Mason Chronicles

soon, very soon!

2012-02-08T15:37:00.001+01:00

we are in Lithuania (Vita's homeland) counting down the days until baby #2 is born. within the next week or two, we should be welcoming our newest son or daughter to our side of the world! we will keep you posted...

November 2011 Newsletter

2012-01-30T15:18:00.000+01:00

(click on each of the page images for a readable size)

The Concept of Queuing

2011-09-16T11:37:00.001+02:00

It’s been three years since I, Vita, moved to Albania, and still every time before making a trip to the post office or to pay bills I must make a resolution not to educate people on waiting in queue. As I am often taking Eva with me, being with a huge stroller I stand at a respective (in the eyes of a north-European) distance. More often than not people think that I am just lingering there for the fun of it…

Recently, as I’ve complained to a lady about jumping the line in front of me, she apologized explaining, “I thought men were waiting on the right, and the women on the left.” (Whereas I was lost somewhere in between.) How strange, thought I, and quickly started recollecting my recent queuing experiences. To my surprise, in most cases I could picture men crowding on one side, and women – on the other. Could it be yet another sign of Muslim-rooted gender separation? I inquired a friend of this phenomenon. And yes indeed, she confirmed that during the communist times women and men would form two separate queues. And at that time there was a lot of waiting in lines.

Now who would have thought that there is some logic in the absence of a queue (despite the wide-spread queue jumping)!

May Newsletter 2011

2011-05-11T11:17:00.005+02:00

please click on each page to view them in a readable size!

January 2011 Newsletter

2011-01-31T11:57:00.005+01:00

(click on each newsletter page to view a larger readable version)

would you like to support the translation and printing of a Bible in the Albanian language?

2011-01-14T15:40:00.002+01:00

My wife and I have a dream: to see the "Jesus Storybook Bible" translated and published in the Albanian language.

This Bible for children is unlike any other Bible we have seen. From the amazing illustrations/pictures to the wording, it is simply brilliant. Beyond those, it is not simply telling Bible stories but each and every story, both from the Old and New Testaments, points to the main story of the Bible...our Savior and Lord Jesus!

Since I was introduced to this Bible a couple years ago, I have said it is my favorite Bible! We read this to our six-month old daughter and believe it would be an amazing resource for Albania.

Here is a description and a link to the website:

The Moonbeam Award Gold Medal Winner in the religion category, The Jesus Storybook Bible tells the Story beneath all the stories in the Bible. At the center of the Story is a baby, the child upon whom everything will depend. Every story whispers his name. From Noah to Moses to the great King David---every story points to him. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle---the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together. From the Old Testament through the New Testament, as the Story unfolds, children will pick up the clues and piece together the puzzle. A Bible like no other, The Jesus Storybook Bible invites children to join in the greatest of all adventures, to discover for themselves that Jesus is at the center of God's great story of salvation---and at the center of their Story too.

http://www.jesusstorybookbible.com/

Here is a link to what some think about this Bible: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2009/12/28/what-the-bible-is-not/

I have been in contact with the author as well with the owner of the international copyrights who is based in the UK. If anyone is interested I would love to discuss how we could partner to get this published in the Albanian language.

We have no experience of translating or publishing a book and our interest is not about anything other than getting this out as a resource for Albania. We strongly believe this is the BEST Bible for children we have ever seen...in all aspects.

Please take a look at the websites above and see for yourself how great this Bible is! Send us an email if you would be interested in partnering with us to get this published in the Albanian language!

Prayerfully hoping to see this published in Albanian,

Sean & Vita Mason

Mission Emanuel Church-Korce

a belated Merry CHRISTmas & Happy New Year!

2011-01-06T13:05:00.003+01:00

We hope you are all doing well and recovering from all the end of the year festivities! More so we hope that Christmas brought you deeper meaning in life through a greater understanding and awareness of Jesus who came to earth for us all. We hope too that through Him you have found greater hope for this new year!

We spent the 4 Sundays of December celebrating Advent with our church. Each Sunday we celebrate a unique theme to Christ's coming to earth. On December 24th, as a church we were blessed with the opportunity to celebrate Christmas with the residents at the local home for the mentally and physically disabled. Our church although though we have very little income was able to gift to the center a brand new clothes dryer. Although the center is run by the Albanian government, it receives only a small portion of all the support they need. We as a church have been learning to give generously as Christ gave so generously to us. We are learning to give even when we have little. We are learning to recognize the needs around us and give to those. We as a church do not want to exist for ourselves but to bless others and make a difference in the city of Korce. Finally, on December 26th we had our final Advent/Christmas service where the youth of the church lead us in Christmas songs and shared with us a drama they had prepared. After service we celebrated Christ's birth together by eating "petulla", a typical Albanian deep-fried desert, sort of donut like, served to friends and family at the birth of a newborn.

The New Year quickly approached and in Albania it is always the larger of festivals of the year. Of course it is a great time with family and friends and worth celebrating, but we always try to make our greatest celebration Christ's birth, whom without we would have no new year.

We wish you a happy new year and that more than ever before you would experience Jesus, the one who came to be God with us.

Much love and thanks to you for your prayers and generous support!

Sean, Vita & Eva Grace

A Place of Worship

2010-11-13T21:31:00.009+01:00

The Orthodox like building churches. Big and small alike. The newest one in our city is a Church of St Panteleimon (Kisha Shen Pandelimoni). I was curious, who this saint was, and found out he was a Christian physician of IVth century, martyred for healing the sick by calling on the name of Jesus Christ. Great, I thought.

And then I kept on reading the recounts of his death: "Pantaleon's flesh was first burned with torches, whereupon Christ appreared to all in the form of Hermolaus (another saint) to strengthen and heal Pantaleon... Then a bath of molten lead was prepared; when the apparition of Christ stepped into the cauldron with him, the fire went out and the lead became cold... He was thrown to wild beasts, but these fawned upon him and could not be forced away until he had blessed them... An attempt was made to behead him, but the sword turned into wax and melted, and the executioners were converted to Christianity... It was not until he himself desired it that it was possible to behead him, upon which there issued forth blood and white liquid like milk."

In case you were interested, his head is located on the island of Andros, Greece, at the Panachrantos monastery, and, on occassions, is taken to other monasteries for veneration.

If you are looking for his icon to kiss, kiss one of "a beardless young man with a full head of curly hair."

2010-10-16T10:12:00.004+02:00

Eva is almost 4 months old now. She is a bundle of smiles and laughter. Already, she has become quite the international traveller, well in this part of the world it is not that difficult. She loves "talking" with people and being outside. (This pic is taken in Meteora, Greece. My parents and one of my sisters came for their first visit to Albania, so during the end of their trip we took a short tour through Northern Greece.)

A Story of a Woman

2010-08-23T11:07:00.002+02:00

We all love hearing big success stories; water turning into wine, dead being resurrected, mountains moving... The big stories of the little people are brushed off. I’d like to share with you a vivid illustration of Albanian Gypsy culture, and an impressive example of courage and faith.

A lady, who I’ll call Ada, is in her early thirties, like we, but her life has been very unlike ours. An older sister to two brothers was born and grew up in Korça. The smart girl truly enjoyed going to school, but when she reached 15, the parents decided to marry her off to a man almost twice her age. As it is common here, Ada moved in with her new husband and in-laws. Way too early she learnt the joys and hardships of the adult life. Barely 16, she gave birth to a baby-girl. Almost ten years later she had a son. A typical life of a poor Albanian Gypsy woman: marry early, raise kids and toil at home for the rest of your life. If you’re lucky, the in-laws treat you decently. But Ada wasn’t lucky. For an unassuming outsider, her husband creates an appearance of a quiet and nice person, yet his addiction to alcohol marred the life of the woman and her children. When he gets drunk, he turns violent.

