Hospitality

Something I learned right away on my first visit to Kosova last summer was the overwhelming level of hospitality the people here offer towards us. This visit hasn't been any different. A couple of our students have already brought us into their homes to meet and spend time with all of their family and to eat traditional meals made by their mothers. Yesterday we got to visit one of our student's home in a village about 15 minutes away. We met her uncles and cousins and sat with her grandmother who couldn't understand any English. Even though we couldn't speak to her, and despite the fact that we had only known her for about 5 seconds, all she wanted to do was make sure we were comfortable. She was so willing to serve us without even knowing us. The food her mom made is called "pita" and its a flaky pie type thing filled with a vegetable and cheese. All the vegetables in the pita and served to us were grown from their garden in their yard--such a cool part of the village lifestyle that I love. Her little sister had practiced how to say "What is your name?" and "How are you?" in English and recited the phrases to all 5 of us English speakers in her home. (It was seriously the most precious thing.) The amount of effort the whole family put in to talking to us and welcoming us was amazing. It's so hard for me to understand because the level of respect and hospitality they offer to us is way beyond anything else I've ever experienced. This particular student is a friend from last year, so meeting her family was very exciting for us! And we really wanted to be as gracious and reflective of Christ as possible. Any difference in our behaviors and actions makes a huge difference here. Most of her family is fasting for Ramadan, so the fact that they wanted us over to eat with them in the middle of the day is a huge deal! Even though I don't think I will ever get used to the incredible amount of hospitality here, I am so grateful for it. I wish everyone back home could experience it. (And trust me, you wish you could eat the pita too, it's delicious.)


We have had a really great week here. Thank you for all your prayers and support!