Our meeting on Friday was successful for a number of reasons.  The work is going smoothly and according to plan and the product is pleasing to the eye of the Plagenhoefs and Fisnik, the engineer.  The work site offers physical progress in which everyone involved can take pride.  Construction is for people who need the immediate gratification of progress you can see and touch on a daily basis.  Praise was given all around, but my favorite comment came from Fisnik.  He told Kurt and Stephanie that I should get dual citizenship, that I should become an Albanian.  This is quite a turn around from a few months ago when my opinions and input counted for little.  The meeting Friday offered my first forum as one of the decision makers, which left me feeling very good.

In truth, I am pleased with how things have gone in Fushekruje.  Ervis and Sajmir have grown in their planning, implementation and leadership skills.  Fatjon is becoming a stronger worker and a more reliable translator.  Agim and Pierin can turn a shovel over in 100+ degree heat for hours at a time with smiles on their faces and an eagerness to move the job ahead.  Without these men, of course, very little would have been accomplished by me in the time that I have been here.  I am trying to think of a proper way to thank them for their spirited participation in God’s work.  Perhaps you, good reader, can offer a suggestion.

Next week I will be in Greece from Monday until Thursday for a missionary conference.  I am going to miss being on site, but I think I could use a few days away from this tiny corner of mine.  I will keep you in the loop.  Blessings

Getting to the job site later than has become my custom these past weeks, I was encouraged to see what had been accomplished this morning.  Ervis has earned the respect of the crew and is able to step into the role of lieutenant whenever the need arises.  Even more important than that was the harmony of the work environment; five men working along, getting along, enjoying the physically demanding and repetitive tasks of site preparation.  There aren’t any grumblers on this job.

One of the young men from the church who visits from time to time came by on his motorcycle.  Ali carries a brick of ice-cream in a cooler on the back of his green Yamaha.  For 10 Lek you can enjoy a banana-flavored scoop of real, homemade akullore.  Ali offered, so after a quick tutorial I took his motor for a ride over a few blocks of packed earth road.  I have never driven a motorcycle before.  I get it.  Ali started selling ice cream off the back of a motorcycle 5 summers ago, when he was 12 years old.

Tomorrow I will have a walk-through of the job site with the Plagenhoefs.  They haven’t seen the grounds for a few weeks and I am eager to hear their feedback.  Maybe one day you will come here and see the first church building in the history of Fushekruje.

On Wednesday I got into Fushekruje around 9AM, it takes me about 2 hours to get to there from Tirana.  I spent the day with my work family: Ervis, Fatjon, Saymir, Agim, and Peirin.  Yes, we are still moving in structural fill and heavy earth and placing concrete borders, but the end is in sight.

After this week we should have nearly all of the material placed to bring the land around the church to where it will be.  This time on site with these men has brought the humor, kindness, generosity, and general loveliness out of everyone on the crew.  I know I will miss this phase of my mission once it is over with.

I needed to get back to Tirana by 5PM to meet with an American missionary named Dan.  Dan is from Illinois.  He first met his wife in Kosovo on a missions trip and they have now been married for 8 years.  Now they are living in Tirana with their four children Danielle, Relinda, Samuel and Katherine.  I had thought that Dan and I were going to have a coffee and a private conversation, but he invited me over to his house for dinner which was a far better idea.  Kids are busy and I am always amazed at how broad the swing of personalities can be from within the same genetic encoding.

Dan dropped me at the bus station near Skenderbeu Square, and soon I was back in the comfort of Sauk. I bought some hot dogs for my visit with Max and his friends.  The dogs approach aggressively, but mostly each one just wants to be the first in line for a snack.  I counted 8 in the pack last night.  A woman walking past me and them said “You are not from Albania.”

“No m’am,” I replied.  “Amerika.”

“These are dogs of the street,” she explained.

I know.

