I am not going to lie, when I found out we were going to Kosovo I was not excited. I didn’t even know it was country until I was told I was going to live there for a month. As I was looking it up online, I found travel warnings due to terrorism that struck fear into me and fed into the reasons why I didn’t want to go. But man, if I only knew then what I know now.
For the month we were in Kosovo we were doing was The World Race calls “Ask the Lord month” or ATL for short. To sum it up, we have no contact with anyone in country, no place to stay, and no agenda. The team asks the Lord what city to go to, we find a place to stay and then ask the Lord to guide us into what he wants us to do for the month.
My team decided we wanted to go to a city named Pristina which happened to be the capital of Kosovo. We found an apartment to stay in that was within our budget, packed our things and hopped on a bus. The ride was only a few hours, so we got there early in the day which allowed us to settle in a bit before hitting the ground running. Shortly after arriving at our apartment the team decided to go grocery shopping. While at the store looking for yogurt, Derek, and I, at the same time, said that we felt like we were at home, and we belonged here. It had only been an hour and we were already falling in love with Pristina, Kosovo.
One of the first things our team liked to do in a new city is a prayer walk. As we walk, we pray over the people and the streets and ask God to reveal to us what he would like us to do while in that place. That day the team stumbled across a coffee shop called “Newborn Brew” that happened to be owned by American missionaries trough an organization called “A Jesus Mission” (AJM). We felt led to serve with the AJM people and they gladly took us under their wing with open arms.
The next day they took us to a nearby village. While there we got to help with the production of a video for a long-standing ministry. After that video shoot, we were able to spend some lovely time with middle school aged girls who were practicing for a production coming up. We danced and were silly with them for several hours. Although I would love to share more about this ministry, I will stop here for their safety and longevity due to some regulations in their town.
The AJM people allowed us to hang out in their coffee shop and talk with students that came in. I know what you may be thinking “a coffee shop, really?”. I was feeling a bit guilty at first, some thoughts were going through my head like, “Did I really fundraise and leave my life behind just to sit in a coffee shop owned by Americans and hope that some students would come in?” But one of the missionaries explained coffee shop ministry in a way that made a lot of sense. Our generation grew up with coffee shops essentially being a third home. If we weren’t at our home or at school, we were at a coffee shop. Coffee shops quickly became a place where our guards could be let down and we could be more comfortable. In a way meeting people in a coffee shop is like meeting people in their homes. My entire perspective changed. This made sense.
With the university being less than a 5 minutes’ walk away and Newborn Brew being the only place in town to give a student discount, there was no lack of students. We met and got to spend time with SO many incredible young adults.
After about a week our team got to be put on as temporary “staff” to help while the AJM people took a retreat to get some much-needed rest. This was entirely on a volunteer basis. Wearing their shirt and being behind the bar at times seemed to give us some credibility when starting conversations. Not only were we able to be present and had opportunities to hang out with the young adults but we got to serve and assist the missionaries that are there long term. In such a short time in Kosovo our team made deep and incredible relationships, not only with the missionaries but with the Kosovar staff and students as well.
There is SO much more I could say about Kosovo and the lovely people we met in our time there, but I suppose that may be for a different post. In the meantime, enjoy some lovely photos from Kosovo!
-Em
Surprise party with another team in the area for Joannes birthday!
Squeezed in the back of a taxi! Peep Dereks eye over my shoulder!
Stunning sunset overlooking the city!
Walking through the street market and a beautiful golden hour meeting this building.
Our sweet friend Emma and our first day on staff at Newborn Brew!
Continuing to pray for you both. I liked your jacket Derek. You are so loved.
Such a great ministry you all got to participate in. Love your pics- beautiful! It is so cool when God has you fall in love with something you were not looking forward to. Believing there will be many places along this journey that you and Derek love. Thanks for serving with open hearts and open hands.