An Open letter to Pat Robertson

Also related to the Robertson matter, I just learned yesterday from bytyci that Mark Orila wrote a letter to the editor of Java, a Kosovar weekly newspaper.  Though it is in English I’ve reprinted the letter in English here:

An open letter to Pat Robertson

 

Dear Mr. Robertson:

 

Grace and Peace in the name of our Savior.  I hope this letter finds you enjoying His blessings!

 

Allow me to introduce myself.  I have been working among the Albanian people as a servant of the Gospel since 1995 -- first in Albania, later in Macedonia, and since 1999 in Kosovo.  I am from the state of Louisiana, and my sending organization is the Assemblies of God

 

I was deeply alarmed last week to read an article in the Financial Times entitled US evangelists 'join campaign to keep Kosovo within Serbia'.  According to the article, Bishop Artemije of the Serbian Orthodox Church claims to have enlisted from you a promise to use your influence to oppose the independence of Kosovo on the grounds that an independent Kosovo would “provide a base for an ‘extremist Islamic jihad’.” 

 

Upon reading the article carefully, I noted that while your name was invoked, you were nowhere quoted directly.  Therefore, I’m writing in order to request a clarification from you.  I would also welcome this opportunity to share with you some of my insights gained from almost 12 years of working in this part of the world.

 

Mr. Robertson, I wish you could have been here with me in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 and watched as people stood in line to give their own blood for the victims of the attack.  I wish you could have experienced for yourself not only the mass rallies and marches but also the flood of personal telephone calls and visits I received expressing solidarity and support with the USA.  I wish you could have been with me this past July 4^th as hundreds of local people gathered in the town square to celebrate American Independence Day as though it were their own.  I wish you could have seen the cities, towns and villages all across Kosovo illuminated by candles this past September on the fifth anniversary of the 2001 attack as our friends here shared our grief.

 

Kosovar Albanians are probably the most pro-American people outside of America itself.   In fact, they may be more pro-American than Americans.  American flags flutter from one end of Kosovo to the other.  Hardly a day goes by here that someone doesn’t tell me, “God in heaven, America on earth!”  (Admittedly for me as a Christian, this statement causes a bit of an embarrassment; I love my country, but this comes a little too close to idolatry for my comfort.)   In fact, Albanian devotion to America has roots that go far deeper than the 1999 NATO intervention.  Every schoolchild here learns that were it not for U.S. president Woodrow Wilson, the nation of Albania would have never existed.

 

There are, of course, Islamic extremists here -- as in the USA and everywhere else.  (I was physically attacked by one of them last year; he was tried and sentenced by a local court the very next day!)  Bishop Artemije is attempting to spread alarm that if Kosovo becomes independent then these extremists will gain ascendancy.  This claim is deeply ironic.  If the US were to oppose Kosovo’s independence, the Albanians would feel betrayed by their only friends.  Then the jihadists (who are currently a tiny and despised minority) might have a chance of gaining a wider hearing!

 

There is a further irony in Bishop Artemije’s appealing to American evangelicals for support.  This is the same bishop who once wrote an article in which he anathematized anyone who darkened the door of a Protestant church.  Local pastors remember that when Serbia ruled here, evangelicals were labeled a “satanic cult”.  Even today evangelicals in Kosovo have far more legal protection than our brothers in Serbia proper.  Kosovo and Serbia both passed religious laws in the last year.  The Kosovo law should be a model for Europe; it guarantees the rights of Protestants by name!  The Serbian law, by contrast, institutionalizes the longstanding discrimination against evangelicals.

 

Even graver than the persecution of evangelicals is the way in which many Serbs invoked the name of Christ and the symbols of Christianity as they carried out atrocities in the wars of the 1990s.  I’ll never forget traveling around Kosovo after the war in the summer of 99 and seeing thousands of burned Albanian homes with the cross carved into the charred ruins.  The ultimate emblem of love and self-sacrifice was turned into a symbol of hatred more akin to the swastika.  The sad fact is that elements of the Serbian Orthodox Church blessed this kind of behavior, and in so doing, they severely undermined their claim to be the defenders of Christianity here.

 

Of course Albanian attacks on Serbs and Serbian religious sites such as those which occurred in March 2004 must also be acknowledged and condemned.  I certainly want to see a Kosovo where Serbs, Albanians and everyone else are fully free and secure.  I’m convinced that the vast majority of Albanians want this as well and that it can be achieved. 

 

Mr. Robertson, I am sincerely praying for you that if you do speak out on the situation in Kosovo that your words will be well-informed, wise and humble.

 

God bless you! 

 

Mark Orfila

 I appreciate Mark’s proactivity on this issue as evangelicals are being misrepresented.  This misrepresentation has significant consequences for our relationships with both Albanian and Serbian people.

 

From Kosovo: An open letter to Mr. Pat Robertson

Several weeks ago I wrote about the relationship between Pat Robertson and bishop Artemije of the Serbian Orthodox church.  At that time a commenter asked why the evangelical community in Kosovo wasn’t reacting to Robertson’s precipitous comments (see the previous post and comments for the background).  The protestant churches and several American missionaries met to formulate a response.  I received an advanced copy of the open letter a few days ago, but didn’t know if I should post it until I was sure it was public. 

After checking, the draft letter reads as follows:

30 October 2006

 Dear Mr. Robertson:

 Grace and peace to you in Jesus' name!

 We the undersigned are national pastors and foreign missionaries serving in Kosovo.  We represent several nations of the world and a wide range of denominations and doctrines within the evangelical spectrum.

 We are writing to express our deep concern at reports we have read in various media outlets as well as on the website of Bishop
Artemije of the Serbian Orthodox Church.   According to these
reports, the bishop met with you to inform you of the "destruction of Christian civilization" here and to warn that to grant independence to Kosovo would be to "permit the establishment of an Islamic state".  In light of these warnings, the bishop claims that you promised to exert your influence to help keep Kosovo in Serbia.

 Mr. Robertson, we who are on the ground working to spread the Gospel in Kosovo are convinced that the bishop has shown you a distorted picture.  We would like to share with you some of our observations and to plead with you to listen to our perspective before taking any action in this matter. 

 First of all, we find it troubling that Bishop Artemije of all people would turn to American evangelical leaders for help.  This same bishop has consistently proven as fierce a foe of evangelicals here in the former Yugoslavia as any Muslim leader.  In an article in a Serbian Orthodox publication, he anathematized anyone who set foot in a Protestant church.  Our brothers and sisters in Serbia still suffer discrimination and sometimes outright persecution as a result of the influence of church leaders such as Bishop Artemije. 
We wonder whether the bishop considers his efforts to stamp out evangelicalism as part of his defense against the destruction of Christianity in this part of the world.

 Today in predominantly Muslim Kosovo, evangelicals have more legal rights than in predominantly Orthodox Christian Serbia.  In fact, Both parliaments passed religious laws in the past year.  The Kosovo law provides one of the strongest guarantees of religious liberty in all Europe, recognizing the Protestant community by name.  The Serbian law favors the Orthodox Church and serves to legitimize longstanding discrimination of evangelicals.

 The bishop's claim that an independent Kosovo would become an Al Qaeda base also strikes those of us here on the ground as absurd. 
Kosovar Albanians are by and large more pro-American than Americans themselves.  The stars and stripes flies side by side with the Albanian two-headed eagle all across Kosovo.  This past year, thousands of local people gathered in cities, towns and villages on the Fourth of July to share in America's joy then again on the 11th of September to share in America's mourning.  A popular saying here is, "God in heaven; America on earth!"

 Bishop Artemije has every right to speak out against the destruction of Serb religious sites and the persecution of Serbs.  We join with him in condemning these attacks in the strongest possible terms. 
Nationalism is unquestionably an ugly, idolatrous force that has left in its wake countless victims of every ethnicity here in the Balkans. 

