"Giving Thanks"

I had a very unique Thanksgiving this year! One I will not soon forget. After celebrating with LAC students and there families on Wed. night. I left Thursday with Lisa and Justin for London. I have never been to London and it was wonderful to stay with my friend Beth and her husband and visit all the famous sights. We actually had remarkable weather, knowing the reputation of London.

I was really happy when the sun came out for our ferry ride on the Themes and we got to see Tower Bridge, Big Ben, and The Eye in perfect view and color! It was fun to enjoy the diversity of foods and walk around the many Christmas markets and shops. Of course I missed my family, friends, and normal traditions but it was good to do something different. I have much to be thankful for and this Holiday Season I feel even more aware of the things that really mater.

I am looking forward to being home in PA for 2 weeks over Christmas. I hope to use this time to reconnect with everyone and renew my spirit. If you have ever spent time in ministry you know some of the challenges and the drain you can feel, especially if you are not making time to celebrate God's blessings. I plan to pay special attention to the people and things I am thankful for. I am so Blessed to know Christ and the true meaning of Christmas and I am not taking that for granted this year. Thank you for your involvement in my life and I hope you too have found reasons to be "Thankful" this year.

As you know my ministry is fully funded at this point. However, if you are able and willing there is a family at our school that is in need. I had mentioned in my Newsletter that 2 of our students lost their father to cancer this September. They are valued members of our community and the LAC family has reached out in a number of ways. However, the tuition is $200 a month for each of them and that is a real issue right now. If you would like to Bless them checks can be made out to VMMissions and sent to Virginia Mennonite Mission, 901 Parkwood Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22802, put "LAC Scholarship - Pllumbi" in the memo line. There is no deadline, I just know that Christmas is often the time when we look for ways to give and the Pllumbi's could really use a gift.

I thought Tower Bridge was so cool!

The Change starts with you!

LAC hits the streets to clean-up Lezhe!

We in education are in the business of transformation and growth. I always say that I wouldn't do this job(Guidance Counseling) if I didn't believe in young peoples' power to change. I see endless potential in young people not just to change themselves but to change the world around them. In my past job I constantly was encouraging personal growth and change in my students as they were in a position of challenge due mostly to their own negative choices. Now in Lezhe I work with students that have the passion beyond themselves to change their city and society. They look around and say "This isn't good enough, we want something better!"

Yesterday(11/22) we took a break from class and we took to the streets with gloves and trash bags to make a difference. One of the first things you will notice if you come to Albania, especially the more populated areas, is the trash. I have mentioned this before, how horrible the lack of respect for public spaces is. People don't seem to think twice about littering and the land and beauty of the country is suffering. Our students seem to have an awareness that this is a disaster that they want change. However, it is an overwhelming problem and when you see the piles of trash it can be paralyzing. I am sure you can relate. All we have to do is turn on the news or open a newspaper and we are hit with massive injustices and enormous problems we hate, but feel powerless to change. Let me encourage you to find a way to do something. LAC students picked up A LOT of trash Friday and I was so proud of them and encouraged! However, when I walked those exact streets 5 hours later on the way to dinner I couldn't tell the difference. In fact I noticed new litter on the streets. It was as if we hadn't done anything at all. But I wasn't fooled! I know there was immeasurable value in what we did! The work the students did was empowering to them. Also, it showed the community that this issue matters. Our school is next to the market so hundreds of people witnessed our effort. What a wonderful example our students were and I believe that someone was impacted by that example. When we make an effort to change something that is wrong even if it does not seem successful, for example Lezhe is still a horrible mess today, it has value. It gives you a connectedness to the problem you wish to change. The students are now invested in their community. I feel confident that none of them are continuing to contribute to the problem they have crossed over to be part of the solution. It starts with personal individual change and then it takes teamwork to create a movement. So back to you, what have you done lately to impact your world? The change starts with you!


