Dan's Decision

Sunday, September 16, has been a beautiful day in more ways than one. Outside it is sunny, but cool. The sky is blue and a light breeze is blowing. Batllava lake is glistening and cold. Many are fretting that the lake is 9 meters low, but today a small group has gathered to rejoice in the baptism of Daniel Palmer. Praise God. While dad spoke with Dan, his handwritten reasons for becoming a "child of God" were read to a crowd of a dozen or so. Mom took pictures, sister looked on. Dan emerged a new creation. Everyone smiled. God is good and Dan knows it.

9 - 11

The evening of 9-11 we found ourselves in the middle of Prishtina sitting in the Red Hall, a modest concert hall with long red curtains draped along the walls. We were there to take in a memorial concert for the tragic events of September 11th. After opening remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister and the head of the US office in Prishtina (translated in English, Albanian and Serbian), we enjoyed an intimate concert given by the Kosova Philharmony –Opera Orchestra. Several of the high school staff were there quietly appreciating the quality of the music and the genuine empathy collectively expressed by the Kosovar performers. It is unique, indeed, to experience being allies at such a simple, personal level. The people of Kosova truly appreciate America and its citizens for what they have done (and will do) for them, and hopefully for their independence.

Grand Opening

Prishtina High School had its grand opening this past Tuesday. It was a formal occasion with parents, students and dignitaries mingling outside prior to the ribbon cutting. Our principal greeted everyone and the mayor of Prishtina spoke. The family who funded and built the striking five million euro building was praised for their generosity and commended for their many benevolent endeavors in Prishtina. People filed in and enjoyed a variety of hors d’oeurves, a string quartet played and many smiling faces explored the building and classrooms. Julia got to meet my coworkers and Melanie & Daniel got to hang out in daddy’s classroom (but they like the 5th floor PE area the best).

The building is indeed beautiful. It was good to finally fire the starting pistol; now we can begin teaching. The next three days went quickly. We are teaching in “orientation” mode for the first couple weeks. Students aren’t in their specific classes yet because we need to determine their abilities in each main subject area – so Sarah, the other math teacher, and I are teaching together and trying to determine where each student belongs: Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Geometry or Algebra II. This orientation is a perfect time for teachers to begin building relationships while teaching fundamental skills.

We presently have only 20 students, so we are also allowing time for procrastinators – we hope there are several. God is throwing us a curve ball when it comes to student numbers. Please pray for this. We will continue to teach no matter what happens and the staff and students are already very close – bonding doesn’t take long with small class sizes.

Bumps in the Road

Have you ever seen a dislocated finger? I happened to be looking at my own yesterday. While touring the new school (which is still a construction sight), I tripped and fell forward. In breaking my fall my finger got caught up in a piece of equipment. When I got up, dusted my pants and gathered myself I notice my right ring finger was bent the wrong direction (no photo, thankfully). So we got to experience a doctor's office much earlier than we wanted. I am now fine - the nurses and doctors were very nice, and it was a blessing having our friend Skender with us to translate when necessary. I had to get xrays before Dr. Debroshi "fixed" my finger and after. The whole ordeal took about 2.5 hours and cost 50 euros total - no forms. We're not in Kentucky anymore...


Gary

All Is Well

Greetings from Kosova. Thank you for your prayers because we completed our travel without any trouble what-so-ever. Our trip lasted 26 hours including the drive from Skopje to our home. All nine of our checked bags made it through four airports (four countries). God blessed our trip.

It is wonderful to be here. Several folks have pitched in to help our initial days be carefree and comfortable. Our landlords, Ishmael and Heidi, have been soooo welcoming. The Chesnuts drove us around Pristina Saturday helping us buy appliances and furniture. Don picked up cellphones for us. We are investigating internet and car options - both could be in place by Monday evening. Lots to do, but lots getting done in a short time.

We've met several people and actually got to meet (see) many of the villagers Saturday night at a karate tournament that was being held in Otown. It was great fun - our experiences are so new - new sounds, smells, tastes, customs, etc.

We feel especially close as a family - this is nice. We are all in good spirits and looking forward to settling in and learning to communicate better.

Kosov"a" or Kosov"o"

Kosova (Koh-SOH-vah), also known as Kosovo, is the disputed region between Kosova's Albanian majority and Serbia. Once an autonomous federal unit of Yugoslavia, in 1989 it was stripped of its autonomy by the government of Slobodan Milosevic, whose later actions would result in the break-up of Yugoslavia and the ensuing wars in Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, and Kosova. Kosovo (KOH-soh-voh) is the Serbian name given to the region. This website (http://www.albanian.com/community/) has quite a bit of information about the Albanian community in which we’ll be living. It also has up-to-date information about the Albanians' efforts to establish an independent country.

A Life-changing Decision

God Calls
“Exactly where is Kosovo?” This question came to mind when we read the little blurb in our December church bulletin:

…we have received word from Don Tingle that they are embarking on the major undertaking of building a new church-sponsored high school in Pristina, Kosovo. They need teachers for the 2007-2008 school year. If you are interested…

So for the next four months we stewed over the possibility of living in south-eastern Europe and taking part in this exciting project. God consistently (maybe relentlessly) affirmed our ponderings. Many prayed for our decision. Finally, after Gary visited Pristina in April, and was warmly encouraged by the Kosovars he met, we decided to join Don and his team.

The Task At Hand
There are currently 10 educators involved. The school will be finished in early August (picture above). A few of the school’s goals are listed below:

• We want to offer a quality high school education that will make it easier for students to apply to colleges and universities in the United States of America, Europe and other parts of the world.


• Many Christians and churches in America have helped the people of Kosova rebuild after the war. We want to provide a healthy and productive way for these Christians and churches to continue to serve the people of Kosova in one of the most important areas of development—education.


• We want to provide students in Kosova with opportunities to learn in an American high school environment, receiving instruction from capable American teachers, using quality instructional methods, curricula, textbooks, technology and counseling services.


• It will be our pledge to make this high school the finest in Kosova. At the same time we want to work closely with the Ministry of Education, Science & Technology and other schools in the country to improve the general health of education for all of the country.

God’s hand has been more than evident as we prepare for our trip. Melanie and Daniel’s elementary music teacher will be renting our house along with her husband and two daughters. They will also care for our cats, Tux and Tiger. Gary’s employer gave him a one year leave-of-absence. Several teachers have helped with materials for Gary’s classroom as well as Julia’s home-schooling. Our church family continues to amaze us with their encouragement and support. It is quite obvious that we were meant to be part of this mission.

We leave August 9th. We are excited and apprehensive. Kosovo is trying to become an independent country, so there is a bit of uncertainty surrounding this. Learning the language (Albanian) will be a struggle, at least Gary gets to teach in English. Being immersed in another culture will bring challenges for everyone, but the Albanians are genuinely friendly people and the unhurried lifestyle will bring a simplicity we can only long for in the states.

Contacting Us
We will cherish your prayers and letters, however we do not have an address for you yet. Our dwelling does not have an address (tiny village), so we’ll be sharing Gary’s school address when we get that. The high school's website: http://phs-asi.org/