Matt 28:18-20

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
NIV

John 20:10-16

10 Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13 They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"

"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15 "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

16 Jesus said to her, "Mary."

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
NIV
 

NIV


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Aug-07

To the supporters of the Durres Missionary Team:

We can't thank you enough for making 2001 such a successful year in Durres. There is much that we want to share with you concerning our progress in carrying out the Lord's work this past year. However, we don't want to overwhelm you with too much information, so we are going to split our year-end report into two parts. They are forecasting a seven day power outage, so don't be surprised if it takes a while before we respond to your emails. Also, we have three important items to bring to your attention immediately-

1. The problem with our sponsoring congregation's address has hopefully been fixed. It appears that the problem was not with the address, but with the post office personnel. Minor variances in the address (i.e. street vs. road) are all being delivered now, but just to be on the safe side, here is the official address for all future correspondence-

Idaho Falls Church of Christ
2650 Plommon St.
Idaho Falls, ID 83402

2. The tax letter mailouts for all contributors are being created this month, and are scheduled to be sent out at the end of January. If you made a contribution to our team, and do not receive this letter by the middle of February, please let us know.

3. We would be happy to provide the full financial disclosure of our team to anyone who is interested. Just send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to our sponsoring congregation, along with a short note stating your request, and we'll mail one to you.

Your fellow servants,

The Smiths, the Winebargers, and Lynn Hunt
**********************************************************
In this month's edition of the "Mission Durres" Newsletter-

Greetings to the supporters of the Durres mission team!

Scroll down to read our February Newsletter, and don't forget to read the attached document "Article.rtf" for a summary of our 2001 activities.

FULL SUPPORT: Our team is now fully supported. The Adam's Blvd. Church of Christ in Bartlesville, OK began helping to support us and that brought us up to full support. Even though we did not have full monthly support for the first 7
months of our work in Durres, we always had enough because so many of you gave us one time support. But we knew if
the support situation remained the same, at least one family would have had to returned to America early. But now, if all of our regular monthly supporters continue, all of us will be able to stay. Praise to God for supplying our needs and may God count the fruit of our labors in Duress to your account as you so graciously give to support us (Philippians 4:17).

FAITHFUL: All the new Christians in Durres remain faithful except for one who moved away and we are unable to contact her so we don't know her situation. We have a lot of fellowship with the new Christians and they are growing in the Lord. Some are exceptional in their growth. We are going through a yearly Bible reading program and we will have a "Bible Reader's Fellowship" this Sunday. We will eat together and then discuss questions that come up from our Bible reading. The Tirana church will have a youth rally in mid February and we have 18 signed up to go. Our Sunday morning Bible classes continue to grow. We have always had 100% attendance in our Sunday Bible class (that is the same number as the worship assembly) but since we started a children's class we actually have more in Bible class than our worship assembly.

GENERATOR: Albania does not have the capacity to generate all the electricity the country needs. Power has always
been off and on since we've been here but now it is off more than it is on. We rarely have electricity here at the school during the day. We have some battery powered lights but often we don't get enough electricity for them to recharge over night. Sometimes we teach classes by candle light. We have sent students home because it is just too dark to see. So we purchased a generator. We borrowed the money ($3,300.00) from some other funds to be able to get the generator immediately.

ALBANIAN MINISTER: Çimi Kafexhiu has been hired by the Durres church to work as the preacher. Of course, the Durres church is new and small so we cannot supply all of his salary. So we will try to raise the rest of his support. To my knowledge however, this is the first time an Albanian church has supplied any salary for an Albanian preacher.

TRIP TO USA: Lynn will be in America from February 4th through March 28th. He will be recruiting workers for our summer campaign, helping to raise support for Ty Pope (Ty plans to move to Durres in June and work with us for a couple of years), raise replacement funds for the generator ($3,300.00 needed) and raise the remainder of Cimi's support (the Durres church supplies $50.00 per month, Idaho Falls supplies $100.00 per month and an individual supplies $50.00 per month so far). Lynn will also give a report at several congregations that are helping us.

CLASSES: Altogether, we have 36 students we are teaching (not counting Lynn's students). The Albanians are a delightful people. They have very little Bible knowledge so it does take longer to teach them. They have a great interest in God's Word. Most of it is just curiosity so we have to shuffle though many to find the ones who really want to follow God.. There are so many who want to study that we teach one class after another all day.

CAMPAIGNS: We need your help! Can you join us for the summer or part of the summer? It is easy to get students but our schedules are full. If you could come for two, four, or six weeks let us know and we will send you details.

WEB PAGE AND EMAILS: Our team email address is weidurres@missionalbania.com or you can use our individual emails listed below. You can send an email of encouragement to any of the Christians here by simply going to the response section of our web page and clicking on their picture.

Your fellow servants,
The Smiths, the Winebargers, and Lynn Hunt

February Newsletter from Durres

I watched Ilir feel the air in front of him with a curtain rod. The piñata dangled just above his head, but the blindfold prevented him from seeing it. He was being very cautious. This was partly because of the number of people around him. The room was small and crowded, and people frequently moved to avoid being struck by a wild swing. Nevertheless, the atmosphere was very festive, and people were laughing, talking, and yelling instructions to Ilir. He was also being cautious because he knew the value of a good hit. A solid blow could break the piñata, causing it to spill its sugary innards to the floor. And He knew the person who broke the piñata would win the grand prize: an Albanian-English dictionary! As he raised the rod over his head, I mused that this was a very satisfactory ending to an amazing year.

My introduction to Albania actually came the year before. I was working as a computer programmer in Little Rock at the time. I remember calling my parents on Sunday afternoon, as had been my custom since I moved away to college. The big news of the week was that their minister had decided to take a new job - in Albania! This was a surprise to me as well. Dennis had been working as the pulpit minister in Idaho Falls since I was a little child. Not only was he the man who baptized me, but I also consider him to be an instrumental part of my spiritual growth. Needless to say, I was curious about what caused this sudden change.

I found out that the Idaho Falls church was sponsoring Randy and Pam Richards, a missionary couple in Tirana, the capital of Albania. The Richards had invited the elders from Idaho Falls to come and participate in a missionary conference that year. The purpose of the conference was for sponsors to see first-hand how God was working in Albania. Three men decided to accept that invitation. Les Pope (an elder), Dennis Winebarger (an elder and minister), and Patrick Smith (the missions deacon) traveled to Tirana that spring. They were impressed with what they saw. They were impressed with the openness of the Albanian people, they were impressed with the effectiveness of the missionaries' program, and they were impressed with God's ability to reap a hundred-fold from what was being sown. In fact, they were so impressed, that they decided to join the work. Patrick introduced the subject to Jamie, his wife, by saying, "What are we doing that is so important that we can't give up a couple years to help."
So the decision was finalized. Dennis and Patrick were going to move their families to Albania. They had chosen the city of Durres as their destination. Les was going to stay in Idaho Falls as a state-side advocate for the team. Everybody else was in a state of shock. "Albania? Isn't that dangerous? What about your children? What about the church here?" Many questions had to be answered and many concerns had to be addressed. But the two families were confident that God would provide everything they needed. Meanwhile, I was plugging away at my cushy desk job. But the question haunted me as well. What was I doing that was so important I couldn't give up a couple years to help? The answer remained the same - nothing. So that fall, I asked to join the team.

I'll never forget the next six months. Fundraising is a strange mix of frustration and poignancy. I remember a widow living on social security who gave me five dollars. I suspect it was more than she could really afford. And the family who stretched their budget to give twenty five dollars a month, in spite of the fact they had two daughters they were putting through college. Or the children's Bible class that collected coins from two-year-olds to send to us. Everywhere I turned, people would cheerfully give what they could afford. But with all the donations, our goal still seemed so far away. We believed God was going to find a way to get us to Albania, but He seemed to be on a much slower schedule.

Spring rolled around, and invitations to the Albanian missionary conference were offered again. The team decided it was time to act on faith. Two representatives were sent to the conference, and I was one of them. Only I wasn't planning on coming back at the end of it. The Winebarger and Smith families were going to join me in two months, regardless of our funding status. My traveling partner was Mike Tkachyk, who was going to replace Dennis as the pulpit minister in Idaho Falls. Mike has a wacky sense of humor, but he really helped keep me sane during the trauma of moving to a third-world country. We started off living in Tirana, and commuting to Durres every day. The van drivers that carried passengers on this route made money in one of two ways. By filling every available cubic foot of space with a human body, and/or by driving the route as quickly as possible. It was always a harrowing experience, but it did wonders for our prayer life.

My task was to prepare for the arrival of the remainder of the team. I was blessed to have help from the Christians in Tirana. Two Christians in particular were dedicated full time to work alongside me in this effort. I could not have accomplished anything without the help of Eric Qirjaqi and Çimi Kafexhiu. They knew we were planning to start a new work in Durres, so they had done some prep-work for us. I was informed that there used to be a church in Durres. A missionary from New Zealand had worked there in the nineties, and he had converted about twenty people before he had to leave. The Christians from Tirana had been searching for any of them who were still around. Most had moved away, but they were able to locate four people still dedicated to Christ. They also rented a building for us to hold worship services in. Mike and I were so impressed with this small group when we joined them. When you only have eight people in your congregation, everybody has to participate. But I never heard anyone complain. They even seemed eager to help. That's one thing that seems to be common to all the converts I've met over here. They have such a beautiful appreciation for their salvation. They don't ever hesitate to give back to God in any way that they are asked.

After two busy months, the living and working arrangements for the team were finished. When they arrived, they only had about a week to settle in. Then everybody plunged into the work. We started setting up Bible studies as fast as we could. Some of the studies were taught by the team, but a lot of them were passed on to our first campaign group. We had eleven volunteers over the summer. With their help, we built a firm foundation for the church. Everybody taught about seven hours each day. Even then, we still had a long waiting list of Albanians wanting to study with us. Many of our students were just curious, but many of them were seriously interested in the Gospel. At the end of July, we had our first baptism, and there were three more within a month. It was a very memorable summer. I will never forget our daily lunch breaks at the restaurant around the corner, or trying to buy fans for everyone at the local market, or taking trips to a nearby tourist town, or a thousand other unique experiences. But all things must eventually come to an end, and in September, we waved good-bye to the last of our campaigners. We were on our own.
When the school year started, we had to shuffle our schedules around. We placed adults in the morning time slots, and teens in the afternoon. These one on one sessions were designed to convert people to Christ. However, we also had several new Christians that needed to be taught. So Patrick started our fist group class. On Friday afternoons, he teaches a Bible overview class for about twenty people. We also wanted to start a Wednesday evening class. Dennis picked that one up, and is teaching about the book of Luke. Attendance on Sunday mornings remained steady, and we eventually had one more baptism for the year. The families were finally adjusting to life in Albania, and everybody was glad to finally settle down into a routine.

The fall was also a time of fellowship. On many Fridays, Patrick would invite the teens to his house to play games and eat popcorn. On Sundays, Dennis' wife Fredia would invite the girls to her house for cooking lessons. These times of fellowship really seemed to strengthen the church. No longer did the converts act like individual Christians, but everyone became part of a team. Everyone became a part of the body of Christ.

As the end of the year approached, we started thinking about the future. 2001 had been a busy year, but it was just a start. We talked and prayed about our plans for the upcoming year. In January, we would start a yearly Bible reading program and a Sunday morning children's class. In February, the congregation in Tirana would hold a Youth Rally. In March, we would attend the annual missionaries conference. In May, the Harding Chorus would perform in Durres. In July we would host another summer campaign, this time both larger and longer. As the list of things to do increased, we knew we would need some time to prepare. We found a week between Christmas and New Year's Day.

So on the last Sunday of the year, we presented our goals for the future to the church. They were as excited as we were about all the events planned. They also volunteered to help us in any way we needed. The main discussion, however, was not about events, but about people. When the team arrived in Durres, we only had six month's worth of support. At the end of those six months, we came to know first-hand how God provides. We received word that we were fully funded for our original two year commitment! What a blessing. However, during our time of shortage, we really saw the need for the church to have an indigenous minister. So at the meeting, we discussed this with the local Christians. They agreed with our assessment, and proposed hiring Çimi, who had already been working part time with us. They were happy to use part of the weekly contribution toward this effort. It was not enough to make a livable salary, but it will be one day. So we added another item to our list of things to do: find interim financial support for an indigenous minister. We also discussed what would happen when our time in Durres is finished. We don't want to leave this young church struggling on its own. We told them we expected to find a replacement missionary family to carry on the work after we leave. We told them that one of the summer campaigners, Ty Pope, was already planning to move here when he graduates from Harding. Now, of course, we have to carry through on our promise. But God will provide, as he always has.

After the meeting, we all went to my apartment for a New Year's Eve party. It was the perfect way to end the year. Surrounded by the fruits of our labor. Surrounded by living and breathing examples of God's hand working here on earth. I just had to praise Him for what he's done in my life, in the lives of my teammates, and in the lives of the Albanians. These were my thoughts as Ilir took a mighty swing at the piñata.

Lynn Hunt

Greetings to each of you! We want to thank you for your continued prayers.

It is with great joy that I am able to share with you the events of this last week. In my last note to you, I asked that you pray for two of my students, Skender and Leila. I believe that because of your faithfulness to this task, all of our prayers were answered. Skender declared this week that after studying and reading the Bible that he wanted to turn his life over to Christ. It was with great joy that the Church gathered on the shores of the Adriatic Sea for his baptism. For those there, it was an emotional moment as he declared that he wanted to be counted as a child of God. As he spoke, it was evident to all his clear understanding of God’s plan of salvation and how he wanted it! It was with great joy that he ran to the waters edge. His excitement was also evident as he arose from the sea and declared God’s victory over sin. Please take a moment and view the attached picture of your new brother in Christ.

Please continue to pray for Leila. I was able to have coffee with her, Kutim (her husband), and Kutim’s father this week. Friendship will play a vital role in reaching this couple and their children.

Your Fellow Servant

Patrick

CAMPAIGN: English, English, English, so many people here want to learn English. So we advertise that we teach a free English course using the Bible. We let them know right up front that this is about religion. Their desire to know English opens a great door for the Gospel. Many of the Albanians have learned English to some degree and they want to improve. Potential summer campaigners often email and express concern about teaching an English course. We tell them, “Don't worry about the English”. The WEI English lessons are well written and actually teach themselves. The students do the English lesson at home. All we do is check
their answers when they come to class and we even have an answer sheet. If they have any questions, we simply assign them a section to read on the subject of their question.

The student does all the work and they do work hard. Generally, they have never heard an American speak, so they hang on every word. Often, you can see their English improve each week.

The WEI Bible course teaches itself as well. All religion was illegal for 40 years so there is very little Bible knowledge. A new student just began yesterday. She is 53, a middle school teacher and a French language teacher. She has never had a Bible or ever read one sentence from the Bible before that class. Another student, after reading Genesis chapter one said, "So that is the way it happened!"

Even if students do not develop an interest in Christianity, they still learn about the Bible and they get what we
promised; a very good English course. Eric Winebarger is 16 years old and he teaches classes. Benjamin Smith is 15 and he teaches classes. Patrick Smith II is 12 and he teaches a 12 year old Albanian boy. You can teach too!

We need your help! If you are a faithful Christian, speak English and have a caring concern for the lost, you have all the ability you need to come on a campaign. We need teachers for the summer campaign, but especially the last week of July and the entire month of August. Consider coming for two, four, or six weeks. We will also need follow-up teachers in the Fall (September/October). Please come and let us put you to work. You will be amazed at the way that God will use you to touch the lives of others.

BAPTISM: Ajald Çelmeta, one of Eric’s students was baptized 3 weeks ago. Ajald began studying last summer and has attended worship services regularly. He led singing for us the second Sunday after he was baptized.

CONFERENCE: World English Institute held a 2 day conference for missionaries the third week in March in Tirana. For Patrick and Dennis this was a reminder of how it all began. In 2000, we attended that first conference sponsored by WEI. We also had the opportunity of teaching many students over the next month. However, it did not take us long to see the opportunity and the need to share God’s Word in Albania. We
learned that Durres, the second largest city in Albania, did not have a church meeting there. After returning home we began making plans to move to Durres. Now, after living here almost a year, it is exciting to see what has happened. Between 30 and 40 meet each Sunday to worship God. We teach 48 students in a one-on-one study each week. We have three group studies each week and each of those classes has more
than 20 in attendance. All praise to God for the good that has been done. This year’s conference gave us some new ideas about how to better reach the lost. We also enjoyed some fellowship with other missionaries from Albania and Kosova and with those who came from America to attend the conference. It was an extra blessing for us to be able to sing songs of praise in our native tongue once again.

PICNIC: The Elbasan church sponsored a picnic on the beach near Durres. We enjoyed the fellowship with Christians from Elbasan and Tirana. Ajald was baptized in the Adriatic Sea at the time of our picnic.

WEB PAGE AND EMAILS: Our team email address is weidurres@missionalbania.com or you can use our individual emails listed below. You can send an email of encouragement to any of the Christians here by simply going to our web page a clicking on their picture.

Your fellow servants,
The Smiths, the Winebargers, Lynn Hunt & Shkelqim Kafexhiu

Once again, we thank you for your support and prayers.

Your fellow servants,
The Smiths, the Winebargers, Lynn Hunt, Ty Pope & Çimi Kafexhiu

************************************************************
Homepage: www.missionalbania.com
Team Email: weiDurres@missionalbania.com
Sponsor:
        Idaho Falls Church of Christ
        2650 Plommon St.
        Idaho Falls, ID  83402

Smith Family: pjsmithx7@yahoo.com
Winebarger Family: drw44@juno.com
Lynn Hunt: huntmaestro@yahoo.com
Çimi Kafexhiu: cimish2000@yahoo.com

September 2002

Greetings to the supporters of the Durres Missionary Team!

This month has brought about change.  With school beginning, the students are busier than ever.  This, however, does not keep those who are truly interested from attending.  The most significant of changes was the weather. It rained a lot this month.

CAMPAIGNS: The summer campaign finally came to an end this month, and we feel that it was a great success.  Theresa King, from Oklahoma City, was the last campaigner to leave.  We would like to thank her and all the other participants, who so selflessly gave their time and money to be here teaching the Word of God.  Special apologies go out to Donna, John, and Carma, who we failed to mention in our July newsletter.

BIBLE BOWL: On the 7th of September, we had our second Bible Bowl here in Durres.  This Bible Bowl included two teams from Tirana.  It was a good day with fellowship, fun, and 100 questions about the book of Acts.  The participants studied very hard, and it showed.  The top three scores were 99/100, 97/100, and 94/100.  Although there could be only one first place team, all the participants are the better for having so thoroughly studied Acts.  Everyone learned something new about God's Word from this Bible Bowl, and that is the goal of any Bible Bowl. 

BAPTISM: One more soul has been blessed this month by taking on Christ  in baptism.

CONSIDERATION: In addition to the one baptism this month, there are a number of students considering baptism.  We would ask that you pray for these individuals to choose the way of salvation and join the body of Christ.

ATTENDANCE: Though school has started, attendance has remained steady.  We average 50 each week, with 36 of those in attendance being Albanians.  It is great to see that we are outnumbered by the Albanians in attendance.

