By: Pastor Skender Hoti

It’s not possible” I said to my friend. ”My brother would never go there!”
My friend had just told me that my 12 years-old brother, Enver, was attending an Evangelical Christian Church gathering in one private house. Our family followed a different religion.
I was in my teen years, I decided to stop Enver my younger brother who was 12 years from attending the church, Even I used force and I beated him to make him stop attending. Many people in our city of Gjakova knew me. I was the main troublemaker in my secondary school. I wanted people to respect me, to be afraid of me, and I had friends who supported me on that.
I was working one day helping my father in yard of the house to clean the yard and my father asked me, where my brother is? I responded to my father telling him that I don’t know, and He asked me to go and look for him. I went in neighboorhood and looked for him and couldn’t find him, somehow deep down, I knew He went in that church again and i decided to go there. And that was exactly true what I sensed, i went to the door of that church and waited for him and sometime later my brother comes out of the door.
I grabbed him by the shoulder. “Where have you been?” I asked . “In the church can’t you see that,” he replied. “Why are you going there?” I asked. ”Didn’t I tell you you to stop?” Enver said to me,” Do you want to beat me? Here I am –beat me.” Then He looked me in the eye and said, “I love you Skender, and God loves you.” It was as if the sword had pierced my heart. “What is this?” I thought. “How does He have power to say, “I love you,” when I am beating him? ”I decided to go and see for myself what was happening in that church. I went alone, at evening time when it became dark, so that no one in the streets would see me. I planned to speak with the pastor (leader of the church) so called by the people, and present my arguments against Christianity. Then we would see which one of us knew the truth: He or I. I went to the church, and there was a group of the young people sitting and listening. The pastor was saying that Jesus is the Way, the only way to God. He finished and I was very angry as I went to speak with him. OK, Skender,” he said, “I know you. Come, sit.” I said, “I don’t know you; how do you know my name?” “The whole town knows you,” he said. And we began to talk. I asked many questions, and He gave me clear answers. But he did not convince me of the truth of Christianity. “OK,“ I said, “I will leave. And my brother will not come here anymore. Don’t let him come here. Don’t invite him to come.” He said, “May I please ask you something? May I give you a New Testament?” “Yes,” I said.
Although I did not know what is a New Testament, I thought it’s the book that He teaches from, and this is good chance to tell him with facts that He is wrong. I took it, and at home I began to read it. During the next three weeks, I read it three times. Each evening after school I would come and home and read, read, read. I was reading it to find mistakes, errors and contradictions. I also went back to the church during the three. I did not accept Christ because I wanted to make sure that those people also lived what they believe, and I thought in myself, “If they live it, that would be a very righteous life, and I would like to join them and see how I can become like one of them.” The next meeting after three weeks of continuously going to the meetings, the pastor preached on salvation, and I went forward and accepted Christ as my Savior and Lord. After the meeting, Enver said to me, “You know that I found the truth, now you know the truth. That day after meeting I went home, and my friends came by in the car and called to me. I went to the door, and they said, “Skender! We will have some fun tonight. We have some great girls!” “No,” I said.” Guys, I can’t do it. God doesn’t like what we are doing.” “Have you been in that Christian church?” they asked. “Yes,” I said, “and the Christians have the truth. And now I have the truth.” All my friends left me, and at one point my father threw Enver and me out of the house. It was hard for me at first, but I read in the Bible, “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal live.” That encouraged me. I thought, “Yes, I will have a big family one day.” And that has happened. Now I have a big family in Christ. My father has become a Christian, and many of those friends who left me also have accepted Christ.
Three months after my conversion God opened the door for me to go to Bible school. When I finished Bible school, I begin working full time in the church. I would help pastor in the evangelical church, and later I was led by God to go out and do evangelism and to share the love of God and the Word of the Lord with the people alongside “Samaritans Purse International”. It is an organization lead by Franklin Graham; they came alongside to help, and we have reached out to share the gospel with thousands of the people in Kosovo’s towns and villages. As a result there were planted several small churches in different places. When we closed that project, I was asked to take over a small group of people in community in my town called “New Block” Group has grown and church was birthed called Mission Kosovo Church and planted several different other groups and I am right now pastoring Mission Kosovo Church and raising up leaders and looking for oportunities to plant more groups and church’s around my country.
Lord has a plan for my people and my country and I believe that God is going to save many people and change my country. That’s my prayer and I ask you also to join and pray with me.

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