We’ve spent the last couple of weeks getting over the shock of a 96-hour travel day and settling in to the city of Gjakova, Kosovo. It is a small city, rich in history and hospitality. The surrounding beauty blankets the fact that, less than 20 years ago, this place was ravaged by war (not to mention the extremely violent Balkan War that began in the early 1900s). Large areas of the town were destroyed, 75% of the population was “expelled” by Serbian forces, and the actions of the government here made up a major part of the UN war crimes indictment of the then-president (a name I can’t spell or pronounce). Many of the local men were killed in a mass gendercide; if you were male and old enough to be perceived as a threat, then you were taken away to be killed.
The streets are now quiet.
In 1999, I was rocking out to Smashmouth and watching “Rocket Power”, only vaguely aware from “Nick News” that there was a war going on a million miles away and that really bad stuff seemed to be happening in a place I couldn’t really pronounce. To be here, 15 years later, really sheds the harsh light of reality onto my 10 year old brain. Despite the war and the pain, the people have persevered in seeming peace.
Mosques from sects of Islam that are warring in other countries, coupled with a cathedral or two, all grace the tiny skyline in a friendly sort of way. It mirrors the respect the people all have for the differences in each other as well. Perhaps being an oppressed people brought into freedom can do that to you.
One of the Mosques waving “hello”.
Being the first World Race team to spend a month in Kosovo, specifically in Gjakova (there is a different team doing work in the capital city of Pristina), a large part of our work here is to make connections and open up avenues for long term missionaries in need of assistance to receive future World Race teams on a regular basis. Consequently (or,perhaps, divinely) we’ve come across such people.
The first one was easy to connect with since we happen to be staying in his church that happens to be right next door to his home #won’tyoubemyneighbor. After accidentally inviting ourselves to coffee in his front yard one night and descending on he and his family in an attempt to meet the Kosovian level of friendliness, we all began to chat. At some point I asked the question: “So what’s your story?”
Meet Pastor Nike
We discovered that he began as a communist during communist times and was a very intelligent and well-studied Atheist. One of his sisters became a Christian and became one of those people that annoy you with the gospel at every turn. After leaving him a copy of the New Testament in Albanian, he decided to destroy her philosophy by giving it a read and proving it was wrong. He said that, even though he was reading it alone, he immediately became angry, defensive, and felt convicted…so he threw it from his hands. Then he began to ponder- “why do I feel this way when I am the only one here? Why are these words affecting me so deeply?” So he began to explore and joined the Catholic Church in the little village he was living in. He began to learn and began to believe, but still wanted more life. More of the life he felt when he was reading for the first time. So he took two busses into the city to go to the larger Cathedral. He kept learning and growing and, through a dream’ was lead to a different church where he encountered what he was looking for. He went on to become the first Christian in Kosovo and has been Gjakova’s witness ever since. He has got a passion for this city and this country and prays for over an hour out loud every single day on its behalf. I can’t think of anything I dedicate an hour and a half to every day. I’m impressed.
Another connection we made came by divine accident. We came across an American accent coming out of an American-looking woman and out hearts leapt at the familiarity. Through further conversation, we discovered that she is a missionary who had come out of Time’s Square Church in New York City (which I just happened to visit when I was there three years ago) who is doing a lot of work with the youth of Gjakova- most of it on her own. When we talked about what we were doing here and the heart behind the World Race, her face lit up and she got very excited and exclaimed. “I knew God was doing something!” She had apparently been praying for more resources to help as the groups and programs she has started are expanding. At the next coffee date, we met with her local pastor and a recurring visiting pastor from London (bonus for me!) and discussed the possibilities of sending future teams to be a help and resource to them and to this country.
In the meantime, we are keeping busy praying with Nike and his family every day (until my brain explodes), working in the church charity shop, and being our own sort of Gjakova’s witnesses all around the city. We’ve met so many amazing locals already who have taken us on tours, given us free food, and even welcomed us into their homes and had us wear traditional Kosovian wedding garb (more on that in the next blog)! I can’t wait to see what beautiful people cross our paths in our remaining couple of weeks.
Here are just a few that we’ve come across so far.
Thank you so much for your prayers! Please pray for our group as we get to know each other in this new capacity and settle into our roles as a unified team of missionaries. It’s a new experience for all of us!
I love you all and look forward to hearing what’s going in in your lives, too. I miss you already. Yes, even you.
Love,
