Happy Thoughts

I got blessed this morning by an email from a supporter who sent me some pictures of the Albania doily--she got it framed and has it hanging up on the wall :) It was a small thing, but I hope they continue to remind people to pray for Albania, even when I'm not here. It's so easy to live in America and not need God, to not really be thankful with what we've got because we don't know what it's like to have nothing. But, I'd like to encourage you this Thanksgiving time: remember that in the 50 weather there (which seems warm to you all in Michigan now, I'm sure), there are many families with no heat; remember that with all of the water filters there, there are many who have to get their water from a well here; remember the size of your kitchen is the size of a house for a family of five here, thank God for what you've got, and find a way to share some of it! Because He's worth it.

Good day

Spitalle went well yesterday, and I'll be home in two weeks! Yay God.

Speaking, Wrapping Up

Today I'm speaking in Spitalle about God's faithfulness though my time in Albania, and it's just a short thing, but pray that it goes well. Pray for my students and their last week (next week) also, because we've had some problems with attitudes not being right. They've been a tough pair lately, although Christopher has been harder than Kimberley.

Internet is back!

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to let you know that I have my internet back now, and will be able to start updating again. Currently, I've got a little less than a month, and so am working on preparing for home. Likely I will update once more before I go when I am ready to leave (November 15th, I leave early in the morning). Anyway, things for now are good and pray they continue to be that way.

Third Quarter Update

Dear friends, family, and supporters,

The third quarter is now finished and I am on the final stretch of my time in Albania. June was a month of adjusting and realizing fully that I was here and living in Albania for awhile again. Brent and Carol had left and so I was on my own, but the solitude turned out to be good. July was an eventful month with a trip to Bulgaria for Valbona and I that resulted in us both being prophesied over and having time to relax and learn quite a bit at the women’s conference we attended. My birthday went well and finished off the month.

The church also did some door-to-door evangelism in July that had some success, but was mostly a training experience for all involved. About twenty people came out to evangelize, as well as visiting missionaries, and we all passed out tracts and talked to people in the neighborhood of the church in Spitalle. Despite lack of converts, it was still a good experience and great for all who took part.

In August my small group began growing and has been going well ever since. For those who do not yet know, I am leading a group of girls in their late teens/twenties in studying women of the Bible. I was so glad to be leading a small group again, it’s been a blessing to have the girls around for fellowship, and the girls have thanked me many times for leading the group. No one else was doing something like this, and it seems as if though many of the girls are starved for fellowship. We are reading stories we almost all know (we have one new believer in the group) but are still learning from them every time we read. So, continue to pray for the small group: that the girls will keep coming, that the girls will take home meaningful insights about scripture, and that the girls will have good fellowship while they're here. Things will be difficult for several of them to come very shortly, since colleges and universities are starting up for their fall semesters, so pray for these girls especially.

August ended with a camp for the older youth group (late teens and twenties) in Vlore, a city filled with beaches. Lessons were good but we also had a very relaxing time going to the beach and generally spending time with each other. The week went well, everyone learned something, and we all had a chance to relax. Everyone wondered why I wasn’t getting tan, but I managed to not get burnt badly, so that was a miracle to thank God for!

August was also a very hot month, as was some of September, but the air conditioner got fixed when it really mattered, and thankfully the weather is down to high seventies or low eighties now. Time has gone quite quickly and the change of seasons is a good reminder of that.

September has been quite busy with children’s Bible school expanding upstairs. As a result, we’ve become “shkolla karrige” (chair school) because the chairs from upstairs have moved into our room and we are surrounded by them. We also got a couch in the process, which has been great for reading with the kids. The kids are, however, getting closer to finishing off school—Kimberley has finished first grade math, and Christopher is on his last set of books. He should be done next week, and will be working on third grade math, more of the science books I brought for extra science, and some reading and phonics books I got when the Logos II came into port. It will not be the same type of curriculum, but we should have all of the major subjects covered until I go, and if his parents wish to continue, they will have plenty of material.

