Eva is such a blessing! She is lots of fun and full of comfort and interesting things. She is like our wonderful Albanian mother (though I suppose many of these qualities are hallmarks of Albanian culture itself). Every evening we happily receive her warm greeting and smell her warm, delicious cooking. she insists that we make ourselves fully at home. There seems to be something among Albanians where they'd almost be offended if you didn't allow them the opportunity to go out of their way to make you at home. It's a learning point for many of us Americans, who often live our lives to be as little inconvenience to others as possible. Lest we seem cold to some other cultures, I think it is good for us to learn to be humble enough to accept hospitality graciously, to sometimes allow ourselves to be served. This almost sounds heretical as I write it--Christians, of course, are called to serve others. But I do not think that this necessarily excludes allowing chances for others to serve us as well. I mean that we should have an attitude of humility, whether that be in serving others or in graciously accepting the help or kindness that others give us.
I don't know if Eva knows just how much she ministers to us. She works as a nanny, often for families of foreign diplomats... That certainly suits her. She has the type of heart that looks on the children practically as her very own and cares for them as such... like she has done for us. I even chuckle when she gives us motherly advice or scoldings--from choosing the absolute best food for us to eat when we're sick, to insisting that if i go to bed with wet hair, i will wake up with a cold or cough. Mama Eva...That's her.
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