Albania is a country full of people looking for truth. Throughout communism, they were told they were a country who didn’t believe in a god. Officially, they were an atheist country. After communists handed over control of the country to democratic hands (to differing degrees depending on who you ask, but I won’t get into that here) people were open to finally seek out for themselves what they believed. Many of them were told by their family forbearer, “We are Muslim,” or, “We are catholic,” but had little knowledge of what that meant. The majority of people of both religious are left having a name of a religion they claim, and maybe with a few traditions they don’t understand, but lacking the power of knowing the god whom they claim, not knowing what it could mean to serve them with confidence and passion.
Meet Elis Resuli.
Growing up, Elis was always told he was Muslim, but would celebrate whatever holidays were common in his area wether it be catholic or otherwise. For a period he lived in Greece and learned a little about Jesus at an orthodox church, but as with the Muslim religion he was presented with, it had little impact on his life. He described himself as a person who cared only about himself, and what pleased him on any given day. What else was there anyway? While he was seeking fun, looking back he describes his life as being a lonely mess. Going to coffee shops and spending time with people, it was still all just emptiness.
When Elis went to University in Tirana, he met an unusual group of people. Elis started attending events Instituti Jeta e Re (New Life Institute, or CRU as it’s known in the US) to continue the trend in his life to simply find something fun to do to fill his time. They offered entertaining social events, as well as generally beneficial opportunities like english learning camps, so why not?
While there he found himself drawn to the people. They cared.
Then came Easter. As he heard the story of what Christ had done for him, he finally found something worth truly seeking out. Sajmir Troksi, a minister who works with IJR, met many times with Elis over a couple years to offer him friendship and support. Sajmir showed him that serving the Lord is a far more worthwhile endeavor than serving ourselves, and even further, that this God who sacrificed himself for a people who didn’t deserve it wants a deep and abiding relationship with him specifically.
To Elis, Sajmir was the vessel by which God showed Elis his love. The amazing thing is that Sajmir was a student just like Elis before he came to know the Lord in a similar way. Now, Elis is filled with new purpose. Thanks to him, more than 10 other students have already been introduced ti IJR and he is one of the most passionate and involved students in the ministry. One other student has even accepted Jesus as his savior directly as a result of Elis sharing his faith with him.
The community and dedication to friendship and discipleship at this ministry is truly a sight to see. I personally was blessed with the opportunity to watch Sajmir baptize Elis in the Adriatic sea this summer (pictured below) and witness the peace and passion in Elis’ eyes. I can’t personally converse with him much, as my Albanian isn’t so good yet, but I see him often at church and at IJR events, obviously filled with joy having found a greater purpose.
I hope to continue telling the tales of joy and redemption taking place in Albania. As many people in the world only know Albania from the kidnappers in the movie TAKEN, I have found it to be a much different place where God is doing amazing things in the lives of people here. While Elis’ story is unique to him, there are many other incredible stories I have yet to tell. Keep an eye out here and on my instagram (@DeiGratiaPhoto) for more of what is happening here, and follow the IJR social media pages as well to see photos and updates on what they are doing!
IJR Social Media:
Instagram: @ijr_student_21 , @ijr_student_tirana ,and more!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ijrstudenttirana/