 However, the bishop's effort to depict this nationalism as "Islamic terrorism" is both deceptive and damaging.  If attacks on Serbs and their churches are Islamic terrorism, then how should one describe the attacks on the Albanian population and their places of worship in 1998 and 1999?  Or how does one account for the fact that these "Islamic terrorists" have never touched Albanian Catholic or Protestant places of worship?

 We do not deny that there are Islamic fundamentalists working to gain influence here in Kosovo - as there are in the USA, Britain and just about everywhere else in the world.  At the moment, these extremists are few in number and are strongly opposed by the vast majority of the population.  But please hear us, Mr. Robertson! If you publicly oppose the independence of Kosovo you will play directly into Islamists' hands in two important ways.

 First of all, the radical Muslims here would love nothing more than to find evidence of a link between evangelicals and the extreme nationalist elements of the Serbian Church.  Crosses carved into the ruins of Albanian homes bombed and burned during the war reinforced the perception that Serb paramilitaries carried out their atrocities with the blessing of the Church.  We hope that you will not make a statement that would cause us to accused of sharing in the guilt for those atrocities.

Secondly, if you were successful in persuading the U.S. to oppose Kosovo's independence, this would prove to be a huge victory for Islamic extremists.  Then they would say, "You trusted in America, but America has betrayed you!"  In such an event, a deeply disillusioned population would be ripe for Islamist propaganda.

 Already the publicity arising from this case has resulted in serious threats against evangelical believers here in Kosovo.  Mr. Robertson, you can be absolutely certain that if you align yourself with Bishop Artemije's agenda, your brothers and sisters in Christ here in Kosovo will pay a very high price .  We plead with you in the name of Jesus not to give ammunition to the enemies of the Gospel!

 God bless you

 Mark Orfila, a friend and missionary with the Assemblies of God, drafted the letter.  There will be a public press-release forthcoming later in the week.

Hints of the UN plan for Kosovo emerge

Hints are beginning to emerge on the UN plan for the future of Kosovo.  According to a UPI article:

Kosovo, whose 1.8 million population is 90 percent ethnic-Albanians and about 100,000 Serbs, will be a state without a seat in the United Nations and without a foreign ministry or armed forces, Belgrade's Beta news agency said.

Apparently UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari presented the draft of his final status solution to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.  According to parts of the plan already published the plan seems to include “more than autonomy, less than independence” and doesn’t include Serbian sovereignty, which is an interesting mix of positions.

At the same time, despite rumors of delaying status talks because of Serbia’s constitutional referendum and imminent parliamentary elections, the US government is pushing for a final status decision by the end of 2006.

Returning Sesame Street Productions for Kosovo

As a follow-up to last week’s post about Sesame Street…

NEW YORK, October 30: Kosovo broadcaster RTK yesterday premiered the Sesame Street international production Rruga Sesam (Albanian language)/Ulica Sezam (Serbian language).

The 26-episode Rruga Sesam and Ulica Sezam feature Muppet segments from Sesame Street's international library, as well as local content, such as 26 original and locally produced live-action segments highlighting similarities of children from different ethnicities living in Kosovo, and the importance of play in their lives. In addition to airing on RTK, the productions will also broadcast regionally on three Serbian-language broadcasters: DTV, TV Most Zvecan and TV Herc Strpce.

I don’t know why this intrigues me so.  Maybe it’s because the first Hispanic Americans I ever met where on Sesame street?  Having grown up in a small, ethnically-homogenous Minnesota town Sesame Street really did help me see the world was bigger than my little neighborhood.  That sounds pretty lame as I write it, but true none-the-less.

via Worldscreen

Rruga Seam....Sesame Street comes to Kosovo

That childhood staple, Sesame Street, has come to Kosovo.  I’ve actually known this for a while, but never seen anything in the English press about it.  Now “The World According to Sesame Street,” a documentary is explaining how the kids program has become a global phenomenon.  The LA Times says in a review:

It runs in more than 120 countries, mostly in dubbed versions of the original, but in more and more places — beginning as far back as 1972, after an inquiry from Germany — it is being produced locally, retooled for the native audience, with new characters and settings reflecting native culture and concerns.” The documentary focuses on productions of “Sesame Street” in three countries places: Bangladesh, Kosovo and South Africa. 

According to the PBS site, Independent Lens:

Creating a locally produced Sesame project in Kosovo was more than just creating a children’s TV show. As Producer Basia Nikonorow explains, “We really believe that a Sesame project could aid in the peace process.” After years of violent ethnic strife between Serbs and Albanians, the show had the potential to build peace and tolerance with a new generation of children, showing them that their ethnic counterparts were just kids, too.

At the same site you can see some videos of the production team.

I think this is pretty good stuff.  The children of countries places like Kosovo need all the help they can get in forming a future multi-ethnic home, where all ethnic groups can live in peace with one another.

Next hurdle...the VAT

 With increasing government responsibility come increasing government control.  When it comes to Kosovo this has generally been fairly positive as the local provisional government brings the legal system up to what I can only assume are fairly European norms.  The Value Added Tax, however, has been nothing but a pain over the last two years.

 

The VAT is a sort of national sales tax and one I’m all for.  But the way the VAT is being applied to NGOs and charities is causing a lot of concern.   Up until a couple of years ago all relief supplies (used clothing, bedding, etc) were exempt from customs and the VAT.  Organizations, Christian and otherwise,  were able to bring supplies and donations into Kosovo without paying what can amount to taxes of about 26 percent.  Over the last couple of years, however, the government is seriously clamping down on various tax loopholes including assessing the VAT to charity work.

On example of the problems this creates is with Samaritan’s Purse shoeboxes that have been distributed in Kosovo since the war.   This year SP is hoping to send 100,000 shoeboxes to Kosovo.  However, unless the tax codes on charity work are loosened, local organizations would be liable to pay 26 percent in taxes on these shoeboxes.  That is, a value would have to be assessed on the shoeboxes and taxes will have to be paid on that estimated value.  No one has the money to pay taxes on donated items.  The shoeboxes will stop coming to Kosovo.

Obviously this really jeopardizes, not only the SP shoebox distributions, but many other kinds of charity and benevolent work as well.   Please pray that the parliament not sign into effect the draft law on the VAT or that amendments would be made that ease how the law is applied to NGOs.

 

Evangelicals and Kosovo...what the ???

The propoganda war is heating up over the final status of Kosovo and apparently some well known American Evangelicals are taking sides, here, here and here.

I am a little bewildered by these statements from Robertson and Falwell.  As far as I know neither they, nor their staffs, have ever visited Kosovo or spoken with evangelicals in Kosovo, let alone the Albanian leaders of the evangelical church in Kosovo.  I am bewildered that they would either take sides, or allow themselves to be placed in a position where they appear to be taking sides.

The Albanian Muslims and Orthodox Serbs fought a vicious war, but it is a mistake to confuse anti-Serb with Anti-West.  Roberston is quoted as saying: "We unleashed this curse upon the world!". He add that it was "absolutely scandalous that we should permit the establishment of an Islamic state in Kosovo and Metohija by robbing a sovereign state of part of its territory, with the aid of American money to boot."

Islamic state?  What the heck? 

Ever-present Albanians

One of the most interesting things about traveling around Wisconsin is the people you meet.  What’s more, I’m constantly surprised by the number of Albanians in Wisconsin.  This morning I ate breakfast at a restaurant owned by an Albanian family, apparenlty one of several in the area.  After breakfast I had the chance to chat with the man for a while.  He’s from Albania, though he also lived in Macedonia for a while before coming to the US in the ‘70’s.

The Albanian people are everywhere.  It’s pretty neat.

Salaries and big charities

[Rant] The last couple of days there’s been some buzz about the salaries of the presidents of some of the larger Christian organizations.  Mike Sense started it (he works for Campus Crusade and Common Grounds Online picked up the story as well.  The data comes from the Forbes 200 Largest Charities database from 2005.

What’s interesting is that low salaries are almost automatically seen as “better” than the higher ones.  Crusade’s Steve Douglass earns $57,466, which is ever so much better than Franklin Graham’s $368,115 from Samaritan’s purse.  At CGO the author has “highlighted those who make less that $100,000 as if a six digit income is inherently more laudably than a five digit one.  Come on.

