Teacher 2 Teacher

Mrs. Palmer, what to do? Did you grade the test Mr. Palmer? Teacher, is this right? Yep, the second semester has started. We are full stride already and now we each come home with stories from our classrooms.

Julia has nine students in her 7th grade classroom. She has taken over for Mrs. Louderback, who returned to the U.S. to recover from injuries she sustained here in a car accident. Julia is enjoying relearning a lot of stuff we all forgot long ago (mitochondria?). We're both brainstorming about teaching strategies at the dinner table...or venting about a particular challenge. Fridays are a welcome sight these days.

While our endeavors in Kosova have been uniquely enjoyable and rewarding, we have decided not to return next school year. We'll be settling back into our home in Hebron. There are several reunions were are looking forward to, but our Kosova memories will not quickly fade. Right now, we certainly think of the teachers Prishtina High school will need for the '09-10 school year. Please join us in praying for next years teachers (wherever they may be)! God is preparing them as He did us way back in the winter of 2006.

Snow Fun

We understand the cold is gripping our hometown of Hebron, Kentucky. Well, we've had our share of snow and cold here too. We generally stay hunkered down in our living room with the wood stove blaring, however, last weekend we made it out to Orllan for some fun. Here we are (10 of us) sledding down a hill on a 20 foot McDonalds chicken nugget banner (which was sent from the states several years ago in hopes that it could be used as a tarp for the war torn villages). Can you find Mel and Julia?

Receiving End

There were thousands of Samaritan's Purse shoeboxes in our school's basement early last month. Maybe you packed one of them? Several of the local churches delivered the shoeboxes to children all over Kosova (which is the size of Connecticut). We did not get to join in on the final phase of the project as most of the boxes were delivered during school hours, however we can verify that these shoeboxes made many children smile ear to ear.

Gazuar Vitin e Ri

Happy New Year. We must catch up.

Winter has arrived and we are feeding our wood stove all day long. Our main room is cozy and we pass our time playing board games, watching TV, reading and jockeying for a spot in front of the computer.

We've had a wonderful Christmas break. The first half was spent in Egypt. We rode camels at the Pyramids on Christmas day. It was odd and awesome. We had to remind ourselves at times that it was indeed Christmas. A majority of our vacation we were able to enjoy with our dear friends, the Chesnuts.

We're told Egypt is mentioned in the Bible more than 600 times – this was important for us to keep in mind as we were often sitting in the worst traffic we've ever experienced. Cairo has 12 million people and all of them have a car (it seems). Alexandria was a little better and the Mediterranean Sea was refreshing. Part of our time in Egypt was spent with our dear friends, the Chesnuts.


We had a few friends (PHS folks) over to ring in the new year. Just before midnight we went to the top floor of the school and took in a fantastic 180 degree panoramic view of dozens of firework displays (and a spattering of gunfire).

We are revving up for the second semester. Julia has been promoted from aide (co-teacher) to lead teacher now that the seventh grade teacher, who had a serious car accident, will be returning to the states. Julia has a great relationship with the 8 students in her class and is taking the new assignment quite seriously. Pray for her enthusiasm and effectiveness. Mine too!

We pray God will bless your efforts as you make your way through 2009. Take time out for His service…for those close to you…for a nap. Pease pray for our work here.

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.