Peak Prayer

A couple months ago Dan and I joined nine christian fellas on a one day mountain climb. There were seven countries represented among us. We were led by a missionary from Korea. Men from Australia, Sweden, Nigeria, America, England and Kosova had come for a day of reflection in God's majestic creation.

Lyboten peak is 2,500 meters high, one of the highest peaks in Kosova. Dan and I were both wondering if we could do it. We drove to a spot about 2/3rds up the mountain (cheaters). It still took us about 3 1/2 hours to get to the top. While there, we took turns singing praises to God in our native language and prayed for each of our countries. Hearing praises sung in Nigerian, Swedish, Korean, etc. while sitting on a mountain top was a unique, spiritual experience. I'm glad there were three other english speaking guys - the Nigerian and Swede had to sing solos.

After reaching the top, the clouds came in around us. When Dan and I stood at a marker, he was in Kosova and I was in Macedonia. The peak is now covered in snow and we're hunkered down in our home for winter.

White Stuff

Our first snowfall was a doozie. We woke up to 6 inches, but by 9:00am it was 10 inches! Time to shovel the driveway…

We had planned a trip to our old stomping ground (Orllan) this weekend and it certainly paid off with beautiful, snow-covered scenes, some sledding for the kids and good times with old friends.

This week we’ll have a Thanksgiving lunch at school. Kosova doesn’t have a holiday like Thanksgiving, so we (teachers) enjoy letting the students know what the holiday means to each of us. After lunch we won’t watch Football, but we will have the finals of our annual Ping-Pong tournament. Gramos and Gent will be facing off for the title around two in the afternoon.

Congregations

October was a month for visiting congregations. Rruga de Pacqes (Way of Peace) church is located in Peja, about a 90 minute drive west from Prishtina. The church grounds include a sanctuary that holds around 100, an English school and a parsonage. It’s a big church for Kosova.

Jesus is the “bukë” of life. That was the message on October 12. We read passages from Mat, 1Cor, Phil, Prov, Ex, and John. The pastor spoke without an interpreter, so we had a lot of time to check the side notes and cross-references in our bible.

On October 26 we visited a church near us in Prishtina, http://ringjallja.com/en/index.html. Services were held behind a Christian bookstore (the only one we know of) in a small room that holds about 45. We particularly liked the music since some of the tunes were familiar, Because He Lives & My Jesus, My Savior to name a couple. It's inspiring to hear songs we know sung in a different language.

This service was also Albanian, but an interpreter sat near a group of "Anglisht only" folks. We know enough to follow the message and find the correct scripture, but often the congregation is laughing at the pastor’s humor or offering a moving “amen” and we’re simply out of the loop. Guess you had to be there – but we were there! Thankfully God speaks to us under any circumstances.

After the service we met an American that's here helping Kosova with their judicial system. He and his wife host a bible study each week for local couples. They're currently reading Gary Chapman's The 5 Love Languages.

Absen T. Palmer

In a dingy bag, mixed in with other diplomatic mail, sat our absentee voting ballots. Over the Atlantic to D.C., then off to the Boone County Clerk’s office to be counted today (we hope). We dropped them off a couple weeks ago at the US Embassy here. We had to pass through a security check, be escorted (2 at a time) to a room where we handed our ballots through a window to a pleasant Kosovar who joked about Julia’s Cuban heritage (we had to show our passports). Our adventure lasted 15 minutes…never saw an American.

Fortunately we haven’t had to deal directly with the political posturing, wardrobe attacks, UNBELIEVABLE promises and slapstick media coverage that accompany every presidential race. The amount of time and money spent on marketing deceit is condescending. Yet, there are checks and balances in our democratic society. Our government is run with a fair amount of transparency...well...translucency. People can be informed and active if they choose to be.

Here the government struggles against corruption. The EU supervision is coming in, and the UN supervision is going out. A government “in limbo” one magazine calls it. Checks and balances don’t work yet. One KFOR (Army) chaplin mentioned to me that he feels it will eventually take a massive statement from the people (there are only 3 million) to get leadership to govern for them, not themselves.

Ngrohem me dru (Heating with wood)

Druvar / droo’-var / n. - woodcutter.

We will be heating our main room with a wood stove this winter. We had 4 cubic meters of wood delivered. Splitting and stacking commenced. It appears we’ll hold off winter’s bite without any problem. The farmers say we’re in for a cold (ftohtë) one.

A New View

One of our Orllan friends calls us “Townies” now. I particularly like our new commute – a walk of 50 meters. Yep, that's the school and our house in the same snapshot. Oh boy.

