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Dear partners in Christ!
Hope and pray you had a wonderful holiday season. Here is an update of our ministry in Albania for December 2009
EMANUEL CHURCH TIRANA.
December was very busy for us all. We organized several events with the purpose of helping people realize the true meaning of Christmas. On Wednesdays we focused on the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Through a series of Bible studies we learned about her deep faith, sacrificial obedience, humility, and commitment to God and His word. Our purpose was to have a biblical understanding of this important Christmas story character. Thank God for the lessons learnt and her example for all of us today!
On Christmas Eve we had a big party for the believers in Vaqarr, and then on Christmas day we had a big party for the believers of the church in Tirana. Both events provided a wonderful time of fellowship during which we reflected on the meaning of Christmas and had a meal together. All were greatly encouraged and children were especially glad to receive their Christmas presents. The Christmas presents have provided a wonderful opportunity for the older kids to speak to their unchurched friends about Christmas since most children in Albania receive their presents for New Year’s. In fact, in our culture people refer to the Christmas tree as the New Year’s tree, thus our Christmas events are also seeking to redeem some of the cultural elements involved in the so-called ‘winter holidays.’ Praise God for the freedom we now have to celebrate Christmas! Pray that the seeds planted during the holiday celebrations will grow!
The online course on systematic theology is well under way. We are very encouraged by the large number of people from our church involved in this study. The text book we are using is Louis Berkhof’s ‘Summary of Christian Doctrine.’ Pray for those taking the course to persevere and get the most out of these studies!
BSKSH—STUDENT MINISTRY.
Our Christian student groups also organized several evangelistic events to introduce students to the central figure of the Christmas story. Continue to pray for our staff workers and their needs in the different cities! Thank God for the sacrificial giving of many graduates who are trying to assist in our financial needs!
IBSA—THE INTERCONFESSIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY
The work for the translation of the Old Testament is the most important project for the IBSA. Continue to pray for the translators: Oldi, Marjan and Joan!
Announcement: Both Altin and Zefjan have been invited to attend the Shepherds’ Conference in California in the beginning of March 2010. This might mean we get another opportunity to see you in Ventura soon. Pray for our trip end of February!
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