Hello,

Last Wednesday my cast came off and it feels better off. I still have some pain in my lower arm but it is getting better. I am using my right hand as I type this and this is the first time in over a month that I have been able to do that. But I can not type very long. The cast was on for one month, two days, and 13 hours (give or take a few minutes).

Last Sunday we had 32 for worship and today we had 34. The good part is that this is the time of year that the attendance drops off. This week many of our members have tests at school. Some of our students have told us that they will not come to study this week because of tests. Every Sunday we have a few members who do not come but the numbers stay up. Sometimes I wonder if they take turns missing.

We have had some good weather lately. We had some cold days about a week or ten days ago. We have had some good rain the last few days and it looks like we will have more rain the next few days. I think there has been lots of snow in the mountains. That is a good place for it. There has been a cold wind blowing today. The wind makes it feel cold.

We have added a few new students and we have a few others waiting to start. Roger M. will be back tomorrow and we will put him to work with a few new students. Beni Leke is here and will be here for about a week. Beni grew up here in Korca and now lives in Athens. He returns one or two times a year and helps with the work.

My arm tells me I have typed enough for now, so good night.

Bill and Nancy

Hello,

According to the people today is the first day of spring. They believe that winter ends on the last day of February. There is a cold wind blowing, otherwise it would feel like spring. Last night people built fires outside, I do not understand why. Most people here do not know why.  It is a very old custom and some say it goes back to pagan days. The teenagers here built a large fire that burned until after 9:00 PM. It started raining before 10:00 P.M. There was a cold wind blowing so most people went back in early. Two years ago there were people outside until after 10:00. After the fire burns down people jump over it. The people who had a live Xmas tree burned it last night. The bad part of this is the smoke. Smoke came into our apartment and caused me some sinus trouble.

The weather has been nice lately. We had lots of snow Monday between 7:00 and 8:00 P.M. It was warm enough that the snow did not last long. We had some good rain Sunday and Monday and it has been raining off and on all day today. We have had lots of wind the last two weeks. When the wind blows our apartment becomes a wind tunnel and we can not stay warm.

Our attendance at worship is still staying at about 30. We have been told that we could be having 50 by summer. Last Sunday we had 31.

Our teaching goes on about the same. I am writing this at about 2:30 P.M. and Nancy has her class of seven (six girls and one boy present today) younger students. Today they started the book of Exodus. The students
seem to enjoy the class.

My passport is due to expire on June 4, 2002. We plan to return to the USA next January and stay there about 90 days. We want to give reports on our work and I would like to hold a few short meetings.

My wrist is getting better but I still have a little pain from my arm to my shoulder.

We have lights most of the time. They still go off but are back on in a few minutes. It helps to have heat when the wind blows like it has lately. When we first came here we were told that the wind blows. My thoughts
were that the wind blows in the USA. But now I think that the wind does blow here. Now I think that the wind does not blow in the USA.

Bill and Nancy Saltsman

(Comment: fighting in Kosova has been between the rebel groups in Kosova and those is Serbia on the other side of Kosova away from Albania. NATO is on top of this conflict so there is nothing to fear in Albania or in Prizren, Kosova where Doug Smith is working with the new church there. Edit: Bob Patterson.)

The attendance at worship is staying at about 30. There has been lots of sickness since the first of the year. It looks like it is about over with or we hope it is. Some of our students come to study when they sound like they should be in bed.

Tomorrow we will go to Tirana for a WEI meeting. This will give us a break from teaching, the first since early in the year.

Another one of our students has gone to the USA. Ira is 15 and had studied with us since the summer of 1997. She is a wonderful girl and we will miss her. Her parents got their visa to move to the USA and they will live in
the Detroit area.

We thought we had a problem with our email system but now I do not know.  We got no email Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (March 15-17). This is the first time in a long time that we have gone that long without email. If
you sent us something during that time, please let us know.

The weather is warmer and the power is better. There is little need for heat and so people are not using their heater. Also, there is not as much smoke in the air from people burning wood for heat.

One night last week our water heater went out. We called Klara and she called her uncle who has a shop that sells heaters. She told him what we needed. The next morning I went to the shop and arranged for the heater to
be delivered. The shop arranged for two men to come and put the heater in. I was afraid I would be taking cold baths but it did not happen.

Roger Michael is back in Korca and will be here until May.

That is all for today.

Bill and Nancy

Hello,

I know it has only been two days since we sent a report but we send reports when we have something to report. We think the following is worth reporting now. I hope all of you agree.

Anjeza was baptized last June 4. She has been studying with a few people already (I do not know how many). Recently she has been studying with a cousin and her cousin's husband. Now they are ready to be baptized but there are some problems. The cousin is four months pregnant so we do not know if we can baptize her in the bathtub. The lake is not warm enough yet. Also, the mother-in-law does not want them to be baptized. So please pray for these two that they might soon be baptized.

We are making plans for this summer. The last ones we baptized last summer were a young couple named Drini and Xhensila. They live in a village east of Korca. Yesterday Drini said he understands he must start the church in his village. They came to study planning to go to the USA. Now we are planning to help start the church in their village. They say there is a large building in their village that is not being used and we might be able to rent it. If our plans work we will start going out there when school is out in early June. Please pray for this also.
Senja is now 17. She first came to Nancy's children's class in the summer of 1997 and then she started studying the WEI books. Her cousin baptized her in the summer of 1999. Recently she told me about someone who came to her door. He was a boy and a member of the Jehovah Witnesses. As they were talking the boy said something about the book of Daniel. Senja told him that the book of Luke said that prophecy was already fulfilled. The boy could not find the book of Luke. After a few minutes he said "Don't you have something else to do?" About that time Senja's grandmother came out and the boy left. The good part of this is that Senja was in the Jehovah Witnesses when she first started studying with us. It took several lessons for her to see the errors of that group.

Some of the ones we have baptized were teaching the Bible before they were baptized. Others that we baptized started teaching their friends some after their baptism. We do not tell them to go teach. They see the need and teach. This is one reason we enjoy this work so much.

If we get a few extra teachers this summer we might try to go to two or three other villages to teach. There are some that we think we can get into without any problem.

