I mirepritur. Cfare po ben? – “Welcome. What are you up to?”
God has been faithful. The past month has seen a lot of struggles, joys, and periods of growth. The stretch from mid-December to mid-January was the most exhausting month of my life, but it was so great. I am walking the life-long path of learning to fully lean on and rest in the Father because the real world is too complicated and frustrating for me to go at it on my own strength. I have really found value in pausing in the morning and at night to put things in perspective and hand over my doubts and struggles to God. “Be still and know that I am God.” The Lord is always beside me and He will prepare me for everything that is on my path if I focus on Christ. “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Everyone has struggles, but I am slowly being transformed by the renewing of my mind. I am working at handing over all of myself as a living sacrifice, but because of the sinful human condition, some parts are holding on tight. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” By learning to accept the inconceivable Grace given to me, I no longer carry this burden. Despite the challenges, I move forward in humble confidence, for Christ has already won. I can rest assured that I am in the capable hands of the Almighty. In the presence of our Creator and Sustainer, we are fulfilled to live in joy and peace despite our circumstances. We are each called to live in this victory to work toward bringing the Kingdom of God to fruition on this earth. Why should I live in fear and doubt? “If our God is for us, then who can ever stop us? And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?” Let’s go people; it’s time to get outside of ourselves and realize what we have been given.
Coming back from Turkey exhausted the day before school was a lot to handle, but fortunately I had worked hard to get ahead. I hardly had time to anticipate the arrival of Elaine Moyer, former principle of a pretty great high school that I attended. She is a member of the LAC board of directors who has been a supportive friend to all of us and has such extensive experience and ability in education and communication. One day I dropped into the office running about my business only to find her sitting and talking with Mrs. Shahini. Elaine also brought my world history textbooks and way too much treats sent from home (in overweight luggage – none of which was charged). She had agreed to spend 10 days with us to offer her distinctive assistance. Her qualified and stable presence was just what we needed during such a hectic time.
Over those days we met as a staff nearly every day to work on our story, vision, approach, misunderstandings, disagreements, policy, curriculum, and scheduling. It was difficult and tiring at times, but we were able to resolve many important things that we needed to move forward as an established school. Despite the mental and physical strain having these meetings in addition to our school responsibilities, we persevered and were able to be very productive. Dini and Klementina went to the States for five days in the middle of this period to be a part of important meetings and fundraising efforts, so they were exhausted as well. Ultimately, the progress and understanding that came from this time rejuvenated all of us. We are so thankful to Elaine for her assistance and encouragement at a critical time that allowed us to refocus as a school.
On a Saturday, Elaine and I decided to hike up to the local castle as the others were incapacitated. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the fresh air, dramatic views, and insightful conversation along the way. During our conversation at the top, we were interrupted by a few kids who seemed excited to meet Americans. I tried converse with them in broken Albanian and they were very friendly, but soon more and more kids showed up. All of a sudden, there was group of around 15 boys on the wall above us in addition to the ones around us. The nature of this interaction quickly changed with the added numbers as they began asking for money, cursing, making unpleasant gestures, and dropping rocks. With no other people around, we figured it was time to get out of there. Unfortunately, we had walked around the wall to get a good view of the city below meaning we were far from the path to get down. We began to walk quickly away, but I kept one of them close by making deliberately confused and friendly conversation to make sure the rocks did not drop too close to us. It seemed that they were trying to intimidate us to get some money and the kid I was talking to told me he told Germans. I continued smiling and told very pleasantly told them I had no Dollars, Lek, Pounds, or Euro (I actually didn’t). Eventually, we made it to the path and, after some more asking for money, the kid I was talking to pointed down the path. I was relieved when they stopped following us, but soon they starting lobbing rocks at us. Elaine and I commented about not wanting to have a similar experience as Stephen (first martyr) so she made her way down the slope as quickly as possible while I tried to watch for, dodge, and deflect approaching stones. Even when we were far away, there were still stones whizzing close by as one or two of them had solid arms, which made me nervous because I could just see one of these cracking one of our skull. We made it down without any direct hits, reflected on how pervasive gang mentality can be, and decided it was time to get some food and coffee. Just another day in Albania.
