New "Firsts"

We are now in Tirana! 

Last pic as a family of 3 at our house in Pogradec!

Officially waiting for the birth of Taliah. We are so thankful for the friends that have let us use their apartment for this time!

All packed up...for who knows how long...

The weeks leading up to our arrival here were crazy and full. 

Shiloh got some kind of virus with a fever that got up to 104. That was probably one of the scariest moments of my life. Definitely of our time here in Albania. 

It is a helpless feeling to not be able to just go to the ER. 

The health care system in Albania and especially in Pogradec is full of corruption, lack of education and lack of funds. 

Every night when we put Shiloh to bed we pray that we he will "take care of her in ways that we can't." 

Its almost easier to trust that God is in ultimate control when you have no other choice. You have nothing else to fall back on. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but its true. 

Then I got what Shiloh had, minus the fever. I'm surprised my brains didn't come out my nose from all the sneezing I did. Or Taliah, she could've come out too. 

Arriving in Tirana was a bit of a shock to our systems. We hadn't thought a ton about what it would be like and when we got here we realized what a routine we have gotten into in Pogradec. 

We know where to buy produce and meat. 

We walk everywhere. We know where everything is. We have relationships. 

I know where to put things away in my kitchen. Everything has a place. 

We have schedule. We have a language teacher. We have a home. 

It is much more of a "small town" feel in Pogradec. 

Now we feel completely out of place. 

Tirana has 1 million people seemingly stacked on top of each other. 

The traffic is insane. There is no parking. Every street dead ends. 

It is chaos. 

It's also a little weird to think of welcoming a baby "home" to someone else's home. 

The day after we arrived here was Easter. 

We have had some pretty amazing Easter's together. 

The year we were in Israel, we woke up and watched the sun rise over the Mount of Olives. 

We went to an Easter service at the Garden Tomb. 

We read the Resurrection account in the middle of Jerusalem. 

Easter is my favorite Sunday of the year. My favorite "holiday." 

He IS risen! The one ultimate reality in my life that truly matters. 

I love the music and the colors and the flowers and the spirit of celebration. 

And I would be lying if I didn't say I love the Easter outfits. 

And this year, I didn't put on a new Easter dress. 

And it felt wrong. 

How embarrassing. 

I've come to associate Resurrection Sunday with a new outfit. 

And with food. 

No honey baked ham here. 

And to top it all off it rained all day. 

We ate noodles with tomato sauce from a jar. 

I sneezed non stop. 

We didn't celebrate with family or even with all the dear people who have become family here in Albania.

We went to a church we had never been to. 

We forgot to get a family pic. 

I kinda felt sorry for myself. 

Of course then I felt guilty and then overwhelmed with what I have been given...

My wonderful husband. My precious healthy daughter. Another one nearly here. 

My Savior. The Word. 

The ministry we are blessed to be a part of. The lives we have watched change. 

The reality of the Resurrection. The truth within the words "He is Risen!" 

And I wanted a new outfit and a Honey Baked Ham. 

We live streamed the Grace Community Church Easter Service and ended the day feeling so encouraged and blown away by the gospel. 

And I don't think I will ever forget this first Easter in Albania. As cliche as it sounds I was reminded of "what is truly important" and for that I am very thankful.

We are starting to figure out life here in Tirana and are getting so excited to meet our new little girl! 

Could be today...could be 2+ weeks. 

Another first here in Albania! 

Shiloh's first time in the Nursery...she was thrilled. New toys and treats? What could be better??

Days in Greece

Language learning update: 

The other day I meant to ask the man at the "health food" store where his wife was. 

Instead, I asked him where MY wife was. 

He lost it. 

And here is a picture of what we are working with....

The right side is the Albanian equivalent of "woman" and "women." 

This should include the possessive English forms as well...but still...

Shoot me. 

I also went to coffee with two girls in my bible study who barely speak English. It was a great test of my Albanian speaking skills. At one point I was trying to say a word in Albanian but I said it so poorly they thought I was speaking English. When they realized what I had actually said they busted up laughing...the whole hour was pretty humbling. 

This week has been very full which is making the end of the pregnancy fly by. Saturday marked a month until Taliah's due date! 

On Wednesday Melodie and I took the babies to Greece to get their vaccinations.

Do you wish you could go to Greece for your baby's vaccinations? 

Let me enlighten you a bit...

