From July 15 to July 22, Project Held is on a mission trip to Kosovo. The purpose of the trip is to support the local population with hot meals or other needs and to visit and encourage the families of Project Held's children.
Friday 15 and Saturday 16 July:
After a tiring flight and overnight stay in Gjakove, a visit to Klina was planned for Saturday. While visiting a local church and after a good worship time, one of the team members spoke. After the shared word, several people came forward for prayer. A special time.
After lunch a family was visited where a children's afternoon was held. One of the team members shared a nice story after which games were played with the children and water balloons were handed out. A good idea with the warm weather. All in all a joyful and fruitful time.
Sunday 17 July:
This morning, at the invitation of Jeton the pastor, the team visited a church that is closely involved with Stichting de Brug. Two team members shared their testimonies, and after the service, the team chatted with people from the Church. A real encouragement!
After lunch, the team went to a sort of museum where they visited a house that was first hit during the war. The family of about 50 people who lived there came under fire for three days to make sure they were all dead. A true nightmare. A girl survived and was able to retell it.
After that, the team visited the graves. All this has affected the team enormously and the war in Ukraine makes it even harder to think about what these people have to go through. All in all, a piece of history of the impact of the war in Kosovo.
Monday July 18:
Today the team went to evangelize in Prizren, a multicultural Muslim city. Here they support the local church. The team also visited two poor families to encourage and help them. The brought items and toys were welcomed with open arms.
Tuesday 19 July:
Today is a special Project Hero day. The team organized a children's afternoon for the children supported by Project Held. The kids loved it and were very excited. (unfortunately due to privacy we cannot share children's photos)
The elderly who are supported by Project Held have been visited and food packages, which had previously been purchased and made, have been transferred. One of the older ones had the privilege of seeing a phone message from her sponsor and even a face-time. It touched her deeply and tears rolled down her cheeks. Often we have no idea of the impact of supporting a child or older person.
Wednesday 20 July:
The team traveled to northern Albania. There they visited the elderly project where the poorest people receive a hot meal a few times a week. This also has a nice social purpose, so the lonely see each other.
Then the team went to the Valbonie Valley, a National Park, and enjoyed the beautiful nature. Time for relaxation and let the emotions sink in that these people are confronted with on a daily basis.
Thursday 21 July:
Today is the last day of this special trip, one with a golden edge. In the morning, the team visited a young family and a number of elderly people. What a lot of misery these treasures have to contend with… they really have almost nothing and no one. Praise to the team of the Bridge who go there to visit them and bring groceries. They don't have the strength or the transport themselves, you don't want to think about how they would otherwise have to get through the days.
