tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772870490197705362024-10-25T01:19:36.221-04:00Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, and righteousness spring up with it. I, the LORD have created it. - Isaiah 45:8Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.comBlogger154125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-16801104784139696512012-12-25T01:46:00.000-05:002012-12-25T01:54:04.236-05:00

We're less than an hour away from Christmas day here in Knoxville, TN.  And at the speed I write, it will no doubt be Christmas by the time I finish.  (I was right.  It is now 2AM on Christmas morning.) It's been more than a year since we returned from Kosovo.  With the Christmas season in full swing, I find myself thinking about last year's Christmas, and still, Christmas in

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-62248596730846716272012-12-01T23:03:00.001-05:002012-12-01T23:10:13.425-05:00

No, not the fact that I'm sitting in a room surrounded by a plethora of baby toys, one of which is a stuffed cow with a pacifier hanging on one of its horns.  And it's also not due to my sitting on an ottoman rather than at my desk because I need to be close to an outlet for my laptop charger.  Just keep reading... Imagine your heart as a home with many rooms.  There's a room

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-90419844687696493802011-03-26T15:02:00.000-04:002011-03-26T15:02:20.192-04:00

A week after Lindsey and I arrived in Kosova last February, we witnessed the baptism of a young man who had given his life to Jesus the previous summer.  He and I share the same birthday, but I'm ten years older.  From that day forward, the persecution he faced from his family and those throughout his village became even more intense. Every day this young man faced threats, anger,

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-80571897587183870222011-02-13T17:30:00.002-05:002011-02-13T17:36:23.462-05:00

Don't think it's a mistake.  I did intend to entitle this entry, "Bibla?"  It's the Albanian translation of, "Bible".  Every Thursday for the last number of months, weather permitting, we've placed a small dusty white table with one leg shorter than the other three on the sidewalk out front of our church.  After wiping off the dust and soot that settles on it each week from

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-64298457746998403932010-11-12T16:52:00.000-05:002010-11-12T16:52:21.389-05:00

I know that most of our followers are on Facebook, and have been able to enjoy the many photos we've taken of Kosova since our arrival in February.  For those of you who aren't, here are some hand-picked photos for you to enjoy...

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-3909973814068478252010-11-08T18:50:00.000-05:002010-11-08T18:50:22.440-05:00

Random thoughts below...no particular order...no agenda...just sharing what's been bottled up for way too long. So, it's been quite a while since you've seen a post that was composed of something other than a quoted news article and appropriate link.  And since I plugged the website in our last newsletter it would seem rather disenchanting if the first thing you saw was an article about a

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-9085832658569845732010-10-04T08:31:00.000-04:002010-10-04T08:31:27.501-04:00

The leader of Serbia's Orthodox Church on Sunday used the ceremony of his formal enthronement at the Church's seat in Kosovo to call for peace and appeal to Serbs and Albanians to live in unity. "Here, there is ample living space and place for the cohabitation of Serbs, Albanians and other peoples. These two peoples have lived together for centuries. Why can they not do the same today?" Patriarch

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-50299738208077504192010-10-02T13:38:00.000-04:002010-10-02T13:38:26.939-04:00

Fatmir Sejdiu, Kosovo’s president, resigned on Monday after a court ruling that he had breached the constitution by holding the office without giving up leadership of his political party. His forced departure has badly shaken the ruling coalition and could cause the government to fall or look to smaller parties for support. It also raises doubts about Kosovo’s readiness for European Union-led

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-47084739198170701842010-09-23T15:27:00.000-04:002010-09-23T15:27:20.688-04:00

SKOPJE, MACEDONIA –  SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — An online music video praising Osama bin Laden has driven home a troubling new reality: A radical brand of Islam embraced by al-Qaida and the Taliban is gaining a foothold in the Balkans."Oh Osama, annihilate the American army. Oh Osama, raise the Muslims' honor," a group of Macedonian men sing in Albanian, in video posted on YouTube last year

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-11960451399594732062010-07-27T14:48:00.002-04:002010-07-27T15:31:32.175-04:00

Greetings to all of you! The last two months have been non-stop action. A few days of relative calm has given us time to reflect on what's been done here in Kosova, and we're glad to share it with you as well. It's a blessing to know you all are remembering us in your prayers and are following along with us on this amazing journey. Children's Carnival Replay Our last newsletter was a brief

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-28716267159599398292010-07-25T12:24:00.000-04:002010-07-25T12:24:57.643-04:00

PRAGUE — Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008 did not violate international law, the United Nations’ highest court said Thursday in a ruling that Kosovo heralded as a victory but that legal experts warned could spur separatist movements around the world. Legal experts said that while the International Court of Justice had ruled that Kosovo’s declaration of

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-1851134201977144142010-07-02T18:15:00.001-04:002010-07-05T09:07:39.932-04:00

Updated July 5th... Kosovo Serb MP shot in flashpoint town MITROVICA Kosovo (Reuters) - An unidentified gunman shot and slightly hurt an ethnic Serb member of the Kosovo parliament in a fresh incident in the divided northern town of Mitrovica, police said Monday. It was the second act of political violence in Mitrovica in the past week, highlighting continuing tensions in the former Serb

