Please help to ignite the Great Re-Awakening in Europe

[Inhocsigno]

Greetings Mandy,
A pleasure to help and again, no need apologize about your questions, it's what we're here for and it's our pleasure to answer. It always feels a bit awkward when you're first pulling these ideas together so never feel like you're out of place or inconveniencing us by asking. And thank you for keeping us updated, many of the best ideas for our group have come from members in the process of discovery from their own efforts.

 

[Inhocsigno]

Just an update from our recent mission synod, not a new topic but some additional information from our ministry teams in the EU countries. Like mentioned before, we put out an urgent call for those in our church network who are or have been considering mission in Europe, to move up the schedule where possible and make the move if they can, due to massive immigration flows from eastern Europe into the EU resulting from recent events, straining the ability of migration officials to respond and leading to an accelerated exit of previous refugee waves (mainly from Syria and Iraq) that we had been reaching in large numbers before. This is an especial concern for many of the missionary groups in Europe, as one of our greatest mission successes in the efforts there has been in mass conversions of this population, who have in turn gone to their homes in the Middle East and North Africa to evangelize, leading to an historic blooming of churches in the region for the first time in more than 1,000 years. As a reminder, as result of the war in Ukraine, there has been a mass movement that is likely to be the largest single-year migration in history, from reports over there more than 12 million people from eastern Europe into the EU, though the large majority moving into the EU especially lately are Russians and Belarussians fleeing declining conditions in their countries, and they are almost instantly granted refugee status due to the geographic and cultural proximity plus the clear concerns about a draft and persecution.

This has caused unprecedented strain on the departments in EU countries that handle migration, and because of it, the previous waves from 2015 (largely Syrian and Iraqi, but some from North Africa, Afghanistan and Turkey) have largely lost their status and their asylum has been cancelled. We got an update that close to three-quarters of the Syrians and Iraqis who came in the past few years have already departed Europe--with much of the rest from the Christian communities (or converts already)--and more than 90 percent from other regions have left or been deported. To be clear again, there are many forms of ministry to take part in the EU countries from simply attending services to reinforce old churches, building new ones, translating Bibles, providing hymnals and outreach and pastoral services. These will be ongoing regardless. However, we also were able to take advantage of a rare historic opportunity in the past decade due to historical circumstances. As discussed, in our missionary efforts, it is often quite difficult for us to go directly to Muslim majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa, not just because of political and religious differences but more importantly, unfamiliarity with the culture, traditions, customs and connections. However, the refugees staying temporarily in Europe know those cultures and communities well, and since they hail from those countries, they are able to minister where we ourselves (missionaries from esp North America and Australia) cannot.

Upon conversion, they have been esp enthusiastic to return home to the MENA regions and spread the Gospel, opening up their own churches and attracting new converts in their own communities. Often even persuading and reaching elites in their villages, who then become evangelists themselves. Again, in the past decade, we've had a greater wave of fervent church-building and conversion in the Middle East and North Africa then perhaps any other time in the last 1400 years. (Some countries--such as Bosnia, Albania and Kosovo--are on track to become majority Christian again, in major part thanks to these efforts.) It appears that, due to the enormous migration pressures from eastern Europe in effect causing the earlier (and much, much smaller as it is) refugee waves to lose their status and depart abruptly, that window may be closing. From reports from our group, we are still having great success in helping to convert the dwindling number who remain, and they continue to minister back home in the Middle Eastern and North African region as they can. There morale remains high, and we continue to draw heart from the blessings and relief they are bringing to their homelands. However, more and more are returning home faster than expected just a year ago, and we are hoping to reach out to the ones who remain as much as possible. Therefore again, if you're considered ministry in Europe, and particularly if you are interested in conversion efforts, Bible translations and providing of hymnals, and of course if you have some flexibility in when you can make this move, by all means we encourage you to follow your heart and your calling, and if possible as soon as your circumstances permit.

Again as discussed previously as a practical matter, jus sanguinis (that is, getting a passport in an EU country through ancestral connections) is the most practical way in to get settled and start your missionary activities, for the same reasons mentioned above--the migration authorities in Europe are being overwhelmed, and an ancestral connection to Europe is one of the few streamlined routes in to make the move quickly with your family, and from there you can move to any EU country. Naturally there are other options and getting visas through work, or as a student are also available, but they too are being slowed due to the recent migration strains. Keep in mind that even if your ancestry is very very distant, you can still often get a passport and full citizenship in many EU countries, such as in Ireland, Poland, Germany, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Spain and in many of the Baltics and Balkans countries. The specifics will vary and there are expert boards and forums to help, but the key message is that whatever expeditious path you can take will help get you and your family settled faster, at that point you can engage in your ministry with a lot of support from expat ministers and new churches already there. And for those of you interest in efforts to reach out and bring in new converts to your flock--blessings and good tidings to you for assisting in this historic effort!

