December 5, 2019
VMMissions is delighted to report that the Albania Earthquake Relief Fund needs have been met! Thank you! Through December 31, 2019, VMMissions has received $28,712 towards the expenses of a temporary shelter in Lezhë, Albania, for 15 Roma families who lost their homes in Albania’s recent 6.4-magnitude earthquake.
moreJuly 17, 2015
Richard and Elsie Bowman served with Partners in Mission at Lezhe Academic Center and as a bridge to the local Mennonite church, living the Gospel incarnationally in the city of Lezhë, Albania. Elsie Bowman (left) and Xhilda visit after a church service. Photos by Richard Bowman As I consider some of the scenes from our […]
moreFebruary 15, 2015
This first-year teaching business literally takes over your life. I am trying to make a practice of taking one day a week to not think or do anything school related for the whole day, but I still find myself thinking about projects I could do, tests I need to make, and how few lesson plans […]
moreJuly 23, 2013
The morning of July 9, tranSend participants gathered in the Virginia Mennonite Missions conference room along with the VMM staff, providing a time of getting acquainted with each other. Park View Federal Credit Union brought a full breakfast for everyone to enjoy; PVFCU holds the accounts for all the workers who serve through VMM. Orientation […]
moreApril 9, 2013
At Lezha Academic Center in Albania, we believe that we have been called to make an impact on the spiritual life of each student. Emerging from centuries of atheism and isolation under communism, most of the Albanian people lack an understanding of faith and have not truly encountered Jesus Christ. By modeling a consistent and […]
moreApril 3, 2013
It was more than just an ordinary afternoon of coffee, cake and conversation as ladies gathered recently at Lezha Academic Center (LAC). Instead, it was another stepping stone in principal Klementina Shahini’s vision of sharing God’s love with the women of Lezhë, Albania. Chatting together around the cafeteria tables were mothers, students, church members, the […]
moreMarch 26, 2013
My experience in Albania has taken me on a path very similar to the road that two disciples traveled after Jesus’ death, seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. I learned two valuable lessons on my seven-mile journey that drastically changed the way I trust God. God is at work even when we can’t see Him. […]
moreAugust 21, 2012
In June, the Eastern Mennonite High School Touring Choir traveled to Eastern Europe for a three-week tour of Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Italy. Galen and I accompanied this group of lively, talented young people and listened to them singing in both big and small worship spaces. On June 17, we were privileged to attend […]
moreJuly 13, 2012
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but actually being there is in a totally different category. For us, Albania was a distant place we’d hear about through faithful missionaries including Allen Umble and Norma Teles. Allen is a former member of our congregation, Mt. Clinton Mennonite, and Lee is on Norma Teles’ Missionary […]
moreJuly 7, 2012
Rafael and Solange Tartari along with infant son, Paolino, recently returned to Lezhe, Albania, following a busy three-month “home assignment,” visiting family and churches in Brazil. They were commissioned by their sending agency, Junta Menonita de Missões Internacionais (JMMI), and seconded to work collaboratively with VMM missionary team in Albania for a second term. Their […]
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