MAY 2006 NEWSLETTER

MAY 2006

What is your preferred sound or song to wake up to in the morning? Since 2001 I have been living in the predominately Muslim capital city of Tirane where the sounds of the Muslim call to prayer ring out over loudspeakers all over the city 5 times each day. You never really get used to hearing this call to prayer especially at sunrise each morning!

Now that I have moved to the predominately Orthodox city of Korce, I am delighted to wake up to the sound of church bells (and they don’t start as soon as the sun rises either!), although, they are quite loud, as they are literally about 50 feet away from my bedroom window (our house is located on the side of one of the major Orthodox churches in the city).

Upon returning to Albania in mid-March I immediately moved to Korce (located in southeast Albania) and began my new job as director of our church ministry that sponsors 200 of the “poorest of the poor” in the Korce region. Each day I visit many families, bringing them food, clothes and I PRAY a little more hope to live each day. Although this job has great joys and satisfaction, it has proven to be quite emotionally draining as well. It is not easy to visit these extremely poor families day in and day out and not be affected by their condition.

In just the short time that I have been involved with this ministry, there are numerous stories I could tell you. One in particular that has blessed me greatly is about a widow named Violca, and her two young daughters, Panorea and Blisena (see picture in blog post BELOW). Less than a year ago, Violca’s husband passed away. As I was visiting her and her daughters I asked if they go to church. She proceeded to explain to me that she and her family were Muslim but don’t practice it much. I explained to her about Jesus Christ and how our church was not just another “religious service,” but a place where she could come and be encouraged and find real hope and a reason to live. I invited them to church and to my surprise they have been coming for 2 weeks! Please PRAY for Violca that she will realize all that Jesus has done for her and that she will choose to live for Him and lead her children to Him.

Making the move to Korce has proven to be a great experience and new place of learning and training. In addition to leading this project I also am regularly involved in helping lead our church, the Emanuel Mission. I have joined 3 of the other church leaders and we each take a turn preaching once a month.

We just celebrated Easter, held one week after the date in which the West celebrates Easter (we follow the Orthodox calendar in Albania). We had the extreme joy of seeing 3 new people accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior! In Albania, choosing to follow Jesus is usually a very slow process, thus each time a person makes this decision it is an extremely treasured moment for us.

Please continue to PRAY for me in this time of adjustment and learning to work in a new area. PRAY that I will have wisdom to make proper decisions in regards to the project I am leading as well as wisdom in how to team-lead the church here!

Thanks to each of you for your commitment to Albania and the work I am involved in.

Much Love!

some pics from the project "family care" i am now involved with in Korce

Rushan Doko and I. Rushan Doko and his wife live in a tiny single room house with no bathroom. He is literally one of the most loving thankful persons I have ever encountered, even though his has almost nothing and struggles to even feed himself and his wife. He says he loves the Bible and tries to read as much as possible but does not know how to read very well.

sometimes you just cant help yourself. the villagers love seeing a foreigner get on a horse, donkey or in this case a mule. we had and have many good laughs with the people we meet each day in our project. joy is a must. so many of the families we minister to in the Family Care Project suffer from great depression and stress. Village life is very hard in Albania.

The Hoxha brothers are great to spend time with. They are very poor and physically ill but each time we visit with them a great time is had and we all are encouraged. The Hoxha brothers only income is by making the brooms you see in this picture and selling them in the city. They literally don't make more than 3-400$ per year.

Violca, and her two young daughters, Panorea and Blisena. You can read her story in the newsletter posted ABOVE!