Bill and Nancy

Hello,

Last week we told you about Anjeza who has been teaching her cousin. The cousin and her husband wanted to be baptized. The plans are to baptize them early Sunday afternoon but there will not be two, there will be four or maybe more. We have found a large tank to baptize them in. Anjeza is a good teacher and we hope that she and Bruna can go to the British Bible School this fall. I have always thought that Bruna was a good teacher but now it seems that Anjeza is better. Now, if we can get them into a Bible school no telling what they will do.

Last week we also told you about Drini and Xhensila. They plan to start the church in their village. We hope that some day they will be able to go to a good Bible school. Saturday they came and got some teaching material. Xhensila has five students that she will study with. She is only 17 years old and in her last year of high school. She will be using the World English Institute Bible lessons, which have been translated into Albanian. She will use both the English and the Albanian translation with her students.

Remember to pray for these.

Last Sunday was a good day. We had 30 for worship. It was a cool wet day. It started raining on Friday and is still raining. We know it is spring because last Friday there was lots of thunder.

It has been a long day so I will bring this to an end. I hope to send you more good email Sunday night. Have a good night! I will.

Bill and Nancy

Hello,

More about the two girls who were baptized on Saturday: Their names are Ornela and Anxhelina, (in Texas it is Angelina). Anxhelina started attending worship last year and has come to a Wednesday afternoon Bible
class. About three weeks ago she told her parents that she wanted to be baptized. They said no and told her she could not attend the worship or the Bible class. They allowed her to be baptized and she was at worship Sunday. Pray for her that she will be able to keep coming to worship. Anjeza has said she will talk to Anxhelina's parents about letting her come to worship. She knows very little English.

We had 28 for worship Sunday. The weather was cold and windy. There was some snow coming down but it did not stay on the street or sidewalk. There is lots of new snow on the hills around town.

This is a short report. I started it this morning but the power was off for a while two or three times today. Also, there were other things going during the day. I will bring this to an end for now and try to write more
later.
Bill and Nancy

Hello,

Yesterday we had our first woman's day and from what I was told it went very well. There were about 24 who attended, most stayed for the whole day but a few left early. Nancy was the last speaker and when she finished everybody left. The program was planned for 10:00 until 5:00 but it ended when Nancy finished at about 3:45. Ornela and Anxhelina, the last two we baptized recently, were there. Anxhelina had been attending the worship every Sunday but she was not there this morning. There were a few others who attend worship who attended yesterday but not this morning. I hope they will have another woman's day before school starts this fall.

Ornela is 13 years old. Recently her parents were divorced. This will be very hard on her because of the way people here feel about divorce. Her younger brother has been attending worship the last few Sundays. Some of our girl members have been studying with Ornela's mother. They say she seems to be open to Bible study. Keep this family in your prayers.

We had 31 for worship last Sunday and 25 today. Our regular song leaders were not there this morning but the singing was still very good.

Klara has recently been told that she can not have another baby. She was not feeling well so she went to a doctor and he told her the bad news. She was very sad for about a week. She seemed to feel better today.
The weather can not make up its mind if it is winter or summer. We had a day or two of hot weather last week but yesterday afternoon it turned cooler and today it is almost cold. We have not had snow but we have had some good rain.

Bill and Nancy

Hello,

It has been a month since I sent a report because there has been nothing to write about. Friday was the last day of school for most students and there has been lots of end of school actives. There are a few who will go to school this week. There are many who will be taking tests the rest of this month and some who take tests into next month. Those who are finishing grades eight and 12 and all university students are taking tests. There may be a few others who have to take tests after classes end. See what students in the USA miss out on.

After a few false starts I think summer may be here. That is what I thought about ten days ago but it was a false start. Ten days ago it was very warm (maybe 90) but then it cooled down. There was a day or two when we needed a jacket when we went outside. Yesterday and today we do not need a jacket. We have had some good rain lately.

Wednesday we start our summer teaching program. We will have classes for all ages from 14 months (Klara's baby) on up. We do not know how many or what ages but I think we are going to be busy. Klara wants her baby to be with other children so Klara is bringing her baby to class.

Our number at worship has been down last Sunday and today. Part of this is because people are studying for tests.

We have several who want to go to Bible Camp at Vlora. Vlora is on the sea, south of Tirana. Last year was their first camp. The camp is in the mountains near Vlora.

See, I told you there was nothing to write about.

Bill and Nancy

Hello,
In our last report I told you about Ermenita, the 15-year old girl that is helping to teach the children. She studies with Nancy at 4:00 PM five days a week. Today she came early and told Nancy that she is ready to be baptized. She has talked to her parents and they said it was all right.  She decided because of what Helen Young said Saturday at the meeting in Tirana. We will work out a time and then go to the lake. It may be Saturday before we can go.

Nancy was studying with another student, a young woman of about 25, about baptism. The student said she was baptized, by immersion, for forgiveness of her sins. She had studied the Bible and understood what it said. We have heard this from several people we know. I have heard it said that you must have help not to understand the Bible. We are seeing it more and more here. People have been given Bibles and they read and understand what it says.

Bill and Nancy

Last Tuesday afternoon my student did not come at 3:00 so I turned the TV on at 3:15 and I was shocked at what I saw, the World Trade Center in smoke. I did not believe it at first, but they kept talking about what was happening so I had to believe. We have had several people tell us they are sorry about what happened. Two of my former students, one I had not seen in two years, came to see us with words of comfort. We have had a few phone calls also. Everyone has been very good to us. On Wednesday I told some of my students that I was not feeling like studying. Some students did not come and it may have been that they thought we would not be studying. It had been a long time since anything had hit me like that.

We can watch TV from Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Albania, and Greece. We get most of our news from BBC. Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday most channels were caring only the news from the USA. We still see news about what happened.

Bruna is now in England going to Bible school. We have other members who are making plans to go to the school. One is Ermenita, the last girl we baptized, but we told her she will have to finish high school first. We planned a going away party for Bruna but she planned faster than we did so we let her have her kind of party. It was a good party.

Today is back to school for most students in Albania. Two of Nancy's students came after school for a short visit. One talked about how hard the first day was. We will take a holiday until Oct. 1. Since many of our students are in school we will give them time to get settled into school and then we will start teaching again. Nancy does not plan to take a complete holiday. She plans to clean house and I plan to try to stay out of her way.

The weather is cooler and we have had some rain. The rain started in mid August which is normal for here.

