Hunting Season begins!

We were sitting in the drive through line at McDonalds (a great American pastime!) The children suddenly exclaimed "Look Mummy". The truck in front of us had a deer hoof sticking straight up at 90 degrees! We turned our eyes right and the truck next to us had a doe strapped to the back of it, dead, but eyes open, still bleeding from being shot. The question "Where are we living?" sprang to mind!! Not a sight you would ever see in the UK. No one thought it remotely extraordinary except me and my children it seemed!!


Something "manly" happens at the beginning of hunting season here. The "hunt and gather" gene completely takes over and men all over the state get their hunting gear on and freeze for hours in their "deer blinds" in the hopes of getting their two legal bucks. Phone calls are made to boast of how many points the antlers are and freezers are filled with venison of every type imaginable.

Again, the question "where are we living?" still springs to mind, although we are loving the venison that all our friends are offering and filling our freezer with!

Brad went and froze in a deer blind with a friend. Check out the photo of him in his hunting gear! What has happened to my husband I ask myself??? "What can I say, support is low, we need to eat meat!"

Evangelistic Talk for Twin city bible Church

Good evening. Thank you for the introduction. As Amy said my name is Abi Byrd and as you have probably guessed I am not from around these parts!! I am from Mahomet!! OK, just kidding, I am from England. I was born and grew up in London. We do live in Mahomet now though and have done for the past year. I have been given the theme of light to talk about tonight. There is a verse in John – a book in the Bible, where Jesus says “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” We are going to keep coming back to that as we go – the fact that Jesus came into the world as a light and what that means for us.

Light is an amazing thing isn’t it? We take for granted the fact that it is all around. As children we want the light left on as we are often scared of the dark. But as we grow older, our fear is less and we may even embrace it. We learn to hide things in the shadows. Sometimes darkness is helpful as it can conceal things we don’t want others to see. But we are drawn to light too aren’t we? We prefer Summer to Winter, people have medical conditions where they need sun and natural light. Plants shrivel up and die if there is no light. At this time of year in particular there is so much light. Inside, outside, on the Christmas tree, millions of lights all out there, twinkling for the world to see. Now maybe we have gone a little overboard on the whole light thing at Christmas, or maybe that is my understated British side wanting to tone things down a little! Who knows??!! The symbolism is there for us though isn’t it? – We have all these lights to remind us of the one who came into the world as a light. As soon as we put even one of those lights into a dark place there is a glow and a sparkle that means the darkness can’t exist. Think of a Christmas tree. If you have just the lights on your tree lit and no other lights in the room, then the feeling is just magical isn’t it? My kids keep commenting on how beautiful our Christmas tree is. A Christmas tree is beautiful. It makes you want to stop and marvel at it. I want to suggest that it is the same with Jesus. He possesses that same marvelous light that makes you want to stop in wonder. Think back to the verse from John that I mentioned before. “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”

Before I go any further, I thought I would give you a bit of background about who I am. You might be wondering why this British lady who lives in Mahomet is standing up here before you. A good question!! I have been married to my husband Brad for 10 ½ years and we have 4 children ranging from 3rd grade down to 21 months. We have 2 girls and 2 boys. If they had had their way tonight I would be standing up here wearing this attractive pair of flashing reindeer antlers. They thought these would just finish off the outfit nicely. They couldn’t grasp the concept that I might not be taken seriously if I wore them for the whole talk. They will think it is hilarious if I tell them I did at least put them on to show you!! Brad and I work for a missions organization called Radstock Ministries and have done for the past 8 years. I do want to preface what I am going to talk about by saying that there is absolutely nothing special about me, or my family. Let me say that again – there is nothing special, nothing remotely. We have been able to do the things we have done by God’s grace alone. My friends and family, particularly my husband will tell you that I am a terrible worrier. I am not proud of that fact, and certainly as a Christian I know I should be able to hand that worry over and let God handle it – right? Well I have to confess I find that a daily struggle. I am sure there are some poor souls out there tonight who can relate to what I am saying - I feel your pain!!

I want to share some of my story with you – a journey which started 8 years ago now. The Lord made it clear it was time to make a change. Brad and I were both on staff at a church in Washington DC, but we were increasingly feeling that we needed to find a situation where Brad could use his International Business experience again in the context of being a missionary. By pushing some doors and exploring several options in Europe we ended up moving to England!! What a breeze! Great missionary posting for me! I could speak the language, that was a bonus, we would be near my family and friends, I couldn’t believe the Lord would be so generous. We lived for 4 years in a town just North of London called Luton. It was a very ethnically mixed town with 120 different nationalities represented. The polar opposite of Mahomet. Brad began to travel back and forth to the Balkans – mainly to Albania and Kosovo. He helped to set up small businesses and he became involved in micro lending. Initially it made sense to be in the UK as the projects needed financial backing and that was where the investors were primarily. Also, if truth be told, I was not about to move our family to a war torn country. I was happy to be a missionary but there were limits……

