This past week we held Boys Camp and Girls Camp for the young (age 12 to 18) Albanian Saints. Boys Camp was held the first 3 days of the week followed by Girls Camp for 3 more days. The camp was located north of Durres on Gjiri i Lalzit (Lalzit Bay) amongst some Roman pines. Here in Albania, when you go camping, you just pick a spot and set up camp. While Mom was giving a Girls Camp presentation, I went for a walk up the bay. The above photograph is looking south.
Erlind Dishnica and Edi Çuçi came along on the walk with me. The above photo shows some of the old pillboxes located along the coast. The high tide and storms must have eroded the foundation for these two because they were upside down.
I met this fellow coming out of the water. He'd been wading in the rocks off shore and with his bare hands got this octopus.  Anyone feel a little hungry?
This is Mom with Sister Larson at girls camp. Sister Larson is American, but her parents are presently living in Belgium.
Girls camp, Albania August 17-19, 2009.

You can't keep Mom from a good dance. Frequently, we'll get an invitation to a wedding or engagement party. The Albanian people are very gracious and happy. The above and below pictures are of bride's party. We did not know this bride, but her sister, Ela Zgjani (center green dress) is one of our young adults.
This is picture of a portion of people at the bride's family party.  For a wedding, Albanians will hold 3 to 4 days of parties. One night the bride has a party just for her family and friends. The next night the groom will hold a party for only his family and friends. The third night there will be a party for just the bride's and groom's families. And finally, the 4th night there will be a party for family, friends and all the neighbors. Each of these parties will last through the night and not break up until 3 or 4 in the morning. Mom likes to dance, but I don't think she could dance that long. 
The engagement party is also an important occasion. A member of our English class, Sonilla (yellow dress) invited Mom and I to her engagement party. This is picture of Sonilla, her fiance, and her sister Suela. Engagements in Albania will last 4 years. During that time the couple will save their money in order to pay for all the marriage parties.
Summer fruit markets on every corner in Tirana. This one is not far from our home.

Well, I'm finally getting to the last pictures of the YSA trip to the Czech Republic. The picture above is the northern border crossing back into Albania.  Notice the dilapidated guardtower/pillbox at top of hill. For nearly 50 years it was virtually impossible to get into or out of Albania. The consequences of that communist containment still linger in the air, but our young single adults had an experience they and we will never forget.
Putting our toes in the Adriatic Sea, Montenegro.
One last ferry boat ride, now heading south. Sonya Saraçi, Mom and me.

It seemed that around every bend in the road there was a picture perfect village.

Walking the streets of Zadar, Croatia. Sonya on left and Marsela on right. Sonya is a doctor and Marsela is in her 5th year of medical school at the University of Tirana.
Mom sitting on the dock of the bay, Zadar, Croatia. A very pretty place.
Part of the small boat harbor at Zadar. Notice the castle wall on right which surrounds the old part of the city
At trip to Croatia would not be complete without a visit to the Kresimir Cosic Basketball Arena in Zadar. Outside the arena is this statue of the BYU basketball great who died in 1995. He played for and coached the Yugoslavian basketball team which actually beat the Russians in the Olympics. He was and still is considered a national hero. Before his death became the Yugoslavian Ambassador to the US. The sign outside the arena states: "God created man and Kresimir Cosic created basketball." 
Part of the old town, Zadar, Croatia. 13th Century church on left.

This is a picture of Zadar, Croatia. It was the home of that great BYU basketball player Kresimir Cosic. But before we get there we went to church in Zageb, Croatia.
Picture taken outside the Zagreb chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You can tell who the Croatian is. I think they grow these guys very tall. Marco is a member of the Church who we met at the YSA Conference in the Czech Republic. He is a judge by profession and a pretty good 6'7" basketball player by reputation. His home town is Zadar and from Zagreb to Zadar he drove with us.
The Zagreb chapel of the Church. The chapel is actually upstairs on the 2nd floor.
Standing in front of the Imperial Palace in Vienna.
Walking the street of Vienna with Mom.

After leaving early Saturday morning, August 1, 2009 we headed west and then south. Our first stop was Prague. I had an egg-McMuffin for breakfast and then we headed south to Vienna. The above photograph is of our little group in front of the cathedral in Vienna.
Lots of sunflowers lined our way across the Czech Republic and Austria.

