Elbasan Archive

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

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Elbasan Archive

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The archive Elbasan Updates for the past year are here.

Campaign Report, 2002	March 03	April 03
May 03	June 03	September 03
October 03	November 03	December 03
July 04	July 11 04	August 04
September 04	December 04	February 05
March 06	May-June 06	July-Aug 06

Summer Campaign 2002

(Interim Report)
Our Summer campaign began in the second week of July when a group of five teachers came from our sponsoring church for two weeks. They taught the English using the WEI materials. On the Sunday before they arrived two young ladies, Aferdita and Erinda were baptised. For the second year in a row our campaign began with baptisms. This got all of us in the right frame of mind, as if we weren’t already there, for the coming weeks. One week later our brother Dashamir, who had brought a young man to worship and classes a few of times, and had also been teaching him, announced that Dyleve wanted to put on Christ in baptism. Three new Christians in eight days. The Lord was truly blessing us. Since then, Dyleve has been teaching another young man who had been attending a charismatic group in town but was uncomfortable with some of the things he saw there. This young man has also asked to be immersed in to Christ. We are studying with him some more.

One of our goals this year was to try and build up the spiritual maturity of the church, both with the young people and also the older. For the past years we have concentrated on making new members. In itself, not a bad thing. But those who were already members were being forgotten. So this was a priority from the outset.

Two things that that we did differently from the past was to have a three hour break from midday until 3:00 in an effort to have a rest from the heat. This led us to teach slightly later. We found this to be very useful. Secondly, we decided to have our devotional in the evenings at the end of classes. In the past they have been first thing in the morning which meant they were only attended by campaign workers and a couple of members. We wanted them to be attended by everyone. There is no doubt it worked as we were getting members and non-members come just to be at the devotional at 7:00pm.

After the San Jose team left there was a weeks gap before the Banisters arrived. It was decided that we would continue to hold the devotionals and we were still getting a high turnout. As many as 22 attending some evenings. Once Gene and Nancy had begun their classes, and they were holding these at 6:00 each evening, three on Comparative Religion and two aimed at women we thought that maybe the brethren would not want to stay for the devotionals as well. We were wrong. Numbers continued to stay and even come specially for this short time of praise and teaching. We decided to use this time to help some of the men get used to preparing a short lesson and preaching. We discovered some hidden talent in the church and everyone was uplifted by this.

We considering special classes after the summer is over for the men. The younger ones in evangelism and the older in preparation for eldership. We are currently in the amazing position of having men in the church who in a relatively few years are likely to meet the requirements for elders. Gene is looking into the possibility of coming for three months during the winter to concentrate on teaching the men.

Another class has been set up by Dulcie for a group of young people who had asked to be baptised. They are Denisa, Eri and Igli. They are of the younger age group but have been attending for some time. This small group is turning into one of the most amazing classes I have ever seen. Because of illness, Dulcie was unable to take the class for two weeks. But these young people, aged from 12 to 14 continued to get together at 5:00pm Tuesday and Friday. Picture this scene, just before 6:00pm on the Friday the group was meeting in the main room. They had been talking about the Bible and about their homework. Even though Dulcie had not been there they still continued to do what she wanted. As we watched them we saw them hold hands and twelve year old Erinda led them in a prayer. (The boys had not come on this occasion). Prayer is becoming a natural thing to them.

Our devotionals are continuing at least until the end of the campaign next week We will then discuss what to do after that. The evenings are already beginning to draw in, they do so quite rapidly here, and soon we will reach the point were 7:00pm will be too late. Few people will stay out after dark even though this is a safe city. But I am hopeful that even if we don’t hold them daily we will do so on a regular basis. This will continue to give us an opportunity for the men to prepare lessons and preach.

Also, we are now arranging for our brother Alush Ruda to preach on a regular basis of once a month. Alush is a retired school teacher and is an able preacher. We are also looking at Alush to take a leading role in teaching the young men. There are also plans being discussed to have a couple of our young men supported – if we can find the funds – to work part time with the church in a training situation. This will involve them in two hours a day Bible Study, tuition and practical experience. These young men will also be able to go to the villages and help establish churches in these communities.

All of this has come about as a result of the growing spirituality in the Elbasan church.

Meanwhile, we have been continuing to deal with the Lleshan Project. This is the project to help a family in serious conditions in the mountains near Elbasan. Thanks to the generosity of our brethren here and in the USA we have raised enough to build a new house for this family. Work began on the 16th and it is hoped to be completed within a month. To compare this family today to when we first saw them is to see some big changes. Six year old Olsi, who captured our hearts, is showing great signs of improvement. He was able to stand on his feet, his legs are strong enough to stand on with support and to see his face as he tries to walk whilst being held is a joy. On our visit on the 17th we heard him laughing for the first time. Our plan is for two of our ladies to go to the village three times a week to give him some physiotherapy.

Please pray for the continued progress of the church here in Elbasan. We are excited by what has been happening and there is a desire among all the members to see this growth continue. But we are all realistic enough to know that it would be very easy to slip back. Dulcie and I need your prayers for wisdom and the energy to be able to help the brethren here maintain the growth they are showing. Also, that the funds will be found to enable Gene Banister to spend the three months here and to support the young men for a year.

Pete & Dulcie Hodge
Missionaries to Elbasan

RECLAIMING ALBANIA FOR JESUS

Pete & Dulcie Hodge
Missionaries to Elbasan

RECLAIMING ALBANIA FOR JESUS

March 2003

Dear Brethren & Friends,

Greetings from the sunny climes of Elbasan. Finally, the weather seems to be settling down to real spring-like temperatures. Most days are sunny with the occasional ‘cool’ breeze blowing through off the still snow-covered mountains. This has led to fluctuations in temperatures, from very chilly in the mornings to warm by lunchtime. So, we are now in the middle of the ‘flu season.’ This had had an impact on attendances at most activities, with as many as half our teachers ill on occasions.

Dulcie has had a bad time recently with a bout of Bronchial Pneumonia. As I write this she is recovering slowly. Thanks to our ‘Super Doc,’ Agron, who seems to be able to cure almost everything, she is even having little trouble with her long-term problem of MS. A course of Magnesium B6 and Vitamins A + E have had a dramatic effect on her.

During March we had a visit from F. LaGard Smith. He came to speak at some meetings we organized on the themes of ‘Fellowship’ and ‘Church Leadership.’ Our thanks to brethren from Vlore and Durres, who spent a number of days with us, and for Tirana who came on the middle Monday. We had some wonderful lessons and LaGard endeared himself to the church in Elbasan and else where by his knowledge and good humour. Those of you who know me well, will be aware of my sense of humour, often described as ‘weird.’ Imagine poor Dulcie having to endure two of us with similar humour for a week.

On the 19th and 20th we attended the annual ‘Missions Conference’ in Tirana. It was good to see so many friends there from around the country. We decided that we would ensure we would get around for visits more often this year. With the rapid improvements in our local main roads, this will not be the ordeal it once was.

The electricity situation, which was giving us two hours a day with no power during the winter has now worsened to as many as eight hours a day without a supply. This has led to renewed accusations that the government was selling electricity abroad, as the lakes are now fairly full and they are also importing power from other countries. As things are going it is hard to argue against this. At our building we have no electricity for all but one hour a day, which means all translation work has come to an end. Yet we pay a fixed amount for the supply each month. I have asked for our supply to be metered again as we are paying for nothing under the current arrangement. After writing the above word reached me that from the 2nd April we will have no problem. We will not be holding our breath!

Another aspect of life we are watching with interest is the introduction of ‘Radar Speed Guns’ here in Elbasan. The average young driver equates driving with excessive speed. They could be in for a major surprise now. We expect to see long queues of stopped traffic along the main Autostrada.

Church News

Apart from the meetings with LaGard Smith, we had a month of activity. On the 16th Denise Millo (13) was immersed into Christ and two days later Blendi Yzeiri (30) was immersed. Both had been studying, Denise with Dulcie and Blendi with Gene Banister last year and Koli since then. Please pray for these two new babes in Christ as they begin their walk with Christ.

We received the entire Moody Institute of Science Films, ‘Sermons From Science’ during the month. We have used many of these films in different places over the years and are now looking forward to using them here. Our desire is to have them translated and possibly subtitled. This will enable us to use them in the villages and around the city. Also, we are looking at having them shown on local television. Following the writing of the above Dardan TV was approached and they said they could translate and subtitle each film for $25 each. Plus, they can have the signal changed from NTSC (USA) to PAL (Europe) for the price of a tape (300 Leke). A understanding we have is that they will also screen all the films for $20 each. This means 20 weeks of publicity for less than a $1000.

Another activity we are considering is to advertise the church services on the local buses. We have a deal with the bus company to place an advertisement on a bus for 1000 Leke ($7) for six months. We are then asking brethren to ‘Sponsor a Bus’ for six months.

April’s Plans

We hope to start holding classes in the village of Lleshan from the beginning of April. These will be on Sunday afternoons and will initially be aimed at the children, though we will have the material to work with the adults. Alush will head this work up. Please pray for this work that it will lead to an expansion into other villages.

Dulcie and I are considering taking a short holiday in Belgrade. A friend of ours who works there has invited us and we feel we could really do with the break. There is supposed to be a direct flight between Tirana and Belgrade, but this being Albania, none of the travel centres in town know anything about it. We will make some enquiries when we next go to Tirana.

Dick Ady, the author of the WEI course, has recently published the first two books in a Beginners English Course. We are planning to try these out in various formats. This will commence in April.

Longer term, we are not sure what will happen regarding a summer campaign this year. With the war in Iraq now under way, there seems to be a reluctance by many to travel. Whilst there is no danger in Albania, we are not even having anti-war demonstrations; many have indicated that they do not want to risk traveling to Europe at this time. Already, one couple who were planning to be here for six weeks have had to cancel as the church that was sending them where unwilling to send anyone overseas this year.

Dulcie and I are planning to take a holiday in July and August in England. It is my mothers 80th birthday, our grandsons 13th birthday, Dulcie’s (?) and one of my brothers 50th, all in the space of three weeks. Then over the weekend 23rd –24th August I am speaking at a church in the North of England. With the step rise seen in airfares here, we are considering driving. It is thought that our little VW Golf will be able to handle the trip. This would give us a touring holiday, as we would drive through Italy, Switzerland or France to the UK. No final decision has been taken on that as yet.

So as we enter the second quarter of the year, we look back on a busy three months. We have seen growth both spiritually and numerically. We look ahead to an equally busy time, though we will try and take things a little slower by letting the Albanian brethren take more of the responsibility.

We want to repeat our thanks to all our ‘team’ who are working with us to further the cause of Christ here in Elbasan. Without your generous help we could not be here and be a part of this wonderful opportunity to follow in Paul’s footsteps.