For those of you who keep up with more International news you might remember the crisis and brutal war and ethnic cleansing that occurred in Kosovo in 1999. Brad started travelling there in 2001, 18 months after the crisis. Even 18 months on the region was in dire straits, most of the buildings were still destroyed; many people, especially the men were still missing. The majority of the men in the 25 and up age bracket had been slaughtered. The reality was lots of widows and fatherless children, many of whom had witnessed or been victims of atrocities that would traumatize them for the rest of their lives. Extremely harrowing to hear and see what the bloodshed had led to, and the consequences that have far more lasting effects and repercussions than the world will ever think to remember in the coming years. We have a very short, selective memory don’t we??

The long and the short of it is that 4 years later the Lord made it abundantly clear to us that we needed to move our family there. So much for my comfortable missionary life!! (I have to say that was a total joke anyway but that is another story for another time!!) It was really a natural progression. The projects needed Brad to be in country by this point to work and be successful. We needed to be there to build relationships, and present the light of Christ hand in hand with the business side of the projects. Most of the landmines had been cleared by then, the region was relatively stable. We had spent extended amounts of time there as a family and we were excited and nervous about the change. Our families and friends were not as enthusiastic. The reality was - we were moving to a war torn, Muslim country. There was a high chance that we would need to evacuate or worse, we would need to homeschool our children, we would need to learn a new and very hard language. Why would we want to do such a crazy, potentially dangerous thing, especially with 3 small children? People just didn’t understand.

I have to say that the 3 years we spent in Kosovo were such a time of relying on God. Those years have shaped our family forever in a good way. It is part of our identity, who we are. Let’s recap back to that “I am an extremely anxious person” comment. There were times when I just didn’t know how I would cope with what I thought might be around the corner. I think the main lesson I learned from being there was that God can be trusted, completely for everything. I came to realize that the worst case scenarios often don’t happen, and even if they do, God can take care of them in ways you could never imagine.

Daily life took a long time. There were periods of time every day when there was no power and sometimes no water. It was completely random, so you couldn’t plan that from 12-2 in the afternoon there would be no power, there would just be blackouts with no warning. They could last from 15 minutes to 48 hours. It was always a surprise!! We adjusted to being plunged into darkness on a regular basis. We never grew used to it. However often it happens, there is always something shocking about the light going out all of a sudden, when you aren’t prepared for it. We did, however have a system. The children would stand still wherever they were, sometimes screaming depending on how much it had taken us by surprise! We would fumble our way to one of the many candles and matches that were in strategic places everywhere around the house. Lighting that first candle always brought such a sense of relief with it. Just one candle would drive away the darkness.

We learnt to be organized and flexible. The health care system was dreadful. The hospital was an extremely frightening place. Doctors genuinely believe that if you have a fever you need to soak your socks in milk and wear them to bed. They believe you will be infertile if you sit on a cold floor. They tell you that if your midriff is exposed and cold it is a form of contraception. (Imagine the number of teenage pregnancies that encourages!)They believe you will be dreadfully sick if you eat ice cream in the Winter. We prayed we wouldn’t need to be hospitalized, or break a bone!! I became a de facto Dr and diagnosed our various ailments. We ate ice cream in the winter if we could find it, we didn’t soak our socks in milk when we had a fever – we imported Tylenol and used that. It has a much better success rate in my opinion and is far more pleasant smelling! I sat on a cold floor and fell pregnant with our 4th child – a miracle! I am standing here to tell the tale.

The language spoken there is Albanian and we fumbled our way, falteringly at first and gradually with more confidence – with some hilarious misunderstandings along the way. We made dear friends who we shared our lives with, all the time trusting God in small ways and big ways. We prayed that His light would shine out of us so that the darkness we saw everywhere and the hopelessness would be transformed. That people would marvel at the light of Christ. We prayed for our friends as a family, we brought food to them, we talked to them about the light and love of Christ. We tried to model that in our lives.

I had the privilege while we were there of running a pre-school for vulnerable and abused children. We were only able to run 2 sessions a week but we would pick the children up from their homes, drop them off after and feed them during the pre-school time. It looked like a normal pre-school does here in lots of ways, but it was a harrowing experience at times. There is no welfare system there and many children are abused. Families close ranks and it is an accepted thing. We had a choice – try to intervene in the families and potentially be denied access to the children, or provide a safe place twice a week where the children could be shown love unconditionally, see the light of Jesus and have an environment where they could be children. We decided on the latter.

