"Further Up and Further In"

Welcome back everyone!  I hope you enjoyed your short break!

While you’ve all been relaxing and enjoying your time off from my blog, I’ve been working away over here trying to find some more interesting things to do so that you’ll have something to read about.  I hope you’re thankful!

Now, before I delve into the past again, here's a little "real time" update:

Yesterday was our last day of classes.  We had a graduation ceremony in the evening.  Bittersweet is cliche, but it's really the best way to describe how I feel.  All of the foreign students are heading to Greece for a few days before going our separate ways.  After Greece, I'll be back in Erseke for a few days before flying home.  I arrive home on April 1.  No joke.

Alright... back to the past...

November 20 was one of my favorite days of my whole time here.  It was “Solo Day”, which is very much what it sounds like: each of us spent the entire day on our own.  We had plenty of time to read, pray, and process our first couple of months here.  

Erseka is in the distance.  Rehova is the closer, barely-visible village.

I grabbed a lunch, my Bible and notebook, and every rain-precaution-item I could think of and headed for the mountains.  The weather didn’t look great, but I wasn’t about to let it keep me cooped up inside all day trying to avoid all the other hens in the coop.  The first twenty minutes of the walk towards the mountains is on a beautiful, well-paved but scarcely-travelled road up to a village called Rehova.  Rehova is one of my favorite places in this whole area.  It is quaint and quiet, and when I walk there, I feel like I have stepped back in time to a time when life was simpler.  On the road to Rehova, no one ever seems to be in a hurry.  The odd vehicle manoeuvers through the little maze of streets – the ones that are wide enough, anyways – but most of the traffic is of the two- and four-legged variety.  

 I spent the first hour or so enjoying Rehova with my camera, and then headed out towards the valley between two peaks.  As I expected, I soon came across a creek and started following it up.  This creek became my theme for the day; or rather I ought to say that God revealed to me that the creek is an illustration of my relationship with Him.  He gave me an idea, and it resonated in my mind over and over all day: “Further up and further in”.  (The observant among you may have noticed that this chapter title doesn’t, in fact, come from Tolkien’s writings.  I have allowed myself an exception, because it truly was divinely inspired, and C.S. Lewis also holds a special place in my heart!)

Further Up and Further in to the Source

My journey that day was towards the source.  I didn’t reach it, but neither will I reach the Source in this life.  I never need to have any fear about losing my way, because as long as I walk always by the creek, I will never get lost.  At times, I may be tempted to stray from the proximity of the water, but the sound of the rushing water helps to drown out the distractions of this world.  And when I walk away, the sound will help me to return.  There is always water to clean and refresh me, and it becomes purer and purer the closer I get to the Source. 

Prickles, prickles, beautiful prickles!

Here are some thoughts from my journal on Solo Day:

God doesn’t call me to do anything, 

only to make myself available to Him so that He can do things through me.

“Why are you in despair, O my soul?

And why have you become disturbed within me?

HOPE IN GOD, for I shall again praise Him

For the help of HIS PRESENCE.”

(Psalm 42:5)

I am a glove, Christ is the hand.  I am a car, Christ is the engine.

In my life, only the activity which stems from Christ is valid.

“We have waited for You eagerly;

Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls.”

(Isaiah 26:8)

Fun fact about Albania: 

The Albanian alphabet has 36 letters.  It is based on the Latin alphabet (as English is), but has 11 extra letters and one less.  The added letters are ë, ç, dh, gj, ll, nj, rr, sh, th, xh, and zh.  Each of these pairs is treated as a single letter.  There is no 'w' in the Albanian language.  One of the most wonderful things about the Albanian language is that if you can pronounce each letter, you can read anything, because the letters always make the same sounds.  (None of this silly: "ough says oo, except in enough, though, thought, cough, and plough" nonsense.  Who invented English, anyways?!)

"A Short Rest"

...for you, that is, from reading my blog.

You see, life has gotten quite complicated in the last week or so, and I need a little time.  Enjoy a week off while I sort my life out, and then we'll be back to catching up!  And maybe, once we're caught up, you'll even know what is complicating life right now!

I won't leave you without a picture, a lesson, and a fun fact, though!

First snow in Erseke - December 4

Greatest lesson:
What makes a great man or woman?