The attendance for worship went down in mid summer but now it has gone back up. We have had 27 and 25 the last two Sundays. We think it will go up some more this fall and winter. That is the way it has been in the past. People here are just like the people in the USA.

It is time to end this and send it.

Bill and Nancy

Summer is over and winter is moving in. It is time for another report.   This is late, not because we are busy, but because there is not much to write about. Also because the power is off so much of the time. Since Oct. 22 we have been without power three or more hours every day. One day the power will be off from about 7:30 or 8:00 AM until about 2:00 PM. The next day it will be off from 2:00 PM until 6:00 or later. It is hard to teach by candlelight. Then there have been a few days when we should have had lights but we did not. Maybe now that we have had some rain there will be more water at the power plant and we will have better power.

Two weeks ago we had some very cold weather but after two days it warmed up and the weather has been clear and warm. Today it looks like winter is coming. It has been raining the last few days and we needed the rain. When the clouds are gone we may see lots of snow on the mountains and maybe some here in the city.

We have about 50 students and have added six new students in the last week. There have been times when we would have 70 or 80 students at this time of year. We wonder if we may not have the students because of September 11. Most of the students we have are very good students. We now have time to do better teaching for those who have been baptized. 

We have decided to use our living room for our Sunday worship. The house we used for a year was good but the people wanted too much for it. A man was renting it and we rented it from him. He has bought a house, which has a large basement room that we thought about using but our members did not like it. So we decided that our living room was better. We used the basement for five Sundays and our attendance dropped from 20 to nine. It seemed like moving time. 

We are planning to return to the USA about Jan. 9 and stay until late April. If we return at that time we go to Portland, OR first for a workshop. Then we will go to Abilene, TX or Jackson, TN. We want to give reports to some churches. I would like to hold some short meetings in March or early April. Let us know if you would like for us to visit with you.

There should be more to write but I can not remember what it is. So I will end for now and try to write more next time.

Bill and Nancy Saltsman

Hello,
It looks like we are in for a very long, cold, hard winter. Our first snow in Korca was on Saturday November 26. Since then we have had snow every Saturday and some in between. The early snow melted after a few days.  Last week it was below freezing all day most days. Everything was covered with snow on Friday but some of it melted on Saturday. Then about midnight Saturday it started snowing and it is still snowing (it is about 3:45 PM as  write this. It has been snowing almost nonstop for the last 40 hours. It looks like we will have a white Xmas and maybe a white Easter also. The schools were closed today and we were told that travel is very slow if at all. But it is nice to be inside and look at the snow. 

We tried something new yesterday. Ermenita, one of our 16 year-old members, had a Bible class for children last summer. She had them singing. Last week some of her students told her that they wanted to sing. So she made plans for a program. Yesterday at 10:45 AM they put on their program. They sing a few song (Xmas and non-Xmas) and each child spoke a few lines. It sounded very good. Then everyone stayed for worship. We had 28 for worship, about half were here for worship for the first time. We hope that they will return for worship. Some of those in the program study with Nancy now. 

We still have about 50 students between us. Most of our teaching is on Monday, Friday, and Saturday. Most of our students have been baptized and they are studying from the Bible. Nancy has one class on Fridays that has seven girls. They are studying the life of Jesus. Five of the seven have been baptized.

The power seems to be better now. The last week in November we had power most of the time but that may have been because there were two holidays that week. Lately, when the power has been off, it was back on within three hours. The bad thing is when the lights go off when they should be on. We heat with electricity and it gets cool in our apartment when the power is off. 

They have put in new water lines all over Korca. They say we will soon have running water 24 hours a day. We have had running water from 6:00 AM until about 7:30 AM. Then in the afternoon we have running water from about 4:00 until 6:30 or 7:00. We have a storage tank that holds about 40 gallons of water so we have water all the time, if we get water every day.  The washing machine only works if we have good water pressure (from incoming water) and good electricity at the same time.

The first Xmas we were here there was very little to show that it was Xmas. It was very drab. Now there are Xmas lights and trees all over the city.  It is nice to see the lights.

Bill and Nancy Saltsman

PS It is now after 8:00 PM and it is time to wrap this up. I hope to send it in about an hour. The water came on at about 5:35 and was off before 7:00. It is still snowing. But the lights are still on. You can not have everything. Today may have been a legal holiday, the last day of Ramadan.

Bill

Hello,
Our New Year is off to a mixed start. Our daughter lost her baby and my Mom has been very sick. There have been a few good things also. Here is a short report on the last few days.

The weather was very cold about Xmas time and we had a white Xmas. The last Saturday in December the temp went above freezing before noon and it stayed that way day and night until New Year Day. Then the cold air returned and it has been cold the last few days. It started snowing just before midnight Monday and we had about two inches of new snow to start the year.

New Year's is the biggest holiday here in Korca. On New Year eve there were very few people out until almost mid night. Then the fireworks started and people came out. People were shooting fireworks from their balcony and while standing in the street. It was very good to watch because we did not have to go outside.

In Korca the first three days of the year almost everything is shut down. Shops started closing Monday afternoon and nothing was open on Tuesday. Wednesday a few shops were open. On Monday I bought enough food to last the holidays.

Over the weekend our daughter lost her baby. That means our travel plans are changed again. We now plan to leave here in early February and return in May. I fear I may have diabetes and I need to see a diabetologist. Also, my Mom has been sick and we need to visit her. While we are back there we want to visit some of you. We will set some dates later.

We have had several of our friends come to visit us. We have received many Xmas/New Year cards from people in Korca. We received one from my former student who is now in the USA. We did not know that Manjola had gone to the USA. She said she received her visa and left the next day. She is in Warren, Mich. We have some other former students living in that area.

The power has been better lately but it still goes off at odd times and stays off for up to three hours.

I said this would be a short report so I better stop now.

Bill and Nancy Saltsman

Bill and Nancy

Tuesday, July 6, 2004
Hello,

We had 26 in VBS this morning.  We also had three teachers and one helper.  Nancy is trying to keep everything in running order.  I do not know who is the most excited, the teachers or the students.  We had eight more today than we had yesterday.  If we get that many more tomorrow, I do not know where we will put them.  Mira said they could stand up.  VBS has gone very well.  This is all new to two of the teachers.  Last year Mira helped Nancy so she knows a little about this kind of school.  One teacher, Elsa is 15 years old.  Ardita is a schoolteacher in her early 30's.  We have known her several years.  Some of Mira's English students are doing the puppet show.  They have done very well.  They asked to do this. 