I don’t have any earthly idea whether these are high or low salaries.  I don’t do these guys jobs.  I’ve never seen their contract or their job description.  I’m thankful that in the Christian & Missionary Alliance we have a salaries committee of godly people that determine Dr. Benedict’s salary.  Good for them and good for him.

My personal opinion, for what it’s worth is that these kind of comparisons only breed envy and help people be judgmental.  I don’t mean to point fingers at either Mr. Sense or the guy from CGO but come on guys.  If you think they’re paid too much say so.  Don’t just dangle the numbers in front of people and see what happens. [/rant]

In the news: not everyone happy with new religion law

Forum 18 is reporting that while evangelicals are happy about the new law others are objecting to its apparent exclusivity.  As has been mentioned before Evangelicals were included among the five official religions communities.  This is because the evangelical church substantially predates the war.  The first Albanian evangelicals date to the 1980's while Serbian evangelicals date much earlier to 1967.  The tradition of evangelical theology, though not called "evangelical" specifically dates into the 1800's. Whle the text of the law hasn't been released pubically, as far as I know, the text of the parliament's submission to UNMIK is here. Pastor Aslimovski is incorrect, however, in stating that the Evangelical community is in fact Pentecostal, as indicated in his quote below.  KPEC, the evangelical community of Kosovo is a voluntary organization of protestant churches and organizations who hold to the Lausanne Covenant.  This is the only confessional/doctrinal requirement for membeship.  I wholeheartedly agree with him that the law should be clear on how religious communities get legal status.  It should not be left until later.  Only when we see the final text of the law will we really know where we are on that question.

______________________

While some Protestants are jubilant that the new religion law approved by the Kosovo Assembly on 13 July has been amended by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to specify five of the faiths by name that enjoy rights and freedoms (Muslims, Orthodox, Catholics, Jews and Evangelicals) others are critical. "If it is true that the Evangelical (Pentecostal) church is mentioned it is not right, since all should be mentioned or none," Adventist pastor Nikola Aslimovski complained to Forum 18 News Service. UNMIK promulgated the law on 24 August, but only made this public on 20 September. The law fails to tackle the highly contentious issue of how and which religious communities will get legal status. "Everything should be nailed down in one law," one religious freedom expert told Forum 18. "Nothing should ever be left vague to be returned to later."

Live from Oconto, WI

I’m here in Oconto, WI for the second day.  Oconto is a city of about 4800–5000 people north of Green Bay about an hour or so.  It’s beautifully situated on the bay itself.  One of the great things about going on tour is meeting all kinds of “average.  I put average in quotes because none of these folks are average.  God has had a plan and an agenda for each one.  He’s carried each one through difficult times, provided during times of little and blessed during times of much.

Snapshots….

…. This morning I had breakfast with two guys.  One is retired the other still works in the maintenance department of a local paper mill.   Both were full of stories about the people they’d shared Christ with and the lives they saw changed.  Both reflected on their own lives before Christ and the things God had saved them from.

The best part was that they weren’t “primping” for the missionary.  In fact, I’m not even sure they knew I was there the whole time.  They were just telling stories about stuff God had done as if it were the most natural thing in the world….exactly how it should be.  This is the Christian & Missionary Alliance at the fundamental level; people living the Call extraordinarily in ordinary places. 

… helping the new pastor unload.  I just showed up to help and didn’t know a soul.  “I just heard a new preacher came to town and came to help unload the truck,” I said.  “Oh, okay…thanks for helping,” was the frequent reply.  Folks didn’t look at me funny or ask a lot of questions.  I think the only question that mattered was, “can he pull his weight.”  I knew I’d scored with the group when the biggest guy in the group said, “Oh wait, he’ll can help me with this heavy box” and beckoned me over to give him a hand.

… standing in the meeting room and listening to an older woman describe how God had provided throughout her life.  The far-away look in her eyes a greater expression than her words about the depth of her experience with the Lord.

… speaking to two groups of AWANA kids.  As I talked about what the life of a child was like in Kosovo one little boy raised his hand to ask a question.  I think we were talking about mosques or something.  “Do you have any poisonous snakes in Kosovo?” he asked.  No, not really.  Sorry about that.  Little boys wondering about the world around them.  What percentage of missionaries have come our of little towns and little churches…I be the number would surprise us.

…playing cards with neighbors and laughing about the normal things of everyday life.  A son’s tattoo, a injured employee, the stuff of everyday life that sometimes we miss in our really hurried lives.

This is the CMA…and I’m happy to be a part of it.

 

...third time's the charm?

Weird.

Bombs in Kosovo keep exploding

18/09/2006

(Prishtina,
DTT-NET.COM)- Another bomb went off on Sunday night in Kosovo’s eastern
town of Gjilan, again targeting cars of officials from government, with
police still having no arrests made.

In the News Again...another bomb in Gjilan

I'm not sure what the deal is, but twice in two days seems a little much.  Another bomb went off in my city...actually in my neighborhood on Saturday.  My teammates report it went off about 50 meters from their apartment...rattled the dishes a little bit.  According to my team mates, the first explosion was down town, the second was behind her house, which is the reverse of the article below.

Please pray for peace and stability in Kosovo
____
Local Self-Government Ministry Car Damaged in Gnjilane Blast
17 September 2006 | 13:19 | FOCUS News Agency
Gnjilane. A strong explosion in Gnjilane, Kosovo, caused damage to four cars one of which belongs to the Local Self-Government Ministry of Kosovo, RTS informs citing Kosovo's police forces. No people were injured in the blast.
The spokesperson for the police Naser Ibrahimi stated the explosion took place on Saturday at around 8.30 p.m. local time. The motive behind the explosion is not yet clear, nor is it clear what type of explosion caused the material damage.
This is the second blast in Gnjilane for the last two days. During the last explosion that took place late on Thursday the car of Kosovo's Interior Minister Fatmir Rexhepi was damaged.
The police arrested two persons at the explosion site near the building in which Minister Rexhepi resides. However, because of lack of proof the two arrested persons had been involved in the attack they were released.

Checking in from Wausau

I’m now on what we call “missionary tour” in my little world and I’m up in Wausau, WI this week.  I’m here at Wausau Alliance Church having a great time connecting with Alliance people about Alliance missions.  Thursday night was my first speaking opportunity then last night we had a game night and some nice time just to hang out and connect.  This morning was a men’s breakfast where about 40 men showed up to hear about what God’s doing in Kosovo.  This evening it was a meeting with the youth.  We had a “mystery dinner” then I shared for a few minutes about the big questions in life before we watched “The End of the Spear,” a great movie about the four martyred missionaries in Ecuador in the 50’s and the work their families did there.

This is a great church with a heart for missions and people committed to getting the job done. 

Great stuff!

 

In the News in Gjilan

Caught this in the news this morning.  Gjilan (Gnilanje is the Serbian spelling) hasn't had a bomb like this in a number of years.  Oh, I had a friend who found an anti-tank mine under his car a couple of years back, but it didn't go off.

Pray for peace and stability in Kosovo!
----
Explosion near the house of Kosovo's Minister of Interior

Pristina /15/09/ 12:37

There was an explosion early Friday in Gnilanje near the home of Kosovo's Minister of Interior, Fatmir Rexepi, reported Kosovo police.

There were no injured in the incident, but an automobile of type Audi A4, owned by Rexepi, was damaged, alongside another vehicle parked nearby, local authorities reported.

The house of Kosovo's minister was damaged, together with surrounding houses.

The explosive device was planted under a car immediately near Rexepi's home.

So far, two suspects have been arrested, which were near the site of the explosion.

