Hey everybody!
Today marks the last day of the first camp, and it's visible by how tired we all are. This week was the youngest, so the next two weeks will be Jr. High. I'm a little curious to see what difference the age will make. The last week will be High Schoolers, but we're still a little unsure whether we'll be here for that whole week. The other possibility would be going back to Tirana to attend Emanuel Church's conference with Zef and see all of our friends their again.
It's crazy how time is here. I thought I was on top of it and then this week I suddenly lost all comprehension of it. In two messages to people the other day, I was saying that we just finished two weeks and that there were six weeks left here, but we actually just finished three weeks. I was also convinced that it was Tuesday when it was really Wednesday. I still haven't figured out if it's a good thing that I have no comprehension of time or not. I'm leaning towards not because I made myself a callendar to keep track of the days, and so apparently not even that can help me. I think that tomorrow's day off will be a great way to recover though. I didn't realize how tired I was until we were at our daily devotional and prayer time after lunch, and during the prayer I could feel myself starting to nod off. I got to take a nap during our two to five break though, so I feel better now, though a little bit groggy.
Since I just mentioned lunch, and we're getting close to dinner, I thought I'd comment on the food. They make amazing french fries at the camp. I ate three heaping servings of it today. We also have a greek salad of sorts with every meal, which consists of tomatoes, cucumbers, green bell peppers, and onions, drenched in what I think is vinegar and salt. I miss how it was when it was just the staff eating, and we could dress our own salad, but I'm still more than happy to eat fresh veggies everyday. Some of the team is starting to get sick of it, but Jordan and I are still enjoying it. The Americans that have been in Albania for longer say that eventually everybody gets sick of it. Most of the team is missing Mexican food, though the food I miss the most is spaghetti. We got something similar to it, but not quite the same. Peanut butter is also missed, though we've been informed that you can only get it in Greece and it's somewhere around eight dollars a jar.
Alright, that's about all I have to say for now, and dinner is just about here, so until next time!
Friday, June 29, 2007
"This could be the best week of their year..."
As the first week of camp draws to an end I sit with my face painted like a clown.
This week has been amazing. I have met so many kids who have great hearts and huge smiles. Though language has been a barrier at times, I've learned that by just spending time with them, participating in activities, saying hello, and smiling at them means so much.
This week I traveled with one team to different activities. It was a great way for us to get to know each other. I had one child in particular who would lead me, even though at times I was clear in the directions.
My camp director Eric said this in our staff meeting this afternoon. "For many of these kids, this could be the best week of their year. They will have the most fun, they will have the best food, and they will have the best support from their leaders." This comment came straight from his heart drawing tears to his eyes. Eric has been a youth pastor back in the states and has worked at this camp since its beginning in 2000. His passion for youth and the camp experience is huge.
This moment was powerful for me as I saw his heart and thought of the implications. There are a number of campers who have grown so much this week; asking questions about God and accepting Christ into their life. Unfortunately though, some campers will return to rough lifestyles. Maybe they live in poverty, are neglected or even abused. A chore for some leaders this week was removing lice from campers. World Vision sponsored a couple campers to attend this weeks camp. I think about the campers this week. How much they've grown and their trek home. While their road may be rough, hopefully they know they have God, and with God He is there along the way, no matter what. As I think about the negative situations for some campers, I'm comforted knowing this.
This week has been amazing. I have met so many kids who have great hearts and huge smiles. Though language has been a barrier at times, I've learned that by just spending time with them, participating in activities, saying hello, and smiling at them means so much.
This week I traveled with one team to different activities. It was a great way for us to get to know each other. I had one child in particular who would lead me, even though at times I was clear in the directions.
My camp director Eric said this in our staff meeting this afternoon. "For many of these kids, this could be the best week of their year. They will have the most fun, they will have the best food, and they will have the best support from their leaders." This comment came straight from his heart drawing tears to his eyes. Eric has been a youth pastor back in the states and has worked at this camp since its beginning in 2000. His passion for youth and the camp experience is huge.
