A Villlage mourns

Chris writes: today, 11 years after the massacre here in Krushe e Vogel another body was returned to the village to its final resting place. A family and a village can now properly start to grieve and mourn the loss of another of their men. It is hard to imagine how it must feel as I watched one of the sons clutching a picture at the graveside of his father. I could not see tears....maybe the feeling was just so overwhelming that after 11 years, at last the body of his father will be at rest.

It was a real priviledge to stand with the people of our village today and comfort them as they mourn. I hope they will now be allowed to move on and look to a better future...a better future for the children...thus the investment of Humedica in this tiny village....which we have had the joy (mostly!) of being part of for the last fifteen months.

The saddest part for me though was one of the other families in the village who decided not to bury their lost one as they are hoping and praying that other bodies from the family will be found and then they will be buried together.

Thank you for supporting and praying for us as we support the people of this tiny village and help them look to the future. Pray that they can grieve and build a better future.

Lorraine writes- The last two weeks have been very full for me...one week was spent in the UK (was a whistle stop tour, on my own) attending a funeral of an amazing lady, Karena Mackay, from Reading Family Church and visiting my Brother & family and my Dad & his wife Jane. If you ever travel by train up and down the country, travel LIGHT!! I learnt the hard way. Three big bags, trains and undergrounds really don't mix. The second was a surprise trip to Macedonia. As soon as I walked off the plane I was whisked away by my wonderful husband....brownie points to him!!!!

It has been great to get back to the day care and be with the children and staff. Each morning I have a five minute meeting with the staff at the beginning of the day. This morning I read a quote from 'Family Matters' by David Pytches. It read like this......'The strength of the nation derives from the integrity of the home' (Confucius). I shared my thoughts about how I see Kosova being founded on the family; it draws strength from that family unit; how the day care is a family unit and how we try to impart family values that the children will grasp and take on board and share with others.

This week sees Krushe e Vogel's memorial day (26th). A day when families remember the pain and suffering; the loss of loved ones; that day, in 1999, which brought such change to family life and structure forever. We have one family in the village who after 11 years will see the body of their loved one returned and be able to have some closure as they get to say good bye. Please pray and remember the people of Krushe. We pray that the pain they feel will lessen; that comfort can come to their homes. You are in our hearts Krushe xx

Chris writes: had a great time in Skopje, Macedonia and now safely back in Krushe. Today is yet another beautiful day and it really feels like winter is behind us at last.
Yesterday it was so good at last being able to do some long awaited jobs outside which have been building up here in the Cerdhe over the winter months.

With a little under three months left here in Krushe it really does feel like we are on the 'home straight' now....hoping and praying that we can 'finish strong' and not be distracted by what we will be doing when in the UK or what we will do when we return here!

Chris writes: you know the saying just as you thought it was safe to go out?.....well just as I thought spring was finally here after our long slog this winter.......the weather got cold again and now we have more snow! Ah well! What to do as they say here! Just smile and keep on keeping on! Off to Macedonia on Wednesday for what i think is a well earned break with Lorraine.....regular power, bacon, sausages, Mc'ds! Happy days!! God Bless x

Chris writes: well the power did return...for the Independance day celebrations here on the 17th of this month. It only lasted a few days however and with the high winds we lost power again for the whole of last weekend! Understandably we were pretty frustrated! But 'what to do' as they say here!! There is alot of pain and suffering behind those words though - to us in the west the war started and finished here in 1999 when NATO came in - but for the people here the suffering started at least ten years before with for example: the Albanian language being illegalised, people thrown into prison for no/little reason and almost over night the entire police force replaced by a Serbian force - to name a few. Understandably this must have left the people here feeling totally powerless and just having to accept the situation. The civil war started soon after but sadly the KLA (Kosova Liberation Army) were labeled terroists to us in the 'comfortable and civilised' west. This must have left them feeling completely alone and rejected.

It has felt like a long hard slog this winter (and are we thro' it yet?!) with so many struggles and frustrations but our desire is that we can finish strong and leave here on a good note. We continue praying about our future and knocking on various doors and would appreciate your prayers. Every Thursday this year we have been fasting our meals for the whole day - I hate Thursdays! Please do join with us and say a prayer and share anything with us you feel God may be showing you for us. Well it is Thursday and lunchtime .......so time to pray. Zoti ju Bekfoft xx

Chris writes: Ah the weekend!! time to relax and sleep!! Sadly life in Krushe once again means that we are being held to ransom by the electricity company (Kek) after having our power cut off since Thursday afternoon. This will probably last until Monday at least. Unfortunately when this has happened previously, people would just hook into their neighbours supply so the company now just cuts out the whole section where the worst offenders are which of course affects those that do and don't pay in the same way. Our feelings are mixed with annoyance with Kek and frustration for the people that think they can escape without paying. Sadly for some people this is because they have no income at all...this then leads back to the government and how are they helping such people...but we are not living in a rich country such as UK we are in a country with high unemployment and evidently little resources to help those struggling financially. This all makes the head spin and an acceptance of the situation or as they say here 's'ka me bon' or 'what to do'!! Having said all the above this is tempered with the sound of our generator which fills the air not to mention the oversized car battery underneath the table where i am working which makes us very grateful and means that we still do have some connection with the world outside of Kosova! We continue praying and fasting as we seek God's will for our future...but for now the washing up calls me...with water boiled on the gas stove of course! Thanks for your prayers, support and for following our adventures. God Bless. Chris xx

Chris writes.... the time is just before 12pm and another day is over at the Cerdhe in Krushe e Vogel. The day care falls silent once again until tomorrow morning at 7.40am when the first staff and children arrive. Everyone has gone home and we are left to ourselves - up the stairs in our own wonderful home. It is hard to imagine that in a little over four months we shall be leaving the Cerdhe to start a new life for ourselves, we believe and desire to be in Kosova. We have now been living in this tiny village in the south of Kosova for just over 12 months, excluding our time in UK during last summer. Sometimes it has been really hard going and very frustrating, sometimes most enjoyable. Sometimes we have felt like running, sometimes like staying. The fact is that after 12 months I really feel that at last we are starting to make a difference. The staff seem to notice more how we treat the children. We are starting to build relationships with people in the village. We are more able to communicate with the staff and children as little by little (nga pac nga pac - as they say here) all be it painfully slow we are starting to grasp the language. We are starting to learn and understand more of the culture. I am even starting to feel more confident and secure with the job....a job I had never done before! I feel like Nehemiah...we came here to do a tough job leaving the comfort and security of UK and soon we will return, for a while to our family and friends, to the beach, to our church, to fish and chips....and so on. But we are not there yet...there is still more we must do, more we can learn, more we can take from our time here. Thankyou so much for following our adventure and standing with us and please pray that we can finish strong and that our adventure will continue and we will know and remain in God's will for our future. Zoti ju bekoft.....or God Bless as they say here......ne emrin Jezus.... ..in name of Jesus. xx