Shoffing, shopping and farewells...

As Monday would be Lydia's last full day in Elbasan and Albania Lydia had a look at some of the sights of Elbasan. We went to the Ethnographic Museum, which sounds a bit dry, but is in fact a wonderful old Ottoman house that would have been lived in by a wealthy family. The ground floor was used for making crafts such as weaving carpets or clothes as on this loom.



The house has several large rooms on the first floor, a mans room, the womens room, the main bedroom and also this large airy balcony where the family would sit out during the summer heat.

This beautiful silk blouse with silver thread patterns is one of the many items on display. It is every bit as beautiful as it looks and is very fine to feel.



This baby's cradle indicates you are in the womens room with low seating all round the room as you can see behind the cradle.



Here are Lydia and Ann looking out from the balcony. They both thought they could happily own a house like this as a summer residence!

I should have reaslised from the outset that with 2 women there would bound to be some (a lot)of shoffing and shopping! Shoffing is the Albanian word for window shopping.

Lydia and Ann would disappear only to be found in yet another bag/shoe/jewellery/clothes shop. Here we are in a coffee shop, selling ground coffee, that only opened that morning! We were offered a cup of Turkish coffee each, to taste the coffee, before we duly bought some at a fraction of the cost in the UK. The young woman serving us had just returned from 4 years in Campden, London.

The evening was spent having a wonderful meal at the home of Ilir and Rudina and their 3 daughters. We talked and talked as Rudina and Ilir prepared the meal.

Sadly time comes for farewells, and after the meal Lydia said her goodbyes and away we returned to our apartment. A sound nights sleep, if one is not woken by the call to prayer at 5.20 am from the mosque next to the apartment, and then time for Lydia to pack her bags and us get the furgon for Tirana. Shaban, ever graciously, met us in Tirana and took us to the airport. Here we meet with Robert Cook from Lezhe also returning to the UK to see his parents over Easter. We all had lunch together and caught up on news and then it was time for us to say goodbye to Lydia and express our real heartfelt thanks for her coming to Albania. I know Lydia has made many friends here already even in so short a time.

For us, then back the way we came over the mountains to Elbasan with another exciting week ahead of us.

Love to you all,

Ken and Ann

Another full day

Sunday morning saw us at the church we go to in Elbasan. Lydia spent time with the children whilst I spoke with the rest of the church. Here are Ann, Lydia, Keta and Rudina. Rudina with her husband Ilir lead the church. We have invited Rudina to the Ladies REAL conference at Bracknell in July. Keta is studying at university in Elbasan and came to the first Alpha course the church ran that started last November. Keta and 3 of her friends became followers of Jesus through the course and are now involved in the life of the church. You have seen the room they use at present in yesterday's blog when Robert was speaking. Their building is a work in progress! Here is what will become the main hall. All four walls are up and the roof on! The rest will come. The church building in Elbasan is already something of a centre that other churches gather to because of the city's strategic position and the quality of the building they have. We are helping to equip their kitchens. After the meeting we headed here for coffee. This is known as Skampini which is a restaurant and coffee bar and hotel inside the old walls of the original Turkish fort built on this site. It is stunningly attractive especially when all the flowers are in full colour and it is decked out for a wedding! This afternoon Lydia and Ann met for 2 hours with six ladies from the church who are involved in the Children's ministry. Lydia has the photos of them all together. From what I hear it was a very worthwhile and enjoyable time that left Lydia excited at the prospect of all that could happen. Then a walk through town to the home of Beni and Bardha who now have 2 children, Joel and Jeremiah who was born on 30th December last year. Some of you may remember Bardha who came last year to the REAL conference. Another wonderful Albanian meal and now to the Internet Cafe to write this up and bring another busy day to an end at now 10.25

