Saranda

This past weekend Danika, my housemate, and I took a seven-hour bus ride to a city in the south called Saranda. I had planned this trip before coming out here, because my cousin's wife, Vana, grew up in Saranda before she went to the States for college, and she just happened to be in Saranda in the middle of my stay here in Albania! (Coincidence? I think not ) It came at a very good time, as last week was a very busy week, and Danika and I were both in need of some rest.

I got to meet Vana's family for the first time and stay with them in their little apartment located a five-minute walk from the beach with a perfect view of the harbor from their balcony. It was stunning! If the sky is clear, you can actually see the nearest Greek island of Corfu which you can reach by ferry from Saranda in 20 minutes. We would have jumped on the ferry immediately, except I didn't bring my passport to Saranda! Ugh! I know better for next time, I guess.

Before leaving Durres, Ken gave me the number for a guy he knew in Saranda who houses missionaries sometimes. We planned to stay with Vana's parents on Friday night and then stay at the missionary house on Saturday night. When we got to Saranda I told Vana about him, and he just so happened to be a friend of hers who she knew in high school! But wait, it gets even better.... Vana's family took us to dinner on Friday night at their favorite pizza restaurant, and he happened to show up there too! This is just one of the many ways I've seen God provide when He didn't have to.

We had an absolutely wonderful stay in Saranda, and got to be tourists for two days. We left feeling rejuvenated and ready to return "home" to our family in Durres. When we got back to our apartment, Klesti ran out of his house located in front of ours, and gave me a big hug. It literally felt like I had come home. It was so good to see Mariana again, and she was definitely relieved to have us home... she considers us her daughters now :) 

Today my friend, Anisa, and I went to one of the local schools to interview the headmaster, which went very well. He even called the headmaster (principal) of the Kenet school (who I will meet with tomorrow morning) to ensure that we get to see him. But I think the highlight of my day was getting to ride the bus in town with Anisa and get coffee together. Anisa has been helping us learn Albanian, but now that I'm mostly done with formal language study, we can have a more informal relationship. She is teaching me lots about Albanian culture and helping with translating interviews - but most of all I think I've found a new friend in her. At a prayer meeting two weeks ago, the team prayed that I would make a special Albanian friend or friends, and since she is a young single woman, we can relate very well. We've gotten to have a couple conversations about faith, and she seems to be very open to the Bible right now. I'm so excited to have an Albanian friend!

Okay, time to go start dinner! It's 7 o'clock which is still early for dinner compared to Albanians, but we're still adjusting to their eating schedule.