Just a reminder of the old way of life in Albania
We were up and out the door by 6:15 am this morning and picked up Evis and headed out of Tirana to Beret. It takes almost 2 1/2 hours to get there. We traveled through the rural areas of Durres and beyond. We drove along the Adriatic. Sea on our way. It reminds me of Panama City Beach in Florida. You will see in the pictures, it looks very much like a Mediterranean City. It is beautiful with a blending of the past and some of the present. We stayed in a very European Hotel. The shower was interesting. It is open within the bathroom, so when you take a shower everything in the bathroom gets wet. Well, you can imagine that was fun.
We arrived in Beret and was met by a Pastor who was a friend of Evis. He then took us to his church. To get to the church we walked up a narrow alley street between two small market stores. The church meets in a small space, using folding chairs and used equipment. You will see the picture below of the front of the church space.
The women in Beret
The entrance to the church where we trained
We began our day with singing worship without instruments or recordings. It was so pure and beautiful, all i could do was listen to the beauty of their voices and the authentic true worship of their Lord. These women never heard of mentoring before Migena, the pastor's wife, asked them to come to this training. They began to see the value and said they wished they could have had this before. We trained 7 women who are all part of this church plant in Beret. The pastor and his wife, had a very successful business in Tirana and felt the call of God to leave and come to Beret and plant a church. They presently have around 50 people in attendance. They both see that the mentoring program will be a tool God will use to draw in many others from the community. I was amazed at the humility and gratitude for the opportunity to be trained. I have observed an attitude of great appreciation. They do not take anything for granted. The training went well and had them role play along with me. They were very nervous at first but could see right away the benefit of mentoring. They taught us as well further about the culture, so we could help them learn how to use the skills in their community.
The houses built into the side of the hill
After the training Evis, Christy and went to a restaurant to have a some lunch. I guess i have forgotten to tell you that the Albanians do not eat lunch until after 2pm. This has been an adjustment. We then traveled up the side of the mountain and went to the castle in Beret. Evis was a great tour guide. Please take a moment to look at the pictures, the castle is incredible and the view was speculator. We walked a great deal but it was worth it. I have much to show Terry, I know that he would have loved the history of it all. Some of the local people live in some of the areas of the castle and they sell their wares, some of which are hand made. Most of the people in Beret and in all of Albanian do not have a job, so many of them still sell the hand made wares. I found it very interesting that this historic landmark with great historical value, have people living in it.
Christy and Mary at the Castle
That is Mary & Evis walking up the hill
After the castle we went back into town and met Migena and Noku for pizza. As the evening began in town the streets were filled with people walking. This is there social life. They all walk down to the main streets and meet in side walk cafes and walk the town. Cars can no longer drive on the main streets because of the mass of people. We were walking at 7pm and after dinner it was after 9:30 and people were still everywhere. It was a great day and i felt like i had experienced the past in Beret.
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