This moment was powerful for me as I saw his heart and thought of the implications. There are a number of campers who have grown so much this week; asking questions about God and accepting Christ into their life. Unfortunately though, some campers will return to rough lifestyles. Maybe they live in poverty, are neglected or even abused. A chore for some leaders this week was removing lice from campers. World Vision sponsored a couple campers to attend this weeks camp. I think about the campers this week. How much they've grown and their trek home. While their road may be rough, hopefully they know they have God, and with God He is there along the way, no matter what. As I think about the negative situations for some campers, I'm comforted knowing this.
Manuel
I just got done managing the zipline of the ropes course for the last group of kids and I have some time to write before lunch. This first week of camp has gone so well and I am beginning to feel the natural flow of life here. Yesterday was a beautiful day! The weather cooled down to a nice 70 degrees and there was a perfect breeze to keep all of the campers happy.
With over 150 kids in the camp, it has been a challenge to make real connections. The differences in language and culture don't make it any easier either! But, lately I have been able to find other ways to reach the hearts of children without using words. On tuesday I saw a little boy with big blue eyes sitting all by himself. I walked over to him and began to copy every move he made. Soon he began to catch on and he was laughing.
I later learned that his name is Manuel and he is from Korche (a small town about an hour away). Eric, one of the coordinators, told me that Manuel is in lots of pain because he has three rotting teeth. I was heartbroken to hear this news and I didn't know what to do. Then I realized that Manuel was always one of the happiest and strongest kids at camp. He always makes me laugh during worship because he sings so loud that he begins to turn bright red! Now I am glad that I was able to spend time with Manuel. I hope that I helped to make his time at camp special.
With over 150 kids in the camp, it has been a challenge to make real connections. The differences in language and culture don't make it any easier either! But, lately I have been able to find other ways to reach the hearts of children without using words. On tuesday I saw a little boy with big blue eyes sitting all by himself. I walked over to him and began to copy every move he made. Soon he began to catch on and he was laughing.
I later learned that his name is Manuel and he is from Korche (a small town about an hour away). Eric, one of the coordinators, told me that Manuel is in lots of pain because he has three rotting teeth. I was heartbroken to hear this news and I didn't know what to do. Then I realized that Manuel was always one of the happiest and strongest kids at camp. He always makes me laugh during worship because he sings so loud that he begins to turn bright red! Now I am glad that I was able to spend time with Manuel. I hope that I helped to make his time at camp special.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Robin Hood (or something like it)
I've been helping to supervise archery for this week's camp, so I've dubbed myself the Robin Hood of the camp. Unfortunately (or very fortunately depending on your perspective) I left my green tights at home. It's a pretty fun job though, despite the communication problems and possibility of getting shot with an arrow. The kids do a pretty good job; Elisi is the leader of archery (also the worship leader for the camp and the church, and a very hard worker), and so he explains how it works to the children, and then he and I are there to make sure they're doing it right. The first day went great and the kids really understood. The second day was a bit more interesting.
We have 2 targets with 4 kids shooting at them, and so Elisi and I work with two kids each. On the second day, every time I would turn my back I'd be saying, "Yo yo yo! (No no no!)," or, "Prit! (Wait!)," because inevitable the kid would think they had it all figured out but have some glaring mistake. It was fun though and no one has been hurt. Today, both Kurt and Lisa came to archery as well as our fellow American, Jordan, and with two of the Albanians, we had one person per archer. Afterwards, when the kids were gone, we took out the more powerful
bows and stepped back a little to have some fun ourselves. All in all, it went well.
The food has taken a small dive now that the cooks are cooking for over 150, but I'm still happy with it. The other night we had a type of egg soup that scared the rest of the team. They've all been looking at the menues to know what it is we're eating, so I figure that they scared themselves just by thinking about it too much. I thought it tasted like nothing at all, so I ended up eating Megan's serving as well. We're definitely eating well though, and they have fantastic fruit. None of the fruit here is available in the off season like it is in the US, so everything you eat is recently ripe.