Mira is staying very busy.  Not only does she work with the VBS she also is teaching her English students every afternoon. 

This is about all the news we have.  I had to tell you about today.  It has been very hot the last few days but they students still come.

Bill and Nancy
 

Hello,

We have been back in Korca, Albania for three weeks today.  At last we are able to get online.  There has been a problem getting on line.  I thought the problem was my computer but now I think that too many people are trying to use the internet service here in Korca.
Saturday I got on line for the first time since we have been back. 

We had a good visit in the States but it was good to get back home.  We did not visit all of the people we wanted to visit but the cost of gas kept us from driving too much.   

We will write more at a later time.  It looks like we will have a busy summer.

Bill and Nancy.

PS:  Bill has one young man that wants to attend the International School of Preaching in Tirana beginning September 7, 2005. He will need support. Write Dick Ady if you would like to sponsor Bill's "preacher-boy." (Bob Patterson)
 

We plan to have VBS in the village where Mira teaches. She has said about 75 of her students have told her they plan to come to the school.  The problem is the place she had planned to have the school.  We were told Friday that we could not use it because they have other things planned for that week.  Tomorrow Mira will see if there is a place that we can use.

Then on Monday, July 4, we will start a one week VBS at our house.  I hope it will be as good as the one we had last year.  Our big problem is we need more teachers.  At this time Mira will be the only teacher. Some of Mira’s students have said they will help.

Sometime, about July 1, we plan to move.  We plan to rent a new apartment near where we now live.  We hope that most of our students will keep studying with us. The apartment is not finished.  It should be ready any day now.  We hope it is because we need to get out of this house.  It is making us sick because of the mold growing in it.

We think that will keep us busy for a few days.  We will let you know how things go.  Remember us in your prayers. 

Bill and Nancy

 

More later,

Bill and Nancy.

Bill and Nancy.  

Hello,
We will return to the USA on Feb. 19, 2007 and that will end our work in Albania.  We will stay in Abilene a few days and then go to Jackson, Tenn.  Then we want to visit all of the churches that are helping us.  We want to be back in Abilene in early April.

Those are the plans at this time.   Bill
 

Hello,

We have had our first snow this fall. It has snowed twice but it was gone by the end of the day. That is my kind of snow.

Nancy has been having pain in her lower back and left hip. Last week Mira went with Nancy to see a doctor. They took a Xray. The doctor said Nancy has arthritis. He gave her some pain pills and she does not have as much pain. I seem to have the same problem.

During the summer Mira started a children's Bible class on Wednesday at 9 AM. When school started she changed it to Sunday at 9 AM. Nancy and two girls help her. I write the puppet skits. There has been as many as 20 in class.

Nancy and I have about 10 students each and Mira has over 100 students. We now have another teacher teaching 2 hours a week.

Have a good holiday and do not eat too much.

Bill

Belton, Missouri:
The first weekend of February we had the pleasure of visiting Belton, Missouri. While we were in Bartlesville, we spoke with Dennis and Fredia Winebarger, and they invited us to come and visit the church in Belton. We had the pleasure of attending a night of church fellowship on Saturday night and Kevin spoke
on Sunday morning. The church was very welcoming. It was also great to see Dennis, Fredia and their daughter Leslie.

Trip to Maryville, Killen and Lynchburg (March 1st thru 5th):
During Kevin’s Spring Break weekend we made a trip to Tennessee and Alabama. Our stay would have been longer but we drove to the airport in a blizzard, had a flight cancelled, got on one of the only flights of the day, and had to sleep in the airport in Atlanta because of more flight problems. (Bad weather seemed to be a theme of our travels!) On Friday we met with some of the members of the missions committee in
Maryville.

On Saturday we traveled with Bill Morgan and his wife Mozelle to Killen, Alabama where we met with the missions committee, elders and deacons. This was a very helpful visit because we were also able to meet with the Saltsmans. They had just come back to the States and were able to fill us in on some of the details of the work they had done. We were also able to talk to Roger Michaels. Roger has been working with the Saltsmans for years on short-term trips and was just about to leave for Korce when we met up with him. He plans be over there from March until November. We had the opportunity to worship with the church in Killen on Sunday March 4th.

After lunch Bill and Mozelle traveled with us to Lynchburg, Tennessee where we met with the church leaders. That evening we had the opportunity to visit with the congregation and join them for their Sunday evening service. We flew out the following day from Nashville. The weekend was a whirlwind of activity. The churches that we met with seemed very positive about the work in Korce and Pogradec.

Auburn:
We also have been visiting with the brothers and sisters at the church in Auburn, Nebraska. Kevin was given the opportunity to preach there on March 25th. We had visited the church there a few times before and they were very interested in hearing about the work in Albania. Auburn is a two and a half hour drive from where we live, but it is a pretty drive and the church is very welcoming.

Fundraising:
We are still fundraising. Because our work has expanded to two cities we will have a greater need for one-time contributions. We have been blessed with $11,400 in one-time support already. This leaves us needing approximately $22,600 in one time support. One of our biggest upfront expenses will be the purchase of a van. Our hope is to transport the members of the two churches back and forth to visit each other and also to transport us for the work. The vans (taxis) in Albania are wonderful, but there are specific times that they are available, and we want to have the flexibility to visit people’s homes in Pogradec in the evenings. This was a vital part of our ministry before, and we predict it will be again.

We are so happy to report that we have reached our goal for monthly support for the first year! We say first year because part of our monthly support will be coming from the Bell Trust, an organization which helps to support missions. The idea behind the Bell Trust is that churches and missionaries will find ways to takeover the support that they have provided, so as we look to the coming years we need to see our funding as if the Bell Trust money is not there.

Packing:
We have begun the process of packing. It seems like such a long time away, but we will be leaving York May 28th. Our plan is to have a little family time and arrive in Maryville, Tennessee on June 13th to work with the church there for three months. There is so much to do, but the excitement is building!

Prayer Requests:
Please pray that we end the school year well. There is so much to do with both of our jobs before we are done. Pray that we are able to raise the funds needed to buy a vehicle. Most importantly pray for the cities of Korce and Pogradec. Pray that the churches and their workers will be encouraged. Pray that hearts will be softened and prepared for our arrival.

