James and Lori Clarke’s News Bulletin - Jan 2012

James & Lori Clarke’s News Bulletin
Jan 2012

Working with the Albanian Evangelical Mission (AEM) in southern Albania

Dear friends,
I hope this letter finds you all well. I’ve included some news about Christmas in here too as I didn’t send a letter out after Christmas. I hope this helps you in your prayers for the work of the Gospel in Albania.

Outreach
Over Christmas we gave out the gospel newspaper and Bible-verse calendars in Gjirokaster and neighbouring towns and villages as usual. This is always one of the best occasions in the year for outreach and it’s great to see the calendars hanging on the walls of many of the shops and businesses in town – a verse from
God’s Word on clear display for anyone entering to see. January reads: “Jesus said: ‘I am the way, the truth and the life.’” (in Albanian).

Christmas Concert
On the 24th of Dec, as a church we hired out a hall and put on a concert. The concert was called ‘Songs of Christmas' and included brief explanations for the carols sung. The main purpose of this was to invite people who don’t come to church. Over 100 people attended and the local TV station ran a short story on it on the evening news.

Opportunities through English teaching
As you know Lori has been teaching English for a few years now at a private language centre. Last academic year the owner of her school asked me to cover some lessons while another teacher was away. I accepted as I thought it would be a good way of getting to know people, and I was later able to invite some of my students to our summer camps. One girl who was in my class and came to camp later professed faith. So when I was asked to take on a group for this year I accepted. Although in class I must focus on teaching English, I have had some good opportunities to witness. Two girls in my class asked if I could get them bibles as they said that they 'have always wanted to read the Bible but never had the chance'. Obviously I was more than happy to comply! They then came to the Christmas concert and told me to let them know when we put on any other events. (Sadly they can’t come to church as they live in the village and are expected to stay at home on Sundays). They are currently reading the Bible, so please pray for them! Apart from this several in the class have asked to come to summer camps in 2012.

Tepelena
In Tepelena the teenage group called ‘Albion +’ with whom we did the bible overview last year have largely stopped coming to Saturday morning meetings. While this is partly due to the fact that they are in the last year of high school and are under a lot of pressure from their parents to stay in and study, I think that some of them have simply made the decision that they don’t believe. While this is very sad, we ask for your prayers for them and wait in hope. They have heard the gospel and know a lot of God's Word. Pray especially for the group of girls that came very regularly for several years – that they will remember what they heard and that it will work in their hearts. Kristi and Eugene (Xhino) continue to come faithfully and also attend church in Tepelena on Sundays. The younger groups continue to come and although numbers dropped a bit while the weather was cold, numbers are picking up again.

Gjirokaster Lads
Friendship and games will never convert a soul, but in order to be able to share the Gospel with young people you have to meet them first! The Saturday night social evening for lads has continued to lead to opportunities to invite boys in the neighbourhood to church. A few of them have turned-up to Bible studies and other meeting and we are planning further activities with them. A Tuesday night study in the book of proverbs had led to some very interesting conversations.

Other News
Lori continues to do her other translation work and also helps me lot in preparing sermons. I've preached in Albanian again a few times since my last newsletter and I'm getting a bit more used to it, although it’s still a lot of work to get the sermon together and learning them. My Mum came for a few weeks over Christmas and New Year. It was a blessing to see her and have an extra hand looking after John! John will be one year old on 13th February – how time flies! He hasn't begun walking yet, but that hasn’t stopped him exploring the house and trying to get into cupboards and drawers!

Prayer Points:
• For everyone who is coming into contact with God’s word either preached or written.
• For the group of teenagers in Tepelena.
• For the lads in Gjirokaster.

Thank you again to all who pray for us and support us.