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Hello Everyone,
I must apoligize for not typing on the blog for the last month! I have no excuses and I can't wait to fill you guys in on the end of my time in Albania and my holiday in Africa! But I am now home and I will write more soon!!
Thank you again for your love and support as I served in Albania!!!
Last night I had dinner with two of the caretakers and they were telling me how much they made last month. The amount they made last month is generally the average they make each month. After hearing how much leke they earned, I was simply stunned. These women work so hard. They love these children and it shows through their constant attention to their needs. The monthly wage for a caretaker at the orphanage comes to be about $250.00. Now divide that by 30 days= $7.50, now divide that by 8 hours a day= $.60. Basically these ladies are making ONE leke each hour!!!! The total amount the government spent to pay their employees at the orphanage came to a little over $4500.00. The average yearly income is about $5000.00 but these woman are making only about $3000.00.
Your first thought would be, well Albania is a third world culture so the cost of living coincides to the yearly imcome and everything sorta evens out. But that is not the case here. Because everything must be imported, the cost increases and prices are astronomical! These woman pay more for a jug of milk than they made in an hour! We were considering purchasing a stroller for a family with a 4 year old Down Syndrome boy but the strollers here run around $600!!!! The caretakers last night said they have enough leke to provide food for the table but nothing more. My heart hurt for these women. They deserve more but they continue on with smiles and servant hearts. They are such an example of perseverance despite the hardship of your situation! Pray that the Lord would provide and meet their daily needs and that they would understand and sense their needs are meet not through their efforts but through the grace of a God that loves them!
I am down to my last month here. I am trying to spend as much time with the little ones as possible for I will truly miss this time. For the last 5 months I have been 'mama' to 50 children. They come to me for love, for security, to kiss their hurts, to feed me the last crumb of their cookies, to make them laugh with tickles, for a hug or kiss, or to simply sit in my lap for a second. I love these children as my own and it is hard to know I won't see some crawl for the first time or take their first step. Because over the last 5 months I have cheered and celebrated the many milestones in these little ones lives. It saddens my heart to leave because being mama has been a daily routine and feels so natural. My prayer is one day He will bless me with many of my own. I met a man from PA yesterday that was preparing to leave Albania with his 2 new daughters (13 and 18). He told me him and his wife have adopted 10 other children from all over the world, and the majority of them have special needs. They also have 3 of their own. He said it is such a joy to see how God works in each case; not only providing a family but the hearts that are touched from hearing their story. He told me one of his sons has returned to his home country with the intent to be a Light and the same with one of his daughters. How amazing is that!!!!! The need for families is so great.... is there a part that you could play in the lives of a child around the world?!
All the way down to ONE! A month from now I will be traveling from Albania to Vienna, to London, to Johannesburg, to Zambia. Yeah call me crazy.. my backside is really going to hate me by the end. I could really use your prayers even now for Him to prepare the way and to shield against the devil's schemes of canceling or delaying my flights. I honestly don't have much time to work with in between flights.... It will be a bitter sweet day because I have to leave the children I have grown to love as my own (although the snot, spit, and mushed food all over the clothes... I will NOT miss!), women I have come to cherish and adore, and a country that has held my living quarters within it's borders for 6 months. I am really not ready to say good-bye to Albania yet.... but on the other hand..... I am flying to AFRICA cause see there is a guy there that has stolen my heart. A guy that has the same passion for the nations and the sweetest heart. Some say that I have no idea what "being apart" means because I don't have a ring on my finger but let me tell you....... It has been a long journey.... we have not see each other since January and through exams, traveling, electricity outages, and now his ministry in Africa over the last 2 months... we have not really had the chance to connect. The once a week emails always bring a smile to my face though!!! And by golly I think that is harder to maintain because it is all by choice! But He has been faithful and we understand His will for this relationship because He has allowed us the peace and perseverance to continue on and see out our purposes while we have been apart. Geoffrey has been unbelievable as far as encouraging me through my time here. He has supported me from the very beginning and made sure I knew he did despite the difficulty of having thousands of miles between us. And so the count down begins.... one month to go and then I will be at the largest water fall in the world, loving on more children at the orphanage we will stay at, and hunting LIONS........ and then after that..... I'M COMING TO AMERICA! (hey dad remember you would play that for us when we lived in Germany before going home!! good times..)