Your fellow servants in the cause of Christ

Pete & Dulcie

Tel. (355) 054- 57871
Cell. (355) 069 232- 6010
Email: petedulcie@enet.org.al

April 03
Dear brethren and Friends,

Greetings in our Lord's name.

I know that it is only Thursday, but mush has happened this week that we want to share with you. Some things are worth rejoicing over, others are enough to bring us to tears.

On the positive side, we began two children's clubs. One for boys aged 10 - 14 years, was held on Wednesday evening. 48 attended to play table tennis and other games. A short devotional was held and the time was considered a great success. Thursday saw a similar event held for 10 - 14 year old girls. There were only 25 at this but they also enjoyed their time. Dulcie said after that the boys were much better than the girls. That is a real novelty. These 'clubs' will be held weekly. Most of the children come out of the Beginners English classes we hold, and all the children have received an invitation to Sunday school. We have talked about doing this for some time, but it a only in the last couple of weeks that we have been able to consider making a start.

The comment was made to me recently that we ought not to be spending as much time with the children and young people. Rather, we should be working among the adults. We aim to achieve two things with the children's activities. Get to know the parents, the adults; and to rain the kids in the idea that Christianity is relevant. Just Wednesday my Albanian language teacher said to me that she could not understand why so many young boys attend the mosque. She said that one of her pupils, she is a school teacher, goes to the mosque. She said that in talking with him she is distressed by the ideology that he is being fed and now believes. She is from a Muslim tradition family. Our work among the children is to seek to prevent them being led astray by the evil of Islam.

On the less positive side, today we went to Lleshan, the mountain village we are working in. We met another family who are in need of help. Not every family has the same needs, some have better living conditions than others. Usually that means that the mud floor is not as worn down as others. This family is composed of mother and father and five children aged from 7 to 16. Though their house has two rooms, one, the best one, is closed by order of the commune (city hall). It has numerous cracks from last years series of earthquakes, and is considered too dangerous to use. So the seven members of the family live and sleep in one room which has a double bed on which the mother and four children sleep, the father sleeps on a settee and one son sleeps on a 'bed.' There is a wood-burning stove in the centre of the room and couple of other items of furniture. Their biggest need is for some decent clothing. We recently made an appeal for clothing on television and we have some good stuff to take to them on Sunday. We will also take some food up for the other two families. This time, rather than flour, we plan to take rice. Rice is a cheap meal here, yet they tell us that they have not had any for a very long time. Our biggest need is for vitamins. Agron reports that almost all of the health problems in the villages are due or made worse by a lack of vitamins, and this is because of the poor quality of the diet.

This coming Sunday we will hold our second children's class in the village. Alush is going to start an adults Bible Class in one home and Doctor Agron will hold the first clinic in another home. These classes have been started because we took an interest in the village. We sought to show the true love of Christ by helping them and showing that we were interested in them. Always, the best sermon anyone will ever hear is the one 'preached' by our life.

A lot of people will not go to the village because to see the conditions is to distressing for them. I understand this. As I was walking around this morning I was experiencing all sorts of emotions. There was the exhaustion of scrambling around the mountain side, though that is in a sense fun. But there was anger that the religion of Islam results in their people having the kind of lifestyle that leads to the problems these people have. Then there are the politicians who have no interest in the village folk. This leaves the Lord's church. Can we actually ignore the plight of these people? How can we, and still claim to be showing the love of Christ to all men? I enjoy going to the village and to working among these people. Yet I also feel a sense of relief when I get back to our solid, well constructed, reasonably comfortable home. I can look into the refrigerator and see all the contents, most of which these people have never seen or tasted, and then go to the wardrobe to put on my clean and ironed cloths. How can I ever complain about not having some things that are common to we in the west?

So this week the work in the city has expanded and also in the village. The doorway of opportunity has opened a little more. Dulcie and I and the whole team here simply need the energy to keep going. Alush Ruda, Vera Kura and Agron Asllanaj are a tremendous help. To see Vera scrambling around the mountain, and as today, whilst going to look at a new brood of chicks, getting chased and attacked by a hen make it a time for some laughs as well.

Please support us with your prayers.

Your fellow servants in Christ

Pete & Dulcie

May 2003

Dear Brethren and Friends,

Greetings in our Lord’s mighty name. Another month has passed since our last report and as we mentioned to some of the brethren the other day, we are now one third of the way through the year. Where has it gone? So far we have had a fifth anniversary event and some special meetings. April has been a little more restful as we have concentrated on our regular activities.

This has not stopped us introducing some new activities. We began two ‘clubs’ for children. On Wednesdays we have one for 10 – 14 year old boys and another for girls on Thursday. We made up a couple of table tennis tables and they get to play
this game. It is amazingly popular here. They are allocated a certain period of time on the table, depending on how many attend. Several have already begun to attend Sunday School.

Numbers attending worship have shown an increase and also the Tuesday Bible Class has a good attendance. We have noted an increase in enthusiasm, perhaps due to the arrival of spring weather – at last. We have had a really strange spring with
hot, cold, warm and on one day, six inches of snow. At the time of writing we are having unusually high temperatures. Most days in the mid eighties. Most people are really feeling the heat as it has hit us a few weeks earlier than usual. Fortunately, we have
discovered that whilst our second floor classrooms and offices get hot during the day, our auditorium is pleasantly cool.

Classes have begun in Lleshan, the mountain village we are working in. Attendance is good and we are optimistic that this will continue to grow. We have made some medical discoveries there. About 70% of the people in the area we are working in have thyroid gland problems as well as the usual vitamin deficiency. We also discovered another two families there who are living in poor accommodation. We set up a clothing appeal through a local television channel. They ran two separate news reports on this aspect of our work. Also, the people in Mjeks have asked if we are going to return there. We are looking at this.

On our most recent visit to Lleshan we heard that Hagji, the father of the family for whom we built the house, spends some time each morning, using the older children’s copies of ‘My First Bible,’ leads his family in prayer. We were stunned to hear this, but it helps to convince us that even though Lleshan is a long, hard trip out of Elbasan, we are meant to be going there. Please pray that the Lord will continue to give us the strength and the wisdom to continue this work.

We are also looking at ways in which we can work in the city area as well. We have now finally discovered how to get the video projector we were given to work. This means we will be able to screen films in the villages and the city.

We visited a family in one of the apartment neighbourhoods, actually relatives of the Islami family, who have many problems. There are four children, a 13 year old boy, who seems in good health, twin sisters (11) who attend a special school as they are mentally backward and another son, (7) who delighted in telling us that he “is very sick.’ It seems he has a heart problem, possibly a hole in the heart. He is about the size of a healthy three year old. A local doctor has signed him up for surgery in Tirana but there is no way this family can afford it. Mum does her best, but a drunken father, who only comes home occasionally and who has left the family with a huge electricity bill, which they will never be able to repay, and hence have had their supply disconnected. Thanks to a very generous neighbour, a cable from the next apartment gives them a limited supply. Dulcie and I have agreed to help the family with food on an occasional basis. The neighbourhood they live in is at the northern side of the city and there are many children there. We are going to look at starting classes in that area soon.

With the start of May we have changed our schedule of class times. Now we have reverted to having a three-hour break from 12:00 – 3:00 as it is so hot. We then extend our classes an extra hour into the evening. One thing living and working in a
hot climate like the summers here has made us appreciate the truth of the old English song dating back to the British Empire, which had the line, ‘Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.’ The midday siesta is one of the finest inventions
ever made.

Please continue to keep the work here in your prayers. Without your love and encouragement as a part of our ‘team,’ little that is being done would be. There is one specific area of concern we would value. Since last October the exchange rate
of dollar to Leke has dropped dramatically. Then it was about 135 Leke to the $. Now it is down to 123 Leke to the $. This has resulted in a real cut in our income equal of around $300 a month. Fortunately, the main expenses, our apartment rent and the rent of the building is paid in dollars so we do not have any additional expense there. The problem is two-fold. First the general collapse of the dollar in international money markets, and secondly, a move by many people into Euros has reduced demand for the dollar. Whilst it is not yet a big problem for us, we have to keep a close watch on the situation as we support most of the church activities from our personal support, as all the ‘working fund’ we receive goes into the building rent. We do not want to stop any of the projects we are involved in; indeed we are actively seeking to increase them.

Your fellow servants in the cause of Christ,

Pete & Dulcie
Missionaries to Elbasan

RECLAIMING ALBANIA FOR JESUS

JUNE 03

Dear Brethren & Friends

Greetings in our Lord’s wonderful name. It is so good to be able to report on the wonderful blessings of our Lord on the church here in Elbasan. Souls added to the church, the visit of the Biqaku family to our worship service (This is the family we have been helping in Lleshan), and a good increase in fellowship and enthusiasm.

June has been very hot here in Elbasan, indeed, for many days we have had the highest temperatures in the country. This means we have seen temperatures in the high 90’s F. As the month progressed and temperatures never eased, it became more uncomfortable and so many headed off to the beach for relief. All this time our members who are students have been involved in exams. Some very important ones, like final High School exams and in one case the final University exam. The High School finishers will now begin a summer of courses as they prepare for the ‘Competition.’ This is the University entrance exams which are held in early September.

In the middle of June we rejoiced at the immersion into Christ of Brixhilda Cimi. Xhilda is one of Dulcie’s students and had asked to become a part of God’s family here in Elbasan. She attends a class with Dulcie twice a week with four friends. They have completed the WEI courses and are now on a survey of the Bible and an advanced English course. Please pray for Xhilda as she starts out on her walk as a child of God.

Xhilda Cimi & Dulcie

On the 30^th we held our first ‘Graduation’ as the English students of our sister Rezarta completed their English begun in 1999. They were presented with a certificate and at least ten of them have signed up to take the WEI course with Dulcie beginning in September. It has always been our plan that as the students finished these classes they would be enrolled into the WEI course if they wanted to and their English was good enough. Even in cases of poor English we can offer the WEI Bible course with an Albanian teacher.

On the 4^th July we were thrilled to add another long term friend to our family. Dr Agron Asllanaj, who we have known since 1999. For some time he held a twice weekly clinic for us in Mjeks and lately a bi-weekly clinic in Lleshan. He has always been eager to give medical advice to members and had told Dulcie to take certain vitamins which have led to a remarkable improvement in her health situation. Agron has been attending worship and Bible classes for several months on a regular basis, so his decision to become a Christian has been long awaited.

