Since I’ve been in the Balkans the past three months, I’ve learned that being from the Balkans has a negative connotation. No one wants to be associated with the Balkans. I don’t exactly know why this is. I didn’t even know a country called Kosovo existed until I came to eastern Europe on the World Race.
On our first day of ministry in Kosovo, Pastor Artur gave us a history lesson of the country: all of its political and religious history dating back to Biblical times! He seriously should be a historian. He also shared part of his experience during the war in 1999.
The historical and spiritual implications of Kosovo impacted us and how we treated our whole time there. From our purpose to our perspective, things shifted. Kosovo wasn’t just another detour on our route (since the rest of our squad was in Bulgaria); we felt God’s sovereign hand guiding our specific team to a different country than the rest of our squad.
Knowing what you’re walking into with every country on the Race is super important. But sometimes you don’t have the privilege of someone sharing their personal experiences and their in-depth knowledge of how the historical history has impacted the spiritual side. Never before on the Race did I feel such a purpose in being in a country and having a heart for that place and the people than I did in Kosovo.
I have a passion now to share what I learned so more people know about Kosovo and can be praying it!
Kosovo gained its independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008, after a horrible war in 1999. It’s a very tricky situation since Serbia and the United Nations do not recognize Kosovo’s independence. America had a huge role in Kosovo’s independence and they even have a statue of Bill Clinton, a Bill Klinton Boulevard, and a mini Statue of Liberty in Prishtina, the capital city.
Despite being 96% Muslim, Kosovo’s history is rooted in Christianity. However, that means that 96% of the population doesn’t know Jesus.
Did you know that Kosovo is mentioned in the Bible? Yeah, and it was also one of the first nations in Europe to accept Christianity. In Romans, Paul says he has preached the Gospel with mighty signs and wonders and miracles from Jerusalem to Illyricum (Romans 15:19). Illyricum includes Kosovo! It also includes a lot of other countries in the Balkans. Its funny because in Prishtina, I have seen many companies and signs that say “Illyria.”
Murad I became the Ottoman Sultan in 1362 and had a dream that he saw a great tree bloom in Turkey and its roots reach to Vienna. He took it as a dream from Allah to take Islam to Europe.
On the 15th of June, 1389, the Ottoman Empire broke into the Balkans to bring Islam to Europe (their goal being Vienna, Austria) and fought in the Battle of Kosovo. This was the first clash between Christianity and Islam.
From the ancient Greek, Kossyfos means “blackbird.” In Serbian, Kosovo Polje means “field of the blackbirds” because the dead bodies were left to be scavenged. Before, this land was a Roman Province called Dardania, because it was well known for its pears, and this is what ethnic Albanians want to re-name their country. Kosovo is the Serbian and English name for the country while Kosovars use the name Kosova to distance themselves from the negative connotation that the word Kosovo derives from.
Unfortunately Kosovo lost this battle and the Ottoman Empire ruled in the land for 520 years. Under Ottoman rule, they erased Christian culture and influence by destroying churches and killing priests and the elect.
Murad I died in the Battle of Kosovo and before he died, asked to have his heart be buried in Kosovo so that the heartbeat of Islam would always remain in Europe. There is now a monument dedicated to him where his heart is buried right outside of the capital.
During World War II, Kosovo was occupied by Yugoslavia and Albania became a communist country. In 1967, Albania declared itself an atheist nation and considered it a crime if you believed in God.
Missionaries starting coming to Kosovo to share the Gospel to Albanians. The biggest ethnicity group in Kosovo is Albanians (today over 90% of the population is ethnically Albanian). Their desire was to reach the closed nation of Albania, but since they weren’t allowed in, they settled in Kosovo for a time.
In 1976, Pastor Artur’s father was given the New Testament and accepted Jesus Christ as His Savior in 1979. He was the first Christian in modern day Kosovo! In 1983, a missionary moved to Prishtina and bought land to build a church. On the 15th of June 1985, the exact same day that the Battle of Kosovo occurred 596 years before, they held their first Sunday church service. They called their church First Evangelical Church of Kosovo. The church we worked with this month now sits on the same site as that one! The name has changed to Bashkësia e Popullit të Zotit which means Fellowship of the Lord’s People.
When communism finally fell in Albania in 1990 all the missionaries in Kosovo left to move to Albania and the Christians in Kosovo were left without support.
For the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo, a very wicked man named Slobodan Milosevic, that was rising to power in Serbia, gave a commemorative speech. He later became dictator. This speech is seen as the beginning of the war of Yugoslavia. Under the guise of Christianity it was really a front for ethnic cleansing. This war lasted a decade and didn’t come to Kosovo until 1999. During the Kosovo war, national television and radio stations were closed and Albanians weren’t allowed to speak Albanian, but had to speak Serbian instead. Serbians did not let Albanians go to school. They had to go to illegal schools because they couldn’t use public buildings. Apartments were confiscated. You had to show your I.D. to buy bread. Pastor Artur wasn’t even able to buy bread because he was Albanian. He knew just enough Serbian to get by if someone stopped in the street, which saved his life on multiple occasions.
On March 24, 1999, NATO sent planes to bomb Yugoslavia. Everyone left Prishtina except 100 Kosovars. Pastor Artur being one of them. He felt overwhelming peace staying in his beloved city.
Pastor Artur tells of the most serious moment of his life. He was arrested outside of his church and the soldier puts him up against a wall to shoot him. Arthur asked calmly why he couldn’t go to church. The fact that he was not afraid to ask that question was what saved his life; the soldier eventually let him go.
Since Kosovo was liberated by the United States in 1999, there have been 4 times as many mosques built in 18 years than in the 520 years since the Turks invaded. There are now around 800 mosques in Kosovo.
Funny thing is, there is a cathedral being built in the middle of Prishtina. Its construction has sparked controversy in Muslim circles because of the very small population of Catholics in Kosovo (around 60,000). It makes sense that there would be no use for the presence of a Catholic church, so why build it? Apparently, the construction of this symbol for Catholicism is mainly for political reasons, to appease the mostly Christian EU with a front of religious tolerance. The Muslim majority of the population is countering this by now building the largest mosque in the Balkans. They had requested land for a grand mosque back in 2004 but were rejected so the fact that its being built now at the same time as the cathedral isn’t a coincidence.
The cathedral and mosque being built at the same time in the capital just shows a physical symbol of the spiritual battle going on for the territory in Kosovo, with its history of Christianity that is now wiped out with Islam.
I think there’s a lot of chaos and confusion in Kosovo. They don’t have a government right now. They just elected a new parliament which now needs to form a new government. And the capital city feels a little chaotic too with people building illegally wherever they feel like it and then leaving unfinished. I think this is just another physical symbol of something going on beneath the surface.
Please pray for the ethnic Albanian Christians living in Kosovo. Pray that the Muslim population would meet Jesus. Pray that Kosovo’s atmosphere would change to Light through people’s eyes and hearts being opened. Pray for Truth and Love to reign in the nation. I see a revival arising out of least likely places like Kosovo!
Me with Pastor Artur and his son Noel
