What do our students say?

Meet our Students

L-R: Gjergj, Mira, Luka, Elona, Tonin

This fall we are blessed to have four full-time students and two-part time students as part of the new student body of Albanian Bible Institute. This group is unique in that we have one married couple with an 18 month old baby. This is our first time in many years and only the second time ever to have a married couple studying together. We have one single girl who is a full time kindergarden teacher. We have two single guys, one of whom works on a church planting team in his village just outside of Durres. The other works on the leadership team and worship team of a church in the periphery of Tirana made up almost entirely of young people from Northern Albania. We have a married man in his mid-forties with two children ages 12 and 7. All of our students, except one, are over the age of 25. Four of the six think God is calling them to be missionaries to countries in the Muslim world. We have never had this many potential missionaries in our school.

In addition to their seriousness about the Lord and working among the lost, these six students are serious about learning. Probably more than any class we have had in recent years, these students put a lot of time in their studies outside of the classroom. When they have free time, they are often working on their assignments. This semester they have had quite a baptism of academics with courses such as Old Testament Survey, Introduction to Hermeneutics, Preaching, Islam, and Systematic Theology. None of this is proving to be very easy for any of them, but they are giving maximum effort. Already the students have preached three times this semester. They are showing improvement each time they gain experience. New courses in church planting, theology and hermeneutics are awaiting them as the semester progresses.

Please take the time to read our students' testimonies and see how God has been working in their lives up to this point.

STUDENT TESTIMONY: GJERGJ and MIRA LLESHI, and daughter, EMANUELA

Gjergj
I am Gjergj Lleshi and 25 years old. I am married and have a daughter 18 months old. I come from a Catholic family, though they never go to church.

I accepted Christ as Lord of my life in 1997 when I was only 15 years old. I was invited to church and went. There I heard about the living God and saw love in the church that the people had for one another. I needed a little time to understand about Jesus and that he had died for me. Soon I began to understand and believed in Jesus.

I have been involved in church over the years. Right now I am a member of "Way of Salvation" Church in Laprake (Tirana) where I live with my family. I have served on the evangelism team and even as the leader of that group. I have done different practical jobs in the church like painting and repairing things.

My desire is to serve the Lord as a missionary wherever God directs. To accomplish this goal, I need more knowledge. This has led me to study at Albanian Bible Institute where, with the help of God, I will be prepared. At ABI I have seen the strong commitment and preparation of our teachers. In fact, in our school everything is prepared well including the lessons, assignments, food, and the different activities we have.

After I finish school, I would like to be a missionary in Africa because there is great need there. At the end of my time at ABI, I expect that I will be better preapred in the word of God, in preaching, leading Bible studies and worship.

Mira
I accepted Christ in 2007. I come from a Muslim background (Bektashi branch) and served an idol until that day when my younger sister came with a Bible that she received from her biology teacher. I began to read about Jesus. One day in a vision God revealed to me that Jesus was the truth. From that point on, I have believed in Him.

Currently, I attend the "Way of Salvation" Church in Tirana. In the past I have worked with children, helping them learn the stories of the Bible. That also helped me learn the stories of the Bible. For two years I worked in a special ministry to the Gypsy children at the canal of Tirana.

I have come to ABI to prepare to serve my entire life for Jesus and to grow in my knowledge of him. I would like to become a worthy servant of the Lord Jesus Christ and to serve him wherever he leads. I am especially interested to serve as a missionary to Africa.

I especially appreciate the lessons and preparation that we receive in Albanian Bible Institute. We have learned and continue to learn to study the Bible step by step. We have learned how to preach and to analyze passages in the Bible. It is a pleasure to study at this school.

Emanuela
I am a talented 18 month baby girl and have already learned to write and help my parents with their lessons.

Okay, that's not quite true. However, I would like to say that I like being at Albanian Bible Institute almost as much as my parents. Everyone gives me their full attention and I smile and laugh at them. I like running all over the place and staying with Manjola, Pellumb's wife, when my mom and dad are in their classes. While at Manjola's I play with Ildi and Andrea, as well as their toys. I even have a few toys of my own. I expect that coming to ABI is just one of many times in my life when I will be with my parents as they follow God's direction in their lives. I heard them say something the other day about Africa. Do they have toys there?

STUDENT TESTIMONY: ERI LEKA, CLASS OF 2006

"I have a passion for ABI and I take advantage of every opportunity possible to recruit students and tell them about our school. It is not an obligation, but comes from my heart. I think ABI is the best Bible school in Albania. My Biblical knowledge before I came to ABI was very weak and limited, but it really expanded as a result of my time here. I now have tools to open the word of God with university students. As I prepare Bible studies, I now ask questions about interpretation, context, and meaning of the passage so I can share with others. This came as a result of my time in the hermeneutics classes.

"While at ABI I learned how to manage with few financial resources. As a student I didn't always have much money. This was a good experience to teach me learn how to manage without a lot of money in my ministry.

"Probably the greatest blessing of my time at ABI was the relationships. Teachers were not just teachers for us, but they were a family. The relationships between staff and students were great! I have great friendships now because of my time at ABI."

Eri works in the Shalom Church of Tirana and serves in student ministry with "Peace With God," an organization for student discipleship and evangelism. Eri and her team serve on campuses in the cities of Tirana, Durres and Elbasan.

