Arriving in the rugged mountains of Kosovo was just foreshadowing of all the vast and unknowable changes about to take place. O-Squad came to mini debrief arranged in our former teams: Banjo, CIA, Early Birds, and Without Borders. These were the teams we had known since leaving training camp in late October and having an all squad month right off the bat made it more difficult to really isolate and grow as a team. I had really come to love and appreciate each member of our team and embrace the sweet friendships that were developing. And then, team changes were announced. Going into mini debrief I had the increasingly common feeling of anxious anticipation. This stemmed from knowing that in just 3 short days our Alumni Team Leaders would be heading off the field, we would be going out in our new teams for ATL in Kosovo, and I would have more responsibilities than I expected at this point on the race. Thank God for his timing and peace. Without Him, none of this would be possible and I’m so thankful He is in control.
Cut to now. Team New Creationz is here in Peja, Kosovo, seeking the Lord and his plans for us. We are O-Squad’s all mens team composed of myself, Andrew Musselman, Malachi Schroeder, and Matt Weir. All the teams had some time in Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo, to pray into where we should go and minister. We decided that this would be the city of Peja on the western side of the country. Exhausting all possibilities for lodging that existed within our budget we found a sentence on the World Race Log about a Christian bakery in town with a possible connection in Peja. Pursuing this led us to a brother associated with a local church here in Peja and his generosity has been exceptional. The generosity of Kosovars is reminiscent to that of Albanians, but this is no surprise considering the overwhelming majority of Kosovars are former Albanians. Kosovo declared dependence in 2008 and has since then been constantly fighting for freedom. Albanians and Kosovars seem to value freedom and America more than Americans themselves. Maybe I’ll write a blog about how countries that are just a generation free from communism love the foundation of freedom that America was initially built on. It really does fascinate, excite, and disappoint all at the same time. However, I digress. Through the generosity of a local Christian the Lord has provided Team New Creationz with housing and a beautiful city to minister to.
So far, our ministry has looked pretty different each day. Our first few days involved us just getting set-up and finding a routine in our new city. Rain made street ministry difficult, but allowed for some much needed catch-up for blogging, fundraising, etc. Going out to do street ministry was met with some pretty stiff resistance from language barriers to the fact that we are in a predominantly muslim country and in a city filled with mosques. Obviously, this will continue to be the case as we push further and further east into the middle eastern countries on our route. For now, it’s a learning process of how to minister in these circumstances and submitting to the Lord’s desire for each of our days. We were able to help with the kids ministry on Friday evening. A missionary from Prishtine that had put us in contact with our host in Peja needed some assistance as his usual partners were held up in urgent meetings. What a perfect opportunity for us! We were able to hang out with the kids, play games, and Malachi and Andrew even had the opportunity to share their testimonies with the kids. Seeing God open the door for us as men to step out of our comfort zones and embrace a ministry not necessarily familiar to us was incredible. And He equipped us as we stepped in fully willing and present to serve in whatever capacity was necessary. It was encouraging to see the buy in from each of my teammates and I look forward to the opportunities we will have to boldly step up and minister using our giftings and growing in giftings we didn’t know we possessed.
Today is our sabbath and we are resting with the Lord in preparation for another week of ministry. I encourage you to take a look at my teammates blogs and see what God is doing in their lives as well: Andrew, Malachi, Matt.
I want to give a quick fundraising update as well. The final deadline is 4/29! Yes, that is only 4 days away. I am about $3,000 from that $18,700 deadline. Thank you to all my family and friends who have donated and gotten me to be 84% funded! I am so close to being fully funded. I encourage you to pray and consider donating to get me to that fully funded mark. God has been so faithful in equipping and providing for every need so far. If you know anyone who may be interested in giving please share this blog with them! I am confident that God has me here on the World Race for a specific purpose and I believe that is becoming more and more apparent each day.
Thank you all and God bless you,
Nathan Schubert