Ada has been quietly suffering for years, as everybody in her family and neighbourhood would bluntly echo that we all must carry our own burdens. Years went by, Ada found Christ and peace in her heart, yet the abuse both towards her and the children only increased. As soon as Sean heard of her situation, he started encouraging the lady to find a place of her own, and promised the church’s support. It took over a year to work up the courage. She wasn’t wary of any revenge from her ex-husband. She had to fight a bigger monster called Culture. “What will people say?” too often towers above the wellbeing of your own children. In the people’s eyes, a woman leaving her husband commits a bigger crime than a husband, who instead of providing and caring for the family, wastes all the money on alcohol and constantly beats his wife and children.

First Ada moved in with her parents. They let her stay, but didn’t let her forget the shame she had brought on the family. Later, Ada’s brother with his family also moved into the two-room flat, and the living space became tight. Albanians don’t typically care about private space much, but the reproaches never really ended. “You just have to suffer,” they would tell her. “Everybody gets their share of suffering in life, and you must endure yours.” Even though both Ada’s in-laws passed away in the last year or so, and she had divorced her husband even longer ago, the culture wouldn’t let her get loose from the past.

Finally, Ada took her two children and moved out to a small two-room flat, leaving her parents and brother’s family more room, and getting more peace of mind. Working six days a week as a cleaner Ada makes a mere $120 a month. When I tried to convince her she should cook some meat for her anaemic daughter, I received a blunt reply, “Who can afford meat?”.

Ada’s determination is impressive. She has to fight the silent fight not only with the culture monster, but even with her own family in order to… protect her children from the abuse and provide them a safe and stable home! It’s difficult to be a single mother anywhere in the world, let alone in such a male dominant culture as Albania. Even more than Ada’s strong will I admire her trust in God – when she is stressed, tired, worried, when things seem hopeless, she chooses to rely on God and throw all her burdens on Him. She has some relatives in Greece and would love to emigrate. And I cannot blame her. Who wouldn’t want to escape the clutches of poverty and sometimes merciless culture? And unfortunately, her story is not really unique.

Eva Grace - born June 30th

2010-07-04T08:40:00.010+02:00

From the birth of Eva

We are so happy to introduce to you our first child, Eva Grace. She was born on June 30th here in Lithuania. Vita and Eva are doing fine, just adjusting to a new way of living together!

For all of you who like statistics:

weight: 3.676 kg

length: 53 cm

date of birth: June 30, 2010

time of birth: 2:35 am

waiting...

2010-06-22T11:29:00.006+02:00

We are in Lithuania, which means we are on the brink of holding our little gift in our arms! We are waiting axiously, although the baby seems to be quite comfortable and content to stay in there. Just a couple more weeks to go...

Vita and the baby have been doing fine. Thankfully, both have been very healthy throughout the entire pregnancy. We will let you know when he/she is here!

Much love and thanks for your prayers and support!

a boy or a girl?

2010-04-09T12:19:00.003+02:00

All around the world, people have multiple ways of determining whether a woman is expecting a boy or a girl. Of all the versions I heard so far, my favourite one is this: "If you are expecting a boy, you become more beautiful during pregnancy, if you are expecting a girl - well, that makes you more ugly." It makes me wonder whether this superstition is related to the preference given to boys in Albania.

December Newsletter

2009-12-18T13:55:00.003+01:00

click on the images to view the newsletter in a readable size:

a special "newsletter" (a must read!)

2009-12-01T19:04:00.001+01:00

Greetings!

Although you will be soon receiving a "normal" newsletter from us, we wanted to ask you to take a moment and read the attached newsletter and consider it prayerfully. One of the greatest things that Vita and I try to do here is champion the local Albanians we work with. Zhani & Vasilika are two of those Albanians!

Thanks for taking a moment to read and respond!

Much love,

Sean & Vita Mason

(click on the image below for a more readable version)

A Small Venture

2009-11-19T14:15:00.000+01:00

The sun finally showed up after a week of constant drizzling, and the blue skies were more than inviting. “Here’s a day to be spent outside”, decided I and undertook a task I had long been thinking about – cleaning a little square in front of our house. (Notably, there is a container to be found at the corner, yet the rubbish has a unique tendency to bypass it.)

With a bucket in hand and selfless thoughts of preserving our beautiful Earth, I commenced scanning the little grassy area to and fro. With the bucket No. 10 I stopped counting. The funds were not spectacular. And my dog kept on finding delicacies of bony substance even after the mission was over.

Some neighbourhood kids were hanging around. I shyly lifted my head to greet them and carried on my humble venture. As it is proper for a solitary hero, I didn’t request help. Yet out of the blue comes one teenager, takes his jacket off and eagerly starts piling all the trimmed grape vines. Later, his friend shows up and adds to the company. The professor living across the street (the only person I had earlier observed cleaning somebody else’s mess) joins the crowd as well. Now we attract not just the looks, but even the comments of the passer-by’s. Eventually even a local “bad boy,” who doesn’t do much throughout the day except for lingering and the selected corners of our block, grabs the shovel and gets to work.

I left smiling. Looking from our window, the square doesn’t seem any cleaner, yet unsolicited help made my day. I should venture out more often.

August Newsletter

2009-10-22T16:31:00.005+02:00

Sorry it took us so long to post this online!

A Tree or Not a Tree?

2009-08-20T19:36:00.005+02:00

They go by mules (enjoy the thistles, buddy!)

The mules go by packs

The stronger ones carry the logs

And no tree can resist a chainsaw

But can a sign "Holy Forest" do the trick? (As it did for this oak grove.)

Welcome to Mashkullore

2009-08-20T18:48:00.035+02:00

Mashkullore in Albanian - masculine

The town on the road to a UNESCO heritage city of Gjirokaster tells more about the Albanian culture than you can imagine! Literary descriptions aside, let me share a few observations. Some weeks ago, passing by a posh new outdoors cafe in down-town Korce, I counted the customers. Roughly 50. Not a single woman. Not an uncommon view. (Korca has only one waitress.)

Woman at home, man at a club. A friend talks about the flat that her son (4 years old) is to inherit. Her 14 year old daughter didn't make it to the list of the heirs.

Since the toddler years, the girls are being taught to serve; the boys are being taught to be served.

A pregnant unmarried girl risks to be kicked out of the house and never accepted into the family again. Who would think there was also an impregnator involved?

Never in my entire life had I seen such crowds of guys going for walks down the boulevard! They certainly outnumber the girls.

Teenage girls don't go for an ice-cream without their parents' permission. Teenage boys are safe to wander out and about as they please.

Abused wives are not welcomed to return to their parent's homes - divorce is a shame and the wife is always the guilty one.

Welcome to Mashkullore!

(I am not a feminist. And certainly there are many exceptions! But if you try to tell me my observations are untrue, you'll risk to achieve the opposite effect.)

In & Out

2009-08-18T19:15:00.003+02:00

The other day, coming back from a day trip to Greece, we gave a ride to an Albanian policeman working at the border. During Enver Hoxha's (the communist dictator's) times he was a bee-keeper. Re-education followed the advance of democracy. From his lips we found out some interesting facts about immigration. Every time we go to Greece, we see big blue buses rushing towards the border, where they are being emptied. Apparently, illegal immigrants are kept in jail in Greece only until a bus fills up. And back in Albania, one is being brought to court only after three deportations. (The prisons would be overflowing, smirked the policeman.) So if you are to cross the border at night over the mountains, you should only worry about the possible bad mood of the Greek police - in case you do get caught, that is.

Visits & Visitors

2009-05-03T21:23:00.010+02:00

The spring winds brought busyness to the Mason family. The busyness called “people”. Those were interesting, merry, enriching and simply good times.

First, four men from Romania came our way. Sean’s college friend Chad, who’s been a missionary to Romania for 6 years, brought along his pastor and two other church leaders – to fulfil his old promise to visit Sean and to build some bridges between the two churches. Here in Korçe, they visited an asylum, donated some clothes to an orphanage, replaced me at the English class, at the Bible study taught us to serve God with what He’s given us, stayed at our house and phoned their wives day and night.

Soon afterwards we welcomed another five visitors – this time a team of youth leaders from Lithuania. Together with the church teenagers they showed a drama at the Easter service, hung out with the youth indoors and outdoors, cleaned an old lady’s house and helped yet another family with supplies to rebuild their burnt down bathroom, and encouraged our church members sharing their testimonies.

