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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
Learn More
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January-March
9th, 2008.
Shkelqim Kafexhiu.
Durres church of Christ Preacher.
Home-Phone: 052-37629.
Mobile-Phone: 00355-692077827.
E-mail: cimish2000@yahoo.com
Durres, Albania.
Thank You!
Anila and I continue to thank God for all of you who are supporting us and
the church in Durres. We are blessed to work for the Lord and share
partnership with you in his kingdom.
We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We
continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by
faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in
our Lord Jesus Christ.
The church in Durres moved into the new location:
On March 1st, the church moved into the new location. There were a lot
prayers, searching, and decision-making for the new place. Finally, the
church decided to move to this place with the hope that God will bless our
move and lead us to ‘new promise lands’. There was also a lot of efforts
and hard work preparing the new place.
We believe that the new place is far better and promising than the old
place. The new place is closer to where most of the church members live
and we have been welcomed by many people in this new community.
The worship area is big and it may hold about 100 people. It has a
classroom for teaching the children during the week and also on Sundays.
There is a kitchen area, teaching area for WEI, a baptistery place, the
secretary’s room, and a restroom.
March 8th, 2008, the church met to worship the Lord for the first time in
this new facility. The place was full and we had no chairs to sit people.
God blessed us with many people who heard the Gospel for the first time.
Steve Stamatis preached for the church the message of God who wants to
love and be loved by people. A fellowship meal prepared by church members
followed the worship service.
There were about 30 kids who were taught the Bible class by two sisters of
the Church, Suela Kurti and Daniela Kosta.
About four families are very promising and open to the Gospel. My wife
Anila and I had a Bible class with two families at out home prior to the
last Sunday and we pray that God continues to lead us to other families.
God wants more families in his church and we are working to this goal. We
believe that God will bless our efforts by convicting people of sin and
repentance. We ask you also to pray for us and especially for me and Anila
as we try to teach and preach Jesus to these people.
Prior to last Sunday worship, the church took the courage and evangelized
for two days to the community we were moving. There were about 30 young
people from the church who were divided in seven groups of four. I had
prepared invitations for people and praise the Lord many people came to
worship the following Sunday as the result of this evangelizing effort. It
was good to see that we had people as part of our evangelism effort who
were not Christians. They came with us and helped us in inviting people to
come to church. It was a great experience for the church members and they
asked me to practice this more often.
As reported in my last newsletter (January 2008), two new souls were added
to the body of Christ on January 6th.
Anisa Zara and Krisli Serani
confessed Jesus as Savior and Lord to their lives.
Preacher’s meeting.
Starting this year, I took the initiative by asking the preachers and the
missionaries in Albania to come together and meet every month. The purpose
of these meetings is to share spiritual fellowship together, to share our
blessings and challenges in the ministry of the gospel of Jesus. We met in
the city of Fier on January 6th and on March 1st in Durres. As workers of
God’s kingdom, we need these meetings for encouragement and unity in the
body of Christ in Albania.
IBIA open house.
As you may already know, the Bible school in Albania (IBIA) moved from
Tirana in the city of Durres. On January 19th, 2008, IBIA had an open
house and welcomed churches from Albania to celebrate the second edition
of students.
Arlind Veshti and Armelindo Kepi
are two church members from
the church in Durres who are studying in this school. Also,
Elvin Xhimitiku and Nikolino Kosta
are studying as part time students in the
Bible school.
The Bible school in Durres has been a great blessing for the church. Steve
and Deborah Stamatis have helped the church in different ways. During the
week break, Steve helped the church move the things to the new place by
driving the van of the church in Lushnja. It happened that Tom, the
missionary in Lushnja was visiting his family in the US and he gave the
van to Steve for temporary use. Deborah helped the church in Durres by
fixing the curtains and decorating them.
My ministry to the church in Durres.
I continue to teach and preach the Word to the church and the community.
I’m studying the ‘Ten Commandments’ from the Book of Exodus on Wednesdays.
Skender Kola
is teaching Sunday Bible class from the book of James and 1&2
Thessalonians. Skender is doing a great job in teaching from these
letters. I continue to encourage the young boys to teach the youth class
on Fridays. Ajald Celmeta
taught the young people last Friday and he did a
good lesson. Anila continues to teach the girls on Fridays and also she
teaches a Bible class on Saturdays for the ladies who are not able to come
during the week.
Arlind Veshti, one of the students of IBIA wants to be a youth leader and
he has been involved with the church and especially with the youth.
I continue to teach students of WEI during the week.
Suela Kurti, Ajald
Celmeta
and few other church members are helping us in teaching the
students of WEI.
The church in Durres helped the orphanage of the disabled people with some
diapers.
Arta Kola (Skender’s wife) and Anila, my wife, were involved in
buying and distributing the diapers to the orphanage. This was another way
that the church made an effort to help the disabled people and practice
the gift of serving the community.
On Saturday, March 8th, the church in Durres invited all the ladies and
young girls of the church to celebrate Mother’s day. Mother’s Day in
Albania is celebrated on March 8th every year. There were songs praising
the Lord, reading from the Scripture and testimonies form the members. It
was a time of great fellowship and encouragement for the ladies of the
church.
Aim team 2008.
As you may know, the church in Durres applied to have an aim team and the
Lord saw the great need and answered our prayers. A team of six aimers
(three boys and three girls) are planning to arrive on May 29th, 2008 in
Durres and help the church. This means more work for me and my wife as we
are going to be the coordinators of the team but at the same time we are
glad to have them as part of the ministry to the church and the community
here in Durres. We feel privileged by God to have another team come and
help us.
My Studies online.
I continue to take classes online from Harding University as part of
Master on Ministry. The studies have become a great blessing to me and my
ministry. I successfully finished the first semester and now I’m in the
middle of the spring semester. I’m taking two classes as follow: “Conflict
management’ and ‘the art of preaching’.
I’m thankful to the Lord for the brethren in Bartlesville, Ok, who are
supporting me with these studies.
New address for the church in Durres:
Kisha e Krishtit
Lagjia 5, Rruga “MaliqMuca”
Prane kopshtit ,“IVINA”.
Phone: 354-80.
Durres, Albania.
With the love of Jesus and for his glory
Anila, Cimi, and Samuel Kafexhiu.
March 10th, 2008.
|
July-August, 2008
Always thankful to God the Father for you!