Thank you so much for your continued support!!

Kevin and Allison Morrill

Contact Information:
Our email: morrills@fastmail.us

Sponsoring Congregation:
Maryville Church of Christ
611 Sherwood Dr.
P.O. Box 5293
Maryville, TN 37802-5293

Tom England (Chair Missions Committee)
Email: teepe2@earthlink.net
Phone: 865-856-0731

This is a very quick note to ask for your prayers for us, Roger Michael,
and the church in Korca, Albania.

Some of you may have already heard this news, but many more have not. On
Thursday May 23 Mira Meminaj was accidently electrocuted. Mira was a
central part of the church in Korca. She assisted with translation, and
taught beginners English courses to hundreds of children. Though only
27 she was a very strong and committed Christian. The few times that we
had met with her in the past had been such an encouragement to us. We
were truly looking forward to working with her and building our
friendship.

Please pray for the Christians in Korca, as well as Mira’s mother who is
a widow and now has no family close by.

We will keep you posted as we receive details from Roger Michael who is
currently working in Korca.

In His Service,
Kevin and Allison
 

Dear Kevin and Allison,

My heart is breaking. I have known, loved, and appreciated Mira for a decade. During the 1997 revolution, she and her mother took Bill and Nancy Saltsman into their home and protected them from the insurgents. She was like a daughter to them. I know they are devastated. I have observed Mira teach the Beginner's English Course for Albanians children of various ages. She was, indeed, the backbone of the church in Korce. What a terrible loss to the cause of Christ in southeastern Albania.

I know you are terribly disappointed and heart-sick, as I am. She would have been such a blessing to you in your work. The only silver lining in the cloud is the fact that she was a faithful Christian. My concern, right now, is for her mother. Mira has gone on to be with her Lord, but her mother has been left virtually alone.

All we can do is pray for her and the church in Korce and help in every way we can. I know that Roger will not let her starve.

May God bless you as you prepare to move. You are a God-send.

With brotherly love,
Dick Ady

(Some)Picture Explanations:
Rainbow November 1- This was a picture taken from the balcony of our apartment in Korca.

Potluck 1- Right to Left: Klotida, Kevin’s WEI student who is Muslim. Mira, mentioned in an earlier newsletter, a Muslim woman who is searching. Diana, mentioned in this newsletter.

Potluck 2- Ola and Sara: Ola is Allison’s translator for the children’s class and her sister Sara often attends the children’s class and worship with Ola. They are Muslim.

Potluck 3-Back to front: Altin Plasa, Virgil, Virgil’s relative, Ervis (Allison’s WEI student who has been attending)

Potluck 4- Setting up for the meal. Back to front: Diana Mira,
Klotilda, Ola, and Allison

Potluck 5- Sitting down to eat.

Snow Day- This was a picture of a wood delivery outside our apartment in Korca.

Thank You:
Know that we appreciate each of you. We are warmed by your prayers, and love hearing from you.

In Christ,
Kevin and Allison Morrill


 

Prayer Requests:
This has been a blessed month and we are certain that is because of your continued prayers for our work. Thank you so much.

-We ask that you keep our Albanian language study in your prayers. Our teacher wanted to teach us for about another month or so. She wants us to get through the second grade. We hope to encourage her to continue, but she is really busy. It does seem like we are taking one step forward and two steps back sometimes, but we know we are improving.

-Please pray that we will have an impact on the community and see ways we can help.
 
-Pray for Rosa and the church on May 24th because that is the one year anniversary of Mira’s death.

In Christ,
Kevin and Allison Morrill


Contact Information:

Kevin and Allison Morrill
            
 

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


Pictures: http://www.korcachurchesofchrist.com/gallery.html
Our email: morrills@fastmail.us
 

If you click on the word “details” above the picture, there is more information on many of the pictures.

In His Service,
Kevin and Allison Morrill

 

This month saw the end of summer vacation and the beginning of the new school year. Our summer campaign was over so we took on new students from the summer. The first two weeks of the month were quite busy because we were teaching our old and new students and everyone wanted to get as many hours in as they could before the school year began. We are actually the opposite of our students: when they are in school, we have more free time. When school began on September 15, most of our teaching hours moved to the afternoon, which gave us time to catch up on things we had neglected around the house. Because most activities just take longer here, it was nice to have some time again to run errands, pay bills and cook meals. We make everything from scratch by necessity, so it is not uncommon to spend two or three hours in the kitchen for a meal.

The weather is getting colder so we, like most people in Korca, have winter on our minds. We brought our wood stove in from the balcony and have prepared for our wood to be delivered. The days are getting shorter. When it gets cold, many families stay in around the fire and do not venture out after dark.

Movie Night:
We had a movie night to celebrate the end of the summer holiday with our students. We wanted to watch another Veggie Tale but all of them seemed to have the same problem of pixilation when projected, so we watched “Nanny McPhee” instead. The students all seemed to like it. We hope to continue activities even during the winter months.

Albanian Leaders/Workers’ meeting:
On September 13, Kevin and Virgil Mitka from the church in Pogradec, attended a meeting in Lushnje. It was a wonderful meeting with preachers and members from many churches in Albania. The meeting focused on James chapter 4 and talked about possibilities for starting a new youth camp in Albania. These meetings are a real blessing and encouragement for us to see fellow workers from all over Albania. There was added an blessing for Kevin to get to spend time with Virgil and talk about the work in Pogradec. Allison usually attends with Kevin but was recovering from a bad cold, so she stayed home.

Vacation:
After an action packed summer and the first two weeks of September, we were exhausted. We thought it was best to take a few days and celebrate our wedding anniversary and Allison’s 30th birthday, so we went to Greece. We took a bus to Thessalonica. This was made a little interesting by a strike of the Greek boarder police, but we did finally get across the boarder and to Thessalonica. This is usually a four-hour bus trip but took about 8 hours. We saw a lot of the Greek countryside because the bus was by no means direct. After spending the night in Thessalonica, we took a bus to Kavala. The Apostle Paul entered this port when he visited Philippi. We stayed three days in Kavala before returning to Albania. The weather was nice and we were blessed with sunshine. We had time to relax and spent a day at the archeological site of Philippi about 45 minutes from Kavala. This was very interesting. Living in Albania, we have seen many ancient walls, amphitheaters, Roman baths etc. but it was truly amazing to be in a place described in the Bible. On our return to Albania, we took a few hours to look around Thessalonica before our bus left. This new city is built over the old city so there are not as many visible ruins. We were able to see a Roman bath, amphitheater, and some other building. We also got to eat at a Chinese buffet. It was a nice change of pace. Over all it was a nice and relaxing trip and we returned to Albania refreshed. The boarder police strike had ended the day before we left to return home, so we spent only an hour at the boarder that time.

