Newsletter July 2008

This was a very eventful month. Every day was filled with activity.

The 4th of July:
It is hard to be away from home on holidays and the fourth was no exception. We decided to celebrate the fourth with a small party and fireworks. Sarah Day and Ginger Hodson, who were here on campaign, came over as well as Roger Michael. We had hamburgers, baked beans, American potato salad and watched a movie about baseball. We lit off some fireworks that we had saved from New Years Eve. Diana Xhuleku, one of the Christians here, came over for the fireworks. She had never seen them set-off before or bought them for herself, so she was really excited. We also got to talk to our families back home. It made us feel a little less homesick.

Sarah and Ginger:
Sarah Day and Ginger Hodson also worked with us for the first two weeks of this month. They were great with their students and made some wonderful bonds with them. It was wonderful to have 5 workers teaching at one time. This was one of our goals for the campaign: to reach as many families as possible and to make real connections with them. The week that Sarah and Ginger departed we had a small going away party for them and those that attended seem to really enjoy themselves.

Danah Nelson's Arrival:
Danah Nelson arrived in Korca on July 13th. We were blessed that she chose to come our way. This was her eighth visit to Albania, but her first time on this side of the country. She is very familiar with the WEI materials. She also knows some Albanian from her visits which add up to almost a year in country.

Artan Xhaferi and family:
On Saturday July 19th, Artan Xhaferi, a Christian working with the church in Tirana, came to Korca to visit his wife's family and the church. We were truly blessed on Sunday the 20th when Artan preached. He also brought over 10 visitors. This would be an amazing number for any small church, but since we are averaging anywhere from 4-10 on a Sunday it was even more amazing. We love to hear preaching in Albanian by an Albanian preacher. We are praying for an Albanian preacher to work with us.

Lizz Schaller’s Arrival:
Lizz Schallert came to Korca with the Xhaferi family. She is a 20-year-old college student who loves getting to know people. This is her first time in Albania so many things are new. It has been nice to have someone to help us work with the youth and of course to help us teach WEI.

Two visits:
Because our campaigners are here for a short time we wanted them to get to see some of the beauty and tourist attractions around us. Two of the most famous villages around us are Voskopoja (Vo-sko-poi-a) and Dardha (Dar-tha). Both villages are about an hour away from Korca, but in different directions. They are famous for different reasons: Voskopoja is famous for having churches with murals from the 13-18 centuries and Dardha famous for unspoiled beauty and slate roofed houses. Allison has students from both of these villages, so we thought we could kill two birds with one stone: see the villages and visit these families. We visited Voskopoja two times, the first time was with Sarah, Ginger, Kevin’s student Sedat and his wife Natasha. The next time was with Danah Nelson. On both trips to Voskopoja, we were able to see Allison’s students and eat at their family’s hotel. This was the first time we were able to meet their parents because they do not leave the hotel often.

On July 26th, we visited Dardha with Lizz. Allison’s student Florjana worked as a tour guide, taking us through the hills and showing us important attractions. We also got to pick rigon (wild marjoram) which is used a lot in Albanian cuisine. Both trips were so much fun because we got to spend time talking with our students’ families and see where they live.

Our dog:
On July 10, we decided to take in a stray puppy, who had been sleeping under our vehicle for about a week. We named him Samwise after the character in the Lord of the Rings. You may be wondering why we would put getting a dog in a newsletter about our work. In fact, this dog has had an interesting impact. He has worked as a bridge to talk to people on the street including many of our neighbors who we see everyday but have never talked with. In addition, our students have loved playing with him. He had helped us to settle a little more in the community. Unfortunately, he got sick. He had a malignant tumor that could not be cured by surgery. Then, he developed epilepsy from an infection that went to his brain. We had to put him to sleep on August 14th. We are grateful that God blessed us with him for a short time.

Teen Class:
We keep trying to see what will work in Korca. In the past, people have not been very interested in coming to extra classes. We decided to try a teen class again. Every year the church in Durres has a bible bowl and we thought that working and studying for this might be a good way to try to start the teen class again. Eri Pellumbi, a student from the Bible school in Durres has been a big help with this class. The first class had 10 in attendance. We will see what will happen over time. The ten has dwindled down to 2 because of vacations and commitments but we hope this number will grow again.

Pictures:
We have made some changes to our gallery this month (http://www.korcachurchesofchrist.com/gallery.html). We will be posting the old photos again. However, we wanted some input on the format. If you like the new look let us know, if you think it needs to be improved please give us some ideas of programs that you like. We want this to be an easy and fun way to “see” the work.

Prayer Requests:
-Rosa and Edi- We have been visiting Rosa as often as we can, and she always wants to hear Kevin’s Sunday lesson. Her son Edi has also enjoyed hearing it. Please pray that we can impact them through our relationship.

-Other classes- We have really found it difficult to start Bible classes that are above and beyond our WEI lessons. Please pray that we will have wisdom in this.

-Students- Please pray that the contacts that we are making will be good for the kingdom.

Praise:
Thank you for your prayers for Diana and Ridvan. Diana is growing by leaps and bounds. She wants to read everything we have, and she is a great example, and encouragement to us. Ridvan has been attending consistently, but it is difficult because his father-in-law is dying of lung cancer. We keep praying that his wife will want to attend.


In His Service,

Kevin and Allison Morrill