My family (Anila and Samuel) and I would like to thank you for the support
you give to us and to the church in Durres. The church in Durres always
remembers you in our prayers of thankfulness to God. You have become
partners with us of the great work in the Kingdom of God. May God continue
to bless richly in Christ Jesus all the saints in Idaho Falls.
New soul for Christ
On June 8th, the church in Durres witnessed a new birth in the Kingdom.
Dhurata Bilali met Jesus at the waters of
baptism and confessed Jesus to be her Lord and Savior. My wife Anila had
Bible studies with Dhurata and she opened her heart to Jesus. She is a
‘little Lidia’ in her faith and heart.
I rejoice with Dhurata for her faith and zeal for Jesus. Right after she
was baptized, she started to share Jesus with one of our students who is a
Muslim by the background.
AIM 2008 completed
The Aim team of six (four girls and two boys) is finally completed in the
mission in the church in Durres. Robbie Grossman
is one of the former aim team who decided to come back and stay another
year. The new aim is already settled and has started teaching students
through WEI materials. They are already connected with their students and
the church members. I pray that they become a blessing for the work here
and I would like very much for you to pray for their stay here in the
mission field. The church organized a massive evangelism to the community
and invited people to worship with us. We distributed invitations to
people and offered free English courses. The aimers’ schedule is filling
up and they are teaching people for Jesus.
Small groups of Bible study to the aimers homes
The aimers have started two small Bible groups at their homes. Girls
invite Christian girls and their students at their home and boys invite
Christian men to their home. This is another way of encouraging each other
with the Word of God and fellowship.
New ministry for the community
The church started a new ministry for the homeless people and street kids.
The two boys of the aim team came up with this idea as they were seeing a
lot of homeless people and street kids. We started this ministry on the
beginning of July. Every Saturday for about three hours, church members
and aimers meet in front of ‘Durres Telekom’ and cook ‘qofte’ (a type of
hamburger) for the street people and kids. On the first Saturday there
were nine Christians who fed about 45 people. As we were feeding these
people and teenagers I had the opportunity to sit with these people and
share Jesus while others were cooking the food on a grill. These people
have no education at all and do not know how to read. We have decided to
continue to do this service to the community and be a help to the people
who have no shelter or food to eat.
Vacation Bible School
During July 28th to August 1st, the church invited children to enjoy VBS.
The VBS went great and we had 50 children every day of the week. Children
learned ‘Seven miracles of Jesus’ from the Gospel of John. This year I
prepared a new curriculum for the kids. Six rooms were created in the main
worshipping area and kids participated in different intelligences of
learning. There was a room of story telling; a room of puppets show; a
room for drawing; a room for acting; a room for watching a slide show only
by pictures and the room where kids were together. All rooms had one
focus—Jesus miracles and the way he healed people. Every day kids took the
story of Jesus with them.
Over all, the VBS was great and children came for more the next day.
Church members taught the children every day.
Suela Kurti, Daniela Kosta and
Eriola Biblali were
the three main teachers who taught the kids and they were helped by other
church members. Since we had a great week with the children, we are
thinking to have another VBS type within this year.
Dick Ady preached in Durres
On August 17th, the church in Durres invited
Dick Ady
to preach for us. He is a godly brother and the director of World English
Institute. It is always a blessing to have Dick Ady preach for the church
in Durres and bring the Word of God alive to our ears. World English
Institute is a great tool of winning people for Jesus. Every time Dick Ady
is in Albania I take the advantage of inviting him to preach the Word.
Preachers meeting
On June 7th, we were again blessed with a gathering of missionaries,
church leaders and church workers. It was hosted by
Kevin and Allison Morrill,
missionaries in Korçë, at their apartment. I drove the car and I had with
me three brothers,Eduart Hoxha
(one of the preachers to the church in the beach area),
Ari and Amaro
(two students of IBIA who are members of the church in Durres). We had a
very productive meeting together as workers for God’s kingdom in Albania.
Tom Bonner, the
missionary in the city of Lushnja volunteered to host the next meeting in
the month of September. These meetings focus on fellowship, unity among
workers in the local churches and prayers for the church in Albania. We
need to continue to have these meetings in order to grow closer to each
other and have one mind and the unity of the Spirit. The church in Albania
has few workers and missionaries and we desperately need the fellowship of
each other.
My ministry to the church in Durres
I continue to preach the Word of God every Sunday. I finished a series of
sermons from the book of Romans. I’m teaching the Wednesday Bible class
from the book of Acts.
A number of church members are taking turns in teaching the Sunday Bible
class. We are studying from the Gospel of Mathew.
Eric Winebarger
taught some Bible lessons from Mathew;
Skender Kola
continued to teach from the Sermon on the Mount; Ari (one of the IBIA
student) is teaching to the present time and
Ajald Celmeta
is planning to teach in the future lessons. I will complete the rest of
the lessons from the Gospel of Mathew.
I continue to encourage the boys of the church to preach to the youth on
Friday class. I’m glad to see these Christian boys taking the
responsibility to teach.
I continue to have a busy schedule during the week as I teach students
through WEI materials and personal Bible classes.
My wife
Anila
continues to teach a Bible class on Saturdays for a small group of sisters
who are busy during the week. Anila continues to have Bible classes with
some of the Christian girls of the church. As our son Samuel grows, she
will be involved more in the ministries of the church and be a support to
me by visiting and reaching to the families.
My online studies.
I took an online summer class as part of Master in ministry at Harding
University. I studied on the subject of “Christian Religious Education”
and I successfully finished and enjoyed it. I had a break for the month of
August and I will start the fall class on August 25th. I’m enrolled for
the fall class in the subject of “Servant Leadership”. I look forward to
this class as I get myself prepared to learn more about being a servant
leader to the local church. I have enjoyed every class so far. This study
has become a great blessing to me and to the church I serve. I just want
to thank God for all the brothers at Bartlesville, OK who are supporting
me in this program.
New website for the church in Durres.
A new website for the church in Durres will be launched in few days to
come. There are three Christians who are working hard to make this website
ready. Doriana Delia,
a godly Christian sister who just graduated in computer science is
preparing the website and she is helped by two Christian members,
Klajdi Bido and Ajald Celmeta.
The website will be valuable in Albanian language and in English also.
