Coffee Time

There are so many things I could write about that sometimes I don't know where to begin. 

Or rather, I don't have the time to write about everything I could write about. So I pick and choose based on what I know I will want to remember years from now. 

The other day I was sitting having a 'coffee' with Shiloh. I'm not sure what I would be doing with her if we lived in America. But here, you have coffee. 

I don't know how much I have talked about "coffee" here in Albania but it is a pillar of Albanian culture. 

It is basically the ONLY form of communal interaction. 

Yes, people visit each other at their houses. But "going for a coffee" is where its at. 

All day every day. 

They sip on tiny espressos that cost around 40 cents a piece. 

And it has become ingrained in our family life as well. 

Cory goes for a coffee with boys or Erion or Chad every day. 

I go for coffee with girls. 

And now Shiloh and I go for a coffee. 

And the other day, as we were sitting there I was thinking about how "different" her life has become and will continue to be. 

We were outside at a local coffee shop called "Bar Liqeni," surrounded by men smoking and sipping their espressos. 

We stand out, obviously. I'm not exactly sure where all the moms and kids are during that time of the day, but they are not out. 

I order her a juice. She gets so excited and says "Juice, lummy" a hundred times. 

Right before the waiter brings it, we hear the call to prayer coming from the Mosque a hundred yards away. 

She tries to say "Faleminderit" or "Thank you" to the waiter but that is WAY to long of a word. 

We sit there and drink our drinks and she climbs up and down from the chair over and over again. 

Every time I look around at least 5 people are looking at us. 

I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe one day I will figure it out. 

Watching Shiloh grow up in the midst of two cultures is crazy to watch. 

The other day she was counting and said "1,2,3" in English and then "4,5,6" in Albanian. 

She is starting to understand bits of Albanian and use certain words. 

She stares at Cory and I when we speak in Albanian as if she doesn't know who we are. 

When Cory sings in Albanian she says "Erion" because she always hangs out with him church during the worship. 

She has started to say "Pafshim (goodbye)" "Te dua (I love you)." 

Soon, she will speak Albanian better than we do. She will be correcting us. It is weird to think that our daughter will be so much better at something she will spend so little time on. 

She will understand the culture better than we will. 

She will be in many ways, Albanian. 

But she will also be American. 

She will, in essence, have her own culture made up of her own fusion of the two. 

I pray that we will know how to parent her as we raise her in the midst of two cultures. And Taliah as well.

But for now, this is her only reality. 

She doesn't remember the malls and plastic playgrounds and pumpkin patches in America. 

She knows that we go on a walk every day, that she drinks a juice, and that she can climb on the "Big Man" as we call him, by the lake. 

Praying Out loud

I grew up praying out loud. 

It was something I never really thought twice about. 

God was real and God was there and we could talk to Him. 

My parents did a faithful job to ingrain that into me at a young age. 

This last Friday at my girls bible study was the first time in my memory I can remember actually being SCARED to pray out loud. 

Every week in bible study it somewhat feels like pulling teeth to get the girls to pray out loud. 

There are a few who are totally comfortable and pray every week but I am constantly working on the rest of them. 

We talk about what prayer is. How God can hear us. It doesn't have to be long. Just tell him thank you...ect. 

 But, I understand. 

Up until a year ago, most of them didn't know who Jesus was. They had never read the Bible. 

So I could see that closing your eyes and talking out loud in front of your peers to "God" might feel a bit weird, for lack of a better word. 

But on Friday I really put myself in their shoes. 

I told them that if I prayed out loud in ALBANIAN they would have no excuse not to pray out loud. 

And then I actually got nervous. I don't really get embarrassed  but I was so nervous I like covered by my face and started laughing. 

It was really weird. Like my face felt warm and I got like an adrenalin rush. 

I can count on a few fingers how many times in my life I felt like that. 

I don't really know why I freaked out. 