Kimberley will be mostly finished by the time I leave. She’s gone a bit slower, but her reading and sounding out of words has improved greatly, which has been wonderful to see. She is only five, but is reading with fluency, adding and subtracting well, and learning to be confident in what she can do. It is difficult for her at times, but please pray that her desire to learn stays high and she stays motivated for us to finish. Her parents would be very glad if we could finish altogether, but I do not think this will happen without pushing her more than she can handle.

Plans for October include a group that has just arrived and will stay for eleven days to do mission work here. They are from a school called Euroclass and were here last year also. Our apartment is a bit cramped and schedules will be getting busy, but pray we will have much fruit from the witnessing that happens in the next two weeks. Pray also for health for the group and for the rest of us, since we will be in close quarters.

Please pray for me as the children and I continue school and as I begin to prepare for returning home. It’s been exciting to see them grow and change and it will be hard to leave them, but it has been wonderful to be here.

Two more months

September is going quickly and so Brent and Carol are back! It's been great to have them around again and soon we will have more company as the team from Denmark is coming again. It will likely be quite crowded because we'll have 19 people in our apartment at least, so pray for us as we attempt to pack in. Brent and David are currently gone on a prayer/fasting retreat with other pastors and we're in the middle of a staff change because several people have gone back to Bible school. So, basically, everything is in a time of transition and we're doing okay but it's difficult. Fourth quarter is now starting in school and Christopher is almost done, but Kimberley has quite a ways to go, so pray that she'll do well and be cooperative.

Thanks for all of the prayers, bigger update coming soon!

Just a Little Longer

Sorry about the long wait all! Between small group, which is going wonderfully! I love my small group!, school, camp in Vlore, and internet being out I haven't updated in awhile. Our power and internet have been off quite often, so are not able to be relied on, but I will have another photo update soon--I've started working on one for July and August, so hopefully that will be finished soon. I spoke today at the youth group on enjoying your single life, and it went well. I ruffled a few feathers because what I was saying was culturally difficult for Albanians, but overall responses were good, and I was glad I spent the week fasting for it: I was much less nervous about what I was saying since I knew it was from God.

Fasting was not the easiest thing I've ever done, but it's been a good week because of that. I've never really thought I had the ability to fast because I usually get dizzy when I miss a meal, and because medication I take makes me nauseous if I don't take it with food, but neither of those things was a big problem this week. I had a few times where food looked particularly tempting (like when Kimberley walked into school with a Snickers bar!!!!) but overall it wasn't too difficult and I had some good prayer times. I'd definitely do it again.

Before this week though, we had church camp in Vlore, another city in Albania that's known for its beaches. It was a good week, and thankfully we were in the beach a lot because the sun beat down on us mercilessly every day we there--it was over 40 degrees Celsius every day we were there! Thankfully also, I didn't get sunburnt, I only got more freckles. People were still telling me to use tanning lotion and show more skin, but people will be people.

Looking forward to next week when Brent and Carol come back, and to being home in 2.5 months! It's amazing how time goes, but it's been a very good time.

All for now, I'll post again when the pictures are all up.

Birthday and Small Group

Hi everyone!

It's been, as always, a busy couple of weeks again, but it has also been a good couple of weeks. My birthday was the 27th and I managed to not miss home until the evening, which I missed since I couldn't really talk to anyone at home. I did, however, manage to get a cell phone from the church and call America so I could talk to family the next day. So, now if there's something urgent and anyone really needs to get a hold of me, they can get my cellphone number from my mother. This week was also my first small group meeting and it went very well. I had seven girls besides myself and Valbona and we started studying women of the Bible, with, of course, Eve. We had good discussion time, but didn't finish, so we will finish up Eve this next week and move on to Sarah in two weeks. I was so glad to be leading a small group again. I think that is really where I work best, and what I enjoy the most. So, continue to pray for the small group: that the girls will keep coming, that the girls will take home meaningful insights about scripture, and that the girls will have good fellowship while they're here. Pray also for my neck and back--I don't have a chiropractor here and sometimes that becomes difficult because I get dizzy spells and my back gets sore.
Thanks, as always, for reading and praying and giving!

