Unintentional Cross-posts

Over the last week I’ve been trying out Blogjet, a fantastic tool for writing and managing blog posts.  I started trying to use this product about a year ago, but earlier versions could never handle the proxy server that I use…or something.  Anyway, it never quite worked until I downloaded the latest version a couple of weeks ago.  It’s awesome!  Unfortunately, I’ve unintentionally posted missionary stuff to my geek blog and vice-versa.  For those of you who read my blogs directly from the web you may never have noticed.  For those of you who use a feed-reader, you’re probably getting irritated or wondering why I’m posted stuff to both blogs I write.  The answer my friend, is sheer carelessness.  I’ll try to do better in the future.

Take your daughter to work day...sort of

Had a great visit to the police station this morning, following up on lasts weeks robbery at the Center. Melissa had to go to Prishtina, so while Reilly was in preschoolMadison at Police Station, my older daughter Madision tagged along with me. I had her bring her homework with her, which she was desperately trying to finish. It's all in Albanian and there are LOTS of distractions for a 1st grader in a police station. When we entered the police station I asked her, 'Do you think we'll see any bad guys here?' She didn't answer but smiled big and held me tight.

During my interview we essentially went back over the same information I had given the patrol officers who first responded. No big deal. We'll see what happens.

Following our time with the police I had a meeting with two US Army chaplains. They were great guys who came over to say hello and talk about life and ministry in Kosova. Madison tagged along with me there as well…sort of a 'take your daughter to work day.' Naturally both the chaplains had their assistants with them. These are the guys that watch their chaplains backs and carry the firepower. We sat in our little church room with rifles and packs laid carefully on the floor. It just struck me today how nonchalant my kids are about soldiers, assault rifles, armored personnel carriers and stuff. Ah, that's nothing, that's what home looks like.

Just another 'take your daughter to work' day.

Off to the police station

You may remember that a few days ago we had two computers stolen from our community center here.   Yesterday, I dropped by the Center to check in and found two police investigators there talking to people.  They had just extended and “invitation” for Naim, our national co-worker, to come down the police station for a visit.  Since I dropped by, they also gave me a written “invitation.”  Later he told me about his visit.  He went down, was shown into an interrogation room, read his rights and was questioned about the robbery.   This morning at 9:00 it’s my turn.

New Kosovo PM: Will tackle corruption

The new Kosovo Prime Minister, Agim Ceku is really making big claims to improve civil society on a number of levels. Yesterday we hear this:

Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku today pledged that he and the government will fight corruption in Kosovo society. In his weekly radio address Prime Minister Ceku said that the Kosovo government will not accept corrupt individuals and that they will be subject to the law.

Ceku has also made bold claims about creating a multi-ethnic society here. Personally, I'm very encouraged by the language coming from the PM's office. Of couse, the proof is in the pudding...we'll see what actually happens.

...you asked for it

We’re always careful about the way we handle out English classes.  Our students come with the expectation of learning English, not of being proselytized.  We’ve heard a number of example of Muslim groups requiring Koranic studies as a condition of humanitarian aid.  The people here, Muslim people, felt cheated by that.  For that reason, we try to make sure that our English classes are just that…English classes.  But when we’re asked questions…watch out.

Tonight one of my students asked about the meaning of the “bread and the wine” that  “we eat” at Easter. 

That triggered a nice conversation about the “old covenant” and the “new covenant” that we have in Christ.  I had the chance to explain about the Passover and the old covenant based on the Law of Moses and the new covenant based on faith in Christ.  It was great stuff.  My students seemed especially open to what I had to say and I hope to follow up more later!

Easter 2006

We celebrated Easter this weekend, along with millions of others.  As missionaries we always feel like we walk a fine line between celebrating our own traditions and being careful not to impose or lay those traditions over on a compartively young church.  For example, one of our western traditions is Easter egg hunts and candy.  Like many traditions, I have no idea why we do this, but it’s a fun family time.  Saturday night we had our missionary team over for dinner and had a great time of food and fellowship.  Later that evening the kids had an Easter egg hunt and everyone had a good time.  Today we took our core group up to Prishtina to worship with the mother church in Prishtina.  We had great Kingdom time together.

Some of the egg hunters: Madison Singfiel, Jennifer Strunk, Reilly Singfiel, Luke Brinkman, Joshua Brinkman

 

Amelie Bower is not to be deterred.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amelie made it into the post-hunt group shot

 

My girls in their Easter dresses.  Mom stayed up late sewing new bitty-baby clothes for the event, so the girls had to ensure they were part of the pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today we took our Gjilan Ringjallja Church gang up to Prishtina.  Our “mother church,” BUM hosted a joint service and potluck in new theater across the street called, “Theater of the Father.”  Okay, I don’t understand the name either.  Here Pastor Femi Cakolli is greeting the churches who came from the cities of Deçan, Prizren, Gjilan, Suharek, and another new church plant in Prishtina.

We had a great service together, which featured a sermon from Mark Orfila, a AOG missionary from Deçan.  After the service we had one of the larger “potluck” dinners I can remember.  We ate everything from traditional Albanian pita to curry chicken.

Today was a great demonstration of the Kingdom of God and unity in the Church.  Unity is a stretch in the Balkans.  Everyone knows too much about each other and both history and folks memories are long.

 

Home assignment reflections: Getting rid of junk

This summer my family will enter into many missionaries’ quadrennial adventure…home assignment.  This will be our first opportunity, but I’m already learning how much junk even a lowly missionary can accumulate in four years time.  That’s why Rick Brenner’s article, “How not to accumulate junk” struck both my fancy and my funny bone.  Check out his article, it applies equally to folks in the US and expats like myself.

