April

One of our very fine missionaries and Zone Leader, Elder Gregory Scadden, went home for medical care. If these two look like they just got out of bed, it's because it's 3:30 a.m. at the airport. Note to self: Check background before taking photo.

We said goodbye to four outstanding elders on April 6: Elders Thackery, Layton, Flack, and Vail. Elder Flack's parents came to pick him up, and arrived at the airport shortly after the other elders left, and we were able to witness the wonderful reunion.

Our new missionaries, who arrived on the same day, are Elder Warburton, Elder Johnson, and Elder Weaver. Elder Asquith (below), was delayed two days to overcome an illness, and we're glad he's better and was able to come!

The road to the little Kamez building where we hold church, can be barely navigable in the rainy season. We have recently moved the Kamez elders into Tirana, because we wanted the few members attending the Kamez Branch to meet with a larger group of saints. We are still going to rent the rooms here, so the missionaries will have a place to teach.

Marty and I, and some branch members and friends, crowded into Alma's living room when we went to her home so Marty could set her apart as a missionary, prior to her leaving for the MTC and the Salt Lake Temple Square Mission. We arrived at the airport very early the next morning, and learned that her tickets took her from Tirana to Munich, and then to Frankfurt, which would require her to have a Schengen Visa. We all came back home and the Missionary Travel Office found her new tickets for the very next morning, which took her to Vienna and then on to the states, so she did not need a special Visa. Phew! Two very early morning trips to the airport. She's going to be a wonderful missionary.

Alma Osmëni, with the Albanian Flag

Our first grandchild, John Peter Schaumann (Jack), was baptized by his father Peter on April 10, 2010. We were sorry we had to miss it, but his aunt Erin along with cousin Maren, and Uncle Greg and Aunt Judy were able to be there. The next day, his new baby brother Luke Sager Schaumann, was blessed, also by Peter.

Marty is checking out some possible post-mission transportation. Hey, this one has a passenger seat. Nah, I don't think so...

Art of Albania

Most Albanian souvenirs are much like trinkets sold in other countries--cheap, and something you end up hiding away once you get back home. So we decided to avoid the tourist items, and try to find some lovely pieces of art that are of landscapes, or otherwise representative of the country, and that will remind us of our three years in Albania. We've been fortunate to find some beautiful items that we will bring home with us next year.

"Figurë Vajze" or "Figure of a Girl" by Gëzim Borova. We were told this is a picture of a traditional costume from the north. The unique thing about this piece is it is a straw mosaic--very tiny pieces of dyed straw pieced together to form a mosaic. A piece like this can take up to six months to finish. Below is a closeup of the girl's sleeve. Most straw pieces are about 1/8". The mosaic itself is 14 x 23".

These two oil on canvas paintings are by Omeri, an artist we found painting in the Studio e Rira in Tirana. Above is the lake at Pogradec (pronounced Pogradets), a spot we have yet to visit, and below is the "Blue Eye", a very deep, clear, and fast-moving spring between Gjirokaster and Saranda. The Blue Eye was a favorite fishing/camping spot of the communist elite, and ordinary folks were not allowed to hunt or fish here. Now it's open to the public and is a beautiful place to visit.

Mars 27 Relief Society Conference

The Albania Tirana District held a Relief Society Conference Saturday, and had a nice turnout of women from all over Albania. We tried to take a picture afterward, but only half the women ended up in the picture (try organizing 100 women for a picture), and the photographer didn't try to get their attention (if that were possible) before snapping the photo. The members always want me to be in the front, so I try to bend my knees to modify my height, but even so, you can see how I tower over most Albanian women--especially tiny Sister Shehu, who is standing next to me.

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.

Media Matters

Lately, the Church in Albania has been blessed with excellent coverage by the media. In December, Sister Shupe gave a half-hour television interview about the symbols of Christmas, and even though she was not supposed to talk directly about the church, the television camera zoomed in on her missionary tag as she spoke. There were newspaper articles and television coverage about the church donations to flood victims in Shkoder in January. When the Snow's, our humanitarian aid couple, met with Dr. Berisha at a convent and home for older women in March to deliver wheelchairs, the television cameras and newspaper reporters were there.

Last week a reporter from Top Channel, the most watched television channel in Albania, showed up unexpectedly in the mission office, and inquired about doing a report on our church to include in a series on small churches in Albania.

The reporter wanted to begin almost immediately, so our assistants scrambled to find a family that could demonstrate a Family Home Evening that night, and arranged the next day for some elders and the Grimci's, long-time members who help with public relations for the church here, to be interviewed. This is the result of that filming and interviews.

While the film editor cut all testifying by the Veliu family, and also the personal interviews, we are happy that the final result was positive toward the church. The missionaries pictured are Elder Monson and Elder Dittmer.

Luke Sager Schaumann

Meet Luke Sager Schaumann, born to Emily and Peter Schaumann, March 11, 2010 at 2:37 p.m. in San Diego, CA. At birth he weighed 9 lb. 7 oz. and was 21 1/2 inches long. Luke is our ninth grandchild. We learned via Skype and our computer that Emily and Peter were getting ready to go to the hospital and she sent an email via her iPhone after Luke was born. Gotta love modern technology. It's a real blessing for us to be able to communicate rapidly with our children even though we're so far away from them. Reports are that Emily and Luke are doing great.

Wheelchairs for Albania

Our Humanitarian Service couple, Elder and Sister Snow from Colorado Springs, have worked for some time on a project to bring over 500 wheel chairs into the country. For a time, it seemed that we might never get them into Albania, since they were held up for months in Greek customs. But they finally arrived a few weeks ago, and we split them with our partners for distribution to the people who really need the chairs---about 100 went to the Albanian Red Cross, and the remainder went to Dr. Berisha's Children's Foundation (Dr. Berisha is the wife of Sali Berisha, Prime Minister of Albania).

Today, we had a small ceremony at the Mother Teresa Convent in Tirana, attended by Dr. Berisha and covered by national news media. Following Dr. Berisha presentation, Elder Snow made a short presentation about the church.

The Mother Teresa Convent is run by nine sisters, and houses and cares for about 40 elderly women. One of the nuns, Sister Lazarasti, is from India, and worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta before starting up the convent and elderly women's home here in Tirana about 19 years ago. She has the most cheerful countenance, and the warmest smile! Here are some of the wheel chairs lined up in the courtyard of the Convent.





























This sweetheart, below the Mother Teresa painting, secretly picked away and ate the frosting along one whole side of this sheet cake--in addition to the wheelchair gift, they were celebrating Albanian Mother's Day (actually, Women's day) on March 8th (a holiday left over from the days of Communism, and not celebrated by many because of it's communist roots). The cake was part of the Women's Day celebration.

--Marty