I wrestled often with the question – why has God blessed my children with the family that they have? Why were these children who I was becoming more and more attached to in the horrendous home situations that they were? What had they done to deserve this? That isn’t to say that I am a super Mom, and that my house is the fun place to be all the time – trust me, it isn’t!! I am the first to admit I don’t get it right all the time, but it did just seem so unfair. I think one of the hardest things I did on a regular basis was to take the children back to their abusive, neglectful homes. As a Mum, to drive away from a house where the Mother has mental health issues, is illiterate and abusive to her children is almost impossible to do. I would often drive away hearing the children crying as there was no milk, food, heat. Awful. But……I saw the lives of those children change as we shined the light of Christ into them. Faces that were once catatonic lit up. They drew with crayons, they danced to music, they sang. They learned to have water fights and blow bubbles. We couldn’t believe the transformation.

We listened to horrific stories of things our friends had encountered in their lives during the years that we were there. We wept with them and mourned with them. They experienced things we had no way of relating to and could never hope to understand. I would lie awake at night worrying – can you see a recurring theme here?- I couldn’t help but come to the same conclusion time and time again – the only hope is Jesus and the light He brings. The world is a ruined and frightening place because we have pushed God out of the picture. The only hope is Jesus and the light He brings. Although life here is typically nowhere near as extreme as the stories I have shared with you, the underlying theme is the same both there and here. Perhaps you have to look a little harder here than there, but if you look closely you can see a common theme. There is abuse and neglect all over the world. There is abuse and neglect here in Champaign/Urbana. Some children are born into loving homes, and some are not. I find it hard to make sense of that if God will never shine His light on that injustice.

If somebody asked me if I would do the same again with our now 4 children, the answer would be a resounding yes every time. If Christianity wasn’t true then what we did as a family, and the potential danger that we lived in, bringing up our 4 children was absolute stupidity. You could argue that we were doing good, but it would be idiocy and very neglectful parenting to subject our children to that just for the sake of doing good. If the claims of Christ aren’t true, then to be told you are putting your children at risk and doing the wrong things for them is incredibly hard to ignore and power on through regardless. If the promise of heaven wasn’t there, then living with an evacuation bag packed and being on a radical Muslim group target list doesn’t make a lot of sense. (At least it doesn’t to a worrier like me!!)

If, on the other hand, what Christ has said in the Bible is true, then there is every reason to have done what we did. If Jesus really died on the cross to save us from our sin, if He offers eternal life if we repent and believe in Him, if we have the opportunity to walk in His light and never be in darkness then surely we should be willing to tell others about this amazing thing, no matter what the consequences? For our family it meant moving to a dangerous place for a while. For others it won’t mean that at all. The bottom line is it means being faithful to tell others, and to show that light that we talked about, wherever we are. Right now that is here in Champaign/Urbana.

So what does that mean for us this Christmas? These Christmas lights that are so beautiful will soon be gone won’t they? In just over a month they will be taken down and stored in a box for another year. They aren’t lasting. For a month or so they are just a pretty distraction, but they aren’t essential to our lives. If you are a Christian, my prayer, and challenge to you is that people would be attracted to that marvelous light of Jesus, that it would be seen in you clearly. My hope is that we would be beacons of light this Christmas, modeling a different, more lasting promise than the short lived promises a more commercial Christmas can convince us we need.
If you are not a Christian, but some of the things I have said tonight have got you asking some questions - what does it mean to repent and believe? How does that happen? – these are words you certainly don’t hear in every day language! Please don’t leave without getting those questions answered. I love to talk and to meet new people, so come and grab me at the end, I really am very friendly I would love to meet you. If the British accent is off putting to you, then find someone who has been involved in organizing the event, or the friend that you came with. Find a way to get your questions answered. I am also very aware that Christmas can bring up all sorts of emotions in us when we are far from family, or we are thinking about those we love who perhaps aren’t with us anymore, or who we are estranged from. If some of those hard life issues are getting to you, there are people here who would be more than happy to listen and talk with you. Please don’t be embarrassed to do that. Again, you can ask the friend you came with, or someone who looks official and like they know what they are doing!!!

How time flies

I am embarrassed to see how long it is since we last blogged. How does life take over so quickly? That was something we were determined would never happen, but, alas we find ourselves running after our 4 children and doing the things life has us doing. Christmas is a good time to stop and think a little and re-order our priorities for the New Year. mmmmmm

Abi gave a talk last weekend at a large student church in Champaign called Twin City Bible. It was an evangelistic women's tea/dessert evening. There were 200 women there and the event is an annual outreach put on by the church. It was beautiful and they had gone to so much work and thought about every little detail. Each table had been decorated by a different woman in the church with their own china and favors. The desserts were delicious and then we went upstairs for some carols and a talk. Check out the talk on the next blog post if you are interested. We have yet to find out whether it was recorded but if it was, we will try to find a way to be more techno savvy than we are and post it up here too!! For now the written version will have to do. Bear in mind it doesn't read like a book or an article, but pretty close!!

Camp is behind me, on my way home!

The week up in Rugova was good.  Thank you for praying for me.  My presentation was well received pertinent to my audience.  My colleagues and I spoke on the topics of Servant Leadership, Love, Integrity and Vision.  During free time, our conversations often shifted to the One behind these great topics.  Those conversations covered topics such as grace, redemption, salvation, sacrifice, purpose, & the Creator.  

