Dear friends,
This weeks reports from Albania say that some of the refugees being cared for by the churches of Christ are returning home. Pete Hodge in Elbasan says that they have lost half of the families they were helping leaving 200 families. Tirana is actually helping more this week than last.
Workers are very tired from all the work of helping the refugees and several are getting some much-deserved rest out of Albania. Others plan to take short vacations soon.
We solicit your prayers on behalf of those Kosovars who are returning to their homes. There are many dangers and terrible hardships to face and we want to help as much as possible. We also are concerned for their souls. Please pray that God will show us how to help and how to share Jesus in Kosovo.
Don Yelton, (www.wfrchurch.org)
White's Ferry Road Church of Christ
ELBASAN REFUGEE UPDATE (30-6-99)
So far this week we have seen around half of our families leave, I expect this trend to continue this week. This still leaves with around 200 families to help. One of our family ';heads' came to se us yesterday. He had been back to see what the condition was of their homes to find everything totally destroyed, and all of their possessions gone. They literally have nothing except what we have given them. Tomorrow we are going to visit the British Camp to see if we can get some tents for him, and also 'twist the arm' of World Vision Int. to get forty mattresses. We can supply the blankets.
Whilst mentioning World Vision, I want to publicly thank them for their help. We would not have been able to do what we have without their help. They have proved to be one of the few NGO's that actually seemed able to do their job without hours of meetings etc. They are a truly remarkable organization.
We have to look to the future and we are giving thought to how we are going to continue. We will continue the programme as long as it is needed, we have the supplies and the funds. Also, we are looking at helping the people in some way when they are back in Kosovo. We may do this in conjunction with the brethren in Tirana. We will just have to consider the options.
Pete, Dulcie & the team
There are lots of refugees that come and see us at the warehouse before leaving just to thank us. Their eyes are in tears but fortunately this tears show their love and appreciation for the help that we have been giving and we feel so pleased to listen to them when they say "As soon as I will build the house you will come and be my guest in Kosovo". Even now this looks difficult we are sure that with God's will this thing is going to happen, so these people will rebuild their houses and why not one day we will go there to preach the Gospel.
Before the refugee leave we provide them with food for the trip and a little bit as reserve, because the normal life in Kosovo is still far from starting.
In place of them that leave we register new families which we could't help before because of the high number of the refugees living in Tirana. So, in total there are around 1,000 families or 9,000 refugees that we continue to help.
Something for sure has changed. Eyes and faces of the refugees are not as before hopeless and tired. The place of fear and pain now is replaced by the hope and peace. Probably this is why the work to help them looks easer to us now and we do not feel tired even the last months have been painful.
Coordination remains our focus of the work and our strength. "Food for the Hungry" covered financially the costs of the toilet that we build at the warehouse. Last Friday with the help of our brother Pete Hodge working in Elbasan we did receive around one ton rice and half ton of pasta donated by World Vision.
For the Church of Christ in Tirana,
The Refugee Crisis Committee
Artan, Tom, Artan, and Randy