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  Kosovo / Kosova

Shqipe's Story

Kosovo | Christina Hickman

Precious GoodbyesIt was late at night as Shqipe finally turned away from saying goodbye to the three OM workers. Standing at the road's edge near her home, tears had filled her eyes - it was the last time she was to see any of them. Her tears were matched by those of the three women who were also saying goodbye to their dear friend. It would be hard to continue on with their lives and work without her presence gracing it each day.

Shqipe is a very special fourteen year old girl. She came into the lives of the OM team a few years back, and since then has touched every single person on the team. She attended the children's meeting, and later the girl's meeting when she became old enough. It was through that she was able to begin taking piano lessons with one of the OM team members. She quickly picked up the skill that even the music instructor in her local school didn't have; playing a musical instrument. As the relationship grew, so did the OM team's involvement in her life. One day they were able to do a house visit, to meet her family.

 What was revealed by this came as a shock to everyone. This sweet girl, who never seemed to complain or be cross, lived in a one room, plastic shack behind the school that her mother cleaned each day. The family had come to Kosovo from Albania seven years earlier, in hopes of making a better life for themselves. What they found was poverty, sorrow, and difficulty. After the longest and most painful years of their lives (according to her mother), the family was moving back to their hometown in Albania. Even in the midst of changing schools in the middle of the year, having to leave piano lessons and the girls’ meeting, and telling all her friends goodbye, Shqipe never stopped smiling or having a positive attitude. The OM staff was probably more negative about the situation than her and her sweet family were!

 While Shqipe and her family are not believers, they have all been exposed to the Gospel on numerous occasions. The OM team in Kosovo have arranged for the local church in their Albanian hometown to minister to the family in the future. God is at work in this precious girl's heart! Please join with the OM Kosovo team in prayer for Shqipe, her parents, and her younger sister (who also came to our center and had piano lessons). Who knows what miraculous things our big and amazing God is going to do there!

Credit: Christina Hickman email
© 2009 OM International email
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Photos Kosovo

Kosovo :: OM worker Klara and friends model hats made by a Kosovar woman - a successful micro-business venture that has helped this family become more economically stable. The family also makes jams for local markets.
Kosovo :: Making jams to sell is a successful venture for one poor Kosovar family,who have been trained in micro-business by OM Kosovo.
Kosovo :: Chris, an OMer based near Kosovo shares about the dangers of drugs with school children. With 70% of the population under 30-years-old and unemployment rates at 40%, conditions are ripe for drug taking.
Kosovo :: One of the OMers in Kosovo had the privilege to teach on inner beauty that comes from God while some local girls listened.
Kosovo :: One of the multiple street performances that the rock band No Longer Music preformed in Kosovo this summer. The OM team was blown away by the boldness of the band and great response to follow the torch thereafter!
Kosovo :: A few members of the TACO team in Turkey blessed the local OM team with their skills and talents as they toured around a few cities in Kosovo.
Kosovo :: OM Kosovo partners with a newly established church that runs a preschool. While their staff were on furlough, two OMers helped teach these little ones about a God who loves them!
Kosovo :: A large portion of OMs ministry in Kosovo revolves around youth. However, more men are needed to help lead our groups!
Kosovo :: Despite the rain, village children flock around the literature table that the OM Kosovo team had set up. May the Living Water rain down on the seeds that were planted in their hearts that day!
Kosovo :: Nothing can stop the OM Kosovo team talk about the love of God - not even a bit of snow! Braving the cold to pass out Christian literature in a village.

           

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