VACATION: The Smith family is on vacation in America.  They went to be with Patrick's father during his surgery.  They will be in the states until October 24.  They will be traveling thorough Oklahoma during part of their vacation before returning to Texas.  So when you see them, give them a warm welcome and say a prayer with them for Albania.

CHILDRENS' CLASS: A weekly children's class has been started by the Morrill's and Cimi.  This class was inspired by the VBS we had here this summer with the help of Maralyn Fisher, one of the campaigners from Bartlesville.  Every Tuesday one class is held in the morning (ages 6-9), and one is held in the afternoon (ages 10-13).  The classes will switch times in the spring; this will allow any that wish to come the ability to do so without interfering with their school attendance.  The children have been enjoying the class and learning a lot.

PRAYERS: Please remember the Smith family as they travel.  We ask that you pray for those who are considering baptism.  We also ask that you pray for the continued fervor of the Christians here in Albania.  And please pray about the flooding in the south and north of Albania.

Take care and God bless,
The Smiths, the Winebargers, the Morrills, Lynn Hunt, Çimi Kafexhiu, and Ty
Pope

************************************************************
Homepage: www.missionalbania.com
Team Email: weiDurres@missionalbania.com
Sponsor:
        Idaho Falls Church of Christ
        2650 Plommon St.
        Idaho Falls, ID  83402

Smith Family: pjsmithx7@yahoo.com
Winebarger Family: drw44@juno.com
Lynn Hunt: huntmaestro@yahoo.com
Çimi Kafexhiu: cimish2000@yahoo.com
Ty Pope: t_hawk72@hotmail.com
Morrill Family: morrills_in_durres@yahoo.com

• The Winebarger Family as Dennis' mother passed away in October.
• The continued recovery of Patrick’s father.
• The hearts of our students and their parents. We have a number of students who want to be baptized, but one or more of their parents does not approve. Those who cannot attend because of their parents objections. 
• The continued growth of the church and the strengthening of new Christians.  American Christians who are thinking about coming to Durres and their support.
  
  Take care and God bless,
  The Smiths, the Winebargers, Lynn Hunt, Çimi
  Kafexhiu, Ty Pope and the Morrills
  ************************************************************
  Homepage: www.missionalbania.com
  Team Email: weiDurres@missionalbania.com
  Sponsor:
           Idaho Falls Church of Christ
           2650 Plommon St.
           Idaho Falls, ID  83402
  
  Smith Family: pjsmithx7@yahoo.com
  Winebarger Family: drw44@juno.com
  Lynn Hunt: huntmaestro@yahoo.com
  Çimi Kafexhiu: cimish2000@yahoo.com
  Ty Pope: t_hawk72@hotmail.com
  Morrill Family: morrills_in_durres@yahoo.com

END OF YEAR SUPPORT STATEMENTS:  The Idaho Falls congregation is presently
sending out receipts for income tax purposes to all contributors.  IRS rules only require receipts for single contributions (not the annual total) greater than $250.00.  Should anyone need or want 
something different for their tax purposes, please notify the Idaho Falls congregation by writing to Homer Anderson, 2295 Evans Ave., Idaho Falls, ID 83402, by calling the him at (208-523-4055),
or by sending an email message to him at MyraAnders@aol.com.

************************************************************
Homepage: www.missionalbania.com
Team Email: weiDurres@missionalbania.com
Sponsor:
         Idaho Falls Church of Christ
         2650 Plommon St.
         Idaho Falls, ID  83402
Lynn Hunt: huntmaestro@yahoo.com
Çimi Kafexhiu: cimish2000@yahoo.com
Allison & Kevin Morrill: morrills_in_Durres@yahoo.com
Ty Pope: t_hawk72@hotmail.com
Jamie & Patrick Smith: pjsmithx7@yahoo.com
Dennis & Fredia Winebarger: drw44@juno.com
 

Greetings to the supporters of the Durres Missionary Team!

PLANNING EVENTS:
The church has been busy planning for a Youth Day May 3 and Ladies Day June 21. This has been a growing experience for the church. These are two national events, and they will be the biggest events the church has ever hosted. The planning committees are learning to be creative with money and space. The money for the events has come solely from special collections made by the church in Durres.

 THERESA KING ARRIVES:
Theresa King arrived in Durres on April 30. She is beginning to get adjusted to Albanian life. Like the rest of the team, Theresa is stepping out on faith with her move to Durres. At this time she still needs more support to cover housing costs. She is currently living with the Morrills. 

SUMMER TIME IS ALMOST HERE:
Summer Campaigns are slowly filling up. We have attached a copy of the campaigner information; again, if you are interested in working with us please contact us soon. We would love to have your help here in Durres.

Also, this summer the Durres team will be working with another summer intern. The internship is designed to improve speaking, study, evangelism skills and leadership training. Application forms have been sent to all of the Churches in Albania and applicants are to respond by May 30^th.

BRENDA BIRCKHOLTZ AND BETTY BENDER:
Brenda Birckholtz and Betty Bender spent three weeks in Durres. They were a great encouragement to the team. Betty and Brenda used WEI materials to teach many new students. Their joy and excitement for teaching was very evident.

VAN AND JEAN TATE:
Van and Jean arrived just in time to continue the teaching of Brenda and Betty’s students. It was a wonderful transition between teachers. A few of these new students have even begun attending church. Van and Jean have also been a good source of stories and life experiences on the mission field.

TEENS HELP FOCUS CHURCH ON PRAYER:
During a Friday afternoon Bible Study centering on the Early Church, the youth listed different attributes of the Early Church. The list was refined until it included these main points: eating together, worshiping together, meeting together, studying together, praying together, and praying as individuals. When asked if the Durres Church did these things the general answer was yes, but we can still grow. Prayer was the specific area that was seen as needing special attention. This has brought about the creation of a weekly prayer list. The first list was typed and printed only in English. The next week one of the Albanians said, “You know it would be better if that was in Albanian.” What a wonderful idea! The list now appears in Albanian on the bulletin board and small pocket sized copies are printed in Albanian and English.

It should be noted that the Prayer list includes both thanksgiving and praise. In fact some of the items that the Church has been praying for have already turned into praises and thanksgiving. GOD IS GOOD!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• National Ladies Day June 21^st
• Summer Intern Program
• Summer Campaigns
• Church Prayer Life
• Continued Church Growth

 In His love,

The Winebargers, Lynn Hunt, Cimi Kafexhiu, Theresa King, the Morrills, Ty Pope, and the Zikes

Baptism:
This month brought another brother in Christ.  Elvin Xhimitiku was baptized into Christ on May 18.  It was an exciting day for him and for all the fellow Christians here.  He chose to be baptized in our larger baptistry in Durres, the Adriatic Sea.  We rejoiced and continue to rejoice with him.  We ask that you keep him in your prayers as he begins his walk with Christ.

Fellowship:
The annual Youth Day was held in Durres this year.  All the planning was done by the Albanians.  The youth did most of the organizing for the day.  Cimi went around making sure that things ran smoothly all day.  The teens organized the youth into five different groups and split them up.  Each group went to a different historic site in Durres.  There was a different Albanian speaker for each site and the groups moved around visiting the other sites.  We had 150 in attendance for this great day.  The Lord blessed us with a bright and sunny day for this event.  It was a great success and a wonderful encouragement to our youth.

Christian Life:
In the Friday afternoon youth class, many of the teens felt that we were doing a good job of imitating the early church, but that our prayer life could use some work.  As a result of this class, it was decided that we should spend more time in prayer.  The day before the Youth Day was dedicated to prayer.  We had 24 hours of prayer, and the Lord blessed the Youth Day with great weather and a time of growth for all involved.  This 24 hour day of prayer went over so well that the congregation decided that we needed to do something like this on a regular basis.  From this involvement a list was created that the members sign in which they set aside 15 minutes of time in the morning and/or in the evening to pray.  Members pray for things that are on our prayer list each week, as well as the growth of the church and their personal concerns.  It’s amazing to see God working and answering the prayers of the congregation each week.  We believe that this is a very positive step in the life of the church.

Moving:
Theresa King has moved to Durres to work with the congregation here as well.  We are excited that she has joined us here in serving the Lord.  We also look forward to all that she can accomplish here through the Lord.  Alfred Zike left this month to bring his family back from Greece.  While he has been here working, his family has been finishing the school year there.  They will be moving here to work full time and be a part of the congregation here.  We look forward to their arrival and addition to the body of believers here.

Theresa King

Prayer:
We ask that you remember all of the members of the congregation in your prayers as well as those who are thinking about baptism.  Keep Theresa King in your prayers as she joins the team here.  Also, pray that the Lord will provide the necessary support for her to continue working in Durres.  If you are able to help with her support please contact her sponsoring congregation at the Edmond Church of Christ in Edmond, Okalahoma.  Please remember Alfred and his family as they make their move back to Albania to work in Durres full time.  The Lord’s Kingdom will continue to grow as we all strive to serve him and become a people of prayer.  As always, we want you to pray that the Lord’s will is done in Durres and throughout Albania.  We also ask that you pray for attendance.  As summer approaches, many want to go to the beach, but we know the Lord comes first.  We ask that you pray for continued attendance and an increase in attendance.

Your servants in Christ:

Lynn Hunt, Çimi Kafexhiu, Theresa King, the Morrills, Ty Pope, the Winebargers, and the Zikes.

Greetings to the supporters of the Durres Mission Team!

We have reached the height of summer, our busiest time of the year. Taking advantage of the fact that so many students are on their summer break, we have filled our schedules from morning to evening with classes. Filling not only our own schedules, but also the schedules of those coming on summer campaigns. Praise God that his Word is being taught to so many Albanians!

TWO BAPTIZED: Our teaching efforts have not been in vain. This month two students, Silvana Toli and Megi Tirana, were baptized. Silva is a twenty-five year old dentist. She has been studying with Dennis for several months, and on July 6 she finally decided to give her life to Christ. Megi is a high-school student who has been studying with Fredia. >From the first moment she signed up for the course, she has shown a lot of interest in spiritual things. We have been watching her grow, and we rejoiced when she was baptized on July 27.

CAMPAIGNS CONTINUE: We have been blessed with some wonderful volunteers this summer. The war with Iraq kept many people away, but Kelly Atkins, Doug & Tanya Barber, and Benjamin Smith all braved the journey this month to help teach about God. We are thankful for their presence, and for the great job they have been doing. And we know that God will bring fruit from the seeds they planted.

SUMMER INTERN: Our summer intern, Ajald Celmeta, is doing a fantastic job. He has been helping us with the campaigners, helping the church prepare for this year’s Bible Bowl, teaching classes, and doing many other similar tasks. Also, he is doing an intensive study on Christian evidences. We hope he will be converting his fellow Albanians to Christ throughout his life.

CLASSES, CLASSES, CLASSES: We have started several new public classes this month. Allison is teaching a class for the young ladies on “the fruits of the Spirit”. Diana and Cimi have started an English class for beginning students. We believe these students will eventually learn enough English to take the WEI course. And Lynn has started a class on singing and reading music. He is hoping to give the Christians some tools for learning and teaching new songs.

THE VILLAGE OF ZHARRËZ: One of our fellow missionaries, Brent Parr, is working in the city of Fier and the village of Zharrëz. He will be returning to America next month for a short visit. During his absence, he has asked the church in Durres to meet with the Christians in Zharrëz. We remember all the times the Christians in Tirana came to Durres to meet with us and encourage us. So we gladly agreed to pass on the favor to another congregation in need of encouragement. This month Kevin and Lynn visited Zharrëz with Brent, in order to know the location and to introduce themselves to the Christians there.

POGRADEC: We are encouraging the Christians in Durres to start evangelizing their own people. This is a very necessary step if the church is going to survive in Albania. So our congregation has been looking at other cities that could be potential locations for new congregations. Last summer, we had several people visit Kavaja, a city just south of Durres. This summer, several of the Christians visited Pogradec, a city on the eastern border of Albania. We don’t know what the Lord’s will is for these cities, but we hope that someday they will hear the good news about Christ. And if he chooses to use the Christians in Durres to teach them, then we will gladly accept His call.

OLD FRIENDS: Our first convert, Jonida Kushi, is back in Durres. We are very pleased to see her again. She has been going to the university in Italy, and is just home for the summer. We hope that all our converts remain as faithful as she has.

NEEDS: Theresa King, who is working with us in Durres, is still looking to secure enough financial support to stay and teach in Albania. In the four months she has been here, she has really jumped in with both feet. She is doing a terrific job of teaching the WEI courses, and she is starting to work with the young Christian girls. Please pray with us that God will make a way for her to stay. And please mention her name to your Christian friends and congregations. If they can help financially, her sponsoring congregation is:

Edmond Church of Christ
801 South Bryant
Edmond, OK 73034

Your fellow servants,

Lynn Hunt, Cimi Kafexhiu, Theresa King, Ty Pope, Diana Qerimi, The Morrills, the Winebargers, and the Zikes

 

Helping Hand:
     This month brought about many changes in Durres.  With the missionary in Fier taking a furlough, some from here have been traveling there to conduct worship at a small village outside of Fier called Zharrez.  There are about 6 Christians, but attendance has been low there. 

Intern:
     Ajald Celmeta has been working with us through the summer.  He has been teaching classes and taking classes from some of the team members.  He has also been planning the Bible Bowl, which will take place in September.  It is amazing to see how much he has grown in one year and how much of an encouragement he has been to the other Christians here.  He is a good example for the other teenagers.

Baptisms:
     This has been an exciting month for baptisms.  We have added two to the family here.  Doriana Delija was baptized on August 14.  It was a joyous occasion for all of us.  We were also blessed with the baptism of Alfred Zike’s son Aldi Zike on August 24.  We rejoice with Alfred’s family at Aldi’s decision.  These two additions are a great encouragement to the Lord’s Family here.

Campaigns:
     This month saw the departure of Doug and Tanya Barber, and Benjamin Smith from our supporting congregation in Idaho.  They were a joy to have with us.  Dale and Carlotta Baird from Oklahoma were here for the month.  They kept busy teaching students.  It was a joy to have them with us again.  This month also brought Steve and Deborah Stamatis, and Anna Pride from Maryland.  All of these campaigners were a great encouragement to us.  In addition to these, August 31 brought a group from Minnesota.

Learning:
     While Steve Stamatis was here, the team had the opportunity to listen to Steve present lessons on 1^st and 2^nd Peter.  It was a great addition to our schedules.  The lessons were very informative and uplifting.

Good-Byes:
     This month saw the departure of Jona Salataj.  She has gone to the States on a student exchange program to finish her last year of high school.  We have also said good-bye to Mariola Malja.  She has gone to Italy to begin university.  The Church here will miss their presence, but we know that the Lord will use them anywhere they go.

Arrivals:
     This month has brought the arrival of Ray and Shelley Wheeler.  They moved to Durres to work for two years.  The team is excited by their desire to serve the Lord in Albania.  We know that they will be a blessing to the work here. 

Prayer Requests:
     We ask that you keep the continued growth of the Church here in your prayers.  Please pray for the Christians here, and their desire to grow in the Lord.  We also would like you to keep those who have left Albania for studies in your prayers.

Your servants in Christ: Lynn Hunt, Cimi Kafexhiu, Theresa King, the Morrills, Ty Pope, the Wheelers, the Winebargers, and the Zikes.

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OCTOBER 2003

Greetings to the supporters of the Durrës mission team! 

MEN’S DAY: Even though the second annual Men’s Day was sponsored by the Tirana church of Christ, they elected to hold it in Durrës. Christian men from all over Albania attended, including eleven from our own congregation. The theme for the event was from 2 Timothy 2:1-2: “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” We had the privilege to listen to two Albanian speakers on this topic. One of them, Alfred Zike, is a part of our very own team. We also listened to a small choir perform a number of newly translated songs (some of which will hopefully be in our songbook soon). And, of course, no men’s day could be complete without sharing a meal together. They arranged our seating to enable us to meet and converse with members of other congregations. It was a wonderful day. But the men weren’t the only ones to enjoy the day. To ensure that the ladies didn’t feel left out, Shelley arranged a morning baking party. Or so we heard. Unfortunately, none of the baked goods ever reached our mouths, so we had to take her word for it. 

NEW TEXTUAL STUDIES: Most of our time is still spent using the WEI materials; it has been a very effective tool in this country. However, our teaching doesn’t always end when the student finishes the course. We try to give a little extra attention to students who become Christians or to students who seem to have that potential. So a number of new courses are being offered on a case by case basis. Ray and Shelley are teaching the book of Acts to some of their students. Lynn is studying “The Case For Christ” with one of his students. And Alfred, Allison, Theresa, and Ty are all using WBS (World Bible School) material with a few select students. We pray that adding new courses will bring greater growth to God’s kingdom. 

ALBANIAN EVENTS: Two nationwide events took place in October. This year happened to be an election year. The country has not had any serious economic difficulties recently, so we had no real reasons to worry about the elections. But anytime there is change, there is also the possibility of violence. Thankfully, everything went very smoothly. The other event was a celebration of Mother Teresa, who was an ethnic Albanian. The Albanians are very proud to be associated with her, and declared a national holiday on the day the Catholic Church beatified her. While we know that only God can make that decision, we were happy to take a day off anyway. Lynn invited the teenagers to his apartment for a time of fellowship and games. 

CHURCH TRANSITION: One of our primary goals as missionaries is to create a congregation that is autonomous. We want the church in Durrës to survive when the missionaries leave. We have seen wonderful growth in the last three years, and now we are starting to move our focus off of evangelism and onto helping the Albanians evangelize themselves. A big step toward that goal is holding the worship services entirely in Albanian. As long as they are catering to the foreigners, they are not catering to their own people. So we asked for Cimi and Alfred (who do most of the preaching) to stop using a translator. Even if we don’t understand every word they say, we can tell that the message is sinking in much deeper without the distracting interruptions from translating. Another great blessing in our efforts to make the congregation autonomous has been the new men who were baptized last month. We are already using them to help on Sunday mornings. The more Albanian men we have serving in the worship service, the less dependence there is on the foreign missionaries. We want our influence to diminish so that God’s influence will increase! 

CHILDREN’S CLASS: The classes we offer for children have all seen increased attendance this fall. Currently Allison and Theresa are teaching four classes on Tuesday, Diana Qerimi is teaching one class on Monday, and Diana Zike is teaching the Sunday morning children’s class. These classes serve as an entry program to our WEI courses, but they also help us to have contacts with the parents. We want more family units in the church to give a sense of consistency and stability. The children’s classes are also a great way to involve the new Christians. They learn to serve by working with a mentor, helping to translate and teach. 

JANUARY 04

Greetings to the supporters of the Durrës Missionary Team!

Please accept our apologies for the lateness of this newsletter. Keeping you informed about the work in Durrës is important to us.

IMPORTANT CHANGE: Due to some recent changes to the team in Durrës (see below for details), we have decided to write individual newsletters, rather than a single collective newsletter. Starting in February, you will receive this newsletter from Ty Pope about his efforts in Durrës, and you will receive a second newsletter from the Morrills about their efforts in Pogradec. If you wish to only receive one or the other, just let us know and we will make the appropriate changes to our mailing lists. Also, if you wish to receive the newsletters of the Zikes, the Wheelers, or Theresa King, then please contact those people at their respective email addresses listed below.

