Regular readers may remember that 2 weeks ago we went to church in Switzerland with our friends Dani and Ebi. That was the last time we attended a church service. On the wall of the Swiss reformed Church was written these words from John's gospel, chapter 14, verse 6: Jesus sagt, Ich bin der Weg, und die Warheit und das Leben. Jesus said: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Today (Saturday), we travelled with pastor Jeton and worship leaders Helen and Ilir Dervishi to their church plant in Klina, a town 40 minutes drive away. On the wall of the small room where the church meets was the same verse in Albanian (above), part of a bigger poster which gives the 7 'I am' sayings of Jesus from John's Gospel.
Jeton and I picked up five member of a large family to bring them to church, from a small village near Klina. They live in a rented house in the middle of a field. The house has no indoor plumbing and is in need of various other works. The family used to live in their own house, which they had sold in order to relocate to Germany, like many others here. In spite of assurances before they left Kosova, the German authorities turned down their application to live there, so they returned penniless and homeless. The father and eldest son work all the hours they can, but still there isn't enough money to pay for rent and other bills. The mother, deparate, turned to begging.
Jeton (bottom of picture) often sits in a café near the building which houses his church. Just over 3 months ago, the mother turned up and begged for money from the café customers, not unusual here in Kosova. Like me, Jeton has a policy of not giving money and she moved on. The café owner, however, offered her some cleaning work. That would be great, she said, but I live too far away, near Klina. Jeton heard her and immediately followed her and asked if she would like to come to their church plant, gave her 2 euros for the return trip and promised to visit. She was so pleased to see him when he did and welcomed the practical help the church was able to offer. When it was proposed to close the church during the summer holidays and visit members in their homes, all those involved asked for the Saturday church to continue, which they have, starting today.
After some uplifting worship, Jeton shared the story of the paralysed man who was let down through the roof by his friends, from Mark ch.2. It was so encouraging to see these young families enthusiastically listening and participating in the teaching, especially when the owner of the building brought a friend to hear Jeton.
The meeting concluded with an invitation for personal prayer. The mother and one of her daughters immediately responded. The daughter had been having nightmares which had really frightened her. The content of the nightmares was, put simply, evil. We gathered around her and prayed in faith and in the name of Jesus.
After the service I took one of the Albanian bibles and looked up John 14:6 in order to learn it by heart as I had done in Switzerland. Well, you never know when it might come in handy! As I was doing this and repeating it over and over again to get it into my thick skull, the daughter who we had prayed for sat close by, amused while helping my pronunciation. She encouraged me with smiles as I practiced. On the journey home Jeton talked with the mother, who revealed that she had sought help for her family through witchcraft and thought that maybe someone had put a curse on her daughter. We arrived at their home and all got out of the car to say goodbye. I asked the daughter whether she remembered the verse I was trying to learn and then suggested that before she went to sleep, and on waking up, that she uses it as a prayer. I believe God prepared me for that moment 2 weeks previously in Switzerland. Will you pray with me for that daughter to know freedom from these nightmares and to know the peace that only Jesus can give?
This is my 44th blog, so I have got used to the difficulties of writing them on a smart (?!) phone. I have not experienced so much trouble before as I have in writing this one. I have had to start again on a number of occasions and it has taken me far longer than usual...
Jesuzi i tha: Une jam Udha, e Verteta, dhe Jeta. Amen
(Thanks to Jeton and Ilir for additional photos.)
