It was a joy to be together with around 35 people from several different towns in the south of Albania for a seminar for those working with people with different abilities.
In Albania those with different abilities are often mocked, judged and neglected. Social workers, psychologists and other health care professionals often fail to diagnose people properly and are passive towards them.
If things are to change, change must begin in the church. That is why the AEP’s (Albanian Encouragement Project) forum for disabilities has organising seminars for pastors and believers who are either involved in this kind of ministry or who would like to. The first was near Durres in March whereas this seminar was for people in the south east of Albania.
Discussion groups
We began the day looking at a Biblical theology of disability to see what the Bible really says about disabilities. Then we looked at how to integrate people with different abilities in our churches. We saw how our teams are to work and received some excellent advice about how to begin a ministry with those with different abilities. We also looked at the worldview of people with different abilities so that we might understand them better.
David Kerchmer of ECM sharing about how people of different abilities perceive things.
The key takeaway from the day was that the greatest need of people with disabilities is salvation. We might feed them, care for them and help them to integrate into everyday life but without salvation all this is worthless.
Niko Hamzallari
One particularly moving moment was when Niko Hamzallari shared his testimony about how he became a Christian having gone blind. His experience in the church in Erseke was so helpful for us to understand not only how to reach people with disabilities but also how to serve with them when they become believers.
There were so many questions and requests for help. Please pray that the working group behind this forum would have wisdom as to what to do next. Pray that a genuine network might be created around the country between those who work in this ministry. Pray too that the website that has been launched to help resource the Albanian church would be useful and be much used.
For the last three weeks Doreta and Lidia have been in Embu, Kenya, at the Angaza Bible School which is a branch of the Torchbearers Bible schools. It is for people from 18 to 25 years old. Angaza in Swahili means, “enlightenment” or “illumination.” What an apt name for a Bible school! Students come from not only Kenya but from Malawi and parts of the West for a month of intensive teaching and ministry experience.
Doreta has been on staff. She is leading a “family” group of female students together with Anne who has been one of the Kenyan students and who studied in Ersekë last year. These groups are aimed at helping the students not just to get to know each other better but to be able to share deeply with one another. She has organized practical work teams at the center where they are staying but her main role has been in an outreach team to the area around the Family Worship Church in Embu. This team has been sharing the gospel to anyone who will listen in the neighbourhood. Many of the young men that they have spoken to are hooked on “khat” a leaf that is chewed to produce the effects of a drug and is addictive. Doreta was able to purchase some Swahili New Testaments and has given out 15-20 so far. Please pray particularly for Gideon who has received a Testament and for whom Doreta has prayed (see photo). Pray that as the team of students and staff love, serve and spend time among the local community while sharing the gospel that there will be fruit. Pray for the members of the local church helping them. Pray that they will continue to follow up contacts and be willing to disciple any who become believers.
Pray particularly for young men from the Embu Rescue Center who are meeting at the Family Life church for teaching. All are addicted to glue and khat and are homeless. Some if not all will have been abused sexually. Pray for salvation, for freedom from addictions and for housing. Pray that these young men will become part of the local church.
Lidia has been a student during this time. She has been able to hear both Western and African teachers and has been part of another ministry team as well as being able to use her musical gifts in the times of singing and prayer at Bible school. She writes as follows about what she has learned from this experience:
To appreciate God’s full character and how sovereign He is.
To depend on God’s leading, one step at a time, even when it doesn’t look like the right direction.
To pour into other people, despite how long you spend with them.
Will spent just over a week in Embu. His first task was to preach at the Family Life Church on what is saving faith from Genesis 12. Then he began to teach on the book of Colossians at Angaza. It was encouraging to see how the students engaged with what was being taught and had intelligent questions about it. Indeed during the whole time the students bombarded him with personal, practical and theological questions. Some asked to spend time with him individually and it was so precious to spend time with one young man who feels called to pastoral ministry.
Will was then asked to lead a session on purity with the student body. The school has organized seminars that are extra-curricular but based on the questions and needs that the students have expressed. Will prepared a seminar not knowing the barrage of questions that would await him nor how explicit they would be! Nothing could have prepared him for the terrible things that some of the students have experienced at such a young age. After this session, which ran from 9:15 to 11 PM separate sessions were organized for young men and women and many more issues came out in these! What struck him was:
How the world is educating young people in the area of sex rather than the church.