NEW WORK: We have been very blessed to work with a large team to establish the church in Durrës. After three years, we can really see the great results that God has brought about. Since the future of the church in  Durrës seems fairly stable, the Morrills have decided to start a new work in the city of Pogradec. While we are sad to see them leave, we know that there is a great need for missionaries in other places. They will be working with Xhumert, who will serve as the Albanian preacher for the church. To wish them well, the church held a special fellowship meal at the end of January.

DEPARTURES: Another change that will be taking place within the team is the departure of Lynn Hunt. He has decided to move back to the US at the end of March with his fiancée. Lynn wishes to express his profound thanks to all of you who made the last three years possible for him. As with the other missionary families, we ask that you continue to support him for two months past his departure, in order to provide transitory funds. On a more positive note, however, Ty has decided to extend his stay in Durrës. His goal is to stay and work with the church for ten more years. Please keep both of us in your prayers as we make life-changing decisions.

HOLIDAYS & FESTIVITIES: December is a big holiday season for most people, both here and in America. The Morrills and Ty went home to spend time with their families, but they all have returned and are working with renewed vigor. The Wheelers took a short vacation to Italy with their two daughters. Both daughters were able to visit Albania for a week as well. The church enjoyed getting to meet them. Crimson, the eldest daughter, works as a missionary in Japan, and she shared some of her experiences with the teenagers here. On Christmas Eve, our congregation put on a small presentation about the birth of Christ. In the first half of the presentation, a group of singers sang some carols that had been translated into Albanian. The second half of the presentation was given by the Sunday morning children’s Bible class. They sang and acted their way into our hearts! It was well attended, not only by Christians, but also by outside members of the community. A few days later, the church held a New Year’s Party, where we played the gift exchange game and enjoyed fellowshipping with one another.

SEMINAR: At the beginning of December, the congregation hosted a seminar on the subject: “Christian Home – God’s Model Of The Family”. The speaker was Alfred Zike. He did a wonderful job, presenting the message for three consecutive days. It was a topic that really went to the heart of many Albanians. His lessons were well attended and well received. It is so
exciting to see Albanian Christians discovering and meeting the needs of their own people in a way that foreign missionaries never could.

BIBLE CLASSES: Another example of how the church is starting to minister to itself took place in our Sunday morning Bible class. We had noticed that attendance was slipping. Sometimes these problems are seasonal (during flu season, or during school exams), but this seemed to be more of a steady decline. When the problem was brought to the attention of the congregation, they responded by changing the class to a more convenient time. So far the results have been positive, with increased attendance the last two Sundays. We’re glad to see them addressing and solving their own problems. Also, they have expressed a need to learn new songs. So on Sundays and Wednesdays before Bible class, Lynn is teaching some of the
newly translated songs. However, we hope that they will soon start writing and teaching their own songs. There are a few promising song leaders that will take over when Lynn leaves. One of them, Ajald, has been leading songs for almost two years. Another one, Mariol, is a new Christian. We are thankful that God finds a way to meet the needs of His people.

Your servants in Christ: Lynn Hunt, Çimi Kafexhiu, Theresa King, the Morrills, Ty Pope, the Wheelers, and the Zikes.

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• Airport – The DMT will arrange for your transportation to and from Rinas Airport.  Cost associated with the transportation is roughly 60 USD total for Durrës.  An American will meet you at the airport.  Generally you will not see a familiar face until you leave the terminal building.  We typically will be standing out by the street with a sign with your name on it.  We are not allowed to enter the building.
• Around Albania – Transportation around Albania is at its very best confusing and slow.  If you would like to visit another area, we will assist you as best as we can.  Travel between Durrës and Tirana is reliable.
• Around Durrës – Getting around in Durrës is very easy … just walk.  It is small enough that all areas can be visited with a little effort.  Taxicabs are available if desired.  It should be noted that the DMT does not have access to private vehicles.

Eating Arrangements
A wide variety of food can be found in Durrës and the surrounding area.  Local establishments serve meat and pasta dishes.  American style sandwiches are not generally available, but can be easily made.  The spices used in Albania are typically considered to be bland when compared to American dishes and the use of meat is significantly less.  Common foods that can be found include: sliced sandwich meats, whole chickens, pork chops, fresh vegetables, fresh bread, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, white cheese, cereal, milk, soft drinks, potato chips, and pasta.
 
Housing Accommodations
Housing accommodations will be arranged by the DMT.  Cost per campaigner will average $125 USD per week.  Housing will include access to a refrigerator, clothes washer, cooking stove, limited cooking and eating utensils, and American style bathroom facilities. 
 
Housing for couples can be arranged, although costs will vary based on length of stay and willingness to share the facilities with other couples/singles.  Please contact the DMT so that arrangements can be made. If you require special considerations regarding access, stair restrictions, and/or have other special needs, please let us know.
 
Important Things to Bring

• Clothing – modest and cool clothing is recommended.  You will find the dress to be causal.  Blue jeans and “Dockers” are considered the norm for men.  During the months of July and August, modest shorts are considered to be acceptable due to the extreme heat.  Women’s dress varies according to age.  Mature women’s dress typically includes jumpers and skirts, while the younger women do wear shorts.  We ask that each campaigner dress appropriately to assist in maintaining a professional teaching environment.
•  Personal Hygiene Items – deodorant and female hygiene supplies.
•  Medicine – Bring those items that you may need as medicine supplies are limited.  We recommend the following: Imodium/Pepto-Bismol type meds, headache meds, cold/decongestant meds, sore throat lozenges, insect repellant, and bug-bite remedies.
• Bedding/Toiletries – This includes a towel, washcloth, soap, shampoo, and vision/contact supplies.
• Other Items– small flashlight, watch, battery or wind-up alarm clock. Please remember that Albania’s electrical system is based on 220 voltage/50hertz.  American appliances will not work. If you have special electrical needs please let us know in advance.
• Resident Missionary Supplies – If you find that you have a little extra room, let us know.  We are generally in need (or want) of something from the States!

Summary of Expected Costs

• Roundtrip Airfare                      $1200.00
• Travel to/from Rinas Airport     $60.00
• Entry Visa/Departure Tax         $28.00
• Housing per week                     $125.00
• Meals/Food per week               $100.00
• Weekend Travel/Activity per week     $15.00
• Layover for Connecting Flight per night    $150.00

Cost Examples:

WEI Information
Administrative Assistant.  The DMT maintains an Administrative Assistant on staff to manage school business.  It is important that distractions and noise in the entry area be maintained as low as possible.  Feel free to ask any questions that you may have, but we ask that general discussions be conducted outside.

Generator/Alternate Power Supply.  Because the city power supply is unreliable, the DMT maintains a diesel-powered generator on the premises.  Due to the potential to damage to the equipment by the incorrect positioning of the power transfer switches; operation of the breakers is only to be performed by the DMT unless expressed permission is given.

Access to the WEI Building.  The school building will be open from 8:30 am – 5:30pm Monday –Friday.  Should it be necessary to gain access at other times, please notify the DMT.  The building will also be open on Sunday Mornings for Assembly at 9:00am.

Computer Access.  The WEI maintains one computer for official school related activities.  As it is located on the Administrative Assistants desk and its use by others prohibits WEI activities and causes general disruptions.  Because of this, we ask that it be used only for official school business.
 
Telephone Access.  The WEI maintains one phone line that is to be used for official school business during work hours.  Feel free to have family members call the number after 6:00pm (Albania time).  Only local calls are to be made on the phone. The international number that is used to contact the school phone is: Durrës: 355.204.58
 
Teaching Information
Campaigners are to use the World English Institute (WEI) English Course for teaching activities.  The material has been found to be effective in Durrës and allows easy follow-up with students.  This is due to the fact that the DMT is able to teach and discuss previously covered topics with confidence that the material is familiar to the students.  While some students may want to cover side topics such as Judaism or a specific book in the Bible, such discussions are encouraged to take place outside of regular scheduled class times.  Any student that does not finish the course of study during the regularly scheduled campaign will have to be added to the existing DMT workload and very likely a lengthy waiting list.  For more information concerning the WEI material, please visit their website @ www.weiady.org
 
Teachers are expected to maintain the student record notes and attendance on the provided sheets within your “teachers manual.”  This information is vital for those students that will have several teachers over the course of the summer.  Adequate information should be maintained to assist in the “turnover” of the student.

The typical Monday - Friday teaching schedule is as follows:

Each teacher will have classes with the same six students every day, five days a week.  Students that miss more than three classes are typically removed from the course, although individual teacher discretion is allowed.  Teachers are encouraged to develop individual friendships with their students.  
 
Each teacher will be assigned a teaching station.  In the event that another location is desired or you need a change of scenery, there are several places that you can conduct classes.  These include the back courtyard, roof area, and front courtyard.  Be advised that each comes with its own positive and negative attributes!
 
Teaches are asked not to “loiter” in the main room of the school.  This is very distracting for those trying to teach in that area and to the Administrative Assistant.  Pass your free time outside.

Good things to Know
·         Telephone Information.  At best, it can be very frustrating to make and receive telephone calls into Albania.  It is recommended that arrangement be made for your family to call after school hours at the WEI phone.  The school phone number in Durrës is 355.52.20458.  It is not uncommon for a caller from the States not to make connection for up to an hour or more.  They will need to continue trying.
·         Internet Access.  Email has proven to be the most effective method of correspondence from Albania.  Several Internet Cafes are located near the school.  Usage rates average around $1.50/hour.  While service is semi-reliable, there have been times when it has been down for three continuous days.
·         Power.  Electrical power in Albania is less than reliable.  This problem will not be fixed within the next five years.  As a result, you should carry a small flashlight with you in the evening.  The WEI Durrës does have a generator and will it will be used as necessary.  While it does provide electricity of the school lights and computer, its capacity is limited.  Currently it only supplies the first floor of the building. 
·         Water Supply.  The water supply to the city of Durrës is limited in the summer months and water is only supplied to the facility every other day.  The building has been provided with several large holding tanks.  Regardless, water conservation techniques need to be practiced. 
You will be responsible for all of you shopping needs.  A map of the main part of Durrës will be provided to you.  The map highlights key stores and restaurants frequented by the DMT. 
 

April 2004
 

Dear Friends of Albania Missions:
 

We rejoice with the angels in heaven as Sofia Jakupi obeyed the gospel on March 12^th. She had been studying with Teresa King and decided to commit her life to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The church here has welcomed this new sister and is striving to make her feel and be a part of the body here. It is exciting to see the seeds, that you have helped us plant, grow to bring forth fruit. Please pray for Sofia as she embarks on her new life with Christ. Satan will of course redouble his efforts in her life to create interference and doubt.
 

WINNING ALBANIANS FOR CHRIST

Shkelqim Kafexhiu

Durrës church of C

Note: You are receiving this newsletter from me personally since other members of the team moved back to US and Lynn is planning to go back also.

On behalf of the church in Durrës I commend these beloved brethren before our heavenly Father -- Dennis and Fredia Winebarger, their son and daughter Eric and Leslie, Patrick and Jamie Smith and their sons Benjamin and Patrick II, William Harrison and their daughter Hannah, Lynn Hunt, Ty Pope, Kevin and Alison Morrill who are now working in the city of Pogradec, and Theresa King. I thank also before the Lord all the brethren who have come for the short-term campaigns in Durrës to teach the word of God through the English language.

The church has some faithful visitors who attend services every Sunday. We pray and ask you to pray also for them to come to the final decision to be baptized into Christ and stay faithful.

The songs that are sung Sundays are all in Albanian and we are working with maestro Lynn to add some more songs to the song book in bringing them up to 130 Albanian songs together. We want to use Lynn as much as we can before he leaves to US.

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JUNE 2004

A Messenger from Illyricum following in His steps

Alfred Zike, gospel preacher

Dear brethren,

Thanks for all your prayers on our behalf. Our family and we all are well and doing well. Aldi’s and Alfred’s health have been improved. We both are doing well. Thank you again.  

We do hope that you, all, are well too and everything goes well with you and your families. We send our love to all of you, dear friends, who love the Lord and serve Him faithfully. And we always thank God of you as we remember you and your confidence and support in our service to the Lord among the saints in Durres, Albania.

April & May are over and we would like to inform you of new events and excitements they brought in our and others lives here in Durres church. 

Two special events were planned and were hosted by Tirana church and Vlora church in April: Youth rally in Tirana (Ap. 17 ) and Women’s Day in Vlora (Ap. 24) We call them national events of the Lord’s church in Albania and they are conducted by different congregations each year based on rotation.

Durres church attended these events. Since most of the church’s members are young people, many of them up to 40 attended the Youth Rally in Tirana. Aldi, our son, went with the group too. He enjoyed it and came home very excited telling us that it was a nice activity. They had a wonderful fellowship time with other congregations from Tirana, Vlora, Orikum, Fier, Lushnja and Elbasan.

That day we opened our home to the Durres church. We had together a good time in fellowship with one another talking, visiting and sharing some food and deserts. Our family was very honored by the brethren who came in our home and we thank them for coming.

Next Saturday, April 24, a group of ladies from Durres church traveled to Vlora for the Women’s Day. Diana and Yvonne went with the group too. They enjoyed very much the time with other ladies from Vlora, Orikum, Elbasan, Lushnja, and Tirana.

In both activities, some non-Christian students of WEI and visitors of the church in Durres joined the groups from Durres. We do always invite them in the church activities exposing them widely to the life of the church. It is a blessing to show them the love we have for God and one another because of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that our brotherly love will touch their hearts as the word of God is taught to them. We do ask you to continue praying for them. 

May 1^st, Diana Zotaj was baptized on the Adriatic Sea. May 1^st is Labor Day and so a holiday in Albania. The church went to a picnic on Mount Robi, which doesn’t have to do with any mount. The place that bears that name is on the beach between Durres city and Kavaja city. We had a great time playing football, volleyball and other games as well a picnic lunch together. Diana confessed her faith in our Lord and savior Jesus Christ and was baptized for the remissions of her sins.

Since I moved from Greece to Albania, in January 2003, I have studied together with Diana and her friend, Adi. They have also studied with Lynn before.

As Paul said, someone planted the seed, another watered it, but God made it grow (1Cor.3:6). To Him be the glory!   

May 14^th, Klaudio Hyseni was baptized for the remission of his sins based on his confession of faith in Jesus too. Many prayers brought to God on his behalf and God brought forth the fruit of the patient work of Shelly. She is happy and we too share in this happy time singing the song of praise to our heavenly Father. Haleluja! 

May 26^th, Juli Dako, sister of Denada Dako, was baptized two. Cimi, another worker of Durres Team taught her the good news. We enjoyed her decision together with her sister Denada and their mother.  

The sweet and powerful voice of Ray led us in hymns of praise. The beautiful hands of Shelly, Arta, Leida, Alisa, Diana and many other young ladies prepared delicious food and deserts we shared. We had good time beyond our schedule in fellowship with one another and visitors we had. Yes! JESUS IS THE ANSWER! 

On May 11^th and 18^th we said “Good Bye” to Theresa King and Lynn Hunt who went back to U.S. They both were active teachers of WEI in Durres and a blessing for the church. Thank you, Theresa and Lynn.

Lynn is the first missionary who came and started the work in Durres in 2001, after the break the work had because of the tribulations of 1997 in Albania. Lynn left Durres church with tears in his eyes and promised to be back in the future. The last three months he helped the church with many new hymns we learned. He and Leida have done a wonderful job translating and fitting with the tune many new hymns in Albanian language.

Theresa left earlier than she planned being concerned to assist her father in need. She is praying to be able come back again. We ask you to join in our prayers on her behalf. Thank you.

Bible classes were conducted as planned. On Wednesdays, Ray continues teaching on Matthew. Friday evenings: Ty teaches the youth class. Sunday mornings, Cimi and I do the preaching and on Bible class, I started teaching on James and the attendance is increasing. Diana continues teaching the Sunday children class. The children are excited and looking forward to VBS and the teaching of Marilyn from Bartlesville who loves the work among them. Please, be praying for her trip to Albania and VBS that she will conduct on June 21^st – 25^th in Durres. 

As the summer comes the campaigns arrive. We gladly inform you that Eric Winebarger and the two brothers, Ben and Dan Asperhiem, arrived safely and started teaching new non-Christians students of WEI. They look happy and enjoy the fellowship of the church. Eric for sure likes to be among us but Ben and Dan like too. They are working hard learning Albanian language. Have a good summer among the brethren in Durres, dear Eric, Ben and Dan.

Dear brethren,

1.  Durres church and the new souls added to her: Diana, Klaudio and Juli.

2. WEI’s students in Durres as they hear the Word.

3. Theresa and her burning desire to come back to Albania.

4. Marilyn Fisher and VBS, June 21^st – 25^th.

 Brotherly in Christ,                                                

Dear Friends and Family,

Going to the beach, melting in the heat and humidity, and teaching WEI students mark the beginning of summer campaigns. The activity level at the school has significantly increased. We are excited to announce that on June 9th, Orki Tirana was baptized into Christ. Orki is the 14-year-old younger brother of Megi Tirana who was baptized in August of 2003. Orki first came to us several months ago with his sister who had told him about Christ. He studied with Chimi and decided he should give his life to Christ. It is exciting to see Jesus reaching more than one member of a family once again. It doesn’t necessarily help win any arguments with unbelieving parents but sharing convictions with a family member is a comfort and an encouragement. Our young people here are such good friends, which is also an added support. Some were friends before coming to Christ and others are more recent acquaintances. I suppose each of us find comfort in the knowledge that we are not alone in our battle against Satan.

We thank Marilyn Fisher and Sarah Everett from Bartlesville, Oklahoma for coming to us on June 18, 2004. Marilyn taught Vacation Bible School which consisted of a morning and afternoon class and both were well attended. Marilyn exudes excitement and enthusiasm in all she does especially when teaching children to “Look Up to Jesus.” Her teaching ability and experience are only surpassed by her love of the Lord. We really enjoyed having them stay with us.

Sarah Everett is a seventeen year-old with a heart for missions. She came along with Marilyn to get experience, first hand, at working in a foreign mission. Sarah has made many new friends here and could see how Jesus has reached the lives of her brothers and sisters in Albania. Sarah taught some of our WEI students for a few days and helped Marilyn with VBS. This was a good experience for her and for our students. She gave Shelley and I time to attend to other important matters for a few days. We hope this has been a life changing experience for Sarah. Marilyn and Sarah spent time with Kevin and Allison Morrill in Pogradec and will be returning to the states on July 9th.

Kelly Atkins and John Dale arrived in Durres on June 26th to join Eric Winebarger and Dan and Ben Asperheim as summer campaign teachers. Kelly returns to us for the fourth time from Humble, Texas and John for the third time from Portland, Oregon. Kelly is a public school teacher in Texas. John is retired from Freightliner Corporation. We are able to fill their days and their lives with students by advertising our English courses with a local TV station. Kelly, Ben, Dan, Eric and John are a real blessing to the Albanian Christians and us. Likewise, the Christians here and our students are a blessing to these teachers. Maybe you should consider coming to work in the summer campaign of 2005! We realize it is a sacrifice to come for this work, but the blessings will overflow. We dare you to try to out give God!