 

[JoeySoley]

A bit of on the ground reporting for anyone trying out different paths to get through all the visa red-tape for a Europe mission, short of it is the work path or student path is doable, but it's not easy and it's certainly harder than the ancestor path if you can qualify. We've had families and individuals across our 7-church group use all kinds of means to get there and it's a night and day difference. We ourselves didn't qualify for an ancestor visa when we started our own path 9 years ago, we felt the Lord calling to us and we listened, but our path to making it happen certainly wasn't easy. We have mixed family history from Europe but mostly British and not well documented unfortunately. Happily we did ultimately make it over, and my wife and our 3 kids are now settled in as permanent residents in Greece, moving towards citizenship, undoubted one of the smaller mission groups for the Americans-in-Europe but cohesive and a lot of mutual assistance and camaraderie. Greece was also good for making the comparisons since many if not most of the north American and Aussie families here did use an ancestor visa to make their way in, which Greece is very helpful with and a lot more efficient then they get credit for. I think the main difference is just that you can jump into your mission so much faster if go an ancestor visa path, I guess that's what a few of you have been saying but it's totally true from our experience. Even though we ultimately did get our visa and settlement permit, it was a lot of work just making sure we had our feet on our ground with a lot of initial uncertainty. My wife and I are labelled as skilled workers but by no means are we anything like software or Web designers getting some kind of IT sponsorship, for me it was mostly jobs in the general area of materials fabrication and neither of us had a college degree. This is frequently a barrier as the work visas often prefer a college or master's degree, but it's doable depending on your circumstances, it may just take more effort and it's a big help if you can get sponsors and people in the country to help.

Fortunately we had a lot of help from Americans already there and one of them helped me to get a job and sponsorship. Still we had to keep renewing it and stay employed to be secure, and it wasn't easy because we did have to switch jobs a few times, that interrupted our mission preparations. And it was just so much work handling our new jobs, taking care of the kids and doing the administration that it took us a few years before we were really working as missionaries. It's still worth it if you're motivated, and I'd just say make sure you lean on your supporting network there especially if you're going to do the work visa or student visa path, including the churches you're joining or planning to help out with. Our church was great, they reassured us we were already doing a lot just by attending services, we helped both with restoration of old Greek Orthodox churches and helping with new ones, it was a lot of inter-denomination activity and assistance and really inspiring. They helped us with the ups and downs and didn't pressure us early on when we weren't so secure, they had free language lessons and just in general helped in working with the bureaucracy, which also wasn't anywhere as bad as we first thought. Mission work is truly one of the greatest of holy callings, and with the help and support of the Lord in our undertaking, and our faith in following what our hearts were telling us, we ultimately made it work. But if you do have any kind of path to get an ancestor visa, by all means seize it. It can feel tedious to go through your family and genealogy records to look for a connection but it's totally worth it. You still may not qualify there as was case for us, but some of the other Americans here and that we met on our family trips back to the US thought the same thing, and were surprised to learn they had an ancestor and documents that did qualify them. And not just Greek ancestors, some had ancestors as far away as Estonia or Poland but got an EU passport and then could come here! So make sure to look into it, but don't be discouraged if you don't qualify through your ancestors, if you have faith in your calling and don't flinch, you'll make it work, and you'll have a lot of help.

 

[Amelia Marvin]

This may have been asked before so our sincerest apologies in advance if we're simply treading prior ground, but we were wondering about how some of the American missionaries in Europe were going about learning the language or languages of their destination if they, for example have trouble picking them up. And how to manage things like putting together pamphlets or literature on worship, or distributing or talking about the contents of hymnals. Asking here since my husband and our daughter are dyslexic, and have often had some trouble really getting a handle on written materials in general, or doing things like leading discussion sections in my husband's case. We're part of an inter-denomination group mostly around Maricopa Co. in southern Arizona and there about a dozen families in our neighborhood region who are currently in preparation to make the move to several EU countries. And so we do have meetings about once a month for planning, but this has been one of those topics we've been a little reluctant to bring up openly since it seems the other families are able to pick up the languages so much easier than we can. Some are even preparing liturgical materials in for example, French, in Dutch or in German or collaborating with pastors or church builder teams already over there.