"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." Mother Teresa

 

 

Making a Joyful noise

 

"Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song." Ps. 95:1-2

 
Life at LAC has been very full these past few weeks. We just finished quarter 1 of the 2013-2014 school year! Can you believe it? I can't!  As we wrapped up this week I found myself spending a lot of time on the computer working with grades and report cards. This is important, but not very "life giving" work. By Friday I was exhausted and ready for the break! The end of the quarter also brings my career as a teacher to an end and that gives me relief as well. Though I will miss that daily interaction with the senior class. They are a great group!




A very exciting update is a few weeks ago our new Music Teacher Lisa Mast joined us from Oklahoma. She brought new energy and has started music club, getting our students excited about the addition of music to our curriculum! This week many of them will have music class for the very first time! A huge answer to prayer is the arrival of a piano on Friday. This is another example of how our God is an "on time God". Several months ago LAC submitted a proposal to Mennonite Education Agency for Grant money to help start our music program. We have been eagerly awaiting an answer and early last week we received word that we got enough money to cover an electric piano for the school. On Friday, Lisa and Dini went to Tirana to make our big purchase. By early afternoon it was carried by several student up to the 3rd floor to the new music room and unpacked ready for use! Just in time! On a personal note (no pun intended) this has already brought joy to my soul. Lisa and several other of the teachers spent some time Friday evening celebrating the arrival of the piano by playing and making music together. Jordan plays guitar and Justin violin so the 3 of them filled the building with worship music and singing. I wondered down to the classroom and just sat and enjoyed for awhile. I think that hearing music on a regular basis will be really life giving for me. I know that on Friday my soul was renewed by not just the music but the realization that God is providing for us here at LAC. Please pray that the music program can be an instrument of the Gospel to our students and they will feel the presence of God as I did on Friday evening.

Lisa, Justin, and Jordan jamming to celebrate the new piano.

Lisa also has a blog. If you wish to get another perceptive of our ministry in Albania, or are curious to hear more about the music program, check it out.  GOATSANDMUSIC.WORDPRESS.COM

Being a Light in Lezha





One of the highlights of my time in Lezha so far has been getting to know the church community. Two weekends ago they had a retreat in Shenjin which is a neighboring beach town. I was not able to go for the whole weekend. However, I took the opportunity to go on Saturday just for the afternoon. Since I had spent the prior 2 Saturdays stuck inside sick I took advantage of good health and a beautiful day to walk the 5 or so miles to get there. I was welcome by a few of the youth and they showed me around. We also spent some quality time discussing issues of faith. Since the church is young and many of the youth are the only ones in their families with a personal relationship with Christ there is a real yearning among them for mentorship. I have met with the Pastor and youth leader informally for coffee and we talked a bit about the desire to grow the youth group and find ways to interest more of the students at LAC in church involvement. I see this as an important part of my being in Lezha. I want to be an encouragement to the youth at the church and be available to them. Please pray for this part of my ministry here. There is some overlap with my role at the school and hopefully that will be helpful. The youth that also attend LAC invite their friends to the activities, and believe it or not, if they mentioned that a few of us American teachers are going to be there it is an incentive to come (Don't worry Mom, I am not letting it go to my head). I think it is always kinda fun to see your teachers in real life, "dressed down and unplugged" so to speak.

This Saturday the young adults and youth group took a bus to Dajt Mountain in Tirana. It is a popular local and tourist spot as there is a gondola that takes you to the top and it is an amazing view of the city. It was another great time to enjoy the church community. I especially was enjoying and the familiar atmosphere of pines and changing leaves of oaks and beech trees. Lezha is a city, and beside people's gardens, has very little vegetation. The gondola ride was the only expense for the day and I believe we had about 30 or so people go. We took the ride to the top and took several hours to walk along among the trees to a restaurant were we ordered drinks, ate our packed lunches, and enjoyed the view of the valley. The pastor brought his guitar so we sang a few praise songs. I learned the Albanian word for trees. Pema! I hope for many more opportunities to be among this accepting and rejoicing group. Please pray for the body of believers at "Kisha guri i themelit" (Cornerstone Church) as they are a Light to Lezha!









