I have been in Kosova for 5 days now – but if you include all the traveling involved, it would be a total of 9 days since I’ve been in America. Let me start with the traveling aspect of the World Race. Travel days are CRAZY! Now I have never minded traveling….in fact, I’ve generally enjoyed the adventure you find yourself in when traveling. So when Launch had come to a close, I was VERY excited to pick up my bags and journey to Kosova…but this was an adventure I could not have prepared myself for –
We began our journey in the Atlanta Airport at 1 AM, Wednesday evening/Thursday morning – every single one of us itching to get the show on the road, anticipation of the months ahead was on everyone’s minds. With a mixture of excitement and exhaustion washing over our squad, we began the daunting procedure of checking-in each of our bags, getting our tickets and making it to our next checkpoint – the dreaded security line.
My team had finished checking in our bags and getting our tickets first, so we walked over to the security line and waited our turn to go through the process of laying our belongings on the screening table. Each of us are beyond exhausted and had reached the point of laughing at everything! Thankfully, we passed through security with flying colors even though there were a few hiccups in the process that caused us to laugh beyond control…you know, the kind where tears are streaming down your face because everything is just SO ridiculously funny. The next challenge was to find our terminal and gate – easy, right?! Well it would have been easy if we hadn’t been feeling the affects of sleep deprivation. We read the signs that direct us to the correct terminal and find that we need to take a bus to our destination. Ok, that’s not difficult – I’ve done this plenty of times. So with confidence, I walk with my team to the bus and place myself inside with all my belongings and teammates. Only issue was that the doors were not closing and these strange red lights were flashing like it was trying to tell us something was wrong. So a few of my teammates get off the train to see what the issue is and as if on cue, the doors shut behind them – leaving us separated and laughing hysterically from inside the train. Half our team is whisked away to our terminal, while the other half waits for a new train to reunite us once again. Once reunited, we arrive at our gate probably looking ridiculous – some of us holding our sides from laughing so hard – our guts aching, some of us grinning from ear to ear, and ALL of us carrying our homes, closets, and belongings on our backs…a sight to see for sure. But our spirits are high – ready to take on the world. The next few days were an entirely new level of travel for me – I’ve had my share of travel experiences, but let’s just say this one blew every other experience out of the water! We flew from Atlanta to Charlotte, SC – then to the New York Airport (JFK), where we had an 11-hour layover. Yes, 11 hours. Just imagine yourself being given 11 hours to hang out at the airport…THAT was a loooong day. A classic World Race lesson, “hurry-up and wait.” All I wanted to do was get to Kosova, but we hadn’t even left America yet and all I could do was be patient – to hurry up and find a place of waiting, otherwise it was gunna be a rough day. So I made the best of my situation and decided to check out all that JFK airport had to offer. 8 terminals, tons of restaurants, and plenty of people to hang-out with…yep, it was gunna be a good day. And it was.
Our flight was finally ready to board 11 hours later…Poland was our next destination. We landed in Poland 8 hours later and within 30 minutes of landing, were boarding yet another plane to Bulgaria. When we reached Bulgaria, our team had to find transportation to Kosova…our solution – busses. 8 hours later, with a few bus exchanges and layovers, we had FINALLY reached Pristina – the capital of Kosova!!! My heart sang with the knowledge of our travels almost being done for the month. (At least long-distance traveling anyways). We leave Pristina a few hours later to meet our host/contact in Gjakova, Kosova…our home for the month of July. Upon arrival, we are led to a church with a beautiful courtyard – bright flowers everywhere – and a balcony that brought us inside to our home.
Let me just say, my team has been blessed with wonderful accommodations, a hospitable host family, a unified team, and an awesome ministry focus!
First, our accommodations – we have beds, a shower, kitchen, bathroom, prayer room, hangout room, and a sanctuary all to ourselves! WHAT?! You mean to tell me that I don’t need my tent this month? No sleeping bag? I have a pillow, sheets, and blankets provided?! Incredible.
Our host family – This family has filled my heart with so much joy! They actively love each other and everyone they come in contact with. Being able to experience that kind of love from someone that has NEVER met me, cannot fully understand what I say, and is not from Kosova, is pretty humbling. They have been nothing but beautiful supporters of our ministry this month and love to share in our days and hear how we are doing. I have learned that family here is the TOP priority – it is the most important thing a person can have. They live together, eat together, do almost everything TOGETHER. It’s so neat to be accepted instantly into this family – they love well.
My team – My team is all females and we have fallen in love with each other almost from day 1 of being formed. 6 girls total, doing ministry together, in a country none of us have ever been too – completely awesome!
Our ministry – The main focus of our ministry this month is praying for the country of Kosova. We pray a solid 1.5 -2 hours daily with our host family for God to make Himself known here. Gjakova (the city we are living in) is 96% Muslim and our team is here during Ramadan. It is a very dark and lost city currently…yet everyone we meet is exceptionally friendly. Not what I expected. When prayer time is finished, we help in the family shop – it is like a Goodwill store. We fold, sort, and organize clothing throughout the week. We are also helping teach English to the host family…that has had its challenges, but it’s mostly been fun. Another huge part of this month is “street ministry.” Since Ramadan is in full effect here, not many people are around during the day so they can conserve energy. For those that do not know the inner workings of Ramadan – everyone that practices the Muslim religion is expected to take part in a time of fasting. They are not allowed to eat or drink during the day, beginning at 2 AM and going ‘til 8 PM. Once 8 PM hits, they are allowed to eat and drink as much as they want until 2 AM hits. They repeat this method for the rest of this month. So our team has shifted our schedule in order to connect with the people here. This means that we are doing night ministry…starting around 9 PM and ending around midnight so we can get back before our host family locks the gate. We are literally going out into the streets and making friends with everyone we can. God has been so good in this area so far and I trust He will continue to be – we have made some wonderful friends that are Muslim here and God has continued to provide opportunities for us to spend time getting to know them better. Praise God for His goodness!