Back in Albania

Lydia Harris Lane who heads the 0-5's in our church, Ann and I flew into Albania last Wednesday afternoon. We were met by Shaban Hoxha who leads a church in Tirane the capital. He took us to our hotel. Some of you will know we have some Albanians in our church including Ida. The very first thing we then wanted to do was to see Ida's parents, Ida's mum is above, and give our greetings to them from Ida. Ida has not seen her parents in the flesh for 7 years. So giving our greetings and talking with them and telling them about their precious daughter is an emotional and wonderful time. After talking a while they invited us out to a meal with Ida's sister Mira. Here is Ann and Mira, below. The restaurant was like a very large English pub that served a huge arrange of different meats. We had a wonderful meal and time together. Lydia had a brilliant introduction to Albania! After breakfast on Thursday we then went to see the work that Shaban and his wife Elvira have with Roma children. It is a simple school where local children are taught to read and write and play together all preparing them for State school. Whilst they should all go to State school most schools shun them, indeed refuse to have them and so they are marginalised from the outset. Teaching them the basics means they will be accepted at school and into the larger society. Here is a lad playing a recorder. Many Roma are musical. The music scale he uses is completely different from ours though. As soon as he plays the kids want to dance! Some of the class. Ann with the Roma lady who leads the class... and Lydia with a number of the children. The girl who Lydia has her arm round came to our Youth Camp last year. This was an enormous thing for this girl. To go to a normal young peoples event outside of her home town was just unbelievable for her! Our visit to these Roma children was a very moving time. Lydia is well used to seeing the poverty and very basic conditions found in her home country of South Africa, but this is Europe and it came as a bit of a surprise. Thursday afternoon saw us catch the furgon (minibus) for the 90 minute ride over the mountains to Elbasan. You can see the snow still on the surrounding mountain tops. Beautiful. And the main street of Elbasan, Boulevard Qemel Stafa. No sooner had we unpacked in our apartment we set off to see the people at the second Alpha course that the church we go to in Elbasan is running. Over 30 people were there. Some were from the church and attending the course others were completely new friends who had come along. There was a very good atmosphere and excellent for us to meet people who we know as friends. Then onto see a family Ann and I know and greet them and their daughters. Lydia was introduced to the obligatory Turkish coffee and glass of raki! Friday morning we took Lydia to see the local market, pazaar, and have coffee. In the afternoon there was a Word Plus teaching time to the leaders of the 6 Newfrontiers churches in Albania when Robert from Lezhe and I spoke. When this had finished Lydia had chance to meet 2 of the Children's workers from Edi and Artina's church in Korca. Here they are having a good talk whilst music and Albanian style dancing is going on in the background. We had more teaching sessions this morning, Saturday, when Robert, Edi from Korca and I spoke followed by lunch of guess what?! This was just part of the 35 large pizzas we got through! Another session from me and Robert and then we were finished this Word Plus training . Ann and Lydia are now on their way to Librazhd with Ilir Qelemeni, as I write this, to meet with the girls there who run their Children's work. Then tomorrow Lydia will see the Children's work here in Elbasan and in the evening meet all the Children's Ministry workers. Below is a photo of Robert speaking to some of the 35 people at the training sessions. We brought out a projector that has already been put to good use and a MP3 recorder to record all the teaching that then can be made available to everyone. As I write this I reflect on what a full and exciting time it has already been and there is more to come. Love from Ann, Lydia and me.

Varazdin, Hrvatska

I have just returned from a wonderful weekend visiting a small church in the town of Varazdin, Croatia. I travelled with Martyn Dunsford from Hedge End, Southampton and Sean Green from Reading. Some of you will remember Sean who was part of our church until he planted a church almost 10 years ago in Reading that has grown successfully.

It was my first visit to Croatia, Hrvatska in Croatian, and what a joy it has been. We were treated and fed like royalty the whole time. The church is led by Zdenko and Ivanova, above, who had arranged evangelistic meetings on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday morning. Here is the poster advertising the meetings that caused us to smile with Martyn's name changed to suit Croatian...Martinom Dunsfordom! Svjetlo Svijeta means Light of the World, the name of the church.