Last but not least, Sean and I decided to pay a return visit to the Romanians. Thus we packed our bags and flew over to spend a few days in Târgovişte (where Vlad the Impaler, the prototype of Drakula, had his stronghold). We shared at the Sunday morning and night church services, visited our friends and found some time to relax as well.

What fun, joy and privilege it is to share our faith with believers from other countries! It was a timely reminder that we are not alone in our fight for the Kingdom. We were refreshed by the visit of the serving Lithuanians and inspired by the dedicated Romanians. I believe the teams didn’t leave Albania empty-handed either. Everybody has gained something, everybody has grown a bit.

Let's Celebrate the Life and Hope We Have in Jesus

2009-04-19T21:41:00.001+02:00

April Newsletter

2009-04-06T16:02:00.011+02:00

click the images below to see the full version of the newsletter or to download:

The Road Less Travelled

2009-03-21T17:32:00.004+01:00

Albania is so beautiful, so breathtakingly beautiful, yet so hard to travel in! At least in our Subaru Outback… A month or so ago instead of the usual “highway” (it takes just under 4 hrs to cover 180 km) we took another road to Tirana – via Gramsh and Elbasan. Approximately the same 180 km took 6 hrs. Did we know that a road, marked as a major one on the map, isn’t paved? No! We gave a ride to a local town elder (he was on his one and a half hour long walk to the meeting) and found out that majority of the people from that area had moved to the bigger cities. Pretty likely this major road will remain unpaved.

As we drove, I kept on wondering whether the river down in the canyon is suitable for rafting, even if you’re super experienced. And whether we should have ridden our mountain bikes instead. Wait, we don’t have any mountain bikes! So I guess we won’t take that road again anytime soon. Shame, it was so gorgeous! (Did I mention the rocks falling down on the road?)

Come explore the untouched beauty of the land of eagles!

Where Did The Trees Go?

2009-03-21T16:46:00.003+01:00

I am not any sort of an environmentalist, but I love the nature. I try not to trash it, but I don’t plant any trees. Nevertheless, the thought has crossed my mind numerous times since I moved to Albania. Coming from a very green country of Lithuania (they taught us at school, that the forests comprise 30%), I take greenery for granted. Thus my eye searches for it even in the rocky terrain of Albania.

Leaving the climatic and geological considerations aside (I cannot boast much knowledge here anyways), it is obvious that some of the tall greenery is gone. But where and how? So far, I could pinpoint two reasons. One is of human origin, the other one is of worm origin.

First, people mercilessly hack trees for firewood. Most households, us included, use firewood for heating. I don’t think it’s much fun to spend a whole day deep in the mountains for a mule-load of firewood. But what can one do? Unemployment is soaring, and winters are cold. So here I started thinking of some sort of reforestation programme.

Second, people have cut a lot of trees during the Communist times to expand their fields. Agriculture in Albania can be tricky – 70% of the country is rugged mountains. But the communists had their own ways, and all over Albania you will see terraced mountain slopes (now I wonder, did Enver Hoxha learn from Mao experts or vice versa?). Fair enough. One needs to grow his own food when the country is surrounded by an iron wall of ideology.

I cannot be angry with the people, as I consider these two reasons economical. But I can surely be angry with the second destroyer of the trees - the Thaumetopoea pityocampa parasites (or pine processionary caterpillars; some knowledgeable people have written about pretty stunning behaviour of this pest) that build silvery nests in the few remaining pine trees, happily feed on them and finally destroy them. After a little bit of research I found out, that various species of insects can destroy the pest. Or the trees can be sprayed. But I have also read that the governments in the Mediterranean region have spent millions on fighting these bugs and the results have not been as satisfactory as expected. So here I started thinking of some sort of “good insect” raising and releasing programme.

While I keep on thinking, the forests in Albania keep on shrinking.

Life Just Around the Corner

2009-02-02T14:11:00.002+01:00

In the very south of Albania, on the coast of the azure Ionian Sea, stretches the beautiful town of Sarande. During summertime, the city bursts with tourists. Yet few venture beyond the tall newly built hotels and alluring beaches. However, the begging children on the streets remain a palpable reminder of another, perhaps less decorated and sparkly reality that exists just next door.

The road through the Cuka village is dirty and bumpy. An abandoned bus marks the end of the suburb. Unsurprisingly it serves as a playground for a bunch of Gypsy kids. As the car of church aid workers pulls up, they come out running and shouting, smiles adorning their precious little faces.

An extended family of forty or so Gypsies lives in the village. As the little ones grow up, life doesn’t seem to bring many changes. At first sight, the community seems to be entrapped by the merciless laws of poverty and ostracization. Sadly, Albanian society commonly nourishes racist beliefs. The Caucasian majority more often than not considers itself of “more noble blood” (echoing notions that less than a century ago brought much misery to the whole Europe) and unscrupulously looks down on the darker skinned Gypsies. Unfortunately, segregation starts from an early age; children are ridiculed in the public schools, thus the parents often pull them out and entrust them to “street school.” Unable to receive education, later on in life they struggle to find a vocation in a country where jobs are not readily available. Without a job and with a family to feed, alternative sources of income are being sought, such as sending children to beg on the streets. And more children are being born into the cycle of destitution. One can only wonder – is there a way to break the clutches of poverty?

There are a handful of faithful Albanians and expatriates who have been faithfully visiting Cuka and implementing educational and aid programmes. It would be easy to get frustrated when an irresponsible father sells a donated stove for booze; it would be natural to get disappointed when the people request prescription after prescription to be filled in order to get unneeded medications; it would be natural to quit when today appears to be exactly like yesterday, yet they persevere.

Saranda is in no way unique – most cities in the world have poor neighbourhoods. The question is whether we dare to look at what’s just around the corner.

A 1000 or A 100?

2009-01-01T12:50:00.003+01:00

When I first came to Albania, I was warned not to be deceived when shopping at the market - they might tell you a kilo of grapes costs 1000 lek, but actually it is only 100 lek. The Albanians still talk the "old lek", I was told. Naturally it takes time to get used to the new kind of money after revaluation of a currency and crossing off of a zero at the end, I thought. The same happened in Lithuania at the dawn of independence in the 90s. Just one minor detail: the lek was revalued in 1965. Surprisingly, even those born after the 60's also talk about the prices using old lek. They truly uniquely stick to their old ways! Sounds confusing to a foreign ear? I heard a story of an Albanian lady, who mistakenly thought the coffee at a nice resort restaurant was ten times more expensive and therefore was warding off the potential customers! Yet the explanation "new or old lek" is most often omitted. Why bother?

Seasons Greetings With A Snowy View From Our Balcony

2008-12-28T17:00:00.002+01:00

Ancient Wisdom

2008-11-28T10:18:00.004+01:00

A few weeks ago, on our way back from the mountains we passed a man carrying a hedgehog over his shoulder. And we learnt that a cooked hedgehog's meat helps heal the rheumatism. Invaluable.

Happy Independence Day(s), Albania!

2008-11-27T21:59:00.004+01:00

As it happens with many small countries, Albania has several days to commemorate the end of an oppressive regime. However, due to historical disputes, only one day of due celebration might remain.

Albania had been occupied and plundered by neighbours from near and far throughout most of its history; the occupation of then Illyrian lands by the Roman Empire was followed by the invasions of barbarians and Slavs, and a half millennium of Ottoman rule. But for a brief period in 1400s, the Albanians did not enjoy freedom until 1912, when on November 28th they declared independence from the Ottoman Empire.

Many nations came and went during the soon to come World War I and later in the century during the World War II. Finally, in 1944, the Albanian partisans liberated the country from the nazis. (It is noteworthy that Albania was the only Eastern European country to drive out the nazis without Russia's help.) Once again, the freedom was gained on November 28th. Or was it November 29th?

For years, November 28th was celebrated as the Day of Independence and November 29th - as the Day of Liberation. However, a few years ago some started doubting the historic correctness of November 29th. Yet who could now tell with certainty when exactly the last German soldier crossed the border?

