I had a chat with the girl, Cherry, who coordinates Year for God... the program is like a year-long DTS. I initially wanted to do that instead of just a 6 month one. Cherry’s trying to find (well, praying to find, anyways...) a replacement. Listening to her talk about her job and asking her questions was interesting..... it sounds so like me- like what I'm good at, what I love, and what God's gifted me in- all rolled together... I have a desire to do it, but at the same time, I know that this is not the time. Next year might be (smile) but not now. And I have complete peace with that- I would be so excited to do it, but I really, really want to do what God wants me to. The whole year is only about £200 a month and that adds up to about the same price as DTS! And, I would get to visit the students in the countries they're at for about a week or two at each place (depending on how many students, there can be several countries) Anyhow... it's just a thought right now :)
Sunday, February 25, 2007
YFG... Dreamcasting
I had a chat with the girl, Cherry, who coordinates Year for God... the program is like a year-long DTS. I initially wanted to do that instead of just a 6 month one. Cherry’s trying to find (well, praying to find, anyways...) a replacement. Listening to her talk about her job and asking her questions was interesting..... it sounds so like me- like what I'm good at, what I love, and what God's gifted me in- all rolled together... I have a desire to do it, but at the same time, I know that this is not the time. Next year might be (smile) but not now. And I have complete peace with that- I would be so excited to do it, but I really, really want to do what God wants me to. The whole year is only about £200 a month and that adds up to about the same price as DTS! And, I would get to visit the students in the countries they're at for about a week or two at each place (depending on how many students, there can be several countries) Anyhow... it's just a thought right now :)
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Macedonia... an overview
Macedonia was AMAZING! We all had a really, really great time and enjoyed the scenery (and the shopping) immensely... The city is on the side of one of the most ancient lakes in Europe (so says a Macedonian man we met who became our impromptu tour guide on two occasions!) and is surrounded by mountains. It's so gorgeous! There is a castle/fortress on top of a hill, and walking around the cobbled streets just makes me feel like I'm in such an old place. It's crazy to think of all the history that has happened on those streets and in those places! :) We went to a church there that was one of the first to open up and be "legal" during the beginning of Constantine's reign. Really interesting stuff!! :) Lana had a splendid time checking out the many, many jewellery shops there- apparently there are pearl producing-oysters in the lake, so there is a lot of gorgeous jewellery as a result :) I have to admit, I bought some stuff myself- all at bargain prices as well! (which just makes it that much better... lol) So, we are back in Elbesan and at our cold flat, but even though we are tired, we walk with joy and are looking forward to meeting up with team Indonesia in England in just a few days!!!
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Macedonia!!
- Started out semi-early with not knowing what to pack! :) So, I decided to wear some insane layers: Iina’s long sleeve, a t-shirt, a tak top, and a ¾ sleeve! With Matt’s fleece and my coat! I was veeeery warm :) I thought it would be much colder than it actually was :)
- We took a coach (aka van) to the border, where we stood in a queue for wuite some time (which was okay since people were getting over nausea from the coach and exhaustion from an impromptu snowball/ice fight :)
- From the border, we taxi-d to the hostel that had been recommended, but when we say how far it was from the city, we decided to try somewhere else- a place our taxi drivers knew about! It turned out to be really nice and not far from shopping and sight-seeing! Hooray :) We dropped our stuff off and went to find a place to make reservations for dinner that evening.
- We booked somewhere right on the water- it was so gorgeous, and with the sun shining, it was quite tempting to just glory in the moment… unless you were Lana, who was VERY anxious to find food.
- Tori, Lana, and I (and a few others) wanted to spend our first day shopping, but first we went to find some grub :) We first went to a fast food place. No English 2-Pizza place. Slow and no service. 3- The Pink Panther! An American-inspired restaurant that had okay food :)
- During our meal, I changed my decision to shop and wanted to go sight-öseeing instead. Since it was such a gorgeous day, I wanted to capture everything I saw on film (or memory space, or whatever :) ) Out the restaurant’s second story window, I saw the group going to the Fortress aka Castle. So I left some dinar [SIDENOTE: exchange rate= 60 dinar to 1 dollar; not the easiest to figure out in your head!] with Tori and Lana and ran to catch up :)
- We first went to the Colloseum. It was so weird to think of the people who sat in those seats almost 2,000 years ago (well, not quite). Later on, I learned a bit of the history. Originally, it was just for plays and such, but then it got re-furbished and designed to be a gladiator arena… I found out that 100s, probably even 1000s of Christians were killed there… so much history.