As I write this, a dozen of our 10-14 year olds are at Bible camp in Logari. Chimi went with them as a counselor. Ajald Celmeta, Ben, Dan and I went to Logari for a couple of days to help set up. Jackie and Virgil Jackson, missionaries in Vlore, head up the camp. Many others from Vlore and Fier also spend a great deal of their time setting up and helping through the four weeks of camp. Two brothers from southern Italy even came and spent a whole week helping set it up. The camp resembles the MASH unit on the TV program M*A*S*H. The tents are donated by NATO, US and Italian military. It is quite an undertaking. It is a beautiful site in the mountains, warm in the daytime and quite cool at night. NO MOSQUITOES!!! We have six 15 to 18 year olds going to the third session where Ray will be directing and counseling. Shelley and Diana Qerimi will be counseling as well as teaching for the third session. The fourth session is for young adults and we have two young adult Christians who will be attending that session. Camp costs 4000 Lek per week, about $40.00 U.S. Thanks to special gifts to our work by brethren in Minnesota, we are able to send three kids to camp who wouldn’t otherwise be able to go.

We again offer thanksgiving to those who have been so generous in supporting our work in Albania. We are blessed to be able to work here and thank all of you for giving us this opportunity. God bless you in all that you do!!

Yours in Christ, Ray and Shelley Wheeler

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Dear brethren,

We greet you in the Lord and hope that you all are well and enjoy the Lord’s blessings in His kingdom. Thanks for you prayers and confidence in our work.

We are doing well and enjoy the fellowship of the brethren in Durrës church. Alfred’s eye is improved but not fully recovered. The problem with eyelash’s inflammation is not over complete. Thanks for your prayers on his behalf. Diana’s neck hurt for several days and it is back to normal by now.

Our kids, Aldi and Yvonne, are fine. On August 1 – 11, they went to a ten-day camp in Thessalonica, Greece. The camp was provided by their school, a Greek college. The school provided the camp for the fifty students who did well with the school and Aldi and Yvonne were among them. They enjoyed the camp and had good time there.

The Lord’s work and church in Durrës has gone through many blessed efforts during July & August.

We were assisted in the work by several Summer Campaign teachers as John Dale from Portland Oregon, Kelly Atkins from Humble Texas, Dan & Ben Asperhiem from Duluth Minnesota and Eric Winebarger, a student of Harding University. They are back in U.S. by now except Eric who extended his stay in Durrës till November. We do appreciate and commend them all for their dedication to the Lord’s work and the Christian fellowship they shared with Durrës church. We do also pray that the Lord will keep blessing them.

We had two new souls added to the church. On August 1, Gentian Delija and August 21, Laureta were baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. Gentian is Doriana’s brother (one of the very devoted young girls of the church, baptized last August 2003). Laureta was baptized in Ohrid Lake near Pogradec city. She and her sister accompanied by the Wheelers and Elvin went to Pogradec and visited Pogredec church that weekend. We do thank God for their confession and commitment to the Lord and pray that He will guide them in their walk with Him. Please, join in our prayers for these new precious souls.

On July and August, the Durrës church planned and conducted very excitement events, events which assist her to grow through fellowship and study.

On July 10 – 17, another group of teenagers, 15 – 18 years-old, from the church went to Llogara Camp near Vlora city on the 3rd session. They were accompanied by the Wheelers and Diana Qerimi, the secretary. They did well even why the weather brought some raining and cold days there up on the mountain.

On a Saturday evening in July, the church showed the movie of Mel Gipson, “The Passion of Christ”. A power-point projector from the Tirana Church was used and fifty-six people attended. Many of them were not Christians. A very touchable move!

On August 6, we had an Opening House for all the WEI’s students and the church as well. It was a very good time when we used the opportunity to share with non-Christians our common faith in Christ. Fellowship and refreshments were provided as well.

On August 28, the church conducted another successful event, the Bible Bowl. All worked hard and did a very good job. But we would like to commend Cimi and the Wheelers for the plans and all the arrangements. The event was characterized by wonderful fellowship among young Christians.

Three teams from Durrës church, two from Tirana church and one from Pogradec church competed. Many members from Durrës, Tirana, Pogredec and Lushnja watched the competition, and were engaged in several fun games. Durrës got the first and third place among the teams and the first place among the individuals. Doriana Delija had studied very hard and got the first place while the team of Ajald Celmeta, Elona, Elvin Xhimitiku and Aldi Zike was distinguished among the other teams and got the first place too.

Tirana church got the second place among the teams while second and third place among individual. Pogradec church assisted by the Morills did well too. Nertila and Landro from Pogradec enjoyed the event. They got very excitement experience among the Christians.

Church’s attendance on Sunday mornings and Bible classes have been good. Though we have not seen a big attendance on Sunday mornings that sometimes happens in the summer, we are encouraged that numbers have remained steady and members and visitors alike are here regularly. In summer we had among us Mariola Male and Jonida Kushi our two sisters who are studying in Italy. They were back in Durrës for summer vacation and did regularly meet with us. They are faithful and dedicated to the Lord even in Italy and we are thankful for them. Mariola left last Saturday and Jonida is planning to leave in a week. May the Lord keep blessing them in their studies and services to Him.

I have been teaching 1 John and preaching a series sermons on 2 Pet.1:5-8 as well on Sunday mornings at the Bible class and worship service.

My daily schedule has kept me busy too, teaching non-Christians and Christians as well. I did finish teaching 1 & 2 Tim. and Titus to Skender, our Summer Intern, this week. We had to stop for three weeks since Skender got sick and had to be recovered from the pains on his back. He is much better by now, but yet in needs of our prayers.

Diana was lighter with the children class since many children did not attend due to summer vacations. She took a driving course and got the driving license in July. Her brother assisted her with some finances.

On Wednesday evenings Ray finished teaching Mathew and Cimi started teaching Isaiah. On Tuesday evenings devotions were conducted mainly by Skender and some by Elvin and Ajald as well. Elvin and Ajald are young men and very zealous to study the Bible. This summer Elvin as well Megi and Eriola taught some other non-Christians of their age through WEI books. They are growing through teaching others.

Eriola got a surgery recently. She went in hospital on an emergency last Wednesday evening and the next day she had the surgery for removing her appendicitis. She is well by now and back in her home but she is in need of our prayers for recovery.

On July and August we have had also Fatime and her little baby boy, only four months old, meeting with us on Sunday mornings. She is having very serious problem due to some of her wrong decisions done in the past.

Dear friends,
Please, allow me to explain her situation to you and ask your prayers and considerations on that situation too.

Many years ago while she was a non-Christian she divorced her husband for the reason that we do not know for sure. She had two children with her husband. Then she went with another man to live with, but never married him. By now she has two other children with this man, a five years old girl and a four months baby boy.

She is a Christian since 2002 and still lives with that man. Diana and I, personally, learned this situation in September 2003. Since June 2003 when my family joined me in Albania, Diana and I started visiting some adult members of the church in Durrës. We were trying to reach the man with whom Fatime was living logically thinking that he was her husband.

Since then we have talked several times and very straight to her trying to help her understand that the Lord is not pleased with her life. We also brought her situation to the Durrës Team being conscious that it was a very serious one. Durrës Team met with her and spoke also very straight to her challenging her to make the right decision. Last Sunday, August 29, we talked with her again and she told us that the man is not willing to marry her. He is not also willing to give his name as father to the kids, according to her. She told us that she is forced to live with him because she has no other option since she has no financial at all. She does not own any apartment and she does not have a job. Her family also has abandoned her because of what she did in the past by divorcing her husband and running with this other man. Durrës Team and the church have helped her some financially in the past. But the team and church are short financially to help her on a long term.

Please, dear friends, pray for her and consider the situation in which she is. We will appreciate it very much and if you can contribute some to her you are very welcomed. We do hope and pray that she will make the proper decision that will please God. But we also are challenged to help her overcome this situation. She cannot work having a four months baby and a five years old girl to look after. Thanks for your time and any of your advice or assistant will be appreciated. May the Lord bless you as you care for His people.

Our beloved friends,
Hope we did not run out your time with a long report. We are very thankful to the Lord for you and we do always remember you in our prayers and thanksgivings. Trusting the Lord and confident of your support we do keep walking in His steps together with our brethren here in Durrës. May the Glory be His


As a Remembrance, here are some prayer requests:
1. Durrës church and the new soul added by the Lord: Gentian and Laureta.
2. Fatime and her situation.
3. Skender and Eriola and their physical recovery.
4. Mariola and Jonida as they are traveling back to Italy.
5. Our family as we travel. (We are taking two weeks off and going on vacation)


Brotherly in Christ, Sponsored by:
Alfred & Diana Zike

Adams Blvd. Church of Christ
Alfred Zike Bartlesville, OK
August 31, 2004

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Ray and Shelley Wheeler

Sponsoring Congregation: East Duluth Church of Christ
4801 Cooke St
Duluth, Mn 55805 USA
 

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Dear Family and Friends,

September has come to an end and with it the first month of our second year here in Durres. It has at times been difficult, but in other ways Durres is now our home and very comfortable. The church family and friends we have made here are wonderful. We have adjusted to many things that are different from the way things are in the States and found ways to make substitutions for those things we cannot find here. We have also learned to enjoy some new things.

The work is thriving and we are growing both in cultural and language skills. We have witnessed seventeen baptisms since our arrival last year and are teaching and sharing the Gospel everyday with new people. Teaching those who are new Christians is also part of our regular routine. During our first year we have been part of nationwide “Men’s Day”, “Youth Day” and “Ladies’ Day”. The Durres congregation hosted the annual Albanian Bible Bowl and Shelley
and I taught and directed at the youth camp at “Llogara”. “Mayday” at the beach with the entire congregation was great fun for all, as well as working with summer campaigners from Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Idaho and Oregon. As part of the group of believers meeting in Durres we helped with three gospel meetings (seminars). We have had game nights, potlucks, cake parties, a Thanksgiving celebration (American style) and a Christmas party. We have been welcome guests in several homes and learned that you shouldn’t eat before going to visit because you will be expected to eat when you arrive.

The experience here has been life changing and we would like to continue working here beyond our original two-year commitment. We are praying that those of you who have been so generously supporting us will be willing to continue that support for our work here in Durres. It seems early to be asking, but we need to find out soon if we will be making changes. Staying is not a problem. The church here has expressed their desire for us to stay on for “nine more years” give or take. At some time in the future our work here may be supplanted by the growth of citizen workers who will continue with the church’s outreach into the community of Durres. But for now the need is great. We have been invited to work in a couple of other places in Albania if we leave here, but we are developing friendships with people in the community here.

One of the problems we have is that we are somewhat short of the budget we came here hoping to receive. We are short about $1000 per month which includes retirement $375, health insurance $311, and funds for reporting trips to the states including stateside travel expenses $300. These and life and disability insurances have been coming out of our savings in our stateside account. If we are going to continue working here we will need these expenses to be paid because our savings will only last for a certain amount of time. We wish we could just stay on and continue working, but we also feel a need to be responsible in all matters. If you can help us we would greatly appreciate it.

We appreciate all those who have supported us for this last year. We couldn’t be here without your financial and spiritual support. We are willing to stay on and continue the Lord’s work here if you will make the great sacrifice to help us. Please give a copy of this to your church mission committee or anyone you know who might be willing to support this great work. We covet your prayers for God to bless the work in Albania and to open the hearts and minds of our student to the good news of Jesus Christ.

Dear Friends and Family,

October flew by as most of the months here do. We have been busy studying Albanian for an hour a day four or five days a week. Our teacher is Ilda Malya, who graduated from High School last June. She began the World English Institute with Ray in May 2002 when he first came here. It is very hard to learn a new language and takes a lot of study on our part outside the hour each day we spend with Ilda. What we have learned already is helping us as we deal with students and even meeting people in the community. It is a long road.

Eriola was baptized on the 24th of October. She graduated from the WEI course in march yet continues to hunger for the word. Most recently we had studied John and Acts. We are excited to see the seeds we plant come to fruition by the grace and love of God. We covet your prayers on behalf of all of our students, so they will accept and obey the gospel of Jesus. There are many demands on their time. Many not only take their public school work seriously but also take private courses in math, physics and other languages.

Eriola

We just concluded a seminar (gospel meeting) with Brother John Massie. John and Earline Massie came to us from San Antonio, Texas. It was a blessing to have them here and spend a little time with them. John has been an instructor for Sunset Institute of Biblical Studies at some of their satilite schools including Athens where he became acquainted with Alfred Zike, one of the Albanian preachers here in Durres. His topic for the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday seminar was “The Distinctive Nature of the Church of Christ”. It was well attended and a great time of praise and worship. On Saturday John was the speaker for the annual “Men’s Day” hosted this year here in Durres. His topic was “Authority in Scripture for Leadership in the Church.” Approximately sixty men from all over Albania attended. The day concluded with lunch provided and prepared by the ladies of the Durres church. Shelley called upon her experiences from cooking at Flaming Pine Youth Camp as she several ladies and girls prepared this meal to feed about 75 people. The main course which we call “Patates Pana Proshut” (ham and scalped potatoes) was a real hit among the Albanian men. It is always great to see so much good fellowship, especially among men in the church.

We were saddened Sunday to say goodbye to Leida Doci who left Monday for Idaho Falls where she will join her fiancé Lynn Hunt. They will be married soon. It is quite a task to obtain a visa to the US and we praise God for bringing this couple together again. Lynn had worked here since the Spring of 2001 and returned to the States to get established in May of this year. We continue to pray for Diana Qerimi who is still trying to get a visa to join her husband in Italy. They have been working on this for several years.

We are very excited to have been able to vote in elections back home. We pray God’s blessing on the United States in the selection of our leaders. Thank you again for all your prayers, thoughts and support. God Bless you,

Ray and Shelley Wheeler

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Dear brethren, 
 

We send our love to you all who love and serve the Lord our Savior, hoping you are well. We, too, are well and doing well. Here are some of the events we had in September and October ’04.

September 1^st, we went on a two-week vacation with our kids. We traveled toward south to the city of Saranda where Alfred had lived with his parents back to 70’s. The area around Saranda city is a very pretty one. We were amazed of the wonderful views of the sunrises and sunsets on the seashore.

We had a very nice weather and a quite place to rest. Diana and kids swam and had sunbaths while Alfred enjoyed and relaxed fishing with spear gun taking care of our lunch. He likes that very much. We were blessed with a very good time with one another and we enjoyed it very much.

We came back to Durres full of energy for new efforts in fishing men for Christ. In a few days as we came back our kids, Aldi and Yvonne, started the new school year. We found everyone well in Durres. Lynn Hunt just had finished his visit to Durres. Many of the brethren were making the last arrangements for the new school year. Some went through competitions to go to University while others through many tests and exams.

Diana is also studying Bible on Wednesday mornings with other adult ladies, like Arta, Fatime, Diana, Sofia and Suela. We saw a need in ministering these ladies, who are members of the church, most of them, and do not speak English well. They were not attending the Bible class on Wednesday evenings with the church and some even the worship services on Sunday mornings for several reasons. Diana is studying with them the book of Ruth as they meet on their homes by rotation.  They do enjoy the studying and the fellowship time they share with one another.  Diana asks your prayer for the children class and for these ladies as well. Thanks. 

Together with Chimi, Wheelers, Ty, and Eric, we planned the church’s educational program for October ‘04 – September ’05. In the new program, we planned many teachings through Bible classes, Seminars, and Gospel Meetings as well. All the focus of the program is in educating the membership and in reaching the lost. The church had a very good experience on that last year. May the Lord keep blessing all our efforts in teaching of His word.

In October, we had several exciting events. Thus in October 27^th – 31^st, Durres church hosted a Seminar and the Men’s Day

We do thank God for both events which brought glory to Him and helped His church to grow toward maturity. John is a very powerful speaker of God's word. We admire his boldness in preaching of His Word and His Truth. His lessons were very well received and appreciated from Durres church and other churches in Albania as well. Many have expressed that to us.  They all send "Hello" and say "Thank You" to John and Earlene Massie. Thank you, beloved friends. May the Lord bless your ministry and family

October 24^th, we had a new soul added to the church. Eriola, a young girl, confessed her faith and was baptized for remission of her sins. We all sing praises to God who blesses the work of His church here in Durres.

October 31^st, Durres church said “Good Bye” to Enkeleida Doci, one of its faithful members. The next day Enkeleida left Albania to join her fiancé, Lynn Hunt, in Idaho Falls, U.S. Many tears and many hugs, all because of the wonderful friendship we all have in Christ. Praise Him!

Dear brethren, 

Howard Norton, dean of Church and Family Ministry at Harding University, was the keynote speaker. He presented us with challenging lessons aimed to encourage us in the work we were doing. Every day we had a choice of classes to attend. We had a choice of attending a series on “The Sermon on the Mount” or lessons focusing on reaching Europe, which included a panel discussion where missionaries shared their personal experiences and methods used to reach
Europeans. It was a wonderful time filled with encouragement and fellowship. I met many new and wonderful people as well as some that I already knew. I find it truly amazing that any place we go in the world we can find connections. I met some people who knew one of my friends and roommates from Harding. Germany was a very friendly place full of people always ready to help the struggling foreigner who needed some directions. Another exciting thing about this trip was the opportunity we had to worship with the church in Munich. God bless them for their warm hearts and the joyful fellowship we shared in worshipping the Lord.

The most exciting thing that happened while I was away was that Adi Kurti was baptized into Christ on November 28th. Her sister Suela has been a Christian for about 2 years and Adi had been coming to worship and other events intermittently. We are blessed to have these hard working sisters in our fellowship. On November 27th the church had a picnic at Mt. Dajti in
Tirana. The 28th was also the Albanian Independence Day and the 29th was the Albanian Liberation Day. The city of Tirana had a “White Night” when no one slept all night and all the stores, cinemas, and everything else stayed open all night long.

With all the good things we have to thank the Lord for, there are still many concerns that require prayer. Many people are still without a job. We also ask you remember Diana as she has gone to Italy to be with her husband. Pray that the she continues to be an example for the Lord. Remember the church here, the new Christians, and all other aspects that make for a healthy family. I ask you to continue praying for my commitment to Albania.

Your servant in Christ, Ty Pope.


Homepage: www.missionalbania.com
Team Email: weiDurres@missionalbania.com
Sponsor:
Idaho Falls Church of Christ
2650 Plommon St.
Idaho Falls, ID 83402

Ty Pope: t_hawk72@hotmail.com

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This is also an appeal for you to come to Durres during the summer to teach students the Bible using the “World English Institute” Bible and English language program. We will be glad to have you here to work with us.

Fellowship to Ty’s house.
On the 29th of December the church will celebrate Christmas and the New Year 2005. Ty Pope will open his house for this event and we will fellowship with each other.

We wish all of you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2005.

THANK YOU!
I know the work here in Durres is a result of all of us working together, not just us who serve here. Just as the apostle Paul knew the work he was doing was
really a result of the church at Philippi supplying his support (Philippians 1:5) I know that our work here in Durres is a partnership with you who are supplying our support. We know God will credit it to your account (Philippians 4:17). Thank you!

P.S.
A prayer request for one of our brothers here in Durres, Skender Kola. It has been a year since Skender lost his job with the Albanian Navy. He had invested
half of his life to military service and he hopes to go return. Please, pray for him and his family in this time of hardship.

