Newsletter May 2008

Greetings, in the name of Jesus, from the workers and church in Korca, Albania! We are so thankful for your thoughts and prayers. The month of May was long, yet it seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Here are just the highlights of our month.

Pogradec:
This certainly cannot qualify as a highlight, but it is a major event. The month of May saw the end of our scheduled teaching time in Pogradec. This is a decision that has come through great wrestling in prayer and many tears on our part.

We did not believe that either Pogradec or Korca was receiving a full portion of our time or abilities, and thus we were not giving the best that we could to God. Based on this we have consolidated or efforts and are now focusing on the work in Korca.

We will be continuing to work with some of our WEI students who live in Pogradec. The plan is for them to work on their own and call us when they either have finished a book or need to have some things explained in more detail. We will then plan a time to meet together so we can help them.

The church in Pogradec plans to continue meeting on a regular basis. They have decided to worship in the building that we were using for WEI lessons at least until the end of this year. We will continue to make visits to Pogradec and meet with the Christians there.

Lee and Artan Visit:
This was a great encouragement to the church as well as the workers here in Korca. Lee Allen, a member of the Maryville Church of Christ, told us he and Artan Xhaferi would visit Korca and that we should “plan a get together”. We set about telling our students and the church that he would visit and that he would like to meet as many of them as possible. We figured on twenty to forty people at the most. Imagine our surprise when between eighty and ninety people arrived to meet Lee and share pizza with us.

Lee addressed the crowd and we made several announcements about worship and WEI classes. In fact, one of the Christians, Alket, made an announcement about worship. This made us feel very good as Alket, though willing to lead singing and help with worship, is generally shy and quiet around large groups.

We want to extend a special thank you to Lee and Artan for their visit and encouragement. We especially want to lift Artan up as he jumped in and helped to ensure that everything ran as smoothly as possible. Without a doubt, he demonstrated his servant nature, and loving heart.

Anniversary of Mira’s Death:
Mira Meminaj was a member of the church here in Korca; she also worked as a translator and WEI teacher with Roger Michale and the Saltsmans. She was an amazing young lady that we had greatly anticipated working with. Tragically, she was accidentally electrocuted as she warmed up dinner at her home just a few months before we moved to Korca. We spend about three hours every Sunday with her mother Rosa, she seems to have taken us on as children and feels that we are a bright spot in her life. Mira did a wonderful job teaching her mother about Jesus, we only pray that she will find the power to act on what she knows to be true.

On Saturday the twenty-fourth of May we observed the one year anniversary of Mira’s death. This entailed making a visit to her mother’s home and sharing some time with her family. On Sunday the twenty-fifth of May there was a memorial meal in Mira’s honor. We sat at the same table with the family, a place of honor that made us feel a little uncomfortable, as we had only met Mira a few times. However, it was a comfort for Rosa to have us close by, and since we know that Mira is in a much better place now we were there mainly for Rosa.

Preparing for Campaign:
We have begun running an advertisement to fill the schedules of the teachers who will be working with us this summer. It is hard to believe that our first teachers will be arriving in just a little more than three days. We are very excited about the coming campaign as are the members of the church here in Korca.

We still have opportunities for those who would like to come and teach with us. If you would like to make a trip to work with us here in Korca and have a more flexible schedule we encourage you to consider coming to work with us in the fall or early spring, traditionally times when airfares tend to be lower. We are open to having fellow workers throughout the year, so if you are interested please let us know and we can begin working together to plan your time here in Korca.

Pictures:
If you would like to see some of our pictures just click on: http://www.korcachurchesofchrist.com/gallery.html

Prayer Requests:
Please keep in your prayers:

1. Our continued growth in the Albanian language. We will be continuing with our teacher indefinitely, though we are cutting back to three lessons a week for the summer.

2. Growth for the church, both spiritual and numerical.

3. Safe travel for all who will be coming to visit and work with us here in Korca this summer.

4. An Albanian minister to work with us here in Korca.

We thank you again for your support. It is comforting to know that you have read this letter and spent just a small part of your day thinking about us. We pray that you have been encouraged by what the Lord is doing through our hands in Korca.

In His Service,

Kevin and Allison Morrill