***Let me preface this by saying that I am EXTREMELY thankful that we can go somewhere relatively close for this kind of health care, and that I realize there are many worse things than this kind of trip. I am slightly exaggerating in this account...:) 

I am not going to a Greek island. The doctor's office is not on the beach. Kastoria is not a "tourist" town. 

I wake up Shiloh early so we can get a good start. Shiloh DOES not like being woken up...don't know where she gets that :) 

It is a little over a 2 hour drive if everything goes smoothly at the border. You lose an hour because Greece is an hour behind Albania. All the little stores and offices are also closed from 1-5 pm so we have to get everything done in the morning. Greeks know how to nap! 

In the winter there are usually few problems at the border. But, we have waited there for 3+ hours more than once. 

The doctor's "office" is in the same room she sees the kids in. So there are stacks of papers and books and then a medical bed adorned with toys. I'm always wondering if a sick kid was just holding the plastic green dinosaur that Shiloh is in love with. 

The doctor is a sweet lady who speaks "ok" English. But she's not very calm...Shiloh is not highly fond of her. Especially when she rattles toys in her face and sticks the cold stethoscope on her chest. Or when she shoves one of those tongue sticks (what are those called?) in her mouth to check her teeth. 

She weighs and measures Shiloh while I try to convert the kilo's and cm into pounds and inches. I could be wrong but it seems as though Shiloh is in the 95% for both. I don't know how that happened. 

I then try to understand which shots Shiloh is supposed to get. The schedule is different than the American one, and the Greek one seems to be changing all the time. The names are different as well as the dosages. 

She gets her shots and I hold my screaming 22 lb. chunk while the doctor writes up a Greek receipt, crossing out our names 6 times trying to spell it right. 

Once the babies are all vaccinated, our trip to Kastoria has just begun. 

There are some stores there that have grocery items we can only get in Greece. 

There is basically one parking lot for the main part of town so we lug the babies around from store to store collecting random items like brown rice and yummy cheese. 

There are no drive throughs so we sit down and try to eat while Shiloh runs around dropping pita bread on the dirty floor and then picks it up and eats it before my 9 month pregnant self can stop her. 

By this time Shiloh is late for her nap and has gone into what can be called "spazz mode." 

Then we go to last store where I always get chicken and where you have to bag your own groceries. 

Shiloh has normally lost it by this point. 

This particular time I had Shiloh sitting (wailing) in the parking lot while I bagged groceries. I pulled one of the whole chickens I had bought out of the cart and realized I was actually touching the bare chicken wing. The plastic wrap had come undone. 

This is like my worst nightmare. I am deathly afraid of raw chicken.Don't ask me why. It's like a weird thing I have. 

I spray the counters and the sink down with antibacterial spray and run boiling hot water over everything every time I cook chicken. 

Cory always tells me he's never met anyone who's gotten salmonella poisoning...I tell him he should be thankful that it won't be us that gets salmonella poisoning. 

When my brother Kyle was here he ragged on me for buying chicken in Greece and told me I should adapt to the culture and start killing and plucking my own chickens. 

NOT A CHANCE. 

So I stock up every time we go to Greece. Everyone looks at me like I'm crazy because of the 40 chicken breasts I have in my cart. 

I was going to take the unpackaged chicken back in and try to get a new one but I couldn't carry Shiloh and the chicken in without touching the chicken. 

My plan was to wait until Melodie got out and then leave Shiloh in the car while I took the chicken back in. 

I set the chicken on the curb by the car and ran back to put the cart away and check for something else in the store. 

When I came out a few minutes later, there were 10 pigeons and a crow picking at the raw chicken. 

Shiloh nearly leapt out of my arms "oooooohhhhhinnngg" very loudly at her newfound friends. She's obsessed with animals of any kind. 

Now I definitely was not going to return the chicken. 

I gagged and buckled Shiloh into the car. 

I grabbed some wipes, shooed the pigeons away and carried the mutilated chicken to the trash bins. 

I'm pretty sure I accidentally dropped it in the recycling one. 

Yum. 

We then begin our drive home. 

By this time Shiloh was too tired to sleep and spent the first 30 minutes letting me know how unhappy she was about how her day had gone...poor baby. 

We get home just before dark and unload our groceries trying to keep the babies asleep as long as possible 

So, when I think of Greece, I think of shots and chicken and meltdowns in the grocery store :) 

Women's Day

It's an international holiday did you know that? 