Faithfully in Jesus,
Anila, Shkelqim (Cimi) and Samuel.
|
October 2008 (Adriatik
Church of Christ – Durres Albania)
Dear brothers,
The reason we don’t love the darkness, is because it didn’t love us, and
the reason why the darkness didn’t love us, is because it didn’t love Him
and the reason why the darkness didn’t love Him, that’s because He is
light and there’s no darkness in Him.
Praise God I’m doing well, serving and being strengthened through the
light, with the light, in the light, and for the light; “His word is the
light.”
Each one of us is called to destroy the works of darkness, through the
light that already dwells in each of us.
Streams of tears flow from my eyes, because God’s law is not respected.
(Ps119:136)
It’s really a sad picture when you think of people who live, walk, speak,
and think in the darkness, but on the other hand it’s encouraging and so
lifting up of knowing that in this world of darkness, exist some people
who live, walk, speak and reason in the light, it’s so lifting up; “Christ
lives in His church.”
It is with great joy of sharing with you about God’s work and about His
people here at Adriatic Church of Christ:
God’s work with the students
During the last month I taught 5 students, 2 of the 7 students that I had
(Albana and Dhimusten) turned back in school, “Dhimusten” studies in
Greece, and “Albana” studies at the University here in Durres. I pray that
they may seek and find Jesus. I’m enjoying the time of teaching and
sharing with the other students about our God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
My prayer is that they may invite Him in their lives by experiencing His
spiritual and wonderful blessings.
God’s People
How good and pleasing is when brothers gather together and worship their
God, how great is when everything in His temple cries; “Glory” (Ps 29:9c).
The time of worship on Sundays is on 11:00-12:30 Alfred and I
are doing
the alternate preaching.
Bible class on Wednesdays it begins on 5:00-6:00, Alfred is teaching about
“worship.”
We are very thankful to the Lord for brothers and sisters that He had
given and will continue to give us through Christ Jesus.
We are thankful to the Lord also for you who are in the same family having
the same Father and being sealed by the same Spirit.
The darkness may consider us as: sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor,
yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. (2
Corinthians 6:10)
Sustaining in His Grace and in His power let’s all of us keep saying;
“Glory,” in His temple,
Eduart Hoxha
Adriatik Church of Christ – Durres Albania
E–mail: edi_fjf@yahoo.com
Address:
Durres – Albania
Phone number: +355 69 21 10 611
Supported by brethrens at “Adams boulevard Church of Christ”
|
September-October, 2008
THANK YOU!
My family (Anila and Samuel) and I
would like to thank you for the support. We are partners together with you
in the kingdom of God. We always remember you in our prayers and we give
thanks to our Father in heaven and our Lord Jesus Christ.
God adds new souls to the Body of Christ in Durres
On September 4th, God added
Faosta Haka
to the body of Jesus. Faosta is a high school student and she lives
together with her family in Italy. Faosta came to visit Durres for a long
summer. She started to practice her English and she came to realize she
needed Jesus more than English. She told me after her decision to be
baptized that, “English is all right but baptism into Christ is vital,
this is what I want”. Lynn and Leda Hunt were visiting Durres and they
happen to witness her baptism. In fact, Leda had to talk with Faosta about
her decision to follow Christ since her family was in family. Leda is
related to Faosta and she was a great help for Faosta.
On September 12th, Dorina Plaku was
buried into Christ and raised as new creation. Dorina is a university
student and we are glad to see her say Yes to Jesus. Dorina has had Bible
classes with me and other church members and finally she was convicted to
become baptized into Christ.
We have many other people who are close to become Christians. We believe
that on God’s timing they will join the Body but until then we must pray
continually. Only God and his Spirit have the power to convict them of
their sin and judgment.
Lynn and Leda Hunt visit Durres
During the month of September the church in Durres was blessed by the
visit of Lynn, Leda and Noela Hunt. We
rejoiced with them and Noela also. I had to carry Noela a couple of times
as I led other kids to their Sunday class. This family is very precious to
us since Lynn served for about three years in Durres and Leda was born in
Durres.
New chairs for the church
We were blessed with 60 new chairs in the month of September.
Dennis Winebarger
and the church he serves in Belton contributed toward the chairs. We are
thankful to Dennis and the church in Belton for their generosity. The old
chairs were old and they were falling apart every time we used them.
Men’s day in the “Plazh” Durres
On October 18th, Adriatic church of Christ in “Pazh” hosted the national
men’s day.
John Massie
from Texas was the speaker and he shared great lessons from the Holy
Spirit. The church in Durres attended the Friday night seminar during that
week.
Preachers and missionaries meeting
We have made a habit of gathering every other month with other preachers
and missionaries who serve in Albanian church. On September 13th, the
church in Lushnja where
Tom Bonner
is the missionary hosted the meeting. Two major things were discussed:
James 4:1-12 and planning a Christian camp for 2009. A board of people
from each church in Albania was formed and the board made a letter where
we ask the brethren wherever you are to help and assist us by making the
camp project a reality to the church in Albania. We are in need of many
camp items and we ask you to help us in many ways. We believe that the
Christian camp in Albania will bring growth and unity of the Spirit among
our brotherhood in the country.
New ministries to the community:
As I have mentioned in the previous report a “hamburger” ministry for
feeding the beggars and homeless people was started since the summer.
Every Saturday church members and the aimers meet at the center of the
city and we grill meat and prepare a type of hamburger and feed these
people.
Two other ministries are operating already in the community. Last Friday
the aimers started to help the main orphanage in the city of Durres that
has disabled children. The director of the orphanage was pleased with us
to offer the disabled children love, support and compassion.
Two of the aim boys
were working outside of the building with landscaping. Aimers have
committed to help the orphanage every Friday for their time being here in
Durres.
The second ministry is operating on Saturdays. Half of the aim team and I
go to a homeless house outside of the city and help the homeless people
there who come there for food. Last Saturday we were able to help set up
the place, serve the food, clean the place for about 50 people in need.
This Saturday we were back again and we found out that the major Albanian
TV’s were there to interview us in what we were doing. We told them that
we are trying to be feet and hands for Jesus by serving these people. We
were able to sing with kids that were there before the meal was served. We
helped feed about 70 people this Saturday.
Another ministry is going to start to the Durres hospital on Monday
morning, November 10th. The aimers are excited about these open
doors and we pray that God bless us and the church in Durres as we try to
serve people and be Jesus.
We have other plans for other new ministries but we will share them with
you as God makes them into a reality.
