Near the end of July, our placements for the month of August were emailed to us. I opened the email, excited to find out where in Bulgaria (our squad’s location for month 8) would be. The month of July had already been a surprise with a switch to Greece instead of Macedonia.
I clicked on the email and saw, “Your team has been chosen to serve in Kosovo instead of Bulgaria for month 8!” So here we are in Kosovo, our second unexpected route change.
And we love it.
We are in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, working with the Fellowship of the Lord’s People church. Kosovo, and the church, have an interesting history. Kosovo is a country with a complicated identity. It declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, and is recognized by the US and most members of the European Union. Some important countries, however, do not recognize their independence, such as Serbia, China, and Russia. Even with a United States passport, we are unable to go to Serbia from Kosovo. And if we enter Serbia from another country, our Kosovo stamp will be crossed out by the Serbian government. The land is disputed between Kosovo, Serbia, and Turkey. For being such a small country (see size comparisons to US and New York below, Kosovo being the red area), this place has a lot of value.
In the 1300s, Sultan Morad of Turkey had a dream that he was to bring Islam to Europe. The Ottoman forces advanced in Southeast Europe, bringing most of the Balkans under the Ottoman Empire. In 1389, The Battle of Kosovo occurred in central Kosovo and was recognized as a battle between Christianity (which was the most widely believed religion in the area) and Islam (from the advancing Ottoman Empire). The Serbian army clashed against Morad and the Ottoman Empire. At this time, the land still belonged to Serbia. By the end of the battle (the location is pictured below), Prince Lazar of Serbia and Sultan Morad of Turkey had both been killed. Before his death, Morad asked for his heart to be cut out and buried in Kosovo.
To this day, Kosovo remains the epicenter of Islam in Europe. Ninety-Six percent of its residents claim Islam as their religion. There is talk of hope of making Kosovo an Islamic republic, the first and only in Europe. It is also a hotbed of extremists. Of all of the countries in Europe, Kosovo sends the largest percentage of its population to join ISIS.
Hearing these figures was shocking. While Kosovo is clearly a country dominated by Islam (with over 800 mosques, they’re like Starbucks in the US), violence is not obvious to a visitor like me. The history of this place, called the Land of Blood and Honey because of its vibrant yet violent past, has caused our team to take this month especially seriously. While some months feel fun and somewhat lighthearted, this is a country that has been and continues to be heavily wrapped up in war, both physically and spiritually.
We are partnering with Fellowship of the Lord’s People church this month. Their current pastor is the son of the first ever Christian in Kosovo. We have a variety of jobs we do throughout the week. Some days, we work at a local school, helping with the kids. Other days we work at a warehouse where we sort clothes donations to go on to secondhand stores whose profits fund the church and their projects. And yet others, we partner with them in outreach in busy areas of the city.
This church is one of the most vibrant and kind I’ve encountered on the Race. We were near tears when we saw the beautiful apartment they’ve allowed us to stay in. They’ve shown us hospitality like I’ve never even come close to experiencing before. We are so grateful to work alongside such a Jesus-centered church with a beautiful history of serving a complex country.
Please join us this month in praying for Kosovo.
That it would be a land of peace and unity rather than hatred and dispute. That its people who are searching for God would find Him. That the church would continue to faithfully plant seeds in difficult soil.
–Caitlin
Writing Credit: McKenzie Tritt
