Father & son
"...God can no more than an earthly parent be content to have only children: he must have sons and daughters — children of his soul, of his spirit, of his love — not merely in the sense that he loves them, or even that they love him, but in the sense that they love like he loves. For this he does not adopt them; he dies to give them himself, thereby to his own to his heart; he gives them a birth from above; they are born again out of himself and into himself — for he is the one and the all..."
--George MacDonald on Galatians 4:1-7
Right on Carl!
When I was a kid I LOVED Carl Lewis. He made me so proud to be an American when Olympic time came around. Now, as an adult, I love him even more. Especially since coming across this:
http://www.carllewis.com/video.music.1.html This video takes a lot of self respect and confidence. Ole Carl displays more than that in this phenomenal video!
In Memorium...
To my friends Amir & Sanida, Rahib, Hasib, Amer, and the thousands of others who lost their sons, brothers, husbands: I mourn with you on this sad day, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre. May you find peace in your hearts. For truly, "blessed are those who mourn."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-07-11-srebrenica-memorial_x.htm
"No Future Without Forgiveness" --Desmond Tutu
Kosova. It is called a province instead of a country because it has no status. It lies within the Serbian border, and yet less than 10% of the population is Serbian. I have frequented Kosovo since NATO bombed Milosevic's troops out in 1999. Mitrovice, the largest city in the north, is the last urban area with a significant Serbian population. It is divided by the Ibar River and Serbs mostly inhabit the north side of the river, Albanians in the south. Serbs are traditionally Orthodox Christian, Albanians Muslim. Serbs speak Serbian, Albanians speak Albanian. The languages are NOTHING alike. The two peoples are separated by this bridge:
For me to try to explain to you the history of the conflict would be impossible. You need to go there. And read a minimum 10 books from different authors while you're at it. What I can tell you is that during my travels I have been touched by stories of horror, survival, heartbreak, and yes, forgiveness. Somehow in the thick of all of the political muck, you can find wonderful place with a need for something. Will independence from Serbia fix Kosova? I don't know. Will a full UN pull-out spark all-out war again? I don't know. Does the future of Kosova rely on Serbs and Albanians (Gypsies too) living together once again? Yes.
Albanians have been in the Balkans at least since Paul wrote his epistles. They were the Illyrians. Serbs have been in the Balkans at least since the inception of their Orthodox Church when Cyril & Methodius evangelized the Slavs in the 9th century. Should they leave since the Albanians were there first? No. Should the Albanians leave since Kosovo is within the old borders of Yugoslavia and is the so called cradle of the Serbian Orthodox Church? No. Something is needed.
My only reason for going on this recent trip was simple: to introduce Kosova to my two friends Jon and Jonathan. Croatia taught me that "team" is essential in missions. TIME Ministries taught me that team is a must in missions. Every mission trip I've been on has taught me the necessity of teamwork. I'll finish Wheaton College in less than a year and when we return to the field, it will be as a team. My two friends from Dallas have expressed interest in this "team" to the point that we went to check it out--together. It is too early to really give an answer of whether Kosova is the place or not, but we have taken the first step, and it was awesome. Thanks for your prayers and support during the trip. I cannot begin to recount to you all of the sweet times we had either encouraging, having fellowship, or sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with our Albanian friends, young and old. Kosovar people are so intimately relational that a schedule is not even needed when I am there. As always, it was such a joy to be there with my mom and dad. They truly shine in cross-cultural ministry and it was awesome to share a place so dear to my heart with my mom who had never been there.
Please do continue to pray for us as we finish up this school year and take more steps toward returning to the mission field!