How much the values and norms of the West have infiltrated the church and how this is damaging our youth.
How much shame young believers are carrying from their past and how broken they are by their experiences.
Yet how powerful the gospel is to break through immorality and addiction to transform lives. Some young ladies shared their testimonies and have been free from addiction for 2/3 years and are walking with the Lord!
Will also taught 8 sessions on the work of preaching to a group of pastors in Embu. This year there were slightly higher numbers and it was encouraging to see some younger men coming to the conference. The first day, quite frankly, was hard. People did not seem to engage with the materials and there was an edge to the atmosphere. Will decided that night to change his approach and to use small group discussions more.
The next day was incredibly different. Men lit up and engaged well with the materials. They opened up in conversation between sessions and shared some of the burdens and dilemmas they are facing. We were able to give each pastor a book on how to preach through a particular part of the Bible as well as full notes from the sessions in booklet form.
A number of things made a real impression on Will:
How Biblically illiterate pastors are in rural areas- one man could not find Colossians in his Bible and another did not the difference between the new birth and redemption. He did not really know what either word means. If pastors do not know the truth what hope is there for the churches.
Many churches are defenseless against the prosperity gospel and other forms of false teaching- you can hear elements of this teaching even in the prayers and teaching of good men who are pastoring.
How much pressure pastors are under pressure to conform to cultural expectations. Pastors shared that they would lose their church if they did expository preaching because people are expecting shouting and ranting not a sermon.
How hard pastors find it in communities that are just about surviving on farming.
Will then preached at Embu University (see below). Despite it being a bank holiday due to Kenyan liberation day and there being many students away, there were around 60/70 students- mostly post grads. Will preached on the new birth and then had a follow up session with some first years. What a thirst they had for the Word and how earnest they were. They wanted to know our impressions of their meeting and what could be done better.
The next day he returned home exhausted but full of joy. Please pray for the following:
For the remaining week or so of the Bible school that God would bless the teachers, students and all whom they are serving. Pray that this experience will be used by God to raise up young people for His harvest fields!
Pray for Doreta and Lidia to have energy to thrive in an incredibly busy schedule and pray that this time will impact them deeply.
Pray for future plans for the Angaza School. Pray that God would guide and provide for the next steps.
Pray for the Family Worship church in Embu that they will be fruitful in evangelism, dedicated to discipleship and active in service. Pray for their pastor, Jim, that God would use him and his assistant- Joseph.
Pray for pastors in Kenya that they would preach the Word faithfully and be prepared to pay the price of losing popularity. Pray that they might grow spiritually, theologically and in character and that they would be examples to their flocks.
Pray for plans for next year- Will has been invited to visit another town around half an hour from Embu to minster there as well as speaking at the pastoral conference. The conference next year will be open to young men that pastors are training and to pastor’s wives as there is nothing in the area for them!
This May we are planning an exciting trip to Kenya with the Angaza Torchbearers Bible school. Doreta will be on staff as a volunteer to help with the female students and also with outreaches.
Lidia will be a student there for the month which will be a wonderful experience learning from African and Western leaders. She will also be able to visit Kenyan churches and to be part of an outreach team. This will be around a month in duration.
Will is going to be teaching from Colossians at the school and then taking a pastors conference at a nearby church that partners with the school. Last year we had 20 Christian workers come and we hope to build on that and have more pastors there.
We are looking to raise funds for the cost of this trip for Lidia and Doreta. We also want to help the pastors financially by paying their bus fares to the conference.
Angaza means “illuminate”- an appropriate name for a Bible school!
On Monday the 27th I will begin my long journey from Fier to Embu in Kenya. The purpose of my visit is three fold. First I will be preaching at a pastor’s conference. It is hoped that between 20-30 pastors will gather to hear messages on the theme of “The work of a pastor.” I will God willing be preaching 6 times in days so pray for energy, clarity and the anointing of the Holy Spirit as I preach. After each session there will be a time for questions and answers; pray for wisdom for my answers! I have also been asked to speak about “the ministers self care.” We are going to do this in the form of an interview. Pray that all that I say will not just be Biblical but helpful for the situations that these pastors are facing.
I am also going to be teaching at the Angaza Bible school on the books of Ruth and Esther. Today, May 18th, students are arriving from different countries for this school. I have been given 13 hours to teach on these books. Pray for clarity, for passion and for razor sharp application of the Word! Pray that the Spirit would illuminate minds and hearts as the Word is taught. Pray too for me as I preach at student meetings during the week at a local college.