Brenner outllines a long series of rules for keeping junk.  His method of getting rid of junk?  First check out his rules on accumulating junk:

Here are my rules (plus some others) for accumulating junk:

• I might need it someday
• I can't remember why I'm saving this, but it might be important
• I think I can get rid of this, but I'm not 100% sure
• I know I'll use this eventually, when I get the time (or energy)
• I don't need this now, but if I ever do need one, it will either be expensive or impossible to find
• Remember when we used these? Wow — I bet you can't even get them anymore.
• Maybe I can sell this on eBay — oops, the going price is still too low.
• I borrowed this, and I should return it, but I'm so embarrassed that I've had it so long...
• I can't throw this out — maybe it isn't mine
• Hmm, I wonder where the missing parts of this are — maybe I'll find them
• I don't actually know what this is, but I'll keep it until I can figure it out
• Ah, this is that box of stuff I sealed up when I last moved, thinking I would toss it if I didn't open it in a year. Can't remember what's in it. Better not throw it out yet.
• This was a real bargain. Be a shame to get rid of it.
• If I lose X pounds, I know I look good in this
• This is a great book. I should read it. [RecycleBooks.org]
• This was a great book. Maybe I'll read it again.
• This was a great movie (album). I know I'll want to watch it (listen to it) again if I ever get another VCR (turntable).
• Who's that standing next to me in this picture? Better keep it until I can scan it.
• Ah, my first planner — maybe. You never know when you'll need an alibi for 7:30 AM, Tuesday, March 23rd, 1993.
• That computer has sensitive data on it. I better keep it until I can erase it. [GreenDisk, Tech Soup and the Computer Recycling Center]
• Look at that, the postal rates for 1987. Neat-o.
• I wonder how long I have to keep these financial records. Legally, I mean. Better keep 'em. [Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement]
• Another ballpoint pen. Might come in handy sometime.
• Wonder what's on this floppy (Zip disk, removable cartridge, mag tape)? Better keep it for now.

Did any of these strike a cord?  I’ve kept tons of stuff because “I might need it someday.”  Oh, how I laughed.  Maybe that just because yesterday I threw away a bunch of language learning notes I’ll never look at again.

Okay…the secret to getting rid of the extra junk that’s falling out of you filing cabinet, closet, desk, [insert junk containment construct].  Break one of your rules each day.   Check out his article for yourself.

 

 

Break-in at the Center

Today was one of those classic Balkan days.  I had a great conversation with two of our church members about one of the teachings of Jesus.  A few minutes later we were calling the police to report a break-in.  Seriously.  Last Sunday, while we were away, our core group had a discussion about the meaning of Jesus’ parable of the two brothers.  The first told his father he wouldn’t work in the vineyard, but later did.  The second said he would, but never went to work.  There was some misunderstandings about Jesus’ audience here that threw the whole meaning of the parable out of whack.  I had one of those “this is why I’m here” moments when they realized Jesus was addressing the Pharisees, not his disciples.  One of believers eyes popped open when she realized how one little mistake in understanding the context of a passage can really affect the interpretation. 

A few minutes later I went downstairs into our therapy clinic to look for crutches for someone.  As I went to unlock the door I noticed it was already unlocked.  This was strange, but I thought that one of the workers might have momentarily stepped out.  I went in and immediately noticed that both of the clinic computers were gone…stolen.  A few minutes later, after making sure I had all the facts, the police where called and came to fill out their reports.  Who knows what will happen now.  The value of the computers was about $1900.  As big a loss as that is, the data on the computers is a greater loss.  All the clinic patient records where there as well as an unknown amount of information about the therapy training program that my collegue is working on.  Bummer.  My co-worker Di has been working for months on a program to train local nurses in Occupational Therapy, a type of therapy unknown and highly valuable here.  This may be a major set-back.

Please be praying that God would convinct the theives to, at a minimum, return the data that was stolen…okay, that’s not likely but we believe in a God of miracles, right?

Home from Slovenia

It’s good to be home after spending a week in Slovenia where we had our annual organizational business meetings.  We stayed an another few days for vacation, which was a nice break too.  I am amazed, having now traveled in all the countries of former Yugoslavia, how different each one is.  Slovenia appears to be the most modern and advanced of the five former republic.  Traveling through Serbia, especially Belgrade, reminds me of what an actual city looks like.  There is nothing in Kosovo to compare with much I saw on the trip.

Our meetings were great, our speaker excellent.  Pastor Denny Krajacic from Butler, PA, gave us some great messages which were really timely.  We also elected our new leaders for the following year and, most importantly, perhaps, celebrated the ministry of Trent & Sharon Thornton, our departing field director.  Trent passed the baton of leadership to Mark Brinkman, our teammate.

Everyone, especially the kids, had a blast at the children’s program and at the enormous indoor pools of Terme Catez.  The annual Field Forum is a special time for the kids of the field.  This year was especially great as the gang from Black Forest Academy from Germany came down as well.

 

You can find more Field Forum pictures on my Flickr site.

A bambi, a coffee and a tea

I had three great visits with three different people today.  The first was with an old friend.  He’s a high school guy who desperately wants to study medicine in the US.  He’s also the most serious Muslim I know.  He called me up today and we headed out “for a coffee.”  Rather than a coffee, I chose a “bambi” which is sort of like hot chocolate milk.  We talked about a wide range of things, but mostly about the Bible, the Koran and various people’s perspectives on Mohamed.   As usual we challenged each other with the seriousness of each other’s belief.  My message to him is always the same:  Someone has to pay for your sins…will it be you, or will you allow Jesus to pay the price for you.

My second coffee was with one of our nominal church members.  This time it was a very, very strong Macchiato in another of the numerous cafes in town.  I was actually on my way to the bank to do some business and I had to make on those perennial American decisions:  Do I do the task on my life, or do I interrupt my schedule and hang out with a brother for a while.  I chose the later today and enjoyed a great cup of macchiato and good conversation.

My third visit was with our landlord.  Instead of coffee, it was “Russian tea.”  Made in a sort of double-boiler tea pot, it’s great stuff to finish the day with.  We talked about our kids, the new Prime Minister, the electric situation and all the normal topics of family conversation in Kosovo.   We left a little earlier than is typical in order to make a training meeting with the teammate.

I never cease to be amazed by the capacity for relationships that my Albanian friends seem to have.  No one is ever too busy to take time for a cup of coffee.  Obviously that has implications for business; it also has implications for great relationships.  Wouldn’t most of us love to have friends that would help you out at almost a moment’s notice?  That’s the people I live among.  Sometimes Kosovo drives me crazy.  Most of the time living here humbles me.  But today was one of those days where I just feel fortunate to live here.

Ah Spring time

Ah, Spring time in Kosovo.  I don’t’ know much about the source of the info below, but I heard this on the news too.  Nothing to get worked up about folks, just folks stretching their legs after a long winter.

