I have great respect for Jeton, the pastor here. In spite of the many challenges facing him, he always seems to be asking God, "what next Lord?", always on the lookout for opportunities to lead the church in sharing their faith and serving their fellow Kosovans.
So, on Friday we went to a large village half an hour to the south of Gjakova to do some prayer walking - on our hottest day so far. The heat that western Europe has been experiencing has moved east! We split into two groups and set off around the village. I started praying as we walked along, but 3 words into my prayer I was aware of someone talking to me in Albanian. I stopped and turned to find a man and a woman asking for money for a sick child. They had been sent (I think) by their imam. I explained through Ilir that the best thing I had to offer was prayer. Well, we were prayer walking! They accepted the offer, so I prayed in the name of Jesus for the child, for which they were grateful. I gave them €10 as well. A great start to our prayer walk.
As we continued we prayed for the schools and factory (above) and for the life of the village, taking cues from what we saw and experienced.
On one of the buildings was written the word perparimi, which means prosperity, so we prayed accordingly.
I took the name of the bakery as both a reprimand and a warning ...
The reason Jeton chose this village was because of this young man who was born in the village and who met us in a bar/café after we'd finished walking.
Some years ago he found employment in Switzerland. One day he badly twisted his leg and was in need of hospital treatment. On his way there he met two Christians who offered to pray for his leg. By the time he got to hospital his leg was completely healed! He carried on living as before but gradually got into more and more destructive behaviour patterns. He became depressed and despairing. His wife reminded him of the leg incident, so he phoned one of the Christians who had prayed for him, met him, received prayer and asked Jesus into his life. This totally transformed him, so much so his friends and family thought there was something wrong with him! His wife became a Christian and his parents too, I think, and they all come from this village. So, in faith, Jeton is asking God whether he should start another church plant here. Unfortunately the young man still lives in Switzerland, but he comes home every summer and continues to witness of his changed life, which doesn't make him popular with everyone. Please do pray for him and this village.
Here we all are trying to cool down in the shade of the café, but getting stuck to the chairs we were sitting on, it was so hot!
