You may have heard our neighboring country Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on Sunday. Kosovo is 95% ethnic Albanian. There is a great article in the NY Times that gives the history of the conflict between Kosovo and Serbia. A group from our church including our good friends Egli and Dovi (volunteers in youth ministry), Eva (our former language teacher) and Von (our team leader) are visiting Geni Begu, an Albanian church planter in Gjilan, who was sent out from our church in Tirana . They will be there for a week of prayer and outreach for the church. Kosovo still has many obstacles to overcome and there are not any easy answers. With over 60% unemployment the situation is much more dire for many Albanians living in Kosovo than here in Albania. Here at home, roads were closed to prevent the celebration from getting out of hand. Traffic was diverted from the city center to prevent overcrowding. There were Albanian flags everywhere in Tirana in celebration of this historic event. Please join with us in prayer for this newly formed nation. Pray for a peaceful transition, for the Kosovo people to know the hope that can only be found in Jesus, and for more Albanian Christians to “go and make disciples of all nations” by sharing the love of God with their brothers and sisters in Kosovo!
