SJ12 - Last day in Lushnje - a great day with the church

Today's post will be quick because my internet connection is pretty spotty right now. Today was a terrific day of worship and celebration with the church in Lushnje.  I was blessed to preach and Tom lead singing. It was great to experience this with him.  His legacy in Albania was so clear today.  Tami and I are very proud of him and what God has done through his work over the past 13 years.

When Tom first came to Lushnje around 2002, he came alone to a city where there was no church. He did not speak a single word of Albanan, but he knew there was a need.  Over this past week we met people all over the country who have been touched by him and are faithful followers of Jesus today, largely because of his influence. We worshipped this morning with a church of 45 people, all of whom came to be connected to the chruch, and many fully commited to Christ because of Tom's faithful ministry.

For many years it seemed that the work in Lushnje was a revolving door. Many - mostly young people - would come to know the Lord through their relationship with Tom. After awhile they would go to university or move to another town or even leave the country. It seemed that there might never be any Albanian nationals who felt called to commit themselves to full time ministry in the church at Lushnje.  Now, finally Tom is blessed to have Olti and Sojana as partners in ministry with him.  They are both studying and growing in faith and knowledge.  They could have easily moved to a larger, more prominent city or taken more lucrative work elsewhere, but they feel called to this work. They have been drawn to Christ and mentored by Tom.  They have committed their lives to Christ here and are currently a tremendous blessing to the church, especially to the teens.  We are so happy we got to meet them over this past week and share in great conversations about life and ministry. Please be in prayer for them as they seek full funding for the work they want to continue doing here in Lushnje.

I am sitting in a hotel in Athens, tonight, excited to see biblical sites over the next few days.  Tom is in a hotel room across the hall and Tami is asleep in the bed beside me.  I feel so blessed to be here.  I am so excited for the days to come. Most of all I  am grateful for what we have seen first-hand concerning God's work in Albania.  I already miss the beautiful people we met there, especially those who share our faith and stand together with us in the family of God.



re our faith and stand with us in the family of God.