We have settled into our new 2nd floor flat. The top floor is unfinished and the bottom floor (front) is currently an auto body shop. We have a nice back yard, not much grass but room for Dan and me to pitch and hit. We also have more room for visitors. (hint, hint…)

PHS has simmered into a nice 75-student minestrone. At this point we’re all in a groove and the weeks are passing by quickly. Julia helps both middle school teachers in all sorts of ways. She’s also leading a weekly card-making group for the high school girls – had 15 girls today as a matter of fact. I have four class preps and that’s keeping me busy, but my students are just great – a real treat.

We left Kentucky 6 weeks ago, but it seems like 6 months considering everything that’s happened. Sorry for the blog silence lately, we should do better now that we’re moved and settled. God bless.

Back in the Saddle

We are back in Kosova. We returned as familiar visitors this time, greeted with embraces rather than handshakes. Our home was a welcome site and the sounds of the land were comforting… well, maybe not the packs of barking dogs at night. Compared to last year when we were strangers, this was an uncomplicated and energizing arrival.

On the way…we stopped in London for four days. The kids were particularly intrigued with Stonehenge. We did touristy things at a casual pace. Bloody fun, mate.

We’ve now had a couple days of teacher orientation and three days of school. Our enrollment is up to 70, so we’ve almost tripled in size. It’s nice having a little more bustle in the halls and classrooms. It’s still a teacher’s paradise having less than a dozen students in each class. I will be teaching Geometry, Algebra 2 and Precalculus. Julia will be helping the middle school teachers, Sarah and Sherry.

It appears that we will be moving into the big city of Prishtina. There is a house right next to our school that we will be renting (2nd floor). It’s a bit bigger, we’ll have an extra room, but most importantly, our commute will be a walk of about 50 meters. Since all four of us are going to the school now we are VERY excited, however, we will miss our quiet, little village terribly.

We had a wonderful time back in the states. Daniel’s baseball team did very well and he’s already practiced with the ‘08-09 squad. Melanie was able to ride several horses at Sandy Run stables – good for her body and soul. We scurried around reconnecting with friends and family. Our time in Georgia and Florida with Julia’s family was medicine for homesick hearts and staying with Gary’s parents in Kentucky was a tasty treat for us all (as was Granny’s pecan pie).

Insight

I’m told there are about 40 Christian churches in Kosova. Just a few have buildings and congregations larger than thirty. Indeed, most Sunday worship services are held in living rooms. Matters of the heart are complex here, but God is working through many patient missionaries. I am often amazed at their poise, courage and efforts.

For the past three months I’ve been leading a Bible study for a group of teenagers here in the village. Their young pastor sits in as well. We have been walking through the Bible using an older visual resource called the Panorama Bible Study as our guide. I’ve pulled in various other resources and we’ve watched a couple Nooma videos too.

It’s pleasing working with new(er) Christians. They’re eager and ask big, broad questions that easily generate conversation. The issue with Muslim converts is one of depth. They often have to practice their faith in secret or in solitude. Many of the boys don’t take the materials home with them. Pulling out a Bible and some resources would draw ire, strong words, maybe the back of a hand. A recent convert was kicked out of his home by his parents – along with his wife and young kids. These realities are why I cherish our time together and pray that the scriptures we discuss will speak to them throughout the week.

This past week we talked about the book of Acts. It’s an exciting book to study! The Holy Spirit, Saul’s conversion, Stephen’s stoning, Peter raises Tabitha from death, thousands coming to the Lord and the disciples faithfully taking the name of Jesus to the ends of the earth.

The story of Cornelius made me think of these boys and their pastor-in-training. The Holy Spirit is for everyone. This group of 8 has three ethnicities in it. In their new faith, they are at times as uncomfortable as Peter was staying at the Tanner’s house. Yet God reveals to them His message of salvation and they pursue Him as best they can. Often I can see Him in their eyes (Psalm 19:8).

Soccer Super Bowl

Wednesday night I watched a soccer match on TV from beginning to end. Soccer games are long, and compared to American football they’re kinda boring. But this was the European championship and it was far from boring. After the regular 90 minutes had passed, the teams were tied 1 to 1 (exciting, eh?). They then played 30 minutes of extended time and still came out tied at one goal. Now the penalty kicks start. First Manchester, then Chelsea. After five penalty kicks they had each missed one – still tied. The intensity is quite palpable (fancy word – look it up). There are about 15 of us in the Chesnut’s living room. The young boys (some of them are my students) who have been trash talking on either side are quiet as each penalty kick approaches. The first team to miss loses. On the eighth penalty kick the Chelsea player failed to score. ManU’s goalie had clinched the championship for his teammates and I had watched my first complete soccer game.

