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).