We're likely heading towards Germany due to my family ties there, ours are going back a few generations, and we do have some relatives in the Midwest who still speak German- it's common around Missouri and Wisconsin- but my husband sometimes struggles to make much progress. I know many say that you learn best when you're already over there and immersed, and our daughter and son will almost certainly pick up German more easily when they start school there, but my husband, at least would like to have a better handle first before making the move. Especially on anything having to do with worship and services, after all the type of language there can be different from every day conversation. In fact we'd love to join maybe something like a skype or zoom group, or maybe even a live meeting group for missionaries doing language practice with a few towards things like helping with sermons and church literature, and especially if they're good with helping people like dyslexics who may struggle more to pick up the language at first. Has anyone participating in something of this sort, and any tips on making the most of it?

 

[Inhocsigno]

Greetings Joey,

Thank you sincerely for your detailed, personal and insight-filled account, and for your service in ministry. You and your family have clearly dedicated your heart and soul to it, and your perseverance and dedication through difficulties and adversity embody the missionary spirit that has animated our faith and been the backbone of the church since St. Paul's first efforts thousands of years ago. As it is written in

2 Corinthians 5:18-21, "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us". You truly express this devotion and passion in your efforts.

As you say, it is indeed a great challenge to plant your roots in Europe and merely initiate your ministry, leave alone to sustain and concentrate upon it without the benefit of an ancestry visa. Particularly if you're already raising small children--as we've talked about elsewhere, perhaps the prime advantage of the jus sanguinis is that it smooths the path so much not only for individuals, but particularly for families with children to make the move to Europe together in one fell swoop, and with free movement principles in the EU, the entire group can then make any subsequent moves to other countries together. And this has indeed been of great help for our affiliated groups from the US and Canada, Australia, Brazil and Argentina especially.

The members of our core churches are somewhat lucky perhaps in that so many have Texas German ancestry that can document fairly well. And as Germany is one of the most generous in granting jus sanguinis citizenship, allowing it indefinitely for many generations back as long as certain conditions are met and they can be documented, we've had many of our missionaries profit from this option. Just this past summer we had a couple with five children use a jus sanguinis application to move together to settle permanently to revive and extend a village church in SE Germany, and a family of four that made the move a few years ago was able to quickly get approval and gain citizenship there too before later moving on to France earlier this year--again without so much as a hitch, and already settled in enough to not only help refurbish a local French parish church with a rich history, also to take the first steps and help begin construction for a second church one town over. That you were able to make such a move and bring your family, without the advantages of jus sanguinis, speaks many volumes about your determination in spreading the Gospel, and your love for the faith and your new flock.

 

[Inhocsigno]

Greetings Amelia,
Language preparation is indeed one of the core elements of the "preparation packets" that mission committees and ministry teams put together for their groups heading overseas, and particularly so for Europe since the families as a rule head there for long-term settlement without plans to return--integrating into society and raising their kids there. For this reason, the churches and inter-church missionary organizers themselves will tend to have targeted resources to help with this, which as you already recognize are directed in part to help with learning of the linguistic details associated with worship, sermons, hymnals, conversion efforts, spreading the word and other activities pertinent to the mission effort itself. And there are indeed social media resources for the same. The Church has of course evolved with the communications technology of each era--remember that Gutenberg invented the printing press specifically to make it easier to print the Bible in the German workshops, thus the Church was the catalyst for that great technological revolution to start with. And most churches involved in missions abroad will also have resources on their own bulletin boards as well as, for example Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, even on TikTok, Youtube and Snapchat (or VK in central and eastern Europe), often through inter-church committees.

Such a group in your case will depend on your location and the networks, but some good places to start are Bible translation websites and social media (many inspired by Wycliffe’s example of accurate translation), online resources for Christian missions and efforts by various organizations such as the Gospel Coalition or Missio Nexus to provide mission prep guidance from a centralized source. Too, whatever our differences in doctrine, the Mormons in general are quite proficient at language mastering in their own mission efforts, and some of their resources or seminars can be of value. I’ve had several good LDS friends and met several on our mission exploratory trips to Europe, and in fact many of our European ministries’ early members were former Mormons, in some cases immigrants from Turkey, Syria or Iraq who converted. (The LDS church apparently formerly had a policy of their European missionaries returning home to the US, which greatly reduced the retention of their members in Europe, who often came to our churches—as I understand, the LDS now emphasizes their missionaries to the EU at least, staying in Europe to raise their families, which has greatly improved their retention of new members there.) Now having said that, it's fairly common for missionaries to work on their independent efforts and tailor their language learning to their own needs and learning styles, and many use apps or self-learning resources like Babbel, Duolingo, Rosetta Stone and few others.

