3.14 Collective tours Kosovo

From 23 September to 7 October 2017, we were on the ground in Kosovo for the first time in 6 years! In the past we had great tours there and were sad when local partners moved on, leaving no one to organize events. A new worker moved into the country and through patient wisdom, he has built great relationships with many Kosovar pastors who actually asked for the UniShow to come partner with them in ministry!

Our group of 9 from Australia, England, USA and South Korea presented 9 shows combining unicycling, dance, music and drama for over 2,000 people. We chose 3.14 Collective as our team name because Colossians 3:14 says, "Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." Unity in the church and beyond seems to be under attack in Kosovo so we made it a prayer focus and God did bond our team.

Some shows were in cities with no believers or church, where pastors used our events to connect with locals and expand efforts to plant churches. For some shows we partnered with small existing churches, helping them connect with and invite others to their fellowships.

We spent a full day presenting at Prishtina High School (which is not just a high school). Though he couldn't share about God, Dustin challenged students during our elementary assembly to use their abilities to help others. We heard afterward that students said, "This was the best day of my life!" and "We were so inspired!" Dustin shared more in the 4th and 5th grade class. When he was asked "why you do what you do", he was free to share openly about Jesus. One boy asked incredulously why Dustin wasn't happy when he achieved his World Champion medal. The student was very impacted, even saying he was going to cry and got teary-eyed when Dustin told him that only Jesus can fill the emptiness in our lives, no matter how much we have or what we accomplish.  We also presented to the high school Arts Society.

Dustin was able to be totally open with the Gospel message in most of our shows. During several he was even allowed to lead in a prayer of surrender to Jesus. After an event, one of our partners told us that our kind of show, open Gospel presentation and public prayer had never been done in that city before. A local pastor thanked us for coming out of our way to share hope. He said no one special ever goes there to encourage people.

In another city, a local church member has been building a friendship with the hodja (the Muslim cleric of the city). He invited the hodja to our show and was surprised that he came! The hodja was excited afterward and said he felt a Power that he had never felt before. He wants to meet with local believers and talk about working together on projects!

Dustin had the opportunity to share in a live interview at a radio station, which was also broadcast live on Facebook. Since the secular station is run by a believer, he was able to openly share about the hope, unity and fulfillment Jesus offers.

Katie met a girl in a coffee shop because they had the same kind of hair style. Katie invited her to our show the next evening and she came early and stayed till the end! They talked afterward and Katie was able to share more about the Gospel with this student and her friends and pray for them. This student was very thankful, saying no one has ever prayed for her before and she was going to think about all that she heard.

One of our partners who has been a foreign worker in Kosovo for 4 years, told us he was amazed and inspired by our shows because he had no idea believers could be as open and share the Gospel as publicly in Kosovo as we did. Another pastor thanked us for coming to his city, saying we were able to reach more people in one hour than he would be able to do in many years. 

Kickin' it in Kosova

Our tour in Kosovo wrapped up in the beautiful mountains of Peja.  In total we had 9 events in 6 cities and shared truth with thousands.  We felt constant spiritual opposition so we ramped up our prayer support and took note that we were stirring up strongholds.  Despite major problems with our sound system, we were still able to proceed with each event and the message of God's love still challenged the hearts of our audiences.  

Katie, Michelle and Susanne were able to meet for coffee with two girls we connected with at our high school event. They shared their life stories and challenged these students with the Gospel.  It was a special time and we pray these girls continue to hear God calling them to Himself. 

Thanks for praying with us for the work God is doing in Kosovo and that seeds planted will be watered.  Stay tuned for our Albania update.  

Carrying the Torch in Kosovo

Though we've only been away from Minnesota and on tour 10 days, we feel like we've come back home.  We flew into Istanbul August 21 and stayed one night before traveling overnight by bus through Bulgaria and Macedonia to Kosovo.  God got us through all the border crossings without incident, though Dustin had to juggle at 4am for the stern Macedonian officials to prove he could use his equipment.  They almost smiled.

We've had 6 events so far around Kosovo, unicycling, dancing and using fire poi to share the love of God!  Our team of 8 from Switzerland, Denmark, USA and Kosovo has been very unified and God has blended all our abilities well to serve Him.

We are very sensitive about how we are sharing the Message here.  We have had great, responsive, interested crowds though we have heard from them that it is a difficult message to hear.  Katie even had a chance to share with an Imam after an event.

Thanks for praying for seeds of truth to take root and crumble barriers.  Please also pray for sound equipment issues we've been having during the performances.