The church hire this room for their regular meetings. It is very nice, modern bright and fully equipped. Here is Sean speaking on the Saturday evening with Ivanova translating. Sean spoke about how he became a Christian, of God's love for us and price Jesus has paid for us. Many people responded to what he said and Sean prayed with them.

Martyn spoke on the Friday evening about the unique Jesus. Then on the Saturday morning Zdenko and Ivanova showed us round their town. Varazdin used to be the capital city of Croatia and has many fine Baroque buildings. Here are 4 of us, Sean, Zdenko, Martyn and Ivanova.

My blog would not be complete without giving you some idea of what we ate and drank! Restaurants and cafes were very stylish as indicated by this cup of tea I am about to have. Croats are a Slav people and I know they serve wonderful soups, but here was a treat I had not had before. Horseradish and nettle soup with a drop of green olive oil! It was wonderful, far better tasting then the name might suggest.

Our Saturday lunch table at a local restaurant heaved with food including this dish. Potatoes bottom left, then beef stew with mushrooms, then turkey topped with cheese, a few vegetables and then beef topped with goose livers! There were 2 dishes like this for 6 of us. Another treat cooked for us by Zdenko's mother Melita, was this squid risotto made with the ink from the squid which gives it the dark colour.

And the Sunday evening meal in Zdenko and Ivanova's house began with this tray of antipasti. A hard cheese like Parmesan, home made sausage made by Zdenko's father Robert and then prosciutto.

All washed down with coffee with cream!! It is definitely back to the diet after a weekend like this!

Sunday morning saw us in a neighbouring town where they hold meetings and again Martyn spoke before we prayed for the church members individually. The whole weekend was spent getting to know this young couple, their parents Robert and Melita and the people they are gathering. Their worship was vibrant and lively and one could sence a good spirit amongst them and most importantly God's Spirit moving in them. Questions were being asked back and forth the whole tme as we got to know one another and began building a relationship that we look to continue. All this relationship building was done over seemingly countless wonderful meals we enjoyed and many cups of coffee. What a joy and a privilege to be in Croatia and be involved in the life of this fledgling church.

Sevastopol continued

I mentioned in the previous blog that we went to a Tatar church in Simferopol. Well here are the photos at last! This is Martyn Dunsford on the right, from Hedge End, Southampton with the leader of the church. It is their custom to wear traditional dress if they speak or are involved in the worship. The 14 year old girl in blue, below, danced during the worship.



Here are some of the other youngsters who were in the meeting.




On returning from Simferopol we headed straight for McDonald's! We loved it!



, After a full day on Sunday I had an opportunity on Monday morning to write a blog at an Internet cafe then see some of Sevastopol. It was bitterly cold and everyone is well wrapped up. Full length coats to within a few inches of the ground are common, as are fur coats with fur hoods. Part of the Russian fleet is based here.

And reminders of the liberation of Sevastopol from the Germans in the 2nd World War are to be seen in several places.

Since the fall of communism, consumerism has grown apace. Here is a supermarket similar say to Asda, in a shopping mall that we walked through. Warmer than being outside!



We have the inevitable meetings. Here we are on Tuesday morning with Sergei the leader of the Sevastopol church in his church office in the basement of his home. Alexander, in the middle, is our main translator. Very few people we met spoke English other than to say "Good morning" or "God is good all the time!" Still, what Russian do I know? Sputnik, bistro, cosmonaut, czar, dobra utro (good morning) and vodka! Note the box of chocolates on the table!

During our meeting I had opportunity to talk about our church in particular our youth and children's work. This was followed by a superb lunch provided by Sergei's wife. The salmon roe on bread as the starter below, caught my eye! The round black things are not small plums but olives! The biggest I have ever seen. This was followed by creamed mashed potato with big chunks of beef, grated cabbage with sour cream, gherkins etc. Wonderful!

