Jeta Ime

...6 WEEKS AGO

......"What do you want to do?" "I don't know what do you want to do?" I don't know what do you want to do?"......

6 WEEKS LATER. JANUARY 21, 2008.

....Queasy, dizzy, nervous, anxious, nauseous, light headed and "what ifs" running through my mind. "What if this happens? What if they don't like me? What if.....". These were my thoughts and feelings that ran through my mind and body Monday morning as I got ready for school. First day of school jitters! Yikes!

My day to day life in K-land has definitely been altered from day one to now. I feel like a peaceful, untouched, content on a dusty shelf snow globe that has suddenly been knocked down, shaken and dusted off. My usual extroverted self was held back by a month of sitting at home reading books, cold and foggy weather and zero friends beyond the premises of our apartment building. But now the weather has changed from dull and dreary to sunny and warm with a clear blue sky to show off the snow capped mountains. I have began my position as an English teacher assistant and I have more friends than there are stray dogs!!! How exciting!!!

I know you can be underwhelmed and I know you can be overwhelmed but can you ever just be whelmed? The answer is.....well I really don't know?! From December 2ND till January 20Th I was was underwhelmed by all the nothingness, January 21st till the 25Th I was overwhelmed by the new experience of teaching English and now a new week has began and I'm feeling content. So, yes, maybe you can just be whelmed!

Life is wonderful! Fun filled days! Walking, talking, drinking coffee, laughing, singing, dancing, going to friends houses, phase 10, jump rope and volleyball with all ages, running to the convenient store for a late night snack, taking crazy pictures, and sitting outside in the sunlight chatting with friends! :D

~Vanessa Goertzen~

haven't seen the mountains for days

This morning I got out of bed, and made my way downstairs to start the fire and make my coffee. Like every morning i took a peek out our little kitchen window. Usually this is a breathtaking sight, huge snow capped mountains brightened against a clear blue sky, but not this morning. like every morning this week all I could see were the dreary buildings, muddy streets and thick layers of grey clouds and fog covering the mountains from base to peak. I stepped away let out a sigh and thought, wow my sad little view is such a picture of how I feel.
I am going to be honest I'm sure this country has it's times and seasons of beauty, but right now it is just down right cold and dreary. Sometimes the mountains are the only redeeming part of the scenery. It has been a hard couple of days for myself and for the rest of the team. We are currently in our last week of language study, which has been our focus for the past month and a half. We have been feeling rather cooped up, and we are ready to put our hands to something. Getting out and making friends has proved to be harder than we thought it would be, due to different cultural and seasonal circumstances. I have found myself searching for ways to fill my days with things that will entertain me and make me feel not quite so dreary. But the Lord hasn't brought me here so that I can pass the time away and move on to the next thing. This is the next thing. He has so much purpose and so many plans for each day if I will just choose to push through the clouds and search it out. I think it is easy to forget that God is already at work here and it is our privilege to join him. Our prayer request as a team is this, for eyes to see the kingdom of God all around us, and for willing selfless hearts. I hope this weather clears up, even if it doesn't I will lift my eyes up whether I can see the mountains or not.
sara

Who says Mennonites can't dance???

It was the afternoon before New Years and all I could think about was what was going to happen in the upcoming hours. I'd heard rumors of dancing, loud music and lots of fireworks. The fireworks I looked forward to, but the dancing, that was where I got a little jittery. That evening our team was invited to two parties. We went to the first house around 7 o'clock, watched some music videos and just enjoyed talking to with the family. The house was warm, decorated with balloons and had two coffee tables full of little snacks. This is the second time our team had been to this apartment and this visit just confirmed that this family was so similar to my own. All the siblings were joking around, laughing and picking on each other (in the most loving of way). It was a relaxed atmosphere, which made everything just feel comfortable. It got to be about 11 pm and we were soon getting our stuff together to head out to our next destination, our landlords apartment. But before we left a few of the kids showed us the traditional Albanian dance. They made it look so easy. I watched them intently, taking any type of mental note that could help me if I was brought into a similar "dance situation." We said our goodbyes "mireupafshims" with hopes of meeting up with a few members of the family later. Off we went and as we walked down the street I started to hear some loud music. As we got closer and closer to our apartment I realized it was coming from our landlords house. Right there and then I knew that this was going to be a very different experience. We walked in and were quickly greeted by the family. I sat down on the couch, had a pretzel, then was coaxed onto the dance floor. Oh my, I've never felt so out of my comfort zone then I did in that very moment. All of us joined hands and did a kind of 4 step move around in the circle. The first person led the line and they held tissue or napkin and twirled it around. I can't quite describe it without actually doing it. So, we danced and danced and danced, and with the occasional 'OPPAH' the clock struck 12. We all ran out to the balcony and began to set off fireworks mostly just little firecrackers. Once the fireworks from our house ended we put on our shoes and sweatshirts and headed out of the center street where tons of larger fireworks were being set off. Everything happened so fast. Fireworks were set off in every directions, little firecrackers blew up on the snow covered ground right next to our feet. It was exciting and scary all at the same time. 12 am turned into 2 and New Years was still going strong. It was a late night, but I don't regret the loss of sleep because it was all worth having great food, fun music and wonderful time spent with our new friends. During this time the team got to really connect with the youth at both houses and I felt like they really helped us to experience a New Years in the Balkans. I'm still not the best dancer but I'm quickly learning some new moves.

Prayer Requests:
Continued prayer for our language classes, our physical health and for building strong and healthy relationships.

-minda