The Kosovo Kid

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Peja area partnering with the active and helpful local church.  We faced rain again in Decan but were blessed with a nice covered outdoor stage still under construction.  When it started to get dark the workers cleared off their tools and material and we carefully swept off all the metal shards to prevent flat unicycle tires.  We set up some lights, blasted some music and the crowd came.  

Our two shows in Peja both went to plan B due to rain.  Our first show was in a theater and we were all excited to perform on a proper stage.  We had doubts that people would find us indoors but the fire dancers performed in the town center and then led the large crowd that had gathered to the theater with a flaming torch.  We heard from local workers that night that we were an answer to 10 years of prayers.  God is doing something new in Kosovo and it is humbling to be part of it.

On our last day in Peja we had our last full show of the tour.  Though we had prayed hard for clear skies and dry ground, the rain had covered the basketball court outside the high school where the show was supposed to take place, where all 2,000 students could watch.  Instead teachers selected 100 students to see the show inside their tiny gym.  It seems God allowed less distractions for those 100 select students to clearly hear of His great love.

Between shows it was so refreshing to have a chance to drive up into the mountains of Peja in the misty rain and see the fall colors and visit a waterfall.

Our last event was a follow-up at the church in Ferizaj where we had done an outreach the week before.  We shared testimonies and a bit of unicycling and dance during this low key evening.  It was very exciting to see again the two 14 year olds that Katie had prayed with the week before.  Another young man attended who was very interested in what we had shared and asked for one-on-one discipling.

Kosovo is not only the newest country in the world it also has the youngest population in Europe with 70% being under the age of 30.  We thank God for an amazing tour in Kosovo and we are already looking forward to returning someday!

Shawn from South Afristraliguinea

freshly swept stage in Decan

beautiful falls outside Peja,
we're on the edge of a BIG drop off

street art

Dustin's unicycle art

the Peja High School gymnastics room

a monument to Kosovo's independence

bowling with the team on our last night in Kosovo

Rain won't slow us down!

Our Kosovo tour continues to be so refreshing and obviously directed by God.

In Ferizaj we had amazing support from the local church for our outreach.  They organized a great team to help with set up, crowd control, acquiring contact info from the audience, our meals and accommodations and follow-up.  It was a blessing to work with them and we look forward to being part of their follow-up event to connect with many we met at that first show.  The power in the city went out in the middle of our show but the fire dancers held the crowd with their stunts until the kind municipality allowed us to plug into their generator.  This show was a highlight for Katie because she was able to share more in depth with two 14 year old boys who then made commitments!

Our show on Mother Teresa Boulevard in Prishtina was super cold but good connections were made and we shared truth with crowds and individuals.  On Sunday Dustin had the opportunity to give his testimony at church.  His words ended up connecting quite well with the content of the teaching that followed.

Gjilan and Kamenica greeted us with rain but we were able to find covering for our performances and most of the audiences and somehow, divinely, over 100 people gathered and thoroughly enjoyed each show.  Despite the rain and cold we are so thankful for what God is doing through this tour, above and beyond what we had hoped.

Dustin helps with sound check

Make sure you have stamp

After a great tour in Bulgaria we took a 9 hour overnight bus ride through Macedonia to Pristina Kosovo.  The Bulgarian border officials had some trouble deciding what to do with Dustin because he appeared to be in the country illegally.  The officials on the Turkey/Bulgaria border had not entered him into the system and did not stamp his passport.  After some questioning and delay for the entire bus, one of the officials declared "We are good police, you can go...make sure you have stamp next time."  

Upon our arrival in Kosovo we had some great orientation and great food.  We have a super host here who has a big heart for the people of Kosovo.  He has organized a full line up of venues for us and is very enthusiastic about our partnership with him.  We are the first international group to come to Kosovo and share a message of true Hope and Love through creative outreach performances.  We feel extremely privileged to be here in the newest country in the world (only 2 years old)!

On our first performance day we did 2 shows at a preschool for the cutest 3-6 year olds ever.  Though we made our message very simple, we know they, as well as their teachers, thoroughly enjoyed it and heard about God’s love.  It was actually quite special to share with these precious children who need to know that they are known and loved.

Next we shared with students at a gypsy camp.  Their eyes were full of the heaviness of the world but they were well behaved and seemed to drink in the Prodigal Son parable about God’s love.  That same day we visited a city with a large Turkish population and did a spontaneous show on the sidewalk near the city center.  Several hundred people gathered and seemed totally into the performing and message.  We had great conversations with many who stayed after wanting to talk.

God has really blessed our events and kept doors open and we look forward to the rest of this amazing tour.

"Happy Kids" children's center

 

with some Roma gypsy kids

NATO, European Union, USA, Kosovo
we see the US flag almost as much as the Kosovo flag

getting some "help" from the audience...
and a few laughs