July is almost gone!

I can not believe that July has been here and almost gone already! It has been a very quick month here. The first few weeks were normal business, and then the main thing that happened this month was the trip to Bulgaria Valbona and I took. We went for just about a week, going first to a Women's Conference, and then to the capital city for shopping and sightseeing. The conference was WONDERFUL! The city was incredibly peaceful, the hotel we stayed in was only two weeks old, and the speakers were both great. The ladies who spoke were both originally from Australia, but serving abroad, one in Germany and one in England, so the conference was in English (plus translation into Bulgarian). The speaker I think everyone connected most with was the main speaker, Ruth. During the conference, she would occasionally stop to pray for people and prophesy over them, and that included me. I won't give all the details, but after feeling for a half hour that God was telling me to go back to China, I was prayed for and told to "enjoy my calling and go all the way with it." Soo, I don't know when, and I don't yet know how, but I fully intend to end up back in China. I had originally said I would come back within five years, but I don't think I'll make it by 2009 since I've still got my Master's degree to start and finish. But, I am about 98% sure that I am going back. Hopefully I won't have to wait until I'm sixty to do so.

Albania, in the meantime, is going well. I'll FINALLY be starting my small group next week, and have quite a few girls who are free on Friday nights, so we'll hope all goes well with that and many can indeed come. I have, as a result, been working quite a bit on my Albanian, but, as always, am reminded of how little I know. This morning, I thought someone was asking me how the dog was, but they were asking the equivalent of "What's up?"--I still can not distinguish between some of the sounds in Albanian, and I'm not sure if I will ever be able to easily, but I'm hoping it will get slightly better.

So, prayer requests for this month are:
Bible study--pray for fellowship, unity, and a desire to learn God's word
IT'S HOT!!! Well over one hundred degrees Fahrenheit on many days, and I do not have a working air conditioner in my home, or in school. Pray for the kids as well, because it's difficult for them to work in this heat.

Thanks for all of the prayers and emails,
(Please remember comments do not work on the blog, so email me at tuckerkat@gmail.com if you need to get ahold of me, or look me up on Facebook if you're on it.)

Summer!!

It is definitely summer in Albania! We have had a very hot few weeks, and while we're in a cooler spell at the moment (uppers 80s-lower 90s) the temperature is supposed to go over 100 degrees Fahrenheit again very shortly. Not much has changed with Christopher's headaches, he still gets them more often than he should. But, thankfully, I have not had any new migraines. I'm amazed that this week (and the month of June) have gone by so quickly. I now only have 4 and a half months left, which is incredibly bizarre. Pray for me as I'm praying for wisdom about what I'm doing when I get back--I know I'll be starting at Oakland next fall, but I can't start the program this winter as I'd hoped, so I will likely be subbing this winter. I'm hoping I can get another long-term position, but we will see what happens then.

Things have been good here, with little steps and big steps in friendships happening this week, so that has been wonderful. We're also looking forward to two semi-vacations: first, in the third week of July, I'll be going to Bulgaria with some of the ladies from the church for a conference/vacation; second, I'll be going to a camp with many of the staff/helpers in August. The camp needs quite a bit of funds since the church is helping pay for the helpers, so if anyone has any spare change they'd like to send to Albania, let us know!

All for now, thanks again to all who pray for me!