Why don't we celebrate it in America? 

Probably because of Mother's Day but someone blew it when they decided we shouldn't have both. 

In Albania it is basically a day of "freedom" for women. 

They go out to coffee or lunch with their friends. Their family attempts to free them from housework. They enjoy themselves. Some are given flowers. 

We took the Women's Bible study over the border to Macedonia (it's about a 10 minute drive) for a nice lunch. 

They were all extremely excited and decked out for the occasion. 

The restaurant made it very special and gave each lady a flower and had musicians come play Albanian folk songs. 

When I wrote THIS blog, the lady below is one that I had in mind. She is the epitome of the woman I wrote about. I also wrote about her in HERE. She comes to bible study because 2 of her children have gotten saved the last two summers and are in the youth group. Her son is in Cory's bible study. She is hearing the truth for the first time and while I don't know where she is at exactly with the Lord, she definitely has a hungry and open heart. 

She has 4 children and it is obvious that she did something right because they all adore her. They bought flowers for me to give her in the middle of the party and they were giddy about it. 

It was a beautiful bouquet and when I gave them to her and explained that they were from her kids, she started crying. All the ladies clapped and she had the sweetest smile on her face. 

She has served her family tirelessly without expecting anything in return. It was so touching to see how her children honored her and how she responded to it. 

There were also 2 ladies there that are sisters. One of their sons comes to the youth group. I found out that their father has been blind his whole life and their mother has been paralyzed for 30 years. There are 3 sisters and they take shifts each day taking care of their parents. 

Another lady's husband left her for another woman. She was extremely hostile to anything spiritual or religious. Her son was saved this summer at camp. She has been very impacted by the change in her son, has attended some events and has become good friends with Melodie. 

Actually Melodie has drawn all of these women together. Melodie and Erion are the couple we are working with here in Pogradec. Erion is Albanian and Melodie is American. She moved here from San Diego right out of college, met Erion and they now are married with 2 little ones.  They were sent by their church (45 minutes away) to plant a church here. I can't say enough about them, and in fact I will write more in another blog post. They deserve their own. But, right now I will say that this couple has been our lifeline since we moved to Albania. They have been our best friends. They have been our greatest encouragement. They have been our inspiration and stability. I don't know what we would do without them. We can't think of more amazing people to serve with and we are constantly challenged by them. 

Melodie and another woman who's son is in Cory's bible study 

I've said this before but I will say it again. It was crazy to look around the room at all the women and to see that most of them have kids in the youth group. A little community has been created for these women, but it's all because they saw a change in their kids. It's also because Melodie has reached out to, loved, and become a friend to them. I am so excited to see what the Lord does with these relationships down the road. 

What might be even crazier is that I am not sure of where each of them is at with the Lord or if they would even claim Christ. I know of few of them are definitely believers and some of them I do not know. 

One woman said just a few weeks ago when we were studying the parable of the sower that she believes in Jesus with her whole heart. The roots have sunk deep and she believes. She said this in Albanian and it brought tears to my eyes to hear someone profess Christ in this language I so desperately want to understand. 

Another woman said that she was arguing with her son (who is in Cory's bible study) because he was saying that Jesus is the only way to God. But she thought that Jesus was the only way to God for Christians and that every other religion had alternative ways to God. Melodie told her that her son was right and she agreed with him. 

So while we have some opposite sides of the spectrum, they come to bible study. 

Many of them are from Muslim backgrounds. 
But they come to this bible study. 
They come and hear the truth and ask questions and are loved. 
Please continue to pray for these woman and for this time every Monday afternoon. Many of them have very difficult home lives and my prayer is that Christ would be the answer to their pain.

It was a sweet first "Women's Day" in Albania and I came home to these incredible flowers from my wonderful husband :)

 I cried and then I informed him that this doesn't mean Mother's day is out :) 

In other news: 

*Albanians do not have their kids close together for the most part. Hence, I was asked today if my stomach has still not "gone down" from Shiloh....No...I am having another baby in 6 weeks....

*Shiloh had an allergic reaction to something she ate (I think it was some kind of tree nut). Swollen lips and hives all over her body. I had to remind myself of the lesson the Lord has taught me over and over again. My sweet babies and my husband are in the Lord's hands. Even in a place where the medical care is insufficient. Easier said than done. But I'm thankful that there are people at home that I can text and who can help me make medical decisions. You can't totally tell but here she is with her fatty lip. 

