The young bride looks expectantly out the window; her cheeks are flush with anticipation, though this is hidden behind a mask of make-up and ornaments. Hairdressers and make-up artists have been painstakingly working over her for several hours. They are finished now and with her painted face crowning her flowing dress she looks like a China doll. Every hair in place, every feature accentuated in a picture-perfect manner. Soon the drums begin beating and tambourines chime. Singing is heard in the distance and draws closer every minute. They are coming for her. Cars blare their horns as they pass by the parade that waltzes down the street towards her house. Women from her future husband’s family soon surround her where she stands on her family’s porch, singing loudly the traditional marriage songs and beating on their tambourines. And then a car drives up through the cacophony and she is lead into it and carried away to the home where her groom awaits. There will be feasting and dancing for days as she is welcomed into his family and the new union is celebrated.
This is a picture of a traditional wedding in Kosovo. Summer is the season for weddings there and I can’t help but be reminded of the time when our Lord and Savior Christ will come back for His Church and establish His kingdom on Earth with His Bride by His side. Hasan and I were married in Kosovo and had a day similar to what I described above. I remember the joy in the air and how loud the music played. With that in mind imagine what feasting, what joy, what singing and dancing there will be on that day when Christ draws in His Bride and ushers in His kingdom! Revelation says “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true words of God.” (Rev. 19:7-9)
Wow, what an amazing picture that is! This is so exciting to me; it’s talking about us folks, you and I, His Church! What a reason to rejoice! Would that every friend, every family member, every neighbor and acquaintance, every person in the world could be there on that day, partaking in His joy and glory. This is what our heart is, to share this joy with the people of Kosovo, who have lived under the dark veil of Islam for so long. We want them to be a part of the glorious feast of the Lamb and his Bride as true believers in His name. Yet many have not heard. MANY have no saving knowledge of Christ and no hope in Him. We feel so deeply and passionately for those in Kosovo who are lost, our driving force to go to them are the tender words of our God, “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19-20)
Will you continue to pray with us to this end? That God would open hearts in Kosovo to His Word? Would you pray for us as we prepare to leave and begin in ministry there? We have had a busy summer as we have been traveling around the state, speaking to Churches and groups about our call. Praise the Lord all of our talks went really well and we have had an overwhelmingly loving and exuberant response by everyone we have shared with. Thank you to everyone who have allowed us to speak and who have been involved in supporting us financially and through the power of prayer. A big praise for us is that we have been given the green light by Alongside to purchase our tickets and head out! How exciting! Before that happens however, our house must sell. This is one of our greatest current prayer needs. Once our house sells we will be able to leave and begin in ministry in Kosovo. We have confidence that the Lord will allow this to happen in His perfect timing.
Before I close this post I would like to share some other interesting facts about marriage in Kosovo. For instance, until recently almost all marriages were arranged. Sometimes a bride and groom did not even meet until the wedding day. This was true for Hasan’s own parents. Things are changing in Kosovo, but even today many marriages are still arranged. Depending on the nature of the engagement (weather arranged vs. not and if arranged weather the bride has given her consent or not) the bride may or may not be a willing and happy participant. It is often a sad day for her family as well as they are, in effect, losing a daughter. She will go to live in the home of her husband’s family and may not get to see her own family very often anymore. There are many tears from her family and waving handkerchiefs on the day she rides away in his car. This is quite a contrast to the joyful celebration she is greeted with in his home –they have gained a daughter.
One thing I always found funny at wedding celebrations in Kosovo was that ALL of the young women who have recently (anytime in the past few years) been brides themselves
are to dress in wedding dresses too! What a contrast to our own American traditions where the bride is the only one who wears the dress and indeed the only one who even wears white!I also just wanted to add that I think it is really cool that both we and the Harry family, (who are currently serving in Kosovo at the same church we are going to) wrote on the same subject this month! Now I call that a God-thing! Here is a link to their page if you are interested in reading more on the topic of the bride in Kosovo or about the Harry's ministry there. ministry.http://ordinaryharry.blogspot.com/2011/10/unhappy-bride.html?spref=fb
We want to thank you all again for the parts that you have played and are playing in sending us and keeping us as our prayer and support partners. We are excited to be heading off soon and cannot wait to see what God has in store and to share with you the wonderful goings on in Kosovo!
If you would like to friend us on FaceBook, we can be found under Hearts ForHim Kosovo. In this way you can receive updates more often about our daily joys and struggles, as well as have a deeper look at what is going on in our lives and with our ministry. Our e-mail address is bytyqifam@hotmail.com, let us know how we can be praying for you, we would love to hear from you!
