A memorable Christmas in Albania

Christmas 1993 was a special time for the church in Lushnje. Since it had been resurrected on Friday, July 23, 1993, after nearly 50 years of religion being banned in Albania, numbers had increased steadily.

Missionaries led the service at Berti and Tatjana Dosti’s home, but after the first meeting, they decided to ask the former Albanian captain, because of his good organisational skills, to set up and lead the service.

Berti, pictured below, also taught the children while the missionaries took it in turn to preach.

But with rising numbers the home became too small, so the Christians began to look for a large room to rent for the church.

In Lushnje, they found a dental clinic where 50 people worked in 20 rooms. On the third floor was a large room used for meetings, which Berti’s friend, Dr Gjergji, helped them to rent.

On Christmas Day, 1993, at 11am, the new Lushnje church, celebrated the first service there.

It was now called the Way of Peace Church (in Albanian Rruga e Paqes) after the name of the Albanian programme on Trans World Radio which Berti had listened to in secret while in the army.

A total of 25 people attended, already a healthy increase on the 16 who had met at the first church meeting only five months ago.

The centre was ideal in every way, except for the entrance. To get there, worshippers had to climb three sets of stairs, which were usually splattered with blood from the patients leaving after having had their dental treatment.

Party officials had used the same room, where the Christians met, in Enver Hoxha’s time.

Workers came there to study Hoxha’s books, to discuss and underline passages and then to memorise them, finishing by saying praise to Enver Hoxha.

Now Christians were using the same room to study God’s word, to discuss and underline passages from the Bible and to memorise verses before finishing by saying and singing praises to God.

This Christmas more than 280 Christians will be meeting at the Way of Peace Church in Lushnje, which now meets in its own building at the back of the Victory School.

There will be 140 people from the villages around Lushnje at the Christmas Eve service on Saturday and another 140 from the town itself in church on Christmas Day.

Since 1998 Berti, who has been supported by the European Christian Mission, has been the pastor there.

There’s more on this story in God’s Secret Listener, published by Lion/Hudson/Monarch.

Signed copies are available for £6 including postage within the UK by emailing John@jbutterworth.plus.com