Leaving the disagreements and arguments aside, a unique conglomerate - November 28-29 - is being celebrated in a proper manner; flags with the two-headed eagle are flown, fireworks fired, and a well deserved holiday enjoyed. I say, the more days to celebrate, the better. Despite the many centuries of oppression, the Albanians preserved their unique language and culture, and that alone is worth good two days of festivities.

So Happy Independence Day(s), Albania! And may the liberty be enjoyed for many more years to come!

October 2008 Newsletter

2008-10-20T11:34:00.001+02:00

married and finally back in Albania!

2008-09-03T12:40:00.008+02:00

Hi Everyone!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Over the past 6+ months I have been away from Albania (the longest I have ever been away). But, as most of you know, there was a very good reason for my absence- I got married! The wedding was on June 28th, which happened to be the hottest day Oregon had seen in years. We prayed that it would not rain but never thought we would need to pray about the heat! I guess know we know to be more specific! Anyway, after a great wedding we had a wonderful honeymoon in Alaska. The tropical beaches of the Caribbean are nice and all, but we much more prefer the mountains and wilderness. After the honeymoon, we departed for Vita's homeland (Lithuania). There we had a small wedding party with her family and friends, changed her surname, got all her documents in order, purchased a vehicle and packed her belongings. Thankfully since she has been living on the mission field in recent years she doesn't own very much! We hit the road for Albania and after 3 days of driving, arrived here in Tirane late Sunday evening.

Tomorrow we will make the journey to our final destination in Korce. There we will begin the search for a home of our own (or apartment), and then begin to furnish it. As of now we have nothing but 2 sleeping bags and backpacking mattresses, so we figure they will get some use until we can find a bed. Oh, we even have a tent and a backpacking stove and pot.....so why do we need to look for a house?

We are both excited and happy to finally be here. We look forward to resume pastoring the church in Korce and working with our friends and "family" there to serve and love Southeastern Albania.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Muchlove,

Sean & Vita

p.s. We hope to have a more official newsletter out soon!

February Newsletter

2008-02-29T12:51:00.003+01:00

(NOTE: click on the images and you will be redirected to the Flickr website. Above each image click on "all sizes" and you will find the large image so you can more easily read the newsletter.)

july/august newsletter

2007-07-30T22:32:00.000+02:00

It is great to be back in Albania after my visit in the States. I just wish I had been able to visit with those of you that I wasn’t able to. My time in the States is always somewhat bitter sweet if not borderline strange. Allow me to attempt to explain. On one hand I long to be with my family and you and on the other hand I love being here in Albania. Being in Albania almost six years, it has definitely become a home for me. And with Albania becoming a home for me, I have in many ways adapted to a different way of life and culture and trying to switch between the two cultures is not always easy. Now that I am back in Albania it has taken a bit to get make into the “mode” of things. Now that I have been back for almost two months, things seem to be more or less back to normal. As normal as normal can be that is!

As most of you should remember, towards the beginning of the year, I was placed as the interim pastor of the church here in Korce. Initially I thought that in order to fully focus on leading the church I would stop my involvement in leading the Family Care project. Upon my return I found out that they had not yet hired another director to fill the position, thus I am still working with the project until they can find a replacement. This has meant that I have been quite busy catching up on reports and office work and have not been able to devote as much time as I would have liked to the church.

Pastoring has definitely been a huge challenge. I am realizing more and that we are all filled with problems and issues in life that we are dealing with, thus where any of “us” are there is usually challenges and for lack of a better word there is often drama! But that is part of life and part of leading people! I often do not feel adept for such a task, or am unsure how to go about things but I am confident that for however long I will be involved in leading this church God will give me the grace and wisdom needed. I truly have found a deep passion and love for the people and we have grown considerably close. I have seen great potential as well, and desiring to be purposeful in training new leaders within the church, I hope to give as many as possible, opportunity to serve and get involved. After all they are the ones who will be most effective in leading the church and reaching the community. I desire as well to see people worship and love Jesus in the most genuine and purest of intent as possible. I desire that we as the church become people who don’t just paint a nice “Christian” picture of our lives, but who live in a way that shows we are real people with real problems, hurts and pains while at the same time are passionate about loving Jesus and knowing Him more and loving others. I believe the world more than ever before needs to see Christians who are real and genuine people that they can relate to.

During the first couple weeks I was blessed to see several new faces come and join us for our Sunday worship service. The majority of these faces were ladies who are part of a new project associated with the church that reaches out to single mothers or mothers who have given their children up to social services. These ladies, most of who are very young, have been joining us on a regular basis and it has truly been amazing to see their desire for God grow. Last Sunday we didn’t have the usual transportation service that help many who live far away get to church. Two of these new ladies, walked over an hour just to come to service!

Please pray for the church. Pray that people would take responsibility and desire to get involved. Pray that leaders will be raised up. Pray for those of us who are currently leading will have God’s wisdom in doing so.

Please know that your support, prayers and belief in what I am involved in here in Albania is humbling and a huge blessing!

Much Love.

february newsletter

2007-02-14T12:35:00.000+01:00

Several months have passed since my last newsletter and so much has been changing!

In December, I was assigned as the interim pastor of our church in Korce, Emanuel Mission. Although I had been speaking in the church and helping lead on a regular basis, there was an increasing awareness among all of us leading, that someone needed to take the role as lead-pastor. Our continual hope and prayer is that an Albanian will eventually be placed as pastor of the church. In the meantime we are confident that this new season for the church is God’s plan. For me personally it is definitely a new season which I at look at humbly, fully realizing my need for God’s wisdom and direction. Please pray for us during this season!

Come March I will have fulfilled my one-year commitment directing the Family Care project. I have certainly loved working with the needy people throughout the Southeastern region and have learned a great deal during this past year. Since my responsibilities with the church have obviously risen significantly, I have decided to step down from directing the project. I plan to volunteer when I have time but feel I need to be free to focus more clearly on leading Emanuel Mission, as well as assisting with the needs of our other churches throughout Albania. Please pray that the Lord will send the right person to lead the project!

After spending a year in Albania I usually try to make it back to the States for a month or so to visit. It’s that time again! The decision to return to the States at this time was not an easy one, due to the fact that I am so fresh into leading the church in Korce. However, knowing that summer is fast approaching when we enter our busy season, I believe that March is the right time to visit family and friends who support me and the work here in Albania. I look forward to seeing you and sharing more about this past year!

Much Love!

september/october newsletter

2006-11-17T12:19:00.000+01:00

PRAYER UPDATE
Do you remember me asking you to pray for Violca, the widow with two children who is part of the Family Care
project I am involved in? Well, Violca with her children have been regularly joining us for Sunday church services,
our midweek Bible study and weekly women’s meetings. It has been great to watch her and her daughters becoming an active part in the church family here. A beautiful transformation has been seen in Violca and her daughters as they are finding true hope and joy in Christ. Thank you to those who committed to pray for them!

SUMMER IN BRIEF
This summer has been quite different from all the others I have spent in Albania. Now that I have moved here to Korce, my time is primarily focused on the church and ministry here, whereas in previous years I regularly helped all of our churches throughout the country. I have also been “learning the ropes” of leading the Family Care project. During the summer months we focus on the much needed house repairs for the families in the project.
I would like to share with you a special story of one particular family, which we started working with this summer. The mother, who is mentally ill, abandoned her 2 children because she no longer wanted to care for them. The father, because of the difficulty in finding employment, took a job as a shepherd and lives almost full time in the mountains, thus leaving the children to care for themselves. The son, Sokol (15 yrs old) and his sister, Vasilika (12 yrs old) were living in the remains of their burnt down house. Because of the severe abuse they endured from their sick mother, the children are now mentally ill themselves. They speak but a few words, and both were living in conditions and acting in ways most westerners would not wish for their pet dog. Through the help of a missions team from Holland, a wonderful work was done for this needy family.

They helped tear down the remains of the old house, the property was cleaned of enormous amounts of trash that surrounded it and the foundation for a new house was prepared. We then hired some workers and built a one-room house for the family, which is almost completed.

