We hope that you have had a great Christmas, and we wish you a wonderful new year. God has been working in Pogradec this year. For our last newsletter of the year we wanted to do a recap of the events of the past year. Before we recap the events of 2004, we wanted to give some information about some changes that will be happening in Pogradec during 2005.

We (Kevin and Allison) are planning to move back to the United States in June of 2005. We would like to find a couple, or a couple of people to continue our teaching of WEI bible courses, but if this is not possible, we are confident that the church will continue to grow with God’s blessing and Xhumert’s continued efforts. Xhumert Nuro (the Albanian man who works with us) does not have any plans to leave. He has bought an apartment and plans to live here with his wife, Irena, indefinitely. We ask that you prayerfully consider taking this leap of faith and working with the church here. It has been an enormous blessing and a true faith building experience. We also ask you to continue supporting the work through prayers and financial help. If you would like more information about the work please e-mail us with your questions. 

JANUARY: Farewells and New Beginnings.

• On January 17^th we were part of a group that helped Xhumert move into the apartment in Pogradec.
• Morrills: We had worked in Durrës for a year and a half before we moved to Pogradec, so for us, January was a time of packing, organizing supplies for the new school, and saying goodbye to the church in Durrës. It was a comfort to know that we were only a few hours away.
• On Tuesday January 27^th, our moving van was packed, and we rode with our driver and his brother to Pogradec

FEBRUARY: Beginning of WEI Bible Classes 

• We began teaching WEI courses on February 1^st . Many of our first students were beginners. As word spread we would eventually get more advanced students.
• We decided that it is better for Xhumert to spend his days in the community rather solely teaching with WEI materials. The idea behind this is that a native speaker is more effective working among the people. He has been able to establish many friendships with members of the community.
• When we (the Morrills) moved here it was quite a change from Durrës. Things that were taken for granted, like stores with aisles, are hard to find here. So our Albanian began to improve. We also made new friends, learned the names of the shopkeepers and people who we saw regularly, and generally tried to be seen in the community and be a part of this community. It was difficult because of the language barrier, but that too was lessening by this time.

MARCH: New Students and Biblical Conversations

• March came in like a lion; in the first two days we conducted ten interviews (nine of them on March 1st). Most of our students were coming in through word of mouth. By the end of the month our schedules were completely full and the waiting list was growing.
• This was a month for conversations. As with anything new, the people of Pogradec wanted to know who we were, so we had many visitors. Some people asked us if we are Baptist, Pentecostal, Evangelical, or just Protestant.  We said, “we are just Christians, who read and believe in the Bible.” Many “missionaries” have worked in Pogradec since Albania became a democracy. They have taught a variety of ideas; some of them close to the Bible and others far from it. Through conversations we began to better understand what some of the groups believe. We are still learning.

APRIL: Building Relationships

• We continued to teach and forge relationships in the community. Xhumert took on more WEI students. One of our biggest obstacles of the month was the amount of Bible “teachers” in the community who were not teaching God’s Word truthfully.

  MAY:  Preparations for the summer and Xhumert’s Health

• Xhumert was sick from a good part of May. Through many prayers he was able to recover and received a clean bill of health from a doctor in Tirana. We also prepared for the summer; getting students lined up for our summer schedules.

JUNE: New Sister and Visitors

• On June 20th 2004, Kandita Hasa, who was Muslim by name only, decided to follow Christ.  Kandita had studied with Allison for five months before making her decision. She also studied with Xhumert in Albanian when she showed an interest in baptism. Kandita worked as a music teacher in a village nearby and is the mother of a six-year-old boy, Juli(you-lee). Kandita’s faith and her warm smile have been a great blessing. We ask that you pray for Kandita; she has a great heart, but because she is the only Christian in her family, she finds it difficult to attend worship.

• Marilyn Fisher and Sarah Everett arrived in Pogradec on June 26th and worked with us until July 7th. This was Marilyn’s third time in Albania and Sarah’s first. Marilyn is a retired schoolteacher and Sarah was to begin her senior year of high school the following fall. Both women taught WEI lessons in Pogradec. It was a blessing to have Marilyn and Sarah visit; many of our students still talk about them.

JULY: Teaching and Visits

·        Teaching proceeded as normal, and  we said goodbye to Sarah and Marilyn.

·        We had two visits from Christians in Durrës. On one visit Ben and Dan Asperheim, students from York College who were working for the summer in Durrës, were able to come for a few days. 

·         We looked for and found a different location for the school because our landlord wanted to raise our rent.

AUGUST: Visitor Baptized, Growing Body and New Building Found

·        Laureta Nasufi, from Durrës, was baptized in Tushemisht, a village close to Pogradec during a visit here. Laureta had been attending worship in Durrës and had studied with both Lynn Hunt and Shelley Wheeler.

·        The body of believers in Pogradec was 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 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 and participated in a Bible Bowl in Durrës during this month.  

·        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.

  SEPTEMBER: New Location

·        We had a harder move than any of us could have expected, but through many prayers we shook the dust off our feet and began at our new location. We were happy and relieved to move from our first location. We settled in and had our first students Friday, September 17.

OCTOBER: Movie Days

·        We invited our students to our home and watched the Gospel of John. One of Allison’s students said that it helped her remember the stories of the bible as she studied them in her WEI course.

  NOVEMBER: Xhumert’s Marriage, New Brother, and Baptistery Built

·        On November 3rd 2004 Xhumert was married to Irena Gegprifti. Irena is from Potgozhan, a village about one hour and a half from Pogradec. Irena has an uncle in Pogradec and various other relatives close by.

·        November 28th we welcomed a new brother Idajet (ee-dye-t)into our family. Idajet has been attending worship consistently, and his wife Lumturi, a baptized believer, is one of Kevin’s students. On Sunday the 21st Idajet had expressed an interest in being baptized and called it a “gift from God.”

·        We created a baptistery for Idajet’s baptism using a water storage tank.

  DECEMBER: Friendships

• We saw the love of the Albanian people as we shared gifts and holiday wishes. Allison invited some of her students over to make Christmas cookies. Irena (Xhumert’s wife) taught Allison how to make Baklava, a traditional Christmas/New Year dessert, in Albania. Members of the church took a walk by the lake on Christmas Day.

  Thank you again for the blessing that you have been to us as we work for the Lord in Albania.

  His Servants,

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