Albanian Stories: Post 4 - Berti & many others

Last night on the train I finally finished God's Secret Listener. I'd started this 200 page, very readable book just before I headed to Albania- it's spent far too much time in the bottom of my bag since then. It tells the story of  how the church has emerged in the last two decades out of the former communist state, once heralded as the first atheistic country in the world.  The author uses the life of Berti Dosti to illustrate some of the truly amazing things that have happened in this country during and after Communism. To give you an incredibly oversimplified version of Berti's story:  As an army captain during the days of Communism, he came across a TWR programme in Albanian. It was Berti's job as a communications expert to block out any kind of foreign or religious content being broadcast into the country. Yet his curiosity led him to keep listening... And so began the journey which led Berti to faith. After the fall of Communism he became Pastor Berti and I got to meet him at the church and education centre he continues to lead today.

There is so much more to Berti's story than I've sketched above. And the same is true for the work of the church and of Christians in Albania, particularly in these past two decades. The people I met on my trip, including Berti & his colleague Alma (who is a great inspiration to me personally) have given me some wonderful stories to share with others about how media (particularly radio) can be used to reach people in all kinds of places and situations. And when there are Christians there working on the ground too, God uses this combination to lead people to faith and produce churches that give so much to their communities. This is what inspires me and gives me the desire to work with TWR. 

That would have been a nice place to end to the post. However, I think it's important to say I'm also really challenged as I see first-hand and read about the commitment of others. How much of myself am I willing to give for what I believe in? Do I persevere when things are tough? As I continue to blog in the coming weeks I'd like to share more about my experiences through support raising. Hopefully this will encourage me to keep blogging and in doing so keep reflecting on things. And if I can insert a little plug here: I hope it encourages you to keep reading : )