My ministry to the church:
I continue to preach and teach the church from the Word of God on regular
basis. I’m teaching from the Book of Acts of Apostles on Wednesdays.
Church members (Ajald, Skender, and Ari)
and I
are teaching from the Gospel of Matthew on Sunday mornings. Young people
on Fridays are taught by Christian boys from the church. Anila and I were
invited by the church in Tirana and I was blessed to speak to them on
September 28th.
I continue to teach WEI materials on regular basis during the week. I have
Bible classes with students and members of the church.
Anila and I
are working with a family and we pray that they soon become part of the
Body of Jesus.
Anila is teaching a Bible class on Saturdays to some sisters who are not
able to come to church during the week.
Suela, the secretary is teaching a
number of children classes during the week and also she teaches WEI
materials to some students.
Aimers
are involved on teaching some students with WEI materials.
My online studies with Harding University:
I continue to be blessed by the online studies with Harding University.
I’m at the end of the fall class. I’m studying Servant Leadership and I
finish this class on December 5th. Including the Servant leadership class,
I will complete 19 hours out of 36 hours in total. I’m grateful to God and
Lord Jesus Christ for the brethren in Bartlesville OK who support me on
this study.
A new Church website for the church:
As I mentioned before, some Christians of the church in Durres updated and
made a new website. The website address is:
www.missionalbania.com. The
website is in the Albanian language as well as in English. The website is
updated on regular basis. I was surprised to read that during the month of
September and October the website was clicked over 16,000 times.
To God be the glory for ever and ever, Amen.
Faithfully in Jesus, Anila, Samuel and Cimi
|
November-December, 2008.
Thank You for your support and partnership in the kingdom.
My family and I give thanks to God the Father for your support.
We are partners together in the kingdom of God like Paul was with the
churches in Macedonia. God is good and he has provided our needs for 2008.
Praise the Lord for his grace and love for his children.
A new soul joined the body of Christ in Durres.
On December 5th, Enxhi Bejzo
confessed Jesus as her Lord and Savior of her
life. Enxhi has been studying the Word of God with one of the aimers (Dan)
for many months. She is now our sister in the Lord and we praise the Lord
for his active love by sending Jesus to the planet Earth, became like one
of us and finally died on the cross for our sin, rose in the third day and
he is alive and well today and forever!
Picnic to the castle in Shkoder:
On November 29th, the church visited the castle of
Shkoder. It is a castle
in northern Albania and it is very old. It is dated many years before
Christ. There were about 30 people in the trip. We enjoyed the fellowship
and lunch together. While we sat and had lunch together inside the castle,
we had a Bible competition among two groups. What is important in these
kinds of events is togetherness and fellowship with each other like we
find the model in the early church.
Christmas celebration with the disabled children:
A group of Christians from the church celebrated Christmas in a special
way this year. There were 13 members of the church in Durres who
celebrated with the disabled children in one of the orphanages in the city
of Durres. We sang Christmas songs for them, we gave gifts to them, we fed
them with food we bought for them, and played with them. It was a great
time to see these children happy and smiling. We tried to be Jesus that
day and we concluded that this was the best way to remember Jesus and he
is the reason for the season. The orphanage has about thirty disabled
children from ages of three to twenty. It is the same place that aimers
and church members go every week and serve them.
Fellowship meal:
On December 28th, the church had a fellowship meal after the worship
service on the Lord’s Day. The church tries to have these fellowship meals
every month. We invite our friends and relatives to worship with us that
day. It is a day that we take the advantage to evangelize to those we
minister and have friendships with.
Children’s program for Christmas:
We had about 60 children who played and recited before the church on
December 28th. They sang Christmas songs, played Christ birth, and recited
psalms and poems created by them. These children are part of English
classes during the week and also children of our church members. There
were parents who came and witnessed the worship and stayed to see their
kids perform in the program afterwards.
Suela Kurti,
the secretary taught
and led the children perform in this event. It was a time of joy to see
the children and their happy faces and big smiles sing and recite psalms
about the birth of Jesus. Gifts were given to the kids sponsored by the
church.
My ministry to the church:
I continue to preach and teach the church from the Word of God on regular
basis. During the month of November I taught a number of lessons from the
book of the prophet Jonah and how this small book is very practical and
relevant to us today. During the month of December I preached a number of
lessons about Christmas stories that surrounded the birth of Jesus. In the
end of December I finished the studies on the Gospel of Mathew. On
Wednesdays I taught a number of lessons on spiritual gifts and how to
identify the spiritual gifts God has given to us after we were born again
in the Lord.
Faithfulness is one of the challenges the church is facing right now.
There are a number of Christians who are not being faithful to the Lord
and to each other. We are praying right now as the body of Christ in
Durres for each individual to be true and integrated Christian.
Young people on Fridays are taught by
two Christian boys
who are students
at IBIA in Durres and also Christian boys from the church. Every other
Friday the young people are divided into boys and girls and the girls have
the opportunity to teach. We have planned fellowship meetings, playing
games and movies for the young people after their class is over. It is a
time to strengthen the friendship between each other and share the
blessings from the Word.
I continue to teach WEI materials on regular basis during the week. I have
Bible classes in Albanian with students and members of the church. There
are a number of people who are taught about Jesus and they are ready to
accept Jesus. I pray that the Lord convicts them to leap into the arms of
Jesus. I ask you to pray for these people as we continue to teach them
about the Gospel of Jesus.
Anila continues to teach a Bible class on Saturdays to some sisters who
are not able to come to church during the week. Anila says that it is a
great class and the sisters who attend are very open to learn from the
Word of God.
Suela, the secretary is teaching a number of children classes during the
week and also she teaches WEI materials to some students.
Reaching to the families:
Anila and I
are praying and reaching to some families. The church in
Durres needs more families and their presence in the body. The Lord has
opened gates to reach to the families.
We want to share with you a couple,
Perparim
and his wife Dhurata
and
their 6 years old boy Gesti.
Perparim is a doctor and Dhurata is a
teacher. Anila and I are praying for them that they soon are born again
and become part of the body of Jesus. We have strong friendship with them
and we are sharing Jesus with this family. They are open and receptive to
the Gospel and in God’s timing they will get to embrace Jesus.
