What are the odds that a St. Louis native who attends St. Louis Family Church and supports the mission of Service International would end up stationed by the US military in Kosovo, just 42 miles down the road from SI's dental and medical clinics? Sgt. 1st Class Darrin Anderson will tell you that it was more than chance; it was part of God's plan.

Let's backtrack. Darrin grew up in St. Louis and has lived much of his life in various regions of Missouri. When he was a teenager, he was part of a youth group led by SI's founder, Jeff Perry. After college he moved to Jefferson City where he joined the Cole County police force and the Missouri National Guard, devoting one day a month to serving his country.

Seven years later, in 2002, Darrin's National Guard unit was deployed to the Middle East where Darrin served as a combat medic. When he returned to the states in 2003, he entered fulltime active duty in Missouri, eventually being stationed at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis. He had visited SLFC in the past, but now he and his family made it their church home and Darrin grew more familiar with SI and its mission around the world.

Then in June 2008, Darrin was sent to Kosovo where, until recently, he served as the Human Resources NCO in charge in Pristina, providing administrative and personnel assistance to Americans who are stationed there.

When he arrived in Kosovo, Darrin tried to locate SI's clinic on a map, but all the village/city names were printed in Serbian. But so strongly did he feel God's leading to help SI, that one weekend he got directions to Gjakova, grabbed a friend and a vehicle, and headed out. He had no names and no idea where in Gjakova he would find SI, but he trusted God. When they arrived in Gjakova, they stopped at a small hotel where Darrin was introduced to the wife of one of the dentists that works at SI's Kosovo clinic! Then he spoke with Fatush, one of SI's Kosovar managers, and arrangements were made for Darrin to help at the upcoming dental and medical missions. After that, Darrin made himself available to help the Kosovar clinic staff whenever they needed him and whenever he could arrange time off from his job assignment. It was a great connection and, in SFC Anderson's mind, a divine one.

IN HIS OWN WORDS
"To be there at this time to see the birth of a nation and see people find their footing and their freedom and their God—all at the same time—it's amazing. God's plan requires that humans be involved with each other. No matter what you do—sweeping floors, setting up, tearing down, or making people comfortable – you get to be part of someone's life, part of a plan beyond comprehension, its long-term effects known only by the God who put you there. That's pretty cool and it's very exciting."

  SFC Darrin Anderson and Memli Bokshi, SI Kosovo Manager

CLICK HERE to view a complete list of Service International's upcoming mission trips to Kosovo and other parts of the world.