Traveling Home

 We all managed to stay up all night to get to the airport while it was still dark out. Going through the airport in Albania was interesting. Apparently, they don't like skateboards on the plane as a carry-on, even if the wheels are not on it. So they had to be checked, but somewhere along the way, they got lost. 

We got to Austria and over to the spot where we would board the plane, and most of the crew crashed on the seats. After their nap, we found out that we needed to go to a help desk to get new boarding passes printed out. We finally get on the plan and leave on time. Some of us take the opportunity to get a little more sleep.

We land in Chicago, and it takes FOREVER to get through customs. We should have had enough time to go through customs before our flight was boarding, but that did not happen. A big shout out and thank you to the staff at security who helped us get into the special line for those who were afraid we may miss our flights. We got through security and raced over to the gate, where we learned that we made it on time. But we had to check our carry-on bags because they had run out of overhead room. We got on the plane to then sit there for about an hour as they tried to fill the plane with as many bags underneath as they could as there had been a lot of lost baggage that hadn't made it to Denver yet. 

We finally get in the air and find that, due to the weather, we have to do a few circles before we can get to Denver to land. But the weather has not left yet. It takes a little bit before we are able to get to the gate. Off the plane, we then had to go to baggage claim to get our bags, but the weather came back and had us waiting even longer for our baggage. 

Needless to say, it took a lot longer to get home than we had planned, but we did. It was probably the worst travel experience I have ever had, but I was glad I was not alone this time, like I was in India when they had to get the flight on a new plane. Thank you to everyone who supported our team by giving and praying. Thank you to the parents who allowed their teenagers to go on this trip and have an experience that not many get to have at their age. Thank you for reading the blog! Thank you to the team in Albaina that we got to partner with.

I will be going on more mission trips in the future, and I will be sure to let you know what is next once I have the information! Till then, may God bless you in a way that is beyond all understanding.

Day 9 in Albania

Our last full day in country started like all the others. We got up had breakfast and did a devotional before heading over to the church. But this was not a normal day as we got to spend the day playing tourist. The team from the church got a van to take all of us about an hour away to a town that has a castle. The team from the church had been there before and was able to help us understand some of the history.

The castle that we got to see was the Castle of Kruja. This was the castle that belonged to a man who is known as the country's hero, Skanderbeg. He lived in the 1400s and rose to power in the country due to his military prowess. Skanderbeg was able to hold back the advancing Turks from taking Albania and, by extension, the rest of Europe. It was not till his death that they could finally move forward with taking Albania and other parts of Europe.

The castle as we see it today is actually not the original castle but a rebuild. I am not sure if the layout is completely the same as the original castle or if they built it knowing that they were going to have the museum there. You can walk through the main part of the museum guided my a tour guide. The guide will help teach you about the castle and about Skanderbeg. It was a beautiful spot full of history. The photographer in me wished I had more time just to explore the town and take pictures, but the town is on the side of the mountain, and I am not sure I am in shape to walk up and down the streets doing that.

After getting to go through the castle, we had lunch at a very popular restaurant nearby. The food was served family style on a kind of charcuterie board. I don't have any pictures of it because I was too busy enjoying the food to even think about taking a picture of this unique dining experience. But before the food arrived, I was able to take a moment to enjoy where we were at.

After lunch, we made our way to the tourist trap shops for the city that is close to the castle. They had all the good fun tourist things to get, like magnets and trinkets. After our quick shopping trip, we got back on the bus and went back to where we were staying. It was a quiet day after that. We got everything to go, and most of us plan to stay up all night as we have to leave for the airport not long after midnight.