Albanian Report - April 16, 1999
By Don Yelton, White's Ferry Road Church of Christ, West Monroe, Louisiana
It was good to get home last night, but I won't really be home until I can bring back that small piece of me that was left in Albania. Just as you are seeing on the TV news, it is horrific. How can I let those scenes into my mind without it changing my "wonderful life".
So many thoughtful Christians sent messages of hope and prayers to us. Thank you every one. Please continue to pray for the refugees and the churches in Albania. And please pray that the leaders will have the wisdom they need. Our brethren in that country are very new in the faith and this is a great tragedy, a great opportunity and a great temptation to them all. We need to take care of those young Christians by not putting more on them than they can bear.
Our sweet missionaries are in the early stages of the shock that accompanies such tragedies. It is hard for me to judge such things because I can see the same symptoms in myself. The main thing we can do for our missionaries and the indigenous Christians is to pray for them and not cause them stress with endless emails, phone calls and letters full of questions. On the other hand, they need our words of encouragement and prayerful support.
We traveled to Tirana, Albania last week at the invitation of some of the Christians there. These brethren have already given sacrificially to feed the refugees. We were asked to advise, raise funds, and to assist. As we begin to help with our experience, we are already enabling local Christians to continue their work to help the needy.
Last Sunday Bill McDonough of Partners in Progress, Kevin McFarland from Manna International and I spoke to the congregation in Tirana about what we do to help churches in disaster areas. That evening we had a question and answer session with them and subsequent meetings with some of the leaders. We also visited a few refugee camps hearing stories similar to those on the news of the horrible nature of war. Our hearts were touched and we responded to the needs we saw just like we believe you would want us to do. We went to a store, bought the things needed and delivered them to the needy.
My first impression of Albania is that it seems more chaotic than other disaster areas, even more so than Ethiopia. Starvation is not as apparent, but it is early yet. Road traffic is very dense and there is a lack of good roads. The Albanian Police don't have effective control of traffic or other civil matters, but they will learn. There is poor local telephone service, intermittent electricity, a lack of hotel space, a lack of warehouses, and few apartments to rent and a difficult language. It was also raining a cold rain, mixed with sleet.
In the night you can sometimes hear gunfire, but it is not from the war. It is just a Moslem way of celebrating or of releasing tension. If the shots are near by it can be unnerving.
Wayne Speer, missionary in Tirana, and I visited the NATO facility at the airport. It was United States Air Force and I could "talk the talk and walk the walk". After spending 26 years in the Air Force you would expect me to! They were very nice and we did get some valuable information. We also learned one additional way to get our missionaries out of Albania in case there is a need. We did not see that need and there are several other ways to evacuate Americans if it should be necessary.
We should also mention Dick Ady of World English Institute who recruits missionaries and has a wonderful way to evangelize. Dick provides courses that teach English to non-English speakers and introduces them to God's Word. Many Albanians have obeyed the Gospel through this method.
The 250-member church in Tirana is very concerned with the needs of the refugees, but those Christians that have jobs can't take much time to do relief work. Missionaries are similarly hard pressed. All want to do what they can to feed the hungry and teach Jesus to the lost. They are doing a good job.
Sending supplies to Albania is perilous at best and not recommended. Several organizations report substantial theft of goods. For several reasons we do not encourage shipping of relief supplies at this time. First, it cost too much. The money used for shipping can purchase more relief goods and more appropriate goods than we can ship even if we get the goods without cost. Second, the church and missionaries don't have the trucks, warehouses or a distribution system to handle large amounts of relief supplies YET. In a few months, our brethren there might be able to handle containers, but not now, in my opinion. In Ethiopia, it took months to set-up the various organizations within the church and without to handle large amounts of supplies. Please be patient and contribute CASH. That is most always best. Free supplies are not free if it cost money to ship and time to "get rid" of unneeded supplies.
The air flights to and from Albania are difficult to find. Only Albanian Airlines are flying into Tirana right now. Crossing via ferry from Italy and road from Greece is possible, but long, uncomfortable and, in case of the roads, dangerous. Some Italian brethren brought medicines only to have them held by Albanian Customs. In the past this method worked fine. Hotels in Tirana are full, taxies are available, but translators are necessary. Pickpockets are rampant and muggings happen often. Almost no one goes out at night because of robberies.
We have an urgent request for your prayers: We are being asked to check into the needs for medical supplies for the trauma cases among the refugees. 80% of these are being handled by one hospital in Tirana. Healing Hands International in Nashville has the supplies ready to ship. We first need to be sure that the request for the medical supplies is legitimate and that we can deliver the supplies without loosing most of them to theft. We hope to have the Tirana part done early next week. Then we must have the proper official letters of request that will indicate the exact medications and medical supplies required and the Albanian Government's cooperation. With this done, we will appeal through the "Denton Amendment" to obtain a U. S. Air Force aircraft to fly the goods to Albania consigning them to missionary Randy Richards. He and the Tirana Church of Christ will arrange the delivery and distribution to the proper medical authorities. We hope the United States Air Force will help with this distribution. Please pray that this effort will be to God's Glory and will be a real help to the hospitalized victims of the war.
Please pray that I am wrong in my assessment that this will be a long war and that the refugees will be in camps for a long time. Please pray that the young church in Albania and our missionaries will have the spiritual strength and wisdom it needs to do this work. Please pray for our brothers in Serbia who face nightly bombings and who are living in fear in their basements. Please pray that we can find good ways to provide humanitarian assistance to ALL that have need to God's Glory.
A servant of Christ,
Don Yelton
Donyelton@compuserve.com
828-891-5562
Please send contributions to: White's Ferry Road Church of Christ (War Relief), 3201 North Seventh Street, West Monroe, Louisiana 71291.