News on the Law of Religion

If you’ve read this blog for any length of time you’ve notice me write about the “draft law on religion” for some time.  This law would govern how religious groups conduct themselves and has been the cause of a lot of prayer for some time.  One of the key issues for us has been the status of the protestant church community within that law.  For some time it seemed that the law would only recognize the Muslim, Orthodox, Catholic and Jewish faiths as the historic faiths of Kosovo.  In many ways this made sense.  Evangelical Protestantism is a relative late comer.  At the same time, not being included in this list of faiths put the evangelical church at a significant disadvantage before the law.

Yesterday I received word that the new Law on Religion had been signed into law and that the evangelical church was included as one of the “named and recognized religious communities” of Kosova.  This is fantastic and unexpected news and we’re grateful to God for it. 

Thanks for your prayers over the last couple of years about this issue.  More information will be forthcoming, but I haven’t posted in a while and thought I’d post GOOD NEWS.

You know you've been traveling a lot when...

Yesterday, late afternoon we finally got back to Raleigh, NC where we’re spending our “home assignment” year before returning to Kosovo.  We’ve been on the road for about a month for both work-related and family visits.  We’ve been in six states, have spoken in three churches and visited lots of great people. 

When we arrived at the airport my mother, my sister and her daughter, Abbie, met us take us home.  My seven-year-old daughter asked, “Mom, after we get ‘checked-in’ to grandma's can I go play at Abbie’s house?”

Poor thing…she’s ready to unpack her bags for a while. 

In Gjilan: Court jails Kosovo Albanian army officers

Three men were jailed Thursday after an international judge found them guilty of war-crimes in Gjilan.  Roberta Clogg, our wonderful apprentice, stumbled upon the decision a couple of days ago while coming back from language class/dinner.  Read about her experience here.

From the News:

PRISTINA,
Serbia, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- A district court has sentenced three of
Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian army officers to seven years in jail each for
war crimes against civilians.

The Kosovo District Court in Gnjilane, presided by Judge Vioneda
Bolero of an international judiciary team, jailed the three men for war
crimes, including inhuman treatment of civilians in the Kosovo town of
Orahovac in 1998, Belgrade's RTS Serbian radio-television reported
Friday.  More.

From what Roberta writes the whole matter was conducted peacefully.  Assuming the judge made the right decision, that's good news for Kosovo.  I'm thrilled that Kosovar Albanians are coming to terms with their own past, as all people must.

...on the road in Price, Utah

We got into Price, Utah this afternoon, a little town of about 8,400 people.  This is where my wife spent about eight years of here life.  We spoke tonight at a dinner at Price Chapel, a church that my wife’s dad pastored and is still making a positive impact on the community.

I’m not sure how many people turned up tonight, but there was probably at least a hundred, interested in hearing how “one of their own” was doing in a land few people understand.  The church is actually located in a former health club building.  They’ve made super use of the structure, proving that church isn't about the building, it’s about the people.  Tomorrow I speak to the men’s group and the Sunday morning Melissa and I will speak again.

I really enjoy meeting regular people from regular Christian & Missionary Alliance churches.  These people are living out their lives faithfully in often difficult circumstances.  The folks at Price Chapel are a religious minority in this state.  They are great, especially the guy who apologized for leaving the meeting a couple of times to answer his phone, “the damn thing never leaves me alone.”  I love it. 

Moving on to Salt Lake City

We left Ottumwa yesterday afternoon after church.  We made some really good connections with the folks at North Gate and hope to see some of them in Kosovo one of these days.  Since we were flying out of Chicago at 10am for Salt Lake City, the next stop on our little tour, we decided to book a hotel an spend the night in the Windy City.  The alternative was to leave Ottumwa at about three in the morning, something I really didn’t want to do.  Incidentally, if you’re not familiar with Hotwired I’d definitely check it out.  We booked a room at the airport Westin, which normally go for $199 a night, for only $75.

We left Ottumwa about 3 o’clock, hoping to get to the Westin at around seven, in time for the girls to swim at the pool.  However, after a wrong turn at the Iowa-Illinois border which sent us on I-74 South towards fabled Peoria, we ended up checking in slightly after 10PM.  Not quite what I had in mind.

Our stay at the Westin was one of those good-news/bad-news deals.  I haven’t stayed at a hotel in the US for a long time, over four years in fact, but the Westin had a strange combo of luxury and el-cheapo.  The room was fabulous, the internet was $9.95.  Seems like internet ought to be free at a hotel like this, it was at the Super 8 in Ottumwa.  In fact, there was free Wi-Fi in the lobby, which we took advantage of from our 3rd floor room.  The refrigerator didn’t work, but if it had, there was a sensor on it that began billing you if any bottles were “moved,” not taken out, but moved.  We were trying to cool some venison sausage from grandpa so we had to order up a new fridge.  In the morning  I would a USA Today newspaper to our room which was sweet, but it was .75, though it was free in the lobby, along with the Wall Street Journal.

Anyway, we really slept well and the beds and bathroom were excellent.  We’re on our way to SLC!

God's good...speaking in a Baptist Church

We spend the day down in Missouri yesterday visiting my wife’s grandfather.  He’s an amazing guy.  The son of a Missouri farmer, he served in WWII as a gunner in a dive-bomber, went to college on the GI Bill and became an engineer who helped develop the guidance systems on the Tomahawk cruise missile, the F-111 fighter-bomber and a number of other aircraft.  At 82 years old magazines like “Aviation Weekly,” “Newsweek” and “The Economist” are still on his reading list.  I wish I could spend more time with him!

We also had the privilege of speaking at “grandpa’s” church last night.  The church is 150 years old and is part of the Southern Baptist Convention.  While they support their own missionaries, they’ve also been praying for us over the last four years.  It was great to meet some of these faithful people.  One lady had family in Slovenia, another had traveled around the world on different trips.  Some people might not think that a rural Missouri, country church has much to contribute to the Kingdom but they’d be dead wrong.  These people are a testimony to the faithfulness of God and God’s people, demonstrated in countless small churches around the country.  I thank God for them and for their partnership with us, though they’d never met us until yesterday. 

God is doing great things throughout the world and I”m grateful for the wonderful work that the SBC is doing both overseas and in the US.  They are one of the premier church-planting groups in the US and one of the few remaining missionary-sending agencies committed to doing missions through long-term, language– and culture-learning missionaries.

Thanks everyone for a great evening!

 

This is the Christian & Missionary Alliance...in Ottumwa, IA

We’re visiting my wife’s family in Ottumwa, IA this week and on Sunday we had the opportunity to speak at North Gate Alliance Church.  Maybe I’m just all excited about being on home assignment, but I haven’t been this enthusiastic about being a part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in years.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m not down on my denom, but every group has its issues and it’s just human nature to focus on what’s wrong instead of what’s right.

But after hearing from the heart of the president of the CMA and denominational leaders last week, and visiting North Gate this week I’m just really excited about what the CMA is about and where we’re headed. 

North Gate is a church that is committed to “the mission” both at home and overseas.  They’ve more than tripled their giving to the Great Commission Fund over the last four years, while at the same time undertaking an extensive building program AND hiring a Mexican graduate of Crown College to plant a Spanish-speaking congregation.  They also just sent their youth to work in the inner-city of St. Louis and have sent adult teams to Mexico.  They’re getting it done, and doing with grace and humility.

It is a privilege to be connected to a church like this, a church that models so well the vision and the history of the CMA.  Thanks to everyone in Ottumwa for making us feel at home and for making the CMA what it is!

The flattening of the CMA

I'm developing contrasting memories of Wheaton, IL. The last time we were here, which was the summer of 2002, we were in a grueling language acquisition course. We were tired, we were stressed, we were a little anxious about leaving for Kosovo a few short weeks later. This week we've been on the same campus, eating the same awesome food and surrounded by many of the same people, but it has been very, very different.

Last night marked the end of our first HAMS Conference, or Home Assignment Ministry Seminar (Conference...redundancy noted). It's been a great week of reconnecting with old friends and colleagues, seminars, worship and great messages and plain old hanging out.