Argon Asllanaj & Pete

So June, and the beginning of July have been weeks of great blessing. On the 6^th July Dulcie and I will leave for a holiday in the UK. After six weeks of the heat here the idea of the much lower temperatures of England are a big encouragement to us. We are due to return on August 24^th. This year, rather than fly, the cost of flying has soared with the fall in the dollar the increase in the Euro and the switch from dollar to Euro for paying for tickets, we will be driving after first taking a ferry to Trieste. So, please pray for our safe travel.

Included in this newsletter are photo’s of Xhilda and Agron. Please pray for these two young people .

Your fellow servants in the cause of Christ.

Pete & Dulcie

September 5, 2003
Dear Brethren & Friends

Greetings in Christ's mighty name! Dulcie and I have returned from our holiday in England and have now returned to full speed as we enter into our Fall/Autumn programme. Though we were away from the work for seven weeks we had kept touch with the brethren and returned to find that there were few problems to deal with. This, it must be said, has been a novelty, but also very encouraging.

The England Trip

As most of you were aware, this year because of the step rise in airfares we decided to drive to England. Many of our friends said that doing such a long trip in a VW Golf was foolhardy, as these cars were not designed for such journeys. Bt, even though the car is twenty years old, had already travelled over 330,000 kilometres, we felt confident in using it. Indeed, our biggest worry was what would happen when we crossed into Italy. There have been horror stories of people having problems with Albanian registered cars at borers leaving Albania. But we had no problems at all any border, even on entering the UK.

We travelled by ferry from Durres to Trieste on July 6th. A twenty-four hour journey. Arriving at Trieste around 8:00pm we headed straight out for Austria. We were in the midst of the Alps by 11:00 and stopped for the night. The next day we made it to Luxemburg and the second day we were in Calais. One day ahead of schedule. We arrived at our daughters home at 3:00am on the third day of travelling.

We enjoyed a good period of working around our daughters home, sitting on the beach and enjoying fellowship with brethren. One highlight was the family get-together to celebrate Pete's mother's eightieth birthday and the 50th birthday of one of his brothers. included in this list of birthdays was Dulcie's and our grandson Pete's thirteenth. We have some wonderful photographs of this event. Two to be treasured is one of all five brothers together. The first such photo for nearly forty years. Another of the five with mum in the middle.

The first week in the country saw us visit the Cotswolds in the West Midlands. We went there to meet up with LaGard Smith and to finally meet his wonderful wife Ruth. They treated us to a wonderful day touring the Cotswolds, which was a great pleasure to us. One of Pete's brothers lives in the area and so we were able to visit his home for a meal as well. We worshipped with the saints at Dawlish in Devon for five weeks. Pete preaching each week and on the last Sunday in the UK at Reading - near London - in the morning and at New Cross, in South London in the evening. It was such a joy to visit these two churches and to renew fellowship with some wonderful brethren. We left for Europe on the evening of the 19th and arrived back in Elbasan ahead of time on the 24th August. Our car performed perfectly and the only work that had to be done were little things that needed doing regardless of the distance.

The Autumn Programme

Our return to Elbasan was to really throw us into preparations for the resumption of the various programmes. Our English classes resumed on September 1st, and we were soon busy registering new students for the Beginners classes, and to assigning returning students to their new classes. This year an added work will be the inclusion of the first group of graduating students into the WEI course programme. Dulcie has 18 of these teenage students in two groups and Pete has one individual student. Any doubts we may have harboured over the wisdom of the English classes have been dispelled as we see the students who began in the first group in 1999 now having learnt English to a reasonable standard, begin to study God's word with us.

Attendances at worship and classes, which had seen a drop during the summer made a big jump. The first Bible Class after we returned had 26 attend. Our brother Koli taught the class. I was extremely impressed with his ability, both in actual teaching and also his delivery. Koli has his interview for a visa to attend the British Bible School on the 11th. Please pray for him. The following Sunday saw over 30 at worship. This included to young men from Africa. One from Nigeria and another from Ghana. They are both in Elbasan to play football with our local team. One amusing story to relate from Michael, the Nigerian concerns his desire to have a small pocket Bible. He said he felt a little conspicuous carrying a large Bible under his arm, as everyone stared at him. I did not think it prudent to suggest that the stares were nothing to do with his carrying a Bible. But more of the 'novelty' in seeing an African in Elbasan.

We also returned to get busy preparing for the visit of Gerry Cowan from the 8th. He is going to take a series of classes for a week. The church here has a great love for Gerry and are really looking forward to his visit.

On the 4th Pete went up to Lleshan. Our minibus is of the road until we can raise the funds to get a new gearbox, the old one being a serious state of defect. Trying to find spare parts for it resulted in two fruitless days visiting car breakers around central Albania. Their are hundred of VW Transporters around, but just try finding spare parts. Complete used gearboxes are available, but they are around the $400 - $500 price. Which we can't meet. So we had to get Taxi bus to the village. What a trip. A nine seater bus had 23 passengers and a large sewing machine on it by the time we reached our get off point. Ah, the joys of life in Albania.

We found the family well and little Olsi, their young son, very 'perky.' This despite having spent several days in hospital following a problem with a form of epilepsy. It was such a thrill to hear him say he was well after I asked him how he was. This was the first time we had heard him speak in this way. His laughter as Pete played with his younger sister Enkelajda was also a joy. The family have being having a real problem with a lack of water this summer. They had a small spring which gave them some drinking water, but that was about all. There was none for the crops, which meant they were slow in producing crops. Pete noticed a neighbour, actually a relative, had a sprinkler working on their land. It seems they had laid on a supply from a source at the top of the mountain, but were not making any available to our family. Hadgji said that he could 'tap' into this same source, but he needed 300 meters of tubing. Pete told him to get into Elbasan early on the 5th and we would sort that out. So we bought him 300 meters of pipe and a sprinkler.

So, it is now back to near normal. There are a few changes. Some of our young people will be taking the 'competition' next week. This is the University entrance exam. When we first came to Elbasan these same people were just 'kids,' now they are heading for University. How time flies.

Please keep the work here in your prayers. Also, please for Dulcie and myself as we try and find the energy to keep up with the kids. We are beginning to discover that having a youthful mind and an aging body are often not compatible. But we'll keep trying.

Your fellow servants in the cause of Christ

Pete & Dulcie Hodge

October 2003

Dear Brethren and Friends,

Greetings in our Lord’s name. It is with thankful hearts to God, who continues to bless us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

October has been a wet month here in Elbasan. Wet being the operative word. We had have many days of steady rain, with on one occasion a fair fall of snow on the surrounding mountains. That has gone again, but it indicated the chaotic temperature range we have had. Currently there are two running jokes locally regarding our worsening electricity supply. One I seem to have started, that the more rain we get, the less electricity we receive. The current supply is down to eighteen hours a day, with some days in the middle of the month of only twelve hours. The other joke doing the rounds is that following local elections on the twelfth, when the Democratic party won the Elbasan mayoral seat, the Socialist government were punishing Elbasan with big cuts. The truth behind the twelve hour cut was a major generator fault which blacked out half the country. The rumours are so much more interesting and fun.

The beginning of the month saw our daughter Lisa and grandchildren Pete and Becky with us. It meant two trips across to Thessaloniki for Dulcie and myself to pick them up and return them for their flights from and to London. It being considerably cheaper to do it that way. It was good to have them here, and our Albanian family made them feel really welcome.

After they left we began to try and get back to something like a normal routine. Our classes resumed, though several of my WEI students had graduated from High School to University and had dropped out of their course. I have picked up a couple of new students to replace them, but up to two years work ended suddenly. This is a frustrating aspect of the work here when we are doing the English lessons. Dulcie’s classes resumed, she has a class of around ten teenagers who have graduated from the Beginning English course and are now on the WEI English/Bible course. The Beginners English classes are growing and our band of teachers are influencing over 300 students of all ages a week. At the time of writing I am still waiting to find out when the class with the police will start.

As I mentioned earlier, there were local elections during October. Our brother Dr. Agron Aslami was working with OSCE as an observer during the campaign. He told us that with the exception of two or three problems in some areas, the overall election was the fairest in the thirteen years of democracy here. Indeed, the election in Elbasan was almost gentlemanly in conduct. It is another mark of the growing improvement in the country. Now if they could just do something about the endemic corruption in high places!

The situation with the Biqaku family in Lleshan continues to improve. Little Olsi is really opening out. He tries hard to walk and it is only a matter of time before he will begin. What is even more pleasing is his rapidly improving speech. He is becoming quite a chatterbox. And his laugh is really infectious. But to see his smile is such a joy. He really beams, his eyes sparkle as he gazes into my face. It makes me feel good just to be around him and his family. Finally they seem to be getting somewhere on the water supply front, and soon they hope to have regular clean water. The very dry summer caused their crop to be reduced and so we are looking at helping them with some food this winter. At our visit in the middle of the month they had one and half sacks of flour left, and their diet was composed of bread, potatoes and a few chestnuts. If anyone would like to send a few dollars, pounds or even euros we can ensure they have a good supply of the basics this coming winter.

Koli had hoped to go to the British Bible School in Corby England. But the British Embassy could not issue him a visa. It appears that someone with the same name had been to England illegally in the past. For some reason there wasn’t any photographs of this person and so the Immigration Office in London would not permit Koli to have a visa until it was sorted out. It now seems that he will have to wait until next year to go.

Attendance at worship services has improved and we are back to an average of 35 each Sunday. The Ladies Class attendance is also improving. Our Bible Class though has seen a bit of a drop recently. Hopefully we can turn that around soon. Currently we are studying the book of Revelation.

On the 26TH Dulcie and I went to the wedding of our sister Alkida Çhullhaj. This was held in Elbasan’s amazing new cultural icon, the café/museum situated in the local castle. Part of this has been excavated to the Roman occupation level and the rest left at the Byzantine/Ottoman level. With a café, restaurant and hotel on the site, this is a unique situation. The wonderful gardens presented a beautiful backdrop to the short service of blessing that Alkida and Hekuran asked me to compose and conduct for them. This was such an honour for me. Despite threatening clouds the service passed off successfully. Maybe we will have started a trend, as the only set services that are held here are the very odd Orthodox services.

Financially, there are some increasing problems as we see the dollar continue with its downward course. Last year this time we were getting an exchange rate of 135 Leke per dollar, this year it is down to 114.80. This is effectively a $500 a month drop in spending power. Currently, there seems to be no end in sight to this problem. It is compounded by the fact that the dollar is not the currency of choice here now, having been replaced by the Euro. If we have to purchase Euros they are costing us $1.18 per Euro. As we begin preparations for the return to the UK in 2005, we are having to put some funds aside for that move, the situation is becoming a little worrying.

