Jeta (life) in Albania

Matthew 19:14, 15 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” And he laid his hands on them and went away.

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This past week was spent in Vlashaj, Albania at the Jeta Center. Jeta (pronounced YEh-tan) is the Albanian word for life, and the ministry at the Jeta is one that breathes the life of Jesus into the children of this small village and the surrounding community. Programming is based around providing active and creative opportunities to both children and adults. We were able to be a part of hosting their VBS for the week and it was fantastic!

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Besides working with the village children, another ministry at Jeta provides services for persons with different abilities and many of the young adults from that program attended the VBS as well. It was amazing to watch our students jump in where needed - games, team leaders, disability “buddies”, arts and crafts - we were also asked to intro each day with our puppets and dance, and were able to perform our “clocks” drama to close out the VBS on Thursday. The children  would come back several times throughout the day just to play and be around our team. Those that came were fully seen and fully loved by our team and we pray that many will respond to the love of Jesus.

In the midst of this week there was a side trip to Durrës, the biblical historical center of the country (and also a beautiful beach where we watched the sunset). We visited the Roman Amphitheater where Christian’s were martyred and a 2000 year old section of the Via Egnatia. This major road led from Turkey to Rome, and Titus for sure and possibly the Apostle Paul walked it when in the area. The history of the country is deep and rich with many important ties to the spread of Christianity in the first thousand year history of the church.

In spite of the oppressive heat, our team has given their all for the purposes the LORD has set before them. Choosing to ooze enthusiasm has been our motto for the trip and it is amazing to see our young people at the end of themselves, yet effectively serving by the power of God in them.

This week, we will be in the capital city of Tirana and working with a local church to reach young people with the good news of Jesus! Till the next update…

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Holding fast,

Jeremy Hinshaw

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Pictured below:

-Nathan and Cydil Waggoner were our hosts at Jeta. Cydil (in red) was a Royal Servant in 1992 and is in Albania serving because of the impact of that summer on her life.

-A lion’s den at the amphitheater where the beasts were held and aggravated before being released on the Christians.