When I was a kid, we would watch Family Ties and The Cosby Show every Thursday night.  After my little brother and sister got older, once I was in high school, this tradition was moved to Fridays and replaced with “pizza movie night.”  I was reminded of all that pizza can do to bring people together tonight.  The Italian students treated forty of us to hand-made pie from the heartland.  Out of forty people, there were forty smiling faces.  Out of many pies, not a single piece was wasted; and all were satisfied to an American degree.  As I’m writing this, I can hear the residual of the celebratory atmosphere of this meal.  Chimey, the guard, extended out curfew by thirty minutes, and there are shouts of joy and disappointment emanating from the Foosball and Ping Pong table area, one floor below my bedroom.

I wish you were here.

Things were still to soggy to break any ground in Fushekruje today.  Instead, I caught a ride with Kreshnik to the police station in Tirana.  He needed to settle a ticket for getting into a fender-bender yesterday.  I was able to experience a different part of the city, and I think I’m starting to stand out less than before.  All of the police officers we met seemed completely disinterested in me.  It seems odd that there is less than a twenty-four hour turn around for hearing traffic cases and settling disputes in Tirana.  Maybe I am witnessing efficient government, but how would I know?

I spent the rest of the day wrapping up a paper for school and working on the outline of another paper.  All of my coursework is due on June 8th, and then I will be done with my degree.

Thank you everyone for walking with me through this wonderful time.  We are truly blessed to serve our God.  As far along as we must be toward the eschaton, God is by no means winding things down in the missions field.  His purpose for you and for me is beyond our ability to conceive.  We are living in the age of Stephen, James, Mary, Paul, Barnabas and Peter.  Their story is our story.  Goodnight.