Snow and Other Random Happenings

Here are some pictures from the last month or so. We had snow on February 26! Big, beautiful flakes came down for about an hour and actually accumulated on the ground, but melted as soon as the snowing stopped. It's been a very rainy winter, but with rather mild temperatures, so this cold front that came in was unusual. The holiday Dita e Verës, (Summer's Day), was on March 14, and the Albanians say that the weather turns nice then. I was sure it would still be raining, but was surprised when the holiday was sunny and beautiful (see next picture which was taken on March 14), and the weather since has been nice, with only two days of rain. Spring has come to Albania!

Elder Ford, an Area Seventy, and his wife visited us from England for our District Conference on March 11 & 12. It was a wonderful and uplifting visit. Elder Ford spoke to the missionaries from the Tirana area and challenged them to have 20 , 15-30 minute lessons a week. In order to achieve it, the missionaries will need to not only do shorter lessons with investigators, but make them more frequent--up to three times a week. We're committed to do it, despite the cultural tradition of muhëbet, or chatting a while before getting down to business. Unfortunately, this is the only picture we took with the Ford's, and we're all squinting because of the bright sun. The Ford's were lots of fun to be with, and were very adventurous and tried authentic Albanian food with us--including dhalë (pronounced "thall") which is a very sour, fermented buttermilk. I declined the dhalë. It was a very busy weekend with back-to-back meetings, and just look at the blue sky!
Another flat tire. We've lost track. I think it's our fifth flat. Here is Elder Dittmer, one of our office elders, helping Marty change it.
Our wonderful Outreach/Institute couple, R.Q. and Susan Shupe, left to return home to Oceanside, CA, on March 22. They worked wonders with the young adults and members here in Albania. We will miss them!

This concrete and bench area is a xhaxhi (pronounced "jajee") park--or a park for old men. Xhaxhi means "uncle". The men sit around the trees and play chess, bingo, dice, and backgammon. The Kolonat in the background has been open only a few months. It is a McDonald's knockoff, right down to the "Kid's Meal," and you see Kolonat restaurants all over Tirana. The fries aren't bad, but watch out for the "hamburger" and other sandwiches. The Kolonat, despite the awful food, is actually quite popular. There is a kid's playground inside this one. This area is within a few blocks of the mission home.