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Cultural exchange
Kristofer Hendrickson, 13, wears a hat from the European country of Albania. He, his sisters Kyrsten, 10, and Karista, 15, and parents, Stan and Jan, have spent the past six years in Albania working as missionaries for the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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ENLARGE
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Catching up
Stan Hendrickson reads from an Albanian newspaper as his youngest daughter, Kyrsten, plays with a hand toy from Albania while her sister Karista watches. The Hendricksons are back in America briefly from their mission in Albania for the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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Douglas County is a long way from Albania -- in a lot of ways -- as one couple has learned during the last six years.
Stan and Jan Hendrickson will be speaking of their experience as missionaries in the former communist country of 3.5 million people Saturday at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Myrtle Creek.
With Jan's parents in Roseburg, her late grandparents formerly of Myrtle Creek and Jan herself a Milo Academy alumnus, this area is like a second home.
Their actual home since 1997 -- and one waiting for their return -- is halfway across the world.
"We had a sense that God was leading us into something," Stan said, "but we didn't know what it was for a while."
Jan says she knew she wanted to do missionary work since she was young. The couple had a friend in Cambodia with Adventist Frontier Missions and they decided to pursue it as well.
The path they chose, however, had civil unrest at the other end. Albania abandoned communism by 1992, which left the country vulnerable to exploitation.
In 1997, a far-reaching pyramid scam shattered the already fragile economy.
"It was a mess -- anarchy," Stan said.
Stan and Jan Hendrickson will be speaking of their experience as missionaries in the former communist country of 3.5 million people Saturday at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Myrtle Creek.
With Jan's parents in Roseburg, her late grandparents formerly of Myrtle Creek and Jan herself a Milo Academy alumnus, this area is like a second home.
Their actual home since 1997 -- and one waiting for their return -- is halfway across the world.
"We had a sense that God was leading us into something," Stan said, "but we didn't know what it was for a while."
Jan says she knew she wanted to do missionary work since she was young. The couple had a friend in Cambodia with Adventist Frontier Missions and they decided to pursue it as well.
The path they chose, however, had civil unrest at the other end. Albania abandoned communism by 1992, which left the country vulnerable to exploitation.
In 1997, a far-reaching pyramid scam shattered the already fragile economy.
"It was a mess -- anarchy," Stan said.
It's what the Hendricksons, with their three young children -- Karista, now 15, Kristofer, 13 and Kyrsten, 10 -- in tow, were headed into. It was also a country that had been declared the world's first atheistic state in the late 1960s.
"By the time we went, the laws were changed," Jan said. "We weren't going to be arrested just because we were stepping into the country."
They did find civil and political corruption, anti-air attack guns on roofs, concrete shelters across the countryside -- mainly in case of American attack -- and an import-export program that specialized in human contraband.
"We're the closest point to Italy, so there's a lot of smuggling of people," she said. "These people come to Albania because it's the door to Europe -- and even America."
The Hendricksons quickly learned that many Albanians didn't want religion -- they wanted a way out. Stan says he'd get eight people a week requesting a visa from him.
"By the time we went, the laws were changed," Jan said. "We weren't going to be arrested just because we were stepping into the country."
They did find civil and political corruption, anti-air attack guns on roofs, concrete shelters across the countryside -- mainly in case of American attack -- and an import-export program that specialized in human contraband.
"We're the closest point to Italy, so there's a lot of smuggling of people," she said. "These people come to Albania because it's the door to Europe -- and even America."
The Hendricksons quickly learned that many Albanians didn't want religion -- they wanted a way out. Stan says he'd get eight people a week requesting a visa from him.
At a glance
<b>WHAT: </b>The Hendrickson family discussing their missionary trip to Albania
<b>WHEN:</b> 11 a.m. Saturday <b>WHERE:</b> Myrtle Creek Seventh-day Adventist Church, 325 Spruce St., Myrtle Creek. <b>INFORMATION:</b> 863-3815 |
But that's not why the Hendricksons made the trek across the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
"Our interest is a transformation of the heart, rather than some superficial Band-Aid," he said.
Transforming hearts that had been so rooted in both communism and atheism isn't an overnight job. Churches had been destroyed under communist rule and clerics imprisoned and murdered. Stan said the Seventh-day Adventist church in their home of Vlorë had been gutted and used to park fire engines.