Each day began with a 7:30am staff meeting then running through to 10pm staff meeting wrap up often ending around 11:30pm with a lights out some time after 12am.  Anyone who has been on a short term team knows there is an all out effort needed and its a strenuous emotional and physical push for a week then a rest is given.  This was no different.  In addition for me, non stop student contact, let alone, in Albanian, was extremely taxing to my brain.

Please pray for the relationships built and the seeds sown.  May he bring eternal fruit from his less than adequate servant's efforts this week.    

Off to Camp

I am up to the beautiful mountains of Rrugova tomorrow.  I am one of the trainers in the annual university Servant Leadership training camp.  We have about 25 students coming from all over Kosova to learn about the principles of Servant Leadership, Integrity, Love and Vision.  Please be thinking of me tomorrow as I am the first presenter so my talk will set the tone for the week.  I and a host of people are praying the seeds we sow this week will bear fruit in eternity.  This is the 8th camp that we have done, the 4th for me.   Pray that discussion in the free time goes deeper than politics, and sports.  We are trusting that the Spirit will soften hearts and minds to seek out the truths behind the principles we are advocating.  Thanks for stopping by, come back soon.  I hope to have an update of how its going mid camp.  

Faithfulness & Fruit

Brad here again. Just a few thoughts from the roof of a friend's here in Peje...  As I sit here the call to prayer has just gone out across the city.  One goes then another and then another.  The "faithful" are now making their way to their respective mosques or so they should be.   

Some of you will have gotten word from me earlier in the week of my frustration and my disappointment about the situation here.  Just to bring you up to speed, much of what I spent my time working on over the last 2 years seems about to be brought to an end, not because of its success but because of its failure.  I arrived 1 week ago with high hopes and great expectations only to find disappointment and discouragement.  Am I alone in my feelings? No! I take some solace in hearing over dinner last night that 3 other colleagues, here for an equal or longer time and investment as I are also facing opposition, undermining of their integrity by disciples and plain hard heartedness. 

This is not the stuff missionaries are supposed to write about.  Fruitlessness, discouragement and opposition are not the topics of good support raising or what sending churches want to hear.  But, be assured, it is the stuff of missionary life, and not only missionary life but of the Christian life.  We are called to be faithful servants of our King.  It is up to him to make the heart of stone turn to a heart of flesh and follow him.  But as one of his sent ones, I often think I have a hand in bringing the lost, the hungry and needy to him.  Its by my efforts that they are so fortunate to hear the good news.  Arrogance, that is all that is.  Who am I that I should turn any one to Christ? Its by Grace alone that any man is saved, not by my works.  What a valuable lesson for me to learn.  I have left my family, I am investing funds and time, I deserve to see the fruit!  What a lie that the evil one has used to discourage me this week.  If there is fruit it is to the Lord's glory not my own that I should boast. 

Am I, are we, called to be faithful? Absolutely!   As I was so apply reminded by a friend recently are we not to feed the hungry, offer drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned? Yes we are.  But do we do it to gain the inheritance prepared for us before the foundations of the world?  No, we do it because we are called to a life of compassion as we live out our Christ centered lives.  Do we gain this inheritance, most certainly.  When we are standing at the front of the judgement line are we to rattle off our achievements for him who achieved all for us?  Certainly not.  

I hold out the hope that in my sometimes faltering faithfulness he has used me to make his good news known and that some might stand as a testimony on that last day to his faithfulness in spite of me.  Good night friends and hold to the course you have been called to.  He is using us all, even if we don't see it today or know the results tomorrow.  

Short Term Missions Reading

I just finished Mack & Leeann's Guide to Short Term Missions by Mack and Leeann Stiles, IVP while here in Peje, Kosova.  I would highly recommend it to any one going on a short term mission or church leaders who are sending short term teams whether locally or across the globe. Mack and Leeann address a host of issues from church partnerships to cultural sensitivity, contextualized evangelism to culture shock.  He also addresses the issue of risk in missions, one that seems to be the forefront of most church leaders minds when considering a short term location.  How many times have those of us on the field heard from a potential sending church,"can you give us a risk assessment?" Mack quotes from Frank Furedi's book, Culture of Fear, "When safety is worshipped and risks are seen as intrinsically bad, society is making a clear statement about the values that ought to guide life."  Mack adds his own sentiment when saying, "How true. I, for one, do not want to worship safety over God."  I have to say that I would be in agreement.  I don't know how many times I have heard from friends, family and others when I returned home from an overseas trip to a perceived risky location, "We are glad your back safe.  We have been praying for your safety."  I am grateful for the prayer, I am disappointed by its focus, my safety! why haven't you been praying about my witness, my opportunities to share Christ, the lost souls of those I was spending time with?!!!  Don't get me wrong, I don't go looking for risks or relish in putting my family in harms way, but had we not risked and gone on our first family short term trip to Kosova roughly 5 years ago, they would not have the rich spiritual heritage they have at so young an age and perhaps the kingdom impact would be slightly less than it is today. 