As a word of encouragement, don't worry so much about lacking fluency or struggling with the language--virtually every overseas minister and their family has those struggles dyslexic or not, and it's generally understood that you won't be even close to fluent starting out. That's why the existing churches and church organizations (including for ex. Americans, Canadians and Australians already there in Europe, who've had longer to learn the language and can help you with techniques to learn too) help you in the early stages without too much pressure to master the local language right away. There are many activities to help with the ministries while you yourself are picking up the lingo, from physical construction efforts to distribution of ecclesiastical literature, to simply coordinating with other potential ministers back in North America for example. You'll gain fluency and comfort with time and practice there, as will your kids, often easier than for the adults. Different countries of course have different language expectations (as do the jobs there) but again, there are church and mission resources in general to also help guide you to positions that will work with your language fluency at the time and of course, more Americans are also able to work remote.

And the EU is fairly good too with free language courses and working with Americans, Canadians and Australians to gently ease you in as you get better at the language over several years. Above all keep in mind, you’re never alone in your mission efforts, and there are many who’ve gone before you who can be your best resource to help you, your spouse and kids to get integrated. And always keep in mind, the Lord has guided you in your path, and He will be with you whatever the struggles you encounter!

 

[JoeySoley]

Glad our experiences could be of help and advice. Whenever we travel back to the US for family visits or recruitment, we certainly don't sugar-coat things and make sure would be missionaries know the hurdles that face them. But this correct, it's ultimately a divine calling that fuels us and gets us through the hard patches, and thankfully we've been able to make the move as a family, that's another support network that can be so important for planting roots in Europe and making this work. The Greek-Americans who made the move to do their mission work and raise their families in Greece with us, even had the pleasant experience in some cases of discovering and re-connecting with extended family from many generations when they went to places like Thessaloniki or on Crete. And, even without the same sorts of Greek-American roots ourselves, we've built our own extended family there with our fellow missionaries and their kin. We all walk the same glorious path.

 

[JoeySoley]

And just wanted to say thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to those in the US (or expats like us from those shores) who've added so much and filled us with wisdom and assurance here. There are many blessings for those involved with missionary activities but one of the greatest blessings is to have such a community of like minded, kind and helpful individuals to assist at every step of the way. We appreciate it so much!

 

[Inhocsigno]

Greetings Joey,
A blessed Christmas greetings to you too, and to your family and your fellow ministers for the Season of Advent. As it is written in
Isaiah 7:14: "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel." This is the time of year to spread this Good Word and rejoice in it, and blessings to all of you for having the courage, determination and persistence to bring this Gospel and its wonderful messages to the people of your adopted land.

 

[JoeySoley]

Thank you! We've been happily celebrating Advent in our family holiday visits, and using some local events and services to teach our kids about the lessons and miracles that the season holds. I must say if you ever have a chance, to pay a visit to Greece in the Advent season. It's a very special and unique cultural way of celebrating the season and Epiphany, ancient Greece after all was one of the first places in Europe where Advent was celebrated and many of our current traditions in other countries come from those seminal churches and ministries. Many of the more observant Greeks tend to fast not only at Christmas but through much of Advent in the day, which means a special celebratory meal when the fast is broken in the evening, and it's one of the special things that the American missionaries and ministers get to experience there as they immerse into the culture. Some of our kids' favorite parts about growing up in Greece are the special Baklava sweets they prepare for the Advent fast breaking, and a very special bakery item called Christopsomo. It literally translates into Christ's bread! It adds a uniquely special touch to the Advent and Christmas season in Greece, it's one of those things that's hard to translate, but it's just so distinctive and wonderful that it just adds to the joy of doing our part to support their churches and help to rekindle the Christian spirit in the cities, towns and farmland across the country. A Merry Christmas to you and all of you out there, wherever you are for it!

 

[Inhocsigno]

Greetings Joey,
Thank you sincerely for sharing those experiences with us. I have some distant relatives in Greece through my wife's family, and have heard descriptions around the Christmas season on the lines of what you have described though had no idea how rich and historic the celebrations are. Any parts of Greece you're most active in, or are these traditions basically universal for the country each December? And to realize so much meaning infused into the very bread the people eat during Advent! We've been putting together a list of landmarks to visit on our next tour of historic Christian sites, and if we can manage a trip to the Mediterranean in December, that will no doubt be on our list.