Headaches, Bulgaria, and the Beach

While we haven't had anyone specifically come to church because of handing out the tracts last weekend, this has still been a good week. We've had a few rough spots with the kids, namely Christopher, but we're now keeping a headache journal to see why he's getting so many headaches and by looking at when he gets them. The heat may be part of it: the heat is currently brutal. It gets worse every day--from the beginning of the day until about eleven o'clock it stays in the nineties. It's also muggy. Nevertheless, good things are happening: a lady came from six hours away to be prayed for for salvation yesterday, it looks like I may be able to start my Bible study in two/three weeks, and I may end up going to Bulgaria for a conference. Now, Egypt would have been great, but Valbona wasn't sure if Egypt was possible, so if we get to go to Bulgaria, it will be a break from teaching and chance to have fun, hopefully. We'll see exactly what happens.

I'm also falling in love with the sea. We went swimming last night and the water was SO warm. We just walked right in, and it stayed warm all the way out (and we were able to go out reasonably far). Going at night, I didn't have to worry so much about reapplying sunblock, I just put it on once and went. Honestly, it was wonderful.

And that's about it for now!

Conference Week

Another busy week in Albania has gone by since we've had another seminar, which was very good, but not particularly well attended. What was encouraging, though, was that a lot of the teenagers and young people (my age) came. We went out on Saturday and went to houses surrounding the church in Spitall, handing out tracts and talking to people about Jesus. We had about 20-25 people in all and though no one prayed to accept Jesus we had some very good discussions with Muslims in the area and a few people who said they might come check out the church, so pray that they do!

New Pictures in Tim's Gallery Added

New pictures are added to Tim's gallery! Go to http://www.timtucker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=7640 to see them. They are mainly of Children's Day, which was June first, Christopher's birthday, and the trip to the beach last weekend.

Been a good week thus far.

Christopher's Birthday

I am finally sitting down for the first time today with nothing to do but go to bed. YAAAY! It was a good day, but I am definitely worn out. We had school the first part of the day, but then after lunch was all about getting ready for the party this afternoon--making pizzas, taking pictures, opening presents, cooking more food, going to the playplace, doing dinner, reading new books, and cleaning up. It was a bit crazy. The playplace at the mall was entirely my responsibility since I was alone with the kids except for a two mall workers, but thankfully it went better than expected. Our kids were the only ones there, and we only had a few bumps and scrapes and one genuine scare (do not stick your face on the giant inflatable castle kids, you can't breathe when you do), but even then everything was ok without need for medical treatment. A few things to deal with, but all in all it wasn't bad, and I was allowed in the playscape since there weren't any other kids. Water was a bit tricky, but my little translators helped out and it all worked out. Christopher (and Kimberley, and Valbona, and David) all liked Connect Four--I'm saving the other part of what I was going to give the kids for an early Christmas gift so that I don't need to send something from America. I honestly think Valbona was just as excited about Connect Four as Christopher, so that's good, because it will give them something to do together.

Had a good talk with David tonight while cleaning up, so that was good: hopefully I managed to be encouraging. Boiler leaked again this afternoon, but its shutoff valve now works, so not as much water went crazy.

Going to bed now because I'm tired!! Hope all is well with all of you.

Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink

An otherwise uneventful weekend has been rather interesting. I know I said I would get my update done this weekend, however we've had some interesting difficulties that rendered me rather busy. Last night, we came home from service in Spital and I was going to go wash my dishes, do my update, and go to bed early since I wasn't feeling well. None of that happened, however.
When I came in the building I could hear the sound of water rushing in the church, which would seem odd except the boiler had broken there the other day and water gushed out all over the place when it happened, so I assumed that was the problem again. When I got to my room, water had apparently been rushing for awhile--my entire bathroom and bedroom were covered in water about a half an inch deep. I frantically pulled everything off the floor, and most of it is dry now. It took us quite some time to get the water out of my room and into the bathroom, and then once it was fixed the boiler had leaked again, so we had more to clean. But, finally all of the floor was dry and I managed to get my room into some semblance of order. So, yes, it's an excuse, but it was a pretty busy night. And, this is the second time it's done it--Thursday night the same thing happened, just with less water.

