeks. And it hit me that I live here in Pogradec all over again. All of a sudden, my family felt very far away. This will be the longest time that Lissy and I will go without seeing each other and I don't know what I would have done without her this summer. When we moved here, I knew that she was coming soon. Now she is gone and I can't believe how quickly the six weeks went by. It was really hard to see her go. But, it also made me thankful that the Lord has made His path so clear to us. In the midst of the sadness of being away from family, I have peace knowing that we are in the center of God's will. There is such joy in that!
***This week marks the first time in 5 months that our little family of 3 has lived alone. It was a little bit of a shock waking up in the morning with no one in our house. I keep thinking someone will stumble down the stairs and pour themselves a cup of coffee. I can hear people walking around upstairs in my head. In the last 5 weeks we have had over 30 people stay in our home, sometimes 20 at once. And it was PERFECT because that is what our home was designed for! There is a room upstairs that has 3 triple bunk beds. There is a room with more bunks and pull out couches. There were mats and bags COVERING the floor. But there was plenty of room and space and it was such a blast to use our home in this way!
Yes, there were TIMES when we had 20 people in our house that I felt like I was in the middle of a mosh pit...
The pile of dusty shoes made me feel a little panicky.
The creaking doors and loud voices that woke Shiloh up an hour early were not my favorite.
The pile of cloth diapers I had to wash began to smell like a moldy hamster cage because my laundry machine was occupied.
The 30 hungry people in my kitchen was a bit of an adjustment to only cooking for Cory.
But it was SO FUN and such a BLESSING...
To have all the bunk beds upstairs full of people excited to serve in Albania.
To have meals with so many dear friends.
To stay up late laughing and talking and sharing about what the Lord is doing.
To have so many people love on, play with and giggle with Shiloh.
To share our life, our ministry and our passion for Albania.
I am so glad that our summers will always be full. Full of old friends. Full of new relationships. Full of mattresses and bags on the floor. Full of dusty shoes.
****These are some of the boys that haunt our house. Many of them came to camp. I wish they could live with us too.
***** There are about 80 old men that sit outside all day, every day and play dominoes or chess or something. They wear the coolest clothes and hats and I just want to sit with them and hear their stories.
******I had a girls night at my house on Tuesday. We simply met these girls through the camps. They were invited, they came. Some of them claimed Christ for the first time. The hope is that this slowly changes into a Bible study. Rather than feeling like I don't know where to begin, I feel like there is SO MUCH TO DO that I will never be able to do it. There are so many girls that are hungry for the truth. There are so many girls that need to understand how precious they are to Christ. So I pray that Jesus would bring me the right ones. The ones that he wants me to love and minister to.
*******We are so THANKFUL that this is our home. We are so thankful for the relationships built this summer. We are so thankful for hearts that were changed by the power of the gospel. We also KNOW that the real work is going to begin now. The discipleship, the relationship building, the LANGUAGE study. Thank you for being a part of what the Lord is doing here!
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