The Story of Remzi

For those of you who have not heard the story, Remzi is a refugee from Kosovo, who came to Slovenia about 12 years ago with his 2 older brothers to start a new life. They and their families were very poor, but bought a house together (3 families in 1 home!) in the town of Tolmin. Today, they own 3 bakery shops - in Bovec (where we met him), Kobarid (20 min South of Bovec, and Udine, Italy.

 

When we came to SLO 2 years ago with the UNM BSU team, we spent about a week in Bovec. Our team worked on a cleaning project for the Soca River. Several times we came into the small town of Bovec to eat breakfast &/or lunch at Remzi's bakery. We would often strike up conversations with people we came across, but when he discovered we were Americans, Remzi (despite English being his 3rd language) was the one to start talking! We talked for 3 hours one night... he wanted to know all about us, American culture, where we were from, etc. Apparently, Kosovoans celebrate Independence Day more than many Americans! He and his neighbor Fatos were running the shop at the time. We exchanged contact info and continued our missions trip to Ljubljana & Maribor.

Over the past 2 years, we have made an effort to remain in contact with Remzi. We have emailed back & forth 6-7 times, mailed him an invitation to our wedding & a framed picture of the photo below... even talked on the phone once or twice (which didn't last long due to the connection/broken English). He sent us pictures of his family and told us how he expanded his business by also selling fruits & veggies, as well as ice cream during the summer, then opening other shops. We were excited to return to SLO for multiple reasons, but especially to visit Remzi again.

shop in Kobarid

Yesterday we said goodbye to the Bell's & Maribor, and drove about 3 hrs to Bovec. Joe & Kim Kelley graciously hosted us here. We visited with Kim and the girls for a few min, then headed to the bakery for doner kebabs for lunch. Remzi's older bro, David, and Fatos were running the shop. They informed us that Remzi was working in Kobarid so we quickly left and headed south to find his other shop. It was great seeing the joy on his face when we walked in! He was so excited and gave us big hugs. He offered us food and drink, and gave us a tour of his new shop. Then we walked over to the cafe next door for some ledena kava (not just iced coffee -- but coffee, milk, ice cream, & whipped cream!) and presented him with 2 gifts from NM. Hatch Green Chile - which he is never going to try because he wants to save it as a memory LOL - and a photobook that I made with pics from NM and our last trip to SLO. We talked for awhile, catching up on everything....

One tool the Kelley's distribute in the Bovec area, along with literature & tracts about Jesus in Slovene, are pens that have a website printed on them: Got Questions? This is a neat site because there are so many FAQ's posted about Jesus, the Bible, Christianity, other religions, etc - in multiple languages (including Albanian which is Remzi's home tongue)!! So we gave him one, which he received eagerly and courteously, and explained that he claimed the beliefs of both Muslim & Catholic religions. However he did not actively participate in either of them. He had received a Slovene Bible as a gift, but hadn't spent much time reading it due to time constraints & not understanding it I think. He said he was interested in reading a lot of books (Bible, Koran, etc.) and learning about multiple religions because he wanted to be a well-educated man. *Pray that he will see Jesus is the one and only way!

L to R Antin, Spresa, Ilka, Remzi, Meghan, Jacob, Mimosa & son

 

After coffee, Remzi wanted us to see his home and meet his family. So we drive another 20 min South to Tolmin where we met his wife, Spresa, daughter, Ilka, and son, Antin. They gave us juice, baklava, and apples from their tree! (can you see much food I've been eating??? lol) We visited for about 30 min. His wife didn't speak much English so I'm sure it must have been a little awkward for her, but she thanked us for the photobook as well. We returned to Kobarid and said dober vecher (good evening).

The next morning, we packed our bags (again) and hit the road. On our way to Venizia (Venice), we stopped at both bakeries to say goodbye. They loaded us up with croissants, bread, strudel, burek, dried apricots, blackberries, bananas, apples....of course refusing any payment whatsoever. Wow! What a sweet man he is.... We visited with Remzi about 15-20 min more and told him that we would like to come back again someday. Also, if he ever makes it to America and NM (his lifelong dream) he can stay with us in Albuquerque. He was very open to us praying for him and both Jacob & I voiced a prayer over him, his businesses, his family and for him to experience the love of Christ. *Pray for him to continue being encountered with the love of Christ and the message of the Gospel! Pray he will look at that website and read about why, of all the religions out there, is there only one way of truth! Pray for the Holy Spirit to stir his heart and for the seeds that have been planted to be watered faithfully!

Remzi, Jacob & Jimmy (cousin)

 

Well, it is late and I am pooped so I will post this and try to post some photos soon!!! Lahko noc! ('night!)