I think because when I speak Albanian it's not serious and I don't care if I mess up or if I make them laugh. I mess up every day all day. Every word I say. 

But praying is different and I didn't want to mess that up. 

I tried to change my mind and tell them I was going to pray in English but they all started yelling at me. 

One girl said "Kristine I have never seen you like this before!" 

No kidding. 

So finally after a good 3 minutes, I pulled myself together. 

I prayed a really, short, simple prayer, thanking God for the girls, His word and our time together. 

They all smiled really big when I finished. 

And then I told them they have no excuse any more. If I can (kind of) talk to God in Albanian, they can talk to Him in their own language.

We will see what happens. 

But there is something really amazing about watching someone talk to God out loud for the first time. 

There is something really sweet about teaching them what prayer is. 

And it bonds them, and us together. 

To be nervous in front of each other and overcome that and talk to God together. 

I am feeling sad because so many of the girls in my bible study are seniors. 

Most of them will leave next year. For Tirana or another city in Albania. 

I am feeling the weight of wanting them to be ready to pursue God in a new place, away from people who they know will keep them accountable. 

Please pray for them this next year as the make decisions and plan their life. 

And pray for me that I would know how to love, shepherd and care for them this year. 

Here's to Winter!

A few days ago we said goodbye to my Aunt Tracy and cousin Stephanie. 

They flew back from America with us and we had the best time with them. It was so sad to see them go. Shiloh loves them both and I know she will miss them as much as we will. 

Today she looked at me and said "Goose? Bye Bye?" (We call Stephanie "Goose")

After almost 6 months of non-stop visitors, our house feels so quiet and empty with just the four of us. 

We had a few days here and there without people, but other than that we have had family and friends and teams since May. It has been a blast and we are sad that it is over. 

But we are also looking forward to what this new season will bring. 

While there are a few things I am not totally excited about such as: 

The cold.

The snow. 

The ice. 

This means I will be inside A LOT. 

This means our water pipes will freeze and we will have to boil water to dump on the pipes outside to thaw them. 

This means we rearrange our kitchen/living room so that our stove can go through the chimney. 

This means there is a big metal pipe going through the girls room for the stove. And it leaks water when it rains. (Shiloh just woke up and was not happy about this picture being taken)

This also means I won't take very many showers because the bathroom isn't heated and the hot water runs out too fast. Sorry Cory. 

But, I'm a wimp. There are so many people who have so much less than me and deal with the winter way better than I do. 

So here's to being THANKFUL and focusing on what I CAN look forward to about this season: 

Building deeper relationships with the girls in my bible study as I will have more time to focus on them. 

Spending more time studying Albanian. (We have told our teacher that she has a job for life...because that's how long this is going to take us!)

Our winter events like the Drama and Winter Challenge. 

Special time with my sweet little family. 

Our new church and all of the excitement and challenges that brings. 

So, I am thankful for the seasons. (I don't think I ever thought I would say that, let alone actually think it)

Both outside and inside our little home. 

Here's to Winter! 

I skip Fall because cold is cold. Cold is Winter. It's probably still Fall, technically, but it's cold so....

Winter. 

In many ways this winter will also look different than last winter did. 

With the start of our new church, there is much more ministry going on within our city. 

Last year we were predominantly focused on youth.

But from that has grown incredible opportunity. 

We have a women's bible study (which I have talked about before). 

We now have a Jr. High girls bible study. 

We are doing Children's ministry at church on Sunday. 

We are starting Awana. 

We are training the "leaders" in our youth group to be leaders. 

We will have students begin their own bible studies. 

And I think what makes it all feel so "full" is that right now, there is really only us 3 couples working at this. 

This includes everything that comes with a church service: music, preaching, set up, "community" time (which means we make desserts each week), children's ministry ect. 

It is kind of crazy to watch this all happen right before our eyes. I don't even really know how to process it. 

When we first came here I don't think I realized what we would watch God do. 

Here is a picture of our first "team" meeting since the Lambert's arrived. 