Early morning in PragueThe Charles Bridge and the Danube in Prague, Czech Republic.
The YSA Conference could not have been better. We all had a great time.

Before leaving the YSA Conference I had to post our young Albanians singing the song they wrote as they traveled up the Croatian coast, through Montenegro, Bosnia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic. What you're hearing is pretty typical of the their folk music. One person leads, the others join in and some just hold a note in the background. From left to right, Sonya, Mergin, Harbi, Marsela, Edi and Emira.  In English the lyrics are: "We started a long road; we went through Europe; 8 Saints from Albania; all together, all together. We arrived at the conference to share our testimonies that this is the true Church; this is our motto. We give praises to our Lord today, tomorrow and forever. Oh, what joy fills our spirits; all these people are one Zion."

While most of the young adults at the castle service project had to work in the rather hot sun, our group was assigned to clean out and plaster the walls of the dungeon. I'll say this about dungeons: a dungeon is a very cool place on a hot summer's day. But the work was a bit difficult, at 5'9" I hit my hit twice on the dungeon's ceiling.
For those who would not work, we had a great enforcer. "Just kidding!" These guys were part of the castle's guides who put on a great sword fight. 
Because there were so many young adults attending the conference, the senior missionaries were "housed" at a nice little hotel about 20 kilometers north of the conference site in a small city called Chrudim. Its best know for puppet making. In the background is the city's main church.
Chrudim has some wonderful architecture. These guys have had a head and neck ache for a long time.
As I mentioned before our Albanian young adults were the hit of the conference. Here Harbi, Sonya and Mergin are putting on a skit from a Rudyard Kipling poem. Harbi is a TV personality in Albania. He broadcasts the news almost every night in Tirana. Sonya is a doctor and also the District Young Womens' President. Mergin is the District Young Mens' President. He will be leaving for the US later this month to continue his college education.

On the morning of July 28th all the young adults got involved in a service project.  We did something you just don't do in America. We fixed up and cleaned a very old castle. The Lichnice Castle was located very close to the conference site. We all wore the "Mormon Helping Hands" covers. Can you read the name of the Church in Czech?
Some got involved cleaning the castle's moat.
Others were asked to form a "chain gang" up to the castle to help carry stones back up to the castle site.
There was the necessary group picture. Can you see Mom? She's hard to find because she looks no older than most of the young adults. It must be the Albanian water.
That evening after the service project and work shops there was a talent show. Picture is of part of the audience. At the conclusion of the evening we all sang "I Am a Child of God".  We all sang in our native tongues. We estimated the song was sung in 22 different languages. A night to remember!

We had the opportunity to make new friends, both young and old. Mom with two young adults from Serbia. Radislav, the young man, and his sister are 2nd generation members of the Church. That is a very rare thing in eastern Europe. I've just learned that after returning home to Serbia, he has turned in his missionary application. 
There were organized games for basketball, volleyball and soccer. Considering that some of these countries don't really get along with each other, it was a wonderful morning. The above photograph shows Radislav, a Serbian, driving for a lay-up while Marco, a Croatian is going to try and block it. It wasn't long ago that Serbians were fighting Croatians in the former Yugoslavia.
Soccer was the favorite sport. But as you can see no one really knew where the ball was.
The first evening at the conference our Albanians sang a song they wrote on the way to the Czech Republic. It was received with a standing ovation.
Former enemies, now Albanians are loving Serbians. Mirgen with "the Serbs".

The YSA Conference was held at Seç, Czech Republic. There were over 230 young adults from eastern Europe present. The conference was scheduled to start at 4:00 pm Tuesday July 29th. We arrived, after a few small detours at 4:30 pm. Only a 1/2 hour late and no worse for the drive.  Above picture is the afternoon orientation meeting. There were young adults there from Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Poland, Austria, Romania, Moldova, Albania and the Czech Republic. 
Our Albanian young adults were quickly involved in skits, presentations and general fun. Mirgen Hoxha doing the presentation for his group presentation of their "banner".
We were all a little tired after 3 days on the road, but registration went smoothly.
Do any of you remember the old Citrons?  Well, they are alive and well on the roads of eastern Europe. I just had to get this picture.
We passed through Austria on our way north. We had no time for Vienna but we'd stop there on the way home.