Gypsy street and Albanian Big Brother

So sorta getting into the swing of how things work here. Faton is back and somehow his, just being aroundness is makes me feel a little easier about life. Saturday was fairly quiet day; we didn’t go to Barum Curri as the guys were a bit tired. Apparently they walked quite far or something?
So Saturday we trod the holy ground of Gypsy Street. This is like the dregs of the city. It’s the dodg bit of town. When you walk up there’s groups of teenagers sitting on steps outside little bars with ridiculously loud, music pumping out. There’s groups of older guys smoking and just looking. You know when you walk past a people and they just look, hard eyes, fag in mouth, messy looking, and beer in one hand. Just looking, sometimes you wonder what they think, what lies behind the blank stares, then before you can commit it too much to thought, a shop keeper throws a bucket of water at some kid coz he’s been standing out the front of his shop for too long. A few more meters, a few stray dogs and some guys cutting wood and bending metal in the street and we reach the spot. Victory church have a house at one end of the street. I wouldn’t quite say it’s a rescue shop, and its not quite the gates of hell, but I don’t think it’s too far off. For some reason this is like my favourite part of the town. The team, as always are ready and waiting, however when the kids come into this place it takes even more shouting moving, lifting, breaking up little scuffles before things can get going. My usual friendly translators aren’t hear so I can really do much but observe. Some of the kids I recognize from a previous visit, a couple recognize me, then take great pleasure is showing us how they have learned to back flip one another in the smallest of spaces. Good times (child protection, wot protection)
So tina and the guys kick off, a song a memory verse a story. Some questions about the story a prayer and a game – that’s where it gets interesting? All the kids in the middle, A worker at one end of the garden and one at the other. They have a ball they throw it at the kids, if they get hit they go, not just out of the game but off the property, it’s a good way to end the sesh. Some kids fall over some cry a bit, but it’s all in a day’s work in Mahala Shafers ‘Gypsy street’
I’ve been thinking you could do so much hear, home work help, kids club for a week in the sumer, some kind of mentoring thing (but the kids are all young under 12 i recon, prayer in the middle of the getto? there’s a whole host of potential hear but once again the frustrations of language come into play and I’m stuck as to how I can help and inspire.
So I walked back with Tina, we had an odd conversation with her minimal but clear English and my none existent Albanian. I think (somehow lost in translation) I offered to buy her a car at one point (I hope this was cleared up but can’t be sure? Mmmmm) She just passed he driving test. Good work.
We get to the house, and I asked what they were up to tonight. She said I could come over to their place to watch TV if I wanted later.
Now it’s worth mentioning that I had made an agreement with myself that, at least for the first month or so, I would make the most of every opportunity and take up any invitations. As long as they weren’t too dodgy. So I agreed. 9PM I turned up, to watch the final of Big Brother Albania. I understand the concept of Big Brother, I have wasted plenty of my life numbing my mind with the English version. But other than that it was all a bit confusing. They were on the last 4 people and in true Big Brother style they managed to hang it out for as long as physically possible. When I say long I mean, 4 hours long. I wasn’t aware when I took the offer that this was gona go till 1 in the morning. However, as always, in broken dialects and with small parts of both languages we all try to communicate, Tina who actually speaks a good amount of English and makes me feel quite ashamed at my lack of language skills, her brother, who tries hard and we have a laugh, his wife their baby who was nearly 2 months old and didn’t really join in the conversation much, (at least I could speak more Albanian than someone in the room), another sister and little David (who says thank you very much in perfect English) All in all kool night.
Church Sunday Jap spoke before leaving for Holland Monday, we prayed for folks, that was kool. It was quite humbling to see the guys we had met in Slovan a few days earlier had made the trek to the church. Maybe just in recognition of the churches visit to them, maybe in seeking some help in their situations or maybe searching for something more, something deeper some other kind of comfort. It was a privilege to be able to pray with them.

Met some English folks that had some connection with the boiler room in Reading, their hear working in an orphanage I think. Told them I wanted to do like a prayer room at some point and 24 hrs of prayer. They seemed up for helping, good times. Had Kafe at Tina’s again, I think they just feel sorry for me as I amble aimlessly around looking for stuff to do. It was kool learned a lot about her and her role in the church and what she would like to do in the future.
Please pray for her she had big dreams for this city and is really seeking Gods guidance in it all, the family are Muslim so in just attending church she is breaking all their traditions let alone being a single parent working almost full time for God. Also for Faton and Kjamalina as Valon has asked to come back to the church. For wisdom in the situation.

Nice one bruva