They are not complicated.  Those ones are not great.  Those ones are torn - they see all sides of each story, they consider all possibilities, they are overwhelmed by the complexity of the matter and therefore choose not to act at all.

Great people are not like this.  It's not that they're naive.  They know that life is complicated.  But instead of becoming paralyzed, they find the best path, and they follow it consistently one day at a time.

 Fun Fact:
To get somebody's attention in Albania, instead of shouting, "HEY, JODI!", you call, "OH, JODI!".

"An Unexpected Party"

Our beloved house dad, Bob Osborne, is celebrating in heaven today.

Please keep Linda, the students, and the missionaries in your prayers!

"The Eagle"

November 24 – Ditë Arti

Ekspo-Art

Koncert Muzikor

 

 This year, Albania celebrated 100 Vjet Pavarësi – 100 Years of Independence.  The leadership of the school decided that this would be a great opportunity to reach out to the community.  The idea began to come together to put on an Art Expo and Concert and to make it a community event. 

Part of the upstairs art exhibit

 For a few weeks, the school was transformed into a beehive of activity – art supplies made themselves at home; paints and paper, drills, saws and sawdust sprawled wherever they pleased like they owned the place!  The church keyboard took up residence in Caleb’s room for a few days; Fiona’s camera kept a keen eye out for opportunities to capture the unique beauty of this place and its people.

 

My flute and my pan, meanwhile, were spoiled rotten!  So was I, I should say!  It’s been quite some time since I’ve been able to devote so much time to practicing.  The day was to consist of an art exhibit with student, staff, and guest art, and three short musical concerts.  I opened each of them with a couple of solo pieces on pan.  Following that, I had the extreme pleasure of performing some duet pieces with Ilia Lulu.  Ilo is a professional Albanian flautist who has performed in many different situations and with many different groups, including several years with an Italian orchestra.  For years, he was the best flautist in Albania.

Ilo and I

Ilo is from a city nearby, but he often travels to Ersekë for the weekend and plays in church here.  A few weeks before the concert, he left a duet book with me, though we made no plans about which ones we would play!  Ilo arrived from Korçë the night before the concert, and we had a few hours to read through, select, and rehearse four pieces (mostly multi-movement)!  The following morning, we had a brief chance to run through each piece before it was concert time!  All things considered, the concert went great!  Thanks to Fiona Lahmeyer for the awesome concert pictures!  The Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (by Felix Mendelssohn) was recorded and is on my facebook timeline – you can check it out if you’d like to get a more complete experience of the day!

The best news is yet to come: Ilo and I have been approved to do a concert together in Korçë!  We are waiting for the budget to be approved before we can select a date and make some rehearsal times, but we’re both very excited!

I love Fiona's eye for photography!

Greatest Lesson:

We can change the world.  God’s plan for every believer is for them to be the light and the salt of the world.  God has empowered us with all that we need to be fruitful witnesses.  We should not live for any reason smaller than this.  We can change the world with Jesus in us, but the only way we can change the world is to change individuals.

With the eagle sign

Fun fact about Albania:

Why “The Eagle”?  Well, the eagle is the national symbol of Albania.  In fact, the Albanian name for their country – Shqipëri – comes from the word for eagle – shqiponjë.  The Albanian flag is red with a black two-headed eagle.  As for the significance of the two-headed eagle, I’ll let you ask an Albanian, as I’ve gotten as many very passionate responses as people that I have asked!  On November 28, the google doodle was in honor of 100 Vjet Pavarësi and was based on the Albanian flag!  

"Out of the Frying Pan & Into the Fire"

Now, contrary to what you might think, this story is not about my steel pan, which is lovingly called my “frying pan” by Doni or “your strange instrument” by others.  In fact, this story has nothing to do with a frying pan, figuratively or literally.  Just a fire…

Now, sadly, I have no pictures at all from this week.  So instead, I’ve thrown in some leftovers from the travel weekend.  These ones were taken on our way home, when we stopped in Gjirokaster and toured a castle.

