INTRODUCTION Once again it was time for my annual visit to the children's home and this year I had the pleasure of travelling with an 'old 'friend from our time on Crusader football holidays , Pat Seymour from Bristol. We arrived on time at the ever expanding modern Mother Theresa airport ,Tirana ,to be met by Bujar who is based at the Albanian Christian Centre managed by Paulin and Luli Vilajeti who also run the children's home. We stayed at the A.C.C. during our week's stay in Tirana. THE CHILDREN As usual it was a joy to see the kids the following morning, including the new arrival Tonja ,who is 5 years old and younger sister of Liza. For someone who was supposed to be shy with strangers we had a real fun time with her. We gradually met all the staff on their various shifts and it was good that there hadn't been any changes since my last visit, giving the kids some continuity in their lives. Gazi was absent ,however, this time ,as he had temporarily moved into a room in the A.C.C. with a view to obtaining permanent accommodation in a flat with a couple of friends from his church. We were able to have some good conversations with Gazi (now 20years old) and naturally reminisced on the days in Berat following his arrival in the home when only 5 years old. Understandably after having his needs met by others during the ensuing years he was finding it difficult coping with the transition to independence--simple things (to us) like choosing from the restaurant menu we went to for his birthday and the vast array of shampoo/soap in the nearby shop.
He is working for a company which imports plasterboard. Please pray for his accommodation needs and the inevitable loneliness now he is apart from the daily activities in the children's home. Pireta's adoption by an American couple fell through ,which was disappointing for her, as it seemed fairly certain this was going to happen. Now a Spanish woman has shown an interest in her . It's all understandably disturbing for Pireta. She showed us the paintings she had done which were hanging on the walls of the Home which had been viewed by local dignitaries--she has quite a talent in that department. She and some of the older children in the Home make use of the nearby internet café which is useful for honing their computer skills. Information about the other children was given in Paulin's last newsletter, so won't repeat it again, but folk still enquire about two 'old' residents. ALMA who will be 18 years old, we were told is pregnant again and still living in the wild part of Tirana. Sadly, I didn't feel it appropriate to try to make contact with her and her 'husband' this time. You reach a point in some folks lives where you have to hand them over completely to the Lord. I'm still concerned for her well-being. She always was strong-willed but may she call on the 'One' who can give that strength in depth and protection. Secondly XHULIO who is apparently living in Corinth, whereas we were always led to believe hewas living in Athens. Repeated attempts to contact him since last year have failed and yet I feel we should keep on trying. He is the same age as Gazi and came to the home a week later than him in 1994 . He went to live with his mother in Greece in 2003. He was very much the comedian of the Home (a bit akin to the Milky Bar kid of an old TV commercial) but also a sensitive lad. We recall particularly the several eye operations he had and the time he spent receiving medical treatment in the German army camp near Berat at the time of the Kosovo/Serbian war. TIRANA The capital really is transformed under the energetic leadership of its youthful mayor, Edi Rama. Pleasant gardens ,wide tarmaced roads , bus lanes ,and more traffic lights which motorists in the main actually obey! The mayor is encouraging citizens to paint the outside of their grim Marxist/Leninist flats in any colour they like and a group of such flats like these are near the kids home--looks really nice. There is a huge amount of business development in the corridor from Tirana to Durres, and in a year, 3 indoor shopping centres have sprung up--very modern and impressive with much Italian influence, but like the rest of Eastern Europe ,you can have anything if you possess a fair amount of dosh! We went out for a walk with Resi one day to see a massive building programme of smart new flats and to discover a new indoor shopping centre, all this only about half-a-mile from the Home. She had never been inside--again it was quite an eye-opener--below ground was a multiplex cinema opening shortly. We went with the younger children to a privately managed indoor play centre called 'Tom and Jerry' which combined with a café for parents is a useful facility ,but how we wished the kids could enjoy just playing around on grass. It was good to visit Alison and Mozi and their 3 children. They live 2 minutes from the children's home. Alison and I also go back a long way to the Guildford and London Albania prayer meetings in the 80's. Their house comprises a film studio where they produce an excellent range of Christian and historical DVD,s etc. related to Albania. We were able to attend with all the staff and children the Friday night church service. As is common throughout Albania the congregation comprised mainly young folk. Paulin and Luli also lead the church, so please pray for God's continued leading (and good health) in their lives with all the responsibilities they have. Other visits included what is described as a 'zoo' --as bad as ever , and the new enormous Roman Catholic cathedral. BERAT For the first time I didn't visit Berat , where it all started.! Apparently, the pastor of our old church and his family left to live in Italy in January and a new pastor Klodi from Kucove is leading the church.
From information I picked up, church membership in Albania is still in decline not helped by the continual movement of believers from towns to the capital or abroad which causes understandable disillusionment. Yet most of those who go abroad appear to be active members of their respective churches. DURRES Some will remember Irma ,who was one of the staff when the children's home was in Berat. Irma has visited the U.K. a few times and has stayed with us in Aberdeen. She works in an optician's ,the owner of which also runs an adjacent modern book/coffee shop, which I was thrilled to see had about 10 volumes (in Albanian) of the life of my hero, Winston Churchill. I was tempted to purchase some, but then I pictured my wife's face, as we already have a rather large collection of writings about him! Durres is also a changed town with the buildings constructed in an amazing variety of shapes and materials and coloured glass. The sea temperature was still pleasantly warm. GENERAL It was gratifying to learn that the local and government officials highly rate the standards of the children's home compared with other similar establishments throughout Albania. On the other hand their finances are still in a parlous state with the cost of living in Albania rising steadily. I only received 150 leks to the £1 compared to 180 last year. Luli asked that because general items are now so expensive in Albania ,even in supermarkets, if we could send out another supply of clothes (and other items like soap/shampoo/washing powder etc.). I explained that obtaining clothes from churches, quality clothes from charity shops or new in eg 'George' at Asda was not a problem. The difficulty was transportation. We are quite happy for a room in our house to be taken over as a clothes depot and then get goods packed and delivered to wherever in the U.K. , but if anyone reading this could recommend us to a UK company that still visits Albania that might take ''banana box' sized packages of clothes etc. for us free or at a reduced rate please do ring/e-mail us. CONCLUSION We had a pleasant British Airways flight to Gatwick ,and I was able to enjoy accommodation with friends Stuart and Trish ,who live near the airport ,until catching the morning flight to Aberdeen. Thank you for your on-going faithfulness in supporting these children--they really are a credit to God and Albania. Love, from Tony (and Liz) Treasure 1 School Crescent, PETERCULTER,ABERDEEN,AB14 0QJ
tel.01224-733419 e-mail: tonyliztreasure@aol.com | 
