SJ11 - Spending time with new friends

A few days ago I shared a post in which we had lunch with Vjollca, a member of the church here and teacher in the English program.  Today, we were blessed to travel for a lunch by the coast with the other two ladies who are a great help to Tom in his ministry here. They are both also teachers in the English program. which Tom directs  Alma and Silvana are sisters-in-law and both are also teachers by trade. Alma teaches kindergarten and Silvana teaches high school science.  Both ladies grew in their English and came to know Christ as Tom's students prior to beginning to teach in the program.  They are evidence of the power of the Gospel and the good that God has done through Tom in his work here.

We ate lunch in a beautiful wooded area down by the beach.  Afterwards we headed to the sea and put our toes into the warm waters of the Adriatic.  Shown in the picture here, from left to right, are Silvana and her six year old daughter Ajla, Alma and her six year old daughter Amelja, thirteen year old son Mikael,  Tom, and Alma's 21 year old daughter Glenida. I was very touched at the end of our time together as Alma, with misty eyes,  expressed how deeply they all loved Tom. She said that they cannot even express how much they value the difference he has made in their life by introducing them to Christ and helping them learn English.  She said, "He is our family, and now so are you."  These are truly special people.

The Lushnje Youth Group

Tonight we got to spend the evening with the youth group here in Lushnje.  Olti and Sojana are doing such a great job here.  Of course it helps that they have such a terrific group of kids to work with. Actually, as we have spent time with them we realize that Olti and Sojana are probably a good part of the reason that these kids are so great.  They are polite and welcoming. They seem attentive and fun-loving. They really seem to love being together and interested in spiritual things. I know that this does not happen without good leadership.  Olti and Sojana are another example of the grace of God here in Lushnje.  We are grateful for them and will continue to pray for their marriage and ministry long after we go home. 

I was blessed to get to share some games with them tonight and do some teaching. Sojana served as my interpreter. This was necessary because my Albanian is limited to just two words, neither of which were very helpful in my lesson tonight. After the youth group time we were able to go out with several of the older kids for coffee and ice cream.  It is clear that they love being together and look up to this young couple who serve them so well. There was much laughter and sharing of stories around the table. They made me miss times like this back at home with the Conejo youth group.  God is good and many lives are being changed here in Lushnje - no doubt about it!