You would think that the beginning of the month is not necessarily exciting but, you would be wrong. My team was told that we might have a loose ministry tie but we were going to be on our own for the most part. We hadn’t heard anything from this supposed contact so we got onto the bus and headed towards the capital of Kosovo. In the middle of our 4-hour bus ride to Pristina, my team leader gets a text message from our ministry contact. Turns out they had no knowledge of our arrival in Kosovo until that day and had no idea we were going to be there at all. We had already booked an airbnb for our stay in Kosovo but we were uncertain how we would get there from the bus station. Well, our ministry contact had an apartment that they offered us to stay at and on top of that when we arrived at the bus station we were picked up by people from the ministry. It was such an amazing blessing! We were welcomed by three people who could not be more welcoming if they tried. They drove us to the apartment and then took us out to dinner at a local restaurant. We were blessed beyond measure by this ministry and we didn’t even know how much more there would be to come. Turns out this ministry used to host world race teams before the pandemic. They even hosted an entire squad at one point. They could have easily just let us stay in our airbnb and set up a meeting for the next day but, instead they bent over backwards to bless us. We were blown away by their generosity and flexibility. Not only were they willing to pick us up from the bus station, they also were so excited to meet us and help us with our (very heavy) bags.

(The view from the bus window on our way into Kosovo)

     The next day we had the opportunity to meet the pastor of the church, have coffee, and learn a little bit about the history of Kosovo. We also go to learn about his family history and how he became a pastor. Kosovo is largely a muslim and orthodox country. However, most people who say they are muslim are not actively practicing. He also shared a lot about the origin of the church. We spent over an hour talking with him and learning a lot about the country we were calling home for the month. We then were told that we are jumping into a day of ministry! It was a bit unexpected but we had a yes in our spirit! Tiffany and I got to take part in two different children’s meetings in two different locations. While both of those meetings were mostly in Albanian we got to meet so many young people that were passionate about creating an environment for children to learn and have fun! The other members of my team were driven to the church’s Roma center. This is a center that offers a variety of classes for people of all ages. This center is specifically for a population of people called the Roma. A more derogatory name for them are gypsies but they prefer to be called Roma. Some of us had the opportunity to work in Roma villages in Romania so it is amazing that some of us got to continue to work with this population of people. 

(One of the children's meetings we got to participate in)

     That day was a bit chaotic but, man was it a blessing. I love working with children and that day was filled with it. While I might not have spoken the same language, I was definitely blessed not only by them but the adults that were also working and investing in these children. This month was a wild and busy one but I was able to participate in a lot of children’s ministry. I was definitely in my comfort zone when it comes to children’s ministry this month (at least for the most part). But, one thing that I love to come back to is knowing that Jesus prioritized children more than anyone else. In 3 of the gospels it talks about the story of Jesus calling the children to come to him. Jesus loves children and I love that part of me that also loves working with children. It is a place within me that I like to look at and know that it is a part of Jesus that lives within me.