Aimers and their service:
As I mentioned in the previous report, a couple of ministries were started
by the
six aimers
who are serving in the community of Durres. They serve
every Friday to the disabled children of the orphanage in Durres. They
serve twice a week to the daily center for the old people. They help the
old people while the lunch is served to them and they try to talk with
them and help their needs. God is using aimers in a special way and they
are trying to be the hands and feet for Jesus in the community of Durres.
The aimers also are teaching few students through WEI materials.
Most of them left Albania during the break and visited different Western
countries. Only one of the aimers stayed in the city and fellowshipped
with church members and had the opportunity to be closer to them.
My online studies with Harding University:
On December 8th, 2008, I finished the Servant Leadership class. It was a
great class with many blessings and riches for me but also it required a
hard work to meet the deadlines from the professor. I’ll start the spring
class on January 12th, 2009 and I’ll be taking two classes: NT Theology
for ministry and Advanced Bible Researches. I look forward to these
classes to be a blessing to me and the ministry for the glory of God.
I’m grateful to God and Lord Jesus Christ for the brethren in Bartlesville
OK who support me on this study. I’ll not be able to repay you brothers
for the support but I’ll ask the Lord to bless you because he is able to
do more than we think or imagine.
With the love of the Lord Jesus
Cimi, Anila and Samuel.
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March 2009
To all brothers and sisters who are all over around Albania and to all
brothers and sisters at Adams Boulevard, warm greetings I send in the name
of our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ.
It’s always a wonderful blessing to be part of the kingdom of
righteousness serving all together as one body on earth by proclaiming
with our words and deeds this gracious gift which was given to us from
highest places.
The fact that this gift dwells on God’s children it’s really amazing, God
chose us to reflect it on one another so that the earth can see His glory
on us.
For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the
presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are
our glory and joy. (1Thessalonians 2:19-20)
God’s children know their enemy, they do not fight with each other, they
Love one another. They can’t provoke anger, but they boast before God for
one another. They can’t tear down but they can build up one another. They
can’t lord over one another’s faith but they can help and encourage one
another. They can’t judge, prejudge or condemn one another in anger but
they can rebuke, advice and encourage one another in love.
Praise God I’m doing well in my faith before Him, even some times we
stumble and fall, God never let us down, His grace and His power by the
blood of Jesus Christ gives me strength and confidence to stand humble
before His mightiness and His holiness.
Let me share with you about His work at Adriatik Church of Christ and for
my plans in the Lord:
God’s work with the students
During the last month I taught 8 students helping them to understand the
necessity of God and the need of man to be saved. I’m still continuing to
teach and share God’s word with them hoping that one day they may accept
it and live with it.
His people
I’m very thankful to God for His wonderful Grace and for the people that
He adds to His church, so that they might reign in Life through Jesus
Christ. We have had some time fellowshipping one another and the fact that
God has brought some families together it’s really encouraging. May God
bless them and increases their faith.
On Sunday worship
Alfred and I
are doing the alternate preaching. On Wednesdays, Alfred is continuing to
teach from the Gospel of Luke.
May God bless the Adriatic Church and strengthen them in faith and love
more and more.
I have been so blessed and in the same time encouraged by the brothers at
Adams boulevard church of Christ, their faith and love that they have for
God are seen and heard miles away.
My plans in the Lord
Recently, I have been challenged to make some hard decisions concerning my
service to the Lord, the gospel and the Kingdom.
In the end of this month if it’s Lord’s will, I’m going to move from
Durres and going to live in Fier, to serve full time with the Church and
the community there. I will be in Fier together with
Altin Koci who already works and is
involved with IBIA School.
Steve & Ruth Byrne,
who already work with the church there, are going to leave from Albania on
April 1st and serve in another country.
Alfred
is going to continue the work with the students that I’m already teaching
hoping that one day they may submit fully to the gospel.
Please, I will ask you to pray for us, for all the churches in Albania and
for all the churches of Christ on earth. And here is my prayer; “that we
may be one as Jesus and the Father are one.” Our prayer is Christ’s
prayer; our desire is Christ’s desire and our dream is Christ’s dream. Our
life is His life our glory is His glory and we ourselves are His church.
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by
his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your
hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. (2 Thessalonians
2:16-17)
the servant ,
Eduart Hoxha
edi_fjf@yahoo.com
Adriatik Church of Christ Durres - Albania
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February March 2009
The call to the Gospel!
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the
salvation of everyone who believes… Romans 1:16.
I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced
that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. 2
Timothy1:12.
Thank You for the partnership in the kingdom of God in Albania! The church
in Durres and my family remember you for the support and partnership in
the Gospel of Christ since the day the church in Durres started.
A new soul was added to the Body of Christ.
On March 8, 2009 Daniel Ndoni was added to Body
of Christ in Durres. Daniel has studied the Bible with me and
he wanted to be baptized long ago. Every time we met for the Bible class,
he would ask me at the end of bible class, ‘when will you baptize me?’ I
told him that let us study some more and you can decide. I praise the Lord
for his heart and for the zeal he has for the Lord. Daniel wants to be a
real Christian in the kingdom. I see a great potential in him and I pray
that he grows daily in the Word and into the relationship with Christ.
Mother’s Day
On March 7th, 2009, the church in Durres honored the mothers and the
sisters on their day, March 8th. Albania honors mothers every month on
March 8th. My wife Anila and
some sisters form the church organized
this event. It was a wonderful day where many ladies heard the Gospel for
the first day. There were more than 60 ladies who came together and
worshipped the Lord. Many of the ladies were mothers of the church
members. At the end of the worship, a short movie from the “Passion of
Christ” was shown. The ladies were touched by this movie and how Christ
was beaten and crucified on the cross for our sins. At the end of this
event, the church served the mothers a fellowship meal. We praise the Lord
for that day.
Summer’s Day:
On the summer Day, March 14th, 2009, the church in Durres met with members
of the church in Tirana and had a picnic together by the seaside in
Durres. We enjoyed the fellowship together by playing together; singing
together; sharing the Word of God together and many other things.
Elvin, one of Durres church members
shared the devotion for all of us from the book of Haggai with the theme
‘building the life around God’. There were about 30 people from the church
in Durres participating on this event. We use these events to come closer
to each other and strengthen in love and fellowship together.
My ministry to the church:
I continue to preach and teach from the Word of God every week and give
glory to God for his love and compassion toward people of Albania.
I finished preaching and teaching from the book of Ecclesiastes on
Wednesday Bible class. I am teaching on Christian character now. On
Sundays, I am teaching from the book of Proverbs.