Hanging out in Shenjin with the church youth

Cable car and Tirana in the distance



Teaching

Curiosity is little more than another name for Hope. 

~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

I am almost 2 weeks into my new role as a "teacher." So far it has been an enjoyable learning experience for me. I have the pleasure of spending 90 minutes a day with 21 excellent young people. They are at varied levels of English experience but I find their eagerness to learn and curiosity very inspiring. I also am enjoying the topic we are studying together, "Individuals that Impact our World." Thank you to the many of you that have shared your personal stories and ideas with me for this course. Keep them coming! Right now the students are researching an extraordinary person and writing a formal paper. I am looking forward to reading their work. They have chosen some incredible people, MLK, Lincoln, Muhammad Ali, Malala Yousafzai, Einstein, JFK, Obama, Tesla, Clinton, Mother Teresa, De Vinci, Jesus, Susan B. Anthony, C.S. Lewis, John Lennon, Isaac Newton, Galileo, Armstrong, Adam Smith, Shakespeare, and Freud. They also will be presenting to the class.

I begin each class with a quote from a notable person who has made a contribution to society. Today was "Music can change the world because it can change people." ~ Paul Hewson. No one seemed to know who he was as I gave some of his public humanitarian efforts and notable facts, including being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize twice, touring the world with his band, and touring the world as an advocate for aids awareness and speaking out against poverty. It wasn't until I played "Beautiful Day" on my iPad that they realized it was BONO and all wanted to sing along. HA!

Please pray that this course, only 9 weeks long, will inspire these students to see themselves as leaders for a better Albania. There is a lot of corruption in the systems and government. It will take people of intelligence and integrity to bring about change. I see hope when I stand before this class. As more young people come to know Christ and choose to follow in His examples I believe there will be change. Lord let it start with us!

In other news, friends Phil and Betsy Moyer, from Salford Church visited Justin and I the other week. How wonderful to be in the company of these fine folks! They enjoyed meeting the Shahinis, touring the school, and spending time with friends in Kosovo. I enjoyed hugs from home, salsa from mom, and a fancy meal. In fact they had such a great experience they promised to return soon for a longer stay! How exciting!



 



 



 

Update

I survived the first week of school but I am guessing this rooster did not. Today I witnessed a chicken put in a duffle bag for transport. What next?

First Day!

This is the LAC pin that we all wear proudly each day! 

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." 

~ William Butler Yeats

"LAC is a light to Lezha." 

~ Justin Rittenhouse

 So, it is finally here! The "First Day of School Eve!" I have spent the last 6 weeks preparing for this day and now I greet it with much expectation! It feels a little like New Years Eve, in that it is a beginning and I am hopeful and excited for what amazing things are in store for the year. Of course I am nervous, but that is normal, especially since everything is new. New job, new students, new co-workers, and I am even teaching a class, which was completely unexpected! However, I rest in the promise that God is with me and has prepared me, and equipped me, for this moment. He is the same here in Albania as He is at home in PA. In fact, I have had the most wonderful experience in church the past few Sundays. We have sung familiar songs, which I love. I may not be able to join in the lyrics but my heart and mind is in unison as I meditate on what I know the song is about. Today was sang Chris Tomlin's song "Here I am to Worship." How beautiful to transcend language and worship God in community. I feel very "at home" in the church here. Pray that our school can feel "like home" to our students as we share the grace and love of Christ with them.

This is my classroom where I will teach 21 seniors, "Individuals that Impact Our World: a writing intensive course," 3rd block from 11:10 - 12:40.
It will be much more interesting when they are actually there!

Request!

