Dear Friends,
This fall, I (Sam) have the great privilege of beginning a year of teaching at the Prishtina High School in Kosovo. Formerly an autonomous region of Serbia, Kosovo is a 4-year-old independent country in Eastern Europe. There is a very deep and complex history in this region. It is facing many challenges, but there is a great amount of hope for the future as well. The high school is a college preparatory institution seeking to equip students for American or European higher education. These students will soon be the leaders of this fledgling nation, forming the heart of its future. It is a great privilege and a great responsibility to teach in such an environment.
My soon-to-be wife Elizabeth and I have the opportunity to speak into this community, serving students, building friendships, and using our home as a haven for conversations of all sorts. We believe very strongly that God has a dream for Kosovo and its people. We are seeking to respond to that dream. To do so, we need your partnership. Due to the underwhelming economy of Kosovo, teachers at the Prishtina High School rely upon the generous support of people like you to enable them to equip, encourage and build into their students.
One-time gifts are fantastic, but what we really need are people to partner with us on a monthly basis (so we can budget wisely). Elizabeth and I can live on $1500 a month (quite possibly less). We would ask you to prayerfully consider how you might support us in this endeavor.
If you choose to support us, you should know that this is more than just a teaching job. Elizabeth and I intend to use our home as a space where discussions about life, relationships, society and spirituality can be had without pretense or posturing, and interaction is defined by honesty and grace. Kosovo is more than an opportunity for us to teach. It is an opportunity to pursue what our hearts are already bent on—a lifestyle of service.
In addition to all this, Elizabeth will be spending this coming year working on writing a full-length manuscript to submit for a major publishing competition. In my humble opinion, her writing efforts alone would be worth supporting.
For those of you wondering about the connection to Kosovo, I lived there for six months during high school, and my parents lived and worked in the country for several years. The people of Kosovo captivated me. I am looking forward to the opportunity to give something back to them. Our academic history and ministry experience has prepared us well for this next step. We are both impassioned to challenge young minds, we have extensive exposure to different cultures and faiths (Kosovo is predominantly Muslim), and we know there is something of value going on in Prishtina. We gratefully invite you to be part of that story with us. Thanks for reading.
If you'd like to read more in the future, this is the place to come. We're planning to write once every two weeks or so, filling you in on the news, adventures and musings of the Steeres in Kosovo. We'll be arriving in Prishtina in late September. From that point forward, you can expect to see updates at fairly regular intervals. Thanks so much for your friendship.
Peace, always...
Sam and Elizabeth
This fall, I (Sam) have the great privilege of beginning a year of teaching at the Prishtina High School in Kosovo. Formerly an autonomous region of Serbia, Kosovo is a 4-year-old independent country in Eastern Europe. There is a very deep and complex history in this region. It is facing many challenges, but there is a great amount of hope for the future as well. The high school is a college preparatory institution seeking to equip students for American or European higher education. These students will soon be the leaders of this fledgling nation, forming the heart of its future. It is a great privilege and a great responsibility to teach in such an environment.
My soon-to-be wife Elizabeth and I have the opportunity to speak into this community, serving students, building friendships, and using our home as a haven for conversations of all sorts. We believe very strongly that God has a dream for Kosovo and its people. We are seeking to respond to that dream. To do so, we need your partnership. Due to the underwhelming economy of Kosovo, teachers at the Prishtina High School rely upon the generous support of people like you to enable them to equip, encourage and build into their students.
One-time gifts are fantastic, but what we really need are people to partner with us on a monthly basis (so we can budget wisely). Elizabeth and I can live on $1500 a month (quite possibly less). We would ask you to prayerfully consider how you might support us in this endeavor.
If you choose to support us, you should know that this is more than just a teaching job. Elizabeth and I intend to use our home as a space where discussions about life, relationships, society and spirituality can be had without pretense or posturing, and interaction is defined by honesty and grace. Kosovo is more than an opportunity for us to teach. It is an opportunity to pursue what our hearts are already bent on—a lifestyle of service.
In addition to all this, Elizabeth will be spending this coming year working on writing a full-length manuscript to submit for a major publishing competition. In my humble opinion, her writing efforts alone would be worth supporting.
For those of you wondering about the connection to Kosovo, I lived there for six months during high school, and my parents lived and worked in the country for several years. The people of Kosovo captivated me. I am looking forward to the opportunity to give something back to them. Our academic history and ministry experience has prepared us well for this next step. We are both impassioned to challenge young minds, we have extensive exposure to different cultures and faiths (Kosovo is predominantly Muslim), and we know there is something of value going on in Prishtina. We gratefully invite you to be part of that story with us. Thanks for reading.
If you'd like to read more in the future, this is the place to come. We're planning to write once every two weeks or so, filling you in on the news, adventures and musings of the Steeres in Kosovo. We'll be arriving in Prishtina in late September. From that point forward, you can expect to see updates at fairly regular intervals. Thanks so much for your friendship.
Peace, always...
Sam and Elizabeth