- From there, we trekked up some CRAZY hilly streets (where we almost god mowed down by a little car speeding down hills=. We slowly made our way to the castle at the top. It was so pretty, and it was fun to look around and explore the [mostly renovated] walls. We even got serenaded by a guy with a Macedonian-version bagpipe (it was a sheep stomach I think).
- After the castle, [including some forbidden wall-scaling escapades with Lauren, Iina, Jo, Matt and I], we walked down to see the church and basilica (a place where public meetings would have been held, ect.)
There, we met a theology dude, who became our impromptu (and VERY willing) tour-guide. We joined the 2 young guys (who, if I understood correctly, are training to become electricians! What they were doing there, who knows!) in learning about lots of the deeper meanings of the things around. We also got to go into a church and see some of a Greek Orthodox service.
- Then, I went to a café with Gab, Lo, Jo, Bec, and Paul… instead of going to a library thing with our new friend.
- Then we looked around a bit and asked about getting piercings…. some of them got their ears pierced and then we went to dinner. It was kinda scary how fast it happened. They went in to ask a question, and came out 5 minutes later with their ears pierced- no paperwork required!
- At dinner, I saw waves breaking on the dock and it made me miss home, and the ocean.
- Back at the hostel, there was some goofing off, but we were mostly calm and went to bed soon. It was sooo, so cold, but Iina and I got to sleep after we put our beds together to be warmer.
- We took a coach (aka van) to the border, where we stood in a queue for wuite some time (which was okay since people were getting over nausea from the coach and exhaustion from an impromptu snowball/ice fight :)
- From the border, we taxi-d to the hostel that had been recommended, but when we say how far it was from the city, we decided to try somewhere else- a place our taxi drivers knew about! It turned out to be really nice and not far from shopping and sight-seeing! Hooray :) We dropped our stuff off and went to find a place to make reservations for dinner that evening.
- We booked somewhere right on the water- it was so gorgeous, and with the sun shining, it was quite tempting to just glory in the moment… unless you were Lana, who was VERY anxious to find food.
- Tori, Lana, and I (and a few others) wanted to spend our first day shopping, but first we went to find some grub :) We first went to a fast food place. No English 2-Pizza place. Slow and no service. 3- The Pink Panther! An American-inspired restaurant that had okay food :)
- During our meal, I changed my decision to shop and wanted to go sight-öseeing instead. Since it was such a gorgeous day, I wanted to capture everything I saw on film (or memory space, or whatever :) ) Out the restaurant’s second story window, I saw the group going to the Fortress aka Castle. So I left some dinar [SIDENOTE: exchange rate= 60 dinar to 1 dollar; not the easiest to figure out in your head!] with Tori and Lana and ran to catch up :)
- We first went to the Colloseum. It was so weird to think of the people who sat in those seats almost 2,000 years ago (well, not quite). Later on, I learned a bit of the history. Originally, it was just for plays and such, but then it got re-furbished and designed to be a gladiator arena… I found out that 100s, probably even 1000s of Christians were killed there… so much history.
- From there, we trekked up some CRAZY hilly streets (where we almost god mowed down by a little car speeding down hills=. We slowly made our way to the castle at the top. It was so pretty, and it was fun to look around and explore the [mostly renovated] walls. We even got serenaded by a guy with a Macedonian-version bagpipe (it was a sheep stomach I think).
- After the castle, [including some forbidden wall-scaling escapades with Lauren, Iina, Jo, Matt and I], we walked down to see the church and basilica (a place where public meetings would have been held, ect.)
There, we met a theology dude, who became our impromptu (and VERY willing) tour-guide. We joined the 2 young guys (who, if I understood correctly, are training to become electricians! What they were doing there, who knows!) in learning about lots of the deeper meanings of the things around. We also got to go into a church and see some of a Greek Orthodox service.