Brad's back in Peje

I have arrived in Peje.  Relaxing at a friend's enjoying the balmy evening and a local drink.  As I sit here the gentle hum of generators can be heard in the distance.  There is a smattering of lit windows in the city.  The power has been out since I arrived at 5:30pm, its now 10:30pm.  The Italian Village, as the NATO Base is called, is let up like a little city on the edge of town and a swank revolving restaurant on top of an apartment building are all that shines to show that life is going on.

As I look over the city and see the few windows warmly glowing by the flickering of candles, I am reminded that even in the darkness the weakest of flames can shed great light.  The darkness will never overcome the light.  Are we not commanded to be that same sort of spiritual light in the darkness that surrounds us in this fallen world?  I am also encouraged to think that in this city dark and oppressed by false gods, the One True God has his lights, however weak, perhaps just  few sparks, that shine like brilliant lights by his power.  

How about you?  Are you shining in the darkness that surrounds you?  Take heart.  Shine brightly you are not alone!

(written on 7/11/08 posted only 7/14/08 due to technical difficulties)

Independence or Treason; Nostalgia or Time Travel?

On the eve of the anniversary of the birth of America, better known in this fair land as Independence Day we enjoyed the fun at the Drive–in-Movie. What is this you might ask? Well if you remember any of those great old 1950’s movies where all the teenagers were parking and “watching a movie” in their cars, well a place like that still exists today in a little town about 20 miles north of us. What a great time we had. We backed our mini-van/people carrier in, opened the tailgate/boot and got comfortable with snacks and sleeping bags to watch the film. The movie starts when the man who owns the venue likes. He aims for dusk but it seems to be a movable feast really. So until the movie starts the kids can enjoy free rides on the carousel and in our case we practiced our baseball skills. It’s a great family atmosphere and all had a good time, even if some of our flock weren’t able to fend off the sand man before the end of the movie.
The following day was the 4th of July, the day our forefathers committed high treason against my wife’s much older and more established nation of Great Britain. This day too was spent in merry making. We started by heading to a traditional small town parade with tractors, old cars, fire engines and floats. The hands of time turned back to days gone by when folks enjoyed simpler pleasures. And it was a pleasure for me to see my kids to enjoying an event that I fondly remember from my childhood. After the parade the kids enjoyed old fashion games and face painting. We went with some neighbors and had a great time. Following the parade we had more neighbors and my parents over for a BBQ, followed by another late night watching a fireworks display at our local park. It was a good day! Very small town and very nostalgic in the best possible way.

On the Road Again...

My life seems to feel a bit like the line from an old Willie Nelson song, " on the road again, I just can't wait to get back on the road again..."  Don't know if the just can't wait part is true but I am back in that same faux Viennese cafe waiting for me next flight on the next leg of my journey to the UK this time.  My flight leaves in about 2 hours so I am killing time, writing to all of you and keeping you in the loop.  It hopefully will help you understand my work, better and better.  

Thank you to those of you who prayed for my time in Kosova.  2 positive outcomes of my trip were: 1) meeting with the assistant to the mayor of Peje, Lirim Kurtaj.  He seems to be a "can do" kind of guy and is very interested in keeping our plans for a business incubator alive in Peje.  He seems to understand an investment mentality and is looking beyond donations.  Lirim said all the right things over a lovely machiato (a mini latte) along the river on Saturday.  Now lets see if he can deliver the Mayor and the city council like he intimates.  2) was getting Aferdita Kastrati, a woman we have given a loan to in the past to become an agent for the real estate company we have set up in Peje.  She is a real fire ball and doing quite well with the shop we lent her money to start.  The shop is going so well, she is board now and needs a new challenge.  Well, I offered her one over the weekend.  Already she has loads of ideas and plans so I am hoping and praying she will breath new life into that venture.  The investors have set an autumn deadline for viability.  Join me in praying we see a some major sales in this  3 month period.  

I am off to the UK staying with supporters and Radstock meetings tomorrow.  Hope those of you all enjoy your holiday today.  Brad

A good day so far

Today has been a good day, weather not withstanding. I have enjoyed the company of friends old and new here in the relaxed cafe culture of Kosova. The day has been a mix of business and pleasure as I had the chance to meet with an official from the city government regarding our longstanding plans for investment here in Peje. The discussion was positive and the language encouraging. Now its up the Lord to bring it to fruition. I also met with Aferdita, some of you may know her from her jewelery business. She is very successful in it and today I invited her to consider becoming a sales agent for the real estate company we have started. She immediately offered ideas, contacts and energy to the position. Following these meetings I had the pleasure of meeting with a new friend and discussing the religious and political history of the Albanian and pre-Albanian people; the Illirians. Paul mentions them in Acts. I still have a few visits to make today and tomorrow but all in all a good day and a very profitable visit to Kosova so far. Thank you for your prayers and support that allows me to be here and see the gospel going further and further. Until next time...