The game was held in Moscow. It started at 11:00pm and ended well past midnight for those attending the game. I heard on the radio that over 100 million people worldwide watched this match. It was 11:15pm when I went and found Melanie asleep on a couch upstairs. Yes, this was a school night for both of us. Bad daddy.

Sporting Observations

Soccer is king in Kosova and all of Europe for that matter. There’s also volleyball and basketball here in Pristina, but they’re a distant second. Karate is another sport that is prominent enough to hold competitions.

Marbles. This is the king of neighborhood sport, kinda like kickball in America. Several kids gather around an unmarked, circular area and flick their marbles toward various targets (other marbles, depressions, rocks) to see who gets closest. The rules evade me, they are probably different depending on whose patch of dirt you’re using. Often matches reduce to shouting…kinda like kickball in America. Outside our kitchen window I’ve actually seen a kid 'take their marbles and go home.'

May Day

We could see nine bon fires from our patio, some within yards, others in the hills several miles away. We could hear the villagers cheering and singing around the fires closest to us. It’s a competition of sorts. A tradition carried out on the eve of May Day, which is Labour Day here in Kosova.

While America doesn’t make much of May Day (May 1), it is a festival with a history predating Christ, and today it is celebrated all across Europe for many different reasons. It’s pagan roots have been Christianized or secularized over the years. May 1st is approximately half-way between the summer equinox and the winter solstice, in Catholic circles it’s a day to celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary, it’s mostly known as International Workers Day and often hosts as many protests for worker’s rights as festivals for youngsters and families.

Wikipedia tells me: Long ago the May Day custom was the setting of new fire. The fire itself was thought to lend life to the burgeoning springtime sun. Cattle were driven through the fire to purify them. Men, with their sweethearts, passed through the smoke for seeing good luck. I don’t think the folks here were thinking of these associations, they were just trying to make the biggest bon fire that gave off the most black smoke and had longlasting embers.

Good luck to you and your sweetheart. Smokey says, “Don’t play with fire”.

Firsts

First Wave
Julia and Daniel will be heading home this week. They’ll both enjoy an extended sleep over with Granny and PaPa starting Wednesday night. They’re heading back a little early so Dan can hook up with his baseball team, the Panthers. He’ll play his first game 24 hours after landing. They are both excited, but we’ll all feel awkward during the six weeks we’re apart. Gary and Melanie head home June 9. Anticipation.

First School Year
Pristina High School has had a wonderful first year. We are a tight-knit group. About 50 of us see each other every day. Students, teachers, staff, administrators. It’s no surprise that we have bonded, probably deeper than any of us really know. From this group PHS will have its first graduating class next year. Rewarding.

First Re-Entry Meal
Well, maybe not the first – Granny and PaPa will take care of that. We’re certainly looking forward to a few meals upon our return to the states. These and others have filled our conversation many times here in Kosova. Gary’s looking forward to a fried fish platter at Mr. Herb’s in Hebron. Melanie would very much like a Steak and Shake hamburger platter. Julia simply wants to eat in a smoke free restaurant. Dan wants to devour a plate of Buffalo Wings with a root beer. Delicious.

First Mission Trip
Moving to Kosova was a tough decision, but hindsight makes us chuckle, “why were we so worried?” This (first) blog is ample evidence of how God has blessed our time here. This is our first assignment, but it shall not be the last. Peace.

First Visitors

Mimi, Aunt Georgia and Baxter! Joy.

First Care Package
Hmmmm? Uncle Greg and Aunt Lauren we think. But we sure thank all of you that sent one (or more). At least three of you had a package sent back. The most infamous was a little booger of a package that traveled about 30,000 miles before reaching our couch - the place where all care packages are peeled open, plucked apart and squeezed for all the excitement they can render. Laughter.

First Visitors :-)

We welcomed our first visitors over the Easter break. It was a pleasure having Julia’s mom (Julia), sister (Georgia) and nephew (Baxter). The treat lasted for nine days and involved a road trip through four countries, a service project at a local school, LOTS of ethnic food, plenty of laughs. They were able to get a taste of our daily routine here in the village and also venture to the big city to visit the high school. They met several of our neighbors, humorously struggled with the language (as we do), endured power outages and weathered snow & rain.

