Christ is King!
Last week we have been privileged to be able to serve at the “Light of life” camp for the blind and visually impaired in Ersekë. The theme of the camp was “Christ is King!” We looked every night at what kind of king Christ is and what He demands from each of us as King of all. Will preached four times and was deeply encouraged by the attentiveness of the hearers and positive feedback. Arjan Kacimbro who is himself blind preached one evening also. Although emotions rather overcame him, it was an act of courage to speak in front of people from his own community and to share God’s Word with them. Please pray for fruit from the Word.
Each evening was followed by discussion groups the next morning with questions based on the passage that was preached on the night before. In some ways the most important work was done in these groups. People showed how much they really understood and what opinion they really had about the gospel. Will led a group from Elbasan on two mornings and it was very revealing. One lady said that it was enough to be a Greek Orthodox believer because they are “the oldest faith in Albania.” We pointed her to Romans 15 and the fact that the apostle Paul preached the gospel in Albania long before Orthodoxy began and called her to trust in Christ and not tradition. This was a recurring theme among the older campers. When asked “what does the cross mean to you?” most people saw it as a good luck charm to ward off the evil eye or a symbol that you are Orthodox or Catholic. One man kisses the cross each day in memory of his wife who was very religious. It was a joy to point people beyond traditions, religious rites and superstition to the true and living God. However without the work of the Holy Spirit opening minds and hearts these discussions are worthless.
There were ten campers in all from the Fier area. Two came for the first time. Bedrie is candidate for the head of the blind society in Fier and came with his wife to make contacts for the future. He confessed to Will that he had never heard anything about the Bible and thought that Jesus was part of a fairy story. Pray for him that he might know the truth. Pray too that if he were to be elected that he would serve the blind community in Fier justly. Pray that the door that has been open to us in the blind society would remain open and be a means not just of helping people materially but sharing the gospel. Pray too that we might see more blind people coming to our monthly meeting at the Fier church and that more would attend our Sunday services. One man, Engjellush, comes from a village on the way to Berat but has said that he will begin to come to church meetings. Pray for genuine conversions.
Pray too for the opening of new blind meetings in different localities. We want to discuss with Engjellush the possibility of gathering blind people from his area. We also met a great believer from the town of Gramsh called Ardjan who was at camp for the first time. He was very enthusiastic about the faith and could be a real help to the work. We were able to have an informal meeting of our foundation “Light for the blind” during camp and are looking at starting local groups in at least two more localities. Pray that local churches will be open to starting groups. Pray too for more board members for our foundation who can help with this ministry and for full time workers to come and join us.
There were a number of activities that the camp organized. Campers could go canoeing at a local lake, try archery, go on a zip line and climb a tower as well as enjoy time at a swimming pool. There was plenty of free time which allowed many of the men to play dominoes with one another. This created more noise at times than in our main meetings as the men slammed dominoes on the table and shouted enthusiastically!
It was good to see more young people at the camp this year. The average age of campers is quite high and we have longed to see more young people coming. The group from Elbasan in particular had some young blind people with them and they seemed to really enjoy the time at camp. Pray that we might reach more young people who are visually impaired in Albania and they would be part of the mission to spread the gospel to the blind!
Another joy was to see the musical ability of some of the campers. On the last evening a concert was organized in the town square in Ersekë at which blind people sang, played instruments or recited poetry that they had written themselves. The aim of the concert was to show how talented visually impaired people are. This is vital in a society which has prejudice against those who have physical or mental disabilities. Many believe that blind people are mentally impaired. In a shame culture many who are blind are hidden away and are virtually imprisoned in their own homes. A concert like this may not change much but if it has changed some
Please continue to pray for this vital work!
Canes for the blind
Due to the generosity of donors in the United States, our co-worker Thomas Fleming was able to purchase 200 canes for the blind of different sizes. Canes give the blind more confidence and freedom of movement and are in much demand in Albania.
Whilst our priority is that people might know salvation in Jesus Christ we recognize their physical needs as well. We hope in the future to be able to distribute other vital equipment that can make the life of blind people so much easier; talking thermometers, talking watches, talking blood pressure machines and so on. If you can help please let us know!
The tragedy of going blind
A few years ago, Gani went completely blind. He is only 20 years old. He comes from a village called Vithkuq in south eastern Albania. His parents are elderly and poor and so his glaucoma was never treated even though he had suffered from it for some time.
When we met Gani at the “Light of Life” camp he looked bewildered, depressed, someone who had taken a terrible blow. Emotionally and psychologically Gani is struggling terribly with his blindness. He has no brothers or sisters and the uncle that helped him has now left the village. Because of his blindness Gani failed his first year at university in Korçë but now, with the help of the Albanian blind society, we hope that his text books can be recorded in audio for him to listen to. We were able to give him a cane to help him become more mobile. We hope that he will be able to be part of the blind meeting in Korçë and in time find the light that comes from Christ alone.
Going blind is traumatic in any country and at any time but people like Gani have no support and no help from the state. We hope that we can help more and more people like Gani to live with their blindness and come to know the Light of the world. But the need is also in preventing blindness. We need opticians and others who are able to diagnose eye problems, perform minor surgery and help people to adjust to sight lost to come and help us on short term teams.
Food parcels
The global pandemic that has so dominated our lives for the past few years has hit the poorest and most vulnerable in society in particular. On top of that is the massive increase in inflation and the fact that government benefits have been frozen for some time. The blind and partially sighted have suffered in particular. Local businesses used to donate food and other resources to the Blind society of Albania but this is no longer the case. Town halls are pressurizing them to give aid only through them as they claim that only they know who is really in need. Humanitarian aid then goes to those who support a particular political party or have family ties to those distributing it.
It has been such a blessing to be able to provide food parcels to people in the Fier, Korçë and Ersekë areas during this time. Some have come through local Food banks run by evangelical churches but others have been due to the kind donations of believers in the West. One parcel that would give a family their basic needs for a month would cost just 45 pounds.If you can help financially please be in contact with us!