To date we have been supporting our co-worker Alush Ruda, by $100 a month. We are having to rethink this for the new year, as we have to consider making cuts or reappraising our priorities. One thing we are urgently in need of is a secretary/translator to deal with the mounting load of translation work that needs to be done of material for members and evangelistic purposes. At this time there is no one available to deal with this and we are being held up in some outreach work because of it. But, we are unable to cover the cost. Our sister, Darina, is currently looking for a job as she has finished university, and would be ideal for the post. She currently teaches some English classes and could fit these into a schedule working with the church.

We want to thank all those who have continued with their regular support for our work here during the past twelve months. Also, to those who have made generous one off donations for different aspects of the work. Without your love and vision we could not have done the work we have.

How do we see 2004? As we draw near to a new year we always find time to take stick of the previous year. Overall, we consider this years to have been one of consolidation. A strengthening of the members from earlier years. This has been to some extent successful, though there have been some areas where things could have gone better. These we consider to be learning opportunities. And as we look ahead to the new year, we see new opportunities opening and maybe some of the things we have been doing ceasing or changing direction.

We will be holding a general meeting of the church soon in order to discuss our options for the new year. Also, to encourage the members to become involved more in the various activities. We hope there will be a summer campaign this year. Also, some visiting speakers who will help encourage and uplift the brethren. Also, we will work with the local television station to sponsor various programmes explaining aspects of the Bible message. We still want to have the series of Moody Bible Institute videos, ‘Sermons From Science’ translated and used on air. The two that were done as a test have turned out fine and we want to have the complete set done before we leave, so we can leave them for the church to use in the future. If ever I get a computer video programme I have working it may be possible to do the translating and subtitling ourselves. This means we would only have to get the signal changed from the US, NTSC to the Europe, PAL.

This brings us to an end to our report for this month. Please continue to keep us before the Lord in your prayers as we share with you in the Lord’s work here in Elbasan, Albania. As we keep repeating, this is very much a partnership, the Lord at the head, you, our supporters and prayer partners, and Dulcie and myself. Am I being arrogant to say that we are each needed as much as the other? Being very mindful of the fact that despite all we do, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” (Psalm 127:1).

With love and greetings in Christ

Pete & Dulcie

November 2003

Dear Brethren and Friends

                Greeting in our Lord’s matchless name. It is hard to keep in mind that once again we reach the end of another year. In a couple of days December will be with us and with that the build up to the holiday season. Whilst Christmas is not a big thing here ye; though it is growing in popularity each year, the New Year celebrations are as big if not bigger than Christmas in the west. But before that, at the end of November we had three holidays, Bayram, the ending of Ramadan, the anniversary of the ending of the German occupation of Elbasan in 1944 (25^th), then on the 28^th and 29^th two more national holidays, Independence Day and Flag Day. One celebrates the ending of the Ottoman Occupation in 1912 and the other the defeat of the Germans in 1944. One thing is certain; you would have to go a long way to find a country that has more holidays than Albania. And it is normal for ‘Christians’ to celebrate Muslim holidays and Muslims to celebrate ‘Christian’ holidays. Either way it means a day off and an excuse for a feast.

                November has been a good month for the church here. We have seen a steady growth in enthusiasm from most members, an increase in attendance at services and classes – more on that in a moment – and the discovery of a ‘talent’ in our brother Sokol, who preached his first Sunday sermon on the 23^rd. He did a first class job and we will now assign him to speak on a regular basis. This means that currently there are three of us sharing the preaching rota, with possibly one or two more in the wings to come later. I am currently teaching the midweek Bible Class on the book of Revelation. Attendance at this class has grown to a good number. This is very encouraging as it is hard to get people to come out after dark here. A throw back to the days just a few years ago, when it was not safe to go out in the dark, specially for women and girls.

                During the week before the 23^rd some of the English teachers invited their students to come to Sunday School. One of the purposes of these classes was to act as a ‘feeder’ for the Sunday School. Lately, numbers attending Sunday School had been around 20. But on the 23^rd we had 56. Still not as many as the record (77), but a step in the right direction. Several of the children stayed for the worship service and a few actually came just for that. We had a total of 63 at worship that morning. It would have been higher but for our university students having to go to classes, as they had to make up for the bank holidays. Can you imagine kids in the UK and USA going to school on Saturday and Sunday to make up for days off in the week? We plan to build on the increase, though we are sure that on past experience, numbers will drop slightly at first.

                We want to encourage the children, and to do that we plan to screen films for them. We still want to have the series of Moody Institute Films, ‘Sermons From Science’ translated and the system changed from NTSC to PAL. Two have been done as a test and they work well. We have about 22 more to do at $25 each. Anyone want to sponsor a video? Also we are trying to get the Jule Millar Study series, which has been translated into Albanian and is available on filmstrip.

                Near the beginning of the month we began Beginners English class for some police officers, including the Director himself. Unfortunately, timing became a problem as the nature of their work meant that it was hard to find a time for everyone. The class was going well until it was put ‘on hold’ until a suitable time could be found. This being Albania, and anything could and often does happen, the Director was sacked suddenly. We understand that he was not even told why, but there are three stories doing the circuit at the moment. It is almost certainly politically motivated in some way. So, now we don’t know what will happen with the class.

                I took on a couple of new students during the month, and Vito, one of my older students who had not been seen for a year, returned to regular attendance at worship and asked to resume classes. I am doing a survey of the book of Acts with her. Dulcie’s class, with the first group of graduates from the English school, is going well. Some of them attended worship on the 23^rd. Also, Igli, the son of our sister Vera, has asked to be baptized, and it is planned for the 24^th December. I don’t know why the delay. He had not spoken to his mother about it, but had talked to his father and Dulcie.

Speaking of Vera, as I write this (25^th) she is to have tests in the hospital in Tirana for possible breast cancer. As you can imagine she is very concerned, though she is putting on a very brave face. Hopefully we will have the results before sending this report out. Dulcie has been suffering from a very heavy cold and cough for over two weeks, but is now beginning to get over it. Meanwhile, I am having a few problems with rheumatism in one of my knees. Obviously a reminder of the onward and relentless marches of time and the aging process. Our ‘Super Doc,’ Agron, has told me of a new medication that is supposed to be a great help and he is going to try and get some for me. Meanwhile, it is business as usual.

                I want to encourage you regarding the teaching of the word of God. Two of my students are Arjan the son of our landlord and his friend Meril. Arjan is the talkative half of the duo, but does ask many good questions. Usually our class starts with one of the WEI books; we usually take two lessons to do one lesson from each book. But then towards the end the discussion turns more to spiritual matters. Both young men are from Muslim backgrounds and Arjan told me he and his family kept to the Ramadan tradition. The purpose, he said, was that by fasting during the day he hoped that God would forgive his sins. This enabled me to concentrate on the contrast between Islam with its dependence on doing good things and ‘hoping’ to earning the favour of Allah and the Christian’s assurance of sins forgiven. Slowly I am seeing a distinct change in his thinking and in his questions. Please pray for these two teenagers. Arjan was one of our Beginners Class students who graduated this year.

                We visited Lleshan on two occasions during the month and the Biqaku family came to worship on one Sunday. They are doing well, and we found that the father, Hagji, is hiring himself and his horse out to plough fields for other villagers. This is bringing the family a little income, which is a real encouragement. Little Olsi continues to make progress, with a continuous improvement in his speech. In fact, we have found him to be quite a cheeky little chap. He is still reluctant to take those first steps on his own, but we are convinced that day will soon come. We also visited a family we have been involved with in another village, Shergjan. They are very keen to have an English class start there. Time and teachers problems prevent us from making a definite decision to start at this time.

                After a very wet spell, the weather has turned warm, indeed on some days it has been back to shirt-sleeve order. This variable weather pattern will of course lead to an increase in colds and flu. Even after more than six years here we still find it strange to see butterflies in November, and flowers in full bloom in the yard. Usually by now the mountains around Elbasan are covered with snow, but at the moment they are free of it.

                Apart from our regular support we have two specific needs for 2004. One is the funding for a gearbox for our Transporter van. This will be around $500 for a used one. And the funds to pay Darina Vorfi to work with us as secretary/translator ($150 –200 a month). With the continued fall in the exchange rate, currently 113.60 Leke to the $ , we simply do not have the funds to cover it ourselves. In the first two weeks of November the rate fell by 3 leke per dollar. This meant a drop of around $60 in our spending power in just two weeks. Unless there is a turn around in this situation we will soon have to stop financing some of the projects that we are doing at this time.

                We do though, want to thank our supporters who have continued to support the work here in Elbasan. Without you we would not be able to do what we have been able to up until this time. Also, thank you to all those who have lifted us before the Lord in prayer. Without prayer the work here would never succeed. We have been encouraging the brethren to become more prayer conscious recently, and there has been a marked increase in prayer among the members. This is very encouraging. Each week members chose the name of another member from a basket. During the week they pray for this brother or sister. There is much enthusiasm for this activity.

                So as we prepare for the New Year and the many new opportunities to serve our Lord, please continue to support us through your prayers and practical support Also, plan to come and work with us sometime in 2004.

                Finally, Dulcie and I wish to extend to everyone a very happy holiday period and a blessed and prosperous 2004

Your brother and sister in the service of the Lord,

Pete & Dulcie

Late News: Just before sending this report we heard from our sister Vera that following a long weekend of tests she has been told she ahs no cancer. There are a couple of abnormalities which will need minor surgery later, but nothing life threatening. She did not have to say anything in detail when we spoke to her on the telephone, the tone of her voice said it all. Our God really does answer the prayers of His children!

Dear Brethren and Friends

Greetings from the Lord's church in Elbasan.

We want to share with you news of the immersion into Christ of Denisa Leshi today, 14th December. Denisa is twelve years old and a student of Dulcie's for some time.

We are so impressed with Denisa, who was so determined to become a child of God that she did not hesitate to enter the water even though we were unable to heat the water for her.

Please pray for our new sister.

Pete & Dulcie

GEZUAR VITIN I RI 2004! (Happy New Year 2004!)

Dear Brethren and Friends,

Greetings to everyone at the start of the New year. Dulcie and I want to wish everyone a warm, blessed, and successful 2004.

In this end of year newsletter we would like to share with you some of the 'fun' that the Christmas/New Year season is here in Albania as well as update you on the work in the church. Over the year, we try to give you an idea of life here, both the good things and the not so good things. Hopefully, this gives you an idea of why things happen here that do not happen outside. For example, Dulcie said the other day that she was concerned at the lack of respect shown at worship services. I agree with her, but said we must recognise the fact that this country has little history of respect in the area of religion.

