One more question....

Often when I am working with patients, I will ask them "Do you have any other questions?". This week, an Albanian soldier stopped and said, "Yes, I have one more question."

"When are you going to pray for me?"

Well, I told him that, "no problem, I can pray for you." He explained that he heard that ABC Health center prays for each patient and he didn't want to leave before I prayed for him.

So...Nela, my intern, and I prayed for him. 

As soon as I said, "Amen"...he began praying for Nela and I, and for ABC Health center. 

It made me smile as he explained that he has been a believer for 10 years and it was his pleasure to pray for our work. 

A precious "God surprise"....!  😊

Baby...it is still cold outside....!

So the last week we have continued to be trapped in this "freezing cold" weather pattern. This morning...about 2" snow and ice, these photos are from my apartment.

This area of Albania is so not used to "freezing" temperatures:

• My landlady mopped the tile in our ceramic tiled courtyard yesterday, it was 28 degrees. I was so relieved when I made it down the stairs, also covered with ceramic tile.  Then I hit the "icy" courtyard tile...yes...it would have made for a great video.  I had trouble finding a place that was not "icy" to even stand up. Does Charlie Chaplin come to mind...? Praise God...only bruises...again.  (Two weeks ago...I fell on the wet, ceramic covered stairs outside...that was very scary and painful) 
• The lady that cleans ABC Health center...routinely mops everything. Yesterday, she mopped the tile courtyard, the w/c ramp, and the tile steps leading into ABC...about 5 minutes before patients were scheduled to arrive.
• ABC Health center has not had running water for one week now...we use the bathroom at the neighboring coffee bar. Pipes are frozen, not broken.
• There are many broken water pipes...old infrastructure and it is not strong enough to withstand the freezing temps...which leads to large sheets of ice on the sidewalks, and streets.

So....today is a good day to stay inside, I have food, water, somewhat warm in my 52 degree apartment, warm lap blankets to snuggle on my couch, a hot water bottle...but I am more comfy than many, many other people in Tirana.

And...yes...I am still smiling....! ;-)  
Yes....I still love my life here...!  

Brrrr....Baby it is cold outside...! Baby it is cold inside....!

Yes...it is cold outside and cold inside...at church.  It was 28F yesterday afternoon at 4pm, our church meets in the evenings, the building heater was blowing cold air. Guess how cold it was during service. We had 6 brave souls, the "frozen chosen" come for service...and we were thankful for the blankets and the little foot carpets.

In my apartment, praise God I got my heater repaired the first part of December. In the mornings, my apartment is about 52F...I am able to get it up to about 60F by the end of the day. Yes...lap blankets, hot tea, hot water bottle, long underwear...and warm jammies are doing the trick.

 Tirana is in the grip of a "deep freeze" weather pattern. Our average high and low temperature for January is 52 F, and 36F.  On Saturday, we had a high of 29F and low of 19F, Yesterday it was 36F and 19.7F, today we are forecast for 35F and 16F. Add 30-40%  humidity and a 3-4mph breeze...and you have cold

For an area not used to "deep freezing" temperatures...schools are closed, water pipes are breaking and leaving an icy trail in the streets and sidewalks, and the plumbers say it is too cold to repair the broken pipes.  There are still several fresh lemons hanging on the tree in my yard...hmm...?