Arriving just before Elaine was ye old David Jost. Things were crazy busy and he was sick and exhausted from traveling so we did not have much time to talk at first. Before he could recover, we had entered the cyclone of meetings. It soon became apparent that he was dealing with debilitating nerve issues that had reemerged in the past few weeks. He was in constant pain (heightened by the cold), sleeping most of the day, frustrated, severely limited, and distracted. Although he was not the same presence he had been during the summer, I appreciated having a fresh presence and perspective. I am glad to say I have lived with Dave to witness his humility, relaxed yet disciplined style, unique combination of passions, and what I label as a binge/famine approach to the material world. Our interactions were classic, as always, because his irrefutably unique approach to life brings out an intensively sporadic side of my personality. We generated gospel jam sessions and ridiculous imagery, while discussing about renewable energy, world events, spirits, ministry, liberalism/conservatives, Mongols, ancestral-proprietor imperialism, nerd topics, education, and Mennonite hegemony. I think it is safe for me to say I have never had a friend like Dave, and it is my guess that he would say the same, which created a distinctive bond. As we planned for the coming semester, it became apparent that his physical condition would keep him from performing effectively in school and he needed to return to the States to receive medical attention, recover, and just get warm. I wish him the best during this frustrating time of life and all of us at LAC hope to see him return. Please pray for that his problems could be identified, for recovered strength and diminished pain, for healing and comfort, for guidance as he moves forward, and for peace of mind.
LAC is as strong as ever. We have begun the second semester after successfully completing our first semester with 31 students. Our reputation seems to be high and gaining a sense of durability in the community. With the departure of David, each of us teachers has a full load of morning or evening classes, clubs, and other responsibilities. I am officially teaching two morning blocks of World History, two sections of evening English classes, and will be starting Bible and sports clubs after-school. It is comforting to have a semester of school under our belt and many of the kinks worked out. Although we are always encountering new things, this semester is more concrete allowing us to function more efficiently. It is an exciting time of dreaming, experimenting, fitting pieces together, adjusting, growing, and having our mission slowly unfold before us. Please pray for us as we plan and implement an organized after-school program with the students with a combination of tutoring, programs, and clubs. I will be starting a Bible club as a way to begin discussing religious issues and ministering to the students. Pray for the Holy Spirit to be present in our meetings and for the hearts and minds of the students to be opened. We hope that this time will help to build a strong sense of community that can be shared by everyone involved in this school.
With reaching the half-way point, I now have the ability to look back and adapt my approach, expectations, pacing, and discipline to better fit the needs of the students and the school. It felt fulfilling to adjust my syllabus and rules handout, while recognizing that most things worked well. I finished history class with 11th grade by using a combination of a verbal exam and timeline project as the final exam, which I gleaned from my high school experience with Mr. Joe Hackman. The verbal test was something new for the students who got worked up, but in the end did fairly well. Teaching this class was mostly a fun time and I was pleased with the outcome, but I am also looking forward to getting the 10th graders back and starting fresh. I believe my students were able to develop skills in critical thinking and writing, while working on character development, behavior, and understanding the complexities of the past. Pray for strength and encouragement for each of the teachers as they start their new classes and continue to build this school. May we be quiet and receptive to the Lord’s guidance amidst the busyness of the school year.
Please pray that plans for the future of ministry here would be revealed. There are different ideas floating around (expansion, facilities, activities) that people are getting excited, but we want this project to remain in line with God’s scope and timing. As a part of this, pray for guidance in the recruitment of staff and the development of the roles they will serve next year. Continue praying for me as I wait and discern God's will for next year. Pray that I would be open and listening to hear God's voice if He wants me to stay. May I be taking in all I am supposed to learn and experience while I am here. As the end of the year draws closer, pray for wisdom as I seek what is the next step and how I will move forward with the confidence that I am in God's path and not my own.
Life in Lezha is quite cold as Europe has been experiencing the coldest winter in 30 years. My patented sleeping method is still holding out and conserving energy. The cruel weather apparently coincides with a drastic worsening of power supply as we have been experiencing school days involving long periods without electricity. As if it was not cold enough, no heating or light in the classroom makes for a different school environment, but that is Albania. To go along with this we have also had some problems with leaks and flooding in the building, which always provides a chilling and frustrating work-out.
Although the temperatures drop, my connectedness to the community has started to rise after a couple months of mostly isolation. I have been able to find time to go out for coffee or out to eat with Dini, the girls, Tori, or others from church. I also probably doubled the time I have spent playing Ping-Pong in the past few years by playing for a couple of hours one night with Tori and Dini. Because Rafael has returned to Brazil for a couple of months, I have taken up playing guitar in church to lead worship with Norma. This is good because it has forced me to practice at least once a week, which I had not been doing for months. The other thing I had been neglecting during these months was physical activity and I began to notice dismal changes in strength and appearance. In an effort to combat this downward slide, I played soccer with a group of students last week and have worked out the past two weekends.