*We leave for Tirana (the capital where I will have Taliah) in a little over 3 weeks! Here I am at 34 weeks with my friend Alda. She has a baby that is Shiloh's age. We met her because her husband worked at the supermarket we always go to. 

And here is Shiloh drinking some bitter lemon Schweppes at the Women's party....

Doing Dishes

It's the little things. 

We hear that a lot. We say that a lot. 

Sometimes the most meaningful acts of love are the little ones. 

I know that is true for me. When Cory sprays out a dirty cloth diaper...I fall in love with him all over again. 

But last night, I was reminded of how these kids and people around us are watching everything we do. 

The Winter Challenge is going on right now and the kids are all beside themselves trying to win. Yesterday they had to dance and sing to a scene from Singing in the Rain. HILARIOUS. 

One team a week also has to bake or cook some kind of dessert/snack for the whole group. 

So last night we were busy making peanut butter cookies. 

I have been pretty sick this week and have been kind of immobile. 

But, as I've told you the harvest is plentiful, the workers are few and there were only two ovens the kids could use to bake 200 cookies. So it's not like they could just go somewhere else. www.josiahventure.com 

At the end of the night, when they were about to go home, my friend said to me...

"You are really lucky. Cory is a good husband. I hope I find a husband like him." 

I looked over and he was washing the dishes. Something he does nearly every night. 

"Men in Albania don't do housework." She said with a laugh. 

And that is true. They don't. It is considered far beneath them. Men do not lift a finger inside their homes. They are the kings of their castle. 

But when I thought about it later I was thinking how interesting what she said was. 

Her culture would tell her to think...

How embarrassing for Cory.
He's not the man of his house.
Kristine must really boss him around.

But she was able to see through her culture and think...

Cory's taking care of his sick wife. 
Cory is a really good husband.
I hope I find a husband like him.

And I was reminded that it's the little things that are a testimony to the gospel and to the character of God. 

The gospel transcends culture. 

This girls Dad is an alcoholic. He has been out of a job for years. Her mom works 3 jobs to support her family. Her Dad sits at locals all day like I have mentioned HERE. 

And in the craziness of the night, this girl noticed that my husband was washing dishes for me. 

So, while we may not be able to speak yet and counsel and disciple and converse like we want to...we can keep doing the little things like making peanut butter cookies and doing the dirty dishes. 

He really is amazing though...he made zucchini crust pizza for dinner this week since I was an invalid. Every day I wonder how I got him???

And if you wake up and read this before 8 am your time, pray for Cory because he is teaching the story of the Good Samaritan to 100+ kids tonight. 

A Week in Photos

I've been trying to take some pictures of our daily life so that you can see the things I describe. 

This has proven harder than I anticipated, as I don't want to be a creep going around town taking pictures of "normal things." I am already stared at enough. 

As I have walked around Pogradec the last week, I've realized that many of the "sights" that I wish you could see, are faces. Not places. But faces. 

The lady who sells green onions and carrots in the neatest little rows, all day every day and wears the coolest looking parka jacket I have ever seen. 

The widow who cleans the streets of trash, all day every day. 

The man who laughs EVERY SINGLE TIME I buy produce at his little out door shop. I have no idea what he is laughing at. 

The elderly couple that owns the "health food" store down the street. It is definitely not the health food store you have in mind. We just call it that because they have things like oats and coconut milk. It is more of an "imported" foods store. You can actually even get soy sauce. Anyways, EVERY SINGLE TIME I go into this store, the sweet lady tries to sell me things I don't want or need...like that stringy, hairy stuff you use to make baklava. Or mushrooms. Or a VAT of olive oil. No, I just came in yesterday and I told you I have olive oil. 

The man who owns the shop across the street that we go into EVERY day to buy eggs or paper towels, or toilet paper or dark chocolate for Taliah :) 

Well, I wish I had faces for you today. I'll work up the courage to ask them if I can "make a photo of them" (literal translation). And find out if that would be offensive. They would probably be very confused. But here are some pictures of our everyday life. 

Most mornings after we eat breakfast and read our Bibles, we read this bible. It is a Children's bible story book. Yes like the one you read to 3 year olds. It says things like "You can be God's friend too," and "Jesus is happy when you obey him." I've never been so thrilled to be able to read these words. 