Hand Grenade Destroyed In Downtown Pristina

Pristina, 20 Mar 06 (Radio Srbija i Crna Gora) – Special forces of international forces in Kosovo, defused a hand grenade placed near the headquarters of the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce and Democratic Party of Kosovo in downtown Pristina. Kosovo Police Service (KPS) spokesperson Sabrije Kamberi stated that police were information of a suspicious device this morning, after which part of downtown Pristina was blocked with the help of KFOR Special Forces, and bomb was destroyed in a controlled explosion.

This is the second bomb discovered within 24 hours and destroyed in downtown Pristina. Sunday evening, around 18:00 hours, police were informed that a hand grenade, dating from WWII was found near hotel “Grand”. A KFOR unit also destroyed this bomb. In both cases, there were no causalities or damage.

 

New Kosovo PM weighs in on independance

     Many are hopeful that new Prime Minister Agim Ceku will be a man of integrity and honor to lead Kosova on its next steps, whatever they might be.  This week both the UK and the EU said that an independent Kosovo was almost an inevitability.  Please be praying for peace!  I don’t know a ton about Ceku, but he has lead the Kosovo Protection Corp to fulfill the multi-ethnic standards demanded of it.  The KPC, or TMK as it’s known here, is multi-ethnic and functions well.  I think it speaks well of Ceku that he was willing to address the Serbian minority in the Serbian language (see KosovaReport report below).

     Kosovo's new PM has said he expects the territory to become fully independent of Serbia - hours after Belgrade said it would oppose any such outcome.  Agim Ceku was speaking after being sworn in as prime minister in Pristina. Serbian foreign minister Vuk Draskovic earlier told the BBC his country could never accept an independent Kosovo.
     The UK has meanwhile said independence for Kosovo - currently governed by the UN, though formally still part of Serbia - is "almost inevitable".  British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Kosovo's status could not be resolved using any solution based on the situation before 1999, when the province was still fully controlled by Belgrade. Nato air strikes in 1999 forced Serbian forces to withdraw from the province, where they had been accused of repressing the ethnic Albanian majority.  Kosovo has since then been a UN protectorate. This year saw the start of UN-brokered talks to decide whether it ultimately gains independence.

Serb concerns
     Mr Ceku said on Friday that he wanted negotiations to lead to a democratic and tolerant Kosovo.  "The creation of the state of Kosovo is the will of its people and this government," he said.  Mr Ceku was sworn in as prime minister following the resignation last week of his predecessor, Bajram Kosumi, who lost his party's support in a reshuffle.   In his first speech as leader, Mr Ceku pledged to protect the rights of Kosovo's minority Serb community. 
Switching from the Albanian language to Serbian, he said the Serbs "do have and will have a future in democratic Kosovo" and urged them to take part in political life.  Mr Ceku is an ethnic Albanian commander whose soldiering career started in the army of the former Yugoslavia.  He went on lead the guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in their fight against Serbian forces.  Belgrade accuses him of war crimes against Serbs and has voiced disquiet at his appointment as PM.  Kosovo's 120-seat parliament backed Mr Ceku's nomination by 65 votes to 33 on Friday.
Popular
     Earlier on Friday, the Serbian foreign minister said his country could never accept a fully independent Kosovo.  Mr Draskovic told the BBC that the result would be a humiliation for Serbia, dangerous for the region and the whole of Europe.  The province is still legally part of Serbia and Montenegro - but it has been under UN protection since 1999.  Mr Ceku is currently the head of the Kosovo Protection Corps, a civil emergency force.  He is said to be very popular among Kosovo Albanians and has been seen as a dynamic leader.  Kosovo Albanians, who make up the majority, want independence for the province. But Serbia is concerned about the rights of the Serb minority.

 

Albanians & Macedonians United Together

It’s hard to put into words the impact of the last several days.  In some ways, I’m still stunned, having taken away much that I understand, and at the same time haunted by things just beyond my conceptual reach, phantoms of blessings yet to be understood.  Last night I returned from an historic two-day conference in Bitola Macedonia which I attended to with two national co-workers, Naim and Fatmir, along with Jason, another missionary working with the BUM church in Prishtina.  I say historic because to the best of anyone’s knowledge, it was the first time in history that Albanians from Kosovo and Albania together with Macedonians had gathered together in one place to pray, hear from God and to seek his face for Unity in the Church.

 

None of us really knew what to expect from the conference.  Though billed as a “prayer conference,” the theme was “unity” and the main speaker was Ruth Ruibal, the wife of a martyred pastor from Cali, Columbia.  Gathered together in an old, mountain “resort” hotel were representatives from 24 nations.  I didn’t get them all, but they included:

Albania                          Australia                        Bosnia                           Brazil

Columbia                       Denmark                        El Salvador                    England

Finland                          France                           Germany                        Italy

Kosovo                         Macedonia                     New Zealand                  Norway

Sweden                         United States                                                     

 

So two hundred of us gathered there, listening to what God has been doing in one of the most violent cities on earth, Cali, Columbia, over the last 10-15 years.  Ruth’s husband was a pastor/evangelist in one Cali and was gunned down in 1995 on his way to a pastors’ meeting.  But this only happened after the pastors in Cali gathered the Christians of the city together in unity for prayer over their city.  On a number of separate occasions, the Church of God gathered together, up to 45,000 believers, to intercede for their city.  And God responded in awesome ways.  You can learn more about that from their website, or her book.  As powerful as her testimony and preaching was, equally powerful was the effect that it had those of us at the conference.

 

Numerous people stood and confessed their hatred for others of the various ethnic groups.  They asked publicly for forgiveness…and forgiveness was given.  As I write this I sense the weakness of my words to convey what happened.  As I said, this was the first time in history that a group this large has gathered together to ask for forgiveness, pray for unity and strategize how to reach each other’s ethnic groups.

 

The history of the Balkans is the history of the failure of the church.  The dividing line between the eastern and western Church goes right through the Balkans and it is the church that has failed this region.  That fracture happened a thousand years ago, resulting in the Great Schism of 1054, but the effects of that fracture carry on today.  But what I saw at this conference, were the descendents of those same Catholic, Orthodox and now, Muslim, people coming together united.  Now they follow Jesus Christ, not the pope, the metropolitan or Mohammed.  God is doing what centuries of war, millions of dollars or the United Nations has been unable to do…bring people together for forgiveness and reconciliation through the Church of Jesus Christ.