I continue to have Bible classes with more than four students on
individual basis to this present time. There are a number of people who
have heard the Gospel of Christ and are ready to obey and put Christ on
baptism. We pray that this time may come soon and these people obey the
Gospel of Jesus.
I also have a full schedule teaching World English Institute materials
with my students. My students have become my friends and I share with them
not only English language but the Gospel of Christ. I love them and pray
for them that they may leap to the arms of Jesus.
Anila continues to teach a Bible class
on Saturdays to some sisters who are not able to come to church during the
week. Anila says that it is a great class and the sisters who attend are
very open to learn from the Word of God. Few other women have joined this
class and it has become a blessing to them as they share the Word
together.
Anila and I have regular visits to the church members and to those who we
are sharing the Gospel. We have started to welcome to our home church
members and other people whom we are ministering for meals and fellowship.
Suela, the secretary is teaching a
number of children classes during the week and also she teaches WEI
materials to some students.
As I have mentioned in my previous report, faithfulness is one of the
challenges the church is facing right now. There are a number of
Christians who are not being faithful to the Lord and to each other. We
decided to enter in a month of prayer and fasting for five Mondays. I
encouraged all Christians this Sunday to start praying and fasting on
Monday from morning to the Evening. Those who will discipline themselves
will meet at 6 pm for prayer and break the fasting. The focus of prayer
and fasting will be on faithfulness to the Lord and the Christian
fellowship. We ask you also to pray for with us on this issue. I praise
the Lord for the first Monday. There were more than 20 Christians who
responded to the call of prayer and fasting and we met together at 6 pm,
and shared from the Word and prayed together for about an hour. Then we
broke the fasting by eating sandwiches together. This is a new spiritual
discipline for us and we want to continue it more often.
Albanian National Christian Camp
The churches of Albania have come together and we want to organize a
Christian camp for all the Christians of Albania. The camp site will be on
northern Durres. We are working with local authorities to get the land
permission. We ask you to support this project through prayer and
financial support. We believe that Christian camp has a great power of
relationships between the young people and adults. We want to bring
spiritual unity among the church in Albania.
AIM team ministry:
I am sadden to report to you that three aimers (two boys and a girl) part
of the AIM program left the mission field in Durres and returned to the
US. They decided to return home and be used in another mission field where
they could be more productive for the Lord. There are two more girls, part
of the AIM program in the field in Durres and another former aimer from
the first AIM team who are working and teaching people the Gospel of
Christ. They are growing in the Lord and in the fellowship with the church
members. They are continuing the ministries as before. They serve in the
orphanage every Friday and to the center for the old people every
Wednesday. They are teaching WEI students more and they are being a
blessing to the church.
My online study at Harding University
I‘m already in the middle of the spring semester and I’m taking two
classes, NT Theology for ministry and Advanced Bible Researches. I am
enjoying these two classes and I am refreshing myself in the Word of God.
I’m grateful to God and Lord Jesus Christ for the brethren in Bartlesville
OK who support me on this study.
Faithfully in Jesus,
Anila, Shkelqim (Çimi) and Samuel.
March 17, 2009
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May-June 2009
Thank You!
“Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith
into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the
glory of God.” Romans 5:1-2.
My
family (Anila, Cimi and Samuel) continues to give thanks for your support
and partnership with us in the Kingdom of God in Durres, Albania. You have
become a source of blessings to all of us in Durres church of Christ; we
love you with the love of the Lord and it is through the spiritual
fellowship in Christ Jesus we know you and share with you.
New Birth into the Body of
Christ
God
has blessed us and has made us witnesses of three baptisms this time,
Enea Jorgji was baptized into the
body of Christ on April 18th, 2009 and
Lola Shima (35 yrs old) put on the
robe of Christ on May 15th, 2009. Enea is a high school student
who both he and I continue to study the Bible. Lola was taught by my wife
Anila. Lola started to come on Saturday Bible classes that Anila teaches
and she finally committed her life to Jesus. Lola has a daughter who is
part of the children Bible class on Sundays.
On
June 12th, Besmir Veshti
met Christ at the cross by being baptized into him for remission of his
sins. Besmir is 23 years old and he is a piano professor. Besmir has
studied the Bible with me for about a year and finally he made the
covenant with Christ that he will be faithful to him as long as he lives
on this earth. I praise the Lord for Besmir and his decision to become
Christian. I have prayed for him and in Lord’s timing God added him into
his family. We praise the Lord for Enea, Lola, and Besmir for their
decision to become Christians and enter into a permanent covenant with
Jesus Christ through his blood shed on the cross for our sins. We have
other students who are close into the decision of becoming Christians. We
ask you to pray for them. We believe in the power of prayer and that is
why we ask boldly. We believe that God listens to our prayers and he wants
to transform our lives as we partner with him. (Lola’s picture is first,
Enea and then Besmir)
Youth Day in Tirana
As
it has become a yearly custom, the church of Christ in Tirana hosted the
National Youth Day on May 16th, 2009. It was a great day of
fellowship with other young Christians in other cities of Albania. The
message shared by Tom Langley was encouraging and challenging; God is
knocking at our heart to use us and proclaim the Gospel of Christ in
Albania. A Christian drama by the youth of the church in Tirana followed
the message. Both of these events for that day were tied together and the
focus was the Gospel of Christ has the power to change us and transform us
into the likeness of Jesus. There were about 45 people who attended from
the church in Durres and many of them were our students and friends.
Children’s Day
On June 1st, 2009, (International Day of Children), the church
invited all the children who are part of our classes during the week and
on Sundays to celebrate their day with us. Suela, the secretary teaches
most of the children we have during the week. We also invited their
parents to come and see what their kids do and learn at our church
building.
The
purpose of this invitation was to meet their parents and get to know them
and bring them closer to our fellowship with the Gospel of Christ. We
shared with them that Jesus loves the children and he cares for them. We
told the parents that we teach their kids about God and Jesus and
Christian principles for their lives. We had about 60 children and their
parents. We praised the Lord for that day because more people heard about
the Gospel of Christ.
Former Aimers visit the
church in Durres
Two
of the former AIM girls, Rachel Mecoy and Sarah Evertt visited the church
in Durres. Robbie Grossman is the third aimer who has been helping us
since last year and she returned to the US on June 18th, 2009.
