Albania Winter 2000

February 8

     The couple before you in the picture have waited a long time for a good place to rest. To sit on top of 22 tons of concrete isn't very soft but sure is secure. This is an old fashion bunker from Albania's communist past. These were used by the party to convince Albania as a nation that they were under constant military threat from their neighbors and other western powers. The soldiers filled these 24 hours a day for seventeen years, securing in the minds of the people that the party was making the people safe from their enemies. Estimates list 700,000 of these "poison mushrooms" (as the people call them) dotting the countryside in all directions. 

     If you can see the picture, in the far right-hand background is a snowy mountain pass that we used to helicopter through. It was just last Saturday that we attempted to travel beyond the pass but were stranded by ice. On the left-hand side behind the picket fence is a typical Albanian village dwelling most likely with one cow, twelve chickens, two children and a lot of heartache. In the center of the picture is a husband and wife who look somewhat out of place on the bunker but feel quite at home in this village setting of bright sun and blue skies. 

P.S. Thanks for your continued prayers on our behalf. We feel God at work while we are making contacts in the villages. It never ceases to amaze us how the road is prepared before us.
P.S.#2 If you would like to sit close to someone you love (maybe even on a bunker) we can arrange that as well.

    Winter 2000 Index