In His service
Shkelqim Kafexhiu.

21st of December 2004.
 

Ray and Shelley Wheeler

LAGJA 11 Bulevardi Kryesor

NR 21 Durrës

Albania, Europe

Raywheeler6@aol.com

Dear Friends,

It is finally beginning to warm up some and feel like Spring in Albania.  Our work here continues at a steady pace.  We each have added new students to our schedules and continue to work with the new young Christians.  They are a constant source of inspiration and fun.  One of our students won the Math Olympics for the city of Durrës and will soon compete in Tirana.  Needless to say they keep us on our toes.
 

The church has decided to host the Bible Bowl and the Men’s Day this year.  It is wonderful to see this group work together and make decisions as an Albanian Church.  The World English Institute works independently of the church, but of course one affects the other.

Over the last few months we have received a few emails asking who we are, so we thought we would give you a little background, especially Ray’s connection with churches in the South. Our primary outreach is through the World English Institute. We teach twenty or more students each week about God using the WEI materials.  It begins with creation and lays the foundation for their introduction to Christ, which will hopefully result in students being baptized, and becoming Christians. The work began in Durrës in 2000 and since that time there have been over thirty-three baptisms. Fifteen students were baptized in 2003 alone.

World missions or the support of them, have been part of Ray’s church life for as long as he can remember. He vividly remembers Brother Andrew Connolly, at the Park Row church in Arlington Texas, showing slides of the work in Tanzania. The Randoll Mill church, also in Arlington supported Guy Caskey in Jamaica, Darrel O'Roark in Wisconsin and hosted The School of Practical Evangelism.  Burleson was Ray’s church home during high school.  The church there supported missions in Mexico, Canada, South America and Italy over the years. Ray’s Aunt and Uncle attend the Preston Road Church in Dallas that has turned out many preachers over the years.  Ray never really thought of becoming a foreign missionary. His first taste of missions was marrying a Minnesotan and living there for the last twelve years.  Shelley has always been mission minded, especially since she was converted in a mission field.  We also have a daughter that is a full-time missionary in Japan.

Ray had the opportunity to come to Durrës for a month in 2002. It was a life changing experience for both of us. Our children were grown so we closed our business, sold our house and moved to Albania in August of 2003.

Durrës is a 3000 year-old city with a colorful history.  While here, you will visit an amphitheatre and trade center built during the time of the Roman Empire, the castle of Skenderbau, beautiful mountains and beaches. There is much work to do and great fellowship along the way. You will find more information on the attachment about campaigns here. Wouldn’t you like to be a part of this great work?  Consider a summer mission.  God Bless you!!! Ray and Shelley Wheeler

Sponsoring Congregation:        
East Duluth Church of Christ
4801 Cooke St
Duluth, MN 55805 USA
 

Dear brethren,

We pray that you may enjoy a good health as well as an uplifted spirit. We, too, are well and uplifted in the Lord. And we send our love and warm greetings to you all. Thank you for all your prayers and support.

Recently, we are having a very cold weather in Albania. It is snowing and freezing in most part of the country, especially in north-eastern and south-eastern parts where the snow gets up to 2 meters (6 feet). There, the roads are blocked and many people are isolated and in need. Albanian government is trying to assist them but there is still lack of communication and electricity as well as other things. Please, join in our prayers for those who are suffering due to the cold weather.

The church in Durres continues to grow spiritually and physically through studying the word of God and having fellowship with one another, in midst of many trials we face each day.

In November 27, a group of Durres church went in a picnic on Dajti Mountain, in Tirana city. We had good time together talking, walking and playing there. It was very special the coffee and the cacao we had together next to the fire place. We really enjoyed the fellowship and the fresh air up on the mountain.

Next day, November 28, on Sunday morning, we had a baptism after the worship service. Adelina Kurti (Adi, her nick name, is the sister of Suela) was baptized for the remission of sins. The church witnessed her baptism as she confessed her faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Adi has been exposed widely to the teaching of the truth for a long time. She and Diana Zotaj are from the first WEI’s students in Durres. Since 2003 when I moved from Greece to Durres, we have been studied together the Bible. As you may remember Diana was baptized last year, May 1st. I regret to say that Diana has not been faithful to her commitment and we do fervently pray that she will come to her senses and remember her first love of the Lord.

November 28th was very special for all of us, especially for Adi. It is her birthday. She was physically born that day in 1975, and now spiritually born by “the Spirit and water”. It is also the Independence Day of Albania. In 1912, Albania got independence from the Ottoman Empire (Turks). As we, Albanians, say we had “too many joys in one day”. We all rejoice in the Lord and praise Him for Adi. May He bless her as she stands faithful to her commitment

December 26th, Diana and the kids of the Sunday children class performed a little sketch for the church and visitors after worship service. It was very precious to see Klajdi, 5 years old boy, and all other kids very emotions to play the part well. It was a short drama, “The boy Jesus at the Temple” from Luke 2.

Diana loves working with the children. She always keeps reminding me and our children, the significant words of Jesus when He blessed the little children in Mr.10:14-15, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it”
The attendance in the Sunday children class is better and she thanks you for your prayers. Most of the kids who attend this class, are brought from church’s members. So, Klajdi and Geri are Skender and Arta’s children. Xheni is Fatime’s daughter. Majla is Laureta’s nice. Dhurata is Eriola’s sister. Shouldn’t be so? Lord is pleased watching that. The children need to see that we love the Lord and we dedicate our lives to Him.

December 29th, we had another good time in Durres church. That Wednesday we met for the Bible class and we shared fellowship together. Ty, blessed his heart, opened his apartment to host the church. Shelly cooked pasta and we all enjoyed the fellowship as a family.
We were honored to have guests from Italy, Holland, Tirana and Pogradec. Roger and his family, friends of Wheelers, came from Italy. Roger is a missionary in Italy. He taught the Bible class to us that day. Ruben from Holland and Matilda, his wife who is member of Tirana church were guest too. Xhumert and his wife Irena came from Pogradec. We thank them all and ask His blessings upon their work and family.

Another good news, we want to share with you, is that Skender Kola got back his job in Navy. We wholeheartedly thank the Lord. Your and our prayers are responded in His time. 2004 was a trial year for Skender and his family. You, dear friends, and the Durres church were next to him and his needs. Skender is happy and thankful to the Lord and His church. May the Lord continue blessing the brotherly love of His people.

This good news came immediately after he came back from Germany. A group from Durres church compound by Skender, Ilda, Alisa and Wheelers went to Cologne, Germany, the first week of January. They attended a week seminar on Christian Apologetics, there.

In all our classes, we teach and study what we have planned with the church. But, we still struggle with the attendance.

We still do have some members who are not attending regularly. We try to contact them in order to encourage and help them in their commitment to the Lord. They give to us various excuses as you may imagine. It is all matter of priority in each person’s life. God must be our priority in whatever we do. May His Spirit strengthen us all as we live that priority and teach it to the others.

There are also some who work on Sunday morning when the church meets. We know this is not their choice but a forced option. They have to work to get their living and help their families too. We witness that there are no other jobs available for them. We are confident that God knows each case as He knows each one’s heart and motives in whatever we do and say. I thank Him for Besnik who comes on Sunday morning immediately after his night work in the bakery to take the Lord’s Supper and meet with the church.

Please, pray for the brethren who are not attending regular as Mariol Spaho, Klaudio Hyseni, Diana Zotaj, Denada and Juli Dako, Sofia Jakupi. Pray for Besnik and Suela, too, who have to work on Sunday morning.

On Sunday Bible class, I have been teaching the word of God from Ezekiel as the prophet says very well, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says”. Since January, I am teaching from Daniel, who confirms very well that God is the Sovereign Lord, “wisdom and power are His”. I love studying and teaching the Bible. It nourishes my faith. It strengthens my conviction. It lifts me up. And it fires my heart desire to share it with people around me.

On Wednesday Bible class, we have been teaching and studying on Jesus’ Parables. We have encouraged all the Christian men to teach in this class. And many are involved as Skender, Aljad, Elvin, Arber, besides regular teachers. So, all are teaching by a rotated schedule each Wednesday evening. They are doing very well, first of all, they are studying themselves a lot by teaching others.

On Friday Bible class, Ray has been teaching the young people, doing a very good job in selecting useful topics to them. Shelly has been teaching young girls, while Diana has been teaching adult ladies.

We are thankful to the partnership of these workers and we ask your prayers on behalf of them. Especially we ask your prayers on behalf of Ray and Shelly Wheeler who are in U.S.A. by now, meeting with their families and sponsors. We pray that God will provide for them in order to stay more in Durres. They love Durres church and they are needed here. They enjoy teaching and fellowship with God’s people and people who are seeking the truth.

You can also have that joy (of) sharing the Gospel with people who are seeking the truth. Albania is a mission field where the harvest is plentiful but workers are few.

It is easy! Pray and Plan with the Lord in order to lead you to the “land of eagles” called Albania, part of Illyricum, visited by Paul in the first century (Rom.15:19). It is a land of hospitality and generosity. Its people are friendly and opened to the Word. You for sure will enjoy God’s blessings and most of all the joy of sharing the Gospel with someone in need of it.

This is our invitation to you. Come and join with our Summer Evangelist Campaign this summer, June-August 2005. Here is our web site page: www.missionalbania.com.

 Thank You.

Dear friends,

As you may see, the church in Durres is growing through God’s word as well through fellowship because of His Son. Praise Him!

I beg your pardon for spending your time as you read through these long rows. We have more to write, but we will do that next time. We will write next time about our efforts in reaching the lost. Diana and I have changed some of our methods of “fishing men”. We are focusing our work more in community and still teaching and having fellowship with the church.

I do not either intend to preach to you through these rows. We just want to share with you our common faith and conviction and inform you about the work we are doing and can continue to do for His glory. Thanks again for your prayers and support in our work. GOD BLESS

As a Remembrance, here are some prayer requests:
1. Durres church and its growth.
2. Adelina, the new soul added to the church by Lord.
3. Ray and Shelly Wheeler
4. People in north and south-eastern parts of Albania
5. Our work and family

Brotherly in Christ, Sponsored by:
Alfred & Diana Zike Adams Blvd. Church of Christ
Alfred Zike Bartlesville, OK
February 5, 2005
 

We are hoping to continue our work here with Shelley continuing to teach WEI and to work with the new Christians in our congregation and I would like to enroll part time in the “International Bible Institute of Albania” which is under the oversight of the “Sunset International Bible Institute”, Lubbock TX. I would continue to work with the church here in Durres and have been asked to help with the church in Elbasan whose minister is moving back to England. We have committed to working here until sometime during the summer of 2006. Some of our supporters committed until that time, some committed until the end of 2005 and some that may stop at the end of August 2005. We are very grateful for the sacrifice and generosity of our friends and family who have supported us so far. We sincerely thank you for that. We need your help to continue the work that we are doing. If you can help us financially please send to the East Duluth Church of Christ, 4801 Cooke, Duluth, MN 55804. Checks should be made out to the East Duluth Church of Christ with a memo or note saying Mission Albania.

We may need to buy an automobile to help us work with the church in Elbasan and to attend some classes in Tirana at the IBIA. There is no longer a train from Durres to Tirana due to a bridge collapse. There has been talk of a new train that would run from Durres to the Rinas Airport and then to Tirana which would be built in partnership with the American company, General Electric. Therefore the bridge replacement on the existing rail may never happen.

Please keep us in your prayers as we look for an automobile. It looks like a reliable auto will cost between five and six thousand Euros. That translates into approximately $8,000 dollars at the current exchange rate. We do not have these funds nor is it in our budget so please pray as we look into this. We still have openings for a couple of campaigners from the middle of June through about the ninth of August. Thank you again.

God Bless

Ray and Shelley wheeler

Dear brethren,
 
We greet you in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, hoping you are well and everything goes well with you. Diana and I always thank God for you and we ask His blessings be upon you and your families.
 
We are having really a nice weather in Albania. March and April ’05 have already passed and spring season is present everywhere. The trees have blossomed and the green color is covering everything gradually.
 
Diana and I love very much this season. We enjoy our coffee at our veranda early in the morning. The lemon trees and orange trees in our yard have just blossomed and they smell so nice. This Saturday morning, we did some work with our little plants. We changed the soil and some pots for them. We also planted some new plants and seeds. We have roses, carnations, tulips, as well as hot pepper, basil, parsley and dill.
 
Our landlord also comes often and works with the vines in the yard. He had already pruned and trimmed them. Yesterday he prepared the duster for spraying them with insecticides. He patiently takes care of the vines until he gets the grapes in October. Then he makes wine and “raki” (an Albanian alcoholic drink, very strong) for himself.
 
As the weather changed and became warmer, an epidemic flu reached many people. Few weeks ago I, personally, had flu. I had headache and my throat hurt painfully for several days. I lost my voice for few days. Thank the Lord I am back to normal now. Some members of the Durres church had flu problem too.
  
We are grateful to all of you for your support, encouragement and prayers to our work in Durres church. We joyfully want to share with you parts of our life and work in church and community of Durres city.
 
The most joyful event was the coming of Diana Qerimi in Durres for few days. Diana is our beloved sister in Christ and former secretary of WEI office in Durres. You may remember what we have written to you in our previous newsletters that she finally got the visa to go to Italy. She left Durres and went to Italy last November of 2004.
 
In April 3rd, we had her back in our Worship service of Sunday morning. It was a great joy for all of us to have her back in Durres church. She is a very precious for all of us. There were tears in her eyes as we met and talked with her. She expressed wholeheartedly to all of us that she missed very much this spiritual family.
 
In April 10th, she had her wedding ceremony. She got married with Beni, her fiancé. We were very happy to participate in her wedding ceremony and enjoy with her physical family and her relatives as well. We thank God for Diana. May He bless her marriage and life abundantly
 
We also praise the Lord and thank Him for Leida and Jona as well. These two fine young Christian ladies were also married few months ago respectively with Lynn Hunt and Benjamin Smith, two other fine young Christian men. They are living in U.S.A. now. Diana, Leida and Jona were very faithful to the Lord and His church here in Durres. We all are proud of them. They were good examples in Durres church and we encourage them to continue to be lights to the world wherever they live and work. May God’s light shine through you, beloved sisters
  
In March, we also had Jonida Kushi visiting in Durres. She is another beloved member of Durres church. Jonida and Mariola Male, another beloved sister, are actually studying in University in Italy. They face many problems and difficulties over there according to the news we have, but they are faithful to the Lord. We rejoice for their faithfulness and perseverance in midst of many trials. May God continue protecting and blessing them as they stand faithfully to Him
  
April 1st, Skender Kola went in Germany with Albanian troops for a military training. In May, he will go with Albanian troops to Bosnia in a peace keeping mission. He will be there until September. Albanian troops of peace-keeping mission are present in many countries like Iraq, Afganistan and Bosnia as part of UN and NATO troops. We pray to God for Skender’s protection and ask Him to bless his efforts in peace-keeping in Bosnia. Your prayers on behalf of Skender will be appreciated too. Thank you.
 
March 12th, Tirana church hosted and conducted the Youth’s Day. A group of young Christians from Durres church went to Tirana. Our children, Aldi and Yvonne, were among them too. They enjoyed very much that day. Tirana church had invited as guest speaker for the occasion, brother Mladen Jovanovich from Croatia. We thank the Tirana church for the event and their hospitality. Occasions like that are much appreciated. They build fellowship among Christians from different congregations of the churches of Christ in Albania. May Our God strengthen the ties of our common love we share in His Son and our Savior Christ Jesus.

Tirana church also had the initiative and called for a meeting among the workers of all churches of Christ in Albania, in April 2. Workers and missionaries from Vlora, Fier, Oricum, Pogradec, Lushnja, Durres, Korca and Tirana met in Lushnja city. Tom Bonner, an American missionary in Lushnja, hosted the meeting in the building where Lushnja church meets. Cimi and I participated in that meeting too.

There, we discussed about a new religious draft law prepared by the Albanian government recently. The draft law intends to regulate relations between the state and the religious communities in Albania. It is not discussed and voted yet in the Parliament where it will take its final legal content as the Religious Law in Albania.

We all discussed about the freedom and restrictions that the draft law offers to the religious community. What should be mentioned as an innovation of this draft it is the Legal Status of Religious Communities. There are only four religious communities recognized officially in Albania at present. They are Catholics, Orthodoxies, Muslims and another Muslim community, called Bektashi.

The draft allows other religious communities to be recognized officially too, based on some conditions that should be met. In the meeting, we all agreed and decided to make all our efforts in order that the Church of Christ be recognized officially as religious community in Albania. At present, churches of Christ in Albania are recognized officially as non profit Foundations or Associations, not as religious community.

We are all making efforts to grow spiritually and in number at Durres church. In our efforts we are facing some obstacles and difficulties.

Thus, four last months, Albania society has been hurt by the suicide of seven teenagers of age 11-14. All the news and information we heard are speaking against Jehovah’s witnesses but some go to extreme speaking against any Christian religious community. Thus, our work in community has been hindered some. Diana and I still work with the people that we have already established relations, but it is hard getting some new ones.
Diana is studying with Sofi, her sister and two of their friends while some others quite coming on Bible class she was teaching with adult ladies on Wednesday mornings. Their excuses are many but mainly “we are busy”.

Last Sunday morning, a couple came and asked specifically to talk with Diana. Later, Diana told me that they were the parents of one of children who attend Children class on Sunday mornings. The man asked for her daughter to come out of our assembly. He spoke harshly to his wife who had allowed the child to come.

The couple is Fatime’s neighbors. Diana knows the lady. She had visited her several times. Their daughter comes together with Fatime and her daughter, Xheni (Jenny), on Sunday mornings.

Diana spoke to both of them and told them that we are against any action of suicide. We do not promote or encourage people to do that because God does not teach that. He hates it. She also invited them to come in the Children class or in any of our assembly and see things themselves. Finally, the man allowed her daughter to stay and be part of Children class.

By this incident, we can say with assurance that friendship and good relations in community make the difference.

I am continuing Bible study with Leonard, Artur and Gentian. Leonard and Genti are attending even Bible class on Sunday mornings where I am teaching the Book of Revelation at present. I have missed Bible study with Shezai and Peno. We had only three classes during this time because they had to travel several times to another city, in Vlora. Their daughter, Engjellushe (Angelica), is suffering a chest cancer and is taking chemical therapy at present. So, they go and visit her and try to help her and her family. Engjellushe is married and she has seven children. She feels very weary and weak by the therapy. Please, keep praying for Engjellushe and her family too.

Ray and Shelly Wheeler are back in Durres church. They are happy and full of new energy for the work. May God’s blessings be upon them and their work in Durres. We are expecting some other teachers for Summer Campaign. The first ones will come by May 26th, and others will follow them later. We thank them all for their dedication. We appreciate very much their assistance in our efforts for expanding God’s kingdom in Durres. We are looking forward to their coming. May God bless them with safe trip and many other blessings in their dedication to Him.