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-54847602670933273462010-06-26T14:00:00.003-04:002010-06-26T14:00:52.756-04:00

(Reuters) - The leader of a protest against Kosovo's ban on headscarves in public schools says devout Muslims could resort to violence to get their way, though Islam is not central to the lives of most Kosovo Albanians. The June 18 rally in the capital Pristina by 5,000 women in headscarves, supported by some bearded men, was held after a few headscarf-clad girls were prevented from entering

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RALEIGH, N.C. — A European judge has ruled that a man arrested in Kosovo last week will not be extradited to the U.S. to face charges that he aided a suspected terrorism ring in the Triangle. Bajram Asllani, 29, an ethnic Albanian and native of Mitrovico, Kosovo, was convicted of terrorism in Serbia and was under surveillance in his home country when he was arrested Thursday following an

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-69276914655460965862010-06-26T13:58:00.002-04:002010-06-26T13:58:59.350-04:00

RALEIGH, N.C. — A man arrested Thursday in Kosovo is accused of being part of a terrorism plot that originated in North Carolina among people who planned attacks both at a U.S. military installation and abroad. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh said Thursday that Bajram Asllani, 29, of Mitrovica, Kosovo, is accused of plotting with the men in North Carolina to engage in terrorism in Kosovo.

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-31027054579855323362010-06-16T17:09:00.002-04:002010-06-16T17:11:02.145-04:00

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-59040630014016181482010-04-08T08:31:00.000-04:002010-04-08T08:31:47.681-04:00

They say the first sentence of a blog post is always the hardest. Well, that wasn't so hard after all...ha! Good evening, or as we say here in Kosova,"Mirëmbrëma". It's been a little while since our last update so allow us to bring you up to speed... Spring!! While only being here for a month of the winter season, it was more than enough. Spring has finally sprung. While winter still

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-13807493572339100162010-03-16T18:08:00.000-04:002010-03-16T18:08:11.131-04:00

Kosovo police arrested and deported to Albania a self-proclaimed Muslim holy man last week. Xhemajl Duka, known by the name Kastriot, had been living in the village of Marina, in the central region of Drenica. In a press release, the interior ministry said that Duka was deported on March 3rd for violating laws regarding foreign nationals living within the country. That is, the reason he asked

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-56918625074611606452010-02-23T12:22:00.001-05:002010-02-23T12:23:24.375-05:00

Two days after I arrived, I celebrated my 28th birthday. I celebrated this birthday with a very special young man named, Kushtrim. February 5th was his 18th birthday. Since coming here we've developed a wonderful friendship. I'mnot sure who's been a bigger encouragement to whom, but if you want my opinion, I'd say Kushtrim has been the bigger one. Kushtrim is the only believer in his family

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-10672563329196527592010-02-23T09:08:00.000-05:002010-02-23T09:08:46.948-05:00

Good Grief! So, I pull up our blog page in order to begin this update and the whole screen...EVERYTHING was in Serbian.  You gotta love how technology likes to think it's smarter than you sometimes.  Just because I've moved to another country doesn't mean I already know they language!  So, after clicking on nearly every link of the page...tada!  English....oh how I love

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-25845772346282291002010-02-07T10:23:00.000-05:002010-02-07T10:23:29.868-05:00

The Flight Raleigh/Durham to Washington D.C. to Vienna, Austria to Pristina, Kosova. Total flight time including layovers: 19 hours. Lindsey and I, along with all of our bags (12 in all), arrived safe and sound in Pristina, Kosova's capital, the afternoon of February 3rd.  Our flight was rather uneventful, except for one noteworthy event.  For those who follow the NBA, you've

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-56334397525606021672010-01-15T22:20:00.000-05:002010-01-15T22:20:00.709-05:00

Cleared for Takeoff It was around 11:40 yesterday morning.  The phone rang.  It was an area code I didn't recognize, and I used to not answer a call if I didn't recognize the number.  A season of fundraising had changed that.  Calling pastors, leaving messages, leaving messages, and yep, you guessed it...leaving messages.  So now when the phone rang and I didn't care

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-85212716532392753722009-12-08T09:48:00.000-05:002009-12-08T09:48:56.513-05:00

The Challenge:  Eat 1 live neon tetra for every $500 raised over a four week period. The Result:  Over $10,000 raised, 20 live fish to be eaten. The Proof:  See below.

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-30912253245452686202009-11-25T10:05:00.001-05:002009-11-25T10:06:39.268-05:00

From Lindsey and I to all of you... We are so thankful that you all are a part of our lives in many significant ways. We love you and wish you and your families a warm and blessed Thanksgiving. :)

Cole's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09372672769678777215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077287049019770536.post-24453926511417228232009-11-19T09:03:00.000-05:002009-11-19T09:03:20.686-05:00

Holy cow!  I guess I should say, holy fish!  In just four short weeks you all helped raise over $10,000 dollars for our ministry to the people of Kosovo! To everyone who joined our Facebook group, prayed for us, and gave....THANK YOU!  At $500 a fish that comes to 20 fish.  Being busy with travel and the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday we'll planning to film Fish

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