Summer 2010 - Part 1

Greetings to all of you! The last two months have been non-stop action. A few days of relative calm has given us time to reflect on what's been done here in Kosova, and we're glad to share it with you as well. It's a blessing to know you all are remembering us in your prayers and are following along with us on this amazing journey.

Children's Carnival Replay

Our last newsletter was a brief recap of a wonderful outreach that touched the lives of over 250 children in the town of Decan. We were blessed to have the help of four groups of people. First was a team of six Chi Alpha students from Arizona State. Second was our group of three interns from different Assemblies of God schools. The interns were here for a total of eight weeks as part of a program created by Assemblies of God World Missions to provide AG college students with the opportunity to experience the many facets of missions in a foreign country. The third group was team from of missionaries and youth from nearby Macedonia. The fourth and final group were the believers here in Decan and Peja. Without the help of these servants, there is no way our children's carnival would have been such a success. Each night saw more and more children coming. Some used the transportation that we provided. Others, wanting to arrive early, walked for more than an hour. At the end, we faced no opposition, and were actually asked when we were going to do this again. While a challenge at times, Lindsey and I were blessed to have been given the opportunity to direct this and we can't wait to make it even better next year.

English 101

At about the same time of the carnival, we had partnered with a believer in our church to teach English once a week to about twelve children. Most of these also come to our weekly kid's meetings at church. Our class has since added another ten kids, and they too are now coming to our kid's meetings. I've never seen kids with such a desire to learn....even to do homework! It's a contest at the beginning of class to see who can get their work graded first. I'll be checking one assignment and one of the kids will walk up, take the notebook I'm grading away and hand me theirs.

A Different Kind of Camp

Usually when you tell someone you're heading up to camp visions of summer camps of years gone by pop in your head...rustic cabins yet they have running water and indoor plumbing, canteen stores selling snacks and candy, etc...  You know, the places where kids want to be sent during the summer. The images that fill my mind now are quite different.  The kind of camp I'm talking about is a refugee camp. Nestled just outside the center of Decan and up a hill are the remains of what was once a refugee camp that housed numerous families. Now, eleven years later, about ten families and a total of thirty children still call this place "home".  Most of the children that attend the English class and the weekly meetings at the church live here.  They walk about 45 minutes each way to the church...makes me feel a bit sheepish when I complain about traffic.

With the kid's carnival behind us and the Chi Alpha team back in Arizona, Lindsey and I took our three interns on their and our first visit to the camp.  Much to the delight of the children, we announced we wanted to come visit them and their families and to spend time with them.  They immediately began telling us everything they wanted to do with and for us.  The next afternoon, as we made our way up the winding dirt road to the camp, I spotted a few figures in the distance.  As we got closer I could see they were our kids.  When they recognized our vehicle they all jumped up and down with joy.

We could barely make it out of the vehicle before we were surrounded by a couple dozen smiling faces.  Within minutes teams were made and we were racing back and forth playing soccer.  Even one to the fathers, Miftar, joined in.  I think he had as much fun as the kids did.  I looked up during a break in the game and saw the smaller ones blowing hundreds of bubbles into the air and chasing after them with Lindsey.

We have since made one other visit to the camp, and every time are touched by the love the children show us and how much the parents trust us with their beautiful children.  We've been able to pick up even the littlest ones and take them for ice cream, play games, and share the Gospel with them.

Below are some photos from our first visit.

Miftar (left) is a veteran from the war with Serbia.  His home just across the border in Albania was destroyed by Serbs.

Some of the children who live at the refugee camp.  Juliana (in the pink shirt) and Donika (front in the red shirt) made us the traditional Kosovar dish, Fli.

I've not met a child that smiles, and laughs more than Donkia.

This should do for Summer 2010 Part 1.  We're still living out Part 2, but look forward to sharing it with you all soon.  We are so thankful for all of your prayers, and we hope you enjoyed our update.  We leave in two days for the Encounter 2010 conference in Budapest, Hungary.  We'll be driving through Macedonia, Serbia and of course, Hungary.

Hope you all are having a wonderful summer....God bless you!!