Many would give Christianity a chance, they said, but were more interested in a quick financial fix. Others just didn't know how to embrace God -- or how he would embrace them.
People would tell the couple that they ignored God for 50 years and believed he had forgotten them.
"It's as if they were craving God's blessing," he said.
That mentality gives the family additional faith in what they're doing. The added conviction comes in handy when electricity, water and telephone connections aren't always as reliable.
"With electricity, we typically count how many hours we do have it," Stan said. "The welders do welding at 2 a.m. because electrical voltage is good."
Water, like electricity, is turned on only for a handful of hours a day. Jan often collects the water before 5 a.m. In the beginning of their missionary work, the day's water was held in 2-liter-sized jugs.
"We just filled as many as we could," she said. "That's what we washed clothes with. That's what we flushed toilets with."
The phone service is in the midst of being privatized, Stan said. Its quality was something that 15-year-old Karista Hendrickson scoffed at.
An aspect of Albanian culture Karista doesn't take lightly is the gossiping. It's prevalent in the villages and can get nasty, she said, especially because females are not expected to be in public alone.
"It's a shame-based culture," she said. "If you're seen out by yourself, people start gossiping."
It's also a proud culture. Stan said there's plenty of reason to be, as the people are friendly, hospitable and looking for a change from their old regime.
Jan says she's still getting acclimated with the culture, but the language has come much easier. Stan said it took him two years to be able to understand 80 percent of the newspaper without a dictionary.
He learned the language traveling for hours on end with his landlord's brother -- who spoke no English.
"I would take a notebook and two dictionaries along," he said. "I'd formulate a response one word at a time."
The family arrived back in America in time for Thanksgiving. They got to Douglas County just before Christmas and will leave next week.
They'll continue speaking at churches, giving presentations, attending seminars and raising funds across the United States to further their mission. They return to Albania in March.
"Overall we're confident we're where the Lord wants us," Stan said. "It's an assignment that requires a lot of prayer."
* You can reach reporter Paul Craig at 957-4211 or by e-mail at pcraig@newsreview.info.
"Our interest is a transformation of the heart, rather than some superficial Band-Aid," he said.
Transforming hearts that had been so rooted in both communism and atheism isn't an overnight job. Churches had been destroyed under communist rule and clerics imprisoned and murdered. Stan said the Seventh-day Adventist church in their home of Vlorë had been gutted and used to park fire engines.
Many would give Christianity a chance, they said, but were more interested in a quick financial fix. Others just didn't know how to embrace God -- or how he would embrace them.
People would tell the couple that they ignored God for 50 years and believed he had forgotten them.
"It's as if they were craving God's blessing," he said.
That mentality gives the family additional faith in what they're doing. The added conviction comes in handy when electricity, water and telephone connections aren't always as reliable.
"With electricity, we typically count how many hours we do have it," Stan said. "The welders do welding at 2 a.m. because electrical voltage is good."
Water, like electricity, is turned on only for a handful of hours a day. Jan often collects the water before 5 a.m. In the beginning of their missionary work, the day's water was held in 2-liter-sized jugs.
"We just filled as many as we could," she said. "That's what we washed clothes with. That's what we flushed toilets with."
The phone service is in the midst of being privatized, Stan said. Its quality was something that 15-year-old Karista Hendrickson scoffed at.
An aspect of Albanian culture Karista doesn't take lightly is the gossiping. It's prevalent in the villages and can get nasty, she said, especially because females are not expected to be in public alone.
"It's a shame-based culture," she said. "If you're seen out by yourself, people start gossiping."
It's also a proud culture. Stan said there's plenty of reason to be, as the people are friendly, hospitable and looking for a change from their old regime.
Jan says she's still getting acclimated with the culture, but the language has come much easier. Stan said it took him two years to be able to understand 80 percent of the newspaper without a dictionary.
He learned the language traveling for hours on end with his landlord's brother -- who spoke no English.
"I would take a notebook and two dictionaries along," he said. "I'd formulate a response one word at a time."
The family arrived back in America in time for Thanksgiving. They got to Douglas County just before Christmas and will leave next week.
They'll continue speaking at churches, giving presentations, attending seminars and raising funds across the United States to further their mission. They return to Albania in March.
"Overall we're confident we're where the Lord wants us," Stan said. "It's an assignment that requires a lot of prayer."
* You can reach reporter Paul Craig at 957-4211 or by e-mail at pcraig@newsreview.info.