 

Not only was there much talk, prayer, and forgiveness, there was also a lot of strategic networking.  There was a lot of offline conversation about how to reach the Albanian people in northern and western Macedonia.  And it wasn’t just Albanian pastors and foreign missionaries having these discussions.  It was Macedonia pastors asking for help from the Albanians.  Help us reach your people here in Macedonia.

 

Only God knows what will come out of this conference, but God is doing a new thing that hasn’t been seen before in the history of this region.  And I don’t think that’s just hyperbole. 

 

I’ve uploaded a bunch of pictures to my Flickr site.  You can find this set here.

 

 

Two Sides of Missions

This weekend we had a marathon “Field Leadership Team” set of meetings in Kosovo.  These are the meetings of our field’s team leaders and our boss and assistant boss.  The February meeting is particularly grueling because it’s when we hammer through the following year’s budgets, assign the mission fleet of vehicles, and do a lot of other plain hard work that makes the machine work.

 

But Sunday night we heard that three people had accepted Christ that night in our church service.  Two of them are fathers and “heads-of-households,” which is critically important in our context.  I was so incredibly pumped up. 

 

When people think of missionaries they think of preachers and prayers and other stuff.  They probably don’t think of logisticians, budget-eers, strategists and so forth.  Missionaries are all those things.

it's the little things in life...

So I’m at the bank today, waiting to do some mission business.  I’m standing in line…quite a long line…waiting to submit my paper work and make a withdrawal.  I’m standing there with Reilly, who is growing impatient while Naim waits for me in what might charitably be called a “lobby.”  While I’m standing there telling Reilly, for the fourth time, that no, we are not finished yet I notice a mummer ripple through the line. 

 

Three men walk in, greet the security guard amiably and walk past the front of the line right to a teller who is helping someone else.  The leader is an older man in a dark brown leather jacket.  The two guys with him are obviously “muscle.”  Both are wearing leather jackets, on is very, very large and has pleasant face.  The other is very, very sharp and rarely takes his eyes off the door.  They intentionally flank the boss and all three regularly look up from what they are doing to scan the crowd.  After a little while they finished their business and left the way they came in, quickly.   About fifteen minutes later we left the bank, our business finished too.  I wondered who the three men were, and how they so casually disrupted the lives of so many who were waiting (relatively) patiently.

 

One more reminder that I’m not in Kansas any more.

 

 

A young woman met Jesus today

Today we were up to church in Prishtina.  We haven’t made our way up there for several weeks and it was good to see all our friends and pastor Fehmi.  There were a number of news faces in the congregation, including one young lady who came with our friend F.  At the end of the service, after a great message on the love of God, F raised her hand.  She’d been whispering to her friend who had made it known that she wanted to meet Jesus today.  Fehmi invited the two of them to come to the front where he led the young lady to Christ, praying what we commonly call, “the sinner’s prayer.”

It was a great way to end the day.  People bringing their friends to meet the Master is definitely a New Testament model and one that is always fun to watch.  I don’t give you this young ladies name, but please be praying for one new light in one church in Prishtina.  Another child has come back to her Maker.

...in other words, you stink.

The life of a missionary is one of constant humiliation.  Not humilation in the sense of shame or guilt but of being humbled.  I just got back from our weekly men’s Bible study.  I was excited because for we had one of those rare instances when a fully grown, head-of-household, visiting man came to our Bible study.  This is pretty significant in our context.  We’re studying our way through the book of Daniel because there are so many key lessons for men there…until we get to all the weird vision stuff anyway.

            So I poured my heart out of all the clever and insiteful things I could think of from Daniel chapter 5.  I stretched my poor Albanian language skills into the far abstract…and was corrected a number of times by our adult regulars.  Finally, we were finished.  Our visitor said he had enjoyed it, that it had been very interesting, etc.

            Then one of our most respected men spoke up.  “Oh, you should come on Sunday when Pastor Femi is preaching.”  It’s MUCH more interesting.

 

Oh well.  That’s the life of a missionary.

At Rugova's graveside

Last night Melissa and I went to Prishtina for dinner and a night out for Melissa’s birthday.  After dinner we headed to a favoriate spot for dessert and on our way decided we would try to find President Rugova’s grave.  We had all seen it on TV; one news article said that a million people came to Prishtina last week to pay their respects.  That’s amazing considering that Kosova only has about 2.5 million inhabitants.

We’d all heard contraditory information about the location of the cemetary, but at last heard that it was near his house in a park we had passed by daily when we lived in Prishtina.  We found the location easily enough, brightly lit by tall towers, a newly lit walkway flanked by 61 newly planted trees to commemorate his life.  At the grave site were two dark-coated men and a police car to watch over the location.  Ringing the graveside were scores of flower wreaths from various places and people.  One was from the German branch of Rugova’s political party.  Others were from various nations.  The State of Isreal, the Chech Republic, Poland and others.  Situated prominantly, directly behind the grave, was the wreath from the Government of the United States of America.

I was drawn to it, filled perhaps with childhood fantasies about the Government of the United States of America.  I say fantasies because nothing is ever as good as it appears on TV.  I expected our government to provide a beautiful wreath, perhaps better than the others…larger or more beautiful in some way.  In reality, there were wreaths that were bigger, and more beautiful.  The banner that held the label had already begun to come apart, barely two days after the funeral.  It was not what I expected,cheap red ribbon drooping lazily over the large black word, “America.”

And so I was once again touched by the reaily of Rugova’s death.  Death appears so final from this side of eternity.  And few of those one million mourners will ever have any hope for something beyond the grave.   For them, it is the end.

 

Quote of the Day

I saw a great quote today. Of course, sometimes quote like this are used by folks who can't get along with others just so they create problems and be affirmed by it. :)

"We should not expect good work to be acknowledged; and where it is, we should not expect it to be welcomed. Rather, the strength of a creative impulse is measured by the strength of opposition it meets."--Robert Frist, via Scobleizer - Microsoft Geek Blogger

International Day of Prayer and Fasting for Kosova

This is a little long, but it’s important.  The following comes from the newly formed national church organization in Kosova.  We are trying to call people to a day of fasting and prayer on January 31^st.  There are a number of very important prayer requests, especially for the new law that I mentioned here.

