Mission Encouragements at Joshua Center

By Norma Teles

It has been a cold winter here in Lezhe, but we have been blessed in a lot of ways. The work at Joshua Center is going well. I can see God working in a very special way in the lives of the little ones. In spite of the cold, attendance was very good during those three months of winter.

The staff at the Center love to hear the parents talk about how their children are behaving at home. Elijon gives thanks for the food every time he eats. After one prayer his father asked, “Why thank God when I bought the food?” Elijon answered, “It was God who created everything.”

Rose came to our church last November along with her sister. They were looking for a congregation. In January Rose and I started to meet each Tuesday after she leaves work. She asked for a Bible and I suggested that we meet for coffee to talk about what she was reading. It has been very encouraging to see how much she has taken it seriously. In the first weeks she read all of the Gospels and had several questions. She is often talking about the feeling that she is part of a body, a spiritual family. One of her prayers is often on my mind. She is praying that she will never lose the sense of unity that she feels at church and that God would give her the strength to share it with others.

As much as God loves mission, some people do not. There are a whole host of obstacles that pop up and entangle themselves around our ankles as we minister to Albania’s people. Knowing that you are praying means a lot to me.

Norma Teles is a VMMissions and JMMI worker serving in Lezhë, Albania.