As a staff we have also been making some visits. Unfortunately, most of them have been for deaths in the family, but they still provide an opportunity to learn, experience the culture, and interact in a genuine way with members of our community. During the initial days of mourning, the close family members will weep loudly for a couple days while visitors come offering condolences and often give money after drinking raki and coffee. These donations serve as a way to aid the family and pay for funeral expenses in the absence of social security. When we went to Adelajda’s house for a quick visit we were expecting warm hospitality and we got it and then some. At first we socialized around a table eating fruits and drinking, then they brought out some deserts as I began interacting with her two younger brothers (one Mr. Vogelushi). After a couple hours, her mom insisted that she was going to make fish for us. Soon we were eating a full course meal, playing poker with the boys, and digging up interesting items from the house. We all had a great time interacting with this family in their home and experiencing generous Albanian hospitality that was crowned by the bestowing of food gifts that probably weighed around 50 pounds in total (olives, fruit, wine). Just this past weekend we were invited to Irena’s house and her family includes Armelda, her younger sister from my evening class, and Ermelinda, her cousin…they are two excellent students who are rarely separated from each other. This time we knew we would be eating, but again a warm hospitality was poured through a wonderful variety of food and friendship.
As things begin to slow down after a whirlwind of experiences, I sometimes reflect on what I left behind in the States. I realize that many things are happening at home without me and that some things will be different. The most exciting thing is that my sister Laura gave birth to a beautiful boy named Luke making me an uncle, but I will not be able to hold him for 6 months. The other female types of my family had another meaningful trip to Haiti, friends are meeting, people are making important decisions, and others are getting married. After my trip, I got some Christmas packages at home containing letters and snacks from friends and family. Pretzels, trail mix, and cheez-its are even better when you have not seen such food in many months. This made me think of simple things I love at home and the people that I have not seen in some time. While I am not missing home, I am beginning to realize how long a year is and how much can happen in that time.
One person I have kept in close contact with from home is my cousin Pat. He is living in his own place, working at a great new job, and living the post-college American life that I have left behind. We graduated together, so he is going through many transitions as well and one he has encountered is a renewed spiritual inquiry. We have been discussing the Bible, science, other faiths, and theist philosophy. Not only is it really exciting to see him become passionate about his faith and get involved in ministry, but it has encouraged me to learn more as well. The last two weeks I have been looking online to read more about philosophy, science, Mormons, and Mennonites. The busyness of starting a school has left me little to study anything other than history, but I hope to be able to commit more time to this type of inquiry to have more knowledge to work from as I continue into the next steps of life.
I will include some initial reflections to my study on Mormons, which I decided to research because in the past I have said I dislike their faith stance of claiming to be Christians because I believe they twist my beloved faith perspective too far. I will say that there are different LDS streams and not all may share these exact points of doctrine, but they are generally accepted. My study suggests they may be followers of Christ, but they do not adhere to some of the most basic doctrines of Christianity and have all sorts of, what I consider, distorted theology. Apparently, God lives on another planet, we are all eternal spirit children of God, Jesus was the first of these and was not part of God - He was anointed as Christ at the age of 30, in order to be saved you must be baptized by this Melchizedek priesthood (originating from an interesting passage in Hebrews 7), we can earn our salvation through works, we can become gods just like Christ, Jesus blood covers those who reject him, the early Church fell into total apostasy after the death of the original disciples, Joseph Smith is the "Prophet" of God who brings His final revelation, and they claim devout Jews left Jerusalem during the Babylonian captivity and traveled to America to eventually restore the true Church. They may follow Jesus and be good people, but because of these beliefs among many questionable others, I am not comfortable with labeling LDS folks as "Christians", even though most of them would call me a “ignorant bigot” because of this. Hope you found that interesting, particularly with the religious narrative that always follows presidential candidates during election season in Christian communities.
That is all the relevant and interesting things I have to say for now. I cannot mention enough how present and faithful God has been during this time. All the success we have goes to Him because truly none of this would have been possible without our Father. He has been working through issues that none of us have the ability to solve on our own. Please continue to pray for wisdom, encouragement, and empowering for each of us at LAC. We are moving forward, but we need God to remain our conductor who can lead us to the destination of His choosing. Thank you for all the support and I hope you are each able to feel surrounded God wherever you are in life.
“God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.”