 

[JoeySoley]

We've been rather mobile, partly for logistic as much as ministry reasons, since we didn't have roots or family in Greece out of necessity we went several places for work. Actually started out in Peloponnese region since had a sponsor there helping with first job, and the American expat community in Greece was a big help. We started our mission work there and helped in refitting an old church, as hard as those first couple years were this was one of our most fulfilling experiences, and it also helped our kids to really connect to the Church and to their new Greek identity. One of the church members there actually helped us get moved to Epirus, and from there we've moved based on both work and church needs, though with more of a home base there. It's beautiful country and the Greek church revival has been something to behold, just from the pictures and discussions alone we've been able to recruit several more Americans to make the move over on our visits back to the US. We're excited about the next 2 years will bring!

 

[Inhocsigno]

Greetings Joey,
Fascinating to hear of your journey and Epirus rang a bell, as one of our own church network members had also moved her family to the region, in the northwest of Greece if I'm recalling correctly some years back. She and her husband and sons helped refit an historic Orthodox Church as I recall, apparently with an association with one of the Gospel authors based on local records. In her case she was able to use her Greek ancestry (through a grandparent or great-grandparent I believe) to help in getting her and her family citizenship and then get settled, so again my praise and respect to you for achieving all that without the advantage of ancestral ties to plant new roots there!

 

[Inhocsigno]

Greetings Joey,
We got in touch with another former member from one of our Florida partner churches, who had also brought his family to Greece and had in fact, spent some time in Epirus. He sent a picture of this, the Church of the Parigoritissa, which as I understand has been inactive but has inspired a lot of the active church-building in the region, for many varied denominations, Ministry of Culture and Sports | Church of Panagia Parigoritissa at Arta Looks to be quite an extraordinary landmark and ecclesiastical tradition!

 

[Amelia Marvin]

Apology if this has been covered already, but someone on our mission committee mentioned something about a coordinated effort to assist with the conversion specifically of Albanians, in both Albania and Kossovo and help them in their embrace of the Gospel. We were thrilled to hear that Albania is on a rapid track to become Christian majority again quite soon and apparently Kossovo soon after. Although we ourselves wouldn't be starting there at least, we have enough trouble mastering just for ex French or German leave alone Albanian, we'd been in contact with other mission groups with specific interest down in the Balkans region. From what she said, there's even a name for the overall effort to focus on conversion and church building in Albania though she couldn't recall it. Does anyone know what it is, I guess what you would call the general movement for Christian ministry in Albania and the general region?

 

[JoeySoley]

Yes indeed! The Church of Panagia Parigoritissa is one of the great landmarks that we bring our new missionaries to when they come to Greece, it's a great bit of heritage to remind us of the hard work that previous mission teams took on to bring the word of the Gospel throughout the Mediterranean in previous centuries. On our trip to recruit new overseas ministers from back in the US, it turned out that one of the congregants in the meeting group meeting out in South Carolina had already committed to Greece and is preparing to bring her family there, and starting in Epirus, nonetheless! It was on a worship-themed trip she heard her call to minister, and it was Panagia Parigoritissa and all its richness of history and achievement that made a particularly strong impression on her and her husband and kids. There really is something special about that place.

 

[Inhocsigno]

Greetings Amelia,
I believe she may have been referring to varied efforts known by various names, but in general sharing reference to an Albanian historic figure named Skanderbeg-- the Skanderbeg Movement, Skanderbeg Project, Skanderbeg Mission and several variations on the theme. It's significance is that Skanderbeg is universally regarded as the great historic hero of the Albanian people of all faiths, but also that he specifically was a hero of the Albanian church, defending against conquering efforts by Muslim invaders. This unique bit of history is one of the reasons why the Albanian ministry efforts have been so successful and why that region in the Balkans is embracing the Gospel faster than any other. One of the basic leading principles of mission work in general is to personalize the message to the populations that one is ministering to.