Vasilika (more ill than her brother) has since been accepted into a home for special needs children, which is run by Catholic nuns, where she will receive the special care and love she needs. The father will soon return from the mountains to live and care for his son, Sokol. More than all the physical work that was accomplished for this family, it was beautiful to see the spiritual and emotional work that took place with the children. When we arrived they were very closed and afraid to associate with people. They would shake, make noises like animals and behave bizarrely. In just about a week’s time they changed dramatically and began to calm down and respond with great joy to the love and care shown them. Sokol has changed so much; now each time we go and visit him it is like meeting an entirely new child! He leaps with joy and excitement when he sees us drive up in the vehicle. He is also more responsive and focused. Working with this family showed the awesome effect the love that Jesus places in our hearts can have on people. As Christians our command from Jesus is to love Him and love people. True and genuine love, which is birthed through a life of knowing Jesus Christ, changes people and brings healing.

The story doesn’t stop there! Members from our church (the majority of whom are poor and struggle themselves) have taken it upon themselves to care for this family. Each week members of the church take food and clothes and spend time with Sokol. This is what Christianity is about!

A DEEPER LOOK
It has been about six months since I moved here to Korce and it has been an awesome experience and time of learning. As is true with most new seasons or transitions in life, I have been faced with new challenges but also
with many newfound joys. In a practical sense, the work has been difficult, as I do not have much experience in leading or organizing such a project. In addition, constantly being surrounded by such great need can be quite emotionally draining. I have been learning to balance the high and low emotions involved in such work, and the importance of understanding when it is appropriate and how to respond to those emotions. On the other hand there is great joy and satisfaction in working with these needy people. I have a great passion for the poor and am thankful for this opportunity to reach out to a small portion of those here in the Korce region. I also have found great joy living with the Baraku Family. They have brought me in and shown me love as if I was one of the family, not to mention I get to eat great home cooked meals! They are my “Albanian” family. Preaching and teaching, although very challenging, have also been a great joy for me. Often when I speak, I am blessed by the positive response I get from the people. I am humbled to think that the King uses me as his instrument to impart His love and life to others!

The stories and tales of my experiences, challenges and joys will continue – and I hope that this short newsletter is an encouragement to you.

Thank you for your commitment to pray and support Albania Missions!

Much love!

misc. fotos from the project i am involved with

2006-06-30T16:50:00.000+02:00

MAY 2006 NEWSLETTER

2006-05-08T16:13:00.000+02:00

MAY 2006

What is your preferred sound or song to wake up to in the morning? Since 2001 I have been living in the predominately Muslim capital city of Tirane where the sounds of the Muslim call to prayer ring out over loudspeakers all over the city 5 times each day. You never really get used to hearing this call to prayer especially at sunrise each morning!

Now that I have moved to the predominately Orthodox city of Korce, I am delighted to wake up to the sound of church bells (and they don’t start as soon as the sun rises either!), although, they are quite loud, as they are literally about 50 feet away from my bedroom window (our house is located on the side of one of the major Orthodox churches in the city).

Upon returning to Albania in mid-March I immediately moved to Korce (located in southeast Albania) and began my new job as director of our church ministry that sponsors 200 of the “poorest of the poor” in the Korce region. Each day I visit many families, bringing them food, clothes and I PRAY a little more hope to live each day. Although this job has great joys and satisfaction, it has proven to be quite emotionally draining as well. It is not easy to visit these extremely poor families day in and day out and not be affected by their condition.

In just the short time that I have been involved with this ministry, there are numerous stories I could tell you. One in particular that has blessed me greatly is about a widow named Violca, and her two young daughters, Panorea and Blisena (see picture in blog post BELOW). Less than a year ago, Violca’s husband passed away. As I was visiting her and her daughters I asked if they go to church. She proceeded to explain to me that she and her family were Muslim but don’t practice it much. I explained to her about Jesus Christ and how our church was not just another “religious service,” but a place where she could come and be encouraged and find real hope and a reason to live. I invited them to church and to my surprise they have been coming for 2 weeks! Please PRAY for Violca that she will realize all that Jesus has done for her and that she will choose to live for Him and lead her children to Him.

Making the move to Korce has proven to be a great experience and new place of learning and training. In addition to leading this project I also am regularly involved in helping lead our church, the Emanuel Mission. I have joined 3 of the other church leaders and we each take a turn preaching once a month.

We just celebrated Easter, held one week after the date in which the West celebrates Easter (we follow the Orthodox calendar in Albania). We had the extreme joy of seeing 3 new people accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior! In Albania, choosing to follow Jesus is usually a very slow process, thus each time a person makes this decision it is an extremely treasured moment for us.

Please continue to PRAY for me in this time of adjustment and learning to work in a new area. PRAY that I will have wisdom to make proper decisions in regards to the project I am leading as well as wisdom in how to team-lead the church here!

Thanks to each of you for your commitment to Albania and the work I am involved in.

Much Love!

some pics from the project "family care" i am now involved with in Korce

2006-05-04T09:56:00.000+02:00

Rushan Doko and I. Rushan Doko and his wife live in a tiny single room house with no bathroom. He is literally one of the most loving thankful persons I have ever encountered, even though his has almost nothing and struggles to even feed himself and his wife. He says he loves the Bible and tries to read as much as possible but does not know how to read very well.

sometimes you just cant help yourself. the villagers love seeing a foreigner get on a horse, donkey or in this case a mule. we had and have many good laughs with the people we meet each day in our project. joy is a must. so many of the families we minister to in the Family Care Project suffer from great depression and stress. Village life is very hard in Albania.

The Hoxha brothers are great to spend time with. They are very poor and physically ill but each time we visit with them a great time is had and we all are encouraged. The Hoxha brothers only income is by making the brooms you see in this picture and selling them in the city. They literally don't make more than 3-400$ per year.

Violca, and her two young daughters, Panorea and Blisena. You can read her story in the newsletter posted ABOVE!

the great return (march newsletter)

2006-03-02T07:57:00.000+01:00

MARCH 2006

After an amazing Christmas with my family and lots of traveling, I am now preparing to return to Albania. I would like to share with you where God is leading me in this next season of my service in Albania as well as some of the goals and plans for the future.

My prayer is that you will join me with your prayers and support in this journey of following God as He leads me in a new area of love and service to the Albanian people.

A TIME OF TRANSITION & TRUST

Beginning in March I will be moving from the bustling capital city of Tirane to a small mountain town in Southeastern Albania known as Korce. Korce is home to one of our churches (Mission Emanuel) as well as our Christian radio station (Radio Emanuel).

I have been asked to direct a ministry of the church known as “Family Care.” This project is a social ministry reaching out to the poorest of the poor in the Korce region. Currently this ministry sponsors 200 families. Apart from the business duties of managing the ministry’s finances, seeking for new sponsors as well as families to be sponsored, my job will be to visit the families in the project on a regular basis, bringing them much needed food and clothes as well as simply coming to visit them and lend them a listening ear, a prayer, a hug, or much needed friendship. So many of the people in this project live in isolated villages or have children or family members who are handicapped or ill and very often are in need of not just practical help but someone to show them they are loved and not forgotten.

Directing this project is an answer to prayer for me. I have been praying that God would bring me into a place of more focused ministry within one church or area. This sort of social ministry has always been a passion of mine and I look forward to loving
and serving this particular people who are in great need.

In addition to directing the Family Care ministry, I will help lead the Mission Emanuel Church in Korce. The church is still without
a full-time pastor, thus I will be there helping to train leaders within the church. The Korce church’s sister church, located 45 minutes away in Erseke, is also going through a time of pastoral transition. The Erseke Church is in a very small isolated village and the pastor and church members are in need of much encouragement and are very hungry to be mentored and trained. I look forward to being able to serve the Erseke church as well and help lead them.

As I venture into this new season, a lot of which is still unclear and unknown, I am filled with much excitement and anticipation for what is ahead. I covet your prayers for confidence, trust, clarity and wisdom to lead and go about these new challenges.