Prayer Requests:
Students- Please continue to pray for the summer/school year transition for students. Also pray that our students will have the desire to attend worship.

Rosa- Rosa was given notice at her job. She had been working as a dishwasher at the local university. The kitchen was privatized an all of the workers lost there jobs. Please pray for the family as she is looking for a new job.

Albanian Language- Pray for us in the month of October, as we will begin Albanian language study again after a summer off. We have learned so much but still have so much to learn.

Thank you so much for continuing to read our newsletters we really appreciate your partnership in our work. Your prayer helps us so much.

Campaign:
If you are interested in helping us with our work, we always love fellow workers. It is not too early to start thinking about next summer. Extra teachers are great anytime of the year. If you are interested in working with us next summer or another time of the year, please send us an e-mail and we can give you further information.

Pictures:
If you would like to see some pictures from this month. You can access pictures at: http://www.korcachurchesofchrist.com/pictures

 If you click on the word “details” above the picture, there is more information on many of the pictures.


In His Service,
Kevin and Allison Morrill
 

May God Richly Bless you,

Kevin and Allison Morrill

 

September has been a busy month with our arrival back in Albania, settling back into our apartment with a new baby, getting our schedules organized, beginning to teach students and above all welcoming a new sister into Christ.

Arrival in Albania:
We arrived in Albania September 5. All of our luggage arrived with us, and Michael’s stroller came that night at 2:30 in the morning. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers on our behalf.

We are settling back into the language and culture after a little time away. It has proved easier than we thought it would. We had the pleasure of worshiping with the church in Durres on Sunday, September 6. We were able to meet some old friends, as well as, fellowship with some new Christians during Bible class and the potluck that followed the service. In the evening we worshiped with the Tirana congregation. We took a few days in Tirana to do some chores so that we would not have to make special trips for them. These included: buying Bibles and other books, working on paperwork for our residency permit, and taking Michael for his 2 month check up. We are getting over jet lag which is a little more difficult with a 2 month old to keep you up, but Michael has been sleeping well over all.

Arrival in Korca:
When we arrived in Korca, we came back to a decorated apartment. Bruna, Diana and Eva (one of Kevin’s students) made signs and paper chains to: welcome us home, welcome Michael to his new home and wish Allison a Happy Birthday. We felt so loved. September 13 was our first Sunday back. It was so encouraging. There were many new faces that had come during Summer Campaign. Kevin preached for the first time in Albanian in a few months and Roger gave the evening lesson in English. Our evening worship service is in English, and it used to be a smaller group than the morning. Now, there are many that are attending both services, and at least three that only come at night.

Ola’s Baptism:
Ola Senija was baptized on September 21. Ola has been studying and attending church for many years. Her mother, Florie, was friends with Mira. Ola started attending worship with Mira. She has helped Mira and later Allison with children’s class. We are so excited that she has decided to take Christ on in baptism.

Michael:
Michael is two months now and has been really versatile. It took him about two long nights to make the time change, but has been good ever since. We have made many visits, during two of which flour was put on his face to signify a white beard and long life. At one house sugar was put in his hand to make him a sweet baby. We were given eggs, bread, and cheese at two houses as well. These were for Allison to eat because she is feeding Michael. Another tradition is to give a baby money or sweets the first time you see him/her. He has gotten a little money and can hold the bills himself. Michael seems to be doing ok with language differences and doesn’t seem to mind being talked to in Albanian.

Prayer Requests:
Please pray for Ola as she is a new Christian and a college student. She has struggled with pressures from friends. Pray for her to actively live out her faith.

Pray for us as we make the transition to living in Korca with a new baby and the various stresses that are involved. We have already learned that Albanians are full of advice about babies. They have a saying to listen to seven people give advice then do what you want anyway. Also pray for our teaching schedules as Allison will not be able to teach as much with Michael.

Pray also for the new ones that are attending: two brothers (Nasian and Sotiraq), and Theodora, a college student. They all began classes and attending this summer and are interested. They all participated in the Bible Bowl in Durres earlier this summer. Also, pray for Kevin's student Eva, who has been attending and wants to be baptized, but whose Muslim father allowed her to be baptized as an infant in the Orthodox Church and will not let her be baptized again.

Finally, please prayerfully consider coming here on campaign. We could use helpers all year long.

In Christ,

Kevin, Allison and Michael Morrill

In Christ,
Kevin and Allison Morrill

 

If you would like copies of any pictures, please just send us an email and let us know which ones. We’ll be more than happy to send them to you. Hope you enjoy them.

Prayer Requests:
Please pray that we can be a light to Mira’s family.

We pray for Albanian male leadership in the church and specifically and Albanian preacher. Kevin still has the responsibility of doing preaching, song leading, Lord’s Supper, prayers etc. because he is the only baptized male attending the morning (when Roger is not here).

Lastly, please pray for the church to grow, there are many larger churches in Korca, most of which give people money through programs, gifts, jobs etc. We cannot compete with them and do not what to reach people in this way, but it is a struggle because we can get great numbers like 85 people when we give away pizza, but then about 10 when we have worship. Please pray that we do not get discouraged and can find people who are looking for God not material possessions.


In Christ,
Kevin and Allison Morrill
 

The past few months have been both very amazing and very hard. We experienced great spiritual highs and also family hardship. Our intention all along had been to send out a monthly newsletter and this is our future hope as well. Unfortunately, during the past couple of months life got in the way of correspondence. We apologize for our long silence and for the length of this newsletter as it includes events of the past three months May-July. During the past three months we welcomed 2 new sisters and 2 brothers into Christ. We ask you to set aside a few minutes to read this newsletter. God has been  blessing our work and we covet your prayers. 

May

May 1 Youth Day:
Kevin took a group of six to the annual youth day in Tirana. Bledi Valca was the speaker. The group enjoyed a time of fellowship with Christians from around the country. We will be excited to see many of these same Christians in Korca this September as we host the annual bible bowl. 