In mid-November, the students were divided into three groups and sent out to different locations throughout Albania to do outreach for a week.  My team was small – just me, Visi, and Elisa – and we spent the week in Tirana.  We were working with Campus for Christ which recently started a new church in Tirana.  To be honest, it was a difficult week.  I wanted to be doing more.  But God had a pretty important lesson for me.  On Thursday night, we were putting on a little program with music, a drama, my testimony, and a chance for discussion.  The attendees were supposed to be a bunch of students from the Fine Arts University, and several of them were going to perform, and then I was going to perform some pieces on my pan.  Well, a last minute rehearsal at the University meant that I was the only one performing, and those that we hoped would be attending didn’t come.  On top of that, I was disappointed with our drama – I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to have any meaning to those watching.  By the time I shared my testimony, I didn’t have any faith that God was going to use this evening at all.  Imagine my surprise when my testimony encouraged one of the young men to share very openly about his life and struggles.  I was humbled that night – who am I to question what God can use?

Are you still wondering about the fire? 

For the last couple days of our week, we were helping at the Global Leadership Summit in Tirana. The Summit was held at the Institute building where Campus for Christ is based.  It’s four stories tall, and has offices and meeting rooms, large and small.  We’d already participated in the Summit in Erseke, and this time we were helping – mostly preparing for and serving the coffee times. 

On day 2, we showed up at about 7am, ready to make a lot more cheese/olive/red pepper toothpick skewers.  As we headed up the stairs towards the kitchen, the smell of smoke became stronger and stronger.  Upstairs, Mark was just emerging from the kitchen, along with a cloud of black smoke.  The smoke seemed to be confined to the kitchen.  We all peered through the window in the door, trying to detect the source of the fire.  The smoke was dense, and everything in the room was already generously coated with thick black soot.  Meanwhile, Mark cheerfully encouraged us to “just leave your bags in the next room for now.”  I’m thinking, “Are you kidding?!  If the building is on fire, it’s generally advisable to get out!”

Several more times, Mark filled his lungs and plunged into the kitchen for as long as his lungs would allow.  Then we came to the alarming realization that the smoke was not, in fact, originating in the kitchen, but rather, it was pouring into the room from a heating vent in the ceiling!  I still can’t understand how Mark remained so calm as he bolted downstairs.  At that point, we were advised to take our things outside!  My favorite image of the day was watching Mark cheerfully and casually grab a fire extinguisher on his way up the stairs.  You would think that he did this every day!

For a little while, we thought that the fire originated in the heating system, but then Mark discovered a very hot office door upstairs.  Some drama ensued when the key for that office could not be found!  I think it was at about this time that Mark called the fire department.  About 30 minutes later, a policeman arrived to survey the scene, and then he paused to have a smoke outside.  Later, a fire truck from another era pulled into the yard, and eventually, the fire was taken care of.  I never heard the cause of the fire, but I know that the office where it began was completely destroyed, and there was significant smoke damage in parts of the building.

Unbelievably, the conference resumed only a few minutes after nine (the whole drama began at about seven), and we relocated our snack-making to another room.  Much of the food was destroyed from the smoke and soot, but we managed with what remained plus some extra groceries. 

I spent much of the day in the kitchen, washing soot off of every single surface.  I never want to smell building-burning smoke again.  I am so thankful that some of us arrived early that morning – had there been no conference that weekend, the damage may have been much worse!  

Greatest lesson:

We are free in Christ, but we live for a higher purpose than our own rights.

Fun fact:

We love to talk about the weather, don’t we?!

It is winter here, but it is often quite pleasant.  It snows sometimes, but it also rains sometimes.  The snow doesn’t usually last long at all down here, but the nearby mountains always have a pretty coating.  Erseke means “windy city”, but it doesn’t usually hold a candle to Lethbridge.  A couple days ago, though, I actually had to lean into the wind to stay on my feet.  Felt like home!

"Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit"

This rabbit is probably headed for stew!

Thanks to Fiona for that picture from downtown Erseke!  The rest of the pictures are from Butrint (see “A Stab in the Dark”).

Last semester, God gave me a lesson in thankfulness.  It’s not something that I learned in a class, or something that I was hoping to learn.  It’s not even something that I thought that I needed to learn!  But God did!

Good vantage point

The long-anticipated Baptistery!

Three Lessons in Thankfulness:

Seven years ago, I wanted to come here.  God said not yet.  Last year, I didn’t want to move so far away.  God said now is the time, and here is the place.