Then off to Balaklava, the place of the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade. If you love your history it is a great place to be to bring to life the Crimean War 1854-56. We pass through Inkerman on the way to Sevastopol. It was because of the many British deaths through frostbite and illness that Florence Nightingale came, the Medical Corps was established, the first prefabricated hospital was built by Brunel and the first hospital train was run.

But we had come to Balaklava see Michael and his wife who are the leaders of a church and run a mobile phone shop to provide an income.

Now it was getting dark and it was time to return to our apartment followed by an evening meeting with the Sevastopol church. Again, wonderful worship with God evidently present.

Then to bed and up at 3.30 am for the start of our journey through the flat, snow covered Crimean countryside to our flight from Simferopol to Kiev and then home. What a privilege to see and hear of God on the move in another country!

Ken

Republic of Krim

Oh the joys of writing a blog in an internet cafe here in Sevastopol! All instructions on screen come up in Russian so if I get anything wrong, like having no photos, then you know why!
I flew out on Saturday afternoon with Martyn Dunsford and a colleague of his, Martin, both from Hedge End to Kiev capital of the Ukraine. We went via Vienna. On the first leg of the journey I was seated next to 2 women schoolteachers from Kosovo, so they were Albanian speaking.
We arrived after 11pm and then by taxi straight to our hotel where we tried to get some sleep for 4 hours before waking at 4am to sort ourselves before catching an early morning flight with the Germen Wizz air to Simferopol the capital of the Crimea region. We call it the Crimea, and people here call it the Republic of Krim.
It was all go. Met at the airport, we then travelled by car with Adrain Birks from Woking to Sevastopol the main sea port in the Ukraine that the Russians use as a navy base. The people in the Crimea are all Russian speaking. This was all part of Stalin and other communist leaders plan to keep the Crimea with its ports and access to the Black Sea and then the Mediterranean under Russian control.
We went straight straight into a morning meeting held in a theatre hired from the local council. I had been here once before, 4 years ago. The worship was as wonderful now as then! Whilst everything is sung and spoken in Russian, when they sing their own Russian songs there is something special rather more than when they sing the songs we know that have been translated from English. Martyn spoke on the grace of God and then prayed for many people to be healed.
We left straightaway to be whisked away back to Simferopol for a meeting there.
The plans are not always clear rather one has to be happy with "going with the flow". We arrived in Simferopol and got into a lift to to a flat for a lunch before the meeting. The lift doors locked closed and the lights went out and we didn't move! I thought it was a power outage, a fairly common thing in some countries, but no. The power didn't come on and we were stuck in the lift, 5 of us like sardines in a can. It was a jam and none of us are small! In the movies James Bond forces open the doors with his fingers. We tried that but they were well and truly locked shut. Pitch black and all crammmed together remember, and one of the guys said he wanted the toilet! Fortunately our Russian driver was with us and he could read the emergency notice and phone for help. 5 minutes they said. It was a long 5 minutes. In fact it weas a lot longer. We phoned again. 5 minutes they said again! They we heard a voice in English with a South African accent. "I used to work with the Christan organisation Open Doors, he said, "but I don't work with them anymore!" We laughed. Fortunately the engineer did turn up and we were released from our "prison"
This was follwed by a wonderful lunch of what I have come to know as Slavic food. Grated cabbage, onion and cucumber with sour cream, grated carrot and other vegetables etc and then meat in small pastry parcels. I like it. The family who hosted us are the leaders of the church Yuri aand Vika. They are Tartars and gather a Tatar church. Now I wish I could up load the photos! It is their custom for their singers and the preacher to wear Tatar costume. And when worship started a 14 yr old girl dressed in her costume started to dance. Worship was in Tatar which is written in a version of the Russian alphabet. God was evidently present. Martyn dressed in a Tatar robe, preached, then again we prayed and prophesied over the leaders of the church and the people.
Yuri told us of a remarkable story how God has started a revival in a Tatar village. A Tatar lady was in hospital due to give birth to her 6th child by Caesarian. They gave her too much anasthetic and she went into a coma. They tried to revive her and in so doing broke 2 of her ribs that then pierced her lung. They started to fill with blood. By now they had put her on a life support machine. Still in her coma she saw a man with a long white beard and white hair come to her and tell her not to fear for she would be healed. She came round and began to disconnect herself from the life support machine. The nurses were horrified and said "What are doing? They said if you ever leave here alive it will only ever be with you on a life support system. She began to be afraid again. But once more the man with the white hair came to her and said "Don't be afraid you will be healed. She said this to the nurses who thought that she was losing here mind. Then some Russian people went by the end of the room one of them with an icon like picture of Jesus. She saw it and said that is the man who said he would heal me. At that moment she realised that it was Jesus who had come to her and she believed Him and was healed.
She also prayed for her a son of hers to be healed who had a physical disability and had never walked. He moved about shuffling on his bottom which caused him pain and many sores. In the night at home, the father heard a noise outside his bedroom of footsteps and wondered who it could be. It was his son who had never walked now walking! Just amazing what God does!
As a result the whole family have become Christians and 20 other families in the village have become Christains too. I wish you could have been there to hear it being told first hand and to meet the people. God is doing something remarkable with them.
I look forward with anticipation to the next couple of days.
Ken

