Albania #2

I can't believe that we have been in Albania for a week. In some ways it feels like we just got here. I can't believe a week has gone by and I haven't had time to even get on the internet! In other ways, it feels like we've been here for years. At first, it was uncomfortable getting used to being in another country. But now we love it here, even though our Albanian is abysmal!
This week has been busy, full of exploring, Bible studies with English students, VBS, church services & activities galore. And lots of cappuccino! :)
Tuesday we went exploring around Tirana by ourselves. We didn't take a local with us, so we of course got lost. We went in search of the lake and ended up walking to the big mountain right out of town...whew! We hiked up to where there was a cable car and took the cable car up to the top of Mount Didte (sp?!). It was very beautiful, though of course I was terrified of the cable car breaking and me falling to my glorious death in Albania. But of course, I lived to tell the tale and show you the beautiful view...


We have had several students coming in for the World English Classes. We each have had five per day and most of them are students at the University. It is very interesting talking with these 20-somethings that claim to be either Muslim or Christian, but really have no idea what that label means. We have spent most of our time talking about how believing in something requires knowing what you stand for and having that foundation makes it easier to make the right decision when the time comes. We really enjoy each of our students and really have tried to set the right example of faith for them.
Eriselda & me (one of my readers that I adore!)

During the gospel meeting this week, Brian and I have held a children's class that I put together before we came. The stories have been centered around Jesus's life. We also taught them some silly songs in English that they loved. But what they really seemed to love were the crafts. They made sheep, crowns with jewels and tambourines to celebrate the joy of the Lord.


Brian is here helping little Sonja that I think didn't say a word the entire time. Our ages ranged from 5 years old to 11. We were so blessed to have Sadete and Irisa translate for us and they were excited to make the crafts as well!

Little Daniel, 6 years old, his parents are hugely involved in the church leadership. They won a visa lottery to go to the States and will be moving to Tennessee next month. It will be a blessing for this family, but will be a loss for this church.


Yesterday was Brian's birthday and the last night of the Gospel meeting. Some of the youth took us out after the meeting was over and we sang Happy Birthday to Brian (29! Sheesh!). We went to a Bar/Kafe for drinks and talked. Then we went to a music club and listened to a live cover band that sang mostly American music. They did sing some songs that were popular in the 90s after the Revolution and the Dictator was thrown out. It was super fun, though we had no voice this morning after yelling most of the night over the cover band. The people at this church are so amazing. We are really growing to love them and have so much fun with them.
Me, Vjola, Ridi, Carla last night

This morning we went with the church to the park for a grill out. It was awesome! We ate ALL day, grilled veal chops, sausage, grilled vegetables with olive oil and salt. YUMMMM!!!
After we ate and talked for a while we played volleyball (which I of course rocked at...Ha, not really). And we played some silly relay games. We also sang some songs, I love hearing them sing some of my favorite songs in Albanian, it's such a pretty language. We also played an Albanian form of Charades, which was full of abstract thoughts and random concepts, like AMBUSH, that were practically impossible to act out. But it was still a lot of fun.
Good Gracious Grillmaster Arion

Flori napping on a Futbol

Brian trying to act out "impression", they really got a kick out of that!

Tomorrow Brian is teaching Bible class, then church and then we are going to Durres, a beach town 30 minutes away with some of the youth. We are looking forward to getting out of the city and seeing some of the countryside of Albania, what we've seen so far is beautiful. Thanks for checking up on us. I love the emails, texts and blog comments. They have encouraged me and encouraged Brian so much.

Albania #1

We've arrived! Even though I messed up on the timing of getting us to the airport, all of our flights went so smooth. We had plenty of time between flights in London and though we didn't get much sleep, we arrived here in Tirana last night about 8:00 pm, noon Texas time.

Here is a picture of Brian with his ferrari that he left in the London Gatwick airport for other people to take picture with. :)

Church service this morning was wonderful. The church is made up primarily of young people, about our age. Some are married, some are single. Brian got to preach today and he did a wonderful job. One of the church leaders was translating for Brian and when he introduced us, he remarked in Albanian that hopefully this will work out because they are needing a young couple to come and work with the youth of the congregation. Good for Brian, he didn't understand what he was saying, so he just kept trucking along with his sermon!


All of the people are super nice and very welcoming. We went to lunch with Ellen, the missionary here, and a young couple who the husband is one of the church leaders. He picked us up from the airport last night and we found out that he had gone to undergrad with Brian at Harding for the year that Brian was there. He was a couple of years ahead of Brian, so they never met, but it's funny what a small world this is. His name is Sokhol, his wife Stella and him have a one year old daughter named Delisa who is super hyper and hilarious to be around. It was good to get to visit with them today.
We ended up taking a two hour nap, which could be why I'm writing this at midnite...then went back to church for evening services. The church put on a national youth day for the Church of Christ youth in Albania yesterday and had worked endlessly on an hour long play performance. They did an encore performance after church for those of us who hadn't seen it yet. It was outstanding. The talent that the youth have of this congregation is amazing and it has really been inspirational to be around it.
Picture of the play:


After the performance, we went out with another young couple, Erna and her boyfriend Romeo. They took us walking and for ice cream, we just got back a little while ago. They are a sweet young couple who are starting their professional careers. Romeo is looking for more information about the Lord and I'm excited to see a relationship blossom between him and Brian, as I think Brian will be a good influence for him. Romeo seems very cerebral, asking lots of questions, which is right up my husband's alley!
The country of Albania is made up of a lot of young people as a result of the tumultuous history of the country. Sokhol, Stella, Erna and Romeo explained a lot of the history of Albania and how that has affected it today. It is amazing to me that in my & their lifetime, they were living in a country where it was forbidden to worship under ANY religion until about 10 years ago. I think about how that has affected the people of this country and wonder if maybe that is why there are so many young people our age that make up the church. What they searched for most of their lives is finally available to them and they can't get enough of it, it seems. I feel very blessed to live in a country that has a freedom of religion, so I can practice my faith and live it out loud.
Please continue to pray for our work here. We're not sure about what the rest of our time here will hold. We will probably participate in Bible studies, we are holding Vacation Bible school during a Gospel meeting and having a few other parties & meetings while we are here. Our main priority on this trip is to visit with the missionary and really get a feel for if this is something that Brian and I would like to do someday. It has really been incredible to be here with my husband, I love seeing him serve the Lord, and especially get to do it together.
Tomorrow we are moving into our apartment for the rest of our stay. But Ellen offered her computer to us when we need it, so hopefully every few days or so I can check back in and offer a few more pictures of our time here!
Now it's time for bed. Night night!

Leaving Today

Well, all our bags are packed. The bills are paid. The laundry is done and the rabbits are with their new owner. All that's left is a shower and then off to the airport.
We are flying from DFW to London tonight at 7:30. We will finally arrive in Albania at 7:45 tomorrow evening, which will technically be 11:45 am Texas time.
I've got my VBS planned, all the supplies bought. Brian has his sermon stuff and class stuff printed out to look at on the plane. He is preaching Sunday morning right after we get there, then comes English classes, VBS, a youth class, a gospel meeting and Brian teaching Wednesday night church. When we are not working we hope to visit with children at an orphanage near by, playing with them and loving on them.
After two weeks in Albania, we will be vacationing for a week in Italy, then a week in Spain. Then be headed back across the pond on June 12th. We would appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we make this trip, for our safety and for us to reach some lives and shine Christ's love to the people of Albania.
Today also marks another month of treatment that hasn't worked. We will be taking this month off while we are traveling, then if we are still not pregnant when we come back, we will begin the lovely adventure of IUI. So, also please pray that we are able to get pregnant on our own this month with little baby Italia or Granada! :)
Hopefully I will be able to blog a bit while we're gone. We aren't taking our laptop because we are actually carrying on our backpacks the entire time. That's right girls, I packed a months' worth of clothes (really just 6 shirts, jeans, 3 pairs of shorts, swimsuit, running clothes) in a backpack! Whew! But usually I've been able to get on the internet at least once a week while we're there.
Thank you for all of your prayers and thoughts while we are gone and please check back frequently for any stories from the trip!!

What a week.

I could just end the post there, but that would leave what 2 readers I have left wondering what I was talking about! This has been one of the busiest times I've had in a while. After the miscarriage, Brian and I kind of secluded ourselves from the outside world for a while. Well, here we are world! I think we've finally gotten our lives back into a sense of normalcy after the miscarriage, work changing, moving, etc. of this past year.

I've been trying really hard to keep caught up at work, since we are leaving next Friday, my last day in the district is next week, so I have to make sure all my students are up on their counseling minutes before I jet out. I've also had some new clients with my business, though I've had to turn down four calls in the last week because we are going out of the country for a month next Friday!

Have I not mentioned that? Oh yeah, Brian and I are leaving in 9 days for a month! We are spending two weeks with a missionary in Albania, and then vacationing for a week in Italy and a week in Spain. We are really excited about it, though we've kind of been trying to prepare ourselves for world-shut down pandemic with this swine flu business. But it looks like we are still going to go, swine flu or not! :) Last year was our 5th anniversary, but we didn't really do anything for it. I had just started treatment, was going a little cuckoo and we were just not in a good place. So we decided to make up for it by our trip this year! Please pray for our work in Albania, safe travel and healthy planes full of people, trains full of people, subways full of people, buses full of people, basically healthy Tindells!

This past week has also been very hard. Saturday, the 2nd, was not only my sweet Daddy's 52nd birthday, but also the due date of our baby we lost September 11th. I've been trying to focus on the positives, my body is responding to treatment, we are going on a great trip, but it has been hard dealing with the thought that I could have been bringing my sweet baby home this week. I'm not sure if there will ever be a year go by that I don't think about that. I decided to go to San Antonio this past weekend to visit my family because Brian went canoeing with a bunch of guys from church. I am so glad I did. I am so blessed with my family who were nothing but positive about my situation, loving towards the loss of my baby, and encouraging, hoping for a pregnancy with multiples. They took my mind off of sad things and put it on joyful things and I love them so much for that.

But it has also been a double blow because like every year around this time, Mother's day is here. I'm so thankful for my mother, motherinlove, grandmothers, aunts, friends that are mothers, etc. You have all taught me how to be a better person by just being around you. But this day is hard for us women whose empty arms are yearning to be filled. I know that day will come and it is all in God's timing (ugh), but that doesn't make this or any Mother's Day any easier. Mothers, I celebrate your joy at the love your children have for you and the blessing you are for them. But please don't forget us "empty-armed" ones this weekend, and be that much more thankful for the beautiful family that you have been blessed with.

Rachel and I talked about if we are going to do anything for our babies this weekend. Last year we merely hid out from Mothers Day in a cabin in the woods. But this year, we don't really feel right about denying that it is happening, since in our own way, we are mothers. We are thinking of ideas of how to celebrate our blessing of being able to carry our sweet ones, even if it was for a few short weeks.

Thank you for still checking in on me, even though I haven't posted as much as I used to. Your prayers and thoughts help encourage me to continue on.

Here is a link to song that one of my sweet friends from Hannah group, Sheila, sent to us. It is a chilling reminder of how infertility affects so many people in so many different ways and a prayer for the hope that all of us have, to one day hold our babies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqfGqOx2iDQ