- Then, I went to a café with Gab, Lo, Jo, Bec, and Paul… instead of going to a library thing with our new friend.
- Then we looked around a bit and asked about getting piercings…. some of them got their ears pierced and then we went to dinner. It was kinda scary how fast it happened. They went in to ask a question, and came out 5 minutes later with their ears pierced- no paperwork required!
- At dinner, I saw waves breaking on the dock and it made me miss home, and the ocean.
- Back at the hostel, there was some goofing off, but we were mostly calm and went to bed soon. It was sooo, so cold, but Iina and I got to sleep after we put our beds together to be warmer.
Friday, February 02, 2007
A Not so Normal Day in the Life.... Journal Excerpt
- Wow! It’s Februrary! Time has gone so fast! Today I’m in a funk mood. It’s our “Historic Tour of Elbesan” day, but I do NOT want to go. I feel sad and left out.
The Orthodox church on our tour was cool, though… very pretty. As for the museum… well, I’d rather not talk about that.
- Boot shopping with the 3 Jolly Caribbeans! I bought some stylish high-heeled ones! Whoop, Whoop!
- Romas- Lauren spoke on the Great Commission. It was good.
- Watched “Holiday” that evening. Bad acting, pretty lame story, choppy scene editing, but I really liked it! It was certainly an odd experience… sitting in a cushy theatre chair, in a huge, nearly empty theatre, with large schip (Albania) subtitles fuzzing half of the picture, while the few Albanian men in the theatre laughed because the titles were off-sync with the film :)
When it was over, mostly everyone walked home balking at how ridiculous the film had veen, but a few of us liked it :)
- A spot of cake, then bed!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Open Air - Journal Excerpt
Today we had worship with the YWAMers and then one more open air in the lager (Gypsy community) at the church. We put all the pews out in the front lawn and then started praying for people to come! :)
They did, of course, and we had some women there this time, too! We did the Redeemer skit, some testimonies, and songs.
Afterwards, one of the Gypsy ladies said she had really been impacted by Redeemer- that she thought she had been a Chrisian before seeing it, but wasn't and that she really saw how much Jesus had done for her- Praise God!!
I think we all walked away with a sense of accomplishment- hmm... I wonder if that sounds bad. It sounds like people are our projects... not my heart though. It's just so good to see very obvious fruit of what God has been doing though us here.
They did, of course, and we had some women there this time, too! We did the Redeemer skit, some testimonies, and songs.
Afterwards, one of the Gypsy ladies said she had really been impacted by Redeemer- that she thought she had been a Chrisian before seeing it, but wasn't and that she really saw how much Jesus had done for her- Praise God!!
I think we all walked away with a sense of accomplishment- hmm... I wonder if that sounds bad. It sounds like people are our projects... not my heart though. It's just so good to see very obvious fruit of what God has been doing though us here.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Tirana- A Journal Excerpt
The day started out pretty well- we hurriedly got ready and walked to the Post Office roundabout to get Taxis…. I borrowed Hanna’s boots for the day, but when I got just about to Lio’s Souflagge, I saw that the seam on top was kinda coming undone!! Yikes~ I didn’t have enough time to go back and get different shoes, so I tried to be careful all day :§ oh well… I looked good :)
On the way to T-town, I sat in the back taking pictures and sitting next to an Albanian woman. The 2 1/2 hour drive actually seemed kinda short! We saw some really pretty scenery on the way, too!
First Stop: The Stephen Center- a restaurant started by an American couple. They serve American, Mexican, British, and Chinese food. YES!!! I had a mocha, strawberry pancakes, and an omelette for breakfast. We were all giddy with excitement and anticipation before the food came. Luckily, we were sitting downstairs, so no one saw our ridiculous behavior (other than the waiter) :)
After a scrumptious meal, we walked to the city center (dodging traffic and Mormons on the way). There, we visited a book store where we all found something to see- I bought a magazine to cut up~ hee hee (an addiction whose withdrawals have been especially harsh since coming here).
