Kosovo...what happened again?

So it has been a few days since we left the comfort of Europe and arrived here in Asia and it dawned on me that I haven’t really given feedback yet on what we did in Kosovo. With traveling over time zones always comes the intense confusion of not knowing if it is breakfast or dinner time and of course the body only wants to sleep. But I am awake and memories of the west are flooding back, so here is what happened…

As going to Kosovo was an unexpected blessing after our China visas didn’t come through, we didn’t have a pre-planned ministry to do there. Our hosts, the amazing Frey family from the States, gave us accommodation in the church building of Metrovica and blessed us in abundance with sharing their testimonies, their knowledge of the country and investing in us each personally. They have been living in Kosovo for 12 years and know exactly what the spiritual struggles are in the area. We in return asked for as many serving opportunities as possible as that is our main goal for the year.

Over the two weeks we sorted out a store house full of Christian literature that can be distributed, packing the books in boxes and labelling everything properly. We also built a fence (jip, our men are amazing at that by now), sorted and cleaned a garage, mowed the grass, and planted corn. All of this might seem like menial labour without any spiritual significance but to a family of 7 that committed their entire lives to full time ministry, these small tasks just never make the priorities list. So we served those who do the really hard work in the kingdom and hopefully gave them one or two less things to worry about.

We also helped another missionary family move from one house to another. Four story house to a four story house….Yowsers! What a job! But within the day we managed to clean the new house, move over all the furniture, unpack most things and clean the old house. The family then blessed us with an amazing local meal that literally had no end. We took the leftovers home and still ate of it 3days later!! We also had the chance to pray for each room in the new house before we left. What an amazing time. It is also inspiring to see how the families respond to the strong holds of division, pride and rebellion. They shared their personal struggles and how their prayer life has increased since they arrived in Kosovo. The spiritual battle is real!

On our last Saturday we linked up with the church in Pristina for street evangelism as we handed out water bottles and prayed for people. People from all over came to take part and we handed out 9420 bottles with scripture and prayers. Uber fun day! Also had a chance to play LEGO (well, one huge block!!), visit the library (weirdest building ever!) and slipped into an abandoned Orthodox church (mission impossible style).

We also had a lot of time off that was sometimes filled with team building (fun game-nights playing cards or worshipping), teachings on Kosovo history (my favourite part) and personal time. This was really a country where we had spiritual struggles but also grew stronger in spirit and in unity.

On our last day, the Frey family held a big party for me and Reuben who had our birthdays during our stay. They really did bless us in every way.

So we flew back to Istanbul, had a 25hour layover/sleep on the airport, flew to Abu Dhabi, 5hour layover, and flew to Kuala Lumpur. Tired, tired, tired…

Even though we are only here for 3days and will be coming back in about 2months time, I still could not pass up the opportunity to see as much as possible. So in short I had a few adventures (team and solo) which included walking 44min in the rain to the Pertronas Towers, catching a completely overcrowded bus back, visiting the Batu caves and doing a tour through the dark caves (amazing!!), few trips through China Town where we live (ironic as we didn’t get to go to China) and finally having a braai on the roof of our hostel…because where there are South Africans, there WILL be a braai!!

What I have learned in the past few weeks:

• The spiritual world is real and affects us, whether we chose to believe it or not
• Never stop praying
• It is worth gold to have a strong unified spiritual family
• There is no end to serving, whether it is your hosts, strangers or your team. Every serving opportunity holds a blessing.
• Let go and be crazy. Dance whenever you can. Make jokes and laugh as frequently as possible. Don’t miss an opportunity to love on people.
• Climbing on things are fun: giant LEGO blocks, giant chairs, camel statues…
• You are never to old to enjoy a giant teddy bear
• I am getting better at travelling in a group. My patience and grace has increased so much that some would consider me a pleasant companion…self-five!!
• When tired…sleep…even if it is under a pot plant in an airport. You might just wake up with an unexpected friend next to you 
• Don’t miss out on great experiences because you don’t want to do things alone. Jesus makes the perfect companion and He also loves it when we marvel at his creations. So GO, even if you go alone…
• When you really just need to be alone but have nowhere to go, just chill out at a bus stop. There you can finish your tea, write in your journal and maybe even engage in light conversation with some locals. Really fun!

And so the brief time in Malaysia also comes to an end and tomorrow evening we fly off to good old Aussie for a few weeks. Next stop, Down under!!!

So for now that be all, folks.