As we come into our third week of being here in Albania I have been able to talk more and more with the people who work at the compound where I am staying. My team and I work alongside them every day doing all the odd jobs around the farm speaking through broken English and Albanian. I have grown to be very close with Daisha and her daughter Matilda who both mainly work in the kitchen but Daisha helps to keep the entire place running smoothly. At first I was nervous to talk with her because when I would do something not to her standard she would yell in Albanian and do it again. So obviously I became a little scared to talk with her. Matilda and I immediately connected though, sharing the love for cooking and different clothing. One afternoon while I as free I offered my help in the kitchen and Matilda, Sydknee, and I cut potatoes for dinner while talking about our favorite meals, family members, and what we like to do (we both like to dance). After being able to spend that time with her I wanted to start building a relationship with Daisha, so I kept praying for an opportunity to talk with her.
On Wednesday the squad left to go to their new ministries leaving our team here at the compound. We worked with Daisha all morning cleaning, preparing, and lime washing for the campers that would come that Friday. Since we wouldn’t have the time to talk with our parents until the next week my team and I ran over to the restaurant next door to say a quick hello and goodbye to our families. The whole time while I was talking with my mom I was distracted by talking to someone else and while trying to juggle the two conversations my heart dropped when my mom told me that I sounded very distracted so she would let me go and talk to that person instead. She knew that I had so many people to connect with and was extremely understanding but I still felt so awful for ending the conversation with that. On the way back I held back tears that seemed to be winning. I mentally told myself to cut it out, that I needed to be strong because everyone is going through heartbreak missing their families and people that they love. I held it together long enough to think I had gained control again, but while we were sitting at the dinner table I took two bites of my meal and realized I was starting to have a panic attack. Running out of the dinning room Victoria followed me towards my room; however, Daisha saw me weeping and asked my team what was wrong just trying to see what happened. After ten minutes of trying to breath through my weeping Libby came to comfort me as well telling me it would be alright that I needed to lean on God. Dousha came next and sat on the bed across from me. She used hand motions and the limited English she knew to try and help my broken heart, she told us about her husband that she lost and that Matilda had been through heartbreak as well. She put her hand on mine then kissed my forehead just as if I was her child and she was trying to comfort me.
Each day after that night she always would check on me by using her hands acting as if she was crying and I would respond with “poe” meaning yes or “yo” meaning no. On the second day of the campers being here she came to me while I was watching the gate and just sat across from me. She asked me about the ring on my ring finger again and I told her “yo, I am not married. I just had my relationship end.” Daisha patted my hand and showed me her wedding band that she now wore on her middle finger then pulled on her black shirt telling me her husband had died a while ago. She just talked with me and made me feel so safe with her. We continued to talk about our families and I showed her pictures of mine while she smiled and laughed about the stories I told her. Daisha and I talked for a little longer and when she went to start on lunch for my team she blew me a kiss and walked into the kitchen. Her love for her daughter was show to me through the way she cared about my emotions. God had answered my prayer to be able to build a relationship through the hurt and heartbreak I was going through following his calling to Albania. Most of the time we look at eh hurt we are going through and not at the people who are there to help us through it. I know that the pain of being here will only last a while but the relationships I build here will last a lifetime. Look around you to see if you are missing the person who is meant to be a part of helping you pick up the pieces of your heart and keep walking towards God.
