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Information, Short Updates

How I met Pastor Skender

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By: Pastor Selmani

       In June 2001 there was a three-day conference in Gjakova, and that’s when I met Pastor Skender.
WhatsApp Image 2018-03-03 at 20.12.57 This was the only time I met with him briefly.
Indeed, a long period of time passed and
Skender and I didn’t have
any contact.
However, in 2004, we started having Pastors’ meetings and
it was during that time that I took charge of Besimi Biblik (Biblical Faith) church in Kosovo. It was then, that Skender
and I started having more meaningful and long conversations.
I liked his character and his words would match his actions. He was straightforward and would not talk behind anyone’s back.
So, our friendship started to get stronger. And we started to have more interactions with each other. I and the other leaders of Besimi Biblik (Biblical Faith) started inviting Pastor Skender to preach in our church and in other gatherings we had. From all the
twelve leaders from other churches in the city of Gjakova,
the deepest connection remained with Skender.
Therefore, we started to collaborate together and I sent some youth from my church in his camp in Deqan (a city in Kosovo).
So we continued our collaboration and friendship till the moment God decided to separate us.
Now, the work that I do for the glory of God is that I have four to five services in the villages of Kosovo with Besimi Biblik (Biblical Faith) church. When Roger was alive, he also came with me to visit this church so that he can see the services. And now, these services are part of Mission Kosovo team. It all happened because of me
and Skender wanting to work together for the Kingdom of God.  Now, Roger Primrose was a missionary who founded the work in Gjakova that became Mission Kosovo (Pastor Skender’s
Church Congregation).
Now, what I work extra is preaching every Sunday in Mission Kosovo church, prayer meetings, visiting families and evangelizing in these families.
I’m also helping Valbona and the kids with errands and things they need, especially looking for an apartment that is legal and affordable for them.
I would like to start youth ministry, children ministry, Bible studies but for now, we don’t have a building to gather properly and that’s the barrier. Please keep us in your prayers.

News from Balkans

The needs of the church in Gjakova

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       The past year has been marked with lots of events: Pastor Skender coming to America, his injury, his death, and burial. Starting January 8, 2017, life took a different shift for the church, especially for Valbona, Debora, Sara, and Sion. The timeline of life before and after Pastor Skender’s death was marked forever in Valbona’s and the kids’ life.  God has been taking care of them always meeting every need. He also provided an apartment for them which Balkans Partners rents every month. Something we are praying to keep continuing to do through your support and your prayers.
       However, they are keeping their Sunday services over at Valbona’s apartment as well every week. In the beginning, they started having the services sometimes at Pastor Selman’s house and sometimes at Valbona’s house.  Pastor Selman is the one leading the services.
       Meanwhile, the church is in need of a place to gather every Sunday and other days when needed. For now, there has been no place to rent yet. Please pray with us as we continue to search for an adequate and affordable place to rent for the church so that it can meet their needs.
       Valbona and the kids need money every month for rent, food, water, electricity and other expenses. Balkans Partners is also on a search for a new apartment to buy for Valbona and the kids so that they can call it home after everything that happened. For now, we are in need of raising support since the dollar exchange rate is changing every month. And unfortunately, the dollar rate to euros is growing weaker. The main issue right now is that the apartments in Kosovo need to be legalized. All the apartments that are being built have no legalization while in the process. After the building is all finished and people buy the apartment complex it is then that the building is legalized. This is also another huge reason we want to wait so that we can purchase one with legalized papers in our hand.

Please continue to keep the church in Gjakova in your prayers.

Requests:

  1. For a place that the church can gather and worship our Savior
  2. For an apartment for Valbona and the kids
  3. For support with monthly expenses for Pastor Skender’s family
News from Balkans

Concern for Kosovo’s Future

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When Balkans Partners first started working with the Bill Clinton statue, Prištinabelievers in Kosovo, there was overwhelming gratitude for the part the U.S. and other NATO nations played to bring freedom from Serbian oppression. There is now a fifteen-foot statue of Bill Clinton (who was president at the time) in the capital city of Prishtina. Kosovo was then one of the most laid-back and religiously tolerant of Muslim societies. At the end of the civil war in Kosovo, while North America and Europe sent aid (to rebuild homes, to provide temporary shelter and food, etc., Saudi people took the lead in a different sort of aid. Most of the money they invested went to build more Mosques. And for the Mosques they built, they provided the leaders to teach Wahhabism, the Islamic ideology behind the 9/11 disaster. So in the years since then, Kosovo’s youth have been increasingly radicalized through the teaching in these mosques, and it is a source of much concern. This trend has been documented elsewhere. Click here to view further detail on those changes as reported in the N.Y. Times.

News from Balkans, Testimonies

Cracked bone healed from the Lord.

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unnamedBlediar Kela is a 6 year-old child that lives in our neighborhood. His two older sisters attend our church; both are Christians and love Jesus Christ. His family is Muslim in background.

Blediar broke his leg when he was hit by a different child with bicycle about three weeks before he and his family were to go to the church’s summer camp for families. He was sent to the doctor to be examined and the doctor treated him, but the problem recurred again one week before camp. The bone had cracked again where he broke it. He went again to the doctor and was treated again, and he was told to not step on the leg for 30 days. Because Blediar’s parents had applied for the camp, they took Blediar with him.

On the second day of camp in the morning meeting, Dr. Robert Primrose spoke on prayer as he had on the first day, and then we prayed for people that needed prayer. Blediar told his mom Valinda that he wanted us specifically to pray for him, so his mom brought him forward and one of the friends that came from USA, Brian Primrose– nephew of Dr.Primrose– prayed for his leg to be healed. A day later we noticed him being stepping on the leg though the doctor said to not do it. However, Blediar still feared to release his weight on it completely because of what happened to him before when the bone cracked.

Right after camp I was asked by Brian how Blediar was, and I had this answer for him.

Watch here and see the answer.