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Visiting the villages is hardly without incident and this week was no
different. The village of
Kasalle is usually the place where uncertainty reigns. The day was
fierce with a biting, cold wind but this didn't stop the children from
coming to our meeting which is held in a primitive, unheated 2nd level of a
house that still doesn't have any windows or doors.
We had to struggle against the wind to place some
plastic sheets over the openings. We had limited success but still had to
fight to keep our hands warm to play guitar, do the crafts, and to teach the
story. I was amazed at how much better the children were than I at coping
with the situation. I can still remember how happy the children seemed to
be as they just sat and listened, sang, and played as if it were just
another day in their lives. My eyes had to look twice, then even
stared, as I tried to tell if this one little boy had socks on or if what I
was seeing was his skin color above his tattered shoes. I then pointed the
little one out to Mandi and he said that
he had noticed the same thing and that the little boy was indeed without
socks on such a cold day. Mandi also told me that he knew where the little
boy lived and that we could go there after the meeting. I said, "Sure."
Their house was a one room block structure (see photo above) that
basically housed 4 beds, a wood stove, refrigerator, and two cabinets. I
didn't see any table and chairs. The mother and father were home and we had
a short visit and made some future plans to give them some help.
It is so hard to know what is the best thing to do in
these situations. What is the best help? What is the most long term kind of
help? Just giving "things" may not really be helping at all. It may be the
worst thing. What about the children? How can their suffering be eased?
Leaving that place and coming home is a very humbling experience.
Only by God's grace am I any different. Why me? Why them?
Just to close with some other details of the week....
1. We've enjoyed company from the state of Michigan--Karyn and Phoebe
McCue. Karyn's husband was in the same original group that David was in on
his first visit to Albania. Karyn and Phoebe will be leaving on Tuesday.
2. Once again, just one day after we finally got our water situation back
on track, the pipes froze again. This time busting the long pipes coming
off the roof to the pipe that carries the water down into our floor.
“Oh...Albania!” as we so commonly say.
I need to close. This has taken long enough for you to read. Thanks so
much for all of your prayers. We constantly need more wisdom than we
possess and more patience than we can imagine in order to be effective
warriors for our Lord.
Blessings to you all,
David and Sarah |
