They were awakened shortly after midnight by the KLA (Kosova Liberation Army). The Serbians had just destroyed many homes in the neighboring villages and were on their way to the hill where the Istrefi family lived. Get up !Get out! Go Quickly!, the KLA told them, saving their lives. The older boys and men scattered throughout the mountainside, while the women and children (with no time but to grab a few treasured family photos), began the long walk to Metrovice about 40 kilometers away....cold, scared, wondering what they would encounter in the dark along the way.

Several months later, Hasime Istrefi (with her seven children) learned that her husband had died and their wonderful home had been burned along with all their personal belongings, their cows and chickens slaughtered, and their farm tools destroyed. They also learned that this had happened to most of their neighbors. Her life was changed forever. She could not bring herself to return home. It would be too painful to see the destruction of her home, her life; and the place her husband had died.

AUGUST 2000. Two years after this event, our UMVIM team came to Kosova to help UMCOR rebuild homes. Our task was to put a roof on 2 homes to ensure a warm winter for families living in United Nations refugee tents. Our joy was meeting the awesome Istrefi family!

The older 3 teen-aged children had recently returned to the rubble that was once their home. They gratefully received the necessary building materials from UMCOR as they prepared for our arrival. Eight UM¹s from around the western jurisdiction (and one awesome Finlander) came together as a team. During our time in Kosova we accomplished our goal of getting roofs on 2 homes. But more importantly, we came to know more about life as an Albanian Kosovar. We ate, lived, worked, played, hugged, laughed, and cried with each other. We became close as family, making life-long friendships. We listened to their stories of fear and horror during the war; we shared in their dream to become a separate nation; we marveled at their forgiveness towards the Serbian people.

As our time in Kosova came to a close, Hasime Istrefi returned home with her youngest children for the first time since leaving it 2 years ago when that knock came in the middle of the night. What a truly inspiring moment it was for us to meet this gentle woman. Through tears and hugs, she thanked UMVIM and UMCOR for helping her children. And we thanked her for allowing us the awesome experience of becoming a part of the Istrefi family.