Uniting over problems

,Again, I wrote this post at the end of the day (Wednesday - our second full day) in Kosovo. 

We spent much of today talking and sharing our vision of how we can partner with the ministries already serving in Kosovo.

Berat picked us up and took us to a forest reserve area outside Gjakova. This hilly area has been forested through the voluntary planting of young trees by many of the youth in the city. It's a very beautiful area that is representative of the hope that many have for Kosovo as a nation. They are definitely dependent on the work of the next generation to help Kosovo face the challenges of independence. In this park, there are a number of restaurants/cafes. We were able to enjoy a coffee while Berat explained the goals of Bethany Christian Services, the organization of which he is the executive director.

From there we went to the community center and offices of BCS. This center is located right next to a Roma camp, and serves many of the children and women with education support, literacy and language training, and introduction to some helpful job skills. After a tour of the facilities, we spent some time with some of the Roma boys...they were fascinated by our tattoos...and recognized that my tattoos, especially the cross on my leg, represented Christ. My tattoos have definitely served as witnessing tools in the past (they are, after all, deeply representative of my faith) but I never thought they would open up a conversation with a young Roma boy in Kosovo. Anyways, we deeply appreciated this time with the boys, and we were able to begin to see how God could use students at ICSV to serve this community.

 

Rebecca was leading the boys in showing off their muscles.

Berat then took us to the old town of Gjakova. Most of this area was burned down by Serbian soldiers in the war, but has been rebuilt by European investors due to its historical significance, and inclusion on the unesco historical sites list. We were here during the Muslim call to prayer and just happened to be outside the mosque (also the oldest building in Gjakova). We spoke with the caretaker for a bit, and then continued to a very cool ministry cafe called the lighthouse. 

We were then served another very filling lunch...this time of traditionally grilled meats. As you can imagine, I was quite happy...this was again a very pleasant time in conversation with Berat, we stayed at his wife's restaurant for four hours today. It was a much cooler day today and there was a nice breeze on the patio...so the hours passed by without really noticing.

I gave Berat my Mike Trout All Star t-shirt from last year...he loved it. Mostly because he loves to fish ;).

After dinner we checked out more potential locations...mostly football (soccer) fields...on our way home to the apartment to meet up with one of the local pastors.  Pastor Faton and his wife Lina were waiting for us (the guest house we are staying in is their primary residence) and took us back to the forested national park for more fellowship time. We were really able to get a sense of their own ministry, and get some good insight into their needs and ministry goals. Hopefully we will be able to bring a group to serve alongside them at some point in the future.

Tomorrow we go back to Vienna. On our way to the airport we will meet up with the small group of kids who are part of the Kosovo Softball Federation and pass on the donated equipment to them. Thanks for your continued prayers.