This year was a bit unusual in that we didn't actually celebrate Thanksgiving on "Thanksgiving Day". Our ministry partners were all down with the flu and in our household Mikayla had come down with the flu as well. In addition, we had a major breakdown with the water system at the camp up in Priske which required my attention which took up most of the day anyway. Needless to say we postponed our festivities for the following Friday.
Water front - Saranda, Albania
Beautiful blue & clear water of Saranda
My three favorite ladies - Paradise resturant
Saranda skyline
Opps! I accidently sat on Mikayla's Skittles
Loading the vehicles on to the ferry
Mikayla - not to sure about the ferry
Ben & Heather waiting for the ferry to leave 
Corfu marina
Shopping in Corfu
Hotel Arcadion - where we stayed
View of the old town from our balcony 
Today on our walk over to the Chinese resturant we were caught up in a political rally followed by a parade...well needless to say it was very interesting. Please pray with us for this years election, June 28th.
Blarney Castle - Blarney, Ireland 
O'Connell Street - Dublin City Center
Liffey River - Dublin 
Typical Dublin street 
San Marco Square - city center - Venice
Traveling by water taxi or walking is the only way around the city of Venice...no cars allowed!
Enjoying the beauty of Venice!
Were back after 10 wonderful days in Italy & Ireland. God blessed us with a great time of rest and relaxation. We also had the opportunity to fellowship with missionary friends in Ireland on Easter Sunday. The first 3 days were spent in Venice, Italy. We stayed at a little B&B just 20 minutes from Venice. The amazing thing was the cost was so inexpensive, mostly due to the world economic problems. For example, it cost only about 30% of the normal on everything except for the food. We were able to take the train from the town of Treviso to Venice every day which took us into the city center. From there we took a water taxi to the main square to see all the main sites. Truly an amazing city with a deep historical past!
Enjoying McDonald's in the sun -
Treviso, Italy.
The Baptist church in Priske is also growing numerically, but more importantly it is growing spiritually. I have remained senior pastor of the church, but the church is flourishing under the leadership of national pastor Nardi Elponoria and we are happy to have him and his family as part of our ministry team. In addition to the two churches, our camp ministry in Priske has also served as a great benefit. God continues to open new doors of camp ministry opportunities. Youth retreats and church conferences have been a great way to teach and disciple Albanians molding them to become the spiritual leaders, pastors and missionaries of the future.
"Missionary partnership" is a hopeful future benefit. We are excited about the possibility of a another missionary family coming to work with us, we are praying that this will become a reality in the coming year.
Even though God is working there are those around us that seek to destroy the ministry that God has given us. No doubt there is a spiritual oppression that exists here and many days it is a struggle to see results. The Devil uses people, and what ever means possible to try and dismantle the work of God. But I always claim the verse "…greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." The work of God will always go forward and it is a benefit to know that our work is not in vain.
THE BENEFIT OF A CLOSE FAMILY
I am thankful today for the benefit of my family. God has blessed Debby and I with wonderful & talented children who love the Lord. Ben is 17 and in another year he will be going back to the states to attend college majoring in music, we will miss him greatly! He has become a very intricate part of the ministry here. For sometime now he has been leading in worship and playing guitar. He also plays the piano and he has a very good voice. It has been a blessing to see him use his talent for the Lord.
Heather also plays guitar and piano. She has a unique talent in photography and she is very good at it. She is great at organizing children’s activities and helping mom with ladies Bible study group and Sunday school functions. Both Ben and Heather are very active is Tae-Kwon-Do, currently they hold a second degree red belt and will soon be testing up to Black belt. This has been a lot of work and dedication on their part and they have stayed with it, never giving up.
And then there’s Mikayla. When God brought her into our lives 5 years ago we were not sure what He was doing, but Mikayla has truly been a gift. She has brought such joy to our home and has even had an impact on the ministry in some very interesting ways. We are proud of our children. They have had their share of challenges and problems over the years, but God has brought them through it and they are better for it. They are certainly not perfect, don’t claim to be but they are real and true and not hypocritical, they are who they are and we are proud of them for that.
Living on the mission field has brought our family close together. It has built strong relationships within our family unit, I believe this has been the greatest benefit of all.