Below, is a picture of a funeral procession. I am standing on our balcony. I don't know if you can tell how many people are back there. There is a cemetery up the hill behind our house, so they always pass us. More often than you would think. When a processional goes by, everyone around stops and watches, I'm assuming as an act of respect. Often times people will also join the processional. It is also very quiet. No talking or crying ect. Just a very slow march up the hill. Many people carry flowers as well. 

I've mentioned this before, but the economy of Albania is one that struggles. Sadly, there is an incredible lack of good jobs. Many men are unemployed and during the days the "local's" or coffee shops are full of men sitting around drinking raki. Raki is their own special hard liquor that is probably about 98% alcohol. They sip a little glass of it alternately with a tiny mug of turkish coffee ALL DAY LONG. There are many "men only" locals, and nearly ever other shop is a Local. 

There is one next door that is very dark most of the day. I recently realized it's because there is 1 lightbulb suspended from the ceiling. When our power goes out I run outside to check if it is just us, or the whole neighborhood. I normally peak my head into this coffee shop but sometimes, I can't even tell if the light bulb is on or off...I don't even know if that makes sense. So I've gotten used to not being able to tell, and I just ask them "Ka drita?" You have lights? They probably think I'm really dumb because I'm sure I've asked when the light bulb is obviously on. 

Anyways, here are some men sipping their raki and chatting it up. Sometimes, there are like 6 men crowded around a table that same size. 

And here, is my breath of fresh air. It sounds ridiculous but this is like my ultimate gift from God apart from all the other real things like salvation and Cory and Shiloh. I joke around, but the weather and the dirt and the dust really can be hard for me. Especially depending on how pregnant or tired or ungodly I am. But this beautiful view when I go on walks with Shiloh, always reminds me that God is taking care of me. I feel like I can breath and relax. I am so thankful for this lake and this walk. 

Here is the little shop across the street that I mentioned early. We really do go here nearly every day. The son of the couple that owns it actually came to one the the camps this last summer. We look forward to the day where we can make more than small talk and truly be "neighbors" to these people. Many people own little shops like this. There are probably about a dozen in the quarter mile around our house. They live behind or on top of their shops and everyone sells the same thing. 

Here is Cory pushing Shiloh up the street to our house. He is actually starting to look Albanian I think. Twice this last week, we were getting groceries and as I was bagging things up, he was mistaken for a shop owner and asked about the cost of olives. You can see our white Mitsubishi Pajero on the left with the storage thing on top. Our house is right about the NOA sign . You can see Shiloh's widow. The green place next door is a wedding venue. This means that most Thursday nights there blaring Albanian music ALL NIGHT. I think we've gotten used it because now that I write this, I realize I don't notice it half as much anymore. 

Here is the man that cackles EVERY SINGLE TIME we get produce from him. I really don't know what is so funny. I'm probably saying everything wrong but he laughs when I say normal things like "Thank you" and I'm pretty sure I say that right because no one else laughs at me. He always has amazing yummy things I can't get anywhere else. Lately, he has had strawberries, which have been the blessing of February. His son is often there as well. One time I tripped on the stairs trying to reach for some garlic. He reminds me of this every time he sees me. It was obviously a high light for him. You can kind of tell, but next to all the produce is a shop that has more "practical" random things like brooms and kettles. But there are 1000's of things kind of like Ariel's cave. And EVERY SINGLE night the shop owners put it all away inside. And EVERY SINGLE morning they take it out and arrange it very nicely on boxes and tables in front of their shop. Seldom do you actually go into a shop to buy something. 

Here is a pic of the women's bible study today. Kids all come. Everyone talks over each other. But they wouldn't have it any other way. I love it. I probably stare everyone down as they are talking because I'm trying so hard to catch their words. Sometimes I get weird looks and I realize I am scowling at them. I CANNOT wait to be able to understand everything and then to be able to SAY everything. 

Last but not least, here are the two people I love more than anything. I can't believe I get to spend my days with them. Shiloh is a constant joy and gift to us. Cory endlessly serves and loves me in a way I don't deserve. Here he and Shiloh are, surveying the dinner that he made last night. I can't say enough about him. How hard he works every day to love us, to care for these people, and to give himself to this place. And now I can't say anymore because I'm pregnant and I'm starting to cry. 

I will soon try to get some pictures of all the faces here. I'm thankful that even though there are so many faces in America that we miss, after nearly 9 months here, there are so many faces here that we have grown to love.