We are so excited for what is to come, overwhelmed with what needs to be done, and thankful for each other. 

America

Shiloh and Taliah have a million Aunties. 

Well not literally. But I am sure that Shiloh was super confused in America that almost every girl we were with was “Auntie.” 

I have 4 sisters. Cory has 2. And I am extremly close to my cousins so they are Aunties too. They are like sisters to me. 

That is why we were in America. 

My cousin Jessy got married and I am so thankful that we were able to be a part of it. 

I couldn’t imagine not being at a family wedding. 

On a day to day basis, I don’t feel super far away from my family. I wouldn’t see the every day anyway. Chances are I wouldn’t live by all of them and we would have to plan to get together and meet up and even fly to see eachother. 

When I really have a hard time is when EVERYONE is together and we are not there. That is by far the hardest thing about living across world. Because that’s when I know I would be there. 

It feels like I should be there. 

So while I know that we may not be able to go to every family wedding, I feel so thankful that we were at this one. 

It was perfect timing to because none of Cory’s family (only his parents) had met Taliah and neither had some of my siblings. So after the wedding, we headed up to Seattle for a week. 

We spent time with my parents and sisters in a little town on the beach. It was amazing, relaxing and a great way to recover from jet lag. 

I got to be around for the wedding week and do last minute shopping and decorating with Jessy. 

We spent hours talking, laughing and just being together. 

We were able to see so many dear friends. 

My sweet mother and sister and law threw a shower for Taliah in Seattle. 

We went to the Children’s Mueseum, Pumpkin Farm and Zoo with Cory’s family. 

We saw my 90 year old Grandpa and he met Taliah. 

We were able to talk at our sending church and have a lunch with our supporters. 

We had a birthday party for my 3 year old nephew. 

We went on a date! 

We went to Costco!

Shiloh had an absolute blast. She was overwhelmed with the attention, the toys, the candy, the ice cream, the pools, the parks, the yards, the stores, the English. 

The growth in her vocabulary was insane. 

She sprinted down the isle to Cory at the wedding and it was one of the sweetest, cutest things I’ve ever seen. 

And my favorite part of the whole trip was watching my girls be loved on by my family. 

And I struggled with it a bit at the beginning. 

It is one thing to make a decision for your own life and an entirely different thing to make a decision for your children’s lives. 

We have chosen a life that pulls our children away from our family in many ways. 

Our girls have the most amazing grandparents and aunts and uncles. Seriously, they are the best. And we are all so close and laugh so hard and share everything with each other. There is nothing better. They are our best friends. 

And I felt bad for my kids. Bad that they don’t get to go to Grandma’s house and have their aunties and uncles and cousins around to play with them. 

But, I am reminded that if God has called us here, then He has called our children too. At least while they are in our home. 

And the reality is that God will use all of these things in their lives to make them who He wants the to be, to use them how He wants to use them. 

And as hard as it is, I’m sure He even uses it in the lives of my family. 

Saying goodbye only gets harder. And in some ways it makes them all so much more precious to me. Not that they weren’t before, but the moments we have with them are so much more valuable and cherished because there are not very many of them. 

And I guess, as I have said before, this is the hard part. 

The only truly hard part. 

And I don’t even really know how to wrap that up other than to ask you to pray for us. For my family, for our families. 

Pray for us to be constantly reminded of the fact that God has us where He wants us, that we are to be faithful to Him, and that there is such blessing in obedience. 

And I almost feel silly saying that because we are THRILLED to be here. We love this place and we love these people. We can FACETIME! Have I every mentioned how amazing FACETIME is??? 

But they are both realities. 

We love Albania. But we love our family too. 

And may the love that we have for our families pour over in our hearts and give us love for the families here in Albania. The ones that don’t know Christ. The ones that are broken and hurting and lost. 

To all of the people who encouraged us: thank you. Thank you for your words of encouragement, kind gifts and promised prayers. 