Baxter’s 5th grade class in California (Green Valley Elementary) collected toothbrushes and toothpaste along with money to put together care packages for an elementary school near our village. Berganice is a village school with 65 students spanning eight grades. A trade of smiles and an embrace of friendship – these were really the exchanges that day.

The two daughters and mom sure enjoyed being together. Daniel and Baxter were constantly active. We are thankful for their safe travel and feel energized now that we’ve shared our journey first-hand.

Rubbing Elbows

OK. Raise your hand if you’ve ever met the Prime Minister of a country. During first period yesterday principal Don came in my room to announce that he would be meeting with Prime Minister Hashim Thaqi at 10:00 that morning. “Would you like to join me?” he asked. I thought to myself…that’s during my Geometry class and today is the last day prior to Spring Break…I had some important things to say and mid-terms are right around the corner…do I have time to prepare some notes for whoever covers my class…dang, I’m wearing jeans today…”Sure, I’ll go.”

Four students, two teachers, our facilities supervisor and our principal were sitting in a private conference room at 10:30 talking to Deputy Prime Minister Huci. He chaired the committee of 22 people that authored Kosova’s constitution. Mr. Thaqi came in from his adjoining office, greeted each of us, then sat next to his deputy. Don gave him a letter from Pristina High School offering our congratulations for Kosova’s independence. He explained that our goal was to establish a school with high standards and help equip students to be responsible citizens of Kosova. Our meeting lasted about 10 minutes; I said very little. Thaqi mentioned that education was very important and that they were working on getting a computer lab in every school. He said he was grateful for the American school we were establishing. He seemed a bit preoccupied which is understandable – his government has a buffet of challenges right now. We took a group photo and were on our way – back to school by lunchtime.

Pi Day (3.14159...)

Well, the entire school sang Happy Pi Day (to the tune of Happy Birthday) at 1:59pm yesterday. Yes, no math teacher worth his/her salt would let March 14 pass without working the school children into a formulaic frenzy. My counterpart, Mrs. Dunham, and I did our part to raise the awareness of the ever-famous ratio that has been used in calculations since 2000 BC. Oh, and March 14 is Albert Einstein's birthday too - betcha didn't know that.

The last two periods of the day we had several math/circular related games set up in the cafeteria. The students eagerly (really, they were eager) walked from station to station playing games and collecting round "chips". They eventually put their round chips into one or several cans that sat in front of prizes they could win. Throwing a pie at Mr. Palmer was a popular prize, but not as popular as throwing a pie in principal Don's face......Hey, 50 digits of pi (12 font) stretch 10 cm. How many km does one billion digits stretch? Be careful with your dang decimal point.

Ping Pong

Last semester our PE teacher organized a table tennis tournament for the entire school. Three weeks of play culminated in a double-elimination tournament. All games were played during lunch time (everyone gets a 45 minute lunch). It was quite popular with the students and several staff members entered too. The "old man" (me) held his own. My geezer finesse had the young guns off balance at first - they eventually figured out my weaknesses. I came in a respectable 4th place.

We're Fine

The only demonstration we've seen here in our village is the school children marching down main street to celebrate Kosova's independence. The US Embassy that has been attacked is in Serbia. The ruckus within Kosova is mostly limited to the northern regions, 60km from us. There are 17,000 NATO troops here in Kosova, 35 countries make up the peace-keeping forces. While we are wary, we feel the violence will not grow due to their presence. Please join us in praying for a peaceful transition here in the Balkans.

Independence At Last

“Thank You USA” is what the coffee was saying to us, but the entire country of Kosova is also saying it. They have deep gratitude for America here, especially on Independence Day. The US was instrumental in the UN campaign to drive the Serbs from Kosova in 1999. Today they consider America the key to their successful bid to become a country.

To witness the announcement on TV yesterday, Julia and I found ourselves in a local restaurant with our friends, John and Ruth. It was a sunny, but cold afternoon and a generous 6 inches of snow covered the ground. Several men and a few women had gathered to watch the prime minister and president. There was a meal, drinks, dancing, fireworks, toasts, clapping, speeches and plenty of laughing. Occasionally a man would walk out the door, fire his automatic pistol in the air, then step back into the party. One man from our village said to me, “there was a song here, back in the early 80’s when we were oppressed. It consoled us saying, don’t worry mother you have a son in America. Now America is here and we can’t believe it.”

After a couple hours we went back to our friend’s home to celebrate with our children and watch the TV reports (CNN, BBC, etc). It was fun watching folks celebrate in downtown Pristina. We played some traditional Albanian music, danced some more and ate cake.........we slept in late on Monday. We are certainly lucky to have experienced Kosova's indepencence day.