Week with no People

Well, my weeks with no people have started, and are not going that badly. It is a bit lonely up with no one around, but not that bad. I'm hoping to start a small group for girls my age within the month, so that should also help too. Thank God for friends here, even if we have a hard time communicating over the language. The kids are still doing well, and this week I should have my big long update out, so be expecting that (and if you don't get it, email me and let me know). Over all everything is good, except for a little loneliness and my right ear: every morning for a few days I've woken up unable to properly hear out of it, and it's been ringing at night. It's a bit disconcerting, but God heals, so pray for that.

Interesting Week

This past week has been interesting and tough at the same time. Brent and Carol are getting ready to leave for the summer, so I'll be alone in the apartment for quite awhile, so that's been a bit sad. But, at the same time, there has been a lot of excitement because the ship Logos II is in port. It's a floating Christian bookshop that goes to ports all over the world, stays for a few weeks, and ministers/sells books before moving to another port. I couldn't help but think it would be fun to work there--people from all over the world volunteer to be on it, but you're supposed to commit to two years, so I suppose I would have to be really sure. But, that's just one thought.

Anyway, we went to a Latin Night on the ship where they talked about culture in several Latin American countries, and then, after talking about their culture, the speakers gave their testimonies. On Sunday, some of the workers from the ship came to our church to speak and do dramas and things like that, so that was fun. After services, we took them out for pizza and it was a busy but fun afternoon. We also went out for ice cream at a place that's old to everyone else, but it was new to me since I'd never been there before.

All in all, meeting new people and doing various things has been encouraging since it looks like I'm being included a little bit more now. I've got a few ideas about things I'd like to do at church, so pray for direction for me and for favor with David and Valbona when I finally talk to them about it. I've also been talking to the graduate department at Oakland to see if I can email them my final piece of information, so pray that that will also be alright!

Common Problem

Apparently the problem with comments is not just a problem for my blog, but is posted as one of the known issues at the moment. I've changed a few settings, and that may help, but I don't know for sure. Good day again yesterday, just some extra strife with the family from downstairs (between themselves, not including me, but it's easy to pick up on for me) so pray for them. Christopher and Kimberley are doing much better now that they can have a snack, but still have their whiny moments. So, keep praying, and thanks for praying so far!

Good Weekend, Bad Comments

Apparently, my comments are broken. I can comment from my own computer, but it won't let anyone else do so. So, if you'd like to comment send me an email sometime, and if you don't have my email, it's tuckerkat@gmail.com (or at least that's one of them).

Anyhow, it was a good weekend, but busy. Here's what's been going on:
1. The pump for the field that Carol and Brent have been working on is finally working--it's the second pump, so there was a lot of extra expense, but the plants can get water, so everyone is a little more relaxed now that that's settled.
2. Carol's birthday was this weekend and we managed to surprise her quite a bit. We took her out to dinner, got her flowers and cake, and walked home from dinner out by Volga (fun area out by the sea). The sky was amazing last when we were walking back: I don't think I've ever seen sky that color blue.
3. School finished well last weekend, as we have gotten snacks and that helps tremendously, plus Christopher got 100% on his first two real tests and Kimberley is doing pretty well reading her first few words. She'll have to go slower, but it's going ok. So, pray that keeps going well and that the two of them get along.

I miss all of you English speakers!

Photo Update

New pictures from Albania uploaded to Tim's website (www.timtucker.com) in my gallery for 2007. Things are ok here, school is a bit tough. I think we need some rescheduling of our day, but I really am not sure how to do it, so pray that we've got wisdom on what to do.

Worship Conference

So, the house is now almost filled--we've got people staying in just about every bed: two couples, one guy, and three girls have joined us in our little apartment, how we're going to make everyone fit well, I'm not really sure. But, the first day of the conference was very good. Lots of song-type worship, lecture/discussion on what worship is, and prayer. Basically, what the idea comes down to is this: we have to worship God in the way he would want us to worship him, not in the way that we would want to be worshiped. That way is obedience. So, the theme of the day was "Worship is the key to a successful life," with worship being defined as obedience. Today, that specifically also was talked about in the area of the church, work, and family life. While this resulted in all sorts of different things to change, I'm hoping people in this church especially heard the part about practicing and spending time together as a worship team--they're the people that are most likely to be around outside of regular church, and I'd like to get to know them better, but it's hard if we don't spend time together. So, we'll see. Prayer was good, and I got prayed for for a few different things, which was good. It was great to see the English people again, and I got to talk a little more with some of the Bulgarians, so all in all it's been a good day.

