Searching for Good in N. Macedonia

 Our job or "calling" is to find areas that need some good done.  It is a little frustrating as we learn about two countries needs while still in temporary quarters.  Without a visa to N. Macedonia we will be traveling there on tourist status.  This week we finally made it to N. Macedonia to find our home for half of the time.  Dividing Kosovo from Macedonia are mountains.  This is the pass you look for to go south.  

The highway through the canyon is quite impressive.

We made our way to the city of Skopje, N. Macedonia, and to our duplex.

We were happy to see a little yard and carport.  Met our nice landlord and neighbors.

Inside was the "famous" chair all the missionaries in this mission mentioned.  President Russell M. Nelson sat in that chair when he visited after setting the nation of Macedonia apart for missionary work.  I figured if I was 85 and needed to sit down, that would be the chair I would choose. (That was 2010).  

I put a pillow in the back and find it the best chair in the house.

Kristi jumped at the chance to weed. . .

and I got the lawn mowed.

The famous Stone Bridge is just under a mile in a straight line from where we live.

Skopje is a city of statues.  There are reportedly 284 within the city center.  One of the largest is of Alexander the Great behind Kristi, it is eight stories high.

After finding the only four Elders in the nation, we were invited to a Wednesday night game night with the local members. 

We found the church near the middle of town.

After much research and finding the right words. . . I bravely went for a haircut, to the best barber in town.

Well . . .  it seems I got the standard Balkan haircut.

We went shopping for some food and household items.

It turns out our plastic money is just like Macedonian plastic money.

On the whole, we have found one more beautiful country.  We hope to be able to do some good here.

It is easy to find our way home in Macedonia.  We live on the bottom of the big hill that has the lighted "Millennium Cross" at the top.  Look closely in the photo,  it is 217 feet tall and marks the path for us and all who follow Jesus Christ.  Hope you all had as good an Easter as we have.

Following a Good Path

 We left Albania Monday morning and headed for Kosovo.The path was well marked.  It was hard to imagine how the Albanians of Kosovo had fled to Albania during the Kosovo war of 1998-99 under such trying circumstances.  We are here to help in any way we can to relieve suffering and share the message of the Prince of Peace.  That is our path.

We found our temporary digs above a bakery/pizza restaurant.

We have the balcony and windows on the corner.  Only 25 steps up that path.

The view is spectacular.

We are grateful for a nice place to rest.

The green grocer is right across the street, in front of the bumper cars and tilt-a-whirl.  

Kristi has already made me some applesauce.

We did some grocery shopping in the stores.

All the staples:

Bread

Eggs

Milk in cartons

Pasta

Lots of ketchup

and sausage!

After stocking up, we had a look around Gjakova and the surrounding area.

This is the famous grand bazaar that had been around for a thousand years.  However, it was destroyed and rebuilt as best they could following the war.

Gjakova woodworkers are known for their cradles.

Many of the old bridges that were destroyed have been reconstructed.

Sheep don't change much.  Some do stray from the path.

Mosques are everywhere.  We get to hear the call to prayer right across the street.

(Not from this one, ours is closer)

If you look hard, you can find very picturesque scenes.

Adobe bricks and fired brick and tile roofs.  

Eventually the outside walls are stuccoed.

After settling into our area we headed out on the path to find some of the projects the previous missionary couple had started and still needed the paperwork to be completed.

This is a water tank that now supplies water from a spring to a small village.  The village had started it seven years before, but did not have the funds to complete it.  Trees had started to grow up through what they had started.  They were kind enough to attach a plaque with the Church name on it and honor us with a certificate which we accepted on behalf of the Stringhams.

We visited three small family farms that the Church had helped secure greenhouses for, extending the growing season.  The three we saw had just been installed.  So far 70 out of 100 have been built.  We were met by the municipal director of agriculture, another official and Rrahman who has been instrumental in helping the missionaries coordinate projects.

We then visited a potential project of renovating some shop sites to house a program for disabled children to meet their mental and physical needs.  It is the four shops along the bottom at street level.  We will see what we can do to help.

They burn a lot of wood around town.  (The pizzas are delicious).

These two-stroke engine buggies do a lot of the work.

I have seen a few with saws built right into the rig.

I mention that Kristi and I were holding hands quite a bit more.

I think that has come to an end, as the narrow path walking spaces tend to break us apart.

I am not too sad,  as I have realized an old view that I had forgotten about, and it is quite pleasant!

This stop was on our path to church.

This is the Gjakova Branch building. On the first floor are a couple of classrooms and on the second floor is the main meeting room for Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School.  

Above are apartments not associated with the church.

Here is the main meeting room.

I am reminded of an old photo of a storefront in Martinez, California I found in my father's things.  

On the back he had written, 

"Not much to look at, but we sure have some good meetings."

Sunday we had ten adults and six children in attendance and I can write the same thing as he did.

"Not much to look at, but we sure have some good meetings."

I am on a good path.

No Good Done by Me (this week)

Thanks to our mission president, we are on our way.

He caught wind about the airline strike scheduled for our flight so he rattled the cage to get us rerouted and not stuck in Frankfurt.  We flew from SLC to Chicago and then to Warsaw and on to Tirana.

There wasn't anything at the SLC airport to stop us now.

Took the long walk that we had heard about at the SLC airport.

Changed planes a few times.

Finally got our first glimpse of Albania.  It looks very inviting.

We were greeted by Pres. and Sister Auras.  We traveled with Curtis and Janette Gomm who had just finished up at the MTC and will be living in Albania.  We have made so many new friends!

We were also greeted by two senior couples who work in the office and the assistants to the president.

They certainly made us feel welcome and special and whisked our luggage away.

All but the two bags the Gomm's and us were missing.

(They came a couple of days later).

We were left alone to get over jet lag,  then took care of some paperwork and were given keys to our cars - one for the Gomms and one for us.

Kristi and I walked around Tirana each day trying to get our 10,000 steps in.

The city center was impressive with plenty of unusual architecture.

We found the mission office next door to where we were staying.

It seemed pretty nice but understand they are planning on moving downstairs to a nicer place.

(With more storage for supplies)

Pres. Auras and Sister Auras invited the four of us and the assistants to dinner for a delicious meal.

The Auras' live just a ten minute walk from the office.  It is the orange/yellow house in the middle.

It is also used for missionaries during transfers to other areas.

Spring is here and the trees are starting to bud out.  Apparently, it is traditional to wear a red and white string/bracelet until the first sign of spring, then it is hung on a tree.  We have heard many different reasons by each person I asked.  There are also huge sugar cookies for sale along the road, to welcome the first day of Spring and perhaps it is connected to Easter.

Saturday, the Ellsworths (humanitarian couple here in Albania), picked us up and took us for a morning walk where we were able to pick their brains about what their experiences and projects have been here in Albania.

Sunday, Kristi and I drove down to Elbasan, Albania for a District Conference with Elder Picard, a visiting Area Seventy Representative.  A very good meeting with both Elder Picard and Pres. Auras giving good instruction about love and the Savior.  The meeting was full with the many branches coming from up to an hour and half away by small buses.

Albania is a very pretty country.  This is the city of Elbasan.

Lots of olive trees and citrus around here.

Monday morning we will drive to Kosovo.  Still no visas for N. Macedonia so we will stay in an air B&B until the first of April.  Then we will move into an apartment permanently in Gjakova, Kosovo.  The apartment is still there in Skopje, N. Macedonia so we will use both as we can still travel between countries as tourists.  We think we will be living out of suitcases for the next 17 months but hopefully we will be able to do some GOOD in both countries.