Christmas in Albania is a growing phenomena. All the trimmings we are used to in the west are to be seen. Father Christmas's face smiles out of shops and television upon us all. He is riding his sled led by the reindeers. The Christmas tree takes pride in shops and homes and decorations brighten up the shops. And the lights! Coloured lights flash and glitter in windows of houses, shops, apartment blocks, and trees all around the city -- everything we are used to seeing for the celebration of Christmas. But here it is all for the New year. Shops that are open on Christmas Day will close for two or three days over the New Year. Today (30th), Elbasan teemed with people. Walking round the market was hard work as the crowds pressed around us. The central island of the dual carriageway heading south in the city centre was jammed with villagers selling turkeys. We have never seen as much traffic around town as we have this year. What used to take five minutes now can take twenty. The normal total disregard for road dangers by pedestrians has increased; so it is even easier to see someone stop to talk with a friend in the middle of the road. And, we will not say anything about Albania driving other than to say, imagine the worse and you still haven't thought of the average!

But despite this, the normal Albanian good cheer continues. People take time to visit family and friends. They meet in the street and walk around, or drink coffee. Everywhere, even strangers will wish you 'Gazuar Festet,' or Gazuar Vitin i Ri,' Albania is a fun place to be at this time of the year. Christmas and New year back in Britain from 2005 will be very dull by comparison.

But despite the seasonal activities, the work of the church has continued. December saw the baptisms of Denisa Leshi (12) and Igli Kura (13). Both are students of Dulcie. Igli is also the son of our sister Vera. There is some laughter at the thought that Igli is now his mothers brother and she is her sons sister. Not only that, and we are having to counsel Igli a little, she has to be submissive to her Christian son. Please pray for these two young people as they begin their new lives. We have a good group of active young people here, many of whom speak good English despite their young ages. They are also very active in the Sunday School.

The weather has fluctuated wildly with temperatures dropping quite low to very mild. There is nowhere like as much snow on the mountains as usual for this time in the year. There is also little rain the past few weeks. Our electricity supply continues to be intermittent. We have no power from 10:00am - 3:00pm. This is a slight improvement of two hours a day from the past weeks. There are numerous complaints, as Elbasan has the record of one of the best cities for the number of people paying their bills, yet having one of the worst supplies. This bad feeling is aggravated by the fact that from January 1st there is to be a big increase in price. Similarly, telephone charges have also seen a big increase, though few will believe us when we tell them that it is still cheaper here than in Britain. We have just heard that there is to be a new tax on cars to pay for a new road from Durres to Kukes, in the north of the country. For the past three years there has been a tax on fuel to pay for another new road. Who knows where that money has gone, though most Albanians will soon give you their belief on this subject. If anyone thought British people and possibly many Americans have become cynical about politicians have not heard the views of Albanians.

Dulcie and I want to thank all those wonderful brethren who have assisted us financially during the past year. Without your help and love we would not be able to do the work we are. We pray that you will al feel led of the Lord to continue to support the Albania work in 2004. And, if possible, possibly to make a small increase. Our actual spending power has fallen by over 25% during the past year because of the fall in the dollar's value, down from 135 Leke to the dollar in October 2002 to 106 Leke today. Each 'one leke' now cuts our income by between $25 - $30 a month.

Above all, please keep us in your prayers. This year we will be undertaking many activities. There is our 6th Anniversary on February 1st. During mid March we will hold our VBS. Schools are on half-term then and it is thought this would be a better time for the activity than the middle of our normal very hot summer. We hope that there will be a WEI Campaign this summer and we are hoping to have a visit from our brother, Gerry Cowan later in the year. This is in addition to the activities we are planning for our members to be directly involved in.

Your Fellow Servants in the cause of Christ

Pete & Dulcie

July 04

Dear brethren and friends

Greeting in our Lord’s most holy name. The first thing I must do is apologize for the lack of reports for the past months. This has been very remiss of me. The reality is that during the late winter early spring period spring there has not been a tremendous amount to report outside the usual.

It has been a very wet period; weather wise, meaning lessons and classes were often badly attended or cancelled all together. Numbers attending worship fluctuated wildly again to a large part due to the weather, but also education requirements many of our student members were unable to get out to worship.

Yet, at the same time we are able to report two additions to our family, Esi Ibrahimi and Kamela Samaxhahu. Esi is the daughter of our sister Rezarta and one of Dulcie’s students. She had been in our Beginners English classes from the early days. Indeed, the very first class has now completed the course and most of the students, now teenagers, are taking Bible Studies with us. Please pray for our new sisters and for the students who are learning more about the message of hope and salvation. A second class has finished the beginners course and we are offering them free additional lessons providing individuals attend worship. Whilst I have a bit of a personal problem with imposing such requirements on students, the teachers are being quite insistent upon us doing it this way.

We are also having to deal with a couple of problems. Over the years the church in Elbasan has been relatively trouble free. But during the past few months there has been an element of disruption due to one man seeking to be ‘Boss.’ This has ‘ruffled the feathers’ of many of our members who realize that not only is this an unscriptural concept, but that this individual does not have any support within the church. Attempting to deal with this has often been exhausting, as well as frustrating. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to seek to resolve it.

February 1st was our sixth Anniversary. It is hard to believe that six years have passed by. Where has the time gone? We decided this year to make the day more informal and we had a great day of fellowship. Next year, 2005, will be our last one here, and I am sure that we will really ‘push the boat out’ for our seventh anniversary.

Also this year, thanks to one of our émigrés, Genta Ruda, we have a set up a web page. This is an exciting addition to our work and whilst it is still in its early stages, we are receiving many good comments about it. Look it up on www.churchofchrist-elbasan.com

Also, at the beginning of the year we moved house, again. Our previous apartment was very cold and dusty, so we located a house complete with large garden and high wall. Whilst this solved the dust problem, we discovered that in heavy rain water would come through the roof. Also, the landlord has turned out to be the worse one we have had since we arrived here. But, things are slowly improving. Dulcie slipped on set of wet steps and landed on her back, fortunately, not causing any serious damage, but she is now suffering a lot of pain and discomfort.

As the year has gone on we have seen the village work grow well. Little Olsi, in Lleshan, is now walking and has become wonderfully cheeky. The comparison with when we first met him and his family exactly two years ago is astonishing. Thank you all who have helped make the lives of this family to be so improved.

As I write this report preparations are nearing completion for our summer activities. For one week we will hold a VBS in Elbasan, followed up by a series of two day activities in three local villages. There is a tremendous response from our members and friends who are getting involved.

In May we enjoyed a week of lessons and fellowship with Gerry Cowan. Gerry is always a popular visitor here and his lessons were enjoyed by an above average attendance for the entire week. It shows that despite the problems, the stability of the church is looking good.

Our plans for the return to the UK next year are moving ahead. We are planning to locate to Skelmersdale , which is just north of Liverpool. We plan to work with the church there. Currently we are looking at ways to get our possessions back and contact has been made with a couple who make regular trips to Albania with goods for missionaries and are willing to move the smaller items back over the next few months. Leaving Elbasan and Albania is going to be a hard wrench, but we do see the ‘door opening’ for the move. It is certainly my desire that after our return, I will be able to make annual trips back to work with the church for a few weeks.

Now, that I have finally managed to complete this report and send it out, I assure you all that we will be back to a regular monthly issue. Please keep us in your prayers as we work at helping the church here in the next ten months, and continue to try and resolve the problems that have been such a drain on us without it causing any major upsets.

We want to thank you all for the wonderful support you have been to us over the past months. Without your love and encouragement we would not be able to report on the continued growth of the work here. Please keep us in your prayers at this time.

Your fellow servants in the cause of Christ

Pete & Dulcie Hodge

July 11 04
Dear brethren and Friends,

Just short note to let you know how things have gone the past week.

It was the first week of our two week VBS programme. Monday began with around 35 children in our building. A nice handy number to try and keep quiet. Tuesday this increased to over 50. The kids were really enjoying the class and the activities they undertook. On this morning there was an element of excitement when our sister Enkelajda Bargjo came to the class. Enkelajda was making her first visit after winning the Miss Shqiperia title on the 3rd. The girls loved meeting her, specially those who are in her English classes.

By Friday the numbers had reached the mid eighties. Our team of helpers and teaches did a fantastic job. Dulcie has been a marvel despite being in constant pain following her fall.

Also, on Friday Vito Imeri was immersed into Christ. Vito has been my student or over two years and it was a personal joy to finally help her enter the new life.

So a good week has ended and we enter a new one with joy in our hearts. Our VBS moves to three villages, two of which we have never been to before. We will hold classes for two days in each. One of these villages, Shirgjan, has been under 'attack' from the Jehovah's Witnesses. We are taking the fight to them by the use of printed matter. I have written one tract on their false prophet, The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, which should be delivered to every home next week. We will also follow this up by personal contact.

So, keep our activities in your prayers.

Love in Christ
Pete & Dulcie

August 2004

Dear Brethren Friends

Greetings in our Lord’s mighty name. The past few weeks have been exciting and not a little traumatic in one way or another.

Shelcan, Shirgjan and Shushica
July saw us hold a two week VBS. The first week was held in the building and the second in three villages, Shirgjan, Shelcan and Shushica. Shirgjan is a village we have been involved with for some time but the others were being worked for the first time. We had a good attendance in all classes over the two weeks. We also had a good turnout of helpers from the church. We only lost one morning through bad weather, when a storm hit the valley in the early hour of the morning. We decided to go to Shelcan just in case there were any children there. A few had still turned up at our outdoor site, so we were able to spend some informal time with them.

We did take the opportunity to make a visit to a 600 year old Orthodox church building on the edge of the village. Despite the lack of electricity due to a power cut which prevented us from viewing the original wall paintings, there was still enough light to enable us to get an idea of the importance of the building. One day we hope to get official permission from the government department that deal with antiquities to visit the building properly.

The result of the VBS was good and we now have Bible Classes being held in Shelcan and Shirgjan. These are being led by our brother Dashamir. Dashi is a ‘gem,’ and his enthusiasm can be catching. We are hopeful that he will attend either the British Bible School or the Sunset Extension School planned for Tirana in 2005.

At the end of July we had a visit from Dick Ady, his granddaughter, Tina, and Bob and Roxie Patterson. It was so good to see them again. We took them to Mirek, to see the 2,000 year old bridge that was on the Via Egnatia and after to Lleshan to visit the Bichaku family. Dick was the first to respond to our appeal for help when we met the family first in 2002. He had long desired to see the family for himself. Unfortunately, it was the first time in years that the family had been able to visit the mothers family, so only Hadgji, the father, was at home.

Doctor Agron Aslami, who is one of our members and is a tremendous help in our village work suggested that we try and obtain some funds to purchase medication to help the people in the villages and also some in the city. He reckons that many people here suffer from Thyroid problems and as a result were in need of medication to overcome that. Thanks to our brother Gerry Cowan’s hard work, $1,500 has been raised to purchase much needed medicines. The first of these have now been received and we will start using them immediately. Anyone who may like to help with our health ministry can send funds to our sponsoring church, San Jose, Jacksonville, Florida.