Meeting a client

Part of my day yesterday was spent interviewing a perspective client for the micro finance company I sit on the board for. In the adjoining photo I am meeting with a client and the loan officer for the deal. The man to my left in the photo owns the restaurant we are sitting in and is asking for a loan to complete an upper floor of his building to be able to rent it for additional income. The man to my right is the loan office. I am the one in the middle looking decidedly grumpy. Actually I am just trying to get my head around speaking Albanian again and keep up with the conversation.

Back in Peje

It is great to be back in Peje, a place that has been so significant to our family for the last several years. I arrived late today (May 21st) and will be here through the 25th. The 1st portion of my time today was spent in Prishtina (Kosova's Capital City). I lead the devotions for BZMF, a micro finance firm I am on the board of. It went well, even though I nearly missed it as my alarm didn't go off and I was pretty tired and doped up on sinus meds. Following the devotion, the Director and I had some time before he had to run off to an other meeting. We met up again later for lunch and then went to see one of our loan clients. It was good to be back in it again and meeting with the people we are working to help. Then I was graciously driven to Peje (1.5 hrs) by a staff member of BZMF. He is a new believer and we had a very encouraging conversation about his faith, questions he is still trying to figure out and how his life has been TOTALLY transformed by the Lord. What a blessing that was here. I had better sign off now as I am still a bit jet lagged and the power could go off at any moment. More from Peje later...

Musings....

As I sit in a faux Viennese cafe decorated as if Schubert or Stauss could be at the next table (in the airport) with a mix of other travelers from around the world I am amazed at and reminded of the diversity the Lord has created in the creatures. All of us who He has made in his own image. There are the Business Men on the way to meet a client putting the finishing touches on their presentation; there are the International Aid Workers some returning from a time of R&R, others on their way for the first time to the hard places they work, a part of the world that has been just been destroyed by a natural disaster or where war and abuse continues to rage; there are the Holiday Makers and the Biker Guy with a Mohawk; there is a family of immigrants fleeing the poverty of their land looking for a better life in a new place full of shiny things and a strange language; and there is me. We are all the same and all very different. We are the same in our sin, in our need for a saviour. Prov. 21:2 says, that every way of a man is right in his own eyes. The author of that verse is not saying every way is correct but that each man thinks he is correct. It is the one who weighs the heart who can say what is truly right and that is the Lord. This cafe is filled with people thinking they are doing right, and many of them probably are, but its the ultimate right that God cares about, not what we think is right in our own, finite little minds. It is the right of Him who established the measure of rightness that He cares about. Am I doing that right thing? Is my life exemplefying His righteousness? I pray it is and I pray for those that sit here with me that they will come to know that truth as well. Well my flight has finally been called, I am off to one of those war torn places, thankfully now at peace, but far from being a land filled with the eternal peace. Perhaps one day...

Brad's Travel Diary

Travel Diary:
May 19th: Depart the house 7am for a 9:30am flight out of Springfield, IL for Frankfurt via Chicago
May 20th: Depart Frankfurt 8am for flight to Prishtina, Kosova, via Vienna, Austria with a 9 hour layover in Vienna.
May 21st: 9am Present devotions for BZMF, a micro enterprise company I am the board of. Pray for this time as the staff is a mix of followers of Jesus and followers of Allah(Muslims).
10am Meet with Director of BZMF regarding last week’s board meeting I was unable to attend
11am Head for Peje (1.5 hour drive west of Kosova’s capital Prishtina)
1pm Lunch with my staff of Krijesa e Re, the real estate company we started while in Kosova
2-3 staff meetings and generally catching up
May 22-25: Following up with friends, disciples and church leaders from our time in Kosova
May 26th: Fly to England for Radstock meetings to discuss how to develop a stronger financial support for us and others in the networks
May 27-30: Fly to France on personal business (we have a piece of real estate we are trying to sell)
May 31-June 2: Meetings with friends and supporters from our church in the UK, ChristChurch Harpenden.
June 2: Board a flight back to the US with the hope of seeing my family’s smiling faces as I return home

Check out our Blog for other periodic updates from my time in Kosova and the UK. For those of you in Europe I am looking forward to seeing you, for those of you in the US, I’ll be home in 2 weeks,
Brad

Maisy joins the flock!!

As if life wasn't busy enough we decided to take the plunge and give in to the cries of our children and we have now added a beagle puppy to our midst. Her name is Maisy. She is a great addition if you can get past the wet puddles on the floor and the even less savory presents she has been leaving. Apparently some dogs can be house broken in a few days but our Maisy doesn't seem to be catching on too quickly in that department. 3 weeks in and we still have puddles and worse!!!