Then I hope to travel to Nakuru to visit Ronald Kogo and see the work there. I will have opportunities to teach from Esther and Ruth there and see what is happening. Pray that my visit will encourage the church there.
My rough plan is as follows:
May 27th travel to London
May 28th travel to Nairobi
May 29th travel to Embu
May30th/31st Pastors conference Embu
June 2nd Preaching Embu
June 3rd to June 7th Teaching at Angaza Bible school
June 5th Teaching at Embu college Christian Union
June 8th travel to Nakuru
June 9-12th teaching at Nakuru
June 13th travel from Nairobi to Tirana!
Please pray for me during this time! Last year’s trip truly changed my life and I am excited to see what God has to teach me this time.
Last week something happened that deeply upset me and disturbed my heart. Doreta and I were returning from church when we met a two grandmothers with their grandchildren slowly walking to a bridge over the river in our town. We knew one of the ladies who had been a special needs teacher and had brought children to our church for a number of years. When they reached the bridge, they pulled out eggs painted red, gave them to the grandchildren and told them to throw them in the river. As the eggs landed in the river one lady said, “Now your sins are washed away.”
This is a tradition that Greek Orthodox believers have. Orthodox people paint their eggs red, as a symbol of the blood of Christ, and will keep them for “good luck” throughout the year. Yet the vast majority have no idea why the eggs are painted red or what the purpose of this symbol is.
Fier was traditionally an Orthodox town (although now I suspect that the majority are Muslim by tradition) and during this week there will be all kinds of rites performed and services held to celebrate Orthodox Easter. The one thing that will not be preached is the gospel of Jesus Christ. People will not be taught that Christ alone washes away our sin.
We in Fier and Patos, along with several other churches who live in Orthodox areas, will be celebrating Easter this week. Would you pray that superstition and false teaching would be swept away by the gospel of Jesus Christ? Would you pray for these women and their grandchildren? Doreta was able to give them some literature but how we long to see Orthodox believers seeing the light of the truth. Pray for invites going out this week to our Sunday meetings that people will respond positively and that the gospel will transform hearts and lives.
Would you pray as well that evangelical believers would have a firmer grasp of the gospel? Would you pray that believers would separate themselves from unhelpful traditions of men? One lady suggested that we paint eggs with the children of the church to celebrate Easter. She means well but does not understand at all that these traditions are actually deceptive!
Pray particularly for the following meetings:
Thursday morning: meeting with blind and partially sighted people at the offices of the Blind Society of Fier. Pray for the message I will share.
Friday afternoon: meeting with prisoners families in Levan. We have been sharing the gospel with them throughout the winter months but want to have a special meeting with them to explain the Easter message.
Saturday morning: Children’s and youth meetings in Fier.
Sunday morning: Children’s meeting in Patos and services in both Patos and Fier
On the 4th of February 1999 Will Niven set foot on Albanian soil to live and work full time as a missionary. At that time the plan was that he should work in Lushnje with Berti Dosti; training workers, preaching and teaching. His commitment was for 10 years (maximum 12) and he certainly had no plans for church leadership for the foreseeable future. His plan was to work under experienced missionaries and that if God would move him into eldership in time it would be only when he had grown and matured as a worker. He was also decidedly single!
Will and Doreta with a celebratory cake
Never would he have imagined that he would have remained for 25 years, that he would be serving the Fier and Patos churches in a leadership capacity or that he would be married to an amazing woman with three wonderful children. Neither would he have imagined that he would be involved in blind ministry, in teaching in the Bible school in Erseke or that he would be able to go to Kenya to teach there. He certainly didn’t imagine that one day a Nigerian footballer would be baptised and joined to the church in Fier!
Never would he have imagined a building project for the church in Fier or the Kosovar refugee crisis that exploded in March 1999. He would not have considered that he would serve on the boards of various ministries in Albania or that he would be involved in prison work. But God had a different plan from Will’s; a far, far better one.
On Sunday the 4th of February 2024, we held a service of thanksgiving for God’s grace over these last 25 years. Believers from Fier and Patos were joined by representatives of the local blind society and past and present students from the Torchbearers Bible school in Erseke. It was an immensely moving time full of testimonies of God’s grace.
