At a glance it is crazy. I believe in a God I cannot see. I often hear with my heart and not my ears. I live a life that flies in the face of popular opinion.
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong…that nobody may boast before Him.” 1cor.1:27
Needless to say, my faith will never be the same after this month. God has continued to protect us and guide us into plans we couldn’t have thought up ourselves.
Our remaining time in the little mountain skii town of Boge nestled in the hills of Kosovo was really good. We spent one night hanging out with a group of people our age in the cabin next door who were drinking and smoking weed. Although we didn’t partake in that, we got to be the light in a dark environment and tell them about our trip and why we choose to be here. We also got to host our new friends for dinner and tell them about our relationships with Jesus and enjoy their company.
As we sought His next steps for us we all arrived at the same conclusion; it’s time to go. A few days prior a man had given us the name of a bakery in Peja, the nearest bigger city to us, and told us the owners were christians. It seemed too obvious of a God thing not to pursue it.
So, the next day we set off to meet them. We were welcomed by the most beautiful fiery red head who is so filled with the Spirit, her wonderful husband, and their 2 youngest daughters (of 5 children) who still live at home. They are from New York and have been here 10 years.They have literally treated us like family and opened their lives to us in every way.
A couple people stayed in their home and the rest of us stayed at their friend, the former Mr.Yugoslavia, professional bodybuider’s house. Him and his wife are currently also housing other people in the guesthouse just a short walk and 150 goats away.
We knew coming in that our time here in Peja would be short, but we wanted to be helpful in any way possible. One of the days here they put us to work in a friend’s jalepeno fields. He had been praying for extra hands to help so we got to be an answer to that prayer.
While pulling weeds together we learned that this man became a believer 3 years ago while in prison. He has no children and his wife left him last year because of his newfound faith. Isis members at a local mosque tried to find and kill him because he’s the only Christ follower in his village. His calm reply when I asked him about it was “Jesus takes care of us.” I found out he also won the lottery in Germany but chooses to continue living simply, working on the jalepeno farm.
He reminded me of the man in the parable…”the Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it he hid it again and then in his joy went and sold everything he had and bought that field.” Matt.13:44-46
It has been so good just doing life as a big family the past several days. We have been spoiled with home cooked meals, movie nights, cats to play with, and so much encouragement and love. They are moving soon so we were able to help with packing and things around the house. It is still somewhat of a culture shock being in Europe which feels more like America after 5 months in Asia. I continue to see that God’s church really is one big family spread throughout the world.
So far, the things the Lord told us this month would look like have been coming to pass: (prayer, fasting, personal healing and growth, encouraging believers, investing quickly and deeply, not typical ministry, and moving a lot).
So, it’s that bittersweet time to move on again. Our new family has hooked us up with a contact in the city of Prishtina and that is where were headed next. Thanks again for reading my blogs and supporting me. I hope you’re having a great summer!
xoxo Jenna
