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Be on Mission With God In Albania
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TURKEY VISION TRIP: God's work among the Kurds
June 9-17, 2009
Students and their director on the Great Wall of Diyaribakir, Turkey. |
One of the highlights of my time as director at ABI has been the vision trip we took to Turkey in early June. All of our full-time students, one part-time student and one of our former students, along with four from our faculty went to see God's work among the Kurds. This is a population that has so few believers. The needs are so enormous. The darkness is so dark. So deep. What great need exists for believers to go and win this population to saving faith in Christ!
Kurdish family who hosted us for tea. They are one of the few families of believers in the city of Van. |
The Daniel Project, an alliance of like-minded Evangelical churches in the USA, seeks to support believers from near-cultures to serve in this part of the world. Albania, which was ruled by the Turks for almost 500 years, has many cultural similarities to Turks and Kurds. Why could believers from Albania not serve among these people who have so little access to the gospel? The Daniel Project sponsored our trip to Turkey, with the Albanian believers coming up with twenty percent of the costs. This was a great act of generosity from our American friends and also a great sacrifice for our students. God, as always, demonstrated his faithfulness by providing the necessary funds for everyone to go. We are thankful for his provision.
Mosques are everywhere in Turkey. |
During the week we met leaders of Turkish and Kurdish Churches, as well as lay people who shared their testimonies of how they came to Christ. The whole nation of Turkey has about 3,000 people who have been born again. This is remarkable growth in comparison to where they were 10 years ago when that number was about 500 believers. Still, in a country with 77 million residents, these 3,000 believers are a very small minority. Many needs exist for reaching people for Christ and for developing the struggling church of Turkey, which is both small and relatively new. How can Albanians help? That was the question presented to our students during the vision trip.
Women in mosque. |
During the week, students visited in the homes of Kurdish believers and walked up and down the streets of the cities to get a feel for what daily life is like in the cities of Istanbul, Van and Diyaribakir. Students were given the opportunity to attend church services in both cities. It was a thrill to hear songs with musical instruments common in the Kurdish culture! The Kurdish believers are few in number, but zealous in worship.
Men visit together on floor in Kurdish home. |
Due to cultural sensitivities and some government pressure against the church and evangelism, our students were limited in the kinds of evangelism they were able to do in the country. Each of our students was able to give gift bags with the Jesus film, the gospel of Luke and book of Acts in the Turkish language. I enjoyed seeing our students share these gift bags and make connections with local people who have largely never heard the gospel. In Turkey over 99 percent of the people are Muslim. What a lost place it is! We saw more closed church buildings than open churches during our time in Turkey. Mosques are on every street.
Elona Shehu...one of two students who has surrendered her life to serve in Turkey.
Tonin Koceku...a recent graduate of ABI who feels God's call to go to Turkey and serve.
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The trip had a very positive impact on all of our students. There is now more prayer for Turkey. More awareness. More concern. Two of our students, Elona Shehu and Tonin Koceku, have felt God's call in their lives to return to Turkey to serve the churches there. Elona has had this burden for Turkey for a long time. Tonin had not previously thought he was called to missions, but this trip showed him this call. Right now, both Elona and Tonin are in the process of filling out the paperwork, getting a specific assignment and raising the money necessary to go. We are very proud of them and their willingness to serve in Turkey. Maybe by the end of 2009 they will arrive in Turkey to begin their service to the churches of that country.
This trip was such a success and I want to express my thanks to the churches of Albania who gave sacrificially for these students to go. I also want to thank the generous churches who work together in the Daniel Project for their financial support to go. The believers of Albania are honored that believers in the USA think they are competent to go as missionaries and are showing that confidence by involving them in God's work in Turkey. I think this trip is the beginning of a beautiful relationship and a fruitful harvest in Turkey. May many more from Albanian Bible Institute go and make kingdom impact in Turkey!
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