Dulcie
As many of you know, a few weeks ago Dulcie fell on the steps at our home and hurt her back. An X-Ray taken at the local hospital seemed to indicate there was no serious injury, just bad bruising. Dulcie was in a lot of pain after the fall, but it was put down to the bruising. Then on the Sunday following the VBS, she was taken ill during morning worship. A visit to a local cardiologist led to the possibility of a possible heart condition. So I immediately arranged for her to return to the UK for further treatment and examination. Within twenty-four hours of arrival she had been admitted to hospital for treatment for a possible heart attack.

The result was interesting to say the least. After a week in hospital for all sorts of tests, she was told her heart was fine and she had not suffered the feared heart attack. On the Friday she went back to our daughters. I had by then surprised her by returning as she was facing an angiogram and I knew he would be a little nervous. On the following Tuesday Dulcie was readmitted to hospital with severe back pain. X-rays and tests confirmed that she had actually suffered one cracked and one crushed vertebrae. The doctors reckon that what she suffered on the Sunday morning was in fact muscle spasms in her chest due to the back injury. The prognosis is for a good recovery, though she is to be tested for possible osteoporosis, as there are cases within the family. She will stay in the UK until she is completely recovered.

I wrote the above before Dulcie went for her last check-up. She was then told that in addition to the damaged vertebrae, she had a broken shoulder blade and broken ribs. She should make a full recovery, but the specialist has said it will be a six to nine months recovery period, providing she is careful. Obviously, getting about is a problem for her so she has hired a Mobility Scooter. The cost of this works out at around £200 ($350) a month. But it enables her to go to the shops and just get out in the fresh air. We also have to find funds for the painkillers she has to take and some living expenses. As I write below, the current financial situation has become a bit of a problem. I can send her some funds, though our expenses here remain the same. We would like to ask brethren if they could help in some way. Any help you could make will be gratefully received. We consider that she needs around $600 a month for the period of her recovery.

Owing to the fall in the dollar/Leke exchange rate over the past two years, we have had to make some cuts in our expenditure. One major expense has been the $500 a month rent we had been paying for the meeting place. We began to search for alternative accommodation, but found nothing that was suitable. Discussions with our current landlord resulted in his agreeing to rent us just the top floor of the present building for $300. This allows us to keep our classroom space, though with a smaller area for services. The rent will be partly covered by the English Classes and the church. This will also prepare the church for our departure next year, when it will need to take on the whole rent.

Attendance
Attendance at service and classes has shown an improvement. Particularly pleasing is the Tuesday Bible class which regularly has an attendance of around 18.This time of the year is always a problem, specially Sundays, when the ’beach’ is such an attraction. But as soon as September arrives the beach problem will no longer be as much a problem. Classes in the village work continues to grow well. We now lay on a bus to bring people in from Shirgjan for Sunday School and the worship service. 17 attended on the first Sunday. It does seem to be ironic, that at the time attendances are beginning to grow, we are cutting space.

So, this month our report is a bit of a mixture. To those who have continued to support us financially and through prayer, you are a blessing to us and we appreciate you considerably.

Your fellow servants in the cause of Christ

Pete Dulcie

September 2004

Dear Brethren and Friends,

Greeting in our Lord and Saviours name.

September has been an intriguing month for us here in Elbasan. One might say it has been a bit of a paradox. As we saw our meeting facilities ‘shrink’ for financial reasons we suddenly saw our membership dramatically increase and our average attendance levels rise by almost 25%. This has led to much rejoicing here. But. it has also meant we have developed a new meaning to the expression, ‘close fellowship.’ But more detail on that later.

I want to start this report with personal news. First, Dulcie and myself would like to thank our brethren for their generosity in enabling her to buy the mobility scooter. This has enabled Dulcie to be able to get out to the shops and take the occasional trip to the river to ‘feed the ducks.’ Also, the hard bed she bought enables her to get a lot more sleep. Her condition seems to be slowly improving. She says that some of the stiffness has gone and she is finding moving a little easier. Obviously, she is still relying on painkillers, but overall there is quite a noticeable improvement. We are so thankful for all the prayers, support and encouragement that brethren have shown at this time. As things look at the moment, it is possible that Dulcie may not make it back to Elbasan as our departure date is set for the middle of May 2005 and her recovery period does not end until around March. I think a lot will depend on whether she trusts my packing skills. (I do not have a good record there). Anyone who would still like to send some financial help to Dulcie can do so through our sponsoring church, San Jose, Jacksonville, FL., or if in the UK, direct to Dulcie (See addresses at the end of this report). Also, she would love to hear from brethren as boredom is a big problem for her.

Over a 17 day period we witnessed some amazing scenes. Eight wonderful souls were added to the Lord’s church here in Elbasan. The husband, son, and daughter of our sister
VitoImeri, Salem, Klajdi and Anxhela, plus Irena Xhafarri (one of my students for over two years), also from the Sunday School work Alda Aliay, and from our village ministry in Shirgjan, two sisters Mimoza and Esilda (Ilda) Biba and Marsuela Milo, the sister of Denisa, one of hardest working youngsters in the church. We thank our wonderful God and Saviour for each of these precious souls.

The schools reopened after the long summer break which means that the English classes have also resumed. Currently we are still registering new students, but we are trying to work out teacher availability. This year, we have the addition of a new class which I am taking, those who have finished the Beginners Course. I am taking them through the WEI English Course. In total, there are three groups with about 15 students aged from 12 – 15. After the first four lessons I can say that the classes are going well. We have been asked to begin English Classes in the village of Shtermen. Large and free accommodation is being provided and our sisters Darina Vorfi and Vera Kura will be heading up this work. It is a step back five years for us, as we used to help a group of Kosovar refugees in that village back in 1999. It’s possible some of students may be some of those we were teaching in a class we held back then.

Services and classes are doing well. Attendance at both Sunday worship and Bible Class, where we can have as many as many as 23 attend, is encouraging. Remember, that figure is around two-thirds of our regular membership.

As you know, I have always tried to give you a taste of life in Albania. Living here is often seen as a series of comical episodes strewn with head holding frustrations. I would like to tell you about my latest adventures whilst out driving. Albania has a seat-belt law for motorists. What it actually was or is, was for a long time a mystery, as few people ever seemed to wear them and even fewer knew the law. On one recent trip to Durres, I was stopped by the police. The reason, they explained, was to ask ‘Why was I wearing a seat-belt?’ I had heard of this happening to someone in the past, but had put it down to ‘urban legend.’ Then more recently, after a meal in a village motel, I was stopped again. On this occasion I had forgotten to put my seat-belt on. This time the question was, ‘Why aren’t you wearing a seat-belt? Explaining the previous incident, I asked for the law on wearing seatbelts. Here it is. I kid you not! If you are below 1.50 meters and above 1.90 meters in height, you do not need to wear one. So it seems, that the police have to take a rough guess at how tall a driver is and decide if he should be wearing one or not. Couple this with the law on pedestrian crossings, Elbasan is peppered with them, at least three at every intersection, I can get no sense from anyone. Roughly it seems that everyone, pedestrians and motorists can all use the crossings at the same time. At least, that is what happens. So you see life here on the road can be fascinating. Oh yes, I did not get a ticket, though the police officer also pointed out that I had no light on the rear number plate. Considering the number of vehicles I have come upon in the dark with no rear lights of any kind, that was a bit funny to me.

Plans are being worked on for our move back to England next year. We now consider that getting a container could be the best way and so I am looking for a company in Durres to find information about this. We have been invited by the church in Skelmersdale in the North-west of England, to relocate to work with them in their evangelistic ministry. We need to find support for this work, so we are asking brethren and churches to prayerfully consider helping us in this ministry. I will be circulating more information on this soon, but ask brethren to pray for us as we try and resolve this matter.

The story of Olsi, the little boy in the village of Lleshan, continues to encourage and excite us. Two years ago Olsi could not walk or talk and there are some who believe he may not even be alive today. But when schools returned from the summer break, Olsi was among the kids attending the Nursery class. I never realised that I could jump as high as I did when I heard this news. During September we were told about Valentina. Valentina was five weeks old and her mother had died shortly after her birth. We visited Valentina in the premature baby unit for two weeks and agreed to buy Pampers (diapers) and food. We also got her some clothing, blankets, and other things she needed. Fortunately, her family, who lives in the village of Shtermen, are good people and the various relatives will help her father Gazi care for her. She has two older sisters, Alexandra (6) and Klara (3).We are going to continue to help them with food etc. for the time being so they have one less concern to deal with. We approached a number of local business people for help and had an amazing response from every one we approached. It is because of the help we have given this family that we have the opportunity to hold classes in the village. The English lessons will lead to Bible classes also. Please keep our witness for the Lord in this situation in your prayers.

We want to thank everyone who has continued to support our work through your prayers and financial support, particularly through this difficult period.

Your fellow servants in the cause of Christ

Pete & Dulcie

Sponsoring Church:

San Jose Church of Christ
6233 San Jose Boulv.
Jacksonville, Fl. 32217-2399.

Dulcie’s British Address:
Dulcie Hodge, c/o 36 Swallowfields, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 5LB, England
Tel. ++44 1803 840572

December 2004

Dear Brethren and Friends,

Greeting in our Lord and Saviours name.

First, I am sorry for the delay in sending this report. With Dulcie away meaning a need to ‘keep house’ as well as the normal work load, some Things have tended to be left undone. My schedule with WEI students has continued to grow and currently I have more of these than at any time in the last three or four years. The students range from teens who have completed the ‘Beginners’ courses to adults who have come in to seek to improve their spoken English. I also have three WEI students in one of the villages, one of whom was a ‘Beginner’ with us when we held classes in her village during the summer of 1999.

Unfortunately we have just passed through the most difficult period in our time in Elbasan. Owing to various problems, my two co-workers left the church under something of a cloud. Accusations were being thrown around about members of the church, with no desire on the part of the ‘accusers’ for discussion in order to resolve the problems. It is a peculiar Albanian trait that one makes accusations but does not enter into discussions to resolve them, as regardless of the truth, they are right. It reminds me of a British tabloid newspaper of who it was once said they ‘never let the facts get in the way of a good story.’ These accusations were also being spread among some of the local population, but with a very limited negative reaction.

Fortunately, these problems have had little effect on the church as a whole, but they have made things a little difficult as it has reduced the number of men by two, meaning that those of us left have far more to do. The problem occurred after the two men had lost most of their personal support and I had said I was unable to make up the loss. I have stressed to the church that we must be willing to pray for them and welcome back into the congregation should they return.

