breaking borders

the serbian orthodox church not far from Lipjan.
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I have just been in awe lately of how much God loves me.  i only hope that He will use me to show others His love.  because once i saw His unconditional love for me, it changed me - to the point where i can only hope to share that with others.

i can't believe i only have two weeks left here.  these last few weeks have been packed with shopping in Pristina, birthday parties, and working on my tan at the pool.  i never expected that fulfilling my role building relationships here would be so much fun!  i'm having a blast getting to know the girls here.

tell your family you love them.

hollie, me, Jana, and Sarah after coffee.
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last night Hollie, Sarah and i met Jana (a serbian translator at kamp) for coffee at an albanian restaurant.  Jana was nervous about walking around the Albanian part of town during daylight, but there were no serbian restaurants for us to go to.  she prides her teenage-self in being brave on the outside.  we all had great conversation over Nescafé, talking about equality, religion, and most embarassing moments.  ya know, usual stuff.

when we walked her back to her house, she refused to take the main road.  before i asked why, i remembered in a previous conversation she had told me that back in 2004 (after NATO had stepped in to establish peace) the Albanians burned her house on that street.  Peace schmeace. the charred remains still stand. she still won't walk on that street.

these events have made Jana the strong, independant, self-respecting, rocker that she is today.  the war here in the 90's (and preceding conflicts) have deeply impacted everybody.  the Albanians have worked so hard to create some security for themselves, all the while slowly prying the security from the Serbian hand.  it's going to be hard to leave here.