February Already!!

Hello everyone! Can you believe it’s February already?? Time is going by so quickly! I wanted to write and catch everyone up on what’s been going on!

The first term of school finished very well. We had a Christmas play to close things off, and the kids all did really well! And so began my vacation! As always, there are a few stories, but I’ll just share one for the sake of space.

My flight to the States included an overnight in London due to the flight schedule. Some people had this same flight schedule, and because it wasn’t a planned overnight, but that was just the way the flights worked, the airline paid for a hotel room for them. Susan called the airline about something else and asked about the hotel info, and the woman with the airline confirmed that they would pay for a hotel room for me. My flight ended up being delayed leaving Tirana because of the fog in London, so instead of landing at 9pm, I landed a little after midnight! Of course the airport was pretty much abandoned at that point, but I followed the instructions of the woman on the phone, but came to find out that the woman had given me wrong information; the airline had NO intention of giving mea free hotel room! At that point I headed to the free hotel phone and proceeded to call every hotel on the list…but to no avail, there were no openings because of the cancellations due to the fog. A couple people (not together) came to look at the shuttle schedule that was on the same board as the hotel phone numbers and were complaining that their shuttle didn’t come until 3:15 am. I couldn’t help but say that they should be thankful to have a hotel to go to, that I couldn’t find any with rooms available! The guy (about my age) said that I could stay with him, but I politely declined. The girl (who looked about college age) and I started talking, and it turned that she was an American that was doing an internship in Ireland with Focus on the Family, was from Abilene, Texas, and was flying to Dallas! She too invited me to stay with her, and looking at my options, although she was a stranger, that looked like the best option! I did ask her if she was going to kill me when we got back to the hotel, and after saying no, asked me the same question! We got to the hotel about 4am to find a double bed, but at that point I didn’t care! It was fabulous to have a place to stay, and she wouldn’t let me pay, so I did get my free hotel room after all!

After all the excitement of getting back to the States, I had a GREAT time! I spent all but a couple days with my family, and we had a really good time together. Not only did I get to see my immediate family, but also a lot of my extended family! It was a busy time, but really enjoyable. I spent Christmas with my friend Mary and her family. I am so thankful that they opened their home again to me…it was a really special Christmas! The last night I was able to spend in Texas with my friends there. It was SO nice seeing everyone and just catching up! I was able to go back to the school where I taught and have lunch with my friends there! I saw a lot of people in a very short time! I wish I could have had more time, but I am very thankful for the time I did have!

I had such a great time back in the States, but coming back to Albania, I have even more assurance that this is where God has me right now, and want to stay for another year. I am just now really getting established as far as teaching, ministry, and language. Although teaching many subjects is still a challenge, I am feeling a lot more comfortable with it, and I am learning a lot! I am also part of the school’s crisis team, and am helping to create and implement a plan for different types of crisis situations. I am attending the same church regularly and am beginning to be involved in teaching the children. I am starting to meet with an Albanian girl and teaching her Titus 2 in Albanian! Crazy, huh? I am having a grammar lesson once a week and meeting with my conversation partner 3 times a week. My schedule is becoming much more set, and it’s been very helpful! I am playing football (soccer) once a week, meeting with a group of single woman for prayer and dinner once a week, going to Christar’s women’s bible study once a week, and a friend comes over once a week to watch Alias! My schedule is full, but it is very good!

Time has gone by very quickly, and it’s going to be half term in less than 2 weeks! I am going to go to Macedonia to go snowboarding with a teacher, Louise, from school, and a couple that has just arrived in Albania a couple weeks ago. They are all English, so looks like I’ll be the token American! Those of you that don’t know, I have never skied or snowboarded before, so it should be an interesting trip!!

Thank you for all your support and encouragement! Please let me know how you are doing and what you are up to! I’m sorry that I haven’t been communicating as well as I hoped to. In the words Susan would say, I’ve been “rubbish” about my updates. Now that my schedule is set, I’ve allotted time just to communicate with people outside Albania, so I hope to improve!

I will leave you with some praises and prayer requests. Take care and I hope to hear from you soon!

Praises:
- Great trip to the States over Christmas
- Susan and I continue to be getting along well/good living situation
- Have a set, consistent schedule
- For all of you, friends and family!

Requests:
- Support, both financial and prayer to stay another year
- Wisdom in teaching at the GDQ as well as the bible study
- I grow closer to God every day
- Safety while in Macedonia
- Continued safety on my bike