But, whilst we have had to deal with the problems, good things were still going on. Our village work continues to expand. We now have classes in Shirgjan, Krujezar and Shterman. The first two are being led by our brother Dashamire. This young man is doing a fantastic job with no moans and no money. We would like to find some support for Dashi as he never asks for money for personal purposes, only for bus fares. He has begun to bring in about ten youngsters from Krujezar to worship on Sundays.

Overall we are seeing a good growth in attendances. Sunday numbers are now often in the 30’s. It is a fact that many of these are youngsters. Several of my WEI class students attend regularly and one or two even attend other classes.

Little Valentina Hoxa, the baby whose mother died shortly after her birth is now four months old and is doing well. We buy Pampers and food for her each month. She is now growing well and she is beginning to react to things going on around her. Meanwhile, little Olsi in Lleshan continue to progress in his speech and walking.

Our personal financial situation is a growing concern as the dollar/leke exchange rate has shown a dramatic fall. It is now down to 95 Leke to the $, which is less than half the original rate in 1997. To put it into figures I can understand, that means that every $1,000, which equalled 200,000 Leke in 1997 is now less than 100,000 Leke and falling. We have tried to maintain our contribution to benevolence, but even in this area we are having to make cut backs.

Planning for our final departure, planned for May 15th., continues to progress. My biggest concern at the moment is for a replacement for me. We are praying that Edmond Gjoni, a young man from Elbasan who is linked
to a church in Italy, but who has been worshipping with us since returning to Elbasan after completing a two year Bible course in the USA may accept the challenge. Mondi is a popular young man and is proving to be a great help to me as he shares the teaching and preaching.
Also, we are making progress with plans for the move itself. We have accepted the invitation of the church in Skelmersdale, in the North West of England, to share in the work of that church. Our biggest concern is obviously financial as we will need to try and locate some support. With a building of their own and an established eldership, this will be a completely new experience for Dulcie and myself. It will also be a challenge for us as we seek to adjust to life back in the UK. A friend of mine recently told me that it usually takes two years to do this after a long period abroad. Please pray for us as we make plans for the future.

Dulcie is continuing to make good progress. She is still suffering some
pain, but is now able to walk much further, which is encouraging her.
She is using walking sticks to help but hopes to be able to give them up
in the New Year. She plans to visit Skelmersdale as soon as she is able
in 2005 to look for a home and prepare for the arrival of our
possessions, then me.

I will be going to the UK on the 20th December for the holidays. It will also give me the opportunity to have a rest (!). I plan to visit Skelmersdale whilst there to discuss plans with them. I will return to Elbasan on January 7th .

As this will be the last report of the year, may I on behalf of Dulcie and myself thank all those who have supported us, whether financially or in prayer. Dulcie in particular has asked that I express her appreciation for the help brethren have been following her fall. Also, we both wish you all a very special Holiday season and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Your fellow servants in the cause of Christ

Pete & Dulcie

Sponsoring Church:

San Jose Church of Christ, 6233 San Jose Boulv.
Jacksonville, Fl. 32217-2399.

Dulcie’s British Address:

Dulcie Hodge, c/o 36 Swallowfields, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 5LB, England

Tel. ++44 1803 840572

February 05

Dear Brethren & Friends

Today, Wednesday, we rejoiced here in Elbasan at the new birth of Silvana Biba. 14 year old Silvana is the sister of Mimosa and Ilda Biba, who were added to the church last year. We thank God for her decision. Please pray for the three girls who live in the village of Shirgjan, about 8 kilometers from Elbasan, yet are faithful in attendance on Sundays.

Pete

From Pete
Dear Brethren & Friends

Greetings from a very wet Elbasan.

This will be the last report that I will send to the general list. This is because tomorrow, Monday, I shall be moving from the house into an apartment where there is no telephone connection. I shall continue to use my email address through an Internet Cafe, but this will restrict the number of addresses I will be able to connect to. I will though, send a general report when I finally get to the UK.

It seems very hard to be nearing the end of our time here. It has been in general a wonderful eight years, though there have been a few 'low' times, none more so than Dulcie's accident last year and her enforced stay in the UK since. I am glad to say that she is making good progress though, but I and the church have missed her here.

On the 16th we rejoiced at the immersion into Christ of Silvana Biba. Silvana is the fourteen year old sister of our 'sisters' Mimoza and Ilda who come from the village of Shirgjan. This helped to lift us as we have also had a spate of sickness in the church, some every serious. Our brother Agron, who is also a wonderful doctor, has been on chemo-therapy. Fortunately he is making good progress and the results are all positive. Our sister Vera Kura's two sons have both had spells in hospital, though fortunately as it turns out, for nothing serious. For her youngest son Armando, it has been a wonderful time as he has not had to go to school for two weeks. Armando suffers from a 'disease' I had as a teenager, 'schoolitus.' The symptoms are a very heavy headache/stomachache ache or whatever first thing in the morning. But there always seems to be a miraculous recovery about half an hour after school starts.

On a more serious note. Our sister Rezarta's husband was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He underwent a five hour operation and though early reports seem to suggest that he will be okay, we now understand that doctors are saying there is little hope and it is just a matter of time before he dies. Let us pray that they have their prognosis wrong in this.

Our leadership situation is still a bit doubtful. I seem to be failing in my attempts to educate the available men in their need to take on the leadership role. I have 'stepped back' from being seen in that role, but the men seem to be reluctant to take on any form of leadership themselves. Please pray for the church at this difficult time. There is a lot of pessimism among members as to the future. I am planning to spend much time over the next few weeks trying to 'lift' the church. To encourage them to see the benefits of my leaving and new mind helping them.

Please pray for Dulcie and myself as we make our plans for the future. It is an anxious time for us, and any change is stressful. Here we are going into a situation we have not had before and we know there will be many adjustments to make. Not least for me, adjusting to British life again. We also have the concern about support and a home to overcome.

If some of you who have been receiving o0our newsletters over the years don't hear from me for a few weeks, please know you are in our prayers.

Thank you all for your wonderful support over the years.

Love in Christ

Pete and from England, Dulcie

MARCH-APRIL 2006

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus our Lord,

We lift you up in our praises to Lord. God is awesome to bless us with your presence in our life. And to think—if it wasn’t for the Lord Jesus, we would not have known each other. It is His love for us that unites us, inspires us and encourages us to a closer walk and deeper fellowship with one another and Jesus. Though we don’t know all of you personally, we look forward to meet and get to know all of you in heaven.

United with Christ, and then with Mondi
Mondi, for those of you who are not familiar with the work in Elbasan through Pete, Mondi preached and taught for the church after Pete left. Through one of the families that worship with us, Mondi came in contact with Fioralba Dhima. They developed an interest in each other and were engaged to be married. During the engagement period, Mondi shared Christ with her, and as a result she was baptized in Christ on March 26. Then last Sunday on April 30, they were joined in matrimony. Pino, a friend of Mondi’s from Italy, officiated at the wedding. Bona and I were asked to serve as attendants. We were happy to share in their joy. We ask you to keep Fioralba’s new walk with Christ in your prayers, as well as their new life together.

Classes
I just finished a series of sermons from Luke titled “The Passion of Christ,” covering the events from Jesus’ triumphant entry to His death and resurrection. Bill Morgan of Loudon TN was with us on April 2. He shared the message of God’s Word from Thessalonians, encouraging us in our walk with God. I am working with some of the members individually trying to generate interest in a Sunday Bible Class. We believe that if we can persuade them one-on-one of the necessity of these studies, then we may be able to have a two-hour time together on Sunday, instead of one.

But while this study is still in the persuasion period, we are convinced of starting a Children’s Class. When Pete and Dulcie were here, the church had a Children’s Class. We want to restart this class and have set the first Sunday in June as a start date for the class. Between now and then, we are going through a process of preparation. This preparation includes announcing it in the neighborhood, buying the materials needed for the class, and preparing a curriculum that we want to teach to the kids. We ask your prayers on behalf of these undertakings.

Bona and I have added to our weekly journeys to Elbasan, in addition to going on Sunday we have added a Tuesday trip. This is the day that the Elbasan congregation has their mid-week service. So we are traveling twice a week to Elbasan to be with the church. We have taken off from our classes at IBIA on Tuesday afternoon so we can do this. If you don’t get car-sick on the road to Elbasan, you will never get sick on any other road. The many-curved road, as you go in the top of the mountain is very difficult. It gets very difficult for Bona especially.

Biqaku Mission
The Biqaku’s are a family that the church in Elbasan has come into contact with through World Vision International. With the help of the WVI and brothers in States, the church was able to build a house for them. The church was also able to assist little Olsi, their son who at the age of three was unable to walk or talk. Our late brother Agron Asllanaj was able to help a lot, and now Olsi is eight and able both to walk and to talk. From time to time his father Haxhi and his mother Bajame bring him to church. The Biqaku’s have five children and Bajame is pregnant again. In conjunction with Tirana church of Christ, our sponsoring congregation, we launched a food and clothing gathering. The church in Tirana responded very well to our call, and were able to bring together food and clothes for the kids, the parents, and especially for the baby to come. We also got a stroller and a portable bed. Artan Xhaferi traveled from Tirana to deliver a van full of clothes, food and other items. Once again, a big thank you goes to the brethren in Tirana for their generosity.

The quest for missionaries
Gerry Cowan is a brother who is very fond of the work in Elbasan. He has been coming to Elbasan for several years. He has persuaded two congregations to support a missionary couple to Elbasan. Both these congregations have been involved in the work in Elbasan through Gerry and Pete, and now the congregations have asked him to work toward finding a missionary or a missionary couple to come to Elbasan. The church is excited about Gerry working toward that end. Gerry will be in Elbasan May 5-12 to sort some of the things out. Foreigners are still a drawing factor, and their coming will certainly enhance the Lord’s Work in Elbasan. The Durres and Pogradec congregations (both in Albania) have provided a model of bringing together teams of foreigners and natives successfully. We ask your prayers in this quest that God will lead us to the right people that are the best fit for the needs of the church in Elbasan and reaching of the city.

Personal Lines
Both, my wife, and I are students at IBIA, as you know. Bona is not taking the full load, due to her studies at University of Tirana. So far I have had nine courses and currently we are involved in a seminar week on Christian Home. The studies require a lot of time and preparation. The dean is committed to high standards in the studies, he has set the bar high and we are striving to reach it. Personally, I have been able to reach the bar, but, this has come with a lot of hard work and study. Usually I am up until 2-3 in the morning and up again at 7 in the morning to get ready to go to classes. This does not give a lot of time to sleep and regain energies.

To this heavy load of studies toward the end of school is added my preparation for sermons and trips to Elbasan. Bona and I have not been able to spend a lot of time alone with each other. I have to admit that I am surprised to what limits I am extending myself. But God is giving me strength. We ask your prayers so that we will be able to be good stewards of time, we will keep the right focus, and the right attitude toward what we are doing with God’s help.