THE FUTURE

Talking about the future is difficult for me as it often is unclear and changing. Let me share with you a bit of what is brewing in my heart. I have been serving in Albania for 4+ years now and I believe this last year was a major turning point in my service there. Over the past 4 years I have been involved in a wide array of ministries, which has allowed me to get to know all the people who are associated with the Stephen Center and its ministries as well as the Albanian culture and language overall. In the past I have committed on a year-by-year basis which I believe has not allowed me to fully commit myself due to the fact that as the end of each year would approach my mindset would switch to trying to figure out where I was headed next, Albania or not, rather than pressing on with the commitment a long term vision/goal brings. Thus, I believe not only for my own sake but also for those I work with, I need to commit to a longer term. I believe the investment I have made in Albania thus far is a very significant one and that God is calling me to trust Him on a deeper level by committing to Albania long-term. I am not sure if that means for another 5 years, 10 years or a lifetime, but I can say I am committed to Albania and to trust God to lead me. I believe also that God is positioning me in a place to better focus on all of our Albanian churches for the purpose of assisting these pastors to better raise up leadership within their churches.

I am excited for the future and I hope you are as well! I thank each of you for your awesome support and commitment to reach out to the country of Albania with me! I pray you will understand your importance in this ministry!

Much Love,
Sean

november newsletter

2005-11-07T12:01:00.000+01:00

In this newsletter I would like to share with you some things that I’ve recently been learning, and been challenged with spiritually. My hope is that you will be challenged to reflect on these things and how they affect your own life so that you would be drawn into a deeper love and passion for Jesus Christ.

I am being challenged to fully depend and believe what God says in the Bible—to hang my very life on it; also to believe that God is truly God, that His ways are far above my ways and that He is far greater than I can perceive or imagine. He wants to work on my behalf and be so much more involved in my life than I can ever imagine and will do so, if I will simply TRUST Him and have FAITH in Him. He doesn’t think or act in the same manner that I do. He is not motivated by selfishness. He is not capricious. I often think my perception of God is colored by my negative experiences with people; thus I wrongly assume that God will act or relate to me in a similar way. However, God can be trusted and what He says in the Bible is to be believed and lived out.

I have also been challenged in the area of giving more of myself, time, and finances to others. I am blessed to see how God has provided for my needs, especially since I began ministering in Albania. Regardless, I am being challenged to give more, and to give not just “within my ability” or to the point where I still have a financial “safety cushion,” but to give whenever there is a need to the point that it causes me to rely fully on God’s provision. It is so easy to give when assured that it will not have a great impact on my financial status, but I must give out of obedience, believing God to provide.

This issue of giving relates directly to my trust in God. Do I trust God to provide for my every need? When I truly believe what God says in the Bible, I can give without reservation because I am confident He will fulfill His word. My desire is to not just say I believe and trust God, but to live in a way that shows that faith and trust that is genuine and strong and that makes a difference in my life and the lives of others.

To explain everything I am learning and to make myself fully understood would take many pages of writing. Here are some of the Bible verses that blessed me; I hope they will bless you also and bring more clarity: Book of Job; Proverbs 3:9-10; Isaiah 29:13-14; Isaiah 55:8-9; Malachi 3:10; Mark 12:41-44; Luke 6:35; Luke 12:22-34; John 10:10; Romans 12:10-12; 2 Cor. 9:6-8; Ephesians 1:15-23; Colossians 4:2; Hebrews 10:23; James 2:8, 5:16.

THE FAST APPROACHING NEW YEAR

This year I have decided to return to the States for the Christmas season. My brother Miles, who many of you know has been stationed in Iraq with the US Army over the past two years, as well as my other brother and his family who live in California, will all be coming to Oregon so we can spend Christmas together as an entire family—this will be a first in a very long time! Although I was home at the end of May to attend Foursquare Convention, I was not able to visit the majority of my friends, family and supporters. I look forward to spending a couple of months visiting you who I haven’t seen in over a year and a half.

While in the States I also plan to raise financial support for my continued service in Albania. Would you consider continuing your support even during the months that I am back in the US? I more or less live on a month-to-month financial basis, so making such a trip, although essential, can be quite difficult.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Muchlove

Sean

british team to erseke - september 2005

2005-09-27T17:46:00.000+02:00

On September 12, the U.K. Foursquare National leader, Kenn Baird, along with 5 other men and youth from the church he pastors, came to serve our church in the small town of Erseke. I drove the group of guys down to Erseke and for about one week they served the church and community in many ways. Erseke is a small town with a population of about 5000. Our church there is small in number as well, but its members are extremely loving and very passionate about showing their community and the surrounding villages with the love of Jesus Christ.
I highly anticipated this groups coming to serve the church because prior to this groups arrival, no short-term missions team has come to Albania to specifically serve and work with the church in Erseke. Often when a church is small in number the people can feel inferior to other churches or may often feel like they are overlooked. The team that came from England purposed to bless the people and serve them in anyway possible; I can confidently say they did much more for the church then I think any of us expected. The people of the church were very encouraged that a group of people would come all the way from England and give of their time, money and energy to bless them.
In addition to the various activities the team were involved in, they blessed the church with 2 brand new guitars (one of which the church decided to gift our church in Erseke), overhead projector, printer, and a significant amount of financial support for the pastor, church youth group as well as funds to be used specifically for poor families within the church who are struggling to support themselves. The fact that the team was able to give so much blessed tremendously both the church in Erseke and the team itself. The team comes from an area in England where unemployment is very high and a majority of the people have very low income. Because of this, their church in England does not have a lot of money to spare. The team continually spoke of God's faithfulness to provide more then any of them ever imagined. Through this teams coming, God's blessing and provision was seen in a major way and proclaimed from Hastings, England all the way to Erseke, Albania!
Below you will see some pictures from the time we spent in Erseke as well as some short descriptions of what we were involved in.

PAINTING THE CHURCH BUILDING

This was a great time when both the team and members of the church could work together and be encouraged by one anothers company.

CLEANING AND PAINTING ONE OF THE HOME OF ONE OF THE CITIES POOR FAMILIES
A very special day was spent cleaning and painting one of the poorest families in the town of Erseke. This poor family (a couple and their 15 year old son) lives in undescribably poor condidions. The father, which was not present when we visited, makes about $80 salary per month for the entire family to live on. Both the mother and father are mentally disabled, thus leaving an unhealthy situation for their son to be raised up in. Besides cleaning and painting there house, new kitchen ware was given to the family as well as a new bed and matress for the mother and father. We are working on getting a bicycle for the boy as well as getting him back into school. It was great to see the joy that a simple act of love brought this mother and son while we were there.

VILLAGE EVANGELISM
The church in Erseke for many years has been holding Bible studies and bringing aid to a small villaged called Taq which is located just a few minutes out of town. This particular day the team from England along with members of the church visited many families, delivering books for the children, Bibles for those who wanted them, as well as praying for those who wanted prayer. One girl made the decision to begin living her life for Jesus Christ and many other people heard of Jesus' love for them!

GUITAR LESSONS AND COMPUTER REPAIR/TRAINING
Jason, a very talented guitar player, had the opportunity to spend time teaching one of the boys (Ervin) who is one of the musicians on the churches worship team.
Two other guys from the team helped repair the church computers as well as taught a few computer courses to some of the youth of the community.

TRAINING FOR CHURCH LEADERSHIP
Pastor Kenn has many years of working with and training other pastors. The leadership of the the church had a great time of learning leadership principles from him as well as times of question and answer.

SUNDAY CHURCH SERVICES
For Sunday's church service, the team split up sending 3 of its members to our church in Korce, which is about 1 hour away, where one preached and the other two shared testimonies. The other 3 team members stayed in Erseke and led part of the worship time, shared testimonies and Pastor Kenn spoke for the main message time. It was beautiful to hear worship to the King being sung in two languages simultaneously! Below are some pics from the service in Erseke:

EVENINGS OF FUN AND FRIENDSHIP WITH THE CHURCH MEMBERS
Two very large parts of Albania culture is food and dancing. The team from England on two evenings joined members of the church for full-on Albanian cuisine and cultural dancing. I got my Albanian dance on a little bit as well!