I am shamelessly using my blog to elicit help from all of you. I just found out I will be teaching a class. I have decided to call it "Individuals that Impact our World." It will be a course for 11th and 12th graders. The content of the class will focus on people who through amazing efforts of peace and creative solutions, have made a positive impact on humanity. While engaging in this topic students will practice their skills of research, writing, group work, and public speaking. I have one week to come up with my outline and curriculum. The good news is that the students will do most of the work and I will be more of a facilitator. What I am asking you for help with is would you share your thoughts on this topic? Who is someone that you have seen make a positive contribution to our world? Also, if you have read a good book about that individual would you consider donating it to our library so we can increase our resources on amazing people and  this topic. I have no budget to work with so at this time the students will do all their research on the computers. I am open to creative ideas for the course as well. I hope to get some guest speakers from the Peace Corps and maybe some other connections that Klementina has. We also want to learn about the UN and take a field trip to the capital to see the government buildings. One resource I am wanting is Leymah Gbowee's book, "Mighty Be Our Powers". I have read it and found it very inspiring. If you could comment directly to the blog if you plan to send a book or email me directly your ideas to  cmoyerlac@gmail.com   And of course, pray for me as I lead this new course. It has potential to excite young minds to impact their own worlds. I am humbled by the opportunity and feel ill-equipped. 

Job Title?

Hard to believe I have been here one month! I have had many new experiences like an Albanian wedding, eating a fish head, and mopping the

floor EVERY time I shower. However, we have not started school so I also feel like I haven't even begun my experience yet. My office is starting to feel more like my own, though the door still says "Finance Office". A daily reminder to me that they have not had a Guidance Counselor before and in fact don't even know what one is. If you looked up "Guidance Counselor" in the Albanian Dictionary I am pretty sure it would say "Cindy Moyer". I am the only one, which is exciting because I get to define it! Ha, don't let me fool you, reality is that there is NO job that I won't likely do this year. In fact, I may be teaching a class which has me extremely nervous since that is not were my heart or training lies. I want to be flexible and do what is necessary but honestly that seems more of a stretch than I know how to make. I have met a handful of students as they have been coming to volunteer. Working with them gets me excited for them all to come and fill the halls. On the other hand it feels like we are not near ready for them yet. The teaching schedule is a real challenge for Klementina and I to figure out as enrollment has increased by almost 100% and our teaching staff has not. I will keep you posted as my role here takes more shape.


In the meantime I am including a few pictures from the wedding this past weekend. The Shanini's daughter came from the States to get married here. The wedding was at the castle and the reception at the school. It was beautiful! I felt privileged to attend and enjoyed helping with the clean-up the next day.  

There was a live band and endless food. The party went until 2:00 in the morning! There was a great mix of American friends, family, and community present! Everyone had a wonderful time! 

Out and About

Tirana International Hotel & Conference Center 

This past week has been one of both getting some work done at the school and seeing sites beyond LAC. First, a little about my work. Right now I am spending a lot of time organizing the student records. I have been making files, figuring GPAs, making report cards, entering new students, tedious stuff like that. More interesting is that several student have been volunteering in the mornings cleaning and preparing the classrooms. It has been fun to meet them and see their interest in learning. They are mostly 11th and 12th graders so their English is good. I have also seen the same group of kids at church which is really encouraging to see them involved there as well. On Wed. Dini and I went to Tirana to run errands. We both had a shopping list of things for our areas of work at the school. My main mission was to find a filling cabinet. Now that we will have student files and records we should be keeping them locked and secure. Thanks to the generous financial support of family and friends I have extra money in my budget to use for these types of needs. I found that Tirana is a modern city and has all the traffic and shops of any European city. However, after visiting the Mall, a shop like Wal-Mart, a shop resembling Lowe's and a small version of Office Max we couldn't find a filling cabinet or even someone who knew what we were talking about. I bought a projector screen and I had no problem tracking that down. I am still baffled! It was a fun day for me to get out and see the big city (400,000), also made me thankful that I live in a smaller city(27,000). 

A bit of Albania history. I drove by the "Piramida" pictured left. The pyramid was built in 1987 according to the design of Enver Hoxha's daughter and was originally a museum of her father. Hoxha was the evil dictator of the communist era. US president George W Bush gave a speech in front of this building. The building was the most expensive erected under communism. Today it's derelict building halfway occupied by a TV station. Much of the façade has been stripped or stolen and the glass is broken and boarded up. There is an ongoing discussion and disagreement among the people if it should be torn down or remain as a piece of their history. 

