A tour around our new neighborhood

We have been in our new house for a little less than a week, but we are already learning more about the neighborhood that God has placed us in. We want you all to get a feel for our neighborhood. We'd love to invite you to do "virtual prayer walks" from time to time through our neighborhood as we look for opportunities to bear witness to Jesus Christ.

Location 1 - Our house. Just outside our house is a Salon that is owned by the owners of the house we are renting. Already, Kailyn and Rebecca have spent a lot time just sitting in there with the ladies. It is a training facility so there are a lot of girls coming in who love to play with Kailyn. Might just turn in to a recruiting center for babysitters (and softball players)! Please pray that Rebecca and Kailyn will be able to build good relationships with these girls and serve as a witness to God's Grace.

Our front patio. This is a great space that we hope to use to have friends over for bbqs and to watch games.

Our house is quite private. The grey doors open on to our front patio area. The Salon owned by our landlords is in the background. Oh ya...and our car; a huge answer to prayer!

Location 2 - The corner market. This little corner market has become our go to place for drinks, ice cream/popsicles, and other small grocery items. We seem to drop in this little market once or twice a day. Pray that this small business will be successful, pray that we will boldly practice our Albanian with the family who runs the store and that they will see Jesus in our interactions with them.

Location 3 -  The bakery. We are trying to make a point of walking to this bakery every morning. They have amazing burëk, a pastry type dough filled with meat (our favorite), cheese, or spinach. This is also where we get all our fresh bread. They even have some nice hamburger buns that we've enjoyed. Pray that this small business will be successful, pray that we will boldly practice our Albanian with the family who owns the bakery and that they will see Jesus in our interactions with them.

Location 4 - The neighborhood mosque  We can hear the call to prayer and see the minarets from our living room window. Please pray that Jesus will make himself known to all who pray at this mosque. Pray that the Holy Spirit will work mightily in their lives and reveal the only way to Heaven. Pray that we will be wise in our interactions with our Muslim neighbors and that we will boldly speak when necessary, but more importantly, humbly love at all times...and Mishëtorre (Butcher Shop) right next to the mosque is a butcher shop. I have enjoyed getting to know the butcher and have been ordering all our meat in a mix of English, German, and Albanian. He makes delicious Suxhuk (a local dried sausage) and some other beef sausage. Please pray for this man as he works to make a living in our neighborhood. Pray for my interactions with him, that I can point to Jesus through all I say and do with him.

You can see the double minarets of the mosque to the left. You can see the butcher shop in the center of the picture, the sign with the red lettering.

Location 5 - The local Kindergarten. Kailyn's future school (we hope). In Kosovo, Kindergarten comes before preschool...so this would be where Kailyn begins attending in the fall and will probably remain through age 6. It is quite close to our house so that is an added blessing. Please pray for the staff and teachers at this school. Pray that they will take seriously their calling to train up young people. Pray that our interactions with them will be grace filled. Pray for Kailyn as she will be in a unknown system with an unknown language. Pray that she will learn Albanian quickly and be a blessing to this school.

Location 6 - Local park and playground. Just across from the school is a very nice park. In fact it is the newest park in Gjakova. It is often crowded with kids playing on the playground and playing soccer or basketball. Pray for these young people. Pray that they will be able to safely enjoy this playground. Pray that any interactions that Kailyn and Justin have at this playground will be positive and will point towards Jesus.

Location 7 - Euro store. This small neighborhood store has been a lifesaver for us. There are a number of basics that are either in the boxes we shipped or the boxes in Vienna that we haven't received yet. Things like silverware, plates, cups...a whole host of things. We were able to get all these things at a pretty low price and we'll probably drop in to this store on a regular basis when we realize we don't have something at the last minute. Pray that this small business will be successful, pray that we will boldly practice our Albanian with the family who runs the store and that they will see Jesus in our interactions with them.

Location 8 - (not on map) Rebirth of Kosovo Church and Kings Café. The church we are attending is relatively small and meets in the upper room of a building where there are a couple other cool ministries going on. There are a number of young families and while everything is done in Albanian they do translate the sermon into English and include English words below the Albanian lyrics for some of the songs. It's actually quite helpful in hearing how words are pronounced, and what those words look like when spelled out.

The pastor of this church is a local Kosovar who also teaches English courses in a classroom just below the church meeting room during the week.  Right next to the classroom is a relatively new cafe that has been opened by the church. It's a great outreach that funnels any profits from the cafe directly in to the other outreach ministries of the church (food deliveries, orphan and widow care, amongst others). We're excited to be a part of this growing and fruitful church community. Please pray that this community will be strengthened, encouraged, and edified by the Holy Spirit. Pray that they will be emboldened within their community and will find ways to witness to their neighbors. 

King's Cafe is on the second floor on the left of the building. Our church meets on the third floor of this building.

A very pleasant patio.

Inside King's Cafe

I hope you have enjoyed this virtual tour of our neighborhood. Please pray for these locations and for the Holy Spirit to work through the relationships that he has allowed us to begin making. We would be blessed to have you bookmark this post (or print it out) and occasionally take a prayer walk through our neighborhood.