August-September 2008

A New Beginning

Well, it’s not really a new beginning in the strictest sense. It is new in the sense that every day and every opportunity are new beginnings. August 7 marked the beginning of my 7th year in Albania. As I look back in retrospect at the previous six years it is easy to see the Lord’s hand in all that has happened. It is also easy to see where Satan has been at work. Please pray with me that God will give me the ability to see the devil’s schemes in my life and the life of those who are new and growing Christians, and give me the wisdom to identify ways to fight against our enemy.

A Happening Place

August was a very busy month for us here in Lushnja, and a very blessed time. On August 10 it was our privilege to have Artan and Rumira Xhaferi with us as we met to worship God, and to have Artan preach for us. They are members of the church in Tirana, and have had a very great part in helping the church there through the years.

On August 23 we took a vanload of people to the church in Durrës for the annual Bible Bowl competition for churches throughout Albania. Last year we took second place in the competition, but this year we were not among the top three. Our team consisted of two adult ladies who are members of the church (Mira Balla and Sonila Rrapi), and two young teenage girls (Era MetHoxha and Xhuliana Bali), neither of whom is yet a Christian. There were representatives from most of the congregations in Albania.

Clockwise, from lower left: Xhuliana Bali, Mira Balla, Sonila Rrapi, Era MetHoxha

On August 30 we were blessed to have Dick Ady with us, and he, too, preached for us. It was also my privilege to be able to spend time with Dick for a couple of days. I have known Dick for about forty years, and now am blessed to be able to use the World English Institute materials which he has written as the primary outreach tool in the work here. Dick also serves as an elder with the Metro church of Christ, in Gresham, OR, which is my sponsoring church in the work here.

Dick Ady with Olti Mezini and Ari Gjoka

On September 13 we hosted a meeting of church leaders and workers from throughout Albania. Approximately thirty-five were in attendance, representing ten or eleven congregations. Our discussion on that day was centered around two topics: 1) James 4, and how it speaks to us in the way we deal with, speak about, each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. It was acknowledged that there exists what one brother called “a Balkan spirit”, and to the outsider it often appears as if a fight is about to break out when, in reality, it is merely an emphatic way of expression. Nonetheless, in this and every other culture, we need to be cautious in the use of our words, and especially in speaking to others about a third party. 2) We also discussed the history of, and desire for, a Christian camping program here in Albania. A committee was formed with at least one member from most all the congregations present included on the committee. Out of that came a document that we are going to use to try to enlist the help of brethren in other places in making this dream of a Christian camp become a reality. You should have received that document as an attachment with the email announcing the latest Lushnja Newsletter. If you did not receive it, and would like to see it, please let me know and I will send it to you again.

Church leaders/workers meeting

A Different New Beginning

For about one and one-half years I have had a student by the name of Harallamb (Ari) Gjoka, now age twenty-one. He has been a regular attender at our worship and fellowship activities throughout our time together. Prior to my trip to the States for the Christmas and New Year holidays we had talked about baptism, and he expressed a desire to talk more about it upon my return. However, when I came back and started studying with him again he didn’t mention it. I waited some time to see how significant an item it was to him, and he didn’t raise the issue. I asked him about this and he told me that he had talked with his father, and his father told him that they were Orthodox Christians, and this did not fit with the beliefs of their religion. He made the statement to me at that time that he feared his father more than he feared God.

Ari continued to attend our worship times and study during the week with me. We discussed baptism further, and it seems he approached his father again about his desire, and his father acknowledged that it was Ari’s decision. He said he was testing to see how serious Ari was about this choice, and he gave his approval of the decision. So, on Sunday, September 21, we traveled to Durrës and utilized the baptistery in the church meeting place there to bury Ari in baptism, and raise him to walk in newness of life. Praise be to God, and thanks to all of you who make this ministry a possibility.

Keeping Perspective

Life can be difficult, no matter where one lives. Many here in Albania have difficulty finding adequate employment, and the average yearly income for those who do find work is less than $3,000. I have had my own experiences in the U.S. with being unemployed and, in some people’s thinking, unemployable. One of my sons learned recently that his position with a major company, for which he has worked for about ten years, is being eliminated. He applied for another position within the same company, and was hired for that job, praise God! All over the globe right now economies are experiencing extreme difficulties, and there is a great deal of uncertainty in the leading and participating economic environments. It seems that only those places that are too poor to participate in the global economy are maintaining the “status quo”, and that is not a good thing for them.

Isn’t it wonderful to know that all of this turmoil and uncertainty will fade into nothingness when Christ returns, and those who are his will meet him in the air, so to be with him forever?! The value of telling people this wonderful truth came home to me recently, in the comments of Alma Kajdo. Alma became my student in May 2004, a married lady with two children, coming from a cultural, rather than religious, Moslem background. Like many others with such a background she had never been to the mosque, never read the Koran, and really had no desire to do either. She was a very deliberate student, wanting to understand at every juncture the things she was learning, and was eventually baptized in May, 2005. She has been working with me on a part-time basis since September, 2006, bringing students to the point of their English being good enough for me to work with them. She also serves as my translator when I preach, and on other occasions, as needed. Recently we were in a discussion about the church-at-large here in Albania, and she made the comment, “I can’t imagine now my life without the church! Before, I couldn’t imagine being part of a church.” Part of the motivation for this statement came from a discussion about individuals from other congregations in Albania, with whom she has become acquainted. She feels very keenly the sense of “family” that is engendered in the church.

Alma Kajdo

This involvement has not come without cost to her. Many of her friends do not understand her decision regarding commitment to the body here, nor the other changes in her life. She is a great influence in the body here. Right now she is in the last days of a pregnancy which will bring another little girl into life, the Lord willing. Please pray that she may have a trouble-free delivery, and that this child will be raised to know the Lord. Alma’s teenage daughter, Glenida, is now my student and she and her seven year-old brother, Mikael, are regular attendees as we worship God.

American Politics In Albania

It is amazing to me how many times since I came to Albania I have been asked about my personal preferences as to candidates running in U.S. elections. I came here eleven months after the 9/11 event, so there was much interest in my perception of all that. During the run up to the ’04 election I was asked my preference, and the same is true of the upcoming election. America is generally seen in a favorable light by the Albanians with which I have interaction, in part because of the support given to the independence move for Kosova. I don’t know if it is indicative of the general sentiment here, and I am not trying to influence anyone’s vote on November 4, but most of those with whom I have had any discussions about the upcoming election seem to be leaning toward the McCain/Palin ticket.

Much like in America, people make political decisions and choices for many of the wrong reasons. I am not a politician, and I don’t care to address my opinions of who/which party would be best for Albania OR America. I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about politics, though I know politics exists everywhere, including in the church. In the church it shouldn’t be a large problem, if we are truly trying to seek God’s will in all things, using the Bible as the measuring stick. We don’t, of course, always do so, and therein lies a big problem. As you think about the one(s) for whom you will vote, please bear in mind that whoever wins the various government positions do so because God allows it to be. You may love the outcomes, or you may not, but live with whatever happens in a way that will bring glory to God through your individual lives.

May God bless you as you seek ways in which to serve and glorify his name.

Held in arms of love,

Tom