Brad leaves for the Balkans and the UK tomorrow for 2 weeks so Abi is praying she catches on in the next 24 hours!!

The children adore her and she has a total Byrd personality - she cries so much when she is upset she makes herself throw up!! She is off the charts extrovert and wants to be with people all the time. She thrives on hustle and bustle in the house and the yard. Her favorite relaxation is to curl up with one of the children and go to sleep!!

We will post more photos soon!!

What are we up to?

As you have probably gathered - we are here (Abi and the kids) and Brad isn't!! He has been gone now for a few weeks in the UK and the Balkans. We have 10 more days and then he will be back. He has basically been travelling for most of February. 19 sleeps is a long time but it has gone so much better than anticipated - not that the usual sickness, teething etc haven't plagued us, but we have been armed to survive the storm!!

Brad is now officially the US Director of Radstock Ministries so he will be travelling around churches in the Radstock Network in the US helping them think through their missions strategies and helping them to connect and partner with other churches in the Radstock Network across the world. He will also be promoting the whole aspect of Business as Mission which he has such a heart for. He has an office at our church which is wonderful and very close to our house. Abi likens our small town to a cross between Wisteria Lane and Stepford!!! It is very small and you know people wherever you go. There is a certain familiarity about that which is nice and a certain spooky feeling which is slightly unnerving!!

The children have all settled in to life here extremely well and are enjoying the new experiences. We have learnt lots in the last few months and had many hilarious cultural experiences!!! Here are a few which we have enjoyed:
The Yellow School bus - picks up and drops off the children pretty much from our house twice a day. (Abi thinks this is absolutely amazing as she can still be in her pyjamas when it is time for Quin to go to school!!)

Pre-school - You don't have to exit your vehicle in order to drop your children off. The teacher comes to the car and removes Tate and puts him back in when pre-school is over (Again, Abi thinks this is fantastic as she isn't having to put Jems in and out of the pushchair/stroller numerous times in a morning.)

Pokemon cards - key to survival in any Second Grade boys life

Nintendo DS - cost a Kindergarten girl all her money but is totally worth it in every way, especially as it comes in pink!!

Valentines parties - survival of the fittest on every level - the amount of candy that comes home in backpacks is astounding!! Every child gives a Valentine to each class member, usually with a piece of candy taped to it. An amazing haul all around, the Byrd children can hardly believe their luck!! (Does this really happen every year???? - Abi is appauled as the writing of the Valentines is a particularly painful process, as is the potential sickness that comes at the end of the day when the parties are all finished!!)

Friends for playdates who speak the same language and live closer than 2 1/2 hours away!! What a novelty. Tyler and Ryan Mac are Quin's good friends and live walking distance from our house. Hayley and Grace are Ezzie's friends - she loved having a sleep over at Hayley's. Jackson is Tate's absolutely best friend in all the world. (Thankfully they will still be in the same pre-school class next year.) He also announced to Abi when talking about another little girl he knew "Mummy, I can't help myself, I just have to kiss her!!!!" This doesn't bode well for the future!!Jems hasn't really developed too many close friends yet although she endears herself to all in the Nursery at church.

Trampolining, gymnastics classes, baseball, swim lessons - all to be had for the taking if wanted. Again, we can't believe our luck.

All in all the transition has been much easier than we anticipated and we are thankful every day that we have power and are not chopping wood to keep us warm!! (Although apparently we have had more power outtages - 2 since we arrived - than they have had in years here!! - We have brought a little Balkan love with us evidently!!)

We miss Kosova and our friends there and we are keen to return as a family next Summer. For now, we will remain here in Central Illinois and Brad will travel where he needs to go.

Gezuar Pavarsia!! - Happy Independence

Gazuar Pavarsia - Happy Independence. That was the phrase of the day here in Peje and all over Kosova. The day many have waited for has finally come. Kosova was declared an independant, free and democratic republic, making it the worlds newest nation. Thousands gathered in the central square in Peje, the streets were heaving with people and flags were flying proudly. It remains to be seen who will recognize this new nation and to what lengths Serbia will go to keep her territory in tact. I think there is no turning back now and its just a matter of time until the whole world comes around. The bigger question is, "Is Kosova ready for the big wide world?", not, "Is the world ready for Kosova?" The people of this new nation have a lot of hard work ahead of them. Many of us are praying for them in this time of new birth, that not only will there be the birth of a new nation but the new birth of the hearts of individuals as well.

The new Kosova Flag

Pavarsia - Independence!!

Brad is back in the Balkans and just sent me this blog entry. It is such an exciting time for him to be over in Kosovo. I can't believe the kids and I are here when this is happening.