May 2 Visit with Cimi and Anila:
We traveled to Durres after Sunday morning services to prepare for picking Roger Michael up from the airport. We spent the night with Cimi and Anila Kafegiu and enjoyed a time of fellowship. Because we worked in Durres a few years ago we love to hear what is going on with the body there. We got to visit with them shortly before Cimi traveled to the US to receive his master’s degree from Harding Graduate School.

Cooking:
Allison had two opportunities to bake in the homes of different ladies this month. She loves to bake and her chocolate cake is always well received. We hope that the time of fellowship will create stronger relationships with these  ladies.

Sunday Mornings/ Attendance:
Kevin has been studying through the Old Testament on Sunday mornings. We are currently in the Minor Prophets and will be finishing the Old Testament in August. This has been a helpful study for the church because most who are attending are new Christians or those who are searching. It is also easier for  Kevin to teach text based instead of topical lessons when he is preaching in Albanian.  We were averaging about 9 on Sunday mornings and about the same on Sunday evenings in May. Our attendance increased to about 14 on Sunday mornings in June and July. Four of us come to both services. The Sunday evening service, which is actually at 4 in the afternoon, is a lot more popular as the days get longer and the weather gets warmer. 

June

Lee and Eric’s visit:
On June 15-16 we were blessed to have Lee Allen and Eric Qirjaqi visit. Lee is from our sponsoring congregation in Maryville, Tennessee. He is such an encouragement. It was also so nice to see Eric and spend some time with him. Eric, a long time member of the church in Tirana,  is a very busy man with a real heart for God. On June 15, Lee and Eric had pizza  with the members of the church. The following day Lee walked to the cross with us. This is a two hour walk up hill. It is a little difficult, but the pay off is an amazing bird's eye view of Korca and fellowship time. Bruna and Eva Bala came with us and Lee and Eva had some time to talk. Lee and Eva had studied a couple of years ago and had remained in contact ever since.

Eva’s Baptism:
Eva Bala has been teaching for us for a couple of years now. She has a close relationship with Roger and has been studying with him for a long time. She also studied with many others.  She had expressed an interest in baptism, but has some family members who are heavily involved in the local mosque and didn’t want to cause trouble for her parents. She was baptized in Macedonia in Lake Ohrid an hour and a half from Korca. She is not making the information public to all of Korca because of her family situation. Eva has told her parents, church members, and many others. We hope that over time she will choose to make her faith more public. (For this reason, Eva did not want to have her pictures posted on the web so we have attached them to this newsletter)

Michael got sick:
We had to make an unplanned trip to Tirana in June. Michael had a bad cough and was having trouble breathing, so we decided it was best to take him to the doctor. We found out that he had croup and with some medicine was feeling better immediately. We feel very blessed to have a vehicle and to have contact with a doctors office where we can speak in English. The doctors know both languages which really helps because our medical vocabulary in Albanian is still lacking. We also paid a small fee and now have the ability to speak  with the doctor around the clock if we have questions. This was Michael’s first real illness so it was scary for first time parents.

Vacation bible school:
We welcomed a group from Tennessee and Greece to help us with our VBS this year. The group from the US was led by Gary Hall, a member at the Crieve Hall congregation, in Nashville, TN, and a math professor at Lipscome University. Also included in the group were: Lori Burns, Rhiannon Brazzell and Hope Dean. The group from Greece included Beni Leka and his wife Sonila; Beni preaches for the church in Athens, and he is an Albanian from Korca.  Dino Tzanetos, a preacher for the church in Athens also came to help. Dino has been involved with the work in Albania for a long time. We were very blessed to have such a great crew to help us with the VBS. From the church in Korca we had about 7 volunteers: Eva Bala, Diana Zhuleku, Sotiraq Mosku, Eva Karamani, Ola Senija, Nasian Mosku and Bruna Coti.

We had about 20 children per day at the VBS. This was a great number because another church was doing a soccer camp at the same time. The group from the US taught Monday through Wednesday and then the Albanian group took over for Thursday and Friday. The kids seemed really pleased and we hope to do a similar program next year.

On the Friday night of the VBS, we had a presentation for the parents of the students. The kids preformed songs and skits they had learned, and we projected a film on the wall of the school and gave out certificates of participation. We were happy to meet the parents of the children. Diana and Allison had been teaching some of these children for over a year for Sunday morning kids class and had never met their parents.   

We truly believe that the greatest benefit of the VBS this year was the encouragement of having the church working together for a common goal: to share God’s word and God's love with these kids.

Rosa and Edi:
We were brought to tears on Sunday, June 27th. We were taking our seats for worship when Rosa, Edi and Rosa’s sister Bardha all walked in for worship. This was the first time they had attended in over three years. They had not attended since the death of Rosa’s daughter Mira, a member of the church here. Rosa was physically shaking but was happy to be there. It was Edi’s birthday and Allison had made a cake. It worked out great that we had already planned a fellowship meal because of our guests from America. It made a good birthday meal too. We had been encouraging Rosa and Edi to attend for years now, and it was amazing they came. Rosa has attended for three Sundays now and Edi two. God is so good.

July

July has been a roller coaster of emotions already. On July 7th, we were waiting for our friend Matt Almquist to arrive from the US when his plane was delayed 8 hours. We had plugged in our Magic Jack to talk with him. While it was plugged in, Allison’s mom called to tell her that her father was found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs the day before. Although we do not yet know the cause of his death, he had been suffering with alcoholism for a long time and we believe that his death is related to this. This news is still fresh for us. Allison has good and bad days. We do not plan to make a special trip to the US at this time.

It was a rough week because Michael's first birthday was July 9th. We celebrated it with a group of friends. On the 10th was the national ladies day which took place in Elbasan. We are taking everything day to day and counting our blessings. The death of Allison’s father at 62 years old helped us remember that we are here for a purpose and that we never know how long we will have to share the gospel with someone before it is too late.

National Ladies Day:
Allison took a group of 8 women and Michael to the national ladies day in Elbasan Saturday July 10th. The women had a great time and enjoyed the fellowship.