One of the things that has really struck me is the the flattening, the de-corporate-izing of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. It is a welcome breath of fresh air. We had the priviledge of having the President of the CMA here with us this week, as well as a number of divisional Vice-Presidents, Assistant Vice-Presidents...a whole cornucopia of titullage. They all stayed in the same dormitory housing; we all used the same single large bathroom. Each morning I stood at a sink, towel-wrapped, shaving my face next to the President or other exalted personage. I can't speak for everyone, but that meant a lot to me. In past years the "headquarters staff" usually stayed in hotels, I'm told, while the missionaries stayed in the dorms. It may seem like a little thing, in fact some would mark it a "no brainer," but they are road signs of a movement towards what the president is calling "seamless ministry", the de-silo-ing of the corporate structures that have typified our organization.

Okay, my ride has arrived. God has been good. I have a lot more to say, but it will have to wait.

...loving life in all its various dimensions

Normally people get sick when they arrive on a mission field, not they return from one.  I’m having the exciting experience of a whopper of stomach bug the day after returning from Kosovo.  Yesterday morning I awoke jet-lagged and stupid, but relatively healthy.  By lunch time I was spending 15 minutes of every hour in the bathroom trying to exorcise the nasty bug that found me.

I’m better today, though I’m pretty sore from everyone’s favorite form of exercise, the dry-heave quiver.  I’m anticipating feeling better as the day goes on as we fly to Chicago tomorrow morning at 6:41 AM for an organizational conference. 

Back in the U.S.

We havebeen back in the US for about 16 hours, ten of which I've spent asleep. So far it is a little surreal. Here are a few of my initial fascinations:

-throwing toilet paper in the toilet.

- clean, new cars everywhere.

-my first shower...standing up, with a shower curtain, without holding the douche (sprayer)

-no trash on the roads... anywhere

-surreally clean landscape

-having to find a electrical plug adapter for my laptop, to the US standard

- my mind unable to grapple with what my body is suddenly doing here.

-I have no keys, to anything.

- there are a lot of fat people here.

Headed home tomorrow

I haven’t had much time to write this last week.  We’ve had a fantastic, super-servant-hearted group of 16 high school students and adult leaders keeping us busy until the very last day.

This group, from my home church in North Carolina has really made an impact on our little community.  First they ran our first-eve children’s program for the Ringjallja Center.  We had 20–30 kids each day from the community coming to hear about the Bible and God’s love for them.  Second, the group led a river-cleaning project.  There is small stream running through our town that is choked with debris and garbage.  In cooperation with the local youth Red Cross they cleaned our targeted stretch of river with joy and energy.  This may be a little strong, but I think they worked our local friends into the ground.  I’m not trying to be arrogant, but these American kids really know how to work!  For this project we were invited to the mayor's office and presented with a certificate of appreciation for the efforts.  They explained for the local news how they hadn't come on a “humanitarian basis” but on the basis of the love of God for the people of Gjilan.  The group also hosted three “cultural exchanges” during the evenings for the local high school students…

Anyway, this isn’t very good writing and I’m struggling to put into words what an impact this group made on the local people.  At the same time, we have been busily trying to pack, while feeding and boarding this large group.  They leave today, and we leave tomorrow.

If all goes well, we’ll spend the night in Prishtina tonight with some friends before getting on a 7AM flight for home tomorrow.  God has done some fantastic things over the last four years.  I hope I have time to process them in the weeks to come.  Right now I feel like our family has been running full speed, and will right up until we get on the plane.  “Back in the day,” missionaries had weeks to ponder their experiences, sailing on ships back to the homeland.  Today, we’ll be thrust back into American life before the wash-water has even dried on the kitchen floor.

We’ll be back in another year, God willing.  I’d like to do next term different from this one.  I’d like to be able to spend more time with my kids for one.  Anyway, I hope I can ponder and process a few weeks down the road.

Really, really light posting these few weeks

I haven't had much time to write lately.  We've got a couple of major things on our plate that isn't leaving much time to blog.  As I write this, a group of 16 American high school students and adult leaders are preparing for another day of fun and frolic here in Kosovo.  They're on a "missions trip" here until Monday and have been involved in running a children's program, ecological river clean-up project and a cultural exchange with local youth.

The second major thing is our return to the US for our one-year home assignment.  We're obligated to spend one year in the US for everyone four we're overseas.  We're leaving on an early morning flight on Tuesday, about 14 hours after our guests leave.   Sooo…we're busy packing up our house while hosting a team too!  We're having a lot of fun, but blogging will be sparse.

Vacation in Bulgaria P. III..oops a little late

*** Why I’m writing this: I’m writing this short little series to give you a window into the awesome blessing of a life of service.  When people think of a “missionary” sometimes they think of people serving diligently, under harsh conditions, dutifully suffering for their Master.  And that is true…sometimes life is like that.  But other times we are privileged to experience the unimaginable richness of life that comes from a life of stumbling obedience.  That is what I want to share with you in this little vacation chronicle.  I want you not to think of missionary life as foot-dragging resignation of life lived in difficulty, nor as a life of leisure in exotic locals, but rather of a life of beauty and ugliness, pain and pleasure, awesome contrasts which make missionary life a dance.***

After  a long day on the road we arrived in Nessabar, Bulgaria.  This isn’t a very big country, but the roads make you feel like it is!  Actually, it’s beautiful drive through the agricultural heartland of the nation.

Since we took so much time in Plovdiv we didn’t actually arrive in Nessabar until about 9PM local time.  That’s pretty early if you don’t have little kids with you, but with four children under seven-years-old, it was plenty late to begin looking for a hotel.  Nessabar, and especially the Sunny Beach area on the Black Sea, has incredibly active tourist areas where hotels are breeding like rabbits.  At the same time, its extraordinarily affordable.  Since we hadn’t made a reservation and just thought we’d “wing it” we stopped at a couple of 5–star hotels right on the beach.  We needed to get a base-line on prices and thought we’d start at the top.  At one brand new hotel, with marble floors, brass fixtures we found a price of a little over 200 leva per night.  That’s about $120 which included breakfast and dinner at a hotel with multiple swimming pools, exercise equipment and sits right on the beach.  Talk about affordable!  But this was still quite a bit more than we wanted to pay.

So we looked around for a couple of more hours.  The kids were tired but hung in there.  My oldest prayed diligently that we’d find something SOON!  In the end ended up at hotel about a block off the beach.  We found a two-room apartment, which over looks the swimming pools and central courtyard for $85 per night.  That includes use of all their facilities and a fantastic breakfast buffet as well.  The picture to the right is off our apartment balcony.  Not a bad deal, eh?

Yesterday we spent most of the morning on the beach.  The Black Sea.  Never in a million years would I have ever guessed that I’d be sitting on the beach in Bulgaria looking out over the Black Sea.  In my mind, growing up during the cold war, Bulgaria was always a darkly exotic place.  When I thought of of the Black Sea I thought of the Soviet Navy patrolling the cold waters of their own back yard.  I thought of pollution and poverty.  I thought of things that were just “other” and foreign.

That’s not what we’ve found here.  The beach here is as clean, white and beautiful as any I’ve ever sat on.  Okay, the service people don’t quite get the idea of “service” but the facilities are all first-rate.

Our God is a god of blessing.  I know that most of you will never sit on the beaches of the Black Sea.  I know some couldn’t afford to pay what we pay; $80–85 per night is just out of your price range, even for a one a year vacation.  But my point here isn’t to belabor the inequalities of life, but to praise the God who made it and to thank him for allowing us to share in it.

 

ECIKS - News and analysis about Kosovo Economy in English

ECIKS - News and analysis about Kosovo Economy in English.

 Prishtinë, June 29, 2006 - The South Eastern Europe Transport Observatory (SEETO) will allocate € 154 million to Kosovo. Shefki Ukaj, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunication (MTT) said that €120 million would be used for the construction of the Pristina-Durrës highway, while the rest for upgrading Pristina International Airport (PIA).

This is good news.  Having traveled through all of the former Yugoslave states, I’m always amazed at how under-developed the infrastructure of Kosovo seems to be.  I hope ever cent of this project money goes where it’s intended.

