A little of this...

...and a little of that. Here's a compilation of pictures and comments/stories of the past few weeks!

Thanks for being here!

A Monday in Macedonia

Monday, February 17th is Kosovo Independence Day! Therefore, we did not have school, so Troy, Jesse, Olivia C. and myself traveled to Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia for the day. After about a two hour drive, I arrived in the 3rd country I've been to (aside from the US) and as you can imagine, I was very excited!!

Olivia exercised her wonderful video-making skills to make a little 5 minute re-cap video of our day trip! Here's the link if you'd like to see more than these pictures: https://youtu.be/ovIRjYPHFKU

I was honored to get to meet up with some family friends, Phil and Lynn Jackson, who are laboring for the Kingdom in Skopje. It was fun to be around someone (Phil) who grew up with my Momma. It was also neat to experience the comfort and instant bond that we can have with those who are brothers and sisters with us in Christ.

Small Group

Every Sunday night we gather to study Titus together. I have enjoyed watching the children some weeks. Fellowship is sweet and it is always refreshing to speak openly about the Lord with like-minded believers. We all pitched in to create a beautiful Mexican-esque meal (a food variety that many of us miss as there are not many authentic tasting Mexican restaurants here as you might assume). We hope to share a meal once a month.. which means just two more meals for me. :(

These are two worship songs that I have learned in Albanian. The lyrics to these songs make up probably about 85% of my Albanian vocabulary. My roommate, Olivia, and I like to practice saying the few words that we know - jokingly saying them in a different inflection and sometimes entirely out of context and you can only imagine the laughter that follows. It just doesn't seem to get old. :)

Hike Sights

Sunday hikes are still a huge highlight of each week. It is so refreshing to get out into God's beautiful creation, breathe deep, enjoy conversations step-for-step, settle myself for what God has in store for the week ahead, and of course - it's not a hike without my new signature: jumping photos! Lirika (new(er) friend!), Albana, and I enjoyed taking photos during "golden hour" atop a lovely grassy hill overlooking the city of Mitrovicë.

Friends!!

Friends and teachers, Lindsay and Colton hosted a group of us for a taco night (yesssss, Mexican food again!) complete with homemade tortillas and homemade salsa! At this event, we met new friends, Fiona and Max (from Germany), who are serving with a German organization in a youth center and farm in their first year since graduating high school.

Pictured: Fiona, myself, Esra (friend of Lirika's, Lirika, Max)

On a hike, Max and I were discussing the loose Protestant ties with their organization. This launched us into a conversation regarding faith and what that looks like for each of us. He explained that he would sometimes attend services and they always left him feeling calm. He added that he would not consider himself a devout christian. I got to share about the purpose behind many of us christian American teachers being here in Kosovo. We also got to talk about Athletes in Action, the sports ministry that my family is a part of. I could sense that he was intrigued and curious that this (following Christ) was a very "serious thing" for me and others. Our conversation ebbed and flowed throughout a variety of other topics including the importance and value of serving others, placing others' needs before your own, having passion for your life's work, and scheduling when a group of us could attend the KFOR German church service together, as well as the Boom Church in Prishtina.

Since meeting Fiona and Max just last Friday (one week ago), we have hiked, enjoyed a nice 2.5 hour dinner and conversation, and begun planning "country-hopping" (as I like to call it) trips together on the days straddling Spring Break! In a few minutes, we are grabbing ice cream and hanging out at their 'flat'! Thankful for this opportunity to speak freely about Jesus and am excited to continue getting to know and loving Fiona and Max the way that Jesus would.

Albana, Mimoza and I enjoyed a nice early Saturday morning together. In order to strike the best deals, we took the early shift for the second-hand market conducted by the Roma people (a minority in Kosovo). We munched on some bakery items including the well known and hard-to-come-by crunchy/soft pretzels, and of course sat together for tea. (Side note -- I think I am losing track of the number of times I have gone out for tea/macchiato. While people go out for coffee in America often, it seems it a bit different. On a Sunday, for example, the corza (walking area lined with shops and restaurants) is PACKED and the tables are FULL. It's so natural to their culture that I saw two of our tenth grade male students meeting up for coffee before school!! I can't say I'd expect that from a pair of American tenth grade boys. -- Side note complete.)

It was an honor to be invited into an Albanian home for the first time for a traditional Albanian meal and afternoon together. Throughout our 3.5 hour stay, Mrs. Berisha (or Nënë) and Albana continued serving us tea, food, sweet treats and made us feel so at home! Man oh man, don't get me started on the meal that they prepared. Though I am somewhat sad inside, knowing that the chances of replicating it are quite slim for me. As we left, Nënë insisted that we come again. And as far as I'm concerned, I think it would be wise to listen to what an Albanian mother has to say. :)

School!

Here is some photo evidence of my students working hard (I promise they did not pose for these)! These four have been a joy. Eager learners and committed to understanding the math they are soaking in like sponges. A highlight sprinkled throughout the past several weeks is geography competitions with the students - naming as many countries as we can. I am not secretive about my love for geography. :)

At the conclusion of our middle school basketball league, I was given a whistle and at that moment I became a referee! That was an interesting and fun experience. (It was casual, so I didn't have too much pressure thankfully).

Next up in becoming a well-rounded 'basketball person' was keeping the book for a season-culminating basketball tournament that we hosted. After 6 hours of practice I feel quite confident in my abilities, thanks to the direction of the veteran, Troy, who provided the commentary for my tracking. A 40 second video recap was made of this tournament and posted to Kosovo Leadership Academy's Facebook page, here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/674091685999893/posts/2773920809350293/?vh=e&d=n

In preparation for a 10k race in Prishtina in mid-April, some teachers and I enjoy running after school along the "lake" pictured below.