April 17th, we had Friends’ Day in the church. That Sunday morning we had an opening service inviting friends and relatives. We had also a guest speaker from U.S.A who was visiting Elbasan church (a congregation of the church of Christ in Elbasan city). The topics planned was “Growing in Faith” and “Evangelizing in community”. We had a wonderful service that Sunday. The lessons were intended to help the work with Christian teenagers. Recently, we have had some problems with their attendance and behavior in assemblies. Issues these which we will deal with even in the coming church business meeting. You know how patient we should all be with the teens. We should also correct them, teaching them the proper behavior as we teach and live the way of righteousness. May God bless their listening and make them doers of righteousness.

We continue to be grateful to all of you for your confidence and support in our work as well as for all your prayers and emails. Thank you! May God bless you
 Here is a list of some prayer requests as a remembrance:
 

Thanks,

Brotherly in Christ,
Alfred & Diana Zike                                                        
May 5, 2005

Dear Brothers and Sisters

Another school year has come and gone. Once again some of the “children” have graduated from high school. Only yesterday, 2002, these kids were finishing their first year of high school when I came here on a campaign in May of 02. Some of the youth leaders were new Christians during that summer and later that year. Albania and the city of Durres proceed to make improvements in the infrastructure, too long neglected under communism. Along with these changes God is continually working in the lives of the Christians here and the Gospel of Christ is spreading. The first of Ray’s students baptized during 2003, Besnik Balaou is enrolled in the International Bible Institute of Albania to begin this fall. The next generation of preachers, teachers and spiritual leaders will be blessed by this opportunity to study and receive training in effective understanding and teaching of the Bible. This new institute is affiliated with the Sunset International Bible Institute, Lubbock, TX. Steve Stamatis is the administrator of the school and will be recruiting experienced teachers to come and teach in Tirana. I, Ray will take some courses at the IBIA and continue to work with the church in Durres as well.

We thank each of you who make it possible for us to continue in the Lord’s work here in Durres. Your prayers and financial support are appreciated. We are now supported by churches and individual Christians from Texas, Minnesota and four or five other states. As we approach our extension of a third year in the work we thank all of you who have committed to extend your financial support. If you will not be continuing our support after August of 2005 please let us know. You can write directly to us by email or write to Beth Schroeder at the East Duluth Church of Christ. If you would like to help our work here financially, checks should be made out and sent to the East Duluth Church of Christ. We appreciate every supporter as each contribution, large or small is a meal or a cup of coffee, both of which we have grown accustomed to over the last forty or so years.

Speaking of years, On May 21st Shelley and I celebrated 22 years of marriage. We rejoice again that what God has joined together is a tool in the kingdom. We have learned a few more things living a culture foreign to us and have had to depend on each other more. As I told the teenagers in a recent class on marriage “believe it or not, sometimes my wife gets angry with me.” But I know she loves me and I love her. God continues to help us grow together.

May has brought to us our first three summer campaigners Eric Winebarger, Ben Asperhiem and Dan Asperhiem. We pray that their work will be effective in the kingdom here. School has just finished and we will be expecting a large number of students to register for the WEI course. We are beginning a singing class to include learning new songs, basic music reading and song leading skills. We have a few students and young Christians who can read music but as we learn new songs and learn old ones better this should be of help. I am also working on arrangements of many songs which have the words translated into Albanian so that we can use the music to improve our singing which is great already. Our schedule of activities is Sunday morning assembly and Bible class, Tuesday evening Devotionals, Wednesday morning staff devotional, Wednesday afternoon singing class, Wednesday evening bible study and devotional, Thursday afternoon girls class, Friday afternoon singing class and Friday afternoon teen class. The Friday teen class is followed by special activities of fellowship. We are also in study for the Albanian Bible Bowl, on I & II Corinthians, to be held in August. We have a busy summer ahead which will once again fly by. Pray for us, our campaigners, students and young Christians as we strive to plant seeds of the kingdom here in Albania.
 

Dear brethren,

June was the month of the election campaign while tomorrow, July 3, we will have voting for the new parliament in Albania. Through the new parliament Albania will have a new government for the four coming years. On this occasion, we would appreciate your prayers on behalf of Albania and all churches in Albania. We bow down before God and ask Him to bless Albania and His kingdom in Albania. May His peace and grace be abundantly poured upon its country and its people. Please, keep praying as you meet with the brethren tomorrow. Thank you

We would like also to send our best wishes to our brethren in the U.S. on the occasion of their National Day of July 4. We will pray for U.S and all our brethren over there May the Lord keep blessing you all abundantly

God Bless

Alfred and Diana Zike

Dear Friends and Family

Summer is passing quickly with teaching individual students, singing classes, girl’s class, teen class, teen devotionals, midweek bible study and fellowship activities. We have enjoyed working along side of Kelly Atkins, Dan Asperhiem and Ben Asperhiem. We have said goodbyes to Ty Pope and Kevin and Allison Morrill as they returned to the States. Adalina Kurti, our secretary, resigned effective at the end of June and when her papers come through she will be married and join her husband in Italy. Eric Winebarger and Eriola Bozo will be having traditional wedding ceremonies here in Albania on the thirtieth of July then they will go the United States where they will be legally married in Missouri.

We have three new sisters in Christ. Praise the Lord!! Two of our new Christians are biological sisters and have been Chimi’s students for some time now. Monika and Danjella were baptized into Christ on the first of July. One of our members here is an older gentleman, Shazi. He has been attending along with his wife for the last year or so. On July 13, Alfred baptized his wife Pano. It was an emotional time for us because seeing an older person that has lived a difficult life here in Albania turn to the Lord was so special. It is a long journey and not many adults want to make it. (Just a side-note: please pray for their family as their daughter is battling cancer and she has 7 children.) Please pray for these new Christian women.

We have had the pleasure of meeting many new friends and students. Pray for our efforts to be light for Christ in this city of Durres. We traveled to Elbasan one Sunday where Ray preached for the church there. Please pray for this work because there is no one working full-time with this church since the former missionaries, Pete and Dulcie Hodge have returned to England.

We have enjoyed great fellowship and movie nights on Friday with the teens thanks to Ty Pope who bought a PowerPoint projector for the church before moving back to the States. We have had good attendance, Christians and non Christians both, for Friday teen class, averaging around thirty. They stay to enjoy a movie, fellowship and treats. We have acquired Karaoke music from the internet which is new here in Albania but those who have tried it really enjoyed it. Fun and good fellowship seem to be good ways to reach the young people for Christ.

The first part of July has also been eventful. Shelley turned 50 on the 14th of July. The Albanians did a great job in keeping her spirits high and making her feel very special and loved. Many of you sent email good wishes and we appreciate your thoughtfulness. We honored all of our graduates on Friday evening the 15th of July. We had 6 students that graduated from high school. Five of the six are members here. The sixth one would love to be, but lacks her parents permission (pray for Elona). Leaving the 8th class and going on to high school is also a very important step in Albanian education. We honored 10 students, most of whom are students of ours, two are Christians. The attendance for the event was great and the kids hung around and played ball in the yard (something they do on a regular basis). Ben and Dan left July 16 and Kelly will leave on the 21st. We will miss their enthusiasm and love for the work here. August brings new campaigners, vacation bible school, a class on angels, Bible Bowl and other activities. As you can see, summer is a lot of fun here so make plans to come next year. Thank you for your prayers and support!

God Bless you all!

Ray and Shelley Wheeler

August 05

Dear brethren,

We do always remember you in our prayers thanking God of you and your service to His kingdom all over the world. We greet you in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus and we pray that you all are in good health and high spirit.

Thank you for all your prayers and emails. It is encouraging and uplifted to know and have confidence that our brethren keep praying on our behalf. That strengthens our common faith and gives life to our hope of heaven.

Recently Albania passed through a very hot political weather focused in the political elections of July 3. The elections were the general ones all over the country. Through them were elected the new deputes for the new Parliament of 2005-2009. The political system in Albania is Parliamentary Republic one. All parties and their candidates ran their campaigns through many accusations addressed to each other about corruption as well as through many promises for the four coming years.

The elections are over and our prayer was and is that the people elected are friendly to the cause of Christ. It is sad but it is true that there are so many places in the world that Christ is not welcomed. We thank God that He was preached and still is preached in Albania. We also pray that our leaders will have love for the people and that our country may prosper.

Confident in the Lord we keep walking on His steps together with the brethren here in Durres church. Our journey through May, June and July 2005 brought to us several exiting events.

Our greatest joy is the growth of the church with new converts. We are confident that you, dear brethren, rejoice with us as heaven does too.

Daniela and Monika Jera were baptized for the forgiveness of sins on July 1. They are of age 16 and 14 and very lovely sisters. They are everywhere together and always with smiling faces. Cimi has been studying the Word of God with them very patiently. They both are WEI’s students

Peno Abazi also was baptized for the forgiveness of sins on July 13. Peno is the wife of Shezai, an adult member of the church. They both are to their 70’s. They have eight grown children. You may remember that we have asked you to pray for their daughter, Engjellushe (Angelica), who suffers from chest cancer.

Shezai and Peno are a nice couple and have a lovely family. Diana and I have been visiting them frequently and we were always very welcomed in their home. Together we have studied from the Word of God and several times together we have visited their neighbors in our efforts to evangelize them. Together we also have spent many hours of prayers. We are very encouraged by them and we have learned a lot from them. Their life and experience is like a school. We consider them as our parents.

We thank God for these new converts added to His family in Durres. We give all credit to Him and Him alone. We also are thankful to you, beloved brethren, who make our “feet so beautiful”. We are confident that there many other people who love Him here in Durres. And as the Scripture says, “How can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (Rom.10:14-15) As we thank God and you for the new converts, we ask His blessings be upon them and all of us as we glorify Him.

We are having a “season of weddings” in Durres church. That is the case among the young people. Eric Winebarger and Eriola Bozo got married on July 30. Again we thank the Lord for this blessing as we see our brethren growing in spirit and age and establishing their families in the Lord. Hallelujah…hallelujah, Praise His name! Rejoice and sing with us, beloved brethren.

The wedding ceremony as many witnessed was wonderful. That was a blessing to the church. Everyone was so excited. We cannot describe with words the joy and the emotions that everyone shared in this happy event.

Eric and Eriola are so fine Christians and we love them wholeheartedly. As they were leaving Albania, Eric declared that Albania, especially Durres church, is their home. That really touched the church to the heart.

Diana and I will never forget their wedding ceremony. It was the first wedding ceremony we both performed in our 13 years of walking with the Lord. It was also the first performed in Durres church. It is more thoughtful knowing that July 30 is our Anniversary Day and on that day, 16 years later, we help two Christians to join their lives in marriage before the Lord. That fills our hearts with great joy for the blessing God poured upon us. As we ask the Lord to abundantly bless Eric and Eriola we would like you to join in our prayer as we also remember other people recently married as Lynn and Leida Hunt, Benjamin and Jona Smith, Ben and Diana (Qerimi) Muca.

In few weeks we will have others going to the altar of marriage. Cimi and Anila will be married on September 10 and soon we expect Adi Kurti to be married too. Remember them in your prayers too, please. Thank you.

Summer Campaign goes well and a lot of teaching and activities are going on among the brethren and visitors in Durres church. Kelly Atkins from Texas, Dan & Ben Asperheim from Minnesota and Eric Winebarger from Missouri came and spent their school vacations teaching WEI’s students and encouraging the teens of the church. We commend them before the Lord for their dedication and love for His work and His church in Durres. By now they are gone, but in few days we are expecting others to join us.

May 2, the church went in the picnic at the beach. We all enjoyed the fellowship and we also worked and cleaned the area together. When the school year ended the teens kept going together at the beach on Saturdays and enjoyed fellowship.

July 15, the church had an Opening House. On that occasion we commended before the Lord all the members who got graduated from the high school and middle school (8th level). Many visitors and WEI’s students took part and enjoyed our fellowship. They also attend and enjoy the Friday evenings made up of Bible class for teens and many other activities together, as eating pizza, watching movies, playing games, etc. Thanks to the Wheelers who teach and generously provide and welcome the teens.

Cimi and I are teaching and preaching to the church. Cimi just finished teaching “The Scheme of Redemption” on Wednesday evenings, while I am teaching the Book of Revelation on Sunday mornings. Working in community is very encouraging to me and Diana. Thank the Lord we were able to assist Leonard, one of Alfred’s student, as he was working to open a fast food business. He was without job for a long time. We helped him in cleaning and preparing the shop ready for opening. Last week, he opened the shop and we are glad to see him happy and working. In his fast food you can enjoy a nice “chicken soufflake”, a fast food very traditional in Greece and Turkey and recently even in Albania.

July 9 and 10, we had two guests in Durres. Art Hitt, from Portland OR, came and visited Durres church. It was so good to be again with Art. He always has a smiling face and a good sense of humor. We know him since April 1994, when he came for the first time in Tirana with many others for a WEI Campaign. And since that time, he is coming to Albania for the mission work almost every summer. This time he brought in Albania one of his best friends, Greg Weston from Ashland, OR. It was so good to get acquainted with Greg. They both shared with us the Word of God and Christian fellowship. Their visit was very encouraging and beneficial. Thank you, dear Art and Greg. We pray His blessings be upon you and your ministry.

As I mentioned above we are expecting many others to join us in the Summer Campaign.

So a group of seven people are coming from Adams Boulevard Church of Christ in Bartlesville, OK. We are very excited about their coming. Adams Blvd. Church of Christ is very focused in mission work and specifically in the Albanian field. Diana and I are very grateful to them for their confidence and support to us since 2000, as Alfred was studying in AIBI in Athens, Greece. We are looking forward to the refreshing of our friendship and partnership with them for the cause of Christ in Albania.

Dennis & Frieda Winebarger are also coming in few days. We are looking forward to their coming. Winebargers and Durres church fell in love since 2001 and we all are excited to refresh the common love we have for one another because of Christ.

I apologize to you for running your time as you read through these long rows. I do that often, please, forgive me. But I will beg your attention to keep reading some more rows as I write to you about a very important issue, concerning International Bible Institute of Albania (IBIA). Thank you.

As you may have heard Sunset International Bible Institute in Lubbock, TX and WEI came to an agreement to cooperate and establish a Bible Training School in Tirana, Albania, called IBIA. All church leaders in Albania are very excited about that looking forward to the finalization of that plan, Lord’s willing. We are very excited too. We pray for the strength of the church in Albania and Balkan as well as for a great army of Christians to rise up in this area. We also want to encourage you to pray about that. We all believe that this is great project for the cause of Christ in Albania with affects even out the borders of Albania. Till now there are six Albanian Christians, one from Romania and one from Kosovo enrolled to be students in IBIA, as far I know. And two of them are from Durres church.
You also will be very welcomed to assist in this great project. There is a financial need to be met in order for the IBIA to open its door in January 2006.

You may contact Richard Ady at WEIADY@aol.com and Steve Stamatis at dig4truth@yahoo.com They can give you more information about the need. You may know that Richard Ady is the president of WEI (World English Institute) and very acquainted with the Albanian field. He loves the Lord’s work in Albania and has invested many of his years to this cause.

Steve Stamatis is appointed by SIBI as the academic dean of IBIA. We know personally Steve and Debrah, his wife. Steve is my former instructor in AIBI. He and Deborah are willing to serve to this cause in Albania. We are confident in them and their ministry to the Lord.

Steve and Deborah came and visited Albania in June. It was their second trip to Albania but this time their focus was IBIA. Together with the Stamatis and Alfred Dimce we traveled and met church leaders and missionaries in several cities in Albania during their visit in Albania. We were very encouraged to get the same excitement everywhere as in Tirana, Durres, Pogradec, Korca, Vlora, Lushnja. All church leaders and missionaries welcome IBIA and are willing to make all efforts in making this project a reality in Albania. I personally was very encouraged by the Virgil & Jacky Jackson in Vlora church and Bill & Nancy Saltsman in Korca church. These missionaries are serving more than a decade in those cities and they love very much the work and Albania people. They have done tremendous work in midst of many trials. They are to be honored and commended before the Lord for their dedication. May the Lord keep blessing them through His Grace.

As we conclude these long rows we express to you our gratitude for all your prayers, support and emails. Thank you. You are blessing to us in the Lord. Let us all keep walking on His steps… “in the light as He is in the light”, and we all will have fellowship with one another and His blood will keep purifying us. May the Grace and Peace be upon you all from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

Here are some prayer requests, please:
1. Durres church and its growth.
2. The new converts: Daniela & Monika Jera and Peno Abazi and her family.
3. The new couples: Eric and Eriola Winebarger as well as Lynn & Leida, Benjamin & Jona, Ben & Diana
4. Cimi & Anila and Adi Kurti who will be married too
5. Summer Campaigners in Durres
6. IBIA and the Stamatis.
7. Our work and family. Thanks

Brotherly in Christ,
Alfred & Diana Zike
 

Dear brethren,

Grateful to you, we send our warmest greetings to you and your loved ones. Hope you all are healthy and uplifted in the Lord. We, our family and all in Durres church are well too.

Before we share with you the news from Durres church, we would like first to thank you for your nice emails and phone calls on behalf of our daughter’s baptism, October 23. Her heart decision to confess Jesus as Lord and Savior made us very happy. Lord Jesus has blessed and is blessing us abundantly. Our whole family is now united in Him. Praise Him!
Being greatly blessed to share fellowship with you in Christ, we thank you for joining with us in our joy. You are very encouraging and uplifting to us as we walk with the Lord.

We also thank you for all your prayers, emails and financial contributions expressing your sympathy to Ajald and his family on the occasion of his mother death, November 24. That means a lot to Ajald and all in Durres church, as a part of His Great Family where we all love and care for one another. This is the great command that the Lord has given to us, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12 (NKJV)

Durres church is next to Ajald and his family in this difficult time they are having. We gladly inform you that he is overcoming the pain and becoming stronger. He is back to assembling with the church. We are confident that this strength and comfort comes only from God. Therefore, let us all join with Paul in praising Him, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” 2Cor.1:3-4 (NKJV)

Thank you very much, beloved friends. We will keep thanking God of you and asking Him to keep blessing you abundantly. May His Grace bind us together in His perfect Love

Dear friends,

Too much time has passed since we last sent out a newsletter. Many things have happened since that time that kept us busy in the work and service among the brethren. But we gladly inform you that we are very excited with the work and the people. Since October, Diana and I are involved in teaching teens’ classes also. Diana is teaching the young girls from the wonderful book of Ruth. She is also helping them in cooking, sewing and house keeping. Each week they are learning a new cooking recipe or needlework like cross-stitch. I am teaching the male teens on purity. The challenge is there as we discuss about teens’ problems in behavior and attitude too. We enjoy the classes and the fellowship with them. They really thrill us and keep us young. Here are some pictures we were able to get and share with you.

As October turned his last day, the weather has been very cold and hostile with storms and plenty of rains. November was also associated with the lack of electricity (power) for many hours, 10-12 hours each day. The whole country passed through a severe crisis of power. It came immediately after the new parliament and new government was elected. It happened because of mismanagement of the cascades of the hydro centrals which are the main source of generating power in our country. The worst of it, as it happens always, is the hyper-politicization of the crisis. So, instead of putting efforts together in smoothing the consequences of the crisis, the politicians just accuse one another for it. The situation is improved recently because of the rains, but still the crisis is not over.

