Yesterday we had our I-day, or should I say the “day when Ismajl went to Bible school”. In this particular case, it is the Discipleship Training School with Ywam Albania. The four of us – Redjep Cuni, Albijon Neziraj, Ismajl Quni and I – made a trip to Durres, Albania to drop him off over there.
For the first two, it was the very first trip to anywhere outside of Montenegro and Kosovo. Beforehand, due to the fact that they had no proper IDs they were unable to travel with us anywhere outside of these two countries.The things changed for them for better once they received their Kosovan ID cards. With these, on the top of the two, they are now able to travel to Albania and Macedonia. It is not much, but for the two of them, it is a whole lot.
Anyway, after the whole series of trials and difficulties (not being able to cross Montenegrin border at first due to Ismajl’s unfinished paperwork and being harassed by the Albanian road police), we finally got to the “new ministry base” in Durres, Albania. An interesting detail is that the new ministry base is located 900 m from the beach, in an area which is incredibly vibrant and busy during summer. The facility itself is the first hotel built in Durres Beach area after the fall of communism. I was told that “back in the old days” one could see the see from the terrace of the hotel. Nowadays, after the decades of construction works, it is something even unimaginable to think of.
In YWAM Albania base, Ismajl has joined a small of group of students that will go through 5 months-long program. The first 3 months they will spend in the base and the last 2 on the field, doing outreach in 3 different locations throughout the Balkans. The students will be exposed to intensive teaching, with a lot of practical work in various programs, projects and ministries that are taking place over there. We are all praying and hoping this will be a positive, challenging and enriching experience for Ismajl that will help him to engage all his capacities and potentials for the service to the Lord and contribute to his personal growth and maturing in faith. In addition to this, we are praying that this experience will give rest to his soul from all the unsolved issues he left at home.
Please pray for Ismajl’s perseverance, patience and endurance. The coming days and weeks will be very challenging for him, as he is alone in a new, unfamiliar environment that will inevitably bring out many of his fears and insecurities. Pray that he is able to overcome that with humility, courage and great commitment. Pray that the staff and other attendees show enough understanding for his needs, struggles and challenges and that there is a right “click” between him and them. Pray that he finds his God given place and role there rather sooner than later. Pray that we are the right support to him and his family.