Vacation in Bulgaria P. II

*** Why I’m writing this: I’m writing this short little series to give you a window into the awesome blessing of a life of service.  When people think of a “missionary” sometimes they think of people serving diligently, under harsh conditions, dutifully suffering for their Master.  And that is true…sometimes life is like that.  But other times we are privileged to experience the unimaginable richness of life that comes from a life of stumbling obedience.  That is what I want to share with you in this little vacation chronicle.  I want you not to think of missionary life as foot-dragging resignation of life lived in difficulty, nor as a life of leisure in exotic locals, but rather of a life of beauty and ugliness, pain and pleasure, awesome contrasts which make missionary life a dance.***

We took off from Bansko this morning at about 9:30 with Patrick, Julie and clans…only an hour and a half past our goal.  Not too back for a Balkan vacation.  We’re ultimately heading for the city of Nessabar today, but we’d be having lunch in Plovdiv, a town about a two-hour drive from Bansko.  And off we went through the twisty, two-lane mountain road. 

We drove through many, many little Bulgarian towns and villages on the way.  Some seemed quite modern, others were typified by old women in heads carves pitching hay, horse drawn carts and fairy-tale scenery.  Plovdiv is picturesque little town that is apparently home to the oldest human settlement in the Balkans.  It’s also home to an old Roman amphitheater.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These places always kind of pole-axe me.  When I think of all the feet that have trod the stairs and bodies that have filled places like these I’m always touched by a profound sense of our “recentness.”  That is,Western culture such as it exists now is so very, very new.  This theater above was built in the early second century AD, during the reign of Emporer Trajan and is still used today for theater productions.  That is, it is about nine-hundred years old and still serves its original  purpose today. 

And while Plovdiv is home to the very old, it is also home to the new.  All the traffic lights in the town, whether on the main streets or back alleys, have count-down timers to let you know how much time remains until the light changes.  I love this feature! 

Being around old stuff like this always challenges me with this simple question: How can I make a “ten-thousand year” difference in how my life is spent.  I get that line from the old hymn, Amazing Grace which says:

When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun

we’ll have no less days to sing his praise than when we’ve first begun.

As a Christian I believe that I will live on and that ten thousand years from now the way I have lived my life will matter.  I wrestle every day to live up to that challenge.  The great thing about the challenge is that your life circumstances are irrelevant.  From the poorest slave-laborer to the designer of the theater above, each person played a part in its construction.  It wasn’t a highly paid official who cut the stone steps above; it was a lower-middle class stone cutter.  But his work remains.  The same is true for us.  Whether we are an unemployed executive, a stay-at-home mom, a recovering alcoholic or a preacher each of us has the opportunity to affect the people around us in ways that are eternal.  I love the Gospel for this…for the hope that it gives all people at all times for significance that lasts the tests of time.

Vacation in Bulgaria P. I

*** Why I’m writing this: I’m writing this short little series to give you a window into the awesome blessing of a life of service.  When people think of a “missionary” sometimes they think of people serving diligently, under harsh conditions, dutifully suffering for their Master.  And that is true…sometimes life is like that.  But other times we are privileged to experience the unimaginable richness of life that comes from a life of stumbling obedience.  That is what I want to share with you in this little vacation chronicle.  I want you not to think of missionary life as foot-dragging resignation of life lived in difficulty, nor as a life of leisure in exotic locals, but rather of a life of beauty and ugliness, pain and pleasure, awesome contrasts which make missionary life a dance.***

 

Missionaries don’t often get to talk about the great vacations they get to take.  Oh, it’s not because we make a lot of money…far from it.  But we tend to live close to interesting places and many of those places are really, really inexpensive.

Before we head home for our one-year “home assignment” next month, before the “big push” of a final short-term team, final packing, etc., we thought we take a week of vacation .  So we’re taking some time away this week with some good friends, Julie and Patrick and their two kids Koen and Kacja at the Bulgaria coast o the Black Sea.  Since we’re not in a rush we’d make the trip in a couple of days, spending two nights in a favorite haunt, Bansko, Bulgaria.

We’ve been there several times and enjoyed the hosptality of the Hotel Tanne.  The hotel is one many, many in this burgeoning little ski town.  Actually, some colleagues stayed here at our recommendation a couple of weeks ago and didn’t like it because of all the construction traffic and noise…something I’d have to agree with during this stay.  But it was still well worth it.  We got in a little late, about 8PM but completely enjoyed the following day.  The best part about the hotel, besides its location, is the price.  We booked a two-room apartment for $70, which included breakfast and the use of their indoor pool and health-center (sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, weight room, etc).

The last two times we’ve stayed in Bansko, we’ve taken a day trip up to the Rila Monestary (my Flickr pics), which is a beautiful tenth century Orthodox monastery.  This time, however, we just contented ourselves with a hike in the mountains.  We actually laughed a little because we were enjoying the hike without any concern for landmines.  While we don’t have many, if any, landmines in our part of Kosovo, it’s still a regular consideration when hiking in the mountains.  But not so in Bulgaria.  War has not come here recently.  After a long hike we headed back for the hotel for lunch and a rest.

Our kids love this hotel, with it’s beautiful walled garden, complete with running gazebo, greenery and land gnomes, or as my daughter calls them, “Orves.”

Good hike, good time laughing and playing with the kids.  What more can you ask for? 

Law on Religion Entering its final phase

I’ve mentioned the new Law on Religion several times over the past couple of years.  The Contact Group (USA, Germany, Russia, Italy, France and England)  have made July 1 the deadline for the Kosovar parliament to approve the new law.  The original law, was pretty decent…not great, but decent.

Today Norways’s Forum 18 picked up the news

Amid pressure from the international community to adopt a religion law ahead of talks on Kosovo's final status, changes continue to be made to drafts of the Law Forum 18 News Service has learnt. Discussion of the Prime Minister's draft and two other drafts has been postponed until Wednesday 21 June, when they will be considered as amendments. "I am concerned that there are so many changes each time," Artur Krasniqi, a Protestant representing a coalition of Protestant Churches, told Forum 18. "We fear there will be pressure to insert new discriminatory provisions on registration." Alfons Lentze, a legal advisor to the Assembly, told Forum 18 that "This has been a very difficult issue. We want to see a religious freedom law as soon as possible in accordance with the Plan on Standards."

The problem is that the law being proposed is changing rapidly.  First there were secret meetings in Vienna, to which the protestant community was not invited.  Now the current lasw is not being publically disimenated and there is little likelyhood that the public will actually see the draft-law’s language before it’s actually signed into law.

There are additional concerns as well.  The dominant faith community is apparently pressing for more changes.  According to someone I know close to the process, those requests include:

• Religion in public schools
• Imams to be paid by government
• Property to be free for mosques
• To have strong ties between state and religion
• The right to promote religion in public institutions
• Special criminal trial concerning religious ministers

We’re all looking for justice and equality here.  Please be praying for that.

Decision on Kosovo’s Status to Be Announced November 15th

According to “Focus English News,” a Bulgarian outlet, the future status of Kosovo will be announced on November 15th, 2006.

     Belgrade. The international community reached an agreement the decision on Kosovo’s final status to be announced at the UN Security Council session on November 15th 2006, Serbian newspaper Glas Javnosti reads today citing diplomatic source.
     According to the source it is very possible Kosovo not to receive full independence on November 15th but everything will be formulated in such a way so that in fact the Balkan country will be independent, the newspaper notes.

I haven’t seen this reported in the local news this morning, or in other international news, but I’ll post more as it develops.  That date would be well after Ramadan and well into the cold winter months, which would make lengthy protests unlikely.

Oh, for the difference a preposition makes

I’d seen this story in the different paper so I knew what the headline meant, but this is what I saw this morning:

What is missing is the “at.”  That is, “Two British tourists shot at in Kosovo”  It seems a couple of brits were wandering around western Kosovo in a car with Belgrade license plates on it.  Their car got shot at, but they were unhurt.