Some of the Patos church
Truly we could say, “But by God’s grace I am what I am and His grace toward me was not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:10) All that has been done and all that has been achieved is simply because of God’s grace. To Him be the glory alone!
We are so thankful to all who have supported us prayerfully, financially and personally through these 25 years. We want to give thanks to God for those who have given advice, comfort and support in challenging days. We want to give thanks to every individual and church who have stood with us as a family and as churches. Please continue to pray for us that God by His grace might strengthen us for what is to come and pray that He would be glorified in Fier, Patos and all over Albania!
A group of some 23 pastors and their wives from Albania and Kosova gathered in the coastal town of Durres for a seminar on the theme of “church planting in hard places.” The sessions were led by the “Church in hard places” team (Mez and Miriam McConnell and Matthew Spandler Davidson).
Subjects like what is biblical evangelism, what is a biblical mercy ministry, church planting in hard places and reaching women were all taught on and there was a very fruitful question and answer session also. Will was able to open the seminar by preaching on 2 Timothy 4:1-8 on “Preach the Word.” We also had an excellent time of prayer for one another and the churches that we serve in. It was good to know of the challenges and joys of different churches.
The teaching turned upside down virtually all that has been done and has not worked in Albania during the last 30 years and pointed us back to biblical principles. It was so good to see the primacy of the local church in missions, the biblical gospel and biblical principles for ministry being taught. The speakers pulled no punches but were also deeply encouraging for all.
The organisers, the “Way of Peace” church in Fier and Kisha “Drite” are hoping that this will be the first of many seminars like it bringing together like minded servants of God for teaching, encouragement and prayer. Please pray for the effect of what has been taught and pray too for the book co- authored by Mez McConnell called “church in hard places” which we hope to publish in the very near future!
My primary purpose in going to Kenya was to teach at the Angaza (which means illuminate in Swahili) Bible school. The school was situated near the town of Embu some two and a half hours drive from Nairobi. I was to teach there for 13 hours from the book of Ecclesiastes. The students were a diverse group; 50% coming from Africa and 50% from outside of Africa. This school was being supported by the Torchbearers school in Erseka that I teach at each year. So what did I learn?
1. The terrible danger of spiritual deception. On the surface Kenya seems like a Christian country. There are churches at every corner, billboards advertising various ministries and Bible verses on vans. But underneath the reality is different. So called apostles, prophets and pastors are all skimming money from the poorest with the prosperity gospel. One man claims to be Jesus; he claims to verify this by turning water into tea! Another told his followers to sell all that they have, give it to the church and then fast until they saw Jesus. Thus far 210 bodies have been recovered. The church and traditional religions are being mixed. People pray to Jesus in church and then to Mount Kenya as they go home! People with itching ears church hop and get most of their “food” from social media or YouTube. Ignorance of the Bible is widespread. There is a huge emphasis on “worship” but in one church near us the sermon was 7 minutes. People are spiritually starving and are prey to all manner of false teaching and practice. Pray for faithful Bible teachers and preachers. Pray for local pastors to be built up in sound doctrine and to lead their churches for God’s glory. Pray that believers would be equipped in the Word.
Preaching at a church in Embu
2. The immense need for the local church. I was privileged to go to two outreaches that students from Angaza were involved in. The first was at the Embu rescue center. Each week 150 people aged from 3 to 24 come to get a plate of beans and corn. They can be taught English and the gospel. Nearly all are homeless. Nearly all have addictions. Children as young as 10 were high on glue. They go from glue to a drug called “kat.” This is a leaf that is chewed and which has powerful effects. It is exported to Somalia where it is used by gang lords to keep their followers docile. From that young people go to alcohol and hard drugs. Most are dead by 30. It was a shock to see the miserable conditions, the sheer filth and the misery of these addicts.
We also went to a school for the physically disabled. Children with no legs or with bad physical disabilities live in a glorified shack. Next door is a local elementary school where they go in the day. Volunteers care for them but they are in tremendous need. It was moving to see students carrying them and caring for them.
Rescue center outreach
However it made me realise once again the necessity of the local church. Humanitarian work, however worthy, is just a sticking plaster over a gaping wound. Without the gospel, without the family of the church and without local churches working together, these people will never have hope or thrive. If we fill a child’s belly today, he will still need feeding tomorrow. Only in the local church can true solutions be found for these needy people. Pray for healthy local churches in Kenya!