• I am so thankful that God brought me here – now 
• God knew that I needed this Sabbath year now and not seven years ago 
• He knew that I would build incredible relationships with the people here – now
• He knew that I needed the blessing of a regular schedule, regular meals, and sleep! 
• He knew that I would be more prepared to reach out to my roommate Sonila now than I was seven years ago
• He knew that I would connect really well with the staff and missionaries who are here now 
• He knew that even though I would be almost 10 years older than many of the students, some of those students would need a big sister

Flooded amphitheater

I lost my passport during the travel weekend.

• I am so thankful that I lost it in early November so that there was time to get a temporary passport before my Christmas break travels with Matt
• I am so thankful that although Albania does not have a Canadian Embassy, there is a Consulate in Tirana 
• I am so thankful that a week after losing my passport, my outreach week took me to Tirana 
• I am so thankful that I have so many bilingual friends – one in particular who was able to come with me to the police station to get a police report (necessary for the application for the new one) 
• I am so thankful that Glenda was able to find my original birth certificate among my stuff in Coaldale, and that my mom just happened to be in Lethbridge already when I called 
• I am so thankful that having paid a lot of money for this process, I will be getting a permanent, 5 year passport, not just a temporary one 
• I am so thankful that I was allowed to let someone else pick up the passport for me in Tirana, since Ruth was traveling there anyway 
• I am so thankful that God saw this as an opportunity to give me a lesson in thankfulness

In November, I had a bit of a food crisis.  Things got progressively worse, and the bottom line was: I cannot eat the food that is prepared here.  I started looking for healthier alternatives available here, and especially, started doing a lot of searching online to try to understand what might be causing my problems.  Gallbladder problems?  Oil?  Gluten intolerance?  Dairy?  Sugar?  So, I cut everything and prepared to add them back in one at a time to isolate the problem.

• I am so thankful that this crisis happened here – where I have the time and motivation to deal with it 
• I am so thankful that I have been given unprecedented permission to use the kitchen
• I am so thankful that I have time to cook, and that I enjoy cooking!
• I am so thankful that I have an entire reconnaissance team here (“Jodi!  Did you know you can get avocadoes in Korçë?”  “I saw coconut milk in Tirana!”  “Jodi, I was in Greece, and I found quinoa, so I got you some!”)
• I am so thankful that my mom was able to send half a suitcase of food with Matt at Christmas time
• I am so thankful that I’m in a very ‘controlled environment’ (I eat three meals a day, sleep eight hours a night, never eat out, and I have no stress!) where I can most accurately test each of the food variables.
• I am so thankful that I have a huge support team who encourage me when I’m frustrated about my options and hold me accountable when I’m tempted to reach for some petulla!
• I am so thankful that I am realizing that I can enjoy the look and smell of food without necessarily eating it
• I am SO thankful that I feel SO good! 

Juxtaposition.

Greatest Lesson:

Still on the topic of simplicity:

10 principles for outward expression of simplicity:

1.       Buy things for their usefulness, not for their status.  Use clothes until they wear out.

2.       Reject anything that produces an addiction in you.  (Possessions, lifestyle choices….)

3.       Develop a habit of giving things away.

4.       Do not be seduced by the latest modern gadgets.

5.       Learn to enjoy things without owning them.

6.       Develop a deeper appreciation for creation.

7.       Stay away from buy now and pay later

8.       Speak plainly, with honesty and integrity; don’t exaggerate.

9.       Reject anything that breeds the oppression of others.

10.   Avoid anything that distracts you from seeking first the kingdom of God.

Fun facts about food in Albania:

Some of these are traditionally Albanian, others are just great food that is served at Udhëkryq.

Petulla are Albanian donuts.  With some sugar sprinkled on top, they are (were) wonderful!

The lasagna is made with eggplant, and it’s great!

Rice is traditionally eaten with a scoop of plain yogurt on top.

Bread is found at every meal.  It’s not your wonderful, variety of European breads – just white bread.

There are often vegetables as a side at breakfast.  Jodi style!

There’s a coffee shop in town that makes ice cream.  The carpet shop also used to serve ice cream, but they don’t anymore.) 

We had a DQ ice cream cake a while back!  Not really, but Andrea brought Oreos from Greece, and I made an awesome cake!

Salep is a creamy hot drink made with spices.  I’m not much for hot drinks that aren’t herbal tea, but salep is delicious!