(sunrise in Turkey-connection/layover) (Baltic mountains between Turkey and Albania)
Kosovo is indeed a country which sits between Serbia and Albania which became an independent state in 2008. It is recognized by some as an independent nation, however most see it as a part of Serbia. Kosovo has had a rocky history and there used to be a strong US military presence even in the city of Gjilan, where we are staying, about 7 years ago. Our contact said, “At that time, you could see troops walking on the streets with tanks and such. They provided protection for the people; their presence keeping war from breaking out.”
Gjilan has about 80,000 people. I’m not sure what that means (since I have no concept of population) but it feels like a very small town compared to other places we have stayed. We are surrounded by plenty of places to eat and a few schools which keeps our life limited to a couple of blocks. It’s nice to do ministry in a small town, because we continuously run into the same people.
This month we are working with a group of four missionaries. We are running a kids camp and youth program. Kids Camp involves sports, games, and a fun atmosphere to attract the kids in the neighborhood. The youth program occurs on Friday and Saturday nights. Friday is a time for games and hanging out and Saturday is the Real Change (youth group) meeting. All of the programs throughout the week are platforms to reach out to the youth with the hopes of them coming to Real Change on Saturday night.
Last week we hit the ground running. After a very long travel day, which included a 14 hour flight, waiting around for 4 hours in a park, and a 5 hour bus ride, we arrived in Kosovo on Monday night. Our days are very long, staring at 9am with prayer and often ending around 8pm with dinner. The kids here are in school for about 4 hours each day, either in the morning or afternoon. We run two sets of kids camp to accommodate the school schedule. We also host English Corners, a time for locals to practice their English, and some other church meetings and events.
(team hanging out in the park) (overlooking the city of Gjilan)
The culture here is definitely different than I expected, not that I expected anything particular. There is a strong male dominate atmosphere which keeps the women on my team from reaching out to men. We have been instructed, without going into much detail, to only reach out to female students and to keep our interaction with male students to a minimum. This was a shock to me as I have always had the freedom to reach out to whomever I want and have always been taught that women are equal in society. What makes ministry so hard this month (for the women) is that there are very few females in the church we are helping. As I said previously, the church has four adults, one of which is a girl, and five high school guys. To say the least, ministry will look a bit different for us this month. But I am excited to have time to pour into my teammates and serve the team by cooking. J
Kosovo is a beautiful country. We are surrounded by mountains. We were able to walk up a hill today and look over the city, so beautiful. Pray that my team continues to live out community well, it’s a bit of a transition after being separated last month. Also pray for our travel plans for next month, it’s a bit up in the air where we will be going. Thanks for the support!