Visit of Ervin Leka:
Also on July 10th Ervin Leka, a student from the International Bible Institute of Albania (a Sunset branch), came to Korca and stayed with us. He preached on Sunday morning and afternoon. It was so nice for the Albanians to hear lessons from native preachers three Sundays in a row (Beni Leka had preached for the church on June 27 and July 4). Our constant prayer is to find an Albanian who will work as a full-time preacher for the church here.

World Cup:
We hosted a World Cup party at our home on July 10th. We projected the game on our wall. It was fun to have so many people together. Ervin Leka was still in Korca so he had some more fellowship time with the Christians here.

Matt’s Visit:   
Matt Almquist, a friend of ours from college is visiting us for a month. He is helping with students and activities. It is always so encouraging to have people come to visit. It gives us energy and new ideas. We welcome visitors year round. They are such a benefit to the body here. Please consider coming to
work with us.

Two New Brothers and a New Sister:
On Monday July 19th we welcomed 3 new souls into the church. We took a van and our vehicle to Lake Ohrid. Allison and I had found a hotel that let us rent beach chairs for the day. We started the day with a devotional and then Teodora Kuka, and brothers Nasian and Sotiraq Mosku took on the Lord in baptism. All three cousins had studied during summer campaign last year. Then Teodora became Allison’s student and Nasian and Sotiraq Kevin’s students. Nasian is just finishing high school and plans to go to school in Tirana to study medicine. Teodora is going into her third year of college in Korca and Sotiraq is going into 9th grade. We were excited to have Nasian and Sotiraq’s mom and Teodora’s mom with us to witness their baptisms.
 

To watch the video of the baptisms go to: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxMSX9lbEBE

 Sunday Morning:
The three were baptized on Monday the 19th and on Sunday the 25th Kevin encouraged Nasian and Sotiraq to participate in worship. During the morning service Sotiraq shared the message for the Lord’s Supper and Nasian gave the closing prayer. In the evening Sotiraq led singing. They were both very  enthusiastic about helping and it is a huge answer to prayer. We will miss Naisan when he goes to school, but we want to get him as involved as we can before he goes. It is very hard to remain faithful about attending worship during medical school. We have seen many faithful Christians fall away because of
being too busy.

The Flu:
Our eventful July ended with everyone catching the flu, first Allison, the Michael and Kevin.  Our home has been a sick ward for the past week with lots and lots of loads of laundry and hydration salts. Michael is still sick. Allison talked with the doctor and she said that this is a really common illness right now and should last about 5 days.   

Prayer Requests:
First, thank you so much for your prayers. Thank you for including Eva Bala, Teodora, Nasian, and Sotiraq in your prayers. What a blessing to have two male members and to have  Eva and Teodora as sisters in Christ. Please pray that Nasian and Sotiraq can grow as men of God. Also, that Eva will become more bold in her faith. Pray that Teodora will continue to be involved in the church even during the school year.  

Henri and Family: Thank you for praying for our connecting with former members. On Monday June 6 we had a coffee with Henri (pronounced Henry),  a man in his late 20’s who became a Christian in his teens. Since he is our age we hope that we can encourage him to come back to the body. Also at the coffee was Henry’s friend, Flori (pronounced floory), who we found out is our neighbor. He seemed interested in getting to know Kevin better. We hope that opportunities like these can get “older” men into the body. Also, Henri is married and has a delightful and very talkative 3 and a half year old. We had dinner with Henri, his wife, and son on Monday June 14 then went out to coffee and we hope to make this common place. Frankli (pronounced frank-lee) their son seemed to get along well with Michael. Unfortunately, Michael got croup, and we had to go to the doctor in Tirana the night before we were supposed to go to their home to have dinner. We had hoped to come back from Tirana in time to eat with them. The accelerator went our in our car on the way home from Tirana. Our car broke down in Elbasan and we were 4 hours late getting home (our car was towed and we took public transportation home). We called to cancel when our vehicle broke down, but Henri’s wife had already cooked the meal. We are afraid we offended them. Please pray that we can mend this new relationship and help it to grow.

Pictures:
To see pictures from the past three months go to:
http://korcachurchesofchrist.com/photos.htm

Thank you again for reading our newsletter. Your partnership in our work is so important to us as witnessed by the specific answers to prayer of male members and church growth. May God bless you this month.

In Christ,

Kevin and Allison Morrill
 

In Christ,

Kevin and Allison Morrill
 

In Christ,

Kevin and Allison Morrill
 

In Christ,

Kevin and Allison Morrill
 

Praise God for our Wood stove:
Life is different here. We heat for the most part with our wood stove. We usually get our wood in July or August so that it is dry for winter. Our wood stove is our clothes drier (we have racks we put close by), our oven, and stove. Since it is lit most of the day in the winter, we try to use it in as many ways as possible, even putting on water to heat to wash dishes when we remember. We heard that we can even bake potatoes and pop popcorn in the coals but have not gotten that brave yet. We are trying our best to live like the people around us, at least to some degree; more than 80 percent of homes in Korca have wood stoves.

Praise God:
We had asked for prayers for Diana Zhuleku in the past. She has now gotten a job as a seamstress which she likes. They are very nice to her. She prays everyday before she starts  working and is able to sew faster than all of the other workers. In fact, she usually reaches her quota 2 hours earlier than the other employees and is able to go home. She has also been a great example of both faith and gratitude to the other employees and this has been seen and commented on by the owner who is not a Christian. Thank you for your prayers.

Prayer Request:
Uli, Rosa’s brother is currently hospitalized, he was in a depression due to marital problems  and did a great deal of damage to his liver by drinking alcohol and not eating much food. His is also a diabetic. The damage is severe. Please pray for his health and that we may be able to reach him with the Gospel to heal his heart as much as his liver.

In Christ,

Kevin and Allison Morrill 

Kevin’s Albanian is not as good as usual because Franceska was so excited that she jumped into the tub before her confession of faith. This threw him off a bit but how wonderful to have someone that eager. Roger’s Return and James

Hinkle’s visit:
Roger Michael and James Hinkle arrived in Thessalonica on Dec. 5 and Kevin went to pick them up. We are so happy to have Roger back in Korca. He is feeling much better too. Roger’s friend James Hinkle came to visit us for a week in December. It was fun to meet him because we knew a lot of the same people as he had taught at York College, our alma mater, as a Bible and Biblical Languages professor.

In Christ,

Kevin and Allison Morrill