There are 5 camps, each seperated by different ages, and so this week is the youngest camp, the next 3 will be a step up in age, and the last will be the oldest of them all. I think the current age group is 8 or 9 to 11 or 12 years old, and they're pretty fun, but a bit hard headed sometimes. As I mentioned, that could make archery hard at times, but still, they're good kids. We have a staff meeting everyday after lunch and one of the team leaders was saying that his kids at one point in the day wanted to pray rather than play, so everyone is encouraged by their spirits.
Overall, we're a little tired, but in a good way. We're all ready to go to sleep at the end of the day, and we can't wait for meals. It'll be interesting to see how things work out next week, though.
We have 2 targets with 4 kids shooting at them, and so Elisi and I work with two kids each. On the second day, every time I would turn my back I'd be saying, "Yo yo yo! (No no no!)," or, "Prit! (Wait!)," because inevitable the kid would think they had it all figured out but have some glaring mistake. It was fun though and no one has been hurt. Today, both Kurt and Lisa came to archery as well as our fellow American, Jordan, and with two of the Albanians, we had one person per archer. Afterwards, when the kids were gone, we took out the more powerful
bows and stepped back a little to have some fun ourselves. All in all, it went well.
The food has taken a small dive now that the cooks are cooking for over 150, but I'm still happy with it. The other night we had a type of egg soup that scared the rest of the team. They've all been looking at the menues to know what it is we're eating, so I figure that they scared themselves just by thinking about it too much. I thought it tasted like nothing at all, so I ended up eating Megan's serving as well. We're definitely eating well though, and they have fantastic fruit. None of the fruit here is available in the off season like it is in the US, so everything you eat is recently ripe.
There are 5 camps, each seperated by different ages, and so this week is the youngest camp, the next 3 will be a step up in age, and the last will be the oldest of them all. I think the current age group is 8 or 9 to 11 or 12 years old, and they're pretty fun, but a bit hard headed sometimes. As I mentioned, that could make archery hard at times, but still, they're good kids. We have a staff meeting everyday after lunch and one of the team leaders was saying that his kids at one point in the day wanted to pray rather than play, so everyone is encouraged by their spirits.
Overall, we're a little tired, but in a good way. We're all ready to go to sleep at the end of the day, and we can't wait for meals. It'll be interesting to see how things work out next week, though.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Albanian Adventures
Today part of the group shared in an Albanian adventure. This afternoon Kyla, Lisa and myself (Kurt) went swimming at one of the local pools. The pool happened to be about 45 minutes out of town. The road to get there was only one lane (mainly dirt). The mode of transportation was a two-passenger truck, but it had a bed which could hold between 10-20 people. On this trip I believe we had 12 max. Needless to say this experience was like none other. We had to stop once and push because we didn't have enough traction and we also over heated too.
Once we got to the pool I had one of the most brisk swims in my life. The water comes straight from a river.
This was a nice time to bond with the Albanian staff. Tomorrow we will bond with 120 Albanian kids. We cannot wait!
Once we got to the pool I had one of the most brisk swims in my life. The water comes straight from a river.
This was a nice time to bond with the Albanian staff. Tomorrow we will bond with 120 Albanian kids. We cannot wait!
Friday, June 22, 2007
Right now it is12:48 in the afternoon in beautiful Erseka. Each day that we have been here has been amazing. Mark and Ruth are housing us along with their four children. Their son Steven is especially hilarious. I have really enjoyed staying here because it feels like I belong. I feel like I'm part of the family.
Every morning I try to get up before it is too hot to go for walk up the hill by the house. Lisa and I will sometimes go together. The dirt trail is beautiful and has a wonderful view of the town from the top. I love the fresh air, wildflowers, and the cute old men that pass by and say "A'lo!"
Uh oh! lunch is ready. The food is awesome here and I don't wanna miss it! Bye. Love you!
Every morning I try to get up before it is too hot to go for walk up the hill by the house. Lisa and I will sometimes go together. The dirt trail is beautiful and has a wonderful view of the town from the top. I love the fresh air, wildflowers, and the cute old men that pass by and say "A'lo!"