A HUGE Museum was our next stop- there we learned some “keys” [in Wayne lingo):
- Apostle Paul came to Albania! (It used to be called Illyria)
- The first Albanian translation of any book was the Gospel of John.
Mostly what blew me out of the water was seeing ancient, ancient sculpture, pottery, and jewellery just inches from my fingertips – and knowing that people over 2,000 years ago loved those things. As far as I can remember, no other museum has had such a huge impact on me mentally or emotionally (yeah, okay, so I teared up at the enormity of it all).
Towards the end of our tour, we started majorly rushing – apparently the museum was closing :( Sad Day! But, oh well- I don’t think anyone got terribly bored!
Then our group split up and people went shopping. HARK! A grocery store with 2 levels!! Oh my word, is this still Albania?!?!? :) Unfortunately, I didn’t really find souvenirs I liked, but I did manage to get some sweet presents for family.
Then Sharon [note for those just joining us- Sharon is one of the long-term YWAM team in Elbesan… she’s a lot of fun and from St. Lucia in the Caribbean] and I went shoe shopping. I found some that were quite nice, but didn’t buy any.
Then, back to the Stephen Center for a chocolate milkshake, some fries (still not as good as US or our favourite souflagge guys’) and a snippet of a friend’s Mexican food.
Time to go home! We walked back to where we asked the bus drivers to meet us- to find that one of the drivers didn’t get the message to come back and pick us up, so we got a different dude. Oh well… the trip home was okay.
Then it was Home Sweet Home Elbesan! :)
On the way to T-town, I sat in the back taking pictures and sitting next to an Albanian woman. The 2 1/2 hour drive actually seemed kinda short! We saw some really pretty scenery on the way, too!
First Stop: The Stephen Center- a restaurant started by an American couple. They serve American, Mexican, British, and Chinese food. YES!!! I had a mocha, strawberry pancakes, and an omelette for breakfast. We were all giddy with excitement and anticipation before the food came. Luckily, we were sitting downstairs, so no one saw our ridiculous behavior (other than the waiter) :)
After a scrumptious meal, we walked to the city center (dodging traffic and Mormons on the way). There, we visited a book store where we all found something to see- I bought a magazine to cut up~ hee hee (an addiction whose withdrawals have been especially harsh since coming here).
A HUGE Museum was our next stop- there we learned some “keys” [in Wayne lingo):
- Apostle Paul came to Albania! (It used to be called Illyria)
- The first Albanian translation of any book was the Gospel of John.
Mostly what blew me out of the water was seeing ancient, ancient sculpture, pottery, and jewellery just inches from my fingertips – and knowing that people over 2,000 years ago loved those things. As far as I can remember, no other museum has had such a huge impact on me mentally or emotionally (yeah, okay, so I teared up at the enormity of it all).
Towards the end of our tour, we started majorly rushing – apparently the museum was closing :( Sad Day! But, oh well- I don’t think anyone got terribly bored!
Then our group split up and people went shopping. HARK! A grocery store with 2 levels!! Oh my word, is this still Albania?!?!? :) Unfortunately, I didn’t really find souvenirs I liked, but I did manage to get some sweet presents for family.
Then Sharon [note for those just joining us- Sharon is one of the long-term YWAM team in Elbesan… she’s a lot of fun and from St. Lucia in the Caribbean] and I went shoe shopping. I found some that were quite nice, but didn’t buy any.
Then, back to the Stephen Center for a chocolate milkshake, some fries (still not as good as US or our favourite souflagge guys’) and a snippet of a friend’s Mexican food.
Time to go home! We walked back to where we asked the bus drivers to meet us- to find that one of the drivers didn’t get the message to come back and pick us up, so we got a different dude. Oh well… the trip home was okay.
Then it was Home Sweet Home Elbesan! :)
Friday, January 26, 2007
Wedding Bells from Far Away
DeLynn and Moses got married today. I feel so out of the loop – I’m really sad I couldn’t be there…. and in a really selfish way, I wish they had stuck to the original plan of having a really small officiating service where they exchanged vows, but then had the big shebang when I got home… but I’m really glad they had a beautiful wedding. I still don’t really know how it went though. I’m waiting for anyone at home to email and tell me :( yet another downside of not being home.
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