 

 

REMEMEBER KOSOVA

 

During the Kosovo crisis in 1999 Kosova was in the main news worldwide because of the war and tragedy. It was then that we asked our brothers and sisters around the world to join us for an International Day of Prayer and Fasting for Kosova on the 31^st of January 1999. Now after 7 years many things have changed, but still there is a need for lots of prayer...

The Christians of Kosova need your prayers and support!  Please join us in praying for:

          Spiritually, Kosova contains about 2 million predominantly Muslim Albanians and over one hundred thousand Serbs who are Orthodox Christians. The Protestant-Evangelical Christian church in Kosova is very small and under pressure.

          Many Kosovar Albanians have a hatred of Christianity as they were oppressed by the former Serbian (Orthodox Christian) regime.  Albanians believe that whatever your religion is, to change it is a shameful thing.  Muslims that accept Christ as their Saviour will bring shame on their families and face persecution from their community.

          Politically, Kosova was a self-governing province of Yugoslavia enjoying significant autonomy before Slobodan Milosevic came to power in 1987. This autonomy was removed and Kosovo was made a province under the direct rule of Serbia. Even though the majority of the population of Kosovo was Albanian, the Serbian minority held most of the important positions in law enforcement and administration.

          In 1998-1999, thousands of Albanians were driven out of Kosova by Serbian military forces. NATO subsequently authorized air strikes and by summer 1999 the Serbian military was forced to retreat.

          On the 10th of June 1999, with resolution 1244, the UN Security Council authorized the establishment of an interim international civilian administration in Kosova. Subsequently, the UN administration has given back substantial autonomy to the people of Kosovo and the last stage of the UN Mission's mandate in Kosovo is to finalize Kosova's future political status.  This future status is now the subject of intense diplomatic activity.

          Economically, the challenges Kosova faces today are huge. The situation is serious. Following the economic crisis in the 1980s and 1990s, the economy in the post-war period has depended overwhelmingly on remittances from family members working aboard sending money home, as well as international assistance. Relative to the present size of Kosovo economy, the public sector is unsustainably large, and the continuing decline in international aid means that urgent investment is needed. Present rates of unemployment and underemployment are at crisis levels.

         The current system of government in Kosovo is very new and untested. Many new laws and regulations have been passed already under the scrutiny of the UN Administration.

         However, the Provisional Government of Kosovo is proposing to enact a new Law on Religion that will require the Protestant Church to register as a religious community. A condition is being placed on registration that will require a stated minimum number of 2,000 Protestant Christians to declare themselves as such in a forthcoming census. However, many are afraid of the consequences if they publicly declare that they are Christians. It will be difficult for the church to reach the required number and comply. The church in Kosova is having a hard time because of disagreements with different institutions about our position. There are some serious attempts to isolate and consider the Evangelical Church in Kosova as a "new sect".

          Please pray that God will intervene and that this hurdle will be overcome. 

 As we write this letter Kosova is in 15 days of mourning as last week President Ibrahim Rugova died. He was a leader and an incredible president for 16 years. Many internationals have called him the Father of the Kosovar Nation. People are concerned that his death can cause troubles in Kosova. He has been known for his pro-Christian attitude and he was always willing to meet with church representatives at all times. Over five Hundred thousand people came to Prishtina to pay tribute to the “man of independence” for Kosova

 

Please pray for a new President that will be elected next week, and that he will continue to support Christianity.

 

We once again ask all of you, brothers and sisters, to join Christians in Kosova on January 31st on an International Day of Prayer and Fasting, to remember Kosova in your prayers in this crucial time.

 
    1. For our political leaders, especially now after the death of our President. Pray that the new president will be a God chosen person.   

            
    2. Pray for negotiations regarding the final status of Kosova that are planned to begin soon. There is a huge difference between what Albanians and Serbs want so lets pray that God will provide the best solution for this land.

    3. Let's pray that regarding the political solutions Kosova will remain a free country for Christian work and witness.

    4. Let us pray that whatever the final law on religious freedoms  would be it will enable us to freely exercise our faith and worship Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
 
    5. Recently we have experienced a media campaign against our community. Let us pray for God's protection and His strengthening to all of us, Pastors, Leaders, missionaries and all Christian believers in our country.
  
   6. Please pray for our witness and evangelism of our churches. Pray that 2006 will be a year of spiritual awakening and growth .

   7. Pray for our discipleship ministries and for God to multiply Kosovan leaders in our churches. Pray for new pastors, new preachers, new worship leaders, evangelists, etc, among Kosovar Christians.

   8. Pray for unity among Christians and churches in our country. We want to be one in God. Pray that we will have God's unity that will
show His glory.

   9. Pray for the Council of Ministers of the Kosova Protestant Evangelical Church (KPEC), that God will give us wisdom and guidance as we serve our Christian comunity. Please pray that God will keep us humble and that we may seek Him above anything else.

   10. Please pray for KPEC that it will be a real Body of Christ in Kosova and not just an organization. Please pray that everyone within KPEC will experience God' blessings as a family of God.

Together in Christ,
Pastor Bekim
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of KPEC

  Kisha Protestante Ungjillore ne Kosove

The Protestant Evangelical Church in Kosova
  www.kishaprotestante.org

Christian Missionary Alliance

Who needs electricity...ya, sure

The electricity has been terrible this week!  It’s been going on and off randomly…and staying off for long periods.  Back when we first got here it went off and on like clockwork…mostly.  You could rely on carefully scheduled power outages to screw up your day.  Now, however, you never know when it’s going to go out…or come back on.  I got up about 6:20 today to find the power out and the house cold.  Heating water for coffee on the stove isn’t a big deal, but it’s not as convenient as our ubiquitous hot water heater.  That baby goes from stone cold to boiling in about 30 seconds…when you have power.  Fortunately our wood stove still had hot coals in it.  It went from hot to blazing furnace in about five minutes…a relief when the temps are FAR below zero like they have been this week.

It’s not really a big deal, but its’ a little annoying.  What’s funny is that KEK, the Kosova Electrik Korporation siad that this week all of Kosova would have power rationing of only one hour off, five hours on…during the time of mourning for Rugova.  Watch out, whenever KEK makes a promise of more power you can forget about it.