This of course has been well known for centuries, it's why the Catholic Church was so successful in its mission efforts in the early medieval centuries even to for ex. the remote Germanic, Celtic and Slavic regions of Europe that first had relatively little contact with the Roman Empire. They adapted their ministries to the local cultures and histories, and of course different nations, tribes and regions adopted their own saints, personalizing the Gospels for them. Skanderbeg is universally revered by the Albanian peoples across countries and so the ministry efforts linked to him and his example enjoy high support, a very high conversion rate and great enthusiasm for the Church among the new converts. It's a model we've been using in our ministries to other populations in Europe (whether native or migrant) and also to Turkey, Iran, Iraq, North Africa and the Middle East in general, also showing success for ex. with Berber populations in North Africa. Anytime a mission can link its ministries to a cultural icon of the flock, a stronger connection is made, though of course in this case largely through generally autonomous, loosely conducted and independent efforts.

 

[Inhocsigno]

Yes indeed! The Church of Panagia Parigoritissa is one of the great landmarks that we bring our new missionaries to when they come to Greece, it's a great bit of heritage to remind us of the hard work that previous mission teams took on to bring the word of the Gospel throughout the Mediterranean in previous centuries. On our trip to recruit new overseas ministers from back in the US, it turned out that one of the congregants in the meeting group meeting out in South Carolina had already committed to Greece and is preparing to bring her family there, and starting in Epirus, nonetheless! It was on a worship-themed trip she heard her call to minister, and it was Panagia Parigoritissa and all its richness of history and achievement that made a particularly strong impression on her and her husband and kids. There really is something special about that place.

Greetings Joey,
This is quite wonderful to hear, and also worthy of repeating by virtue of a pearl of wisdom it contains. Oftentimes one of the barriers to deepening our commitments to the Church and returning people to the flock, is simply that they take the richness of their Christian heritage and its meaning for granted. This has been one of the challenges that we have been overcoming especially with our European ministries, as the native population in Europe in particular is surrounded by this heritage yet due to the media environment in which they are raised, which is so often dismissive if not hostile towards worship and faith, simply do not grasp the richness of the heritage around them every day. (It is one reason why some of our ministers in Europe have indicated that at least early on, they've sometimes found it easier to achieve conversions than to simply bring a secular local population to worship)

And yet with some creativity and clever messaging, we can turn this to advantage by simply encouraging the population to explore the deeper meaning, history and Scriptural connections of what is already around them. After all, one of the first aims of our ministries in Europe is to simply encourage the local population to fill churches already there, to refurbish old churches and build new ones. And one of the first things we learn in our ministry is that as modern and technologically connected as the communities may be, they still have a spiritual yearning, a hunger that isn't being met by modern society alone. When the people come to realize that so much of what they're longing for is already in their midst, in effect the history and concrete and symbolic meaning of the ancient churches like Parigoritissa in effect does a lot of the initial ministry for us.

 

[Galworth]

Yes, so pleased to see more discussion about the movements to bring the Word to the Albanian people's, and the association with their great national icon! You are correct that most of the ministries in association with these missions are named with some kind of association with Skanderbeg, though one of the more common terms that's emerged more of late has been some variation (in Albanian translation) of "the Skanderbeg Initiative" as way to shine a light on the motivation felt by both the ministers and by the newly converted among the flock receiving the message.

In addition, we will often use variations on the great man's spelling to help put a stronger emphasis the local feel and personal connection to the Albanian people, including Skënderbeu, a common form in many Albanian dialects and his given name, Gjergj Kastrioti. All of these as stated, help to customize and make the missions much more personal, emotional and heart-felt for the people hearing the ministry.

I will say one particular challenge for the groups doing ministry there in Albania and Kosovo (and in other regions of the Balkans, like Macedonia, with a significant Albanian population) is that the Albanian regions are actually quite secular regardless of the main religion there, something that had been setting in even before the Communist period. This has pluses and minuses, but interesting, it's often easier to convert those who are more devout, compared to the more secular Muslims who are far less observant to begin with, and don't have much of a reference point for worship either way. But regardless, we're having a great effect either way, and it is a marvelous experience to see this proud and brave people once again return to its roots in the Church, the faith that Skanderbeg himself did so much to fight for and protect.

 

[JoeySoley]

It's exciting to hear about these missions to the Albanian areas! We have a huge Albanian community in Greece and many are committed and fervent Christian converts, have helped cultivate churches back in their homelands, but we weren't aware there was such a systematic mission going on. It sounds like a lot of the Albanian-Greek Christians preaching back in Albania might be involved in it. And there was an article in one of our expat newspapers not too long ago about how Albanians really are coming back to the churches and building new ones. This is a great idea and we've helped to spread the news in our latest mission recruitment back in the US, we already have a couple prospective new American missionaries to Europe taking an interest in lending a hand.