My translator Fatjon is one of the people who follows this blog.  Keeping a type of journal that anyone can access is tricky for any number of reasons, most of which I’m sure that you, good reader, can identify on your own.  Today Fatjon quoted this blog to me at work.  He said “Oh Joshua, why did you say in your blog that feel like you are a part of the community of Fushekruje when you are a part of the community?”  When he began his question I could feel my eyes rolling in frustration.  Of course I don’t want my journal to become the fodder for conversation at work.  But after this he said “This was so beautiful that you wrote that.”  And, of course, no one knew what he was saying except for me.  My sensitivity to my own privacy often times brings me to early, incorrect conclusions.  Of course Fatjon would not say something dishonoring to me in front of other people.  What he said has me thinking.

Just after exiting the forgone from Tirana this morning I ran into Saim, a local shop owner; we shook hands and exchanged civilities.  While walking from the center of Fushekruje to the job site, I heard a tapping on a cafe window as I passed.  Inside were Leonard and Freddie, two men I know from being around town.  They invited me to sit with them for coffee, and insisted on paying afterward.  As we sat, one of the tile layers from the church came in to join us briefly.  Another block up the road I greeted Vinny’s mother and sisters, they own and run the shop where I purchase bottled water every day.  A car drove past, inside was one of the waiters from Capo Nord giving me a wave.  At the plakateria up the road was Spetim Lula, eager to have a conversation.  And look there at that cafe, its Besim; the city engineer for my project extending an open hand into the air.

I am a part of the community of Fushekruje.  I like being a part of the community of Fushekruje.  My community extends beyond the five men I sweat through work with every day into shops, homes, families and businesses.  Thankfully I have a friend with broad, deep vision to help me realize it.  Thanks Fratello.

There is a distinct difference between being the kind of person who never says “no” and being the kind of person who is always looking for opportunities to say “yes.”  All Saints Church can offer a good example of both sides of this coin.  We used to have a pastor who never said “no.”  Then, about four or five years ago, his head exploded.  Now we have a pastor who is always looking for opportunities to say “yes.”  If it falls within the confines of the All Saint’s Mission Statement, and you are willing to see it through, then the answer is “yes.”

When Pastor Alban asked again this week if I would like to preach, I said “yes.”  I am the greenest of novice preachers.  I have no wisdom to impart when it comes to the craft that is the empowerment of others through God’s word.  If I could offer an encouragement around preaching, however, I would say that I have never perceived the rich nature of scripture through this lens before.  As an exercise, go to your favorite passage sometime, and prepare twenty minutes of lecture about it.  Be specific about who your audience is.  You will see things you’ve never seen before, even if you know the passage by wrote.

My sermon was on Romans 1:8-15.  I had tried to get through 10 verses last week and it was too much.  If you would be good enough to go to that passage and read it from my audiences perspective.  I could see the understanding and the light in people’s eyes as I read their lives into the story of Paul.  The Bible still speaks to all who would listen to the voice and the message of God.  My hope is that the people of this church will fall in love with scripture, study it, and grow in their understanding of it.  I remember when I couldn’t understand a Christian’s encouragement for me to read the letters of one dead man to a church of people who were entombed with their ancestors nearly 2000 years ago.  I hope to aid God in breaking through that barrier of thought in others.

Over the course of the sermon Alban became my mirror.  He would raise his voice to translate what I had said emphatically.  He would hasten his speech to match the pattern of my own.  As I wandered around the room to touch each person with close, attentive eye contact and smiles, he had the good sense to hold the front of the room for me.  He also gave the closing prayer and emphasized with encouragement the message I had prepared.  It was a proud moment for me.

Afterward, six of us reconvened at a coffee shop on the second floor of a building which is near George W. Bush Square.  About a dozen businesses in Fushekruje bear his name.  We sat and discussed the service, and caught up on some current events.  I haven’t seen a television news broadcast since the beginning of April.  I was also taught how to say some basic colors in Albania.  Every time I open my mouth to ask a question, I am astonished at how much I still have to learn after being here for three months.

Thankfully I am in the heartland of hospitality.