STUDENT TESTIMONY: LANDI RIZALLARAJ, CLASS OF 2006

"One of the best blessings God has ever given me was the time I spent at ABI. At ABI learned not only theology, but also character and dedication. I also see the effects of this in my ministry today. I serve in six villages near Delvina, taking the gospel to people there.

"When I left ABI, I was sad and did not want my experience to end. It was that good. I think it must have been like what the three disciples felt on the Mountain of Transfiguration when they did not want that mountain top experience to end. The staff of this school, Jerry, Lee, Adam, David and their families are great. I am thankful to God for them. We are very indebted to them for their dedication. May this school continue to serve until Jesus comes!"

Landi serves on the ministry team in the Reformed Church of Delvina, working primarily in the regional villages to do evangelism in areas with no other church. He is also bivocational and works in a furniture shop to support himself. He and two other students from Delvina traveled 7 hours each week on the bus to attend classes.

STUDENT TESTIMONY: ERTON SHYTI, CLASS OF 2005

"ABI has been a great help in my life. Before I came to ABI, my knowledge of the scripture was very superficial, though at the time I thought I knew a lot. Back then, I was an assistant pastor of my church. I had no idea then how much coming to ABI was going to help me. I now see that ABI was a great foundation God used in my life to help me grow in knowledge, maturity and character.

"Today I work on Campus Crusade's coverage team for the AERO project of 2006. We go into 13 villages in the Pogradec area doing evangelism and church planting. Many of these villages are Muslim or Orthodox. We don't always immediately know how to approach these villages with the gospel. My worldview studies at ABI have helped me and my team understand how other people who are different from us think. It has helped us learn to build bridges with them. As a result, we are seeing fruit from our work and lives are being changed.

"I don't know where I would be today without ABI. I have many great friends as a result of my time in this school. It has been invaluable preparation to my ministry."

Since graduating from ABI, Erton has served with Campus Crusade's coverage team in the areas of Gramsh and Pogradec. While a student he had a 4 1/2 hour bus ride each week to ABI.

STUDENT TESTIMONY: ERMIR TAJA, CLASS OF 2004

"Before I came to ABI, my sermons were very short and not too substantial. Now I have the tools to prepare me for preaching. I laugh when I compare my sermons then with those I preach today.

"Coming to ABI was full of challenges for me and my young family. I was married and had two little girls at the time. My mother died while I was in school. Still, God was faithful and brought us through the difficulties of being a young family, pastoring a new church and going to school. He gave us strength through it all.

"While at ABI I received many blessings. I learned spiritual discipline through the numerous Bible studies we had here. I felt the presence of God through the staff, their lessons, the fellowship, the informal times of socializing with the students, and even during the meal times.

"The teachers we had here were great. They are servants and doers or the word, not just people who know it in their heads.

"The students at ABI come from many different places throughout Albania. I am glad to say that we built bridges of friendship with one another, though we were different. Sometimes we had to learn how to get along with one another. We had to learn to forgive and be forgiven. It is good to drive through cities and villages of Albania and to remember former students who live and minister in these places.

"Because of ABI, church leaders are growing and their level of teaching is growing as well. With growing leaders we are much more likely to have growing churches as well.

I thank God for the director, staff, board, and all those who support Albanian Bible Institute. God bless you all!"

Ermir is married with two daughters, ages 7 and 4. They live and work in Marikaj, a community between Durres and Tirana. Ermir is the pastor of the Church of God in Marikaj where he has been serving since 1998.

STUDENT TESTIMONY: SAJMIR BRAZHDI

"Going to ABI has been one of the greatest desires of my life. From the time I was 17 years old I prayed day after day to go to that school. Praise God I finished it!

"ABI had a special influence on my life. It is not simply a school but a wonderful family. God used ABI to strengthen my spiritual life and relationships with friends, family and my ministry.

"ABI has been a source of challenges, joy and blessing in my life. I didn't learn only theology, but I learned how to serve, persevere and to love even more the Lord and the ministry he has given me.

"Coming to school at ABI is one of the most beautiful experiences the Lord has given me in my life."

Sajmir serves as an elder and worship leader in the Gramsh Church, a two-hour bus ride from Durrës.

STUDENT TESTIMONY: ERMAL LUSHI

Here is an excerpt from a letter recently written by one of our former students, Ermal Lushi, describing his experience at ABI:

"The time I have spent at ABI has served me in many ways. I have improved in my knowledge about the Bible. I have been challenged in other areas in my life including my character . . . My time at ABI was difficult, but it helped me in my service to the church in Peshkopi. Almost every Sunday I direct worship and have responsibilities for preaching, leading children's meetings and youth meetings. Your investment has not been only in one student named Ermal. You have invested in the church of Peshkopi because my potential and abilities to help them have improved because of my time at ABI.

"I desire to serve the believers in the most effective and fruitful ways possible. Thank you very, very much for your support. May God bless you abundantly!" —ERMAL

Ermal traveled back and forth between Peshkopi and Durres each week to attend ABI. That is a five-hour ride on miles of bad roads. It was quite a sacrifice and investment on his part. Some gracious donors helped sponsor Ermal's tuition while he was in school. As ABI eagerly begins a new chapter in its history this fall with new students and a new track in missions and church planting, we will look for more and more people to join the sacrifice of our students by investing in their education. As Ermal has reminded us, investing in an ABI student is an investment in Albanian churches. Would you pray and see what God would lead you to do to impact this nation for Christ through trained leaders?