The summer camp in Vlorë, Albania is underway. Here are some photos to give you an appreciation for the wonderful work that God is doing for so many young people in Albania and Kosova.

AUGUST 2002

Our debt of gratitude to those who came to help this summer is great! After teaching and directing our Bible camp during the first week, Danah Nelson and Kay Banta scrubbed off their mountain tan and moved into the village of Orikum for three weeks of daily Bible classes. These two ladies made a positive impression for the church with the classes they taught in the grade school, and also their outreach to the community. We believe our efforts to found a congregation of redeemed people in Orikum has been advanced by the witness of these talented and dedicated Christian women.

During the middle of our camp month of July, two additional ladies came to teach daily Bible lessons in our study center in Vlorë. Several new contacts were made during their four weeks of teaching. Juanita Mansholt and Sharon Houte have made multiple trips to Albania to teach World English Institute Bible courses. We are grateful for their work with students during the day, their encouragement to the church in teaching the weekly Ladies' Bible class, and, personally, for the warm Christian fellowship from these two spiritual servants. We were blessed by their presence in our home.

In August we began the use of a small office space in Fier. This provides us with a much needed location for daily Bible classes and small group meetings. We are blessed by the presence of Doug Smith, who has just completed two and a half years of very difficult work in Kosova. We are looking forward to the arrival of Brent Parr in mid-September. Brent plans to work with us for two years in Fier. We are thankful that Doug agreed to assist with the work in Fier for a few months and help Brent as he gets settled in there.

On August 14th, the youngest child of the Dëraj family became a Christian. A large group of family and friends gathered to celebrate Joana's new birth, along with her 13th birthday. Joana, her mother, brother and sister, are now united in Christ. Please pray for her father, Fetah, as we continue to study with this family. We long to see more and more complete families in the church.

August is also the month of our annual dinner to honor our graduating high school students and their parents. Vasilika and Lindita, our hard-working sisters from the camp kitchen, volunteered to prepare a formal dinner for forty-five people in our study center. Several of the girls helped Jackie to prepare the room, and clean up afterward. Bardhi Baduni gave the address to the fourteen graduates and Dorina Dervishi read a poem that she had composed especially for them. It was a great evening of good food, singing, and prayer. It is good to have the parents of our young people exposed to Christian fellowship. We are thankful for their trust in the church and allowing us to influence the lives of their children. Some of these graduates have been with us now for several years. The church will deeply miss them as they leave town, and for some, leave the country, as they begin their university studies. We have been blessed by their faith and faithfulness and our prayers go with them.

June may be the month for weddings in the U.S., but here in Albania it is August, when all the immigrants working abroad come home for their holidays. Every weekend, wedding celebrations last far into the night. Sunday morning worship is punctuated with the blowing of car horns as wedding processions parade down the main streets. Albanian weddings are distinctly different from American weddings. Particularly because of the atheistic influence of the long years of communism, there has been no spiritual element at all in most weddings here. This month Silvana Kalemi, our translator and dear Christian sister, was married to Beni Koco. In an effort to introduce a spiritual element into this important event in Silvana's life, Jackie organized the ladies of the congregation in an evening of prayer, singing, and sharing of counsel with Silvana at the beginning of her wedding week. Friday morning, according to Albanian tradition, all the women and young ladies went, as a group, to Silvana's house to present her with a gift from the church. As Silvana sat in her wedding dress at one end of the room, the women serenaded her with folk songs for more than an hour. It was wonderful to observe the enjoyment of the women, as they celebrated Silvana's marriage.

By the end of August we had taken the last of our visiting teachers to the airport. They have all helped the church and Jackie and I in many ways. We thank them all. It is good for others to be more personally aware of both the problems and blessings of this work you have sent us to do in His name.

Your servants for Him,

Virgil and Jackie
 

Left to right:  Virgil Jackson, Ylli Binaj, Brent Parr, Beniamin
Cakrani and Doug Smith.

A late night run to Vlore on October 31, resulted in two new brothers in Christ, Beniamin (Beni) Cakrani, 58 and Ylli (Oo-ly) Binaj. They were taught the truth in Fier, Albania over the past two months. They expressed a readiness and a willingness to Doug on his last day in Fier, but thought the hour was too late for him, since he was leaving for Kosova the next day. He assured them that if Paul could baptize the Phillipian jailer at the wee hours of the morning, after being beaten and thrown in jail, he could surely handle the late hour. The midnight hour was bested by three hours and it was a joyous occasion for all. These will be a great asset to the Fier church as the number of adult men now increases to five. Brent will continue studying with Beni and Ylli as well as 11 other men over 30 years of age. God has truly blessed the efforts in Fier the past 4 months.

Doug

Virgil Jackson has recently undergone surgery for cancer of the bladder. The following report is for you with request for continued prayers.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

THANK YOU for your prayers and your encouragement.  We have really felt you lifting us up to God.  Virgil was home by 2:30 p.m. PST and slept most of the rest of the afternoon.  The doctor told us that he had removed the mass completely and "burned" it.  He will have the pathological reports on Tuesday, hopefully.  We appreciate your continued prayers for both of us.  We thank God for all of you.

In Him,
Jackie and Virgil

Dear Bob,

Virgil and I are in Tacoma, where both our daughters live.  We are staying with the younger one.  The address here is:
   11010 36th Ave. Ct. E.
   Tacoma, WA  98446
The doctor was thorough in removing the cancerous growth from Virgil's bladder.  The pathology report confirmed that it was malignant.  To reduce the chance of the cancer recurring, the doctor is recommending six weeks of follow-up treatment to the bladder.

We are yearning to return to our work in Albania as soon as possible. We are in regular contact with our brothers and sisters in the churches in southern Albania, and are encouraged by their continued faithfulness.

In the meantime, we will trust in God.  We are very, very thankful for all the prayer support and expressions of love and encouragement from so many people.

In Him, Virgil and Jackie

 

"First, God has answered our prayers for Virgil Jackson.  He is back on Albanian soil!  Isn't that amazing?  They operated, he did six weeks of follow up treatment, and Virgil is on the mend.  Praise God!  I think you remember that I told you that he was diagnosed with bladder cancer.  Jackie said that they are just so glad that they were in the States on a sabbatical and that the doctors caught it early!  They were also thankful for the high level of care that he received.  They send their thanks to all who have been praying for them the world over. "

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