I awoke early after another cool evening. Although the bus was overcrowded I was not sweating profusely which takes away from the self-consciousness I already feel in public. I’ve been here for six months and I still draw long looks from children and whispers from teenagers; most adults seem to look through me. It is a good day to be alive. While crossing a busy street this morning I turned back to allow for the passing of heavy traffic. As I did so I froze just off the path of a speeding, black SUV. The mirror of the vehicle slapped into on of the buckles on the shoulder of my backpack. Another inch and I might have had a broken shoulder.
Vissy was throwing sprutso when I arrived. It is nice as a superintendent to arrive on a work site where tasks are being accomplished without you having to be there. Tile is being laid in the bathrooms and it looks very professional. This church will have a total of four banjos, each of which will have a dush (shower). The window sills will be a grey and white marble as will the thresholds between the showers and the bathroom floors. It is my hope that my crew will complete their work before Fisnik’s workers have completed their’s. Of course it is difficult to fight the feeling that all of the work should have been completed by now. Life is bigger than us.
At the end of the day Fatjon came by to deliver a message and to ask a few questions. He is maturing into a fine man. As we walked from the work-site to the highway we were intercepted by Pastor Alban and our friend Alban Daci. Fatjon did not join the four of us for coffee. It was nice to have a chance to catch up with Pastor Alban about his sons David and Abiel. It is good for a pastor to have a family of his own; this attribute adds depth of character and understanding. Fushekruje has been blessed by God to have a team of Christians such as these assembled there. The spirit of the city has been lifted in recent years. Now there is a sense of hope in what was formerly the murder capital of Albania. God moves.
albaniacalling 