I too “condemn” the shooting, but somewhere there is a friend or tour guide that needs a good thrashing.  They sent these two out into the wild country with a big sign saying, “Shoot me first” plastered across their car.   Dumb.

It’s the little things in life that make the difference…like a missing preposition or the wrong license plate in the wrong place.

 

Doing it their way

Sometimes it’s challenging being an American.  We’re almost hard-wired to think we know the best way to do everything.

In a couple of weeks we’re going to  have some visitors, a group of 15 high-school students and their adult leaders.  While here they’re going to be doing a children’s program, an high-school cultural exchange thing and they’re going to be serving the community by helping to clean a stretch of trash-filled river.

I’ve never cleaned a river in my life, and I’ve never been a professional trash-picker-upper…but I’ve seen a lot of them on TV and hence my confidence about what kind of tools are necessary.  And so I issued forth instructions to my faithful friend and co-worker, Kadir, a very faithful, but very poor man from a village near-by.

I explained to Kadir exactly what I wanted…the classic wooden stick with a nail on one end whereby trash may be spike and bagged without bending over.  Kadir looked around town, but couldn’t find anything.  He suggested he find some re-bar, cut it to length and bend a hook on one end.  Then he’d put some hose over the hook to protect the sensitive American hands and grind a sharp point on the other end for the easy impalement of garbage.

I was skeptical about this design.  Re-bar?  A hook on one end?  But, after some thought I leaned back on my instincts and thought to myself, “I’ve delegated the job to him, he knows what we’re trying to do…let him do it his way.”

I’m really glad I did.  As he cranked out 15 of these pieces it occurred to me that the design is simple genius.  We’re going to be working in a river bank.  A hook is going to be perfect, not only as an aid to climbing in and out of said river, but also for grabbing trash, tires and junk just out of reach.

I’m a little embarrassed that I was resistant…and am glad I let him do it his way.  Quite often I discover that my national co-workers know far better than I do exactly what will work and what won’t. 

 

Orthodox Pentacost Celebrated in Graçanica

While on our way to Church in Prishtina Sunday we passed throught the Serbian town of Graçanica.  As we drove through we were stopped by large procession bearing banners, icons, flowers and happy looking people.  We didn’t know what it was at the time.  Unforunately, unlike our colleagues in the Slavic countries, we have little interaction with the Serbian Orthodox minority in Kosovo.

It turned out last Sunday was Orthodox Pentacost and these happy worshippers where on their way to the 14th Century church and monestary that is the focal point of the city.

Congratulations and God bless!

Second Founding Meeting of the Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church

Today I spent several hours at the founding meeting of to Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church. For several years the national evangelical believers have attempted to come together and form a national church organization. All of these attempts have largely failed for one reason or another. Everyone here has felt a keen sense of failure to live up to the biblical ideals of unity.  But today was different.

Today’s meeting was encouraging because after a couple of years of wrestling and significant attempts at reconciliation, we ratified statutes and by-laws for it new organization. Twenty-eight Evangelical churches and organizations gathered in Prishtina today.

We’re all hoping that a new day is dawning for the Protestant Community in Kosovo.  Today was a major step in that direction.  As far as I know, never before have as many evangelical, both national and international, come together with the same vision and hope for unified national church effort.

 

God working among Albanian Muslims in Macedonia

My good friend David posts up a great story about how God used our Macedonian national church partner to free a young Muslim Albanian from spiritual bondage.  Check it out here.  God is sovereign over his creation, he’s still powerful, he still responds to the prayers of his people.  Praise God that the walls of ethnic hostility are falling…so great is the love of God on one side, so great is the desperation on another.

Ouch....Americans and current events

A friend pointed this video out to me the other day.  All I can hope is that it isn’t a representative sample…it is pretty funny though.  

 

In a few short weeks we’ll be returning to the US to talk to folks about what God is doing in Kosovo.  I’m a little scared!  You can’t paint everyone with the same brush, but Americans do have a difficult time with geography.  Several people, when told we, or our team, are working in Kosovo have asked, “Where in Bosnia is that?” or “Now that’s in Russia, right?”

I’m not trying to bust on Americans.  America is a very, very big place.  It’s bigger than most Europeans can really comprehend.  At the same time, we definitely have room for improvement.

 

Kosovo's Q1 Trade Gap Narrows by 5.17% Y/Y to 92.1 Mln Euro

Good news on the economic front in Kosovo.  Kosovo only produces twenty percent of the food it consumes and produces very little in the way of durable goods or consumer items.  But the trade deficit fell for the first quarter of 2006 by 5.17 percent.  That is, exports rose and imports fell.  I’m not really an economist, but increased exports sounds good to me. 

 

Here are some highlights:

·         Kosovo's main exports were the raw materials, or 54.8% of all exports. Leather and leather products made 16.2% of all exports and food and beverages contributed 11.5% of the total.

·         Kosovo imported mainly raw materials - 19.0% of all imports - followed by food, beverages and tobacco with 13.2%. Machines and electrical appliances made 12.0% of all imports.

·         Italy and Macedonia were Kosovo's main exports destinations in the first quarter of 2006. Exports to Italy totalled 1.09 million euro, or 15.2% of all exports. Exports to Macedonia were 1.04 million euro, or 14.6% of the total.

·         Macedonia remained Kosovo's main trading partner in terms of imports, followed by Serbia and Montenegro. Even though Kosovo remains part of the loose union of Serbia and Montenegro, which succeeded rump Yugoslavia in 2003, the province operates customs offices at its borders with the rest of Serbia and Montenegro.

·         Imports from Macedonia through March were 28.5% of Kosovo's imports and imports from Serbia and Montenegro contributed 19.5% of the total.

From KosovaReport.

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Sorry, you can ignore this…I’m checking the feed.

Common Statement - Interfaith Conference in Peja

Earlier I posted that the Protestants were only invited as observers, not as participants to the Interfaith Conference in Peja (Pec) Kosova last week.  It appears that the Evangelical representatives were involved to a more significant degree than I first thought.   Yesterday I received a copy of the documents which came out of the conference.  There are many, many good things in this doucment.  Some readers might knee-jerk against these sorts of ecumenical types of conferences, but I believe it’s a very positive move for the Protestant churches of Kosova.

On

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INTERFAITH CONFERENCE ON PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE AND DIALOGUE

 

MAY 2-3, 2006

MONASTERY OF THE PEC PATRIARCHATE

 

COMMON STATEMENT

 

On May 2-3, 2006 the leaders and senior representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Islamic Community of Kosovo, the Protestant Evangelical Church and the Jewish Community gathered at the historical Pec Patriarchate Monastery for an Interfaith Conference on Peaceful Coexistence and Dialogue.

 

The Conference was held at the initiative of religious representatives in Kosovo, hosted by the Serbian Orthodox Church, and organized and sponsored by Norwegian Church Aid.

 

On behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Pavle, the Conference was opened by His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral. The opening ceremony was attended by representatives of the International Community, local authorities and other dignitaries.

 

Gratitude is herein expressed to those who helped facilitate this Conference, notably: The sisterhood of the Pec Patriarchate Monastery, the brotherhood of Decani Monastery, the staff of the Kosovo and Metohija Office of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the international moderators, KFOR, and in particular the Italian contingent at the Pec Patriarchate, UNMIK and local municipal authorities.

 

The goal of the Conference was to provide an opportunity for the respective leaders of the religious communities to discuss key issues and values shared by their communities, and to identify desired joint initiatives to promote reconciliation and peace, mutual respect and acceptance, common life and cooperation through an institutionalised form of dialogue and concrete project activities.

 

Therefore, we, the religious leaders, are convinced that hatred and war represent defeat and tragedy for all, while reconciliation and forgiveness lead to freedom for all and for everyone. A person who hates is never free. True freedom exists in serving God by serving every human person regardless of their faith, nationality and every other adherence.

