We would often be invited to eat on the different military bases. It was the run-up to Christmas, when the soldiers who do not have leave are a bit sad, missing their families and loved ones. While eating, we put on some Christmas music and set up a small table that explained about our humanitarian work in Kosovo. A few soldiers had come up to us to say hello and thank us for the music, when all of a sudden the chief cook came out of the kitchen to ask us if we ourselves needed any food. Since we live by faith and trust the Lord for all our needs, our answer was of course “Yes!” He said “Give me a few minutes”, and when he returned, he had put together a small pallet of all sorts of foodstuffs from the military pantry. These were not inconsequential things, but top quality foreign items that cannot even be found in places like Kosovo. Then he said “I didn’t know exactly what you needed, but if you bring me a list next week, I’ll give you everything you ask for.”

He was a very kind man, and his giving continued throughout his tour of duty in Kosovo. Each week we would bring him our list, and then drive our van on to the base the next day to do the pick-up. We would pull around to the back entrance of the mess hall, and he would wheel out a pallet of things for us. We were of course sad to see him go, but when he left, he introduced us to his replacement who agreed to continue with the weekly pick-ups. Much of the food in Kosovo is unsafe for many reasons, particularly because of the use of depleted uranium shells during the bombing. That’s why the military always flies in its own food. So we were fed like kings, or to be more precise, like ambassadors – God’s ambassadors!