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2002/2003 E-journal
Week 12 & 13
January 19-31, 2003
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Double-click on the thumbnails to enlarge the
photos below...
Wooly Mammoth
January 31, 2003
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My time
has come -- for a haircut. It’s
now been a month! Like all
obedient husbands, I answer my wife’s, “Don’t you think its time
for a haircut?” with
excuses. Most men don’t
see old socks, dishes in the sink, or beds to be made.
Let’s face it, the male gender sometimes doesn’t have the
best eyesight. She even
called me a wooly mammoth (without the tusks, of course)!
One
should scout the schools, churches, and shopping before moving into a
new neighborhood, I think. I’m
doing that here. But
barbershops are sandwiched in importance between coin-operated laundries
and a Pip copier center.
I was
fortunate to be in on the ground level of a new salon in Pekin,
Illinois. It’s called
Three Sisters and its run by you’ve got it, three sisters.
(They don’t look alike, but claim the same DNA chain --
don’t pull too hard!) They
formally ran a lawn service called Three Sisters and specialized in lawn
sculpture and grooming. Back-to-back
droughts, two and three summers ago, freed them to start this new
vocation. I still blame the
thin DNA chain.
Now they
operate a salon in that same building with the same decals on the
windows! “Trim with a
McCullough”, “We sharpen anything” and my favorite “A John Deere
Never Scalps” decals like that are unnerving to new clients.
Once you get to know them you know the decals are only half true.
Out with the mowers. In
with the scissors. (They
kept the hedge trimmers.) So
before I ventured to Albania in November I had my visit to “the
sisters” for “my cutting."
No sculpturing or weed-eating, just a fine “whacking” as they
say.
I’m
still seriously looking for a barber over here (in Albania).
The last time I checked, the wooly mammoth went extinct.
--
David
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Update
January 27
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Greetings to you all from Albania!
Days are absolutely flying by. We can't
believe that January is about to come to a close this week. Where has
the time gone? I think it has evaporated the same as the gas does
when we have made all of the trips down the road going to the village of
Vlashaj.
Construction has been
going on fast and furiously. The first floor was mainly completed
except for some final details in the bathroom and kitchen area but now
most of the energy has been spent on the second floor which will house
the Bright Star team for overnight visits and or groups that do special
projects in the village.
The walls are now being plastered, the windows were ordered last
week. Tile for the floors has been selected and is now being
installed. This week the iron door should be delivered and put in,
paint colors chosen for the walls, wood ceilings put up and the outside
plastered (stucco, for us Midwesterners). Yes, things are progressing
quickly. The goal for David and I and the team
is to have our first overnight in the village on Valentine's Day. The
changes have been unbelievable and we pray that for the village work it
will be likewise. Our potential will be only as much as our finite
minds can image. With God nothing is impossible.
Nathan has completed our first DVD copy
of Planters work in the villages and we are very pleased with the
message that can now be relayed to so many of you.
Something else amazing has happened this winter here
in Albania. For the month of January, we have had almost continual
electricity. I say this very quietly and in a whisper for fear
that it will now go off. It has been wonderful and it is amazing
how it increases productivity. Praise God!
We continue to thank you for your prayers and emails.
We can't say enough.
Blessings to you,
David and Sarah |
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A Village Trip
January 22
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(Double Click on the photo to enlarge)
Had you seen us, you would have
hardly been impressed with our team of mountainside
hikers. Because of travel time and distance, we were caught unaware by the storm. Soaked to the bone and mired ankle-deep in mud, we blamed it
on the unpredictable nature of weather at a higher altitude!
This winter’s rain was an ordinary one to fall
on the mountain village even if the distribution seemed to be a bit
partial (more falling on me). Our method of travel (by foot) was
no different than that of any other in this village. The trek for
both villager and guest was impeded by several gulches formed by
previous heavy rains that carried away a full half of the village’s
topsoil (the other half being solidly stuck to our hiking boots). As a
result we had to leap over gullies of downward-racing brown, mountain water to reach our destination. They were leaps of faith and leaps of
trust!
This is Albania’s season of mud, not an
uncommon gift from God. Every Albanian has considerable experience in the
art of mud walking and it is evident in sure steps along
memorized paths. But guests struggle vainly to free themselves
from the grip of mire and muck. With your power to move slowed,
you never hurry along unfamiliar routes. Instead, foreigners stand in
dread of some impending calamity! With conflicting emotions and ordinary
methods thrown aside you move ahead with whatever dignity you have left.
(Central Illinois guest, Dan Hunt, pictured
en-route to Darshen in photo above) |
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