3. The great opportunities for gospel work. It was a privilege to do a Bible study in the gardens of Embu college with a small group (see photo). Isaac, who leads the group, says that there are 110 students at the main gathering each week. The university in Embu has far more Christian students. One of the Angaza students told me that he was responsible for leading a Christian union of 1,100 believers. Yet there is no training, no discipling, no mentoring of these student leaders let alone the rest of the believers. There is a huge open door but no one to follow it up.
One of the outreaches that the students had was to students of a Catholic school. They were able to preach the gospel there each week. The director of the school asked for a special session for the teachers on the Bible. Several came to the bible school and I was able to teach on Philip and the Ethiopian. They asked for a bible school for teachers in their long break, November through January, which could equip school teachers in the area. The opportunities are great but the workers are few!
Bible study with students
4. The great potential of the African church. One of the students at the Angaza school, Wilber, was a real challenge to me. He and his friend Daniel were brought up in a Ugandan orphanage. Now in his early twenties Wilber supports himself by selling ice cream. He has a ministry among orphans and also helps widows who are left with children to support. Aids and Covid have ravaged his area in Uganda and many women have been left with children to care for. Wilber gives them a 10 or 20 dollar loan to start a business such as selling bananas. This means that they can begin to provide for themselves. Wilber has rented a center where mums and children can come for help. All this comes from his own pocket.
Will and Wilber!
I talked at length to another student, Baraka, about the call to pastoral ministry. He is a young, serious man who has a desire to be a pastor but is unsure about whether this is from God or not. His work among students at university has been very good and he clearly has a gift for ministry. All around I met impressive African believers who are thirsty for the Bible. When I finished teaching I would spend hours with students who bombarded me with very good questions about the Bible. It was a delight to be among such spiritual people and there is no doubt that they have real potential for spiritual work. Pray for godly church pastors and evangelists to be raised up!
I don’t know whether I will ever return to Africa but one thing I do know, Africa has changed me!
Last month we had the opportunity to take our youth group from Fier to Tirana. The journey was a good time for getting to chat to the young people but the meeting that we had with the “Light church” was definitely a highlight. One of the Tirana young people shared his testimony for the first time. It was a powerful and honest testimony which challenged our young people a lot. Whilst they enjoyed the games and walking around Tirana and going on dodgems what really stuck in their minds was this testimony.
The same thing came over when we asked them what is the one thing that really stands out in all our meetings this year. It was the testimony of a brother from Gracemount Community Church as to how God had saved him from a background of addictions. This is the one thing they remembered.
(The two youth groups together!)
This is surely a challenge to us as to how we teach our young people and how we live. We have had countless Bible studies since September but what they remembered was the testimony of a brother. We are doing a Bible survey with the youth in Fier and they have been engaged with the passages and lively in discussions but what matters to them is personal transformation. Pray for us this year as we plan what we will do with the young people. Pray that our testimonies will make an impact on their lives and pray that our teaching will be effective.
Pray too as we handle some “hot potatoes” this year. We are planning a monthly discussion on what the Bible teaches on controversial topics. We are starting with gender issues; with what biblical manhood and womanhood looks like and how we should respond to all the different trends around us. We also want to look at subjects like why the Bible should be believed and others. Pray that the young people will turn to the Bible for wisdom and direction rather than social media and peers at school.
A major issue for our young people is whom they listen to. Internet influencers are a major factor for them. One example is Andrew Tate, an online influencer who is not only sexist but promises people immense wealth and a luxurious lifestyle if they follow his advice. His Tiktok videos are immensely influential not just in the UK but also here. Parents are no longer an influence on the thinking and decisions of young people but media personalities and internet figures. Our young people are greatly affected by these influences. Pray that we would have wisdom in guiding our young people to the Word and pray too for Christian parents that they would influence their young people’s thinking and life choices. Pray that we as churches would respond well to the threats to a new generation.
Another thing that has struck us has been the need that our young people need space just to talk. One Saturday we prepared some discussion questions to see where they were spiritually. As yet we do not think that any are truly born again but their honesty in discussion was refreshing. But the conversations all moved on to the questions and issues that they are facing. The rest of the program that we had prepared went out of the window! We realise that we need to put time in our program for them just to talk and ask questions.
