Christmas in England

My last few weeks in Albania seemed to pass very quickly. I was trying to finish off all the tasks that Nick had set me (while I was there I did various things on the computer for them and put some new telephones in). A team from my home church in Fareham came over, and it was the first time I met the new leader, Barry. On the Sunday morning, at the church in Elbasan, he started to prophecy over various people, picking them out of the congregation. Nick told me afterwards that what he said was very accurate according to what he himself knew of their situations. Barry turned the "finger" towards me as well as said that I needed to be spiritually fathered, and that I shouldn't be just out by myself. This actually left me feeling unsettled, especially as I have been praying what I do next and where I go, although I do believe that it is right. I have been talking about going to Macedonia, but my heart was not really in leaving Albania. The time had come to move on though, and now I was left wondering what to do. I was also getting a number of emails from people asking what I was doing for Christmas, and where I would be. At that time I had not intended to go to England, as I thought it would be strange. But after a telephone conversation with Mum and Dad, who indicated they would really appreciate me being with them, I decided to make a trip to England.

And so on Friday 17th I arrived in London (after going via Greece - my 12th foreign country this year). My last few days in Albania were great, having made a great effort to finish all the work by Wednesday, and I was able to visit my friend Ariani's village, Belesh. I stayed the night and sampled good Albanian village hospitality, including fresh eggs, milk, and a (very small) amount of Raki (a rather potent local beverage)! It was a rather cold night in a house without heating (except the stove in the kitchen) - but it was great fun. I was up until late talking and laughing with Ariani (who speaks very good English and who's only a year younger than me).

It was rather sad to say the goodbye's but I hope to keep in touch. I met up with Gezim in Bromley, the brother of another of my Albanian friends, Elton. Gezim has lived in London for about 6 years and hasn't seen Elton in that time, so it was good to share my experiences with him.