And did I mention I wasn't teaching today? Not that we really needed a break, but we had the day off from that part of work anyway. Speaking of teaching though, Kimberley took her first test and did well, so I guess things are going ok. Talk to you all later--probably not until after the second day of conference is over.

Seminar/Speaker Guy

Went to Tirana tonight for a speaker who'd come from South America--Canada--Albania. He was very good: lots of love for scripture. Felt like I could finally get rid of Florida, so that was good. First day of school went well and we got through all I'd planned but Kimberley fell asleep on her desk--apparently they'd had cold meds in their systems and were both very tired because of it. Kimberley was especially tired though, so we're making her time in school a half an hour less than Christopher's. It looks like Christopher hasn't been reading quite as much as I'd hoped, but he hasn't forgotten everything, so I think we'll be fine. Pray for Kimberley and her ability to hear the sounds, though.

Love to all.

Here and Well

Well, I'm here. We've had a Sunday (went to all 3 services), started school, went to a conference, and went to the new grocery store. The conference was all on the Alpha course, which is sort of like an IV GIG since it's designed for non-believers, but it's not a Bible study per se. The conference was good, and it'd be interesting to see how an Alpha course would do in America at my own church (we'll see when I get back). Services were good, and I wasn't as tired after all of them as I expected to be. After services we moved school into a bigger room, but it's the room that usually gets used for Sunday services, so we will see how that works. All for now.

I'm here

For those of you who haven't gotten an email yet, I've arrived safely in Albania. I'll be going to a conference this weekend, so if you don't hear from me, that's why, but hopefully it will be translated into English and will be good. Everything seems good here and I'm glad I brought what I brought (I should've brought a little more). (Note to Mom: Carol was excited about the oven thermometer). Just wanted you to all know! If I don't have your email, please let me know somehow so I can put you on my list.

:)

Counting Down

Well, I am glad to say that in less than two weeks I will be home! (Almost a week now). When I get home (January 17th) then I will start finding times to see everyone and so hopefully I will see all of you soon. I'll probably start working on the first of February, so if you only have specific times you'll be around, let me know!

Just wanted to say I'm looking forward to seeing you all soon!

New Years

Well, sorry to all for my lack of a Christmas post! Things were so busy here that it just didn't end up happening, but now I have a very small chance to relax, so here's what's been happening:

Christmas was a lot of work for me, because I was involved in getting everything ready for the church. But, it was still Christmas because Jesus is Lord everywhere and the point remained the same. It was hard to be away, but I had to remind myself that family is not the point of Christmas, Christ is. So, while it was difficult, I was over here serving and that made it worth it, because doing what God wants you to do on Christmas is better than being at home (even if it is really hard!).

New Years was simply amazing. There had been shots and random firework bursts since Christmas was over and it had increased day by day until New Years Eve, when at least every five minutes someone was setting something off. That was no comparision, however, to going up on the roof. We went up at quarter to 12 here, and the fireworks were just amazing. Everywhere you looked there were fireworks. The smoke got so thick we couldn't see the stars anymore there were so many. It was like the Detroit fireworks for Fourth of July in panorama all around us. Sometimes it was a little scary, but it was beautiful. Just sad that you couldn't see all of what was happening, because if you turned one way, you missed them somewhere else.

But, now we are in 2007, and many things are still unkown for me this year and others are more decided. I only have 17 days though until I am home and then I will actually be able to talk to you all, so Happy New Year for now and see you soon!