Well, here we are into our second week, having said goodbye to Seb and Gordon.The temperatures are just as high (touching 40C today, Wednesday). The majority of our Newcastle group have been suffering with a tummy bug for the last 24 hours, so have been fasting and resting, but most of us seem to be on the road to recovery.

Over the weekend we shared in some very special times of worship with local believers in churches in Gjakove and area. On Saturday we joined a handful of believers in the nearby town of Decan. We were warmly received and we were encouraged by their faith and hope that our presence encouraged them. On Sunday morning we divided into two groups and attended worship in Gjakove itself. In both cases there were not many believers, but the worship was vibrant and sincere. These are Christians who have endured many things, yet whose faith is strong and infectious. On Sunday afternoon, Roger and I went to "George's" church in Gjakove. There were about 20 believers, mainly children and young people. Some of these young people lead the worship and were very musically gifted, and there was a real sense of the presence of God. Fortunately a translator is present at all these services to translate Schip or Albanian into English for us.

The church in Kosova is young and fragile - there are about 1,000 believers in a population of 2.2m, and there are only 35 churches. 3 of these are in the capital Pristina, and most of the rest in the Gjakove region. Their faith in adversity has been an inspiration to us.

Ian