From this spot I was able to find LAC below.

I finally got to visit the Lehza Castle that I see every day from LAC. The church took a picnic up there Sat. morning and it was a fun walk and a beautiful morning. We had a time of singing and sharing and then played some games, ate food, and enjoyed the space. I hope to get there a lot since the walk was fun and the view incredible! I am appreciating getting to know the church group a little. We have very interesting demographics as there are now four countries represented, in addition to Americans and Albanians, we also have an Italian teacher at LAC, and several Brazilians including the Pastor. So we are all trying to communicate and often relying on others for translations. I have been so impressed by the welcome that I feel from the church community. 

In the distance you can see the sea.

Next weekend is Klementina's daughter's wedding reception will be at the castle. She has invited the LAC staff to attend so next time I am there I will be wearing very different clothes.  

Transition

The Past lies upon the Present like a giant's dead body.  ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of Seven Gables

It would be predictable if I told you about my transition to Albania, and I may do that. However, my goal in this blog is to share with you a bit of the transition I am seeing in the country and culture. I hope over the course of the year I will be able to articulate more the dichotomy of old and new and hope for reconciliation of the two.  This cart I saw this morning is a perfect example of the old but I could've just as easily found a new Fiat or Range Rover to snap a picture of. I just figured you have seen those fancy cars before and this one may be more unique.

Klementina says that, "God created Albania to be beautiful but the people have not done their part to take care of it." Granted we are in the city and it is always a challenge to keep a city clean, but the amount of garbage in the streets and in this case, the river, is obscene! Klementina also has told me of  beautiful spots in the north, and to the south that I will hopefully get to see.

The past few mornings I have been to the gym! Klementina has encouraged me to get up early with her and walk around the city and than go lift weights. We both look like foreigners power walking around in our t-shirts and shorts. This is not a common sight but we both are used to being the center of attention. Me because I am a foreigner, and her because she is Klementina Shanini.  I finally am friends with someone famous, only just in Lezha Albania. The reason the gym is empty is not only because we are early but because she has her own key! She also has a key to the city's soccer stadium if we feel like running on the track.

Klementina and I having our morning cappuccinos at "My #1 Bar."

More on "Transition" later as I sort it all out.

Apartment

I am starting to feel settled. The flight was long and left me very weary. The time difference is 6 hours ahead so that took some adjustment. Last night I finally got a normal night's sleep. I was greeted at the airport by Dini Shanini, husband of my Principal, Klementina. They have been wonderful at making me feel welcome and at home here. The school building is 5 stories and I live on the 4th floor right next to the Shanini's. We have all the comforts of home, though I have already experienced power outages and times no water.

 

 

I like my kitchen which connects to the living room.
The concrete white walls are very bare but I am
hoping all of you will send pictures!

My apartment has it's own bathroom.

Back view from my patio.

Front courtyard.

On top of the hill is the castle. They light it up at night and you can see it from everywhere in Lezha. I hope to explore it in the near future.

 

 

 

 

Embarking on an Adventure!

“The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself.” - C. Joybell C.

On Monday I board a plane for Albania! Of course I am both nervous and excited as anyone would be! I also am amazed at how quickly this all came about. The idea of leaving everything I know to go be a counselor at LAC was only planted in my mind in May. I took until late-June to be accepted into Virginia Mennonite Mission's TranSend program and begin to make plans. I announced my plans on facebook the beginning of July, and the second week of July I sent out a mailing informing friends and family of my need for financial and prayer support. On July 16th, I booked my flight and by July 18th I had all my funding in place. OH MY! I have to view this crazy whirlwind as an act of God! My Grammy Moyer once told me that God doesn't usually reveal what He wants us to do until we need to know. In other words, He is planning ahead but we don't get to see those plans until it is time to live them. I have always viewed my life as a journey and so I have accepted the challenge to blog while away as a way to document this adventure and so that you may join me.

Lezha Academic Center