As I previously wrote... embrace God's world... but I must caution you not to worship the creation without acknowledging the Creator! Last night at church a video was played showing not only the beauty He made on earth but the extension of the universe and how we are but a tiny fraction in His creation.... and He spoke these words to my heart:
IT IS NOT ALL ABOUT WHAT WAS CREATED.... BUT THAT I CREATED IT!
To Him be the glory forever and ever!
A few nights back I went down to play with the toddlers. Now that the weather is nice the caretakers try to take them out on the back porch for some fresh air. The windows were open and as I approached the back door I could hear giggles but they seemed farther than the inclosed porch. As I opened the door The first photo was what I saw! They all started giggling and pointing at me as to say haha we are now on the outside and you are still stuck on the porch! For the majority of the little tikes sitting on the wall, this was the first time they had ever walked on grass. Can you imagine living the first 2 years of your life basically in a cage... only looking though the bars of the fence along the porch.... wondering what it was like to be on the other side!!!! It thrilled me to see the looks on their faces as they tried to walk though the grass, obviously not liking the itchy feeling as it touched their toes! And it makes me think how many of us have lived the majority of our lives... never experiencing the Creator and His creation. Not knowing what it feels like to embrace the wind as it blows, the sun as it shines, the mountains all around or the vast blue sky. When you're outside, take a moment and just embrace what's around you and thank the Creator for such beauty! Welcome to God's creation.......
In Albania it is uncommon for someone to live by themselves. If you are not married then you would continue to live under your father's roof. (Mom and Dad... see it's perfectly normal that I still live with you... haha) Many of the caretakers are constantly asking me if everything is good living upstairs with only myself. I have to most of the time convince them that all is MIRE or good! As a result I have had some of the sweet ladies take me under their wing. However, the lack of fluency in the language gives us a good laugh when trying to communicate. The other night it took about 6 of us to figure out what one of the caretakers was trying to say: She was basically telling me that the following night she was going to bring enough food for dinner to share with me. She was trying to tell me what she was going to bring and asking if I liked those foods. I had no idea what she was saying so I ran upstairs and grabbed the little dictionary I have. Honestly, it was worthless because it didn't have many of the words they were saying! But we did find the majority of items she wished to feed me. The sweet one that was asking is one of the caretakers that I really have not had the chance to become close to because she usually keeps to herself. And so the next night at 6 (at one point she asked what time to eat but I thought she was asking what time I usually ate.. and I said 6 to the latter and so she waited until 6 to serve me even though I was down there helping with the babies at 430) she brought out two plates of: cucumbers, tomatos, eggplant, ocra, some type of meat and bread. My initial thought was how well did she wash the veggies and is the water in my glass tap or filtered. But I quickly put those thoughts behind me and enjoyed the dinner.. it was really good and as I ate I thought to myself, I don't care if I get sick from this meal....... it was the LOVE behind the meal that made all the difference and worth it. We really didn't talk during the meal but the smiles we exchanged said it all!!!! Thank you Father for strengthening friendships where I didn't think there would ever be one!
One of the American Embassy Military Employees (say that 5 times fast!) is heading back to the states in about 3 weeks and had a few goodies to give away!!!! Just when you get tired of eating rice and peas.... a box of MAC & CHEESE falls as a blessing from above! I went home after swimming in their pool and jumped on one of the packages of Blueberry muffins..........Thanks Joe!!!!
On 5 July I headed over to 'little America' or better know around here as The Ridge. Tirana does not have a military base, instead it has the Embassy, a large housing compound of about 25 houses and then a smaller compound of 3 houses. The compound of 3 is directly west of the orphanage. I have become rather close with one family in the compound and they graciously invited the adopted parents of Roksana and I to ride with them to the 4th of July party at the US Ambassador's House! Mom & Dad.. the party didn't compare to the Oktoberfests of Germany but it was fun! Thanks Lori (Roksans's mom) for the great photos!!!
I was asked by a sweet friend, "Did they have fireworks on the 4th?"
I replied "No, why would they, they weren't celebrating the 4th?"
She asked annoyed and confused, "Well, why not?"
I said, "Um, maybe because it was our independence day and not Albania's!"