Uh oh! lunch is ready. The food is awesome here and I don't wanna miss it! Bye. Love you!
More from Camp
We're getting nice and used to the camp now. We only have a few more days until all the campers show up, so all the rest of the staff is arriving now, including Kurt's and my roommate, who arrives tonight. We're all having fun though. We've been having amazing meals, which is much better than we were expecting. Any one who has ever been to camp has some idea of what to expect. Here, though, we're eating so well. Yesterday for lunch we had homemade fresh pizza. It was the best pizza we've had in all of Albania, and it definitely rivals most of what I've had in America. We've been destroying their supply of chocolate creme, as well. In Albania, a regular breakfast is bread with spreads on it, one of them being something very similar to Nutella, except without the nut, so I suppose it's just 'Tella. We've been putting it on everything though. It's not often that you have tons of chocalate to put on anything.
We also discovered a new tea, which really reminds me of Cinnabon's frosting on top of their cinnamon rolls. It's the same texture and everything. Kurt and I weren't too sure about it, but Megan definitely loved it. My favorite thing here is the ice cream, or alkullore as it's said in Albanian. There's this full store building with a single soft serve machine sitting in it here. It looks funny to have all that floor space for a soft serve machine, but it's so good and ridiculously cheap! A big waffle cone of it is 30 lek, which is basically a bit more than 30 cents.
I don't know if myself or anyone else has mentioned it on this blog, but it seems like a good time to bring up "old lek" and "new lek". When Kurt and I first asked for ice cream, they asked him for 300 lek, but the charge was actually 30 lek. Somehow, they switch between them like nothing, and it makes a big difference. Old lek is 10 times more than new lek, and if you ask them if they mean old or new lek, they don't actually know what you're talking about. It's really strange. Their other oddity here is that half the population here nods for yes, and the other half nods for no, and everyone that nods for yes says that everyone in Albania does that, and if you ask the others, they will say the exact opposite. It's definitely a little confusing!
Back to the camp, though, we're having a ton of fun. After dinner last night, we all jumped on the trampoline and had a good time launching each other and playing crack the egg/popcorn. Today we we're trained on the ropes course, so we had fun climbing and learning how to run it all, then we got to do the zip line. It was definitely a fun day. Now as I sit here, the Albanians are playing some game they call "beans" and we're all waiting for lunch. Kyla is sitting next to me updating the blog too, so I'll let her take over and say everything I haven't.
We also discovered a new tea, which really reminds me of Cinnabon's frosting on top of their cinnamon rolls. It's the same texture and everything. Kurt and I weren't too sure about it, but Megan definitely loved it. My favorite thing here is the ice cream, or alkullore as it's said in Albanian. There's this full store building with a single soft serve machine sitting in it here. It looks funny to have all that floor space for a soft serve machine, but it's so good and ridiculously cheap! A big waffle cone of it is 30 lek, which is basically a bit more than 30 cents.
I don't know if myself or anyone else has mentioned it on this blog, but it seems like a good time to bring up "old lek" and "new lek". When Kurt and I first asked for ice cream, they asked him for 300 lek, but the charge was actually 30 lek. Somehow, they switch between them like nothing, and it makes a big difference. Old lek is 10 times more than new lek, and if you ask them if they mean old or new lek, they don't actually know what you're talking about. It's really strange. Their other oddity here is that half the population here nods for yes, and the other half nods for no, and everyone that nods for yes says that everyone in Albania does that, and if you ask the others, they will say the exact opposite. It's definitely a little confusing!
Back to the camp, though, we're having a ton of fun. After dinner last night, we all jumped on the trampoline and had a good time launching each other and playing crack the egg/popcorn. Today we we're trained on the ropes course, so we had fun climbing and learning how to run it all, then we got to do the zip line. It was definitely a fun day. Now as I sit here, the Albanians are playing some game they call "beans" and we're all waiting for lunch. Kyla is sitting next to me updating the blog too, so I'll let her take over and say everything I haven't.
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