We were overwhelmed by the love we felt from all of you. 

Thank you for sending us here. Thank you for being a part of what God is doing here. Thank you for pushing us to press on.

Tomorrow we have our first Sunday Service in Pogradec. 

I am amazed to see what God has done in the last almost year and a half since we have been here. 

We feel so thankful to be a part of what God is doing and privileged to watch Him work. 

Jet Lag

It's 2:15 AM... 

The last 4 nights I have been awake because my babies were but tonight (at least for the moment)...it's just me...laying in my quiet house imagining I'm sleeping. 

Jet lag is the worst.

Shiloh has woken up every night asking for food at 3 AM. It's as if

her body clock is telling her it's dinner time. 

I lay on the kitchen floor for 2 hours while she walks around in her 'Purples' and eats bananas. Her 'Purples' are her high heel plastic Disney store shoes that her best friend Grandma Bubbles got her. Grandma Bubbles is my Mom. She earned this name because when she was here in June she always blew bubbles with Shiloh and then when we Facetimed all summer she would tell Shiloh she was going to do bubbles with her when she saw her next. 

Now when Shiloh sees her she says Bubbles...so we call her Grandma Bubbles. 

Shiloh's purples are her most treasured possession. I'd never seen her get mad at Taliah until she saw Taliah sucking on one of her purples. 

Oh and they are purple by the way. 

And that's what Cory and I call them. Her Purples. 

I feel like I have somewhat given up on myself when we are traveling and I say 'Cory do we have Lamby, NyNy and her Purples?' 

Here is she wearing one of her Purples. It took her awhile to get the hang of wearing both of them. 

She is also into beads which were also from Grandma Bubbles. And I think Shiloh has a lisp...especially when she says 'purse' and 'beads.' I am hoping she keeps it for at least 5 years. 

She is forever changed from her time in America. Which in many ways is a completely different world. 

When we were there, I constantly found myself thinking 'Do I really live in Albania? Is that really real?' 

It almost felt as if we had never left America. Never said goodbye to our family or packed up our stuff or moved into our house above the bank. 

I didn't know it would feel like that. 

And now, America doesn't feel real either. 

Neither place feels like home honestly. 

On one hand they both do, and on the other hand they both don't. 

It's a very weird feeling. 

Maybe like stumbling through the wardrobe into Narnia. 

Or shooting into that place Thor is from... 

And I only bring this up because the number one question I was asked when I was in America was 'Is it weird to be back?' 

It was weird to hear strangers speaking English. I felt like I was on sensory overload. 

It was weird to stop at stop lights. I almost ran one. 

It was weird to eat all day anything I wanted. Bagels and blueberries. Chipotle and McDonald's breakfast. That is not a joke. 

It was weird to go to a church service. And talk with people afterward. 

It was weird to see faces of dear friends that looked the same but then to see the faces of their babies who I have never met. 

It was weird to think that I no longer belong there. That I no longer have a small group or a grocery store or a Wednesday play date. 

It was weird to watch Shiloh's vocabulary sky rocket as she was only surrounded by one language. 

It was weird to remember that I belong in a little city on a lake in a country of 3 million people. 

But then what wasn't weird was to remember people. That's when Albania and Pogradec and our house above the bank felt very real. 

When I thought of the girls in my bible study. Or Erion and Melodie and their kids. Or the boys that Cory disciples. 

The faces of people we have grown to love made it feel very real and close instead of a distant dream. 

And now that we are back in Albania, America seems like somewhat of distant dream. But my sisters and brothers and cousins and parents and friends and church family feel very real. 

This is scattered because it is now 3:45 AM (I took a short break from this blog to eat two bowls of Frosted Flakes and walk Taliah around the living room) . Or maybe it's just scattered because my brain is always scattered...

BUT. What I am trying to say is that people are real. 

That sounds dumb when I say it like that. 

But I think I was reminded of that in this whirlwind of a month we have had.