Our beloved brethren,
We gladly inform you that the Durres church is growing in numbers. Six new souls are added to the church since August. They are Ina Simaku (August 12), Daena Madhi (August 19), Gloria Çeno (August 26), Xhulio Doku (September 8), Pranvera Shehi (September 9) and Yvonne Zike (October 23). All of them are 14-18 of age. The church embraced them wholeheartedly. We all thank God who does the adding, being confident that He will bless them as they grow in and walk with Christ. Praise Him!

We commend before Him the work and efforts of His workers in Durres, Cimi and the Wheelers, always thanking God who provides for the work and His workers. During the summer, we had several visiting workers among us. They shared the Good News with non-Christians and the common faith with Christians. Their assistance prompted the response of these new souls to the Good News.

Thus in August, we had seven people from Adams Blvd. Church of Christ in Bartlesville, OK. They conducted two weeks of teaching Bible, WEI and VBS in Durres. Their minister, Art Henley, conducted a special Seminar on Angels, August 15-19. Art did a very good job, teaching powerfully from the word of God. This very interesting subject prompted a good attendance by many members and visitors. Art spoke about “The Lord of Hosts”, “Great Angel Stories,” “When Angels Minister,” “Angels in Prison,” and “The Greatest Angel” respectively each evening for the whole week from Monday to Friday.

That week also Marilyn, Shirley, Patricia and Tracy conducted VBS for the kids in the morning time. The children were very excited and enjoyed the whole week through many great Bible stories, hymns and other activities they have. It was first visit for Shirley, Patricia and Tracy in Durres while it was the fourth one for Marilyn. They all did wonderful job teaching the kids.

We want to say THANK YOU to Bob Seat, Art Henley, Johnny and Shirley Vaughan, Marilyn Fisher, Patricia Thompson and Tracy Patrick from Adams Blvd. church. Diana and I are very happy to be partners with them. We had the blessing to refresh the friendship with some of them and be acquainted with some others. We are very grateful to them. They are very supportive and encouraging to us. It is our constant prayer for further partnership with them for the Lord’s glory. May we always lift Him high

August 24-26, Dennis Winebarger taught on 1Timothy. Dennis and his wife, Frieda, spent a month visiting and teaching WEI and Bible among us. They both are very good teacher. Durres church loves them. It was so good to have them here. We refreshed the common friendship we have with them in Christ. Dennis also performed the wedding ceremony of Cimi and Anila who got married in September 10. Thank you, Dennis and Frieda. May His grace always be upon you

October 19-23, we had another seminar on “The Historical Christianity” conducted by John Massie, another visiting teacher in Durres church. It was the second time that John and his wife, Earlene, visited Durres church. Their first visit was last year, again in October, when John conducted a seminar on “The Distinctive Nature of the Church” and spoke to the Men’s Day in Albania. John spoke about “Jesus, Man or Myth?”, “Evidences for the Resurrection”, “Saul of Tarsus, an Impossible Convert”, “Jesus Christ, a Man of Destiny”, and “The Gospel of Jesus Christ”. John is a powerful speaker. He was my instructor in AIBI, Greece. Our friendship is grown and multiplied since that time. John and Earlene serve the Lord at Alamo City Church of Christ in San Antonio, TX. Dear John and Earlene, thankful to the Lord for you, we thank you for your assistance in our work. May the Lord bless you richly.

Here are some other pictures.

As it is the tradition in our congregation, we had deserts and refreshments each evening of the seminars. That is a good opportunity for sharing fellowship with one another and getting acquainted with new prospected students willing to study WEI and Bible with us. Most of these students are related somehow with the church members. These relations make us all partners in evangelizing the community, here in Durres city.

While the church grows in numbers and in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, it also experiences going abroad of several members as they get marry or go to study in a foreign country.

This time we said good bye to Ilda Male, Adi Kurti and Besnik Balliu. Ilda and Adi both went to Italy. Adi got married and went to Italy since her husband is an emigrant there. Ilda is studying to be a dentist like her mother in the University of Parma, Italy. There, she joined her sister, Mariola. Jonida Kushi is also studying in Italy. Diana Qerimi lives there with her husband too. We were glad to see Diana as she came and stayed in Durres for two months. She and Beni are expecting to have a baby girl in few months. We pray for God’s protection and care to be upon her and their baby.

Skender Kola came back from Bosnia in November, where he served with the Albania troops in a Peace Keeping Mission while Besnik joined the army in October, here in Albania. That’s life family isn’t it?

Dear brethren,
As we conclude this letter, we bow down before our God and Father asking Him to bless His family here in Durres. We also ask Him to bless you and your families as you all serve Him faithfully. Keep praying for us by adding to your praying list some of our requests. Please, pray for Shelly’s health. She is in Italy, where she got a surgery in the gall gland, while she and Ray were in their way to Albania after visiting in U.S. The surgery was ok and she is recovering. Please, pray also for Steve and Deborah Stamatis and IBIA as their time of arriving in Albania is approaching, Lord willing in January 2006. Thanks

1. Durres church and its growth.
2. The new converts: Ina, Daena, Gloria, Pranvera, Xhulio and Yvonne
3. Diana Qerimi and her baby girl, Ilda, Adi and Besnik
4. Shelly’s recovery
4. IBIA (International Bible Institute of Albania) and the Stamatis
5. Our work and family

Brotherly in Christ, Sponsored by:
Alfred & Diana Zike

Starting from December, after a meeting with the church, we decided to separate the boys and girls into two groups. Alfred and I are taking turns in teaching the Christian boys on purity, holiness, men’s role in the church, Satan’s  temptations on paralyzing men in leading and serving the church and other subjects that we believe are important. Alfred and I teach personal Bible classes to the Christians during the week.

 I have taught some Christians the book of John and now I’m teaching the book of Mark. Diana Zike is teaching the girls from the book of Ruth. Anila (my wife) is going to teach the girls on Friday 16th. She is going to teach the girls from the life of Mary, mother of Jesus.

We have organized different activities after the Bible class such as, watching movies, learning how to cook, needle-work and other things. It seems that bible class is going well this way and we have decided to continue this way for some time. Diana Zike is teaching children on  Sundays during the bible classes. The number of children is growing recently and we continue to encourage Christians to bring kids on this class. Suela Kurti, our sister in Christ and the secretary to the school and the church is a great help to all of us. She teaches students when some of us are sick or busy and keeps the place clean and she is always ready to help.

I’m studying myself on personal basis. I have called this personal study, ‘Renewing my faith in Jesus’. I consider personal study as very important to myself and my wife. I’m glad that my wife encourages and supports me on this. World English Institute classes. I continue to teach students with WEI materials in full and regular basis from Tuesday to Friday. My schedule is full every day from 2pm. to 6pm. and sometimes it goes to 7 a clock pm. I have some students in the mornings also, but I use mornings for doing other things for the church.

The end of October to the start of December has been terrible and the whole country of Albania has suffered form the shortage of electricity. We have had 10-12 hours in a day without electricity. Thanks to the church in Idaho and the team that worked here in Durres before who bought a generator and we have used it almost every day. We haven’t stopped teaching WEI classes and Bible classes regardless of power shortage. I also teach an English class to a group of 14 teenage students, twice a week. This is another way of reaching to people. Some of these students attend Bible classes and worship on Sundays. There are many from this class who are promising to come to Christ. Visits to the homes of Christians. Alfred and I, also the other Christians have visited some of the Christians at their homes. We also are visiting some of our students at their homes. We consider these visits important to the growth and future of the church in Durres and we try to build relationships with their families. We have many young Christians whose parents are not Christian and we try to tell them of the church and the good news of Jesus.

The church in Durres also, has been close to Ajald Celmeta, one of our teenage Christian who lost his mother because of stomach tumor. Many of Christians have visited Ajald at his
home and have shared the pain and the loss of his mother. We continue to pray for him in this difficult time in order that he may stay faithful to the Lord and stay close in the fellowship of other Christians.

Aim Team.
We have been able to contact the Sunset Preaching School and the AIM program in US to come and work with us here in Durres. Ray Wheeler applied to be coordinator for this aim program. He was invited to Sunset school and presented there the work here in Durres. The church prayed for this plan and it seems that it is God’s will for us to have them. I’m sure that the students will be a blessing to the church here. We have heard from Aim program that four students (female Christians) are willing to come and work in Durres. We will try and find new ways in reaching to the community of Durres. These students will be a great help to us. Praise God for their willingness to come to Durres.

Ray and Shelley are back from the States. Ray and Shelley visited the US during the period of October 22nd to December 16th. Their plan of coming back was December 5th but Shelley got sick on her way back to Durres and ended up in a hospital in Italy. She had the surgery there and she is doing well in recovering of her complete health. Appeal to all of you who want to help the needy. Alfred and I, among other works in the church we have, we have met and helped two families that are located on the sides of Durres. These two families come from northern Albania and are very poor and live under the water. One family has no home and sleeps outside. They have 5 kids and they do not go to school because they are not able to support it. Poverty has taken away God’s image on them. The church in Durres has helped with food and clothes these two families, but we know that it is not enough. We appeal you brethren to help these families with food, clothes, and even helping build a simple house for them. Help these people and bring God’s image on them!

Thank You!

Finally, brothers and sisters the church in Durres wants to thank each of you for the support and the prayers in our address. We love you and we want to wish you all:

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Cimi.
 

Dear brethren,

We pray that you are having wonderful beginning of the 2006. We are blessed to say: “Yes we are having a wonderful beginning!”

Today we send to you a joyful news from Durres church, Albania. Three new souls were baptised today in our morning service. They are Daniela, Olta and Nikolin who are also two sisters and a brother of a physical family. We had a crowd attendance today and were also so happy to be eyewitness of their baptism. We praise the Lord for this wonderful blessing and ask Him to bless their lives as they grow in Christ.

We also commend Cimi for the patient and wonderful work of studying with them. Keep up the good work, dear Cimi. May the Lord keep blessing the work in Durres. Rejoice with us, dear friends. We love you and we pray for you. May we always serve Him faithfully wherever we are

God Bless you

Alfred and Diana Zike
 

The AIM team will be arriving in May to work with us here in Durres. We are excited to have this group come and assist us in spreading the Gospel here and are hopeful that our influence as coordinators will be of great service to these young ladies. Sarah Everett is from the Adams Blvd church in Bartlesville and was with us for a short time the summer before last.

Ray Wheeler
 

Dear brethren,

We send warm greetings to all of you. We are still having winter in Albania. It has been a very strange winter, a very cold one combined with a lot of rains, and snow in higher areas. We are looking forward of having a warm weather in the coming days. The good news is that we are not having lack of power (electricity) any more. The crisis is over. The reservoirs of hydro centrals are filled to the maximum capacity and they are producing power in full capacity.

Durres church is doing well regardless of the bad weather and the flu sickness of the season. Several members have passed through the flu. Diana, Aldi and I passed that flu too. We all are doing well at present.

The membership has grown with four new souls since January 2006. All of them were baptized for the remissions of their sins based on their beliefs and confessions of the Lord among many witnesses. Thus Daniela, Olsa and Nikolin Kosta were baptized on January 8th, while Ilsa Basha was baptized on February 26. Daniela, Olsa and Nikolin (he) are two sisters and one brother of the same physical family. Ilsa is Alda’s sister (Alda is a teenager girl member of the church). Two other teenager girls are sisters of a physical family too. They are Daniela (Daniela is a common name in Albania) and Monika Jera. Their families have visited the church too. We know that physical relationships affects very well the spiritual relationships bringing one another to Christ, as it was the case of Andrew and Peter and many others in the New Testament times too. That is the case in Durres church too.

Teachings and activities make the life’s church very excited one. We have a curriculum program planned ahead of time in all Bible classes and other activities as well. That makes easy following up and achieving the goals we all target.

The four new souls are very devoted. In fact all of them, Daniela, Olsa, Nikolini, Ilsa, Alda, Daniela and Monika, are faithful in attendance and all other activities of the church. They are good examples to the church. We commend them before God and we pray that He will guide, strengthen, and protect them as they grow in the image of His Son. We know that God wants us to be good examples to them in words and deeds, not only teaching them the Christian life but also showing them our lives as examples. Cimi is having Bible classes with them. They all are growing spiritually.

Some members have passed through exams in the school too. I was told that Doriana Delija got very well in her exams. She is studying the informatics (information science) in the University of Tirana. I was also told that Klaudio Hyseni did well with the school. He is studying sociology in the University of Tirana too. They travel back and forth every day, five days in a week, to Tirana. That is not easy considering the cold weather. We admire them for their zeal to grow in knowledge. They also attend the Bible classes willingly to learn and grow in Christ. Klaudio and I are studying together a Bible course from WBS. Our class schedule changes frequently due to his assignments at the University.

On Sunday mornings, I taught the Book of Romans on the Sunday Bible class for several weeks from November ’05 till January ’06. It is a book I like very much. Paul’s writing is very deep and full of reasoning describing God’s righteousness in this book. “Understanding God’s righteousness and manifesting it in our lives as His children” was the main objective in studying of this book. I can admit that using power point presentation through over projector makes the class more attractive and understandable. I enjoyed teaching. Cimi and I have also been preaching on Sunday worship services alternatively.

Diana and I were involved in teaching teens’ classes also. Diana taught to the young girls the wonderful Book of Ruth. She also taught to them how to cook, sew and keep the house. Each week they learned a new cooking recipe or needlework like cross-stitch. I taught the young men on spiritual purity. There were a lot of challenges as we discussed about teens’ problems in behavior and attitude too. Then, we changed turn respectively with Anila and Cimi in teaching those classes.

Diana keeps teaching Children class on Sunday mornings and she enjoys it very much. She and the kids performed a little drama for the church and visitors after worship service on December 25. It was very excited to see kids of age 6 – 10 playing it very well. It was a short dramatization from Luke 3 about “John the Baptizer and Jesus’ baptism”. Geri did very well performing the character of John. Klajdi also played very well the character of Jesus, while Paula played a narrative historian and several others playing the tax collectors, soldiers and Pharisees of the crowd.

We had a fellowship meal after service that day. We cooked turkey and potatoes, which is traditional meal for the New Year Eve. Several members assisted Diana and me in fixing the meal and serving the table. It makes the difference when we plan and organize things to be done. Diana and I tried to emphasize and teach that to the church. It came out wonderful. The church enjoyed the meal and the fellowship as a family, honored to have several visitors among us.

In December, Cimi and I have been visiting a family in need in the suburbs of the city. They were in very bad conditions and in need. The severe winter makes their life more difficult. We have sent foods to them several times. The church also contributed by collecting and sending warm clothes to them for the winter. Ilda & Mariola Male and Jonilda Kushi, and some other members of Tirana church who are living and studying in Italy at present, contributed for that family too.

Ilda, Mariola and Jonida are very beloved sisters. We miss them very much. We have contacts with them through emails, sms, and phone calls. They are doing well in their studies. All of them keep telling us that they miss Durres church very much. We are looking forward of having them in Durres during the summer time. Their participation in this benevolence work was very encouraging to us. We proudly commend them to the Lord. Thank you, beloved sisters. May The Lord bless you as you love and care for people in need.

It is very encouraging to us to see the eagerness of the young people in gaining more knowledge. After they finish the high school, almost all of them look forward to go in University. Several have attended Universities in different countries in Europe or U.S.A as it is the case of Mariola, Ilda and Jonida. Some of them are back in Albania after their graduations and many others are thinking and considering coming back too. We are very excited to have back in Albania, Kledi Xhaxhiu. He is one of the oldest members of the Durres church, as Diana Qerimi is. He came back from Germany in December. There he studied in Chemistry and got a PhD in chemistry. He is now teaching chemistry in the University of Tirana. But, the most exciting news is that he is attending and sharing fellowship with Durres church. And he is happy in doing that. That is wonderful. May God bless him as he puts God first in his life.

International Bible Institute of Albania (IBIA) opened its door in Tirana and hosted 12 Albanian native students, on January 23. Thank God, the IBIA is now a reality in Albania with its logo “Working Locally, Thinking Globally.”

Diana and I are very happy for this great event. We were praying fervently and we were looking forward of this day. We are confident that IBIA will be a great endowment for the Lord’s church and work in Albania and farther in Balkan areas. We have great memories of our time in AIBI (a sister branch in Athens, Greece). We would like to thank all the people who invested time, efforts, financials and most of all their prayers to this project. A special thank, if you can allow us, we would like to give to SIBI and WEI for their partnership in finalization of this project. A special thanks also to Steve and Deborah Stamatis. They offered themselves to this project and willingly accepted all the responsibilities in managing and teaching in the school.

Yes, dear brethren, we know that this project is made possible only by God. Thus, first of all, let us all thank God and keep praying that His will be done. May His Glory and Praise loudly be proclaimed.

Another good news that accompanies the establishment of IBIA is the fact that six members from Durres church attended IBIA the first term of 4 weeks (the first month). Eduard Hoxha and Ray Wheeler attended full-time while Skender, Suela, Anila, and Diana Z. par-time. We all in Durres church were very excited about that. I was told that they did very good in the school. All of them keep telling that they learned a lot of knowledge and they are happy.

We pray for their growth in the knowledge of the Word and in the grace of Christ Jesus. Please, join with us and pray for each one of them as well as for all the students’ body and Steve & Deborah. The rest of the students’ body is made up of Bledi & Valbona Valca from Tirana church, Sokol from Elbasan church, Altin from Lushnja church and Landro from Pogradec church. GOD Bless the IBIA!

Dear brethren,

As we conclude this newsletter, please, allow me to use and paraphrase a wonderful passage of scripture from Philippians 1:3-11, in order to express our love filled hearts toward all of you for your constant support and confidence in us. Thank you.

“We thank our God every time we remember you. In all our prayers for all of you, we always pray with joy because of your partnership in our work and lives from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you and us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for us to feel this way about all of you, since we have you in our hearts; for whether we are in troubles or defending and confirming the Gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with us. God can testify how we long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is our prayers, that our love for God and one another may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that we all may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.”

May He guide and protect us all as we walk in His Son’s steps having the fellowship with one another and the cleansing through His blood from all sins.

Here are several prayer requests that we would like for you to add to your prayer list:

1. Durres church and its growth.
2. The new converts: Daniela, Olsa, Nikolin, and Ilsa.
3. Mariola, Ilda, Jonida and Kledi.
4. IBIA.
5. Diana Qerimi and her pregnancy as the time approaches for the baby to be delivered.
6. Our work and family. Thanks.

The family in need visited

Durres students in IBIA

Brotherly in Christ,
Alfred & Diana Zike
Alfred Zike
 

I greet you all in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I thank God every time I remember you. And I always pray for all of you with joy. I thank God for the support you are giving me while I tell Albanians the Good News. You have helped me from the first day you became part of this mission in Durres, Albania. God has done great things through our efforts. God has started this good work in us and he will finish this work when Jesus Christ comes again. I feel very close to you even why I have not met most of you in person. I know that you are behind this work in Durres in your support and prayers.

4 new souls were added to the body of Christ in Durres. January 8th, 2006 the church in Durres rejoiced in the Lord for Daniela, Olta and Nikolino Kosta (Daniela and Olta are sisters and Nikolino is their brother). The church witnessed them putting Christ on by calling His name and being baptized. My wife Anila brought Daniela to the church first because they both worked in the same photo shop. February 26th, Ilsa Basha obeyed Christ and was baptized into his name. I’m continuing to have Bible classes with these new converts. Teaching them after being baptized is very important for them and for the church.

