Kosova Christmas parcels 2007Hi everyone,
I arrived home from Kosova at around 10pm last night (Monday). It's always great to get home to Janet and the family, I appreciate home so much - but at the same time I did have a great weekend in Kosova and really valued being there with Faton & Kymelina Berisha who lead Victory Christian Church, Gjakova.
I arrived Friday afternoon and was met by Faton. We travelled back to Gjakova, a journey of around one hour by car, and dropped my luggage at the hotel I was staying at. I would normally stay with Faton and his family in their small flat but at the moment his brother is visiting from Austria, and they also have one of the young girls in the church living with them, so even the sofa was unavailable. We then met with the leaders of their church (Valon & Tina, Driton, Feta, along with Faton & Kymelina). We had a good meal together and talked late into the evening about how the church was going, the different ministries they are presently involved in, but also some of the things they as a team would like to see happen over the coming year. I felt this was a really profitable time where each of them began to share their desires for the church to grow in maturity & mission in their area. Hopefully I encouraged them - these guys are young and relatively inexperienced, but they are doing a great work here!
On Saturday I walked through the town with Faton, visiting Mr & Mrs Minip (the owners of the house we rented in the summer). They were delighted to see me, we drank Turkish coffee together - a regular part of the great Kosovan hospitality we have come to appreciate so much. They invited us back for dinner on Saturday evening - I wouldn't miss it! We then went to see Faton's father in the local hospital. He is sick after drinking a litre of the strong local 'brew' every day for the last 40 years - alcoholism takes its toll in this place as well! He was delighted to see me, we greeted him and prayed for him. He is not a believer, but he's a good man and I love him a lot. Please pray for him!
We spent the afternoon travelling to Bajram Curri in the mountains of Northern Albania where Faton has a small group of believers that meet in a high rise flat every Saturday afternoon - this is their church, and they are the only group of Christian believers in the whole area. The meeting ismade up of mostly children, many of whom seem to have a real experience of Christ, a desire to pray, and a strong love their Christian brothers and sisters. It was so simple, but beautiful. We stayed for about 1 1/2 hours, met the people, encouraged them, & prayed together. I did not speak or preach as they had already prepared some drama, songs and readings / testimonies to share at todays meeting. They did not need my preaching - I learnt a lot! We stayed behind and met with the family who lead these meetings, encouraging them in what they are doing and praying for them and the work there. This is a tough, dangerous, remote place, with high unemployent and little hope for a better future. Guns and the 'blood fueds' between families in this region seem to be a part of every day life. Faton and his leaders travel here most Saturdays to lead and support this work. Respect!
We finished Saturday with dinner at Mr & Mrs Minip's home. His son was also there, along with his wife and 3 children. We spent most of the evening answering the questions they had about faith, Christ, the Bible and the Christian message. I am personally praying that this family will soon accept the message of Jesus and be added to the church. Come on!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday morning was spent at Faton's church. The room they meet in is an old retsuarant/ bar. It's a bit dark and dingey, but it's also cheap to rent and in the centre of town. The small room was jammed with about 50 people, and it was literally standing room only. I recognise many faces, but not all of them - some are new and the church seems to be growing. The worship was good, I like their style - it's simple, but enthusiastic and when the songs end people begin to pray and lead the whole room in public expressions of thanks and appreciation to God. They welcome me to preach and I share some simple thoughts from Ezekial 47, encouraging them to be a church filled with Christ's presence, from where a river of life will flow out to their community! They seem to appreciate our input, they always ask after people from TCF who have visited them, & this relationship seems to be bearing fruit. I pray this continues and that they rise to be all God has called them to be in Kosova!
Sunday afternoon is spent eating with some of the leaders again and we continue conversations around how the church is doing. We end up tlaking about their areas of individual & personal gifting - they share openly and then encourage what they see in each other. Then they turn the conversation on to me and express how they feel about me, our inviolvement with them as a church, the way we encourage and support them, and how we are becoming like a mother and father to them. I am humbled by this and find it hard to fight back the tears at this point. My heart goes out to them, they are so young - Faton is only 33, his wife 26, and Valon & Tina are only in the very early 20's - but they really are doing a great job of leading this small church.
On Monday we visited some families - a gypsy family that Janet fell in love with when there in the summer, and Bekim and his family (the guy we built a new house for). It's good to see Bekim and they are so happy and content in their new home. It has changed their lives! The gypsy family is so poor I can hardly believe it & their living conditions are horrendous. Today it is pouring with rain and 8 of the 9 children are begging in the street with no shoes, socks, coats etc. I am horrified. I buy food for them - pasta, oil, sugar, tea & bread in large quantities. We go to their home. You don't really want to know what it smells like, so I won't tell you, but use your imagination for a minute. The kids are all cold, wet and shivering from the cold, but they are also happy to see me, and smiling and laughing - how is that possible? We talk, shake hands & laugh with the kids, and enquire as to how they all are. We learn that the eldest daughter who is about 14 has just had a baby - so there are now 10 kids in the house - and no one seems to know (or care) who the father is. There is also a TV blaring in the corner of the room - this is a mad, bad and completely screwed world. They thank me for the care that we have shown them. Although I am pleased I saw them, I also feel a huge sense of despair, frustration and anger. Buying 3 bags of food and leaving it with them seemed pathetic really, perhaps even wrong. I mean who the hell am I to turn up in a nice car from my hotel, with warm, dry clothes and money in my pocket, with which I buy some food from the local store, deliver it to them, smile and say hello and then walk away as I have a plane to catch back to my nice life in the UK. It's hardly sacrificial stuff. I don't like this feeling, and so I don't feel pleased about what I have done today, but I am also unsure that I am prepared or ready to consider some of the alternatives - what would it really mean to serve this family in a sacrificail way? How would or should I go about incarnating the gospel of Christ to such people? What will it really take to bring change to such people and their communities? God, please help me...
We get back in the car and move on. Faton and I tie up some business in relation to the specifics of the food programmne that will run over Christmas and then we head off to the airport. Tonight I will be pleased to be back home with my wife and family, but I feel different - like I do on my way home from every 'mission' trip I have done - like the purpose of the trip was probably more about me and what God wants to do in me, than what I wanted to do or achieve in Kosova.
A big thank you to every one in TCF who contributed in some way to the food programme. The money will be well spent.
Why don't you plan to join us on a future trip and see what it's really like there?
Russell Godward
Friday 7th - Monday 10th Decemebr 2007 |
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