Sunday 13 June 2010

Greetings from England







Greetings to all our friends in Kosova



a few pics from todays worship service at Cornerstone Hythe






13/6 3pm Eddie

Friday 4 June 2010

Car Wash


This is especially for Berti and Shkelzen who like to keep the cars clean - here is a pciture of Martha was cars when we arrived home
4/6 3pm Eddie

Wednesday 2 June 2010

Back Home

And safely back home - Thanks for all those who have followed our blog and have supported us on our trip
A few pictures from England will appear in the next few days for the benefit of Kosovars following our blog
2/6 10pm Eddie
Back in Blighty
After a smooth 165minute flight we arrived back at London Gatwick and out the airport within 35minutes of landing!!!!
2/6 7.30pm Eddie

To the airport


After stopping for a picnic near a river we headed to Pristina airport – a journey of about 90 minutes. They are building a new road and this made it very slow and dusty through the roadworks of about 20miles! We checked in our luggage but after a while heard our names announced asking us to report to the departure gate. It turned out that the security wanted to manually search a suitcase containing cables, clock, pa system, batteries etc. They were very thorough, which is reassuring. It is a good job that I put all these items in one case otherwise they would have had to go through all five!!
2/6 4pm Eddie
606

Last day
















We spent the early morning packing – and thankfully everything went in the suitcases easily. We gave our hosts some gifts and took some final photos. We sorted the remainder of the stationary we brought here and the Smile workers will distribute this in due course. In the late morning we visited a large house which was about 200 years old.It has been turned into a museum showing tradition clothing and items from the house. The person who lived here must have been very rich as there was a primitive central heating system and the ceilings were carved out of wood.
2/6 12noon Eddie

Tuesday 1 June 2010

Final evening meal




We showed our hosts a slide show of our photos before going out with Astrit, Emily, Berti, Hannah, Skelzen and Claudi for a final meal at Le Peshat our favourite restaurant – The steaks are massive! I know that Martha is going to miss Emily so much!
1/6 10pm Eddie

Radoniqi Lake











We gave the head teacher a lift most of the way back to his home and he mentioned they did not have much sports equipment. Jake gave him an impromptu gift of his football (one less thing to pack tomorrow!). We drove to the lake which is the main reservoir for the area and it was very beautiful for a picnic. Unlike UK reservoirs there is no boating of swimming allowed. We saw lots of lizards and bugs as we walked through the trees. We also drove past a big KFOR base (Italian) with its own runway and a house which still has bullet holes in it 11 years on from the war.
1/6 4pm Eddie

Visit to Kralan School











After a short Prayer meeting at Eternity Church we headed towards Pristina for a few miles and then up into a hill village. Their view was stunning and we were warmly welcomed at the village school. During the war there were 80 students and 50 of them lost their fathers. The conflict was particularly great here. The unemployment is very great here. It was a lovely happy school and we spent some time with the Head Teacher before meeting a class of the older pupils. We then went into the grounds of the school and played some volleyball. Some of the teachers joined in and it got very competitive – great fun. Jake and Sam presented the last of the letters and pictures from the Orchard Schools and we also gave the Director a gift of stationary. Smile are planning a summer holiday club at this school this year.
1/6 1pm Eddie

Youth meeting


We shared in our last youth meeting. We have been befriended by some lovely young people and t was a bit sad to think this was our last meeting during our stay. I think Martha, Jake and Sam are going to be missed by them also.
31/5 10pm Eddie

Girls Brigade at Rugove







We went back tonight to the Girls Brigade meeting we went to last Monday. Martha and I organised some games and craft and Martha told them the story of Noah. It was good fun and at the end of the evening it was funny to see all the girls pile into the pastor’s van as he dropped them all off at various places in the village. I love this country.!
It is good to see a room full of girls, many girls are not allowed out as they have to stay at home to do chores, to be available to help with the running of the home.
31/5 7pm Alison

FIlmed Interview


Emily Morina from Smile filmed an interview with us. We spoke of why we had come here, what we had done and what we have learned. WE managed it in one take!
31/5 3pm Eddie

Monday 31 May 2010

Shopping
















We took advantage of the last opportunity to walk to town on our own to do some final shopping and buy gifts for our hosts. The population in Kosova is much younger than in the UK and the streets are full of young people. The schools operate 2 half day shifts and so there are always lots of students about – usually fashionably dressed and very tall!. Some of the older men where a white round hat but you only see other traditional costumes in the shops. There are usually men playing chess in the main square. Alison got a good discount on a top, Martha bought some shirts and Eddie a map of Kosova (sad eh!)
31/5 12noon Eddie

Sunday 30 May 2010

Church Sunday morning.
















