We made it!!

Day 1 (Monday the 11th and Tuesday the 12)

Our flight to Munich took off at 5:30p est and landed in Munich at 7a the next morning. There was little sleep on the plane. We had about a 3 hour layover in that pristine German terminal and then flew to Tirana, Albania and landed around noon(again with very little sleeping mid flight) We made it to the Christian center where we are staying around 1pm. Here as on the airplanes, there was no sleeping-simply changing out of our travel stained clothes. Then off Anna and Elijah led us on a walking tour of Tirana. It was rather hot, very very dusty, and kind of breezy, which made a perfect afternoon to sleep walk through the city. We saw the stadium where the albanian national futbol team (whom we say drive by in a bus) faced the national italian team. There were fireworks after the game so i'm assuming good news for the albanians or a blow out so bad the city needed a distraction for its valiant fans. anyways, we had coffee (lots of it) at a little shop near the public university. We took turns falling asleep in our chairs waiting for the Waiter to bring out our drinks, so there we a couple rounds of espresso. Then we went to the top of the tallest building in Tirana (not much compared to what we midtown new yorkers are used to, but breath taking none the less). We meandered back to the christian center where we are staying and just sat in the court yard, under some trees relaxing and telling stories about childhood pets. Wyatt's two personable turkey's took the cake and we laughed as the last bit of caffeine drained from our bloodstreams. Anna led us to dinner at a place down the street. We ate a feast of Greek salads, risotto and pasta on the second story balcony. As we were finishing up our meals, a couple that Anna knows from previous years came by. They are the same couple that has invited us to their wedding next Saturday. It should be fun. After dinner, Elijah led us to our first taste of Aculora (i'm sorrry i've butchered that spelling). Close to Gelato, it was pretty much amazing. Then we went home and went to bed. the end of day 1.

Day 2 Wednesday the 13th

Today we were all supposed to be awake for breakfast at 8a (keep in mind that is 2am EST). However, the large squacky bird outside our windows woke several of us up a couple hours earlier than we needed to be awake. At 8, we met for breakfast of sugarless (and i'm assuming flavorless because i didn't have any) cornflakes, coffee, bananas, toast and boiled eggs. the milk was called "fast milk". we don't know why. Then we had team devotions, took our showers, and walked across Tirana to the Campus Crusade building where we met the city CC director and the regional director. They talked to us about what the Albanian students thought about christ and how to best talk to them. It was really interesting and really helpful. Then Anna, Dr. Corbin and Elijah went to a meeting to finalize the details of our presentations while the rest of us went out for lunch. We are getting better at ordering in Albanian, but the waiters who don't speak english seem so intimidated by us because we are Americans. It doesn't make for much conversation besides ordering and asking for the recipe (which is Fature). My sperrys still aren't broken in...so after that we had to stop and pick up bandaids for my sore and blistered feet. It was hot today and we walked alot, we after some team devotions and a time of praying for each other, we took naps and relaxed in the christian center we are staying in.

we are going to dinner in about an hour and in the mean time putting final touches on our presentations tonight. We start them tomorrow morning!!

Thursday Presentations
Dr Corbin-shows how all of our answers and presentations tie together and why they matter
Wyatt Baker-"What are the social effects of abortion?"
Becky King-"How do we stop human trafficking?"
Alumni Jill Donnelly-"Does classical education have a part in today's world?"

Friday Presentations
Alumni Aleta Smith-"How much should the government intervene when economies fail?"
Burk Ohbayashi-"Who is responsible for the poor and marginalized?"
Abby Bean-"What does a properly functioning judicial system look like?"
Elijah McCready-"Joining the EU: A Blessing or a Curse for Albania?"
Caitie Hlushak-"What is the nature of happiness?"

on Monday, Dr. Bleattler is talking about if Religion is beneficial to society with some other Albanian Professors. Apparently they agree with him that it is!

prayer requests:

1. Pray that we stay healthy. Everyone is exhausted but in good spirits, but getting sick will be awful here.
2. Many people are nervous for their presentations. Seeing the need for Christ here and our opportunity to share Him through our discussions only adds to our individual perfectionism and motivation for great presentations.
3. Tomorrow we begin investing in the students and many of us our nervous about that too. Pray that language is not a barrier (even though many Albanians speak English, they don't speak Christianese so many of the phrases and idioms we grew up on will only confuse them)

The weather is beautiful here. There is just enough heat to keep us in t-shirts and shorts and just enough humidity to make my curls into an Afro but not enough to make us uncomfortable.

hope everything is going well with all of you!

tomorrow the fun starts...!!!