by Richard L. Bowman
April 27,
2014
A Special Easter Week (continued)
Today I hope to finish my postings about Easter Week. I begin with a second version of my Easter Poster in Shqip. Thanks to Mrs. Klementina Shahini for a good discussion on how to handle tthe gender of God in Albanian. I have implemented her suggestions below. The original English version is repeated here, too, form last week.
My Easter Prayer (a second verson in Shqip, the Albanian Language) (27-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
My Easter Prayer (Confession and Affirmation) in English (20-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Vignettes of People and Places
After our return from Lushnjë on Wednesday, on Thursday I went to try to find the train that visits Lezhë. I was determined to get a photo of it sometime soon! But, alas, I missed it.
Here are some photos I did get from that Thursday morning stroll to the train bridge. We had recently seen rain and colder weather, so the distant Dejë Mountain, east of Lezhë by about 40 km (25 mi) as the crow flies) had become snow-capped again. Dejë Mountain reaches a height of 2246 m (7369 ft).
Lezhë with a Snow Capped Dejë Mountain in the Background (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
As usual I cannot resist photographing a cute child who reminds me of our grandchildren. And this father and child seemed glad to oblige me. He just wanted to see the photograph in my camera viewer after I took it. His broad smile told me he thought it was good.
Happy but Shy Girl (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Then crossing the Drini again showed a rather muddy river from the recent rains.
Drini River (Looking North) Is Muddy from Recent Rains (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Drini River (Looking South) (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Lezhë does not have a large number of beggars, but with Easter just days away, I was sensitive to my lack of knowing how to really help. And as this photo shows, apparently others have similar reactions. On Friday evening this past week, as we left a pizza place, a boy came up to Elsie and asked for her foil wrapped leftovers. She gave it readily to him. This seems better than money which can be misused for alcohol and other non-necessities.
Woman Begging for Money on the Bridge over the Drini River (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
The street cleaners we sometimes pass in the mornings on our way to Lezha Academic Center are very important persons for keeping our streets clean with their twig brooms and dustpans. But I often wonder if they, too, are some of the faceless ones in our city. A student asked me the other day if I have said "hi" to them. The way they work, there does not seem to be much opportunity to talk, but my conscience tells me that is more my problem than theirs.
Woman Street Sweeper Working in the Morning (20-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Celebrating Good Friday and Easter Sunday
At our church, "Guri i Themelit" (the Cornerstone), we celebrated both Jesus' death (on Good Friday) and his resurrection (on Easter). I am learning to worship God in Spirit even when the words are not in my language, "Praise the Lord!"
"Guri i Themelit" (Cornerstone) Evangelical Church (20-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
In the Good Friday service we shared communion together and Dini and Rafael also symbolized Jesus' washing the disciples' feet. I was again challenged by God's extreme gift to us in Jesus and by how Jesus modeled for us servant leadership.
Good Friday Communion (18-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
A Symboloic Foot Washing on Good Friday (18-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Sunday mornings show us Dini's smiling welcoming face as we entyer to the church building. There are many more welcoming faces of Christian brothers ansd sisters inside, too,
Dini Welcomes All Whoo Come to Worship God (20-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Easter Sunday was a special occasion for the congregation as it marked the return of "pastor" Rafael and Solange Tartari and their children Paulo and Sophia after a half-year furlough back to Brazil for the birth of Sophia. Rafael preached on Eqster even they had only arrived in Lezhë on Saturday.
"Pastor" Rafael Preaches on Easter (20-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Other Notable Sights in Lezhë
On Thursday morning before Good Friday, I located the train station in Lezhë and talked with an employee and learned the actual times the trains arrive at the station (twice a day). Between his bit of English and my hand motions we were able to communicate. So I came back in time in the afternoon to photograph the train as it came in from Tirana on its way to Shkodër (north of Lezhë).
T. J., in a blog on the Economist web site in July 19, 2010, describes the railway situation in Albania the way I have found it today. That is, my Albanian friends think I'm strange for even talking about wanting to take a short trip on the train to Shkodër. Later on in his article, he wrote , "The period between 1975 and 1989 was the golden age. The trains carried 60% of all passenger traffic. Now that figure is less than 1%."
But as a enthusiast and photographer of trains, I'm still fascinated. The engine below is a CKD ČME3 made in the 1960's and somewhat later in Czechoslovakia. This one is Engine #T669.1032.
Albania Railroad Engine #T669.1032 Stops in Lezhë (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Train Gets Ready to Leave Lezhë (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Another intriguing sight was this small "cherry picker" that was parked just across the street from our apartment building.
Small "Cherr Picker" Truck (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Or maybe you are interested in antique balances. This one we found in a shop where we bought a small-base light bulb.
Anrique Two-pan Balance in a Shop in Lezhë (18-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Not far away from the hardware shop, is the large ALBtelecom building in Lezhë. However, on the building the last three letters are "kom," so there must be some kind of globalization going on herre. Wikipedia reports that 76% of its shares are held by a Turkish company with the remaining shares held by the Albanian government and other investors.
ALBtelecom Building in Lezhë (18-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
And we continue to find connections to the families of our students at LAC throughout the city. Below is the fresh vegetable and fruit shop run by the family of one of my eleventh grade physics students.,
Mother of an LAC Student Runs Her Shos (18-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
And the remnants of the fear and distrust promulgated by the communist dictatorship for so many years shows up in physical reminders as well as in the personalities of some Albanian citizens. Here is the top of a large bunker that still dot the landscape. This one is just outside of Lezhë.
Top of Large Underground Bunker Shows in Field (20-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
May God bring hope and healing to the people of Albania.
By the way, at one time I thought I might have to slow down the posting of photos in this blog. But it looks like I can always find lots to photograph ands talk about.
--©2014, Richard L. Bowman
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