So, how many countries are there now?
A. 193
B. 195
C. 213
D. 388
E. Hard to say

Independence Close?

We may witness the birth of a country this weekend. It appears our new prime minister, Hashim Thaci (Tha-chee) will declare independence in the capital city of Pristina this Sunday. Serbia is still very much against it, Russia too. They have no leverage as most of the EU countries support the Kosovar Albanians and their desire for secession from Serbia. However, the political ramifications stretch far and wide.

There will be a great deal of celebrating Sunday and all week. Our school will not have classes Mon - Wed. The Palmers will not venture into Pristina until Tuesday (maybe). No need to join in the serious revelry which involves shooting guns into the air (we're told). We're very happy for our Albanian friends here. Their joy will spill over, no doubt, but they are still concerned about unemployment, corruption, electricity, food prices, etc. Life will go on one week from now.

Tensions are a bit high. We do not expect any violence, however, there are Serbian paramilitary groups that could cause trouble at the borders. The UN troops and the police have already become more visible the past few days. When you know the history, recent and past, it is hard to understand how anyone would disagree with the Kosovar Albanians' wishes to have a land of their own. Serbia, of course, is passionate about this portion of their sovereign land - they don't want to lose it. It is emotional and raw. Please pray for a peaceful transition.

Haircut AND a Shave

Maybe I can get a neck message at Big League Haircuts in Hebron, but at Verona Salon in Podujeve I get a SHAVE along with my haircut. It's like a mini-spa experience. Musa charges 3.50 euros for a haircut and a shave. As a matter of fact, you can get lots of stuff here with the change in your pocket. A kilo of carrots - 50 cents. A car wash - 2 euro. Hamburger and fries - 1.50 euros. Movie ticket - 2 euro. Language lessons - 2 euros/hour. All-day Parking - 1 euro. They do have a 1 and 2 euro coin which is nice. I now think America should get rid of the one-dollar bill.

Skilled Labor

We’ve traveled a bit since arriving in Europe. When we venture out of Kosova we see modern cities offering many of the amenities we’re used to in the states. Within Kosova, however, there are no drive thrus, malls or franchises like Applebees. Many trades still exist here (cobbler, blacksmith, butcher, seamstress, furniture maker), so walking the streets is often fascinating. Of course the blacksmith hammering out an axe is right next to an internet café. Such is the mix of old and new, traditional and modern. This picture was taken in Prizren, the oldest city in Kosova and the second largest. We first noticed that it was clean compared to the capital city of Prishtina. Traffic wasn’t as busy either. It’s a quaint town with 15th century buildings, a 16th century Turkish bath, tree-lined streets with shops and a river flowing through it. We visited so we could attend a growing Christian church there and were encouraged by the intimate praise given up to God in the pastor’s apartment. On the way home we figured Sam Walton should just stay away from Kosova, but it would be nice to have a Taco Bell…with a drive thru.

Karate

My brother and I have been doing karate and it is interesting. Instead of the trainer counting in Albanian in karate he counts in Japanese. Speaking of trainer, he is only about 19 years old or so. He is still in school and is also being taught some karate too. I know one kata and am about to learn another. A kata is techniques put together. I practice every other day but not on weekends usually. The karate place is a Dojo as some people in Orllan call it. Daniel and I walk there and it takes about 5 minutes or less. The girls would change upstairs and the boys down stairs. First we would start out with lots of exercises, then we start doing a little practice, and then we battle. Sometimes at the end of karate we would do katas. Since the trainer speaks only Albanian, my friend Lydia is always beside me to translate. Sometimes when we are practicing the trainer will come by and say good job in English or something like that. Sometimes in battles I will battle against different people but most are my friends. At the end of next month Daniel and I will be getting our yellow belts. We will have to do katas and battle in front of other trainers. We will also get to go to tournaments and compete. Every day is interesting with new things to do and that’s the way I like it. I love to explore the unknown.
--Melanie

Happy New Year

We brought in the New Year with some O-town friends and a grand batch of fireworks. "Best New Year ever," Daniel stated. He kinda liked lighting the rockets and firecrackers with the older boys. They make some stout firecrackers here - kabooms that put an M-80 to shame. We're looking forward to 2008 and our continued blogging, Skyping and e-mailing. May the new year bring you blessings (Dan), special surprises (Melanie), joy (Julia) and little pleasures (Gary). God Bless you!