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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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