I can feel like America isn't real or Albania isn't real BUT the people in each of those places are very real. 

And so when I am confused about where I belong or where home is or if Costco and the butcher are both actual places on this planet, I can remind myself of the people God has given me to love. 

Whether that be in America or Albania. 

And what is amazing is that in Heaven we will all be worshipping God together, and we will all be truly Home. 

So while my children may be a bit confused as they grow up as to the difference between these two worlds we are suspended in, I will remind them of the people that are important to us, and of the One God who unites us through His Son. 

It's 4 AM and I'm going to stop here. 

Next time, I will tell you more about our time in America and why we were there. 

Here's our little world traveler with Lamby and NyNy. 

In Other News...

*Last week at girls bible study I told them we wouldn't be having bible study this week because of camp. They asked if they could come the next day...

"You want to come again and do bible study tomorrow?" I said. 

"Yes can we?" They all nodded. 

"Of course!!!" 

So they came the next day. 

We have been going through John and are just about to the end before Jesus is crucified. 

Every week we do a review and it is constantly amazing to watch what the Word of God can do. 

I love these girls and am so blessed by their faithfulness, eagerness and friendship. 

**I don't know if I've mentioned this before but there is not a nursery or Sunday school class at our church right now. 

I will spare you the details of why but lets just say it makes Sunday mornings PRETTY tricky for me. 

Shiloh used to take a morning nap for the entire service in my Ergo. That worked great until she dropped her morning nap and I was 6 months pregnant with Taliah. 

All of the kids go to a room in the back and run in circles. 

It's a room full of corners and dust and wound up boys. I am waiting for Shiloh to just get a gash in her head. 

In the winter it is freezing. In the summer it is sweltering. 

It's only women and babies so Cory and I can't take turns.  

So for most of this year, when I go to church, I go for the music and then have to go to the back. 

Sometimes I just want to cry. 

Like why get up, get the babies ready, throw off their naps to drive 45 minutes both ways and sit in a back room where I can't hear the sermon and even if I could talk to the women, we can't talk because the kids have gone wild and I'm trying to keep Shiloh from getting trampled?

I mean I do it but sometimes I just feel like...WHY???

And yes I know why...I'm just saying...

And I'm being a bit flippant about this but truly it has been a struggle for me. 

So I am very much looking forward to when we have our own church service in Pogradec in the fall. 

BUT right now I have a plan that is going to drastically change my Sunday mornings. 

Shiloh is going to learn how to sit still for the entire church service. 

I am determined. 

We are currently up to 15 minutes...I will update you with our progress. 

We just have to work on her not talking really loudly to her books while she looks at them...

Any tips? 

***Taliah has cradle crap and today a lady asked me what it was. 

I said, "It is broken." 

It wasn't until I left that I realized I said her head was broken instead of dry. 

The words are very similar. 

****This week the camp is in Pogradec and we are calling this team "The Dream Team." It is made up of friends who have been here doing camps for many summers and of our amazing interns. 

Ryan and Natalie (a long time friend) met here 2 years ago. I told Ryan he should marry her at the end of that first summer but went their separate ways (Nat to Seattle, Ryan to Chicago). However, last summer they hit it off and spent many hours talking at our kitchen table. They got married 5 months later. Now, they are back to help us with this Pogradec Day Camp and lead the tent camp next week with Alderwood Community Church. So thankful to have them here! 

Kassi got saved at a summer camp at Shasta that Cory and I were at in 2011. She was invited to Shasta by Natalie who was her health teacher. She was on my boat that year and in my small group the year Cory and I lived in Seattle. She was on the first team to Albania in 2012 and it has been so awesome to watch the Lord save her, grow her, and use her. Love you Kass! 

We also have Chris Calvi from Faith Bible Church who was on one of the teams last year. Cory served with him at Faith when he was doing worship there the year we lived in California. Chris has jumped in and is playing the guitar for the evening sessions. We are so thankful he said yes to coming and helping this week! 