We’re pretty accustomed to power outages at this point. They’re a daily occurrence.  A guy just has to keep his laptop batteries charged up and he’s in business.  But it is tough when your internet is down, and you can’t read the morning papers with your instant coffee!  It’s such a tough life ;)

Giving condolences at the local party office

From his site

When someone
dies in Kosovo friends and family rally round the family of the bereaved to “ngushlloj”
them, to give condolences. When the first President of Kosova dies, everyone is "ngushlloj-ing" each other. While Rugova's body lies in state at the parliament building, thousands wait outside in the bitter January cold for their change to pay their respects.

Today Naim and I went to give our condolences at the local poltical party office of the fallen President. After arriving we entered a very, very solemn room, complete with a large picture of President Rugova and many, many flowers. Perhaps fifty people ringed the room and as we entered all eyes turned to us. We greated people around, approached Rugova's picture and paid our respects there. Then we sat for a moment and expressed our condolences on behalf of the Protestant Community in Gjilan. Naim saw many people he knew in the room, I saw only a couple.

I'm writing a lot about Rugova's passing lately. I hope it isn't becoming tiring to my many in cheek readers. It's a very, very big deal here, so it's a big deal to me too.

New Law on Religion, Take Two

I spent several hours in a very intresting meeting in Pristhina yesterday.  It was a meeting of all the American Missionaries in Kosovo to talk about the latest amendments to last year’s law on religion.  Last year (2005) the Governement of Kosovo spent a good bit of time drafting a law on religion that would,hopefully, protect the interests of the various religious communities here.  That law was passed by the parliament in 4Q of 2005, I believe.  Among other things it stated that to be a “religious community one had to have at least 500 members.  Soon new legislation will be introduced that changes that minimum number to 2000 members.  The status conveyed by this law will greatly influence a fellowships ability to do evangelism, to own property, to have the full protection of the law, etc.

We talked about the growing resistence to the Protestant community here yesterday.  Unlike the previous law on religion, there was no Protestant (Evangelical) representation at these latest talks.  The actual text of the law is also being kept private.  That is, copies are not being made available to the public or the press.  Third, the US Office in Kosovo, the US Governments official representative, is more and more ignoring the protestant community here.

Please pray for God’s direction relative to this latest law.  In an upcoming census citizens will be asked to declare which religious group they belong to on the census document.  My fear is that many will be too afraid to speak the truth.  Too much blood has been shed here in the name of religion over the last several hundred years.  Please pray that God’s people will stand up and (literally) be counted.

I’m also learning a lot about how different nations view law and freedom.  In the US we generally believe that we have the freedom to do what we want unless there is a law specifically against it.  In many other countries the philosophy is that you may do nothing except that which the law specifically allows.  It makes a huge difference, especially when it comes to a minority belief among a skeptical majority.

Rugova's passing

I just got back from trying to drop my daughter off to preschool.  We were met by a teacher, accouning that school is closed today because it’s a “black day,” which means a day of mourning.  I don’t think the full implicatons of Rugova’s passing are going to hit people for a number of days.  We had an interesting time at church last night as people shared their reations to Rugova’s death.  It’s creating a great deal of uncertainty, I think.  I haven’t polled large numbers of people, and Rugova wasn’t univesally loved, but he had stature that no current politician seems to hold.  He was known as a man of peace, an intellectual that has been called “Kosova’s Ghandi.”

Men who have paid the price for non-violence are not common in the Balkans.  The popular tradition calls for men of action, men of high adventure and, sometimes, men of bloodshed.  Time will tell, but I am afraid that Kosovo has lost something greater than its president. 

FW: Flags fly at half staff on top of Kosovo's Preside...

From KosovaReport
 

Flags fly at half staff on top of Kosovo's President Ibrahim Rugova's residence as Kosovo Police officers guard the building in Kosovo's capital Pristina on Saturday, Jan 21, 2006.

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In The News: A Kosovo police officer stands guard at President ...

From Kosovareport

  A Kosovo police officer stands guard at President Ibrahim Rugova's residence as officials arrive to express their condolences in Pristina on Saturday, Jan 21, 2006. Rugova who had been suffering from lung cancer, died on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2006 according to officials. Rugova had been at the forefront of ethnic Albanian demand for independence from Serbia since the early 1990s, when he started leading a nonviolent movement against the policies of Slobodan Milosevic, then president of Yugoslavia. (AP Photo / Visar Kryeziu)

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Kosovo President Rugova dies at 61

We were at a birthday part in Pristhina today when we got the news.  Everyone was stunned.  While Rugova wasn's universally loved, perhaps, he held a special place in everyone's hearts.  We're expecially sad to hear that he's passed over since Kosovo is on the brink of final status talks.  Not to over-spiritualize it, but we almost feel like there is something Moses-like about him.  He led non-violent protests for years, squaring off against the authorities from Belgrade.  And now on the brink final status, he remained outside the "promised land," unable to enter that for which he struggled for so long.
Recently there was renewed speculation that he had become a Catholic in recent years, trying to recover the faith of his Illyrian forefathers.  I can only hope that he met the Savior on his journey and that he now lives with those same forefathers that the Apostle Paul mentions in Romans 15.19.  Rest in peace, President Rugova.

CNN.com - Kosovo President Rugova dies at 61 - Jan 21, 2006
CNN) -- Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova, the literary scholar turned politician who was the symbol of the fight for Kosovar self-rule, died Saturday after battling lung cancer, officials said. He was 61.

 

New Visitors in Gjilan

We've got new visitors in town.  Almost every day we see patrols of US soldiers walking up and down the streets of Gjilan.  They are always friendly and almost always surprised to hear that there are other Americans in town. 

CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo — For the first time in more than six decades, the colors of the 36th Infantry Division are flying again in Europe.