My sister Arta visited with us for a few days. She lives in Athens, Greece and we had not seen her in 27 months. It was refreshing both to her and us to have her here. She came from Greece in the middle of 2004 wanting to re-start a life in Albania, but not being able to find a job that would enable her to make a living, she went back to Athens.

Please Remember in Prayer:
Fioralba as she starts her new walk with Christ
Mondi and Fioralba in their new marriage
Our plans to start the Children’s Class and a Bible study on Sunday.
Our quest for missionary
That we might be able to be good stewards of time, we will keep the right focus and the right attitude toward what we are doing with God’s help
Our travel Sundays and Tuesdays to Elbasan

We love you with the love of the Lord!

Your co-servants in the Cause,
Bledi and Bona.

PS: We like to hear what goes on with you and your lives as well, and we certainly welcome letters of encouragement.

MAY-JUNE 2006

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

Greetings of love in the precious and wonderful name of the Lord Jesus! We are privileged to partner with you in the work of the gospel. God has been gracious to us and has blessed us to see elements of growth in our ministry. We understand that it is by His power that we have been able to be servants of His for His glory.

Teaching Ministry:
God has called us in a mission to be His ambassadors in the world. This calling requires speaking up—and we have spoken up.

We are studying from the book of James on Tuesdays. We are on chapter 5, so we are close to the end.

On Sundays I am preaching a series of sermons on worship. The sermons I have preached have been: 1) It does matter how we worship. 2) Worshiping God with our lives. 3) Worshiping through the study of the Scriptures. 4) Worshiping through prayer. 5) Worshiping through the Lord’s Supper. I will preach this Sunday on “Worshiping through singing” and then when I come from camp I will conclude with “Worshiping through Giving.” This is the first of six series that I plan to preach this year. I also plan to preach on Fellowship, Ministry, Discipleship, Stewardship, and Evangelism.

Our plan to start the children’s class was successful. We planned to start on June 4 and we were able to do so. Bona and Vera Kuraj worked together in teaching the first class. Bona taught as Vera assisted. Brikena Samara, who has taught Children’s classes for over 10 years did a training class last year in Tirana. Bona was present, and she taught children for few months in Tirana before we started to work with the church in Elbasan. Brikena also helped us with a children’s songbook she had prepared. We made copies for the children in Elbasan. The first Sunday we had 3, the next 5, and then we were surprised by 25 in the next Sunday. Mothers usually walk their children to classes and wait outside. I believe God has opened a door for us with them. I am praying and planning about how to reach them. I am confident that you will join us in prayer about this.

We also planned a gospel meeting for 29 June-2 July with Greg Weston of Ashland, OR. Unfortunately Greg was hospitalized and the doctor has prohibited him from traveling for six weeks. I received an e-mail from Greg expressing his regret not to be with us, at this time. He said that he and his wife LaDon were dreaming what they would be doing each step of their visit in Albania. I invite you to join in prayer for Greg.

Death hits again Elbasan:
Early in January the church in Elbasan suffered the loss of one of our key people, Brother Agron Asllanaj, due to cancer. In May, Rezarta Ibrahimi, one of our members lost her husband to cancer. We have been amazed how Rezarta has coped with the loss of her husband. She had nursed him for over 15 months before he died. Bona and I are amazed at the smile we see on her face. With all the suffering, you could expect one to become bitter but not Rezarta. As Kirov (that was his name) was breathing his last, Rezarta quoted him Scriptures which comforted him—unfortunately it was too late.

Rezarta insisted that at the gravesite, a prayer be offered. I had prepared a funeral sermon, but was caught off guard when I was asked only to pray. Members of the church who were present at the funeral came together, as I led the prayer. I was very careful not to pray him to heaven, but I did pray for comfort for the family and that they will find the comfort in “the God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3). Please continue to pray for Rezarta and her family.

National activities:
On May 20, the church in Tirana hosted the Annual Youth Day. This activity was started in 2001 by the church in Tirana and except for one year when the YD was held in Durres, it has always been in Tirana. The youth in Tirana desire to host this yearly activity in Tirana for purposes of teaching and fellowship with fellow young Christians from the country. Sokol Haxhiu of Tirana was the speaker for the day. He spoke on “Do not be conformed.” A group of six from Elbasan attended along with brothers and sisters from Durres, Tirana, Vlora, Fier, Orikum, Kucova, Lushnja and Pogradec. All the participants were given a t-shirt with a logo that said clearly “Do not be conformed.”

On June 24, the church in Durres hosted the Ladies Day. The day was centered on the theme “Created in the image of God.” Shelley Wheeler, a missionary in Durres, was the speaker of the day. We invited our members to attend as well as mothers of the children who are studying with us.

The meetings of the church:
We have held two meetings to discuss church business. I have invited the whole assembly to participate but have not had a lot of success with that. It is my belief that if I can get them to take ownership of the decisions of the church, then they are likely going to participate in them. I have to learn from God to be patient and not expect that all will follow with the same haste.

Studies:
As you know, I am part of the IBIA. It is a blessing to be able to study the Word of God on concentrated basis. I am blessed that I can travel each week and practice what I learn. The load is heavy and the bar is kept high, but we are jumping together and stretching ourselves to learn more. It breaks my heart to know that a lot of Christians have their spiritual food only on Sundays when they come to worship.

Of interest has been to me the study of the "koine" Greek. It has exposed me to a lot of interesting study. There is so much to learn that we miss due to translation. I am not saying that all people should learn Greek, but there are a lot of resources that can be used if you have a little bit of understanding of the Greek.

We have two more weeks of classes, and then we will have a break of 8 weeks. This is going to be an active break, because we will have practicum. Bona and I plan to take a vacation during this time, as well as serve at Llogora Christian Camp for a week. Most of the parents in Elbasan would not allow their children to go to camp if we would not go. During that week I will be wearing three hats (a counselor for boys, teacher and director), while Bona will serve as a counselor for the girls. The last week of August all the students are going to participate in a one-week campaign in the surrounding areas of Durres. We plan to spend the remaining part of the break spending more time with the church in Elbasan. We want to have some private time with all the members and those members who have been drawn back into the world.

We look forward to hear from you!

Your co-servants for the Cause,
Bledi and Bona

JULY-AUGUST 2006

Dear brothers and sisters,

May God richly bless you in all of your efforts to glorify Him in your lives. He is indeed a God of love and care. He providently meets our hearts deepest longings through our fellowship. We know that our names are lifted up before His throne on regular basis, and this brings us encouragement while at the same time it unleashes for us God’s amazing power.

IBIA studies:
July 7 marked the close of the first part of the year at IBIA. At this time we have completed 16 courses at IBIA. Each course requires 40 hours of classroom study, so this totals to 640 hours of classroom study. It is quite some work! We have finished more than half of the first of our two-year program.

The same night the school held a party to celebrate the achievements reached so far. The faculty, staff and student body together enjoyed the party that was organized around the theme “One more step in the right direction.” We were encouraged to hear the students’ testimonies of their experience with the school, we laughed at the PowerPoint presentation of events pictured during the period, and enjoyed good food. It was a time of refreshing and celebration. I have seen how far my fellow students have gone, and I am encouraged at their heart for the Lord that has motivated each and every one of us to continue on. To God be the glory. The next day we started 8 weeks of break and practicum.

Camp Llogora:
When we finished the party and celebration, my wife and I headed home to prepare to go to Llogora. Thanks to the help of World Vision Albania, the church in Elbasan was able to have a grant and be able to send some at Llogora. 13 from Elbasan were able to go. Since our grant was for 19 people and this was the only way to use it, we helped three members of the Kucova congregation go as well as a brother from Pogradec. We had to send back some of those monies to WV, because they were not used.

Bona and I would have preferred not to go, because we were very tired but we decided to go due to the need at camp and the fact that parents would not allow their children to go unattended. Bona counseled the girls, while I wore my threefold hat of counselor, teacher and director. As it turned out most of the parents to our members started to turn down their forms unfilled so we changed plans. We started to reach out to some contacts, and use the experience to build some evangelism bridges to them.

Vacation:
When the camp was over, Bona and I took a vacation. We were able to rent a place at a very reasonable price from one of Bona’s relatives. This was less than half of others were paying at the peak of the season. We need it so much.

We rented this place in Durres so we could travel and go to Elbasan for the Sunday’s Worship. Durres is about 70 km away from Elbasan.

Since we were in Durres, we got to meet a couple of times with Cimi Kafexhiu and his wife. Cimi is one of the two Albanian preachers at Durres. Since both of us were married about the same time, there is a lot that we can share with each other. We did enjoy every minute with them.

Preaching:
As you could expect preaching is the most important part of my ministry in Elbasan. I once heard one of our instructors give us some scaring statistics. He said that in most churches always 10 % of the people are doing 90 % of the work, while 90 % are waiting for someone to give them the remaining 10 %. Though the percentages are a little different for us in Elbasan this speaks volumes about the potential that lies sleeping in our churches.

I am preaching to unleash this potential power and turned it into a real power. I finished my series of sermons on worship. I had designed them in such a way to make the church understand that worship is the expression of our love for God. Loving God for us means living to bring Him glory on daily basis with our lives and praising Him everyday.

When Pete was a missionary in Elbasan, I heard him say once “In Elbasan we have some members come one week, and some the other week. It seems hard to get all together at once in one week.” During our 8 months in Elbasan we have seen this statement to be true. To answer this need, I started a series of sermons on fellowship. I will be on the third sermon of my seven-sermon series this week. This series builds on my previous one on worship. While worship is the expression of the commandment “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” fellowship is the expression of the other great commandment “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Practicum:
As part of our IBIA’s practicum we were involved in a short-term campaign in Durres. In keeping with the congregation’s plans to birth a church in suburbs of Durres we helped the brothers in Durres from August 28 to September 1.

The four full-time IBIA’s students have joined hands with the team in Durres in this effort. We were there to do whatever was needed according to their plans. We have done anything asked of us from meeting and inviting people on the streets to cleaning. As you know there is no dirty work if you are trying to reach people for Christ. Lord Jesus, our living example, ministered to people as the Lord of lords and yet He washed His disciples’ dirty feet. We washed feet in the name of Jesus. To Him be the Glory!

Every night, Art Henley who has preached 28 years for Adams Boulevard Church of Christ in Bartlesville, OK preached a gospel meeting on the theme “The Love of God.” The church he preaches for is one of the main supporters of the IBIA.

We love to hear from you. We want to know what goes on in your lives. You are special to us.

Your co-servants in Cause,
Bledi and Bona.

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