TRAINING IN TIRANA

We spent this last week in Tirana Albania with Elder and Sister Weidman.  We first met the Weidmans when we were in the MTC preparing to serve in Indonesia.  They were learning German, as their call was to serve in Austria with the young single adults.  Like Eileen, Sister Weidman is a nurse and the two struck up a friendship.  Occasionally, while we served in Indonesia the two would talk over the phone and compare experiences of their missionary service.  It was a pleasure to spend time with them again.

Elder and Sister Weidman arrived in Albania earlier this month and spent a week or so with the previous humanitarian couple.  Last week they spent all week driving one of our Vision Project Specialists from Salt Lake City around to four closing ceremonies at hospitals in different parts of the country.  Driving in Albania, particularly in Tirana, is more of an art than science and can be a bit stressful to newcomers.  It was after this introduction to the country and their duties that we met Elder and Sister Weidman again.

When we visit a new couple we come with a prepared list of things to cover and materials that could take a couple of days to go through.  However, we find it works best to first ask the couple what questions they have and how we might help them get settled.  After we have dealt with their questions we then fill in with the parts of our previously prepared materials that have not already been addressed.  When we arrived Monday afternoon and explained how we would like to proceed, Elder Weidman pulled out his lists of questions.  I spent the remainder of the day Monday and all day Tuesday answering his questions.  All during that time Eileen was working with their Church issued computer getting it to work properly.  She spent a considerable amount of that time working with the Church computer support people over the phone.  Although it is not something she enjoys doing, Eileen has become fairly proficient at fixing problems with computers and their programs.  I am very grateful for Eileen’s IT capabilities as I could not do what she does.

Elder Weidman trying to figure out the new computer

Sister Weidman will fulfill humanitarian and nursing duties from this desk

On Monday night we had the opportunity to attend Family Home Evening with the Mission President, his wife, two other missionary couples and a few young missionaries.  This is something they do every Monday night and I am sure is a great moral support to the missionaries serving there.

Elder Weidman and other senior missionaries serving in Albania

President Weidmann (yes same name as our humanitarian couple, but different spelling) and the APs.

These missionaries thought up extremely  difficult words in this game of scrabble.

On Wednesday afternoon, Elder and Sister Weidman took us to see their other apartment.  They are the first couple I have met which have two apartments.  During the week they perform their humanitarian duties, which may take them all over the country but are based out of Tirana, where most other NGOs are located.  But on weekends they have been asked to serve in a ward (congregation of members) that is in a city located in the mountains.  It seemed to me comparable to serving in Salt Lake City and Park City, except without the freeway in between.  They go up each Friday afternoon and spend the weekend serving as member and leadership support missionaries there.

This woman bakes bread in a wood burning oven. Two loaves of delicious bread cost 90 cents.

If you request it, you can have your bread sliced.

Chapel in Elbasan 

Market at Kruja

Antiques including old army helmets for sale

Castle at Kruja at night

View of Tirana

There are many roadside vendors selling fruit. Sister Weidman bought some fruit from this man in exchange for a photo

Elder Weidman getting his $3 haircut

That large mound is for corn stalks,

This is where Elder Oaks dedicated Albania for the preaching of the gospel

On Thursday morning we took a two-hour free walking tour of Tirana.  The guide was a recent college graduate (history major) and the tour was in English.  It was a great experience for us and the Weidmans to learn more about the local people and history of the country.  The country was under communist rule for over 45 years following WWII.  Unlike most other communist countries, which allowed for some movement of people within other communist countries, Albania did not.  It was truly isolated from the world for many decades similar to North Korea today.  We found the local people we met to be outgoing and positive in attitude.  On several occasions we were stopped by locals (in a friendly way) who inquired about why we were there.  Of all the countries we have visited in Eastern Europe I think Albania may be the most welcoming to outsiders.

Elder and Sister Weidman

Yes, the cadillac got dinged-the parking guy was driving the other car-parking is an issue in Tirana

This street seems out of place in a former Communistic Society

Soviet bunkers are everywhere and are connected with an underground tunnel system

 On Friday morning we met with representative of the Red Cross.  Both within Albania and worldwide the Church and Red Cross have partnered in many projects.  We discussed with them a project they are proposing to teach in the local high schools addiction prevention.  We also discussed our willingness to help with emergency response situations similar to the recent earthquake in Italy or floods in Macedonia.  We found the local Red Cross officials to be very open and competent.  It is a pleasure to work with NGO partners like them.

Employees of Albania Red Cross, the man on the left is in charge of emergencies, the one on the right is a physician in charge of social programs. Both were great to work with.