Newsletter for August 2004

This newsletter is a little later than we would have hoped. The past few weeks have been filled with activity and frustrations. Our computer was experiencing problems, which we fixed. Unfortunately, in the course of fixing the problems, our internet connection was lost. We have also experienced complications with our move; these are detailed later in the letter. 

The end of July and beginning of September brought new students though our doors. Word is continuing to spread about the course as students begin and complete the course. Most of our students are related in some way. Please pray that we will be effective teachers as we share the Good News with our students.

We had a wonderful visit with a group from Durrës this month: Ray and Shelley Wheeler, Laureta Nasufi and her sister Rudina, and Elvin Xhimitiku. We had the pleasure of sharing in the joy of Laureta’s baptism. She was baptized in Tushemisht, a village close to Pogradec. Laureta had been attending worship in Durrës and has studied with both Lynn Hunt and Shelley Wheeler.

 On August 28th the church in Durrës hosted a Bible Bowl based on the Gospel of John. Some of our students prepared for the competition, and we were able to bring Landro Terolli and Nertila Mitka. The church in Pogradec took a special collection for the trip and was able to defray all of the cost of traveling. We believe that it is important for these young people to meet Christians from other cities. Landro and Nertila had a wonderful time; they were able to fellowship with the Christians from Durrës, Tirana, and Lushnja. 

The body of believers in Pogradec is comprised of about eight people (including us), but we usually have more on Sundays than this number because some of the Christians also bring family members. Only one of this group was baptized recently, Kandita, while the rest of the group was immersed for the remission of their sins by others prior to our arrival.  Landro, a seventeen-year-old boy, is one of this group. He loves to study the Bible.     

In mid-August we signed our rent contract for the new building and began telling our students about the move. Many of them are very happy because the new building is closer to their homes. This new building is across from the city’s main park, which is near the lake. The residents of Pogradec have a tradition of walking in the morning and evening. The main path for the evening walk runs directly in front of our new apartment, which makes the location recognizable and in the middle of the action. We think that this will be a benefit in both the summer and winter months.

Please pray for a smooth transition from one apartment to another. We also ask that you pray for our relationship with our former landlord. This month he has expressed his displeasure with our plans to move.  In July, we sat and talked with our landlord about his request to increase our rent by 300 dollars. We left the meeting with the understanding that we were free to pursue other living arrangements since we were not in agreement with his request. He feels that we should have given him a written notice of our leaving three months in advance. Our understanding was that by requesting the increase in our rent, placing a specific date that it would become effective (in writing), and telling us he had no other options for us he voided our original contract and by giving notice orally in the meeting we fulfilled our obligations. In short, he feels that we should pay another three months rent. We have spoken to a lawyer, a notary, and several other people. They all agree that we are within the law and that our landlord dissolved the contract in writing when he requested to increase our rent. The situation is a little complicated, and we pray that it will be solved as soon as possible. We want to present a humble, Christian attitude about the situation, and at the same time to be wise and discerning.

Since Xhumert has been living in the same apartment as the Morrills, he will also be moving to a new apartment at the end of September. He will have additional expenses including electricity and heating. He will be able to defray these expenses with his current support, but was wondering if you would prayerfully consider helping him with the cost of his rent. Xhumert expects the cost of his rent to be approximately $100 dollars each month. Thank you for your consideration. If you are interested please e-mail us for more details.

Landro, Allison, Kevin, and Nertila on the  train back from Durres.

  His Servants,

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