The summer is upon our village in Albania, now, and all of the teams and Volunteers in Action who came this summer helped tremendously. Each group had their "specialty" and gave myself and the Waggoners, the Waggoners' children, and the Village tremendous encouragement and new resources.

Summer brings grapes!

The final team to come this summer, left this last week after helping run a Vacation Bible School in the nearby rural village we go to every Saturday. There had been opposition to us coming, which seemed to come out of the blue two weeks prior to the team coming. But the Waggoners have been faithfully serving the kids in that village for several years, and I think the kids have come to recognize the love and truth in the Gospel message. There were two weeks where the kids were obviously not sure if they could come, but eventually, although just a few at first, kids started coming back. The VBS went off without a hitch (except for some failed, over-zealous snack ideas), and all the kids had a great time. Their attitudes were transformed to joy by the final day, when they were able to join the kids from our village for a final day extravaganza including hotdogs. The team helping us run it did a very good job, and meeting and getting to know them was encouraging.

One of our not-failed snacks, campfire cupcakes, for when
Jesus had breakfast on the beach after his resurrection.

One of the team members showed the boys how to make "survival bracelets." 

August is the heat of summer in Albania. It's very hot, although not terribly humid, but as a result most families take a break from work. We too, are taking a break from normal activities, and we will be hosting a World Gospel Mission regional retreat the week after this. I'm thankful for some down-time to think, and I will be preparing worship for the retreat. After August, I will be entertaining some very special guests (which I'm sure I will post about after they visit), and in early September the Waggoners are celebrating the life of Cydil's father, David Waggoner, who recently passed away. He planted the seeds for the church here in the village, and many, many people in this village are thankful for his perseverance and the hope he brought them in Jesus Christ. The celebration will be a memorial service. Albanian funerals are very long, extended over forty days, and full of intense grieving. The Waggoners hope that by celebrating the life of David, they can express to those who knew and loved him the hope the gospel gives in life after death.