Praise God that we have had three new young people begin to come from our neighbourhood. A neighbour of ours who came to Doreta’s ladies meetings is bringing two grandchildren and another neighbour’s daughter. They are slightly younger than the others but seem very happy to be with us. Pray not just for their conversion but that of all the youth and pray that the gospel will penetrate whole families.
Christians celebrating 30 years of the evangelical church after communism last year
Last year a survey was conducted by the Albanian Evangelical Alliance (VUSH) to commemorate 30 years of evangelicalism in Albania after the fall of communism. Out of the estimated 215 churches in Albania, 186 responded to the survey. So the survey is very comprehensive and its results will not be much affected by those who did not take part in it. A number of results particularly interested me and should lead us both to thanksgiving and prayer.
The number of professing evangelical believers has gone down. Previously the figure was thought to be 30,000 people. But now the number is half of that- just 15,000. In the last 10 years or so evangelicalism has halved. Indeed my personal opinion would be that many professing faith are not truly born again so the number will be lower than that.
A number of factors may have contributed to the situation. The first is the massive emigration that has happened in the last decade out of Albania. Villages are emptying at an alarming rate and in towns it is noticeable how few young people there are compared to 10 years ago. Some of those professing faith may have fallen away just as Christ predicted that they would in the parable of the sower also.
Whatever the cause, it is alarming that those who have left the country or left the church are not being replaced. There is a general impression that churches are less involved in evangelism and more involved in maintaining the status quo. Pray that churches would be more involved in evangelism and that God would bring more genuine converts into His Kingdom.
However Covid seems not to have adversely affected church attendance. Before Covid the average Sunday would have seen 11,050 people in attendance. Now it is 12,600. This is a cause for thanksgiving because so many churches in the West have struggled to get back to pre- Covid numbers and few would say that they have grown after Covid. Praise God that Covid seems to have affected the spiritual conditions in Albania positively.
General secretary of the Evangelical Alliance- Ergest Biti- last year
Another interesting feature of the survey was to see how churches are being led. 40% were led by a single pastor. 24.7% were led by a pastor and elders and 4.2% pastor and leaders. 24.7% are led by a leadership group, 4.2% by an elders board and 1.8% are led by missionaries together with Albanians. There is a feeling that many pastors are preventing the emergence of new leaders and that some may be authoritarian and others cultivate a cult of personality in the church to protect their position. Pray that more church leaders may be raised up and that they would be godly in character and service.
What we do see now is that there is a considerable shift toward Albanian church leadership. 78.9% of Albanian churches are led by Albanians and 17% are led by Albanians and missionaries together. For this we have to be very thankful. Albanian leaders are also taking theological education; 20.3% have a bachelor’s degree and 36.7% a Master’s degree in theology. 38.7% have done some courses in theology. The question is how equipped are Albanian leaders for their work? Praise God for the emergence of Albanian leaders but pray that they would be more and more equipped for the work.
However does not mean that the Albanian church is self-sufficient. 99 churches said that they rented their own property compared to 65 who owned it. Most churches are still reliant on foreign money to be able to cover their monthly expenses. Most pastors are forced to take on a second job or get involved in projects so that they can provide for their families. This is taking many away from the Word and prayer. Most churches cannot support their pastors financially because of unemployment or simply because wage levels are often only sufficient to help a family make ends meet. Another factor is the size of churches- the average church does not have that many members. Pray that the Albanian church would be more and more self-sufficient. Pray for meaningful employment for believers so that they can invest in their churches.
Praise God for 30 years of evangelicalism in Albania but please keep praying for the very real challenges that the church faces here.
We thank God that for the last 30 years He has shown such faithfulness to the church in Fier. The church began in a humble garden with one man and several ladies who had been listening to the broadcast called “The Way of Peace.” They met together, talked about the messages they had heard and prayed. Later the church moved to a flat and floods of young people joined it. Much has changed during the last 30 years but the faithfulness of God has not.
The Fier church and guests
On the 18th of September we were able to come together with may friends from all over Albania and from the UK as well to thank God for His work during the years. Fabjon Ivanaj preached powerfully on our need to be faithful to God’s gospel. Stephen Bell, who had led the work in Fier for several years, was able to share memories. Donika Hamitaj shared her testimony of how God saved her.
In the evening we had another celebration with the church. Between singing we heard greetings from several churches, celebrated the Lord’s Supper and several gave testimonies as to what this church means to them. Then we enjoyed a meal together.
We praise God for the last 30 years and look to Him for all that is to come!