International Bible Institute of Albania
January 23rd, 2006 the Bible school in Tirana was opened and received 5 full-time students and some part-time students. There is one student from the church in Durres who is studying on full time basis. His name is Eduart. Eduart is doing great in the school and we are proud of him. He joined the school right after he finished one year of obligatory duty in the Albanian army.

Fellowship Meal.
May 21st, the church in Durres had a fellowship meal welcoming the Aim team and saying goodbye to Bath, a sister form Minnesota who came and worked to the church in Durres during the month of April. Many Christian girls were taught by Bath and we were thankful for her many great talents she had in teaching members of the church and other students.

Church Plant
New work in Beach area to start this summer. The church in Durres has been praying to God for a new work in Durres. The beach area in Durres has a population of between 30.000-40.000 people. There are many members from this area who come and worship in the city of Durres. By starting a new work in that area, it will be convenient for those members to worship God there. It looks to us that the people of this area are receptive to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My fellow brother Alfred Zike has been working more in this area and has many contacts there. We plan to start teaching through WEI and other means in this area in July 10th, 2006. A gospel meeting will be held on the last week of the month of August. We ask you brethren to pray with us to God for guidance and may his will be done in all. We want the Spirit of the Lord to lead and guide us in furthering God’s kingdom in Durres.

Bible Classes.
I continue to teach students and Christians from Monday to Friday of each week. I teach Bible classes with Christians and some of the students who have come to learn English.
Anila, my wife is teaching Bible to 4 students. She is teaching the girl’s class on Fridays.
Ray Wheeler is teaching from the book of Acts on Sunday mornings. I teach Wednesday Bible class from selected people of the Bible. Alfred and I take turns in preaching on Sunday mornings. April 23rd, a group of four and I visited the church in Lushnja. Tom Bonner, the missionary there invited me to preach to the church in Lushnja while he is in
US. Alfred preached there on May 28th.

Anila and I are thankful to God our Father. Anila and I continue to grow in love toward each other. As I wrote you in the last report, Anila is pregnant and her pregnancy has gone well so far. She is due on October 20th, 2006. We rejoice in the Lord for the baby coming in our family. We ask you to keep Anila in your prayers, please.

Your servant and brother for the cause of Christ,

Shkelqim KAfexhiu.
 

Ray and Shelley Wheeler
 

A word of praise to God!
I hope every person on earth learns about you, God. Let every nation see how you save people. May people praise you, God! May all people praise you. May all nations rejoice and be happy! Why? Because you judge people fairly and you rule every nation. May people praise, God! May all people praise you. God, our God, bless us… May all people on earth fear and respect God. Psalm 67: 2-7. I continually give thanks for your willingness to support this work and I pray that you will be richly blessed for the important part you are playing in this effort. The Lord’s work with the Albanians in Durrës has brought honor and glory to God our Father. Where God’s Word is preached his people are loved!

Ladies Day 2006.
On June 24th, the church in Durres hosted the Ladies day. Shelley Wheeler was the speaker for the day. The theme was “Created in God’s image”. There were about 150 ladies participating in this event. It was a great day of fellowship, service, love, edification and praise to God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. A group of Christian men from the church in Durres prepared the lunch meal for the ladies. It was a good experience of service for the men of the church to be involved in different works for the church. There were Christians from many churches in Albania; it was great to see Christians from the churches in Kucova and from the village Magjat, near Kucova. We are trying to bring all the churches of Albania into the unity of the Spirit.

The new work in the Beach area.
On the beginning of July 2006, the church in Durres began the new work in the Beach area. It is a distance of five miles from the church in Durres. We have rented a small place and we are teaching students there through WEI materials. Alfred Zike has been involved more in this new work and Eduart is one of the students of the Bible school in Tirana who is helping us there. There are two girls from the AIM program, as well as myself, who are teaching there twice a week. We have planned to have a full week of gospel meeting and VBS starting on August 28th, and there will be a group of four teachers from Bartlesville, Oklahoma who will help us do so. We ask you to pray fro this new work that the Spirit of the Lord leads us and may he use us to reach the people who are hungry for his word. We pray that the Lord be with us and bless this effort.

The Christian Camp in Llogara.
There was a group of four people (Ray and I and two other Christian boys) from the church in Durres that went to the camp site for a week to help set up. The camp is located in a beautiful mountain place south of Vlora. The first week of the camp started on July 1st and it was for children. There were six kids from the church in Durres. Suela Kurti (school secretary) and two of the AIM girls (Sarah and Anna) went there that week with the kids. They reported that it was a great week for the children. On July 15th, a large number of people from the church in Durres went to the camp in Llogara. There were 31 people altogether from Durres. Ray Wheeler was the camp director and Shelley was one of the cooks for the camp. Kelley Atkinson, a dear sister in the Lord who came from Houston, Texas, served as the camp teacher for the girls. She is so dear to the church in Durres because she comes every year during her vacations and teaches Albanians about Christ. I want to commend Kelley to the Lord for her strong desire to serve him in Durres, Albania.
There were also two girls from the AIM program (Rachel and Robbie). The church in Durres is thankful for Rachel’s father, Mark McCoy who contributed to some of our church members who were not able to afford the camp expenses. It was reported from the people who were at the camp to be a good week in fellowship, service to each other, building each other up, and growing in the knowledge of the Word of God.

Bible Bowl 2006.
It is already a tradition for the church in Durres to host a Bible bowl every year. This year we studied the Book of Romans. On August 12th, the church in Durres hosted eight teams. From the church in Durrës there were four teams, one team from Tirana, one team from the church in Lushnja, one team from the church in Kucova and one team from the village Magjat, next to the city of Kucova. There were also people from other cities like Polican and Fier and they promised to send teams for the next year. It was a glorious day of fellowship and love to God our father. The Bible bowl had its winners also. The first place was taken by one of the teams from Durrësi (Doriana, Ajald, Monika, Greta). The second place was taken by the team from Lushnja, and the third place was taken by Durres again. The first place for the individuals was taken by Doriana Delia. Second place-Ajald Celmeta, third place—Genti Delia and fourth place—Iva, a non-Christian girl. It was a great day for the Lord. We gave glory and praise to God and not to ourselves.

Gary Hunt visits the church in Durres.
At the end of July, Gary Hunt, one of the elders of the sponsoring church in Idaho Falls, visited the church in Durres for about ten days. Gary was accompanied by his son Lynn Hunt (a former missionary to Durres) and Lynn’s wife Leida. Gary came to see and witness the mission work in the field. It was an encouraging visit to all of us in Durrës and it was a great encouragement to the church to hear Gary preach on one of the Sundays. Lynn also preached to the church and he taught a couple of singing classes during the time he was here. The church in Durres is grateful to God for the financial support and prayers of the church in IF. God’s name is glorified in Durres and more people are hearing the Gospel of Christ.

Fellowship Meal.
On August 15th, the church in Durres invited Dick Ady to preach to the church. Dick Ady is the founder of the World English Institute in Albania. It was a great day of worshipping the Lord and we had a fellowship meal after the worship service. It was also a great day of fellowship with each other.

AIM team to Durres.
As you know, the church in Durres is assisted by an AIM team of four girls. The girls are having a great time here and they are teaching students every day as  well as making friendships with their students. They are growing in the knowledge of the Lord and in fellowship with church members. They are a blessing to the church. At this moment, they are teaching VBS with children. There are over 20 children every day that attend the class.

The Classes.
I continue to preach and teach and I take turns in preaching with Alfred. I’m teaching the Sunday Bible class from the gospel of Mark in view of evangelism. I divide the class into three groups and each group studies a passage from Mark and discusses questions I have prepared beforehand. Each group ends the class with a prayer and we each pray for one person that a Christian wants to bring to Christ. I continue to teach students of WEI during the week and, as I mentioned above, I go twice a week to teach in the beach area.
Anila also teaches some Bible classes to some students. She also is teaching some Christian girls at our home.

Many Christians from abroad visit Durres.
Eriola Winebarger visited her family and the church in Durres. It was great to see Eriola come and worship with us during the months of May-July. Also, Jonida Kushi, Ilda and Mariola Malja, and Adi Kurti came from Italy and they are worshipping with us for the summer months. We miss them and we are glad to see them back.

Benjamin and Jona Smith are blessed with a baby girl!
The church in Durres rejoices with Benjamin and Jona for God blessed them with a baby girl. We have been praying for Jona and her baby. God is good! God is great! Regi and Alma (Jona’s brother and her mother) are visiting Benjamin and Jona in the US.

Anila and her pregnancy.
Anila is doing well with her pregnancy. The Lord has blessed her with good health. She is due on October 20th. I kindly ask you to continue to pray for her and her pregnancy.


Ajald Celmeta moves to the US.
Ajald Celmeta, one of the Christian boys of the church in Durrës, left Durrës to go to Idaho Falls to finish the last year of the high school there. It was sad to see many Christians from the church in Durres cry as they were saying goodbye to Ajald after the Bible class on Wednesday, the 16th of August. We wish Ajald the blessings of Christ as he is going to live and study in the US.

In Christ’s name,
Shkelqim Kafexhiu.

 

Dear brethren,

Warm Greetings to you and your families!

Hope you had a good holiday and great time with your lovely families during Thanksgiving Holiday. Our thanksgivings join with yours and are always addressed to our Graces God. We have so many reasons to be thankful to God, “for in Him we live and move and have our being…” As always we thank God of you, and your faith and commitment to Jesus and His church. May His blessings be yours abundantly now and forever.

November is a special month for Albania and Albanians too. We have two of our greatest national days this month.  November 28 is the Independence Day. Albania declared its independence from the Turks in November 28, 1912 after being occupied and controlled by the Ottoman Empire (Turks) for five centuries. November 29 is the Liberation Day. Being occupied during the 2nd World War first from Italian Fascism in 1939 and later from German Nazis in 1943, Albania got its liberty in November 29, 1944. We rejoice and we thank God for our nation and people while we remember our history and the efforts made for the prosperity of the country. As God’s children, we do remember our call and commitment to preach the Good News of Jesus to our country men. Only His righteousness exalts any nation. Praise Him!

We hope you are doing well and everything goes well with you. Our prayer is with you and all you are doing for the Lord’s Glory.

We are well and very blessed too. Being thankful to you for all your prayers on behalf of Alfred’s health, we gladly inform that his health is recovered completely and back to normal. As you already now, I (Alfred) had a surgery on my back late in September.

I was complaining of some severe back pains and I went to see the doctor. The doctor found something wrong next to the last vertebra. He suggested a quick intervention because of the seriousness of the problem. Thus, September 28th I had the surgery. It was a very painful one. The doctor founded an infected mass and removed it and next to it he founded a hidden one too. The surgery took up to 2 hours work of. I had pains and some blood bleeding after the surgery for the next two days. It took me almost three weeks going through recovering status, which interrupted us of the work we were doing in the Beach area of Durres city.

Being concerned about the continuity of the work in the Beach area by following up all the work done there during the Summer Campaign (July –September), we prayed fervently and kept being in constant contact with the people there through our mobile phone. We received many calls and SMS from them. They all expressed their concern and care about my health. That was very encouraging and uplifted to us.

October 16, we restarted our daily schedule of teaching and visiting in the Beach area. We gladly inform you that the interruption of the work in about three weeks did not influence it negatively. And we know why. Thanks be to God only. Your prayers and ours worked as they always work when our hearts beat up for Him. We have more students of God’s word by now. There is a total of 35. We lost few young people from our previous teaching schedule. They are attending the University in Elbasan city and they moved to Elbasan city when the University started first week of October. But we have recruited some others since then. Diana and I are doing the most of the teaching assisted by Sarah and Rachel, two girls of AIM team. They are teaching 3 students once in week. As you see the harvest are full and there is need for workers. “…how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?”

Teaching the Word to an adult couple and their grandchildren next to them.

We are planning to have again Summer Campaign in 2007 and we are in contacts with people from Oklahoma. You can be part of this Campaign through your prayers, your financial assistance or your coming to teach. Please, consider this opportunity, pray about that and allow God to direct your heart in whatever you can be able to do for Him. We know that you are already involved in many things you are doing for Him and His church. We commend you before the Lord and we pray that His guidance and blessings be yours as you serve Him faithfully. For more information about Summer Campaign of 2007 email us at alzike@abcom-al.com We pray that we will be able to be in contact with you and respond to you through via email regardless of several interruptions we have had because of our Internet Service Provider. Thank You. God Bless.

Everyone is well in Durres church. We have good news to share with you. Cimi and Anila became parents. Anila gave birth to a baby boy on October 8th as you may already know that. The baby is named Samuel. Both Anila and the baby are in good health. We were glad to see them both last Sunday at the Worship service. We also have three spiritual births. They are Laureta Arapi, Dorian Paja and Arlind Veshti. Laureta works at the photo shop next to the church meeting place. Dorian is a high school student while Arlind attends the University in Durres city. He is in the first year and is studying English. There are several other members of Durres church who are attending the University in Durres this year. The University in Durres city opened its door for the first time this year in October. It has been a blessing to many young people and we hope that it will be a blessing to the city too.

I am teaching Wednesday Bible class on 1 & 2Timothy and Titus being focused on "The Organizational Structure of the Church and its Leadership”. I am also preaching on Sunday mornings alternated with Cimi each Sunday, while Diana is teaching Children Bible class on Sunday mornings. We do enjoy the teaching and the fellowship with the brethren in Durres church. All credit belongs to the Lord and Him alone who allows us to teach and preach fully and freely His Word, “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” as the heart of psalmist so tenderly and beautifully described it.

Blessed of and very thankful to Him, we thank you wholeheartedly for all your confidence and all your spiritual and financial support to our family and work. We encourage you to keep being partners with us as we work together for the expansion of His kingdom on earth and for His glory in His church. May He abundantly bless you and your lives.

Here are several prayer requests that we would like for you to add to your prayer list:

1. Durres church and the new converts: Laureta, Dorian, and Arlind.
2. Beach area work in Durres
3. Cimi & Anila and their new baby, Samuel
4. Our family and work. Thanks.

Teaching the Word to an adult couple and their grandchildren next to them.

Brotherly in Christ,

Alfred & Diana Zike
 

Dear brethren,

Warm Greetings to you and your families!

Hope you had a good holiday and great time with your lovely families during Thanksgiving Holiday. Our thanksgivings join with yours and are always addressed to our Graces God. We have so many reasons to be thankful to God, “for in Him we live and move and have our being…” As always we thank God of you, and your faith and commitment to Jesus and His church. May His blessings be yours abundantly now and forever.

November is a special month for Albania and Albanians too. We have two of our greatest national days this month.  November 28 is the Independence Day. Albania declared its independence from the Turks in November 28, 1912 after being occupied and controlled by the Ottoman Empire (Turks) for five centuries. November 29 is the Liberation Day. Being occupied during the 2nd World War first from Italian Fascism in 1939 and later from German Nazis in 1943, Albania got its liberty in November 29, 1944. We rejoice and we thank God for our nation and people while we remember our history and the efforts made for the prosperity of the country. As God’s children, we do remember our call and commitment to preach the Good News of Jesus to our country men. Only His righteousness exalts any nation. Praise Him!

We hope you are doing well and everything goes well with you. Our prayer is with you and all you are doing for the Lord’s Glory.

We are well and very blessed too. Being thankful to you for all your prayers on behalf of Alfred’s health, we gladly inform that his health is recovered completely and back to normal. As you already now, I (Alfred) had a surgery on my back late in September.

I was complaining of some severe back pains and I went to see the doctor. The doctor found something wrong next to the last vertebra. He suggested a quick intervention because of the seriousness of the problem. Thus, September 28th I had the surgery. It was a very painful one. The doctor founded an infected mass and removed it and next to it he founded a hidden one too. The surgery took up to 2 hours work of. I had pains and some blood bleeding after the surgery for the next two days. It took me almost three weeks going through recovering status, which interrupted us of the work we were doing in the Beach area of Durres city.

Being concerned about the continuity of the work in the Beach area by following up all the work done there during the Summer Campaign (July –September), we prayed fervently and kept being in constant contact with the people there through our mobile phone. We received many calls and SMS from them. They all expressed their concern and care about my health. That was very encouraging and uplifted to us.

October 16, we restarted our daily schedule of teaching and visiting in the Beach area. We gladly inform you that the interruption of the work in about three weeks did not influence it negatively. And we know why. Thanks be to God only. Your prayers and ours worked as they always work when our hearts beat up for Him. We have more students of God’s word by now. There is a total of 35. We lost few young people from our previous teaching schedule. They are attending the University in Elbasan city and they moved to Elbasan city when the University started first week of October. But we have recruited some others since then. Diana and I are doing the most of the teaching assisted by Sarah and Rachel, two girls of AIM team. They are teaching 3 students once in week. As you see the harvest are full and there is need for workers. “…how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?”

Teaching the Word to an adult couple and their grandchildren next to them.

We are planning to have again Summer Campaign in 2007 and we are in contacts with people from Oklahoma. You can be part of this Campaign through your prayers, your financial assistance or your coming to teach. Please, consider this opportunity, pray about that and allow God to direct your heart in whatever you can be able to do for Him. We know that you are already involved in many things you are doing for Him and His church. We commend you before the Lord and we pray that His guidance and blessings be yours as you serve Him faithfully. For more information about Summer Campaign of 2007 email us at alzike@abcom-al.com We pray that we will be able to be in contact with you and respond to you through via email regardless of several interruptions we have had because of our Internet Service Provider. Thank You. God Bless.

Everyone is well in Durres church. We have good news to share with you. Cimi and Anila became parents. Anila gave birth to a baby boy on October 8th as you may already know that. The baby is named Samuel. Both Anila and the baby are in good health. We were glad to see them both last Sunday at the Worship service. We also have three spiritual births. They are Laureta Arapi, Dorian Paja and Arlind Veshti. Laureta works at the photo shop next to the church meeting place. Dorian is a high school student while Arlind attends the University in Durres city. He is in the first year and is studying English. There are several other members of Durres church who are attending the University in Durres this year. The University in Durres city opened its door for the first time this year in October. It has been a blessing to many young people and we hope that it will be a blessing to the city too.

I am teaching Wednesday Bible class on 1 & 2Timothy and Titus being focused on "The Organizational Structure of the Church and its Leadership”. I am also preaching on Sunday mornings alternated with Cimi each Sunday, while Diana is teaching Children Bible class on Sunday mornings. We do enjoy the teaching and the fellowship with the brethren in Durres church. All credit belongs to the Lord and Him alone who allows us to teach and preach fully and freely His Word, “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” as the heart of psalmist so tenderly and beautifully described it.

Blessed of and very thankful to Him, we thank you wholeheartedly for all your confidence and all your spiritual and financial support to our family and work. We encourage you to keep being partners with us as we work together for the expansion of His kingdom on earth and for His glory in His church. May He abundantly bless you and your lives.

Here are several prayer requests that we would like for you to add to your prayer list:

1. Durres church and the new converts: Laureta, Dorian, and Arlind.
2. Beach area work in Durres
3. Cimi & Anila and their new baby, Samuel
4. Our family and work. Thanks.

Teaching the Word to an adult couple and their grandchildren next to them.

Brotherly in Christ,

Alfred & Diana Zike