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| Arton helping to add finishing touches to his house! |
In December God placed on some friends’ hearts to finance a house/ church building project for one of the families in the church. This couple has become a true son and daughter in the church and we see much potential for leadership. God has greatly touched them and they are very involved serving in the church. Arton has been working with the teen age boys praying with and sharing the Gospel each week. Many of them still confess to be Muslim but we are praying for breakthrough as we build relationships and live as examples of lives redeemed. Didarje has been a great encouragement with the women and serves where needed in the church. Their family, friends and neighbors have seen a great change in their lives and are coming to church, and ultimately Jesus, seeking this same change.
Their current landlord came to them the first of May and gave them until the 15th to get out. God’s timing is amazing as they should move in to the new house on the 15th.
They are both very excited as we near completion. They are already planning the first worship service/ cell group meeting in that neighborhood.
Family Life Center
God gave us a vision for a Family life center almost one year ago. Today we are in the midst of seeing that vision working in the physical realm. These are the areas currently operating at the Family Life Center.
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| A little guy enjoying his spaghetti and Greek salad; One of the three weekly meals he now receives. |
We have been feeding 40-50 people on Saturday evening after service for the last 6 weeks. This not only gives us an opportunity to preach the Gospel but to demonstrate it also by meeting the needs of families who don’t have much to eat.
Three of the families in the church cannot find good work. The men have found jobs and work hard but because of their ethnic status as “Roma’s” their employers work them for a month or sometimes more and then say they have no money to pay them. They live multiple families in one house to try to make it on a promised income. When they get used like this, and we have seen it several times, it degrades and disheartens them. Your gifts make it possible to help feed these families 3 meals a week. Please pray they would find “good” work!
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| Feeding one of the more needy families in the church a hot, healthy meal. |
Medical attention and healthy living classes
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| The Doc is in! |
Recently we had to call our doctor friend for some sick children. She was on her vacation again, but was more than willing to see those who needed, and she came to us at the FLC. She has been a doctor for 28 years and a tremendous blessing to us in caring for these families. As we shared our vision for preventive health training she got excited. She said the main problem is these folks are a lower socioeconomic people group who were never trained how to care for themselves or their children. She said, “When you are ready, call me, I want to help you”. She is not a Christian….yet! God is already showing His favor in this area. That day she examined 3 families of which 1 adult and 5 children were in need of prescription medications. We were able to provide the medications.
Laundry Services
We were blessed with donations for the Family Life Center that included a washing machine where some of the families from the church could come to wash clothes. For these young mothers who cannot afford disposable diapers and do not have access to cloth diapers this is a huge blessing. Kathi is in the process of teaching them how to make and apply cloth diapers using a cotton fabric with a plastic covering. This should help reduce the laundry demands on then. We’ve also strung plenty of clothes line for drying. |
| The youth getting ready for ping pong. |
All this and more
We are still seeing the children’/youth ministry grow on Saturday mornings where kids come and hear the Gospel and pray and sing songs like, “Jesus Loves the Little Children”. When we visit their neighborhoods we hear these songs being sung by the kids. Music gets into the Spirit and is something they will never forget.
Each week on Saturday morning we are averaging 30-40 kids under age 11 and 15 young men 11-15 years old. God is softening hearts and they all hear the Good News.
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| Hello to all who make this program possible! |
After one of the meals served during the week, Kathi was talking with a woman and she remembered being in a refugee camp in Albania during the war in 1999. She remembered “Christians” singing songs and tried to remember how one particular song went. Kathi was able to pick it up from the tune and soon they were singing, “Jesus, Prince of Peace, Glory, Hallelujah” in Shqip. The woman picked up the tambourine and started to play. Her brother-in-law, who plays drums for weddings, soon joined in and helped with the timing. Spontaneous worship broke out and all were encouraged in The Lord.
Our vision for the Family Life Center includes not only feeding the poor, but training in various life skills. We want to not only supply the fish but teach them how to fish for themselves.
Please be in prayer for:
· The men of the church to find good work.
· Finances to continue to build on the vision of the Family Life Center.
· Holy Spirit to continue to touch and change lives in our midst.
· We will need to pay 700 Euros, about $1000, in July for annual health insurance required by Kosova to maintain our permit to live here. This amount will cover both Kathi and I.
· We are also seeking God to provide 200 Euros for tires on the van and another 200 Euros, approximately $300, for our membership to the National Association for Churches in Kosova.
It is only through your financial and prayer support that we can continue to do His work here in Kosova. If you would like to be a part of our financial team please send tax free donations to: HCC 1741 Oakhill Rd. Wooster, Ohio 44691. For tax reasons make checks payable to HCC and mark Kosova-Z in the memo.
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| Grateful for a hot meal! |
