My parents were in Barcelona last weekend, so as an early Christmas present,
Katie and I took a few days off and met up with them there.
Spain was wonderful. I won't even mention the fact that I got to see my parents, because that card trumps everything else. I'm not quite sure it was like America, but it was 100 times closer to America than Albania is. Running water with pressure. Parks. Trash and recycling programs. Paved roads. Street lights. Reliable public transportation. A buzz of liveliness flowing throughout the city both during the day and after the sun set. Things to do. Familiar foods to eat. McDonald's. Starbucks. Wi-fi hotspots all over the city. A Christian nation with Christmas music and decorations everywhere you turn. Domestic animals. Rolls of toilet paper that last longer than a day. Variety. Choices. The list could go on and on.
It had all the familiarities I was raised with, mixed in with a new, exciting, adventure. Things to do, and places explore. All of these elements add up to a pretty great time. It was definitely refreshing and a good break.
Vacations are not reality though. That's why they are so much fun.
So the question we keep getting asked is: "was it hard to come back [to Albania]?" The obvious answer would be yes. But it's always hard to come back from vacation. It's a tease going away for a week and how quickly we could adapt to the things we were missing, (you would be disgusted to know how many times we visited McDonald's while we were there.) It was comfortable. We were like little kids on Christmas morning, all day, everyday, as we re-discovered things we left in America only 4 months ago.
Then we came back, and everything was gone again. And we were thrown back into life in Albania.
So this is my response: Albania might not have a lot of things, but it has Jesus. You might not see priests walking down the street, or churches on every corner, but if you look closely you can see that Jesus is in Albania as much as He is in Spain, or America, or any other developed nation for that matter. And because He is here, coming home, to Albania, really wasn't that hard.
Jesus is here and so is my heart, so it really doesn't matter what isn't.
--
Spain was wonderful. I won't even mention the fact that I got to see my parents, because that card trumps everything else. I'm not quite sure it was like America, but it was 100 times closer to America than Albania is. Running water with pressure. Parks. Trash and recycling programs. Paved roads. Street lights. Reliable public transportation. A buzz of liveliness flowing throughout the city both during the day and after the sun set. Things to do. Familiar foods to eat. McDonald's. Starbucks. Wi-fi hotspots all over the city. A Christian nation with Christmas music and decorations everywhere you turn. Domestic animals. Rolls of toilet paper that last longer than a day. Variety. Choices. The list could go on and on.
It had all the familiarities I was raised with, mixed in with a new, exciting, adventure. Things to do, and places explore. All of these elements add up to a pretty great time. It was definitely refreshing and a good break.
Vacations are not reality though. That's why they are so much fun.
So the question we keep getting asked is: "was it hard to come back [to Albania]?" The obvious answer would be yes. But it's always hard to come back from vacation. It's a tease going away for a week and how quickly we could adapt to the things we were missing, (you would be disgusted to know how many times we visited McDonald's while we were there.) It was comfortable. We were like little kids on Christmas morning, all day, everyday, as we re-discovered things we left in America only 4 months ago.
Then we came back, and everything was gone again. And we were thrown back into life in Albania.
So this is my response: Albania might not have a lot of things, but it has Jesus. You might not see priests walking down the street, or churches on every corner, but if you look closely you can see that Jesus is in Albania as much as He is in Spain, or America, or any other developed nation for that matter. And because He is here, coming home, to Albania, really wasn't that hard.
Jesus is here and so is my heart, so it really doesn't matter what isn't.
--
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| My first Starbucks since July. |
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| With Mom and Pops. |
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| Katie, I don't think we're in Albania anymore... |
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| ...caught red-handed. |
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| Plaza Espanya |
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| At Olympic Park |
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| Barcelona, Spain. |
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