The Texas National Guard unit, which fought in Italy during World War II, took over Kosovo Force’s Multi-National Brigade (East) in a transfer of authority ceremony Wednesday. The 36th assumes responsibility of the U.S. sector of the province from the 40th Infantry Division from California and will be carrying out peacekeeping duties for the next year

Stars & Stripes

In the News: "No alternative to Kosovo indenpendence" - OSCE Official

So far there has been a lot of smoke and little fire to the final status talks.  That’s probably to be expected but the news is not without a lot of speculation.  So far the two options on the table seem to be completely and total independence for Kosovo….or not.  Who knows what will come out of these and who knows how the people will react.  One thing is almost certain: a large group of Albanians will be unhappy with the outcome. 

http://kosovareport.blogspot.com/2006/01/no-alternative-to-kosovo-indenpendence.html

Text of report by "jdc" entitled "According to unofficial sources, Kosovo will gain independence" carried by Belgian newspaper De Standaard website on 16 January
Nobody wanted to give an official confirmation at last week's OSCE conference in Vienna, but unofficial well-informed observers are saying with surprising firmness that "we have no alternative to Kosovo's independence".
The issue is very sensitive. Officially, Kosovo is still a province of Serbia that the United Nations has been governing since the 1999 war. By the middle of this year, however, a decision on its "definitive status" is due. The Kosovo Albanians, i.e. 90 per cent of the population, want independence. The Kosovo Serbs, the remaining 10 per cent who live mainly in the north, want to stay with Belgrade.
Last Friday [13 January] in Vienna, [Belgian Foreign] Minister [and OSCE Duty President] De Gucht met former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, the UN envoy who is leading the status talks. After the meeting, De Gucht declined to confirm or deny that independence - which will most likely be restricted in the initial stage - is the most plausible option because of the overly sensitive nature of the issue.
"Whatever happens, we will have to strive laboriously for a balanced solution," De Gucht said. "There are many minorities; we will have to maintain close contacts with Belgrade; and we will have to conduct the talks on the possible decentralization of power in Kosovo."
"Not all proposals are equally valuable. A Greek professor suggested granting Kosovo's minorities the same status as Mount Athos (a republic of monks in Greece - De Standaard editor's note), including their own legal system. In my opinion, this would be unfeasible in Kosovo."
In addition, the fear exists that the Kosovo Serbs will want to annex their part of the country to Serbia.

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Mladic still taking a pension?

 

    It is revelations like this one that make the people of Kosovo suspicious of the government in Belgrade.  The government of Serbia & Montenegro (former Yugoslavia) have been paying Mladic pension payments up until last November.  Can you believe this?  He's been a fugitive since the war in Bosnia and is wanted on two charges of genocide for the slaughter of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica.  Keep the checks coming though.
    And the international media/community continues to frequently paint the Albanians with a black brush.

International News Article | Reuters.com

Fugitive Mladic drew army pension until weeks ago
Tue Jan 3, 2006 7:34 AM ET169 

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Bosnia Serb war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic drew his army general's pension in Serbia up until November last year while on the run from international justice, according to government ministers.

An investigation had revealed that Mladic's wife, son and two Army officers, one retired and one still active, had been authorized to pick up the money in 2002, when Mladic dropped out of sight to avoid arrest, they said.

 

 

More speculation about Rugova's faith

Speculation has abounded recently about the “true” faith of Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova.  I heard someone last week state, in fact, that he announced his Christian faith on TV on Christmas day.  Since I didn’t hear it anywhere else, I assumed it was just a rumor.  Some people in the West might feel very good if Rugova had, in fact, converted.   But you have to remember that in the Balkans, all religion is about identity and politics.  To talk about “faith” here is to talk about ethnic identity and national agenda. 

 

I do hope that Rugova meets the Savior soon, if he hasn’t already.  But no one around here will see it for what it might be.  It will be interpreted politically.  Unfortunately, this is largely the Church’s fault.  It was the universal Christian church that split in 1054 in the Great Schism. The line of that fracture went straight up through the Balkans.  As a result, families, clans and tribes were split in deciding who would follow Rome (Catholic) and who would follow Byzantium (Orthodox).  Nothing simple here, especially a single soul’s search for truth.

 

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.246430378&par=0

KOSOVO: RELIGIOUS INTRIGUE AS RUGOVA DECLINES

Pristina, 5 Dec. (AKI) - Kosovo president Ibrahim Rugova’s religious beliefs have become the subject of wild speculation as the health of the 61 year old, who is spearheading Kosovo's independence drive, worsens. Rugova has been hospitalised since last week with lung cancer and there have been widespread rumours in Pristina that he has told close associates he wants to be buried as a Catholic. About 95 per cent of Kosovo's ethnic Albanians are Muslims and the matter of Rugova’s religion has until now never been raised.

Kosovo political analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu says that Rugova was a Muslim, though he never visited a mosque, and had strong Catholic inclinations. “Personally, I believe that Rugova has converted to Catholicism, but there is not a single proof for it,” Spahiu told Belgrade daily Kurir……

 

 

 

 

In the News: Blood Feuds

Here’s a fascinating article about modern blood feuds in Kosovo.  We hear about these feuds regularly, but not with this much detail and color.  At the same time, you shouldn’t get the impression that these are a daily occurrence.  If you want to read a fascinating, fictional account of blood feuds in Albania, check out a great book called Broken April, by Ismail Kadare.

 

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=259782&area=/insight/insight__international/

"Ancient blood feud grips part of Kosovo

Ismet Hajdari | Petrove, Serbia-Montenegro       

22 December 2005 11:59

The centuries-old custom of blood feuds has gripped a part of Kosovo, threatening the lives of people in two clans as it did with thousands of ethnic Albanians in the past.  The feud between the two clans began at the end of November when Fadil Mujota, a 36-year-old father of four, was shot dead at a gas station owned by the Beqaj family in the central village of Belinc.

"Fadil went to Belinc to fill a tank with gasoline. His friends, who were waiting for him in a nearby café, had no time even to put sugar in their coffee when they heard shots and found him covered in blood," said Shaip Mujota, the victim's eldest brother.  The circumstances behind the murder are still not clear, although a main suspect, 16-year-old Arlind Beqaj, has been detained pending a trial. 

The blood-feud system is believed to have re-emerged in Kosovo due to a power vacuum during the United Nations-run province's painful transition from conflict six-and-a-half years ago.  As a result, many Albanians in Kosovo have returned to the laws of their tribal roots in a bid to settle disputes, namely the Code of Leke Dukagjini, an Albanian aristocrat from the era of struggle against Ottoman rule in the 14th century.  The legal system that has since existed in Kosovo, as well as parts of neighbouring Albania, includes the right to kill to avenge murders, or "whoever kills, will be killed".