Skopje and 490 Christian Centre

On Friday evening the 490 Christian centre runs a bible training school that Marija teaches at. Here is Marija with a couple of the students Trieche and Oliver.

Saturday morning saw me on a walking tour of Skopje with Aleksander. First to the main Orthodox church and then onto the old fortress walls called Kale, with the river Varder in front of it.

We walked through the old part of the town that was built in the Ottoman period and now is the home to the small stalls and markets like any souk or bazaar and sells amongst many things unusually for nowadays real fur coats and jackets. Then having toured the castle walls we walked through the town centre in warm autumn sunshine to the old railway Station where the clock stopped at 5.17 pm on 26th July 1963 when a major earthquake shook Skopje. Over 1,000 people died and over 200,000 were made homeless. The Railway building was never repaired and stands now as a museum.

We stopped for a much needed coffee along the way as many others were doing too.

Where we were was right next to the Mother Teresa monument house. She was born here in Skopje. The architecture of the house is strange to say the least and has been built it seems to me like a almost a idol to her.

Then onto a wonderful meal at Aleksander and Elena's home, where we caught up on the news of each other. This is when I really wished that Ann was with me as Elena really enjoys Ann's company.

Sunday morning saw us getting a taxi to the 490 Christian Centre church who hold their meetings in a rented hall with theatre style seating. The preacher was a visiting Kosovo Albanian from Gjakove! (the 490 comes from How many times must I forgive my brother? 70x70). Then for a fish a chip lunch Macedonian style. A wonderful big salad followed by chunky chips, not french fries, which is what you find nearly everywhere here, followed by the fresh fish excellently cooked.

After a brief respite it was off again to Naomi's, the 4 yr old daughter, birthday party in a nearby hall. It was all kitted out as these places are with the music and games and food to suit the children whilst the parents sat in a side room in quieter surroundings and fed good Macedonian fare. There I had chance to talk to Zoran, one of the church leaders, and hear about the history and leadership structure of the church.

Time to move on this time to "Glasnost", their youth church; but not really youth rather 18-28's. What started as a youth church has of course grown older! This operates quite separately it seems from the main church and is planting churches in other parts of Macedonia. An interesting chat with one of the leaders Alpin, afterwards over kebabs was called for until late. Then home and to bed.

Now time on Monday morning to write up this blog, post some cards to my family, pack my case and in a few minutes they will come to take me away! To the Aleksander the Great Airport and home via Budapest. So interesting to see how God is yet again at work in a very different culture from home. Lets see what doors God will open from these last two and a half weeks in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia.

Ken