september/october newsletter

PRAYER UPDATE
Do you remember me asking you to pray for Violca, the widow with two children who is part of the Family Care
project I am involved in? Well, Violca with her children have been regularly joining us for Sunday church services,
our midweek Bible study and weekly women’s meetings. It has been great to watch her and her daughters becoming an active part in the church family here. A beautiful transformation has been seen in Violca and her daughters as they are finding true hope and joy in Christ. Thank you to those who committed to pray for them!

SUMMER IN BRIEF
This summer has been quite different from all the others I have spent in Albania. Now that I have moved here to Korce, my time is primarily focused on the church and ministry here, whereas in previous years I regularly helped all of our churches throughout the country. I have also been “learning the ropes” of leading the Family Care project. During the summer months we focus on the much needed house repairs for the families in the project.
I would like to share with you a special story of one particular family, which we started working with this summer. The mother, who is mentally ill, abandoned her 2 children because she no longer wanted to care for them. The father, because of the difficulty in finding employment, took a job as a shepherd and lives almost full time in the mountains, thus leaving the children to care for themselves. The son, Sokol (15 yrs old) and his sister, Vasilika (12 yrs old) were living in the remains of their burnt down house. Because of the severe abuse they endured from their sick mother, the children are now mentally ill themselves. They speak but a few words, and both were living in conditions and acting in ways most westerners would not wish for their pet dog. Through the help of a missions team from Holland, a wonderful work was done for this needy family.


They helped tear down the remains of the old house, the property was cleaned of enormous amounts of trash that surrounded it and the foundation for a new house was prepared. We then hired some workers and built a one-room house for the family, which is almost completed.

Vasilika (more ill than her brother) has since been accepted into a home for special needs children, which is run by Catholic nuns, where she will receive the special care and love she needs. The father will soon return from the mountains to live and care for his son, Sokol. More than all the physical work that was accomplished for this family, it was beautiful to see the spiritual and emotional work that took place with the children. When we arrived they were very closed and afraid to associate with people. They would shake, make noises like animals and behave bizarrely. In just about a week’s time they changed dramatically and began to calm down and respond with great joy to the love and care shown them. Sokol has changed so much; now each time we go and visit him it is like meeting an entirely new child! He leaps with joy and excitement when he sees us drive up in the vehicle. He is also more responsive and focused. Working with this family showed the awesome effect the love that Jesus places in our hearts can have on people. As Christians our command from Jesus is to love Him and love people. True and genuine love, which is birthed through a life of knowing Jesus Christ, changes people and brings healing.

The story doesn’t stop there! Members from our church (the majority of whom are poor and struggle themselves) have taken it upon themselves to care for this family. Each week members of the church take food and clothes and spend time with Sokol. This is what Christianity is about!

A DEEPER LOOK
It has been about six months since I moved here to Korce and it has been an awesome experience and time of learning. As is true with most new seasons or transitions in life, I have been faced with new challenges but also
with many newfound joys. In a practical sense, the work has been difficult, as I do not have much experience in leading or organizing such a project. In addition, constantly being surrounded by such great need can be quite emotionally draining. I have been learning to balance the high and low emotions involved in such work, and the importance of understanding when it is appropriate and how to respond to those emotions. On the other hand there is great joy and satisfaction in working with these needy people. I have a great passion for the poor and am thankful for this opportunity to reach out to a small portion of those here in the Korce region. I also have found great joy living with the Baraku Family. They have brought me in and shown me love as if I was one of the family, not to mention I get to eat great home cooked meals! They are my “Albanian” family. Preaching and teaching, although very challenging, have also been a great joy for me. Often when I speak, I am blessed by the positive response I get from the people. I am humbled to think that the King uses me as his instrument to impart His love and life to others!

The stories and tales of my experiences, challenges and joys will continue – and I hope that this short newsletter is an encouragement to you.

Thank you for your commitment to pray and support Albania Missions!

Much love!

misc. fotos from the project i am involved with

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!

the great return (march newsletter)

MARCH 2006

After an amazing Christmas with my family and lots of traveling, I am now preparing to return to Albania. I would like to share with you where God is leading me in this next season of my service in Albania as well as some of the goals and plans for the future.

My prayer is that you will join me with your prayers and support in this journey of following God as He leads me in a new area of love and service to the Albanian people.

A TIME OF TRANSITION & TRUST

Beginning in March I will be moving from the bustling capital city of Tirane to a small mountain town in Southeastern Albania known as Korce. Korce is home to one of our churches (Mission Emanuel) as well as our Christian radio station (Radio Emanuel).

I have been asked to direct a ministry of the church known as “Family Care.” This project is a social ministry reaching out to the poorest of the poor in the Korce region. Currently this ministry sponsors 200 families. Apart from the business duties of managing the ministry’s finances, seeking for new sponsors as well as families to be sponsored, my job will be to visit the families in the project on a regular basis, bringing them much needed food and clothes as well as simply coming to visit them and lend them a listening ear, a prayer, a hug, or much needed friendship. So many of the people in this project live in isolated villages or have children or family members who are handicapped or ill and very often are in need of not just practical help but someone to show them they are loved and not forgotten.

Directing this project is an answer to prayer for me. I have been praying that God would bring me into a place of more focused ministry within one church or area. This sort of social ministry has always been a passion of mine and I look forward to loving
and serving this particular people who are in great need.

In addition to directing the Family Care ministry, I will help lead the Mission Emanuel Church in Korce. The church is still without
a full-time pastor, thus I will be there helping to train leaders within the church. The Korce church’s sister church, located 45 minutes away in Erseke, is also going through a time of pastoral transition. The Erseke Church is in a very small isolated village and the pastor and church members are in need of much encouragement and are very hungry to be mentored and trained. I look forward to being able to serve the Erseke church as well and help lead them.

As I venture into this new season, a lot of which is still unclear and unknown, I am filled with much excitement and anticipation for what is ahead. I covet your prayers for confidence, trust, clarity and wisdom to lead and go about these new challenges.

THE FUTURE

Talking about the future is difficult for me as it often is unclear and changing. Let me share with you a bit of what is brewing in my heart. I have been serving in Albania for 4+ years now and I believe this last year was a major turning point in my service there. Over the past 4 years I have been involved in a wide array of ministries, which has allowed me to get to know all the people who are associated with the Stephen Center and its ministries as well as the Albanian culture and language overall. In the past I have committed on a year-by-year basis which I believe has not allowed me to fully commit myself due to the fact that as the end of each year would approach my mindset would switch to trying to figure out where I was headed next, Albania or not, rather than pressing on with the commitment a long term vision/goal brings. Thus, I believe not only for my own sake but also for those I work with, I need to commit to a longer term. I believe the investment I have made in Albania thus far is a very significant one and that God is calling me to trust Him on a deeper level by committing to Albania long-term. I am not sure if that means for another 5 years, 10 years or a lifetime, but I can say I am committed to Albania and to trust God to lead me. I believe also that God is positioning me in a place to better focus on all of our Albanian churches for the purpose of assisting these pastors to better raise up leadership within their churches.

I am excited for the future and I hope you are as well! I thank each of you for your awesome support and commitment to reach out to the country of Albania with me! I pray you will understand your importance in this ministry!

Much Love,
Sean