Albanian Church Update
    
     Greetings from Albania and the Albanian Evangelical Alliance.

     Thank you very much for your commitment to pray for the Church in
     Albania, and for the refugee situation in the area.  We appreciate it,
     and are encouraged to know that the body of Christ around the world is
     standing together with us, right before the throne of God, interceding
     for His power and strength for us.  We are learning a lot, as we are
     seeing how the Lord is using the Church in Albania in a very mighty way
     to bring about His care, hope and love to the people in need.  But at
     the same time, I think we have a lot to learn from the way in which the
     body of Christ around the world is standing with us in prayer and in
     deeds.

     As you might know, the Church in Albania is still a very young one, and
     yet the Lord has chosen to work through it, in order to show His might
     and power.  In 1991 right when Communism fell, we had no Evangelical
     Churches, except five known Evangelical believers.  In the same year,
     the first big evangelism campaign took place in Tirana, out of which
     the first disciples were baptised and the first Church started.

     Today, eight years later, we have more than 160 Churches all over
     Albania, and a total number of 8,000 evangelicals.  You can see how
     the Church is growing!

     As Albania has faced a huge crises with more than 450,000 Kosovar
     refugees, the Church has been on the front of the action.  There is no
     town in Albania where there has been a Church and that Church has not
     done something in helping the needy Kosovar refugees.  In most of the
     places, the Churches were the first one to respond to the needs of the
     Kosovars.  The involvement of the Church has been different in
     different places.  The Christians have distributed food, clothes, have
     provided shelter for the refugees.  Our work has been remarkable for
     another reason, and that is that we have treated Kosovars as
     individuals.  In other words we have built relationships with them,
     shared the love of Christ with them through our actions and not just
     through our words.

     In the beginning of our work, the Kosovars were really hesitant to
     accept our help, because they soon discovered that we were Christians,
     and they had a very bad image of Christians persecuting them. But, as
     we came near to them, and showed them our love and care, they became
     our friends and in such a way very open to the gospel.  Through out
     this crises, our Churches all around Albania have been filled with
     Kosovars.  And this is not just in one or ten Churches, or in five
     towns, but everywhere.

     There are great reports of what the Lord is doing through His Church
     for the refugees, and even for the local communities in Albania.

     What is happening now!
     As you might know, Kosova is open now, Serb military and police have
     withdrawn, so the Kosovars are free to go in.

     The evidence in Albania is that the majority of the Kosovars is
     returning back home.  They suffered a great deal over the past months,
     now the time has come for them to get back in their homes.  As they
     are going back they are filled with mixed emotions and expectations.
     On one side they are happy and filled with joy to go back.  On the
     other there is a sense of insecurity about their future life.  A lot
     of them have left Kosova in the flames of the war, others seeing their
     houses burn down.

     The Church in Albania is committed to go back with the Kosovars and
     help them settle in their lives in Kosova.  There are already a lot of
     Churches from Albania who have gone with some families they have known
     over the past months, in order to see what the needs are.  All the
     Churches from Durres are going there tomorrow with 25 trucks of food
     for the people in need.

     We will go back as a Church and help the Kosovars to:

     1. Rebuild their homes.
     2. Help them with their living until they reestablish their life.
     3. We will work together with the Evangelical Churches of Kosova to
        further the work of the Gospel and Church planting in Kosova.

     The opportunities of the gospel that are opening up now before us are
     really great, and we would like to take the chance and go for it.

     We as an Alliance have been active over the past months in helping the
     Churches in their projects they were developing with financial and
     other material help.

     We see our role now in bringing the Church together and planing a
     common strategy and plan for working in Kosova in the humanitarian
     aspect, and also in evangelism and Church planting.

     We would appreciate it if you pray in this time for us for all those
     things that the Lord is doing.

     1. Praise the Lord that finally this war in Kosova has stopped.
     2. "PEACE" is one word, but the time it takes to become a reality is
        another concept, specially in this part of the world.  Please pray
        for real peace in Kosova, and also in Serbia and other parts of the
        Balkans.
     3. Pray that the Lord would give the Church in Albania a common plan
        and strategy for helping the needy people and bringing the gospel
        to them. We have a meeting on June 28th with all Church leaders and
        organizations.  Pray for this meeting that the Lord would give us
        direction and humbled hearts before Him.
     4. There are seven Evangelical Churches in Kosova.  Pray that the Lord
        would strengthen and build them up in this situation.  Pray that
        the Lord would use this moment in a very mighty way to push the
        darkens away and light this region with the gospel.  We believe it!
     5. Pray for all humanitarian aspect, that it would reach the people in
        need.
     6. Pray for the Church in Albania, that through this situation, we
        would grow also.
     7. Please pray for all the peoples in the Balkans, and specially for
        the Church, that we are all face ethnic problems in our countries,
        the Lord would cause us as His body to stand together and reconcile
        with Him and one another.

     Once again, I want to thank you, and your friends, for continually
     praying for us.

     Our Hope in Jesus,

     Eugen Begu,
     General Secretary,      The Albanian Evangelical Alliance    Email: VUSH@maf.org
 

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