INTERVIEW AT RADIO EMANUEL
As many of you already know, our church in Korce runs a Christian radio station which broadcasts to the entire region of Korce (which includes the town of Erseke) which has an estimated population of about 275,000. The team from england shared their personal testimonies of how they each came to decide to live their lives for Jesus, as well as shared about their time spent in Erseke, and their thoughts about Albania.

VARIOUS PICS FROM ERSEKE

summer camp - august 2005

2005-09-08T20:29:00.000+02:00

In August Bledi (works at the Stephen Center, I teach him English, hopefully you remember who he is...) and I cruised down south to join our Tirane church for their youth summer camp. It was Bledi's first time leaving the Tirane region more or less. So brilliant it was to see his reaction to seeing and enjoying a part of his country he had never seen before. Bledi and I spent about 6 days at the 10-day camp. The day after we returned back to Tirane from camp, Bledi told me the entire trip was like a dream for him. I was really stoked to enjoy this experience with him and see him so happy. Bledi has recently made the decision to put his faith in Jesus Christ. This camp was not only lots of fun, but a time that Bledi was introduced to guys his age who also have decided to live their lives for Jesus Christ.

Here are some pics from camp....enjoy!

this is me and some of the boys from our tirane church. good times and laughs are always had.

is a caption needed?

myself, bledi and andi with the other kids from camp on a fishing boat heading to a nearby beach which is home of one of the most beautiful canyons in Albania (in my opinion).

the boat

redi, arti, sean

the canyon - gjipe, albania

bledi and i in the canyon. every time we travel to the canyon in gjipe we make the adventure of climbing up through the canyon.

On our way back from camp, Bledi and I along with two other friends stopped in the outskirts of the city of vlore. We swam at the private beach of the villa of former dictator Enver Hoxha.

bledi with the city of vlore in the background

bledi and i

bledi

bledi, noel, drini and i

summer in albania

2005-07-25T17:54:00.000+02:00

I was anticipating a non-stop summer and since I have returned from the USA and that is exactly how it has been. In just over one month we have already had 4 different missions teams visit Albania.

Take a look...

MEDICAL/DENTAL TEAM- FRESNO, USA

The first of those teams was a medical/dental team from Valley Christian Center in Fresno, California. This team came to minister primarily to the handicap community here in Tirane. For approximately a week the dental team worked on teeth and the medical team helped to better equip a local handicapped center with equipment as well as consulted with families and individuals in better assisting handicapped persons in daily living. The medical team also fitted many people with new wheelchairs and other aid. For a couple of days towards the end of their time in Albania, the dental team, lead by Dr. K.O. Crosby, served the people of our church in Sarande. For many years K.O. has been bringing dental teams to work in Sarande. Both teams brought many smiles and much joy to the people they worked with.

YOUTH TEAM- FRESNO, USA

As the medical/dental team was departing, a team of 20 youth from the same church arrived to join our Tirane church youth for a 10 day summer camp. The 20 youth each shared testimonies and/or messages during the various daily meetings as well as helped to lead the times of worship. All the youth enjoyed a great time of fun and frienship.

Today's youth all over the world have so many things vying for their attention, time and energy, not to mention they are living amongst a generation in which it is not popular to be a Christian. We have seen these summer camps to be a time of great encouragement for both the Albananian youth as well as the foreign youth teams that come to join them. It is a time when they are encouraged to press on in their faith and a time when they realize they are all together facing similar temptations and challenges.

In this particular camp alone 15 youth accepted Jesus and 12 of them were baptised.

RADIO SPECIALISTS- N. CALIFORNIA, USA
Almost at the same time that the youth team arrived, a team of radio professionals also arrived to work in our Christian Radio station in the city of Korce. Over a period of 3 weeks this team increased the radio's transmitting strength and built a larger antenna tower which in turn expanded our radio coverage extensively. In addition to these major equipment upgrades, many in-studio upgrades took place as well as various additional training for the radio station staff. The staff of the radio is very eager to learn more as well as see the radio station grow and increase in effectiveness. Times like these when extremely gifted professionals come to invest time, money and their expertise is invaluable to us and the radio.

YOUTH TEAM- GORICHEM, HOLLAND

Just a few days ago another youth team, this time from Holland just finished their 10 day missions trip where they worked with our church in Sarande, the local orphanage there and our gypsy church in Cuka (a village near Sarande). Magdalena (the former missionary/pastor of the Sarande church) and I helped drive and lead this team during their time in the Sarande area. They were involved in helping one particularly poor gypsy family with home repair and the painting of their house as well as money to pay for the memorial of their son who was just murdered. This act of love brought great joy to the family in during this hard time. The team also painted the church building in Cuka, held children's activities and programs and lead the weekly church service there as well. The team lead the church services at the Sarande church as well. They also spent a day at the local orphanage playing games with the children, performing various dramas and puppet shows and singing songs with the children. Probably the most amazing impact the team had was on the gypsy people in Cuka. To have foreigners come from abroad just to spend time with them, play games with their children and help them out where possible, speaks much louder than mere words. Seeing the smiles on the people's faces and seeing how they responded to the team proves the importance of what the team did.

So that is how our summer has been thus far. We have 2 more teams scheduled to come and 1 individual whom will be coming to serve with us for 3 months. In the midst of the various teams, our Albanian churches having different summer activities, mainly summer camps, which are a major way the church reach the youth of their communities.

PRAY
Please continue to PRAY for the upcoming summer activities. PRAY for the strength of those people leading and organizing the various teams and activies. PRAY also for the teams that they would not only be blessed themselves but that God would work through them in a powerful way to bless the Albanian people. PRAY also for all the Albanians who will be involved in these activities or in contact with the teams. PRAY for the existing Christians to have a greater passion and strength to persevere during difficult times spiritually. PRAY also for non-Christians that they will encounter and be open to the life-changing love of Jesus through these various summer activities!

a visit to the USA without seeing the family.... not possible

2005-07-25T15:36:00.000+02:00

me, my brother jay with his daughter Anna, and my brother Miles

Prior to convention in Chicago I made a short detour to Oregon to visit the family and friends there. After all, how could I return to the States and not visit the family? Unfortunately time did not allow for me to see all my family (those in California as well as my sister Corrine who was away) but the time I did spend with my family in Oregon was splendid. I had the opportunity to see my niece, Anna, who for whatever reason will not stop growing while I am away. While I was visiting, she began taking her first few steps on her own! I also was blessed to be able to spend a couple days with my brother Miles. Because he is in the military, we thought he would be deployed back to Iraq before I got into Oregon, but thankfully they delayed his departure date and he was able to visit us! It was the first time I had seen him in about 4 or so years, so we most definitely had a great time together.

an unexpected visit to the homeland

2005-07-25T14:35:00.000+02:00

During the end of May and first part of June I was blessed to be able to return to the USA. The primary purpose of my trip to the USA was to attend the International Foursquare Convention in the "windy city" otherwise known as Chicago. Foursquare Missions International blessed me and many of the other missionaries from around the globe by paying our way to attend.

The few days prior to the start of Convention, the Foursquare missionaries had meetings together. This was a time for the missionaries to get to know one another as well as to help strategize for the future. It was a pleasure for me to meet many of the missionaries I have never met before and to make new friendships. I was blessed to see several young people like myself joining the mission-field.

Convention was an amazing time of refreshment for me personally. I value the times I can worship in the English language! I also had the privelege of listening to many great speakers and attend valuable worshops. To be quite honest, most the time, from my experience, conventions of the sort are more for visiting the city in which they are held then for the convention itself. That is not the case with this convention. I personally and what appeared to be the vast majority of the attendees had an amazing time of encouragement and worship in the presence of God!

Besides a great convention, rest and visiting the great city of the Chicago, one of the best parts for me was my reunion with old friends. I had the opportunity to meet and spend time with many friends whom I have not seen since I graduated from LIFE Bible College in 2000. It is truly amazing to see the many places in the US and around the world God has taken myself and those friends I went to college with.