 

Faith in the God of peace, justice and love deem it unworthy only to tolerate one another as a “necessary evil”. Neither is it enough as persons and communities to merely co-exist one next to the other. Rather, we are invited by our faith and conscience to live one with the other. Ultimately, we desire and pray that we be enabled to live one for the other. In so doing, we respect the identity and dignity of every person and every community by accepting the principle of unity in diversity.

 

In coming to terms with the past we acknowledge that all communities have suffered. We express sorrow for one another�s suffering, praying that this suffering will no longer be a stumbling block. We must move towards an open future with interaction and profound responsibility for each other before God.

 

We condemn the destruction of all churches, mosques, cemeteries and other religious sites, and we rejoice in the restoration process, which is now under way and we anticipate its completion. We appeal to the wider community to join us in our endeavour to rebuild not only our religious sites, but also to rebuild our lives, our hearts and our minds.

 

As religious leaders and representatives, we commit ourselves to the

following:

 

·         To hold regular meetings between religious communities at the level of senior religious leaders, between the advisors in the Working Committee and at the municipal level;

·         To intensify inter-religious dialogue and cooperation;

·         To call upon all to contribute towards the betterment of life and prosperity in order to help facilitate the return process of all displaced persons;

·         To promote exchange between religious communities, such as:

o    visits to religious sites,

o    exchange of lectures between theological faculties,

o    as well as enabling the Seminary of St. Cyril and Methodius to resume its place in Prizren;

·         To invite the media to communicate our shared inter-ethnic and inter-religious values;

·         To facilitate communication and exchange of information between the religious communities: For instance, the compilation of a common address book;

·         To continue engaging as responsible religious leaders in the drafting process on the Law on Religion; and

·         To convene a seminar at the Nansen Academy in Lillehammer, Norway in order to strengthen the local religious leaders in their commitment to peace and           reconciliation.

 

In conclusion, we state that Kosovo is our common home and we commit ourselves to preserving it as a common inheritance for future generations.

 

The next conference will be hosted by the Islamic Community of Kosovo, in Pristina during the course of this present year 2006.

 

(The English text of this Common Statement was adopted as the official text of this Conference.)

 

 

Kosovo religious leaders issue joint appeal

On May 2nd there was an interfaith meeting held outside Peja, in the western part of Kosovo.  From the article below, it sounds as if it was constructive.  What’s interesting is that the evangelicals who were involved, who are two friends of mine, were invited as observers, not participants.  That’s not necessarily a negative, but it obviously communicates that Protestantism is not considered one of the “historic” faiths of Kosova.

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro-Kosovo's Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders issued a rare joint appeal to their communities Wednesday to join in rebuilding religious monuments and lives shattered by the province's ethnic conflict.

The appeal came at the end of a meeting organized by Norwegian Church Aid that brought together representatives of the Serb Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and Kosovo's Islamic, Jewish and Evangelical communities.

On the other hand, I had a nice talk with Pastor Femi Sunday night.  You’ll recall that last week he took part in a debate at the local college.  In our conversation Sunday night he told me that a number of people he spoke with believe that Protestantism is the future of Kosova.  While that’s positive, you have to remember that the word “religion” has built in political and identity issues in the Balkans. 

Via Kosovo News and Views

...for the very first time

For the last several months we  been planning for a series of evangelistic events to be held in June.  We’re helping to host this in cooperation with the other evangelical church in town, “Open Doors.”  The events are sponsored by the Luis Palau Evangelistic Organization and involve inviting specific groups of people to evangelistic coffee events. 

Today we had our “practice” event at a local restaurant.  My only real job was to set up the sound system and be available to help out.  The speaker, an Irish guy name Christy Smith, did a great job presenting the gospel to a group of about fifty people.  Of the fifty, I think maybe seven were foreigners. 

Folks came knowing what they were in for and were treated to coffee and dessert and a message from Christy.  He gave a very, very clear Gospel presentation where the message of hope, healing and new life was clearly told.  Christy has apparently experienced the Lord do a number of miracles in his life, and wasn’t afraid to tell it like it is.  Afterwards, as people were finishing their dessert and coffee, Christy invited people to come for prayer if they wanted.  A number of folks did, including one of the restaurant waiters. 

This event will be duplicated six or seven times in June so we learned a lot from this event today, including how to work with the wait-staff,  how to deal with sound issues in this restaurant, etc.

A lot of people hear the Gospel today, many for the very first time.

Good stuff.

 

Interview: Kosovo P.M. Ceku on Independence

Newsweek just published an article an interview with Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku.  Most people I know seem hesitatingly positive about Ceku.  The hesitation comes from a long history of discontent with local politicians.  The positive attitude comes from the leadership he’s showing.  He’s making some pretty impressive initial progress, including making his first address to the parliament in the Serbian language.  Check out the article here.

via KosovoReport

 

Debate on "religion in school"

Last week we were barely treading water with all the good things God was doing when we got an invitation to participate in a debate on religion in the schools.  The debate was to be held at the University building across the street.  I called Pastor Femi, who just earned his doctorate, to represent us on behalf of the protestant community.  When we arrived the room had barely begun to fill up. 

By the time the debate started, it was only about half full.  It didn’t take long, however for the room to become jam packed.  Femi did a great job describing the issues surrounding state-supported Islamic education in the school system.  In fact, one of the audience, a university professor, said, “aren’t we really talking about Islamic education in the schools, not religions education?”  I thought that was pretty insightful.

The bulk of the panel, which included many professors, a representative from the Islamic Community seemed against religious education in the schools.  Some of those present had actually written the curriculum used in the school system.  It already includes material on comparative religions and most thought that was enough.

As usual, Femi did a great job presenting an evangelical viewpoints on these issues.

On a funny side note, when I walked into the room I was met by a young lady who said, “oh, është babai i Madisonit!!!”  In other words, Oh, it’s Madison’s dad!  She was a student teacher in my daughter’s first grade class.  I thought it was just classic that my daughter is better known in town than her dad.

 

ESL Team Arrives

Yesterday we picked up a team of ESL teachers at the Prishtina airport.  We were actually a few minutes late picking them up  because we got stuck behind three a small convoy of Swedish armored personnel carriers on the way to the airport.  The team was ready and waiting when we arrived.  There are six of them; the two men aren’t pictured here as they were guarding the rest of the baggage.

They’ve come to teach a week long intensive English course at our community center in Gjilan.  They’ll teach three tracks this week, two groups of youth and one large group of adults.  We’re looking forward to a busy week!

As a way of stretching our legs and getting adjusted we had a picnic up at Novoberdë which is an ancient city that was once mining center in Kosovo.  Novoberdë is an amazingly diverse place.  It is now nothing more than a hilltop, but it features the ruins of an ancient fortress, a mosque, a Bektashi turbe and the ruins of an ancient, probably Catholic, church.  All that’s missing is a synagogue, and it’s possible the ancient trading center once hosted one.

Tomorrow we start English classes.  We’ll post more later.  You can check out more pictures on my Flickr site.

Kosovo PM can't go to Easter service

It’s making big headlines today that Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Çeku’s request to attend Easter services at the Orthodox church in Graçanica has been denied by Bishop Artemije.  Now, I know this looks like a big stinky, intolerant thing in the West.  Everyone ought to be able to go to everyone else’s worship services, right?  That, we say, is the tolerant thing to do.

The thing is, I’m not sure it’s a fundamental human right to attend someone else’s worship service.  Sure, if you’re invited that’s great.  But on the other hand, I think a group of worshippers has the right to worship without including people from another belief.  Some acts of worship are private.

That said, the Bishop didn’t offer that as a rationale for refusing Çeku’s request. The Bishop’s answer:

"We told him that, considering that we have been living with the status of refugees for nearly seven years, outside our residence in Prizren, which was burned during the riots on 17 March 2004, along with our cathedral and many other holy places, we are not able to welcome Mr Ceku before we have returned to our restored residence, and our people have returned to their homes," Bishop Artemije said.  Read the article here

Forgiveness is pretty difficult when the history is long and politics are entrenched.