Sarah Evertt will stay and help us here for the entire the summer. They
have become very dear to us and they have many strong ties with church
members in Durres.
My ministry to the church
I
continue to preach and teach the Word of God on regular basis. During
Wednesdays, I’m teaching a number of lessons on “Building the Christian
character”. I’m teaching on 1 Letter of John during Sundays Bible class.
I
continue to have Bible classes with a number of non- Christians and also
Christians who are new convert. It is important for the new Christians to
continue to grow in the Word of God.
I
continue to teach World English Institute materials on regular basis with
my students.
Anila has joined me in teaching individual Bible classes to some girls and
ladies every morning during the week. Anila and I consider the ministry to
the church in Durres as a family commitment and we want to do more and
more for the kingdom of God in Albania. Anila and I have decided to
continue to serve the street kids every Saturday mornings. We prepare the
hamburger at our home and go out to the streets of Durres and give it to
them.
My online Study at Harding
University
I
finished two spring classes and now I’m having only one class for the
summer. I’m learning on the subject of “People Helping”. It is a great
class and I’m learning how to help people and bring them to the fellowship
with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I’ll have three more classes with Harding
and Lord’s willing I’ll be graduated next May 2010. I truly say that it
has been a great blessing for me and my ministry to the church in Durres.
I’m indebted to some brothers from Bartlesville, OK who have supported me
with the studies at Harding University. They have done what I cannot do
for them but I have asked God to bless their lives richly in Christ
Jesus.
Faithfully in the Lord Jesus
Shkelqim Kafexhiu and his family
Durres, June 21,
2009
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July-September 2009.
Thank You!
How good and pleasing is when brothers gather together and worship their
God, how great is when everything in His temple cries; “Glory” (Ps 29:9).
We are very thankful to the Lord for brothers and sisters that He had
given and will continue to give us through Christ Jesus.
A new family in Christ’s Body
Perparim and Dhurata Ceni were baptized into Christ Jesus and his body on
August 19th. Anila and I have been praying and working with this couple
for more than a year and now we rejoice with the Lord for their salvation
and the new life in Christ Jesus. This couple has one six years old son.
Perparim is a doctor and Dhurata is a teacher. They have become so dear to
us and we are together growing in the Lord and his knowledge. We are so
glad to see their son Gesi now being part of the children Bible class on
Sundays. It is so great to hear him sing Christian songs and quote Bible
verses. We praise the Lord for their hearts and souls.
Children Camp
During the month of July 6th to 11th the church was involved with children
camp. We had about 30 kids from our church that had a great week together.
Many of them were for the first time leaving home and their parents were
worried but God blessed the week and children learned more about God and
Lord Jesus. They learned new songs, participated in different games and
fellowship. We could have had more than 60 kids in the camp but the space
did not allow us to have all of them, so we had to select half of them who
were more faithful to the church services. A group of Christians (Anila
and I, Suela the secretary, Arlind Veshti and Armalindo Kepi- both of this
boys served as interns for the summer, Sarah a former aimer and Besmir
Veshti) from our church served the children with great devotion.
Vacation Bible School for children
During the month of July 27th to 31st the church had the BVS for children.
We had about 50 children every day during that week. Children had a lot of
fun together by learning more about Jesus and his life on earth. I praise
the Lord for the great devotion of our brothers and sisters who helped the
children learn about Jesus. We cannot express with words how uplifting was
for us to see the desire and the passion kids had to learn about Jesus
Christ. We believe these children have influenced their families and
parents by going home and sharing Christ with them. We take every
opportunity in proclaiming Christ to such activities in our church
building.
Albanian National Bible Bowl 2009!
The church in Durres hosted the Bible Bowl on August 29th, 2009. This time
we had participants from the churches in Fier, Korca, Durres, Kucova,
Lushnja, and Magjat. The participants studied from the Gospel of Mark. We
had a great time of fellowship and growth in the Word of God together. The
first place for teams was won by the church in Durres (Doriana, Besi,
Amaro and Klajdi). The second place was won by the church in Korca and in
the third place was Lushnja. For individuals, the first place was taken by
Doriana Delija, then Eri Pellumbi from Korca took the second place and
Alma Kajdo from Lushnja won the third place. Every year the church in
Durres invites the local churches of Christ in Albania to participate in
this event as a sign of unity and brotherly love in Christ. It was a great
day for the Lord and his glory.
Singing practice
As you may have been informed by my past reports, God has blessed the
church in Durres with a brother who is a piano professor, Besmir Veshti.
Besmir is teaching the church new Christian songs every week. We did not
have a professional teacher in the past to teach us new songs but at the
right time God blessed us with Besmir; praise be to God who provides us
according to our needs and his glory. Now we know more new songs to sing
to our Lord.
Summer visits
During the summer the church in Durres was blessed by different visits
from brothers and sister all over the world. Many of them are partners
with us in the kingdom of God in Albania. Greg and LaDon Weston visited us
during the month of July. A Christian couple, (Rifat and Xhevi Gashi and
their daughter) from Kosovo who are very dear to us worshipped with us for
two weeks in July. A team of four people from Bartlesville Oklahoma
worshipped with us for two weeks in July. Dave and Jonida Martin from
Texas visited us and blessed us with Bible materials for children, thank
you so much. We were blessed by the visit of former aim girls Rachel, Anna
and Sarah. They are so dear to us in Durres and we love them with the love
of the Lord. All of these brothers and sisters have made room in our
hearts for their love and passion for the Lord.
Honoring the students who graduated
On August 21st, the church honored a number of students who graduated from
the high school and also other levels of school. There were 8 students who
were honored by the church on their graduation. We took advantage of this
event and proclaimed Christ to them and encouraged them to stay close to
the Lord and his Word as they go to the different universities in Albania
and abroad. The message I shared to them was, “Don’t forget God, He is
your life.”
My daily ministry to the church and the community
I continue to teach and preach Christ to the church and to the people in
the community where we are located. I preached a number of lessons on
Sundays about the love of God based on John 3:16, the numbers of Hope! I
just finished a number of Bible lessons on Wednesdays from the last week
of Jesus on earth called the “Passion Week”. We have added another prayer
meeting every week on Mondays. We believe that the church must pray more
for commitment of its church members, for those who are hearing about
Jesus but are not Christians yet, for more families in the Body of Christ,
for our families who do not know Christ yet, and many other needs we have.
