Dear friends,
Many of you have asked how we are after the declaration of independency of Kosovo. Thank God, we are all doing very well, both in health and safety as well as heart and faith. We are so grateful for the many prayers you have prayed for us over these days, and for the people of Kosovo and Serbia. We have written a number of reports in the last weeks, but unfortunately they have been in Albanian. It has been much easier to express in our mother language what we gone through. It is indeed a privilege for us to be here in Kosovo physically at this crucial time.
To give you a taste of what we are feeling, would be right to say that we have felt the extreme joy and deep sorrow of a nation that for generation has suffered much pain and injustice. As our famous writer Ismail Kadare put it: “These are moments that come only in a lifetime of a nation, and words simply cannot express what we feel”. On Sunday, we witnessed the declaration of independency. The whole of Kosovo was in celebration. Children, men and women, young and old, were literally all in the streets celebrating. The country was covered with flags of nations: Albanian, American, UK, Swiss, German, Canadian, Norwegian, Italian, etc, etc. Walking through the river of crowds, we imagined the day when real freedom from sin will one day come and all nations, and languages and ethnic groups will run before the throne worshiping the Lamb. I (Geni) went to Prishtina (the capital of Kosovo) for the celebrations. On the way we drove through Graçanica (one of the Serb populated towns). It was a sad contrast, as the streets were completely empty, the windows and gates closed, and it felt like a day of deep mourning for them (these people desperately need the light of the gospel). For them it now feels like the history is reversing. Will there be justice one day?
On Monday a team of 7 people from our church in Tirana came to Gjilan for prayer. We spent three days praying for Gjilan, for Kosovo and for the Balkans. It was a powerful time of intercession. Yesterday we traveled around Kosovo for prayer and made our final destination in the northern city of Mitrovica. This is where the Albanian and Serb populations are divided by a bridge; Albanians living south and Serbs living north of the bridge. There has been much fighting and hatred in this particular land for centuries, and the atmosphere in Mitrovica is very heavy. We walked the streets of this place, and declared boldly the name that is above every other name: the name of the One who died and rose again from death, Jesus the son of the living God. Then we went to the bridge. The bridge divides two worlds, two nations that for centuries have deeply hated each other. I (Geni) have never in my life experienced the kind of heaviness and sorrow that I experienced here. My friend Von – that lived in Kosovo from 1985 – 1990 says that he thinks this might be the darkest spot of the Balkans. Standing at the edge of the bridge, I felt like I was presently living through the bloodshed, the injustice, the pain and the suffering of past generations. On the Albanian side of the bridge the city life is buzzing, on the other side it’s a deadly silence. The many soldiers, UN and local police, do not allow ANY passenger to cross the bridge on the opposite side. One is certain here that if you take out these heavy armed soldiers, the next moment there will be a war that perhaps could be bloodier than in 1999. What hope than is for real peace in Kosovo and the Balkans? Can politics and military bring the forgiveness and reconciliation? Our vision of the Kingdom of God inspires us to preach the good news of real reconciliation and forgiveness. Oh, that one day, we will see the birth of the Kingdom of God in Mitrovica, Kosovo, Serbia and the Balkans!
This morning I woke up burdened to pray for Mitrovica and especially the north side. I wanted to find a way to cross into the north side of the bridge. I wanted to feel things and be able to pray. So, I found another small bridge that leads to a northern (Serb) neighborhood where there is a small Albanian population. Heavy armed French soldiers were guarding the bridge, and they let me go through. What I found on the other side was a scene that makes you feel deeper sorrow than the bridge. Here it feels like you are in a war zone. The streets were completely desolated and filled with only soldiers, army vehicles, and the helicopters that fly over. In front of me there were two young guys. I slowed down my steps and wondered what I would do now. One of them looked like a Serb to me. He looked angry, and for sure if he was a Serb and knew I was Albanian, he would beat me up or kill me (if he could). The other young man (a shop keeper) looked Albanian, so I approached him with a friendly and peaceful look. I decided not to speak until he spoke first. Welcome, was his first greeting. He looked soft hearted, but deeply scared and didn’t know what to make of me. I came close and begun to speak in Albanian and congratulated him for the independence. The expression on his eyes changed completely. I continued: I am from Tirana, and have come here to greet you and to congratulate you for the independence. At this point the man (called Besim - Faith) was very touched. Thank you for coming from such a long way to visit us; were his next words than we embraced each other. At this point a woman entered his shop. Congratulation for the independence (I said first). This is our brother from Tirana (continued Besim), and he has come all the long way to see us. The woman broke completely in tears. This is not independence; we are so uncertain of our life; we cannot sleep at night…; she could not continue any more, and left the shop. I had no words to say to these dear people that were completely vulnerable and broken. Two small coins (that the woman paid) were left between the guy and me. I picked up the coins and saw that they were Dinars (the Serb currency – in Kosovo they only use EURO and not Dinar). Besim watched me looking at the coins. We have to use them said Besim, covered in a shadow of shame and embarrassment (north Mitrovica is administrated mostly by Serbs and Albanians have to live within their monetary system). I affirmed Besim, saying that currency has nothing to do with politics, but with their need to survive. I spent some more time with my new friend and left, with a part of my heart behind…
At this time we feel the burden and the urgency for the evangelization of these dear people of Kosovo. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
- Please pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send workers in Kosovo
- Also, please pray for us that utterance may be given to us, that we may open our mouths boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, and that we may declare it boldly as we should
- Pray for safety for our family
- Pray for peace in Kosovo
Thank you for standing with us in prayer.
Geni, Soni, David, Nikol and Simon
Back in Belgrade, hundreds of thousands of Serbs protest against the independence of Kosovo. The Prime Minister Kostunica reminds his fellow citizens that Kosovo is the cradle of Serbia and they will never let it go. Another leader addresses the crowd with the words: ‘before time, Kosovo was part of Serbia’. Right now Serbia is a nation that is deeply hurting and they also need our prayers.
Please join us in praying for Kosovo and for Serbia. I am sure you have been hearing all sorts of things in the papers and on the news about the "rightness" or "wrongness" of the situation. Regardless, we need to pray for peace in the region. There has been enough fighting and blood shed in the last few years, not to mention the centuries before. Pray that people would truly live together in harmony and that old hatreds can be put to rest.
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