In Tirana, on Rruga Mine Peza, between Rruga Petero Marko and Rruga Kongresi i Tiranes is a way-station for for old Mercedes vans and mismatched, outdated minivans called Zog i Zee.  Any person who is familiar with mass transit in the city knows of Zog i Zee.  You might think it is named after former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, but the name means literally “black bird” in Albanian.  From Black Bird you can get anywhere from Laç to Vlorë, Durrës to Elbasan; and area of about 7800 square kilometers.  The cafe at Zog i Zee is where I have my first cup of coffee most mornings.  I’ve gotten to know the waiters, drivers and some of the patrons there.  Saturday morning I saw some familiar faces.  “Fushekruje!  Hitha Fushekruje!”  But I was not going into work that day.  I was going to the beach.

Ervis asked me early last week if I would like to go with him to Durrës.  Ervis has become one of my closest friends here, and I trust implicitly.  I had been to the beach in Durrës once before, but that was with a large group of people.  I need encouragement to see the different parts of this country, to experience them as the locals do.  Vissy’s offer was just the thing to get me out in the sun for something other than digging canals and mixing concrete.  For just less than two US dollars you can get from the heart of Tirana to the seaside.  The Adriatic is warm and has legendary healing properties.  

Vissy and I rented a palapa, two long beach chairs and an umbrella, for four dollars.  I have been to the beaches of California, South Carolina, Florida and half-a-dozen other states.  I have also been to some beaches in Mexico.  No where have I found such a wide assortment of goods made available by deeply tanned merchants slogging up and down the hot sand, toting their wares.  There were boys age 8 and up selling cold bottles of beer and water; cigarettes, phone cards and pens in trays hanging from around the necks of teenagers.  Fruits, towels, hats were also for sale.  The most curious items I saw were a pair of stuffed birds mounted on wooden perches; one was a crane and the other an owl.   

There were people driving three wheeled motorized carts laden with beach toys, men pushing wheel barrows full of fruits and vegetables and more than a few donkeys with hard plastic crates strapped to their sides in place of saddles.  Vissy and I enjoyed some peanuts, a treat I usually save for Mariner games with my father, and corn roasted on a Hibachi grill.  I grew up with corn on the cob, and I don’t like it.  Corn burn-roasted black over charcoal is quite good, however; the kernels release easily from the corn-cob and are as chewy as raw cashews.

Every time I am with Vissy, I get a taste for the real Albania.  I did venture into the salty sea to float and drift and kick around.  The water is a quiet, safe, fascinating cradle; just like I remember.

Settling into a life takes time.  I am most certainly still settling.  For now the dawn light brings me to stir from sleep.  I have a yogurt and honey breakfast chased down by 2-3 glasses of cold, cold water.  Once I’ve arrived in Fushekruje, I typically try and find time for a coffee with a friend.  By the time I arrive on site the men have been working for about and hour.  Our work is gravel and packed earth, concrete, and precast curbs.  We move a lot of material, all of it by hand.  As of today my crew is composed of 6 men.

Sajmir took Gony as his assistant today.  Together they set about 25 meters of border.

Ervis was taking care of punch-list items with the drain system.

The rest of us focused on moving as much dirt as possible.  Our jobsite is out of level from one corner to another by about 50 centimeters.  It will not be completely level when we are done; we need some slope for drainage.  All of us will be stronger and in better cardiovascular shape by the time work has been completed.  Fatjon is growing in ability and endurance with each day.  To coin a new cliche: Construction is easy, if you know what to do.

I feel like I am part of the community of the city of Fushekruje.  There are about 50 people who I know and who are looking to say hello and an excuse to pass some time together.  The rhythm of my day has me wearing grooves in a path which had seemed daunting and bumpy very recently.  I am like my father and so my gut reaction is to try and meet all of the people here; but I know that wisdom would have me bonded like a brother to only a handful of people.  I never would have chosen these brothers for myself.

Life is always this way.

My position here has become more complicated than I expected.  Being a missionary is a strange thing.  I met with a man today who is looking for work.  We have work.  I have the authority to hire people for work.  I am caught between wanting to provide consistent employment for the men who already answer to me, and at the same time wanting to be a good follower of Jesus.  I know that mana, when stored or hoarded, will rot and be of no use to anyone.  I also know of the Lord’s provision to His children.  I know that I am not to throw my pearls before pigs, and that a man who tries to save his life will lose it. 