I continue to teach English with materials of World English Institute to
students. I believe that English has been a great tool in reaching to
people of the community. I have not relied only to English to reach people
for Christ. I try many other methods to share Christ with people I meet
every day. My wife Anila is a great help to me and the ministry in
different ways. She has some students that she teaches Bible classes and
some beginning English. Suela, the secretary continues to teach WEI
students during the week. She also teaches English too, to many children
during the week. I have encouraged Christian boys to teach the youth class
on Fridays and Arlind and Armalindo have been part of this teaching.
Moza, one of my WEI students also attends church with both of her two
daughters.
Faithfully in Christ Jesus
Shkelqim and Anila Kafexhiu.
September 20, 2009.
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My
family and I thank our God every time we remember you. In all our prayers
and thanksgivings for all of you, we always pray with joy because of your
partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now, being confident of
this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion
until the day of Christ Jesus. We are grateful of your support and
partnership for the cause of Christ in Albania. His Gospel is preached and
people are loved!
A
new disciple in the Lord’s army
On
November 3rd, Ermelinda Zyfi (Eri)
put on Christ in baptism. It was a joy to witness Eri when she came from
her job to the church building on Monday, November 2nd and
asked me if she could be baptized on that very moment. I said no to Eri
because I was alone that day to the church building and I told her to wait
until next day and invite other Christians witness her baptism. Eri has
been attending the church and she has studied World English Institute
Bible course with Suela since a year ago. I studied the Bible with Eri for
more than three months and now she is a dear sister in Christ. I still
continue to study the Bible with her every Monday. I enjoy studying the
Bible with Eri because she comes prepared and asks always important
questions. Eri is very serious about being a godly woman and she wants to
please the Lord in her life.
Ermelinda Zyfi
Men’s Day in Tirana
On
October 31st, the church in Tirana hosted the men’s Day for all
Christian men in Albania. We were 10 Christians from the church in Durres
who attended the meeting. Tom Bonner, a US missionary who serves in the
church in Lushnja was the speaker for this event. Tom is a dedicated
brother who has many years of experience in ministry and we were blessed
to hear him speak for leaders who need to grow in the Lord and his
service.
Seminar for families
On
October 20th to 22nd, three families form our church
participated in a seminar for Christian families. There were my family,
Skender’s and Perparim’s family. It was a great weekend we had together
with other Christian families from Albania focusing on the Word of God and
also in the fellowship with each other. The seminar was hosted by family
life in Albania.
Graduation Day
On December 19th, 2009 the Bible School
(IBIA) in Albania invited all Christians to witness the graduation of six
students who studied the Bible for two. There were two students who are
members of the church of Christ in Durres who graduated from IBIA. Arlind
Veshti and Armalindo Kepi are the two Christian men who are ready to serve
in the Albanian church now. Ari wants to serve in the church in Durres
working with the young people and Armalindo Kepi will help Alfred Dimce to
the new church in Tirana. I praise God for their willingness to serve and
share the Good News of Jesus to the Albanians.
IBIA Graduates 2009
Evangelism week in Durres
The
church in Durres planned two months ago to have an evangelism week on
December by taking the advantage of happy season:
On
Thursday 24 of December
the church invited all the children who study English and Bible classes
during the week and their parents. The children had prepared a drama,
Christmas songs, and many other activities and they performed in front of
the church and their parents. At the end of this event I had a short
message for their parents about what we teach their children and why it is
important that their children grow in the fear of the Lord and the love
for Jesus. We had about 90 children and about 40 parents who participated
in this event. Most of the parents were mothers and very few were fathers.
What I’m surprised about the many events we have in the church building is
that when we invite people from the community, most of them are women who
respond to the invitation. Men in Albania tend to not respond to the
invitation. I’m not sure why is this but maybe they think that church is
only for women and children or maybe men in Albania work more then their
wives. We had prepared a small gift for about 70 children and we were
short in gifts for the rest of the children. God has opened many doors for
us to preach Christ to these people. If in the Western countries it is
parents who influence their children for Christ, here in Albania it is
children who are influencing their parents and bringing them to Jesus.
Anila and I will be focusing in this coming year on these people and their
families who are open to the Gospel.
The
following day, December 25th, the church met together in a special
worship service and after the worship service we had dinner together. We
were about 45 people celebrating Christmas together. We had few non-
Christians who are attending church for more than a year but they have not
made a covenant with Christ yet. As I mentioned above, God has opened many
doors to us by bringing many people to hear the Gospel and commit their
lives to Christ. I believe that it is not the location but love that
brings people to the church and then into Christ. We, as the church have
made our motto for 2010, ‘Passion for God and love for people.” We have
come to this motto based on the greatest command of our Lord Jesus Christ
in Mathew 22:37-40, ‘Love God and people’ these are the two most important
commandments for us as Disciples of Christ.
Children's Drama & Songs
On
December 26th,
Anila and other Christian women of the church invited women and girls over
18 years old from the community of Durres in a special worship service.
Anila had invited a godly Christian sister who spoke to the ladies. There
were about 70 women in this event who listened to the story of Jesus and
how Jesus is Emmanuel- God with us! God was glorified in this event and
again, God has provided new opportunities for people to hear the whole
story of Jesus and why God became flesh and came to rescue us from our
sin.
Special Ladies' Worship
My ministry to the
church
I
continue to preach and teach to the church on weekly basis. I preached a
number of lessons on Sunday mornings during the month of December on the
topic of “Witnesses of Jesus birth”. I tried to encourage and foster faith
in God who is a God of impossible. Faith is our response to our God who
came to rescue us from our sin. During Wednesday Bible class, I taught a
number of lessons on Psalms based on many metaphors the psalmist uses in
this great book. Starting for October, we are meeting every Monday in one
hour of prayer. We believe in the power of prayer and we want to make
prayer our priority for next year.
I
continue to have a full schedule teaching World English Institute Bible
courses with a number of students. I also teach English to two groups of
university students who are beginners.
Anila continues to teach the Bible class to the sisters every Saturday.
Anila is also teaching a number of Bible classes to Christian sisters and
other students who are not Christians yet. Anila and I are focusing in
working with families more in the months to come. God has blessed us with
a number of families who are open to Christ and his Gospel. We are praying
that God continues to convict them in obeying Christ and be born again
from the water and the Spirit.
Faithfully in Christ Jesus
Cimi, Anila and Samuel
Durres, December 27, 2009
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