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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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

—————————————————-

 

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.

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.