As last week we went to Eternity church which is in an old house. We had a time of worship and prayer for about an hour and then Martha sang a couple of songs. Eddie preached; he started in Albanian language - just a few words he had been practising and they all seemed to understand him. There is always an interpreter there so today he translated Eddie’s talk into Albanian.
Everyone has a drink after the service much like our church but they take it one step further and anyone from church who wants to goes to a local restaurant and they have lunch together which is really nice and sociable. We had a free afternoon so we went back to the Smile centre to play board games.
30/5 4pm Alison





Saturday 29 May 2010

Peja
We returned back down the mountains to the city of Peja which is the second city of Kosova. We went to the one of only two Christian coffee shops in Kosova and enjoyed some English tea (which you can’t get in other cafes) we met a girl working on an Operation Mobilization team.

29/5 5pm Eddie

Black bears
At Rugova Camp we stopped and looked at the two black bears kept in captivity there. Sadly they don’t have a big compound but their fur looked in good condition. They came quite close to us on the other side of bars and growled a bit.

29/5 3pm Eddie

Rugova Mountains and Gorge
















After a drink at a beautiful riverside cafe we headed up the mountains through the beautiful Rugova Gorge – a bit like Cheddar gorge but much longer and with tunnels and winding roads. We also passed a Serbian village which again was guarded by KFOR troops and a huge wall around the village. The road through the mountains was thankfully not as scary as we had feared
29/5 2pm Eddie

Visoki Decani Monastery







We made an early start and headed north to the small town of Decan. We drove up the beautiful Gorge to the Orthodox church and monastery. As with a number of Serbian sites it is guarded by KFOR troops (in this case Italian) with road blocks and sentry points guarding against revenge attacks by Albanian Kosovars. We could not go in until 11 so we went for a walk along the beautiful river where we threw pebbles. Returning to the monastery and church (built in the C14th) we had a look around. The church was beautiful but rather dark and the interior walls were covered with frescos. Some of the monks were walking around texting on their mobile phones!
29/5 12noon Eddie

Friday 28 May 2010

Baby tortoise


Here is a picture of the baby tortoise that has been found where we are living.

28/5 9pm Martha

Final English school


After lunch at Berti’s house we paid our final visit to his English school in Rahovec. Eddie set to work on an article he is writing for ‘Reform’ magazine and the rest of the family helped with one to one teaching followed by educational games. We then went shopping and had a quiet night in. Tomorrow we are heading north to the mountains at Rugova

28/5 3pm Eddie

A bit of gardening







We visited the home of a widow and we dug over a small patch of earth in front of her house and planted some small plants. We hope that that she will enjoy them. It is not a big thing but sometimes little things can be important.

28/5 12noon Eddie

Followers

Programme

Wednesday 19th May Fly from London Gatwick at 12.10 Arrive Pristina at 16.15 Local time Journey to Gjakove to settle in to the Smile centre.



Thursday 20th May

Visit to local widow’s family supported by Smile. Child has serious heart condition and visit is with another medical agency.

Visit to Herrec - run a children’s club afternoon Evening meeting at Eternity Church.



Friday 21st May

Visit to Widows Home Visit to meet Pastor Jeton at his Language School



Travel to Rahovec, to help with Smile’s English language course.




Saturday 22nd May

Assist with the Children’s club at Eternity Church in Gjakove.

Lead children’s club at village of Krushe Madhe. Lead Youth group at village of Krushe Madhe.

Visit graves at village of Krushe Madhe.



Sunday 23rd May


Worship at Eternity Church.

Visit to Chambrat War Graves

Walk up to Qabrat Hill



Monday 24th May


Visit to Roma Colony

Free time at the Smile Centre

Travel to Rugova to help the Girl’s Brigade Company



Tuesday 25th May

Distribution of aid to widows and a visit to Mulliq Dobrosh etc



Wednesday 26th May

Visit to Ferdone War Museum in Gjakove.

Visit to Meja War graves and distribute aid.

Help with the Girl’s Brigade at eternity Church. Interview on Radio Pandora



Thursday 27th May

Visit to schools in the Goran region.

Visit to the Fort in Perzeren.



Friday 28th May


Practical work on a widow’s home - probably gardening.
English class at Rahovec



Saturday 29th May

Visit to the mountains and Rugova.



Sunday 30th May

Eddie to preach and Martha to perform at local church

Free afternoon.



Monday 31st May

Smile filmed interview regarding our time in Kosova. Free afternoon in Gjakove.

Help with Girls Brigade in Rugova.



Tuesday 1st June

Visit to Krallan School to help with the teaching. Visit to Lake Radoniqi on the way back.



Wednesday 2nd June

9am – Leave the Smile Centre to Pristina.

Depart for Airport 5pm –

Fly back to the UK arriving back 19.05

Sleep!!!



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About Us

Eddie is the Minister of Cornerstone Church (URC) in Hythe, Hampshire. Alison is a nurse at the Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton. Martha is 13 and a pupil at Noadswood School. Jake is 10 and a pupil at Orchard Junior School. Sam is 7 and a pupil at Orchard Infant School.