Several Years ago in July, I had the opportunity to travel to travel to Kosovo on a ministry trip with my family. As you might expect our days were filled with many interesting people curcumstances and things to experience. Of course in a new culture their are many things to learn and explore.
This last July was exceptionally hot and our last Friday night before returning home via Istanbul we were having dinner and a final meeting with our friend and ministry partner in a local restaurant sitting under the cool air of a nearby air conditioning vent. As we enjoyed some interesting foods and a cold drink and good conversation, the family sitting next to us caught my eye, they were a large family enjoying a meal together, what caught my attention was one of the sons was handicap and I noticed the attention and deep affection the father expressed to his son. Not to many years ago Kosovo was in broiled in a bitter fight with its neighbor Serbia, to this day you can still see the remanence of this horrible conflict. One of those remanence is many handicapped children from mothers being exposed to chemicals during the fighting , my friend told me. one thing that could not be damaged in this conflict was the importance of family in the kosovar/Albanian cultures and the deep trust and love of family members. As I watched this family eating together and the love and laughter they shared it brought a smile to my face and filled my heart with joy.
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