The war in

Yugoslavia may be over, but the long journey back to life

as the Kosovars once knew it is just beginning.

Thousands

of refugees packed into tent camps, abandoned buildings,

or taken in by openhearted Albanian families, are looking

at survival and daily existence, not a life of normalcy.

Just back

from a survey trip to several refugee sites in Albania is

a three-member team from Operation Mobilization, a

Christian missionary organization with its United States

headquarters in Tyrone. Headed by Graham Wells, chief

operating officer for OM, the group found crowded camps

of people, many of whom were just shell-shocked.

"They

are just trying to comprehend their sense of loss and

being in another country," Wells explained.

"I've never seen anything like it; such a migration

of people.

"It's

far from over; even if the Serbs left today," Wells

continued. "The majority of refugees are women and

young children, and old men. If their homes were burned

to the ground, they have no place to go." He also

expressed concern over the potential for conflict between

the warring factions seeking revenge. "Unless

people's hearts are changed, animosity will

continue,"

Wells said

the six-day visit helped OM assess the needs of refugees

in cities like Durres, on the coast about an hour from

the Albanian capital of Tirana, where OM has a staffed

mission. The organization has collaborated with local

churches and other relief agencies to distribute food and

supplies to thousands daily. OM also has staffed sites in

Berat, Lushnje and Polican in Albania.

An unused

bread factory in Durres was turned over to OM to shelter

400 refugees and serve as a food distribution center.

Prior to that, the workers organized a "traveling

soup kitchen," Wells explained, seeking out refugees

without any shelter. "Refugees are arriving all the

time, trying to find somewhere to stay," he said.

"The

Albanians have done incredibly well," Wells said of

their effort to help the refugees. "You have to

admire them for just their heart." Despite an

unemployment rate of more than 50 percent and an Albanian

average salary of $90 per month, it's not unheard of for

a family of five to house one or two refugee families.

While the

huge international relief agencies provide the refugees

with material needs, OM also is ministering to their

emotional and spiritual needs. "We are there to care

for them, show them love and help them to get over the

trauma," Wells said. "We can talk with them and

provide the gospel."

Many of

OM's workers have been in Albania for number of years and

have learned the culture and language. "What an

opportunity to show the love of Christ and share our

faith with them," Wells noted.

While OM is

in for the long rehabilitative haul in Albania, Wells

pointed out that "Westerners have short-term

memories... they react crisis to crisis."

If the

peace treaty signed this week holds, CNN's images of

children with tear-stained faces and rows of tents

inhabited by vacant-looking men and women will soon be

history, replaced with clips of new victims from a

natural disaster or political uprising.

Wells said

workers can purchase food locally and obtain goods from

Europe. "Financial gifts are most effective,"

said Todd Laba, OM's director of developmental systems.

He said a lot of well-meaning Americans want to send

supplies abroad, not realizing the cost of

transportation. "You can pay $1,000 for the product

here and $3,000 to get it there," he said.

His most

vivid impression of traveling to Albania was the greyness

and desolation of the countryside. "It mirrors what

the people are feeling; hopefully that's changing,"

he said.

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