One week from today I will be in Prishtina, Kosovo!
Studying Abroad I am studying abroad this summer in Kosovo (it’s a country in Southeastern Europe) taking 8 credits at AUK (American University of Kosovo) through Miami University of Ohio. You can check out more about the courses I’m taking and the program on the website here.
Journalism Internship
I also will be doing an internship with KosovaLive, a highly respected independent news agency based in Prishtina that publishes daily online, in English and Albanian. I’m really excited because I want to learn and grow so much more as a journalist and in my writing skills, and this is exactly what I need to do that.
KosovaLive newsroom
The internship will be rigorous and challenging, we will work hard everyday, but we also get a lot of opportunities that most journalism undergrads taking their internship in the States wouldn’t get. The program director told me in our first conversation, “One day you could be interviewing a waitress, then that same evening, interviewing the President of the country.” (Slightly intimidating, mostly thrilling to hear). I won’t just be fact-checking, researching, or doing odd-end jobs for the news agency. We will be interviewing, writing and editing articles that will be published! Real journalism. I’ve written for my University’s student newspaper since my freshman year of college, so I do feel prepared. I know where I want to improve and my strengths as well. The editors and my journalism professors will be able to work with us one-on-one on our articles. After completing this internship, it will be good to put on my resume and to secure job opportunities. Overall this is such a valuable experience, I know I will learn and grow so much in my skills as a journalist.
Video: Clarification and Responses
I realized that the video I made sharing about this trip -although straight from my heart- confused a couple people. So here is to clear up a few things, in case it got muddled for you.
I’m not going to Kosovo on a typical “missions trip.” Yet, I do consider it a mission trip because everywhere we go to be an opportunity to shine our light and share the gospel through our character, action, words, lives. Several non-Christians who saw the video -which was intended for my Christian friends and family, asking for support and prayers- didn’t exactly understand what my heart was. They were sending me warnings like, “Don’t bring Christianity to Kosova, we don’t want it” (only stronger language) and,
“You do realize that the predominant religion in Kosovo is Islam right? And for you to try and bring Christianity to them and make it seem as if it the way that they should too would not get you a warm welcome there.”
I realized I had to overcome the fear of offending people, of miscommunicating, or just turning people off. I should not worry, because the Holy Spirit will speak through me, He will direct my words and help me to speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15). As a Christian, my purpose in going to Kosovo is very “evangelistic”, in the sense that I have such a strong yearning in my heart for everyone to know God is real and to know His life-changing love. I love the truth, I know how my life and who I am has been completely changed by it.
My “mission” comes down to this:
I’m just going to love and get to know people and be myself. I am a follower of Christ and have a personal relationship with Him, so I am not going to change what defines me most or hide it if it comes up. I would rather listen and seek to understand people. I want to get to know people, not change them. I respect people’s personal beliefs. My desire isn’t to offend people or push my beliefs on them, ever. That is isn’t well-received in any country. I just want to love people and continue to live for God like I do everyday.
I’ve been very humbled as I have learned more about how I should be presenting Christ in a Muslim nation. I have been reading about Islam so I can gain a better understanding than my basic knowledge, since 93% of Kosovo’s people claim Islam as their religion. I have doubled my time in God’s Word and have been spending a lot of time in prayer. All I have to do is continue seeking the Lord, learning how to love, gaining wisdom through the Word, and allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through me. Anything that happens will be because of the work of the Holy Spirit, not me. Anything that happens will be His idea, not mine. Everything that happens will be for His purposes and for His glory. And I’m excited to see what God will do! All ministry flows out of having a personal, intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father, being attentive, obedient, and humble. God is filling me up daily so He will overflow out of me!
Travel Journals
Most of you know that I write frequently on my WordPress blog (this blog, haha!). If you scroll to the bottom of the page, there is a footer where you can subscribe to my blog by entering your email address and receive notifications of new posts by email.
I have set a goal to write and post at least once a week. If you want to keep up with my trip, what’s happening, what I’m learning, what God is teaching me, I would love for you to read about it and share your responses! I know I am going to learn so much, and already have been. I will have so many stories to share. I also will update with photographs and some video, so you can see what it’s like there. As you all know, I love capturing everything with both my words and my camera.
Praises! Thank you all for your prayers!
- Financially, I had to take out a loan to pay for the trip, but I am so happy because I get to go! God is going to provide and I know He is faithful, I have no need to worry about paying it off. A few people have given money toward my trip and that touched my heart so much.
- I had been praying for awhile that God would provide at least one other Christian for me to connect with while I am in Kosovo for the next two months. Through friends of mine, I found out there is a missionary couple at the American Univeristy I will be studying at! I am trying to get in touch with them now. Even if they come home for the summer, they are connected to a group of young adults who meet to worship every week. WOW! I cannot explain how awesome it is that I may get to meet with Albanian believers while I am there! Praise God!
Prayers
If you want to continue to pray for me, here are my requests
Prishtina
– Protection from the attacks of the enemy against me, and safety in our travels Prishtina
– The other students going with me: AJ, John, Jordan, Mary, Megan, Carl, our supervisor/Prof Ed, Alex and Doug.
– The students staying in the dorms are from all over the world and the locals are mostly Muslim. Prayer for opportunities to share Christ and show His love.
– That the Holy Spirit would minister to and through me, that I would be attentive, obedient, bold, and hear His voice
– That my relationship with Christ would continue to deepen with greater intimacy :]
Thanks for reading, I know it was long, but there was a lot to catch up on! I am so excited! I will be leaving the United States on June 13 from Indianapolis Airport, flying to Washington Dallas, flying to Munich Germany, and then landing in Prishtina, Kosovo the next day, where I will stay until August 9. I will miss you all!! I’m so excited to go on this adventure with God, He is always doing these unexpected things that are better than I can even imagine!
With love,
Breanna
Contact
The only way you will be able to contact me in Kosovo is through Skype or email. Sending things in the mail isn’t an option; it won’t get to me. Calling my cell phone is a bad idea, I won’t have it- I will have a temporary phone, which is very expensive to call the States with. Just ask for my Skype or Email (if I know you), and I we can stay in touch this summer!
1 Timothy 4:12 