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The blog title is a tribute to Kosovar cuisine as it mainly consists of....well, you get it. Leaves one feeling carnivorous and boated. Our last day in Prishtina dawned brightly, and Ben and I are enjoying quiet time at our hosts' apartment this afternoon before we catch an overnight bus to Tirane, the capital of Albania. Rediscovering that our flight for Copenhagen leaves on October 2nd, not the 3rd as we had been planning on for the past three weeks, all of our plans have been crunched toward the end of Honeymoon '07. Fortunately, we have had a generous 10 days in Kosova, and it has been an important time for Ben and myself. It has prompted serious conversations about our own passions and ideas about ministry/missions, child rearing (our hosts have a 2-year-old and a six-month-old), racial reconciliation, Islam and how we might use our skills as communicators to tell important stories. One of our initial conclusions is that we do not see ourselves coming back here in the immediate future. We had thought it might be an option, and it was one of the reasons we wanted to visit. If we did come back into the area it wouldn't be to work with the majority Albanian population, but more likely the Serbians (the former oppressive minority defeated in the Kosovo War), or Roma. We are also talking about a visit to Bosnia someday, as the war was much longer and unchecked there, and rebuilding has been much slower. However, China is still at the top of the list for Places We Will Probably Go Next. Without a doubt, the most interesting part of our stay here has been the conversations. Our hosts have been intentional and generous in arranging meetings for us, and it has enriched our time exponentially.

In Their Words

• "A friend of mine got taken to Albania with an NGO program, and when he (Albanian) talked to his roommate, he realized the person he was staying with was Serbian. At first he thought about lying to the roommate because he was afraid the roommate might hate him [because of race], but since he was a Believer he couldn't lie. During one session my friend had a chance to talk with one old Serbian woman who said, 'We are very sorry for all the bad things that happened during the war. You are our brothers and sisters in Christ. That is much bigger than Serbian and Albanian.'" -A 20-year-old Christian man from Prishtina. Of the 2 million people in Kosova, only approximately 400 claim to be Christians.

• "I never go outside unless it is dark, and even when I go to church I cannot walk; I have to drive my car. I am afraid for my safety. My neighbor disappeared recently, and I am afraid I will be next." -A 52-year-old Serbian man living in a village near Prishtina. Serbians used to make up 20% of the total population in Kosova. Now they are only 10%, which leaves many villages left with only a tiny minority of Serbians.

• "Serbians greatly misused the cross [in fighting prior to and during the Kosovo War]. When they would kill someone they would cut the cross into their foreheads, and before battle the [Orthodox] priests would bless them with the sign of the cross. It is a symbol that is ruined for us. When people find out I am a Christian they tell me, 'So you have become a Serbian.'" -A 40-year-old Albanian Christian man, former smuggler for the KLA. He is the only Christian in his conservatively Muslim village.

A schoolgirl playing in the yard of her elementary school in Prishtina. Students go to school for four hours a day. Because there is not enough room in the buildings for all of the children they must come in two shifts, morning and afternoon.

Students at the hang-out coffee shop at their high school. This is the best high school in the country, but even with 1,800 students the only lab available is physics. There is no music facilities, so "People only play what they can carry," said one student.

Our guide at the Ethnographic Museum in Prishtina.

A student at play at one of the village schools.

"We don't like each other, but we like Bill Clinton," said one woman over coffee. This sign welcomes people to Bill Clinton Boulevard in downtown Prishtina.