A blanket of snow is beginning to shroud the city of Peje, and yet the hearts and spirits of the residents are not at all dampened. Independence is coming to this tiny forgotten corner of Europe. Soon the world will be reminded of Kosovo/Kosova and not only those of us here witnessing it first hand but the whole world for a short time will have its attention focused again on this tiny Balkan territory. They say they are finally going to be free, freedom from the Turks escaped them 600 years ago and then they were under the Serbs for the last 100 years. Freedom from the Serbs in 1999 meant control by the United Nations. Now it is the time to strike out on their own and make their own destiny. What will that destiny look like, is this the begining of something great and long expected or is it the begining of the end and hopes ripe are about to be dashed? We are all waiting. Tomorrow is supposed to be the day, will it happen? From the crowd, the decorations, the flags flying one can't see how it could not happen. The anticipation is thick in the air. We wait...."

A frenzied exit!

We are officially back in the US after being quiet on the blog front for a few months now. Many apologies to everyone but thank you for your patience with us.

Our exit from K-land was stressful to say the least but we made it back eventually!!

Our plane was initially cancelled due to horrendous fog (one of the down sides of where the airport is located there.) Abi's seemingly faultless plan for us to have one extremely long day of travelling and then be at our house was foiled completely!! Anyway.....we called the airline and airport a couple of times during the morning to be told they still had fog. The cloud was lifting in Peja and there was beautiful sunshine so it was hard to believe that fog would still be a problem. At 12.15pm we received a call from the airline to tell us that if we wanted to be on our flight it was now taking off from Skopje in Macedonia and in order to board the flight we needed to be there by 4pm at the very latest. The city of Skopje is a 4 hour drive when the border is good and the airport is another 45 mins the other side of the border!!!!!! We left extremely hurriedly in 2 cars, having had to switch our drivers due to license issues and hurriedly drive around town to pick up passports etc. The journey began........

As soon as we headed down into the area where the airport is in Pristina the fog was SO thick you could barely see in front of you. We had a couple of very scary skids as there was so much ice and snow on the road. During our mad dash for the border we realised that one of the vehicles couldn't take us all the way due to car paper and insurance issues so our friend K started calling colleagues who work in Macedonia to arrange for taxi's with trailers to take us from the other side of the border. Bear in mind we were moving and had 12 large over the weight limit bags ourselves, a stroller, carry ons for everyone (and a few extra's in there by the end) as well as another friend who was travelling with us and his bags!!! We arrived at the border just gone 3.15 ish, although it is all a blur at this point!! We said hurried goodbyes and loaded ALL the luggage, children, carseat etc into the one truck that was taking us all the way - we needed to get across the border before we could meet the taxis!!!

To say that there were some strange looks would be an understatement!! The guys walked across no mans land and we chugged as slowly as we could, praying all the while we didn't lose any of the bags off the back!!

All went well and we met the taxis the other side, threw the bags on the trailer and hurtled off to the airport. We arrived a few minutes before 4pm - how that happened I will never quite be sure!! We weren't charged for any of our overweight bags as they were so keen for us to get out on the flight. We arrived in Vienna, having been told we would be staying right at the airport hotel there - of course, that was not to be and we had a 30 minute bus ride into the centre to the hotel we were going to be staying in there. By this point though all our bags were checked right through so things were alot more manageable.

We arrived at the airport the next morning to find that for some bizarre reason our passports wouldn't enter into the system. They finally managed to get it to work just as they called our flight, to this day I have no idea why just ours were a problem!!

Exactly half way through the flight there was a commotion across the plane from us and a lady had collapsed. The guy we were travelling thought that they were Albanian, and indeed they were so Brad and I ended up translating for the flight attendants and her distraught mother. That took up quite a while by the time she was stable and we had calmed everyone down, including the Romanians, who by trying to be helpful really were making things alot more complicated and confusing. We collapsed into our seats wondering when it would end!!! What more strange and stressful things were ahead of us before our final destination???

After arriving in the US and a seamless entry and transfer of our bags we heaved a huge sigh of relief, foolishly thinking we were on the home straight - we arrived at our gate for our connecting flight only to find that an error had been made in the rebooking from the day before and Brad wasn't booked onto the flight at all!! By this point we had been travelling for 2 days and we weren't in the most accomodating of moods!! After alot of handwringing, explaining, trying to keep a lid on our tempers they agreed that Brad could take Jems' seat and she could sit on my lat. We were all over the plane which was not as bad as it could have been as it was a small one, but after the journey we had just taken it was a stressful last leg for the children and us. We arrived in Indianapolis relieved to see Brad's parents and our friends Brent and Denise who were all there to haul us and our luggage back to our house!!

We fell into bed around 11pm so thankful and relieved to be there and for the journey to be done with!! We were up at 2am due to jetlag and for the next week watched our new neighbourhood wake up at 2.30am, 3am, 3.30am, 4am etc - you get the picture!!!!! Needless to say our house was completely unpacked by 7am the first morning!!!!

We wont be sad if we never have to experience a journey like that again, but it certainly makes for a good story!!!