FINALLY IN KORCE.

Merdita (good day) all!
Korce is a less fortunate, rubbled Greece...with people constantly in the streets. You can sense the craving for modernization as new trucks drive side by side with carriages. They are a family-oriented society, where weddings take a week and providing for each other comes before all else. Greek Orthodox and Muslim are the religions of choice (or force during the early 1900s...many folks have Muslim names because of the previous rulers. Albanian history is craaazy...), though few people are devout. It is of cooler temperature than Tirana...as it is about a 3 hours and 30min drive through the mountains southbound. A GORGEOUS drive yesterday, which I enjoyed in extended lengths thanks to the flat tire on our 1982 bright green van. I drove with an Albanian minister and his family, including cousins from Italy. It was jammed pack with people foreign to each other...but we laughed a lot. By cooler than Tirana I mean more like 90 than 110 degrees.
I live with this beautiful lady named Dana. She is in her 60s, way laid back, and full of life. I warned her right away that I am a wanderer, and told her not to be worried when I go on long walks. She just nodded, glanced at both of our bare feet and said, "we are one in the same." The church has less than 10 people, but they are eager and all using WEI as a tool throughout the week. The full time missionary couple are in their late 20s...the sort of folks that are never afraid to share what they know and are very to-the-point, but kind.
I met 3 smiley teenaged girls at church today, and they have been coming for weeks and still searching. Im really hoping for many coffee dates and friendship with them, so please be in prayer for them and the students I have yet to meet. Most of the students are younger here, which excites me since I'm the only teacher (other than the 2 full timers) that is under 60. The church dynamic is extremely traditional...and I'm not sure what to think of it. I know there are more believers than 10 in this city, but our strict, unquestioned doctrine keeps them merely at our doorstep...and that is rough to see. Pocradets is another town the missionaries have worked with, but most of them are women there, so they are told they cant go much further because male leaders are scarce. I can't convince myself that this is how it is supposed to be. I pray for this church to learn how to seek and ask questions together. I know a YHWH that can handle any of my questions...and I pray for a church that can be safe enough to seek Him together. More to come...the sunshine is beckoning me. I love you all. Please read Hosea 2: 14-23...I feel Him alluring me and cannot help but sing.