I have been instructed through scripture to be both bold and generous in the name of my God.  It wasn’t until after my meeting with this man that Sajmir told me what he thought.  Sajmir comes from a world of absolutes.  There are things which are clear, and things which are clearer still to some minds.  I have been taught to hesitate even when following the call of God.  I nearly talked myself out of coming on this mission, for example, even though it has been clear that the will of God has led me here. 

I am looking forward to starting work with Gony tomorrow.  I have told Sajmir that he and Gony will work side-by-side in the coming days as this man’s value as a laborer comes to show.  The risk in any hiring is always firing.  Heroes aren’t heroes for long.

I have lost 26 pounds since coming to Albania 3 months ago.  I think it is noteworthy, though I cannot articulate precisely why.  I was a heavy teenager, but I lost most of what I wanted to lose in my early twenties.  I would feel better about reaching this particular low point if I thought I had bottomed out, but I think I have further yet to go.  I find that I am sweating far less than I was a few weeks ago, which is a nice benefit to trimming down.

Today we spent most of our energies placing the first of the 201 concrete border pieces we took possession of yesterday.  Each piece weighs about 90 pounds.  They might be heavier than that.  In the States there are machines which extrude concrete in its proper “curb” shape, in place.  I have not used one of these machines, but I can appreciate the idea of them more each day.  I think it will take about 8 days to place all of the pieces we have.  Fortunately the scope of the project is large enough that I can find distractions from this particular task in the planning and implementation of other phases of work.  The crew had better harmony today than yesterday.  I think Pierin is starting to feel like part of the crew.  In any work situation there is a period of time when the person most recently added to a party can sense that they are expendable and unwelcome.  Both of these things are, of course, true.  A new person is dangerous both to his employer and the existing employees.  One can not help but feel the precarious nature of this and react in some way.  You never really know who a person is or will be at work until about one to five weeks in.  I like Pierin, which is not essential to his success as part of this crew, but it helps.

He is quick to take notice of what needs to be done next and quick to respond to that need.  The first thing he ever asked me was how many years I had.  After hearing my response he said “And a hundred more.”  No one has ever said that to me before.  I am looking forward to continuing the work tomorrow.  It is good to be around people who are invested in your success and have respect for the work you have undertaken.

I don’t know if it is the sun, the fruits of the field, the milk, or the companionship which has me feeling so good.  I am thankful to God for their effect on my heart.  You owe it to yourself to come and taste the Albanian sky.

Today was terrific.  It is Summer.  The sun is bright from 5:45 in the morning until about 7 in the evening.  It is hot enough to bring sweat at all times of day and night.  The fertile soil of this mountainous place has dried in some places to the point of cracked earth an inch wide and who can estimate at what depth it joins again?  There are fires in fields and strips of grass at random throughout the town, most likely caused by discarded cigarettes.  Yesterday a person set off a hand grenade in front of one of the small businesses in Fushekruje.  Tempers are short including mine.  There is a growl in the voice of people as they talk.  On the television there is talk of an economic crisis here.

And for all of that, my crew has been working at a steady pace to move rock and earth, concrete, gravel, water and cement with quick smiles and few long pauses between tasks.  We took delivery of quite a bit of material today.  The curbs for the border around the flower gardens, planting strips, children’s play area, and vehicle parking lot were delivered.  The operator of the small crane was fast, but not in a cavalier way.  This isn’t cowboy territory like the deep South of the US.  There is respect for human safety here.

I believe this was Fatjon’s first time rigging up to a crane; something I had not done before age 22.  Nothing crushed and he also maneuvered out of pinch points well.  He is a good hand to have on site; eager, respectful, intelligent and cheerful.  It was good to have Ervis and Egim back at work.  They also bring particular qualities to the crew.  Our jobsite is taking shape in a way that is very satisfying to the eye and to the part of me that suffers from the Puritan Work Ethic.  Progress feeds the well I draw from.

Working as part of a team is uniquely satisfying; everyone does their job well.  We, each of us, can rely on the others to perform.  Trust is the ultimate, the peak of teamwork.  Trust is in many ways like faith.  Were my faith in God stronger than it is, I would not be surprised at His many gifts to me in recent days.  It is good to have Him as a second father.