Rachael Davison, who is JV staff and lives in Czech, has jumped in this week as well. Although thing are done a little differently here in Albania she has made herself at home teaching English and leading a small group. Again, so thankful to have her here! 

We also have our amazing interns (minus Nathan who is gone this week and who we are missing A LOT) who we could not have done this summer without. Bethany and Katelyn you will never know how thankful we are for you! 

And of course the dreamiest of the dream team is my incredible husband! 

This man has been working SO hard this summer and I am so proud of him. 

Seriously, I can't say enough about it. 

I love that our relationships at home are at the core of our ministry here in Albania. 

I love that girls who have been in my small groups back home (Katelyn, Kassi, and two girls on one of the Alderwood Teams) are coming here to lead small groups this summer. 

I love that this is Natalie's 4th summer in Albania and that she met her husband here. 

I love how the Lord uses His body around the world and I'm so thankful for all of our incredible friends who support what God is doing here. 

Tonight Cory is teaching for the Evening Session. Please pray for open minds and hungry hearts. Please pray for this team as they talk about God with many kids who have never talked about Him before. 

HOPE

I wrote this and never posted it...

Our first team left Albania this morning. 

They spent Sunday night across the lake in Macedonia for what we call "Team Debrief." 

It is a day for them to reflect on and share with each other what the Lord has done in the last week. It is also a time of rest before they get back on the plane for the long trip home. 

Since it is only an hour away, Cory and I (and the babies) went to join them for dinner on Sunday night. 

At dinner, Cory asked them to share something about their week and how it had impacted them. 

This was one of our youngest teams and most of them had never been on a missions trip before or been around the lack of basic Biblical knowledge that is present here. 

Almost every one of them were impacted by the same thing. 

They were impacted by the same thing because all of the Albanian kids they shared the gospel with were impacted by the same thing. 

And that is the HOPE that comes through faith in Christ. 

Many of the Albanians they shared with come from Islamic backgrounds.

They said, "I don't have that kind of hope." "We don't have that kind of hope." 

"I want that hope." 

The hope that salvation brings. 
The hope of Heaven. 
The hope of Eternal life with Christ.

And I was thankful to be reminded of how this hope truly transforms lives. 

And we are constantly watching this reality...

20 Jr.High boys from Pogradec were also at that camp (it was made up of kids mostly from Korca). The week after they attended camp, our older boys from the Project met with them 3 days in a row just to build a relationship with them. They did a devotion with them from the book of Genesis. 

And this was so touching to Cory and I. 

Sometimes it can feel like we are simply spinning our wheels. 

There are SO many kids. 
There are so many PEOPLE. 
There is so much pain and brokenness. 
There is so much hopelessness. 

We want desperately to reach this place for Christ but there are times when we kinda look at each other (Erion, Melodie, Cory and I) and laugh at how "outnumbered" we are. 

But the beauty of true discipleship is that actually does reproduce and bear fruit. 

The boys that were in Cory's bible study all year are now doing devotions with and ministering to the new, younger boys. 

And this is biblically how we SHOULD grow. Not 4 of us doing everything, but raising up disciples that raise up disciples. 

Since writing that we have done another camp in Korca with a church from Chicago. There were a ton of new kids, many of whom have never heard the gospel before.

Today our 3rd camp begins right in Pogradec. 

This camp is the most exciting to us because it is right in our city. 

It is kids that we will personally follow up with all year. The ones who will become a part of our bible studies and youth group and ministries. 

Many of the kids from the summer project are also helping translate and lead this camp. 

It's incredible to see kids that were saved last year at camp now inviting their friends, sharing the truth with them and becoming a part of the ministry that will take place this week. 

Thank you for your continued prayers! 

Please pray for the kids who have been coming to youth group and bible studies but have not yet decided to follow Christ. 

Please pray for the kids who have never heard the gospel before. 

Please pray that in all of this Christ would be honored and His name would be proclaimed.