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Initial Report on our Trip to Albania
On Friday 27th May a team of eight people from Discovery Church Swindon travelled to Albania for a week of mission. We left Swindon on the Friday and flew from Heathrow to Budapest for a one night stay in the capital city of Hungary. Genti arranged all the details of our accommodation and it was great fun to discover that he had booked us in to the 'Thomas' hotel in the centre of the city. We had a brief walk around the area and then retired for the evening. In the morning, the lads all agreed to get up early to explore the city, so at 7 O' Clock, Genti, me, Isaac, Mike and Matt all met for breakfast and then headed off to the city centre, while the ladies, Lois, Kayleigh and Hannah relaxed in their rooms!
Images from Budapest...
Then in the afternoon we flew from Budapest to Tirana (Albania) where we were met by Pastor Gezim and Pastor Costantin. I spoke at a couples meeting at 5.30 that evening and we then retired for dinner and our apartments.
On Sunday morning we went to a children's meeting where there were about 270 children present. Kayleigh, Matt, Mike, Hannah and Isaac took part and did us proud, the older ones doing a sketch and Isaac playing the keyboard for a solo performance. On the Saturday Pastor Ervin's father died suddenly and so we attended a funeral on the Sunday afternoon where Pastor Gezim shared the gospel at the graveside to many Muslim people from the community. It was a sad occasion for Ervin and we continue to pray for him and his family. Then after attending a meal provided by Ervin's family at a local restaurant we returned to Durres for an evening service. I spoke on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and many people prayed for it. It was a great joy to see three young people receive the Baptism, including Pastor Gezim's daughter Olta. We returned to our apartments, tired from a long day, but full of joy at what the Lord had done.
On Monday we arose at 5.30 am to leave at 6 for Kosovo. We had agreed to travel via a more scenic route that included a 2 and a half hour ferry ride on a lake! As you look at some of the images below I'm sure you'll agree it was a good decision. The weather was beautiful and of course the company was great!
We finally arrived in Mitrovica at about 6 pm completely shattered after a long day travelling in a Ford Torneo and the Land Rover we purchased many years ago! We were welcomed by several young people who attended the centre/church that we were staying in. On the Tuesday we travelled to the top of a local mountain that overlooked the city to spend some time praying. This is an important part of the ministry as it is impossible to openly witness in the city. Only a month earlier an Italian group had decided to ignore the wishes of the local pastor and started preaching on the streets, within a short space of time they were surrounded by an angry mob and were fortunate to escape with their lives!
The view from the Mountain of Prayer!
In the evening we hosted an 'English evening' and many young people attended, some coming for the first time to the building! The team did a fantastic job with games, quizzes about England and general fellowship. Genti spoke at the end giving a bit of his testimony of how the Lord had come into his life... very pertinent for these young people! On the Wednesday we travelled back to Albania with a brief stop off at Pristina the Capital of Kosovo. It was another long day, but we finally arrived at our apartments at about 5pm. We managed an hour on the beach! Yihaa!
Then on Thursday we left at 6am to travel to Montenegro. We reached the border at 9.30 am and managed to get across after a few delays. We then visited a centre for children with special needs and it was great to see the skills of different members of the team come into play with Lois and Iona providing professional help to the staff at the centre. The rest of us rested or played with the children that came into the centre... I'm not sure who had the most fun, but Mike certainly enjoyed himself!
We then travelled to Ulqini (an Albanian town within Montenegro) to pray for the town. A German missionary who simply set up a table with Christian Literature on it was chased out of the town, but not before one couple had opened their hearts to Jesus. It now has just one missionary lady from Kosovo there witnessing for the Lord. Montenegro is the least evangelised country in Europe with very few believers. Pray for this nation and this town as Pastor Gezim and the Albanian AoG try to reach out to it through the Bible students from Tirana. We travelled back later that day for a welcome day off on Friday.
Then on Saturday we again left early to attend the Bible School Graduation service in Tirana, where we had the joy of seeing Pastor Ervin made a minister with full credentials and Pastor Costantin commissioned as a probationary minister. Finally we were able to meet the missionary lady to Macedonia 'Rilinda' and bless her with a financial gift from our fellowship to help towards her costs in reaching the unreached Albanians in Macedonia (600,000 of them!)
We travelled home on Saturday afternoon and evening and it was a welcome sight to see Jim and Gez waiting for us at Gatwick airport to transport us home to Swindon. We thank God for all his goodness to us during our time in the Balkans. God kept us safe, he certainly used us to bless his people in difficult places and I want to thank you all for your prayers and financial support for this trip for the team. We knew that you were praying for us and we experienced God's grace in abundance. Thank you again in Jesus name!
Pastor Tom