An estimated 50 murders in the province have been linked to blood revenge between the end of Kosovo's 1998/99 war between Serbian forces and Albanian rebels and the end of last year.  "Kosovo is still in a vacuum between strong traditions of the past and modern values," Naim Maloku, sociologist and professor at the Pristina University, said.  Maloku noted that Kosovo's society is "deeply patriarchal, torn by its inclination toward the West and by its religious past which originates from the East".

"These two civilisations clash, pushing people towards one or another pole and making them oscillate between them," he added.  Last week, six brothers from the 60-member Mujota clan were still receiving condolences from friends and family at their homes in the hillside village of Mollopolce.  The Mujotas, well-known and respected here for their contribution to the ethnic Albanian guerrilla force that fought Serbian forces during the conflict, could hardly hide their anger at the lack of any rule of law.   "Unfortunately, the system does not function. I know that no one can return our brother. God willing, Fadil will be the last victim," said Shaip Mujota.

He said he had given his word of honour, or "Besa" -- a rule declaring that any murderer will not to be killed outside his home -- to the Beqajs and their children, "who have to go to school".  "I am a teacher and I know that going to school is important," Mujota said. "But we have to know why our brother was killed."

Since the killing, the pressure has mounted on both families, aware of the custom that those deciding against vengeance and "honour killings" are seen as cowards and considered unworthy.  Although the Dukagjini code also offers ways for the families to reconcile through mediation by influential people respected by both sides, the two clans are yet to find a truce.  There were no signs of life outside six traditionally high-walled Beqaj houses in the muddy village of Petrove, set in the eerily calm mountainous region.

"We are in a blood feud with the Mujotas," admitted 63-year-old Fehmi Beqaj, the head of the 70-member clan known in the region as successful merchants. 

"We are waiting for the dispute with the Mujotas to be resolved," he said, adding that their gas station and sawmill businesses have been paralysed for weeks.  Beqaj said the "Besa" offered by the Mujotas will last till the third day of the Muslim Bayram holiday in the middle of February.   "Until then, our children can freely go to school, but after it expires, we will be confined to our houses until this dispute is over," Fehmi said, turning down the likelihood the matter could be resolved with the help of police.

The feud is "between the two families and will be settled in accordance with the code ... What God decides, will be," he said. -- Sapa-AFP"

In the News: Kosovo could one day be self-sufficient - UN envoy

From: http://kosovareport.blogspot.com/2005/12/kosovo-could-one-day-be-self.html

Kosovo could one day be self-sufficient - UN envoy
Tue Dec 20, 2005 10:44 PM GMT

By Irwin Arieff

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Kosovo has enough natural resources, including low-grade coal, to one day make it economically self-sufficient, the United Nations mediator for the disputed Serb province said on Tuesday.

Veteran diplomat Martti Ahtisaari, who is leading U.N. talks aimed at determining whether Kosovo gains independence or remains a part of Serbia, said economic development would be a top priority in the negotiations.

Kosovo is heavily subsidised by international donors, and "when the international community knows that there are natural resources which are not exploited, you can't expect the world's taxpayers to finance this forever," Ahtisaari told reporters at U.N. headquarters.

"Everyone wants to create conditions in which these can be properly exploited," he said.

If that happens "I think there is in the future the possibility for sustainable economic development in Kosovo," he said when asked whether it could ever support itself economically.

[…continues…]

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An interesting meeting with my daughter's teacher

My six-year-old is almost through half of her first-grade year in public school in our city.  She’s having a blast, but it’s also being stretched quite a bit.  They begin writing in cursive in 1^st grade here and it won’t be long before her writing is much more attractive than my own…which isn’t saying too much.

A couple of days ago we invited her teacher to coffee to just talk about our daughter’s progress.  We chatted about a number of things and then the teachers asked about the difference between “Protestantism” and “Catholicism.”  It was an interesting conversation.  What touched me was when she asked us about prayer.

She mentioned that our daughter know how to pray.  That surprised me for a moment, but then I remembered.  The teacher had been sick in a couple of different instances and we’d prayed for her at bedtime.  Our daughter has obviously been letting her teacher know that we’re praying for her!

 

This is a significant difference between evangelicals and members of the dominant religious groups.  Among evangelicals, children are taught from a very early age that they too can have a relationship with God, can speak to him and watch him answer prayer.  Our daughter is a great missionary.

In the News: Serbia hands over remains of 41 Kosovo Albanians found in mass graves

More bodies.  And more bodies.  I’m not trying to dwell on the issue of the returns of remains.  But I do want to give you an idea of how frequently this happens and how little time for wounds to heal may pass before they’re ripped off again.  Imagine in the US, in a state the size of Connecticut, if every few months thirty or forty bodies of murder victims were discovered in New York State.  The citizens of Connecticut would be in a panic.

 

---

http://kosovareport.blogspot.com/2005/11/serbia-hands-over-remains-of-41-kosovo.html

Text of report in English by independent internet news agency KosovaLive Prishtina [Pristina], 25 November: The mortal remains of 41 Kosova [Kosovo] Albanians killed by Serb forces during the war in Kosova and found in mass graves in Serbia will be handed over this afternoon, the government's information office has announced.

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Our first Sunday Service

We had our very first Sunday service yesterday!  Femi came down and preached for us.  Okay, in the interests of full-disclosure, only the oldest and youngest members of our group came.  Gaz happened by and chatted for a moment before continuing on.  We also took our first official “offering” at our first official Sunday service.  Femi reminded us of what the Bible teaches us about the importance of giving and thinking about others.  It’s a little awkward taking an offering in a group of ten…but probably more often for us Americans than for the nationals there.  We’re sooooo preoccupied with who has it, who doesn’t, who’s giving and who isn’t.  We want to begin incorporating aspects of church life into our core group fairly early.  Certain things need to be incorporated in the DNA from the beginning.  Because of the amount of foreign aid that has poured into Kosovo, there is a growing tendency in the population to look outside for support, rather than looking within.  Femi has reported, for example, that if every national in the mother church tithed, for example, they could meet their budget without foreign aid.  This is the goal, to build churches that are “three-self:” self-governing, self-supporting and self-propogating.”

test of RocketPost

I'm testing RocketPost here. It's suppose to be all-that...we'll see. I'm going to try to upload a picture here, which which has been my problem with BlogJet.

Fatmir...random picture