I am so thankful I was given this opportunity!

Sofia, Bulgaria

2005-04-20T19:07:00.000+02:00

SOME OF OUR ALBANIAN CHURCH LEADERS WITH MAGDALENA WORSHIPPING DURING ONE OF THE CONFERENCE SESSIONS
from left: Bedro - Sarande church leader; Nedo - Sarande church leader; Magdalena - missionary to Albania from Malaysia; Lindita - Erseke church leader; Mariela - Korce church leader.

TOUR OF SOFIA
Chris Dakas (our director), Matt Firman (on a short term missions trip to Albania from the US), myself along with the rest of our group from Albania (mentioned in the picture above) were able to take a day to tour together the capital city of Bulgaria, Sofia.

April 7-12, I had the privelage of driving a group of our Albanian church leaders and missionaries to Sofia Bulgaria for our denominations (Foursquare) European conference. There were 8 of us total which included 4 missionaries and 4 Albanian leaders. Unfortunately none of our male leaders were able to attend the conference because of previous committments in their churches and work. Those of us who did attend had a very encouraging and restful trip. Taking our Albanian leaders to such conferences as this is always such a valuable time as they get are encouraged by and worship together with Christians from countries in Europe. For us missionaries it is also a very valuable time as we get to worship in ENGLISH and meet with the other missionaries working throughout Europe as well as church leaders. Not only are great friendship made, but also plans and strategies for helping eachother reach Europe more effectively with the love of Jesus.

Easter Sunday

2005-04-02T23:29:00.000+02:00

Mohamet (left) & Lefter with grandaughter Sara

Easter morning we spent with the children of the Sarande church. Each Sunday chilren's church is in the morning and the adult/youth church is in the evening. It was splendid to be with the children of the Sarande church again. Last time I visited Sarande was with a Dutch missions team last July, so spending Easter morning with the children was great. I love to watch children worship and sing.
Easter evening we had a great church service. Chris Dakas shared the message and afterwards we all had a time of fellowship. Above you can see some pictures from that time.

the night before Easter

2005-04-02T23:01:00.000+02:00

I was blessed to spend Easter with our church in the Southern Albanian town of Sarande. Chris (our director) and I travelled down together for the weekend and shared an excellent Easter service with the people there. The evening (Saturday) before Easter Sunday all the men of the church gathered together for a time of fellowship. This was a very special meeting and for the church in Sarande, evidence of some very healthy growth. In Albania, it is quite difficult for Albanian men to express their faith. From what I have seen, Chrisitianity is often perceived by males as something for women or the weak. During this men's meeting two men from the church shared brief messages and testimonies with the other men. These two men, Mohamet and Lefter, are the husbands of two women in the church who have over the years been two of the main leaders of the church. Since Mohamet and Lefter have become Christians just recently they have been actively getting more involved in church. As we watched them both speak at this mens meeting there was something very special and encouraging to see Albanian men sharing their personal experiences with Christ with other Albanian men. We believe that Mohamet and Lefter will become strong leaders in the church and hope that one day one of them will become the head pastor of the Sarande Church.

f.y.i.

2005-03-25T17:57:00.000+01:00

I know some of you have been wondering when I will be returning back to the States. Last time I was home was July of 2004. Although I miss you all much, especially my 3 nieces, whom I am somehow supposed to watch grow up via pictures sent by email, my return to the States will still not be for a while. Usually I try to return home after one full year here in Albania. Being that July 2004 to July 2005 falls right in our busy season, I do not plan to return to the States until November or December-ish.

Many thanks to all of you for your continued support both in prayers, finances and encouraging words. As each year passes here in Albania its sometimes hard to believe I have made it here this long! I suppose like anywhere there are highs and lows, but I can truly say its a blessing to be here and a definite growing experience. Thanks for making my time here possible!

preparing for a busy summer season

2005-03-25T17:36:00.000+01:00

Much like every other year we are preparing for a busy summer here in Albania. Since my last post (mid-February) I have been here in Tirane working at the Stephen Center. Because summer is quickly approaching I have been busy preparing for many short-term missions teams that we will be hosting here in Albania during the the months of June-August. We will have several teams coming from the USA, a team from Holland, one from the U.K., and various individuals from the USA and other places. These teams each have various skills and abilities; some teams will be working solely with children, while others will come to help with summer camps, run dental clinics, assist with various construction projects, etc. We always value the time that teams come to serve in Albania as for the majority they have proven to be a great encouragement to both the Albanians and the people part of the teams themselves.

PLEASE BE PRAYING FOR THESE TEAMS & INDIVIDUALS AS THEY COME TO BLESS THE PEOPLE IN ALBANIA.

*PRAY THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO RAISE THE FINANCES AND RESOURCES NEEDED TO COME.

*PRAY THAT AS TEAMS COME THAT THE PEOPLE HERE IN ALBANIA THEY WILL BE WORKING WITH WILL BE BLESSED, ENCOURAGED AND UNDERSTAND MORE OF GOD'S LOVE FOR THEM AND THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE HE DESIRES THEM TO ACCEPT.

*PRAY THAT THE TEAMS THEMSELVES WOULD BE BLESSED AND ENCOURAGED THROUGH THEIR TIME SERVED HERE IN ALBANIA

Winter in Korce, Albania

2005-02-17T00:14:00.000+01:00

I thought you would enjoy some scenary from the Korce area.

Loving Albania's Poor...

2005-02-16T22:28:00.000+01:00

Over the past 2 weeks or so, I had the blessing of returning again to visit and serve at our church and radio station in the South Eastern city of Korce. A lot of the time I spent in Korce was with a project the church in Korce is involved in which they call "Family Care." Family Care is a ministry desiring to show love and care for the many poor in the city. Because there are so many poor in Korce, this project attempts to reach to the poorest of the poor, those whose needs are most pressing. Currently the project supports 100 families. Every month each family is visited and brought food and clothing, a Bible and a small solar-powered radio fix-tuned to our Christian radio station, Radio Emanuel. The reason as to why these people are so poor varies, some are sick, some widowed, others are handicapped or minorities or just not able to find work for one reason or another. Regardless of the reason, the Emanuel Mission church in Korce is on a mission to encourage and show the love of Jesus to those who need it most in their city. Above you can see pictures of some of the families I was blessed to be able to visit during my time in Korce. It brought us joy to see families and individuals filled with joy and encouragement when we would simply visit them in their homes and spend time with them. So often during our visits we would have opportunity to pray with the people and share with them about Jesus' love for them.

Please pray for this project and each family supported by it. Pray for continued resources and people to join and reach more of Korce's poor.

new year's dinner with the baraku family in korce

2005-01-25T15:21:00.000+01:00

For both Christmas and New Year, I was blessed to be able to be with the Baraku family and our church in the city of Korce. In this picture from the front moving clockwise are: Mariela (mom), Tani (son), Mondi (brother of Efti), Sean (me), Kristiana (daughter) and Efti (Tani's fiancee). For the past several months I have been travelling almost every weekend to help pastor their church. I always love being with the Baraku family so it was a very enjoyable time for me but also a challenging time as I was stretched to do something (preach) that I haven't much experience in. I believe we were all blessed through the time we spent together.

Currently another American missionary is helping pastor the Korce church and will be serving there for the next few months. In the meantime I am back here at the Stephen Center in Tirane.

christmas albanian style

2005-01-25T14:39:00.000+01:00

This is a picture of Bledi and I after we had returned from his village where we purchased some fresh live turkeys for Christmas dinner. Bledi is our day-time guard/parking assistant here at the Stephen Center. About one month ago I began teaching Bledi English. It has been a great time where he has not only been learning English but I have been learning more Albanian. Bledi is very open to learn about Christianity. We have had several great conversation about Jesus and recently I had the opportunity to give Bledi an Albanian Bible as well as a childrens Bible that is in both English and Albanian languages which will help him to not only learn the Bible but learn English at the same time. Please continue to pray that Bledi will understand Jesus' love for him and will choose to live his life for Him.